Dimensions of student success: a framework for defining and evaluating support for learning in higher education

ABSTRACT

The capabilities students need for success during and beyond higher education extend far beyond specific discipline skills to include the development of productive mindsets, the management of life circumstances and the way they relate to others and identify with their profession. The provision of support for these capabilities at university can be both diverse in scope and diffuse in delivery. Consequently, the development of streamlined and integrated evaluation strategies to measure the extent to which these capabilities are being successfully delivered can be challenging. This paper describes how one Australian university used a collaborative process to design an evaluation framework for student learning services. The framework, a first for this university, represents the breadth of student support, including a typology of support for learning: connectedness, mindsets, self-management, professional identity and academic capabilities. These terms, coined as dimensions, form the scaffold of university-wide delivery of support for learning initiatives.     

Massification in higher education: large classes and student learning

In introducing the special issue on Large Class Pedagogy: Opportunities and Challenges of Massification the present editorial takes stock of the emerging literature on this subject. We seek to contribute to the massificaiton debate by considering one result of it: large class teaching in higher education. Here we look to large classes as a problem in promoting student learning, quality education, and consequently as a challenge to socio-economic development. That said, whilst large classes do pose very specific challenges, they also hold promise and opportunities for innovation in support of student learning. Here we consider the contributions to this special issue from a cross section of disciplines and higher education environments.     

A new indicator for higher education student performance

The debate on academic achievement is a heated issue that involves all the higher education contexts. This paper attempts to provide an indicator that can make the measurement of university student performance easier and that can be easily applied to different systems, making comparisons more fair. The Italian University System is used as a starting point to make several considerations on the current measures and to build up a new performance indicator. Then, a generalization for other marking systems is shown and finally a quantile regression is performed to investigate some determinants of the new performance indicator, also with respect to the current one.     

Promoting self-sustained learning in higher education: the ISEE framework

To equip graduates with the capability to meet complex demands of work and life, it is important that higher education teachers engage students in self-sustained learning – the persistent, self-initiated pursuit of expertise development in one's subject area. This requires building a positive synergy between learning and teaching, which implies various potential difficulties for teachers. Based on a critical analysis of these difficulties, it is proposed that self-sustained learning can be nurtured when teachers activate a form of dialogic reflective practice that prioritizes students’ subject expertise development. Relevant strategies are suggested and potential difficulties in implementing them are examined. These strategies are synthesized as the ISEE framework: (1) employing Inquiry-based Scaffolding Tasks to motivate students’ learning interests and scaffold their progress; (2) encouraging Engaging Classroom Dialogs to help students’ development of subject expertise and an active learner identity; and (3) using Engaged Critical Reflections to build close and trusting teacher–student relationships.     

A framework and checklists for evaluating online learning in higher education

A case is made in this paper for using checklists and context‐bound evaluations of online learning materials in higher education. Context‐bound evaluations complement traditional forms of evaluation of educational courseware, such as checklists. Context‐bound approaches are useful for indicating the pedagogical quality of online learning materials that may be productively used in conjunction with checklists to evaluate online learning. Edith Cowan University has developed a framework and checklists for assessing aspects of online pedagogical learning materials in higher education. These checklists, which are intended to be useful indicators of the areas where online learning materials are strong and to identify areas that may be deficient, and are a valuable screening and information gathering device to use when undertaking a context‐bound evaluation of learning materials. As such, the quality of the instructional design remains an important consideration in evaluating courseware, and such information needs to be presented in a form that is accessible and useful for educational developers and researchers. Comment and dissent is invited on the value of contextual evaluations to reinvigorate the debate over appropriate ways of evaluating online learning materials in higher education.     

