Building commitment: an examination of learning climate congruence and the affective commitment of academics in an Australian university

The purpose of this study is to explore the relationship between learning climate congruence and the affective commitment of university academics. The strategy of inquiry for this research is quantitative, involving a non-experimental design for the survey research. A non-probability sample of 900 academics from a large Australian university was selected, with a response rate of 30.33%. The major conclusion drawn from this study was that the congruence between current and preferred learning climate was related to the affective commitment of university academics. More specifically, academics’ level of affective commitment was enhanced in a learning climate where they were encouraged to take risks, had plenty of time to learn new tasks and were encouraged to openly express their ideas and opinions. This study is important in a practical sense for academic managers and universities to build relationships and develop better connections with their academics.     

中加大学文科课堂教学基本模式对比研究

中国和加拿大的大学文科教学存在着历史、社会文化及地域等方面的极大差异,两国文科类课堂教学模式在课程设计、教学时间安排、成绩考核、教师与学生角色及教学质量评估等方面有着显著的不同。这些差异之存在,反映了中加大学在教学目的、教育理念等方面的差别。加拿大大学的课堂教学模式对我们有着多方面的借鉴意义。     

基于翻转课堂的协作学习效果实证分析——以大学生“计算机网络与应用”课程为例

翻转课堂赋予学生充分的时间开展协作学习,从而避免传统课堂中协作学习流于形式的问题。为探究翻转课堂对学生协作学习效果的影响,本研究设计了基于翻转课堂的协作学习模式,以大学课程中的"计算机网络与应用"课程为案例,检验了该模式下翻转课堂对协作学习效果的影响。结果表明:翻转课堂对学生协作学习中面对面交流互动、个人责任、社会交往和小组协作技能以及个人协作绩效有显著影响,但对积极相互依赖以及小组自加工等影响不显著。该研究结果在一定程度上表明,翻转课堂能够促进学生协作学习中面对面交流互动,提升社会交往和小组协作技能,增强学生协作学习中的个人责任感及提高个人协作学习绩效,翻转课堂中教学环境的提升和教师素养的提高有助于学生协作学习的开展。本研究旨在为促进师生在翻转课堂中开展协作学习提供参考。     

Using British school examinations as a predictor of university performance in a pharmacy course: A correlative study

The investigation reported in this paper studied the relationship between 31 variables from 80 subjects graduated in pharmacy. Variables included in the study were average grades taken from the examination held at age 16 (Ordinary O level), predicted and actual Advanced level scores usually 3 subjects taken at around age 18 and the complete pattern of university examinations. The average of O-level scores was not a useful predictor but the teachers' estimates of performance at A-level were. A-levels themselves correlated particularly well with early parts of the course and the average grade still showed a small but significant correlation through to the end. Undergraduate examinations throughout the 3 years were generally intercorrelated. It is argued that given the appropriate circumstances both teachers' estimates of A-level performance and actual A-level scores remain useful in selection and forecasting.     

研究型大学的本科质量观研究

研究型大学本科质量观研究是当前高等教育理论与实践研究中的重点、难点和前沿问题.从探究研究型大学的本质特征出发,从研究型大学的人才现、培养目标观、课程观、教学观、教学管理观和质量评价观六个方面对研究型大学的本科质量观做了探索性的研究.     

Generative methodology: an inquiry into how a university can acknowledge a commitment to its Aboriginal community

This paper maps ethical and epistemological issues around attempts by a university to negotiate with the traditional custodians of the Sydney basin, the Darug, to facilitate the intergenerational transmission of knowledge within their community, and through the university curriculum. The theory and practice of research raised some important methodological questions about what constitutes knowledge in Aboriginal and western contexts. The project brought us to reflect upon the epistemological basis of our research to consider whether it was history, ethnography, cultural resource management or memory work. As we worked through these issues during the process of consultation and negotiation with Senior Darug, the inquiry began to focus on how a university can acknowledge a commitment to its community. Such a commitment for a university must be built around attentiveness and respect, rather than an epistemology of control. We find that respecting the power structures and organisation of an Aboriginal community is a crucial step for a university in performing such a commitment. Respect for the established power relations in these communities constitutes the very basis of a generative methodology.     

Open-book tests in a university course

In the few available studies on the use of books in examinations, open-book tests have been found to reduce pre-test memorization and anxiety during examinations without affecting academic performance. However, these studies were made with students in non-book systems, whereas systems which allowed books in all exams might be thought likely to create a non-fact-learning attitude in students. The present study was undertaken in a book-allowing system with 120 students during a regular course in physiology at a medical school. Each group sat two parallel 60-item multiple choice tests and used books in one test but not in the other. The tests took place about four weeks prior to the final examination, which is of the same type as the experimental tests. Recall items could yield less than 15% of maximum points, so that interpretation and problem-solving items predominated. Total test points with and without books did not differ significantly. An analysis of variance showed that the effect of books on recall items was only slight and that the two tests varied in difficulty, in spite of efforts to secure equality.     

