Internationalisation of higher education: integrating international students into Canadian academic environment

Fuelled by globalisation, the internationalisation of higher education in Canada is happening at a rapid pace. One manifestation of internationalisation is the increasing enrolment of international graduate students in Canadian institutions. Many of these students face challenges and barriers in integrating into Canadian academic environments including isolation, alienation, marginalisation and low self-esteem. This case study investigates a programme at a large Canadian university intended to help international graduate students with their adaptation to an unfamiliar academic environment. The research shows that the programme was successful in creating a transnational learning space where international students developed a sense of belonging, increased cross-cultural understanding and raised awareness about global issues. More importantly, it helped international students with their integration into a Canadian learning community. The findings have important implications for the development of programmes to provide appropriate levels of support for international students and for building internationally inclusive campuses.     

Investigating the relationships between approaches to learning,learner identities and academic achievement in higher education

This paper considers relationships between approaches to learning, learner identities, self-efficacy beliefs and academic achievement in higher education. In addition to already established survey instruments, a new scale, subject area affinity, was developed. The scale explores the extent to which students identify with their area of study and imagine being part of it in future. The new scale showed strong psychometric properties when it was tested on a sample of 4377 students at a research-intensive university. The new scale correlated positively with both the deep approach and self-efficacy scales. The new scale also correlated negatively with the surface approach scale. K-means cluster analysis identified seven distinct groups of students who espoused interpretable combinations of approaches, self-efficacy and subject area affinity. Cluster membership was associated with differences in academic achievement. Implications are discussed.     

Survey of academic programs for disadvantaged students in higher education

In the 1960's many colleges and universities developed programs for disadvantaged students in higher education. Almost all programs were involved to a certain extent with four different areas: basic skills development, affective objectives, use of technological aids, and evaluation of students.In order to determine the specific policies and practices in the academic programs now being implemented for the disadvantaged student, a questionnaire was designed and mailed to 262 colleges and universities. The questionnaire listed 14 academic program statements and asked the respondents to what extent the statements applied to their particular programs.The respondents indicated that teaching relationships with minority groups must be highly personal for effective learning to take place. They recognized the importance of communication skills but also felt that such virtues as self-discipline and self-respect were equally important as academic skills. In addition, most respondents felt their students did not need social skills (such as the ability to relate to fellow students) more than communication skills. Reading machines, tape recorders, computer-assisted instruction, and other technological aids tended not to be used in most programs. Compensatory work seldom carried college credit. Most programs did not have a pass-no-pass system for academic assessments, and almost no programs gave students financial incentives for grades or class attendance.     

Exploring factors that influence adoption of e‐learning within higher education

E‐learning is increasingly adopted in the workplace for supporting professional development and continuing education; however, in higher education, the use of e‐learning is predominantly used as a tool support teaching. As a relatively new priority for universities, this paper explores what influences its adoption. Challenges identified in the literature include organisational features of universities like faculty autonomy and dispersed academic perspectives. This study, carried out at the University of Warwick, adopted a phenomenological approach and explored participants' perceptions through a series of faculty‐based focus groups and individual interviews. Factors identified as influential to adoption of e‐learning included the institutional infrastructure, staff attitudes and skills, and perceived student expectations. Participants suggested the importance of an institutional strategy targeted at providing sufficient resources and guidance for effective implementation. This strategy needs to be supported by a varied programme of staff development and opportunities for sharing practice among colleagues. In further developing understanding in this area, it would be beneficial to replicate the study with other stakeholder groups (including the leadership team and students) to develop an institutional strategy responsive at all levels of implementation. It would also be valuable to investigate the extent to which these findings are replicated within other workplaces looking to adopt innovation.     

Power dynamics with international students: from the perspective of domestic students in Korean higher education

This paper explored the power dynamics between domestic and international students in the context of higher education in an Asian non-English speaking country, Korea. Despite increased international student mobility in recent years, little is known about the relationship dynamics among students from different countries, especially related to power issues. The findings in this study suggested that international students’ countries of origin and language of communication created different power statuses compared to Korean students by their empowerment and discrimination. Power differentials also existed among Korean students due to variations in their English ability to interact with international students. Conversely, international students’ attitudes and acceptance influenced Korean students’ attitudes toward them, irrespective of power differentials created by countries and language, as perceived by Korean students. The implications related to the recent trend of international student mobility are discussed.     