A cross-cultural comparison of student learning patterns in higher education

Previous studies of “the Chinese learner” have confounded the effects of culture and context or have used heterogeneous samples of students. In this study, 134 British students and 207 students from mainland China following 1-year postgraduate programmes at six British business schools completed the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) and the Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (RASI). The two groups yielded the same factor structure on both instruments. There were no significant differences in their scores on the CEQ. On the RASI, the British students produced higher scores on deep approach and strategic approach. These differences could not be attributed to differences in response style. In short, when British and mainland Chinese students were compared within the same educational context, their perceptions and approaches to studying showed the same underlying constructs, but in the present context Chinese students were less likely to exhibit deep or strategic approaches to studying.     

Action learning in virtual higher education: applying leadership theory

This paper reports the historical foundation of Northeastern University’s course, LDR 6100: Developing Your Leadership Capability, a partial literature review of action learning (AL) and virtual action learning (VAL), a course methodology of LDR 6100 requiring students to apply leadership perspectives using VAL as instructed by the author, questionnaire and survey results of students who evaluated the effectiveness of their application of leadership theories using VAL and insights believed to have been gained by the author administering VAL. Findings indicate most students thought applying leadership perspectives using AL was better than considering leadership perspectives not using AL. In addition as implemented in LDR 6100, more students evaluated VAL positively than did those who assessed VAL negatively.     

An undergraduate student flow model: Australian higher education

The probability of completing and the time to complete an undergraduate course are likely to vary by the age and sex of the student, and the field of study undertaken. In this paper a Markov chain is used to model the movement of undergraduates through the higher education system in Australia. Given the age of the student when they commence a course, this model provides estimates of the probability of them completing the course. It also provides estimates for the mean time a student takes to complete the course, and mean time they spend in the higher education system.     

Meaningfulness of a learning experience: A measure for educational outcomes in higher education

Based on assumptions derived from the humanistic education theory that (1) the learners' perceived meaningfulness of a learning experience is an important measure of the educational outcomes, and that (2) the learner is a legitimate evaluator of his own learnings, this study attempts to develop a conceptual model for the meaningfulness and value of a course of study as judged by students in higher education. The model suggests that in a course, perceived meaningfulness and value are related to the perceived learnings in the cognitive-subject matter, affective-personal, and behavioral domains.A Course Valuing Inventory based on this model has been developed and tested on 141 students, participating in 19 university courses. Testing the Inventory showed that it is reliable, and that the relationship between the perceived learnings in the course and its value are as established by the conceptual model. It was also found that the tool successfully differentiates between graduate and undergraduate students, as has been hypothesized.The study was supported in part by the Jewish Memorial Foundation.     

Reconceptualise a dynamic framework of the learning constructs in higher education

This paper reconceptualised the interrelated learning constructs in higher education based on the Dynamic Systems Theory (DST). The university students' learning experience before, during and post the Emergency Online Learning (EOL) was investigated to explore the dynamic changes among the learning constructs in higher education. A case study of a Chinese university was conducted, and one hundred and ninety-three university students participated in the questionnaire. The data collected from this empirical research identify different hierarchical constructs of the conceptualised learning environment and reconceptualise the period of system reformation influenced by the EOL. The key findings include the identifications of the attractors and repellors framed by the DST and the impact on the changes in the learning constructs. The results of this paper contribute to further understanding of the university constructs' changes to better plan and support students' active learning in higher education.     

The problem of student attrition in higher education: An alternative perspective

Student attrition continues to be a significant and costly challenge for higher education institutions across the globe. In Australia, universities cite the importance of addressing student attrition through strategic statements and policy documents, and expend time and resources on the problem. Despite vast expenditures, they have made little impact on student attrition, which continues to negatively impact reputation and revenue. Using a regional Australian university as a case study, this paper analyses a student exit survey to identify the complex and inter-related array of factors that contribute to student attrition. It was found that attrition would be better conceptualised as a wicked problem, which is one that cannot be strategically addressed using traditional approaches to problem-solving. The practical implications of these findings reinforce that current approaches to attrition are likely to fail. Therefore, the wicked nature of the attrition problem needs to be taken into account when developing strategies or policies within higher education.     

