A mixed method study of ethical issues in classroom assessment in Chinese higher education

The purpose of this study was to explore Chinese university professors’ decisions about ethical issues in classroom assessment. A survey with fifteen scenarios that describe professors’ thoughts about ethics in assessment practices was administrated to 555 professors from 143 colleges and universities in 29 provinces in China. The results of the quantitative analysis indicated that professors’ interest in professional development related to classroom assessment, and their dispositions were significantly associated with their agreement with experts in the field of classroom assessment. Professors’ gender, highest degree, professional rank, and years of teaching experience did not significantly predict their agreement. The qualitative analysis revealed that maintaining fair assessment vs being caring to students and asserting professors’ rights vs abiding by university policy were the crucial aspects for professors to consider in classroom assessment. Findings of the study could help educators identify ethical issues in assessment, develop guidelines to ensure fair assessment, and incorporate differentiated strategies in professional development workshops in higher education.

     

美国高校教师专业伦理规范体系的经验与启示

在美国,高等院校、高校教师专业组织和以政府为代表的科研资助者三类主体的不同规约组成了高校教师专业伦理的规范体系。相关规范以维护源自洪堡的"教学与研究相统一"、"学术自由"等理念为出发点,就高校教师对学术、学生、同事、所在的学术共同体、社会的专业责任进行规定,并设计了严谨的执行处理机制。总结美国的经验,对我国相关规范的建设具有借鉴意义。     

大学生专业承诺的现状与对策研究

大学生专业承诺一般是指大学生认同所学专业并愿意付出相应努力的积极态度和行为,探讨大学生专业承诺对于大学生的专业选择与发展以及高校的专业设置具有重要意义。文章首先介绍了大学生专业承诺的概念与测量工具,其次对大学生专业承诺的实证研究进行了梳理与分析,最后就如何改善大学生的专业承诺现状提出了自己的见解。     

Review Essay

Abstract

Teachers and university professors hold strong, and often different, views on school subjects and academic disciplines. This paper explores the meanings of subjects and disciplines for teachers and university professors who have different subject or disciplinary affiliations as these emerge within discussions about curriculum in a professional development context. It describes a group of university professors and secondary school teachers who met to discuss new developments in research in the humanities and social sciences and their impact on school curriculum. The professors brought their expertise in their academic disciplines and their teaching experience to the conversations. Teachers brought their varied disciplinary knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge and a deep understanding of schools. They perceived their primary goal as making ‘translations’ and ‘transformations’ between university and school. There were many bridges to cross within these complex and multi‐layered conversations. The possibility of bridges was enhanced by sharing common experiences in dealing with dilemmas of teaching. However, it demonstrated the importance of exposing the key structures and arguments of the disciplines as a first step in building bridges among subject communities and between universities and schools.     

Brand equity of academics: demystifying the process

The current study endeavours to find out whether there is a relationship between university academics’ competence and their customer-based brand equity from the perspective of students. It also seeks to investigate the mechanism of the proposed relationship through trust, likability, and commitment. Data were collected from 384 postgraduate students in Malaysian universities using a structured questionnaire. Results of analysis using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) revealed there is a significant relationship (total effect) between academics’ competence and customer-based brand equity. We found that the path from competence to brand equity goes through trust, likability, and commitment. Given the growing popularity of higher education in the new millennium and important role of academics in leading students to success, findings of the present study can enhance our understanding of academics’ branding and universities’ overall image. The implications and contributions of the study to university administrators and academics are discussed.     

Building a bridge between Western and Eastern worlds: reciprocal learning programmes that create reflective practice,hope and prosperity in education

ABSTRACT

This paper focuses on the Reciprocal Learning Programmes between Western and Eastern educational systems through a Sister School project as well as, a Reciprocal Learning Programme through preservice programs between a Canadian university and a Chinese university. Benefits of the Reciprocal Learning Programs include reflective practice of content and pedagogical learning, cultural and societal learning, globalisation and emotional and social impact. Qualitative documentation demonstrates that educational, social and cultural dimensions are cultivated and nurtured through the Reciprocal Learning programs and have positively affected the students, educators and leaders involved in the project. Criteria for success in the programs included professional and personal commitment, educator inquiry, vulnerability, organisational commitment and multi-dimensional partnerships.     

The Public's Image of University Professors

The basic purpose of this study was to evaluate the public's image of university professors compared to other professional groups. A questionnaire was administered by telephone to a random sample of 150 residents of a southern metropolitan area. Respondents were asked to evaluate seven professions on : (1) social standing (prestige), (2) honesty and ethical standards, (3) importance to society and nation, and (4) interesting and challenging occupation. Overall ratings indicate that university professors were rated significantly lower than doctors, dentists, pharmacists, and clergy, the same as lawyers, and higher than bankers. Cross tabulations of respondents by income, age, education, and sex revealed that there were no significant differences in the ratings of university professor on the basis of the characteristics indicating that this relatively low opinion of professors is a view shared by all subgroups of respondents.     