New perspectives of the relationships between higher education and employment

Abstract

The relationships between higher education and the world of work revived in 1990 as a major issue of debate. Growing enrolment as well as labour market problems in many industrialised countries fuelled the debate. A close look reveals that the systematic information provided on graduate employment is often insufficient or biased. In spite of controversial assessments of graduate employment and work, most experts, however, tend to agree that a growing diversification is an appropriate response. Also, common views are widely held as regards the desirable curricular approaches: emphasis ought to be placed on general knowledge and flexibility, problem‐solving abilities, a confrontation of theory and practice, interdisciplinarity and international competencies. These views are advocated irrespective of whether higher education is expected to follow closely the presumed demands of the employment system or whether higher education is called on to counteract instrumentalist pressures and to prepare students for a proactive role in society.     

论高等教育与人才市场的同素异构关系

人才市场化条件下高等教育功能的变迁.高等教育与人才市场构成了以人才为圆心、以对知识的需求为半径的两个同心圆,于是人才市场与高等教育就形成了一种特殊的同素异构关系.通过对这一关系的分析呼吁确立人才资源是第一资源的思想,并主张通过立法规范人才市场运作,力避"人才过剩"现象和全社会资源的浪费,为办人民满意的大学和建设高等教育强国提供理论借鉴.     

成人高等学历教育质量的影响因素与保障策略

人才培养质量是高等学校的生命线和永恒的主题.我国成人高等学历教育作为高等教育重要组成部分,其质量问题同样应当予以高度重视.文章分析了目前影响我国成人高等学历教育质量的管理因素、教学因素、生源因素等几个主要因素,并就具体的质量保障措施从3方面作了较系统的论述.     

Distance education: relationship between academic performance and technology-adept adult students

Advances in technology assisted education are revolutionizing the educational process as most know it today. What impact, if any, does technology-assisted education have on the future of higher education? In this study, we examine data from an ongoing evaluation of the distance education program for graduate level business students in a private university. The study addresses the impact of technology-assisted learning on academic performance among distance learners and their on-campus counterparts. The study further explores the relationship between academic performance and students' technological adeptability. The findings indicate, when adjusted for gender (females out-performed males), there were no significant differences in academic performance between distance learners and their on-campus counterparts. Analysis also shows no significant differences in overall academic performance between technology-adept students and those without technological skills. These findings may remove at least some perceived barriers in the decision to initiate distance education programs.     

论文化传统对高等教育大众化进程的影响

文化传统与高等教育大众化之间存在着非常密切的联系,不同国家因文化传统的不同而表现出不同的发展路径。文化传统对高等教育大众化的影响,主要表现在进程的快慢、突破口的选择、发展模式和质量观等方面。中国是有着深厚文化传统的国家,目前正处在高等教育大众化的关键发展期,必须关注文化传统在这一进程中的深刻影响。     

研究生学术规范教育的调查研究

通过对当前研究生的学术规范教育现状的调查研究,了解到:研究生群体中存在学术不规范的行为,研究生非常缺乏学术规范的知识,研究生的学术规范教育还远远不够。针对这样的情况,高校还需做出更多努力来加强研究生的学术规范教育,从而提高研究生的质量,促进我国学术事业的发展。     

College choice in the church-affiliated sector of higher education: The influence of congregational cultural orientation

The relationship between a Midwest church-affiliated institution and its supporting congregations provides an opportunity to investigate part of the sociological environment within which a college-choice decision is made for students of a strong denominational orientation. Applying the local-cosmopolitan dichotomy used by previous researchers, this study hypothesized that the cultural orientation of local congregational leaders reflects norms that are aligned to congregational enrollment support or nonsupport for the denominational university. The findings demonstrate that the concepts of cultural, social, and ecclesiological localism-cosmopolitanism are helpful in explaining an individual's support for the denominational university. Also, differing cultural orientations among congregational leaders are related to the degree to which the congregation supports the university with the enrollment of youth.     

Exploring barriers and solutions to academic writing: Perspectives from students,higher education and further education tutors

Staff and student perceptions of what constitutes good academic writing in both further and higher education often differ. This is reflected in written assignments which frequently fall below the expected standard. In seeking to develop the writing skills of students and propose potential solutions to writing difficulties, a study was conducted in a university and a nearby further education college in the north west of England to explore barriers and solutions to AW difficulties. This paper reports the findings generated using unmoderated focus groups with second-year university health studies students (n=70) and moderated focus groups with further education college teachers (n=3) and health studies lecturers in a university (n=6).