An exploration into student learning mobility in higher education among the Arabian Gulf Cooperation Council countries

This paper explores the dynamics of the internationalisation of higher education in the Gulf region. Exploring the presence of foreign universities, international curricula, programmes, students and academic staff, it pays particular attention to the learning mobility of students from the region. Consequently, the aim of this piece of research is to explore the current learning mobility among the GCC countries. The study makes use of secondary data from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) on the global flow of tertiary-level students and a survey conducted especially for this study among students from the Gulf region. Considering the literature explored and based on data from UIS and the survey conducted, it seems that higher education in the Gulf region has expanded and that the presence of foreign universities, international curricula, programmes, students and academic staff is a positive experience overall. Although learning mobility has been stimulated in the region, much of it is regionally driven. It seems that the growth of inward learning mobility is not proportional to the growth of foreign universities in the region. The growth of outward learning mobility is predominantly driven by scholarships and the potential for growth on inward and outward learning mobility seems likely to increase in the future. The Gulf countries may enhance learning mobility through multilateral learning and research cooperation by means of scholarships and regulated commercial activities. To emerge as an international education hub, the Gulf countries must become an attractive destination for students from outside of the region as well. The region may wish to draw relevant lessons from regions such as the European Union to stimulate learning mobility.     

70年来我国高等教育发展的成功经验

中华人民共和国成立70多年来,我国高等教育取得了举世瞩目的巨大成就,积累了多方面的成功经验。这些经验主要表现在坚持党对高等教育事业的领导、坚持社会主义办学方向、坚持扎根中国大地办大学、坚持以人民为中心发展高等教育、坚持高等教育改革创新、坚持把教师队伍建设作为高等教育基础工作等方面。     

Muslim women in higher education: new sites of lifelong learning

How does a traditional research-led university embrace the implications of lifelong learning and widening participation? If it lowers its entry requirements or offers a more flexible approach to adult learning, can it continue to strive for and attain academic excellence? Using a project designed to increase participation by an under-represented group, this paper explores the institutional issues involved in developing lifelong learning strategies in partnership with local colleges and community organizations. Lifelong learning is not cheap to deliver, as non-traditional students may need additional learning support. Off-campus delivery can decimate an orderly campus-based timetable, extra exam boards had to be set up; extra books and learning resources have to be duplicated across different sites. However, the institutional benefits include greater flexibility in university procedures, and a source of enthusiastic mature learners from an under-represented group.     

Technology‐enhanced learning in higher education: How to enhance student engagement through blended learning

Blended learning has risen in popularity in the last two decades as it has been shown to be an effective approach for accommodating an increasingly diverse student population in higher education and enriching the learning environment by incorporating online teaching resources. Blending significant elements of the learning environment such as face‐to‐face, online and self‐paced learning leads to better student experiences and outcomes and more efficient teaching and course management practices if combined appropriately. Hence, an appropriate systematic and dynamic approach of blended learning design is crucial for a positive outcome, starting with planning for integrating blended elements into a course and creating blended activities and implementing them. Evaluating their effectiveness and knowing in which environments they work better and improving the blended activities designed from both the student’s and instructor’s perspective are critical for the next delivery of the course. This article aims to increase awareness of higher education educators about how traditional face‐to‐face learning can be transformed into blended courses so as to develop student engagement with both in‐class and online approaches, whilst being time effective for the instructor.     

A social realist perspective on student learning in higher education: the morphogenesis of agency

Contemporary critiques of student learning research call for new theoretical and methodological approaches. This article proposes a social realist approach to this research, using the morphogenetic theory of sociologist Margaret Archer. The applicability of this approach is demonstrated by reference to an empirical study of engineering students at a South African university, using narrative analysis. In the article itself, two narratives are given in some detail, illustrating the key outlines of the analysis. Students’ emerging personal identities are shown to be highly dependent on their social backgrounds, yet when in the university the possibilities for the morphogenesis of student agency are very constrained. A critical interrogation of these findings proposes that a true higher education should facilitate the development of an enlarged sense of agency for students.