LEISURE AND THE RETIRED PROFESSOR: OCCUPATION MATTERS

ABSTRACT

Little attention has been given to the leisure activities of retired professors, whose activity patterns in retirement may be different from those of other occupational groups because of their lifetime commitment to work. This interview study uses both quantitative and qualitative data to investigate: (a) the leisure and professional activities of retired professors; (b) the anticipated leisure activities of older employed professors; and (c) the relationship between sociodemographic factors and leisure activities of professors in retirement. Respondents were 54 retired (response rate 83%) and 17 employed (response rate 94%) professors aged 70–74 from a major research university. Content analysis of the tape-recorded open-ended questions indicated that volunteer activity, travel, exercise or sports, and work around the house or garden were the most commonly described leisure activities of retirees. A large majority of retirees (70%) also continued professional activities. Travel and exercise or sports were the most frequently planned activity for employed respondents. Correlational analysis revealed little relationship between sociodemographic factors and leisure activities in retirement. Implications for retirement education and leisure programming are discussed.     

A University and Local School Partnership: Utilizing Tension as a Catalyst for Growth

ABSTRACT

Intending to foster a partnership between his university and a local school and to create a new identity as a teacher educator in the community, a newly hired assistant professor of English education offered support to a secondary English department and ended up working extensively with the teachers (planning, observing, giving feedback, reflecting, and modeling lessons by teaching classes). This self-study examines the experience of the teacher educator as he navigated this 2-year commitment. A systematic analysis of all data collected (detailed journal, observation notes, debriefing notes, correspondence, and transcribed interviews) reveals how the conditions that allow tensions to become productive – a need for interaction, a willingness to engage in commonalties and differences, a sense of value for various skill-sets, and a suspension of judgment for the good of the community – within an emerging community of practice offered opportunities of professional growth for teachers and a teacher educator. This research provides insight into how university professors can better recognize and understand the conditions that allow perceived tensions to function as catalysts for professional development, offering an example of how to improve collaborative relationships between teacher education programs in higher education and K-12 school districts.     

Analysis of job satisfaction of university professors from nine Chinese universities

Research on work life and job satisfaction of university professors is becoming an important research issue in the field of higher education. This study used questionnaires administered to 1 770 teachers from different levels, types, and academic fields of Chinese universities to investigate job satisfaction among university professors and the relationship between job satisfaction of university professors and the organizational characteristics of the university. The job satisfaction of Chinese university professors includes six dimensions: career development and school management, teaching and research services, salary, benefits and logistical services, professional reputation, teaching and research facilities, and the work itself. The overall job satisfaction levels are close to average, with salary and benefits receiving the lowest level of satisfaction. The organizational characteristics of universities, such as school type, school level, academic field, organizational climate, evaluation orientation, and school management, all have significant effects on the overall job satisfaction of university professors. The organizational climate and school level affect all six dimensions of job satisfaction among university professors.     

The roles of a university professor in a teacher study group

The opportunities in which university professors collaborate with the practicing school teachers in a teacher study group are few. This study investigated how a university professor facilitated a collaborative teacher study group to enhance teachers?? professional growth. Five primary school teachers and a university professor collaborated on incorporating Reader??s Theatre into the design and revision of the curriculum in a teacher study group. This study not only identified the roles of the university professor but also highlighted how this outside stimulus facilitated the process of teachers?? professional dialogues in this teacher study group. Five roles of the professor in the teacher study group were identified, including content expert, information provider, thought challenger, discussion facilitator, and caring listener. The discrepancies toward the roles that the professor in the teacher study group should serve between the elementary school teachers and the university professor were analyzed and reported. Implications were drawn for both classroom teachers and university professors.     

The predictive value of job demands and resources on the meaning of work and organisational commitment across different age groups in the higher education sector

This study examines the predictive value of job demands and resources on the meaning of work and organisational commitment across three age groups; young workers (<30 years), a middle age group of workers (30–49 years) and older workers (>50 years). Data were collected from a survey conducted among university employees (N = 3066). Hierarchical multiple regression analysis was used to test the relationship between the antecedent variables and the meaning of work and organisational commitment in the age groups separately. Age differences in the experience of these two variables were tested by one-way ANOVA. Both job demands and resources were related to the meaning of work and organisational commitment, however, the relative importance of demands and resources varied across the groups. Overall, older workers reported higher scores on the meaning of work and organisational commitment. The results suggest that different interventions should be considered when aiming to improve the meaning of work and commitment among different age groups.     