Agency online: trends in a university learning course

This article aims to investigate how university students perform agency in an online course and whether the collaborative nature of the course affects such expression. A total of 11 online web forums involving 18 students (N = 745 posts in total) were qualitatively analysed through the use of a codebook composed of five categories (individual, interpersonal, epistemic, transformative and collective) and several sub-categories purposely developed for the sake of this research. The results show that each category follows a specific path, although two events – the re-mixing of the groups and the assumption of the peer-tutor role – particularly affected the evolution of trends. Although this study needs further development, the authors believe that an in-depth understanding of the nature of agency, including how to analyse it as well as empower it when implementing blended educational activities, engages relevant theoretical and pedagogical issues.     

Graduateness: an empirical examination of the formative function of university education

The formative merits of university education are at risk of being reduced from graduateness in the sense of broad academic cultivation to professional training with a strong emphasis on employability. The difficulty in opposing this trend is the absence of a clear framework for academic cultivation. The aim of this study is to construct a model that uses the formative function of university education as a starting point, that distinguishes graduateness from employability, and that integrates theories on reflective thinking, scholarship, moral reasoning and lifelong learning. This approach offers the possibility of making use of insights from established theoretical traditions in the study of the intellectual development of students. For this study, a questionnaire was developed to investigate graduateness, or intellectual cultivation, among students in a research university. Structural equation modelling revealed that the expected structure was confirmed by the data. Reflective thinking has the strongest influence on lifelong learning; however, scholarship and moral citizenship are also important elements.     

A commitment to justice at a jesuit university: A comparison of criminal justice majors to non-majors

While both criminal justice programs and Jesuit institutions claim commitment to the realization of justice, their conceptions of justice differ. This exploratory survey of 31 criminal justice majors and 51 non-majors compares criminal justice majors' concept of justice with that of non-criminal justice majors. We find that criminal justice majors and non-majors generally do not differ in their views of justice or their rank of goals for specific criminal justice professionals, regardless of the number of theology/philosophy or criminal justice courses taken or other demographic factors.     

Proposing a framework to assess Internet usage in university education: an empirical investigation from a student's perspective

University administrators are continuously investing in Information Technology (IT) to support learning and help deal with educational budget cuts. Instructors are increasingly making their teaching materials available on the Internet. While administrators and instructors would like to make the Internet an effective educational tool, they need to understand what their students’ attitudes towards using it are. Since the use of the Internet in university education is still in its early stages, many issues regarding its use have not been fully addressed. This study was conducted to provide a better understanding of how the Internet is used in university learning from a student's perspective. Our research framework is based on the Theory of Reasoned Action, Technology Acceptance Model, and IT Diffusion Process Model. We use a survey conducted among university students to explore these issues. Research findings provide some useful insights for university administrators and educators.     

Ethnicity as social capital: an examination of first-generation,ethnic-minority students at a Canadian university

In this article, we use interview data collected in a four-year longitudinal study of first-generation university students to answer the question: how might the ethnicity of first-generation students impact their university experiences? After briefly examining previous literature written on the educational achievement levels of ethnic-minority Canadians, specifically Asian-Canadians, and on first-generation students, we explain the concept of social capital and how it relates to ethnicity. The findings extracted from the interviews in this paper suggest that, although first-generation students lack general knowledge about university, their ethnic identities serve to ease their disadvantaged positions in university by serving as both bonding and bridging social capital in the form of relationships, peer groups and ethnic clubs.     

河北省部分高校教师心理健康现状的调查研究

对河北省五百余名高校教师,应用症状自评量表SCL-90进行测查,结果显示:教师在各因子分上均低于全国常模,并且有显著性差异;不同性别教师在偏执和精神病性因子分上有显著差异;不同学历教师在强迫、焦虑、敌对、恐怖、偏执、精神病性几个因子分上存在明显的差异;不同职称教师在敌对、恐怖、偏执、精神病性几个因子分上存在明显的差异。因此,河北省高校教师的心理健康普遍良好,造成教师心理压力的主要原因来自于社会环境和学校环境。     

三本学院管理学课程分课制教学方法研究

运用量化分析方法调查了管理学分课制教学模式的效果。实施和未实施分课制教学模式的学习者,对管理学课程的评价存在较为明显的差异。研究结果表明实施分课制教学模式对改善学习者的学习态度、学习兴趣和学习成绩具有积极意义。有必要继续实施并完善管理学分课制教学模式,以进一步深化管理学课程教学改革。     

The other voices of international higher education: an empirical study of students' perceptions of British university education in China

Against a backdrop of globalised higher education (HE) – one in which a number of British universities are setting up campuses overseas – China represents a vast and lucrative market. This paper presents data on the perceptions and experiences of 20 Chinese students who are currently studying at a British university's campus located in China. Drawing upon theoretical and empirical linkages between the expansion of British HE into overseas markets and neo-colonial (or imperialist) activities, this paper discovers that sociocultural perceptions and ideological constructs such as ‘creativity’ and ‘value’ form a vital basis for the exchange of knowledge in transnational HE.