The changing role of the Japanese professor

In analyses of the professorial role, an opposition is often established between the professional or external components and the university or internal components. From this perspective, professors at leading universities in the West are said to emphasize the professional components of their role. In contrast, in the past Japanese professors tended to emphasize the local university-centered components. In recent years, many professors have shifted their energies away from these university-centered components. Some have become professional in the Western sense, but others have become showmen and still others politicians. No single phrase suffices to summarize the trend away from university centeredness.The authors wish to thank Kazuyuki Kitamura and the other members of the Research Institute for Higher Education of Hiroshima University for so generously supplying their unpublished data on university governance for their inspection. Also they acknowledge the stimulation they have experienced in reading Shigeru Nakayama's important comparative analysis of university traditions.     

The Impact of Collaborative Reflections on Teachers’ Inquiry Teaching

This study investigates the impact of collaborative reflections on teachers’ inquiry teaching practices and identifies supportive actions relating to their professional development. Three science teachers in the same elementary school worked as a cooperative and collaborative group. They attended workshops and worked collaboratively through observing colleagues’ teaching practices and discussing with university professors about their own inquiry teaching. The pre- and post-treatment classroom observations and comparisons of their teaching reveal that the three teachers were more focussed on asking inquiry-oriented questions in the post-treatment teaching. With additional qualitative data analysis, this study identified supportive resources of professional development. Workshop training sessions and sample unit served as the initiative agent in the beginning stage. Discussions with peers and reflective observation of peer teaching acted as a facilitative agent. Finally, student responses and researchers’ on-site visit comments worked as a catalytic agent for their professional development.     

The multilevel impact of transformational leadership on teacher commitment: Cognitive and motivational pathways

A growing body of research indicates that transformational leadership affects teachers’ commitment to their school. The present study aims to investigate the processes explaining this effect at the organisational level. Using a sample of 660 teachers within 50 primary French‐speaking Belgian schools, the authors test a model hypothesising that the impact of the school principal's transformational leadership (as an organisational‐level construct) on teacher commitment to school is mediated by school culture strength (cognitive pathway) and teacher collective efficacy beliefs (motivational pathway). Results of multilevel analyses largely support the theoretical model, but show that schools have a limited impact on teacher commitment.     

西方大学权力模式的运演及其特色

西方国家大学权力的分配与控制,从中世纪的意大利开始,经由英、法、德而至美国,既因时空不同而有别,又有其变迁传承的内在逻辑。从总体来看,西方大学权力模式的变迁是为适应社会发展和增强自身活力,寻求最优化权力配置、实现自主发展的过程。在调整权力关系、优化权力配置的过程中,逐步形成了以意、法、德三国为代表的政府和教授权力相对强势、院校权力相对弱势的欧陆模式,政府、高校、教授权力相对均衡的英国模式以及院校权力相对强势、政府和教授权力相对弱势的美国模式,表现出学术权与行政权并存,教授治校与教授治学共在,政府有限控制与大学有限自治制衡,校内自主权与校外参与权相结合的四大特征。     

“By Taste and the Spirit of the Times …”

The authors examine how the social status of the university professor has evolved in Russia in recent centuries in light of the historical concepts about the enslavement and emancipation of social groups proposed by Sergey Solovyov and Aleksandr Gradovsky. They use the metaphor of the “slave” [nevol’nik] to describe the dependent position of the professor in the university. The word encapsulates administrative tyranny, the spread of subordinate and submissive mentality in the university environment, and the curtailment of opportunities for professional self-fulfillment. The authors present the university administration as the main agent responsible for enslaving professors. Administrators represent bureaucratic power and act to advance their own social ambitions.     

论大学的品牌战略

面对高等教育规模的扩大、大学转型和市场化的深入,大学应制定正确的品牌战略。大学品牌的价值不仅使大学获得巨大的竞争优势,而且还有利于大学各种资源的整合及消费对其识别与选择。在大学品牌的创建过程中,尤其要注意品牌核心价值的设定、品牌个性的塑造、精神思想的培育,树立具有高品质和深刻内涵的品牌形象。大学品牌应在不断创新中增值,以便更好地适应社会和人的发展需求,在对品牌的经营中应加强管理与保护。     

老一代优秀高校英语教师发展因素研究

为了进一步理解我国老一代优秀高校英语教师的发展因素,我们对我国某外语院校的30位优秀离退休教授进行了访谈.研究表明,老一代优秀高校英语教师的发展因素包括新教师选拔、新教师业务培训、老教师传帮带、教师自我反思等环节.对老一代优秀高校英语教师的发展因素进行研究,有助于挖掘和保护老一代教师留下的宝贵财富,并有效指导当前英语教师教育的改革与实践.