Findings indicated that staff and students’ perceptions of what constitutes AW differed. The barriers to academic writing that were identified included lack of time and confidence; lack of extended writing at FE level; lack of reading and understanding of academic texts or journals; referencing; and academic jargon.     

Pedagogical perspectives on the relationships between higher education and working life

The relationship between higher educationinstitutions and their environment has changedmarkedly during the last two decades.Massification and diversification of the highereducation system, economic globalisation, novelmodes of knowledge production, new professionalrequirements and the establishment of newvocational higher education systems in manycountries have challenged higher educationinstitutions to develop new forms ofcollaboration with working life. The newsituation also challenges higher education todevelop pedagogical and educational thinkingand practices. The purpose of this article isto examine the pedagogical aspects of theincreasing interaction and collaboration thatis taking place between higher education andworking life and to outline what kind ofchallenges it poses for research on highereducation. It is emphasised that from thepedagogical viewpoint integration betweentheory and practice in work-based learning isessential. Our general conclusion is that therelationship between higher education andworking life should be examined at least fromfour different perspectives: (1) from theviewpoint of student learning and thedevelopment of expertise, (2) from the viewpointof educational institutions and staff, (3) fromthe viewpoint of working life organisations andemployers, and (4) from the viewpoint of societyand the system of education.     

Presidential Address: The academic discipline of education. Reciprocal relationships between practical knowledge and academic knowledge

This article explores the nature of education as a vital part of human knowledge. The argument that is presented addresses the critique of education as having epistemological weaknesses as an academic discipline. The argument is framed by scholarship that has categorised the discipline of education as derived from three main traditions of knowledge. In order to explore the coherence of education as a discipline, contrasts are made with other disciplines such as mathematics and sciences. The article also reviews scholarship in relation to the concept of education research that is close-to-practice, and the relevance of this to understanding education as an academic discipline. The article concludes by suggesting a new model that shows the relationships between practical knowledge and academic knowledge that are an intrinsic part of education. A more confident portrayal of education as an academic discipline is also advocated.     

Inclusion through access to higher education: Exploring the dynamics between access to higher education,immigration and language

International Review of Education -     

Embedding external referencing of standards into higher education: collaborative relationships are the key

External referencing of assessment and students’ achievement standards is a growing priority area within higher education, which is being pressured by government requirements to evidence outcome attainment. External referencing benefits stakeholders connected to higher education by helping to assure that assessments and standards within courses are appropriate and comparable among institutions. External referencing takes many forms, which have different resourcing requirements, outcomes, and operational strengths and challenges. This paper describes the External Referencing of Standards (ERoS) approach developed, tested and adopted by a university consortium. ERoS draws on the strengths of existing methodologies to produce an evolved model that is effective, efficient, transparent and open, capability building and sustainable. The model enables participants to communicate directly and construct peer relationships, and findings suggest this is a significant design strength. The process facilitates capability building, such that participants garnered insights valuable to enact quality assurance and enhancement of existing courses, and fosters connections that facilitate collaboration and peer-learning. ERoS successfully used open source collaborative tools to review work samples, which can be used to benchmark costed systems.     

The distinction between academic standards and quality: implications for transnational higher education

Although the conceptual distinction between academic standards and the quality of learning opportunities is fundamental to an understanding of the role of quality assurance in higher education, the distinction, and its implications, have not always been well understood in the case of transnational higher education. This paper explores both the source of academic standards and the criteria by which the quality of learning opportunities can be judged. It is argued that the distinction is of particular importance in the context of transnational education, because whilst judgements about quality may legitimately be susceptible to a degree of cultural influence, the same is not true of judgements about academic standards. It is suggested that a lack of attention to the logical distinction between standards and quality has hampered efforts by regulatory régimes around the world to develop coherent policies with respect to hosting transnational higher education provision.     

The influence of sociocultural and structural contexts in academic change and development in higher education

Teaching quality improvements frequently focus upon the ‘development’ of individual academics in higher education. However, research also shows that the academics’ context has considerable influence upon their practices. This study examines the working environments of teachers on an online pharmacy programme, investigating contextual conditions that facilitate or impede academic change and development. Interview data and institutional policy documents are examined within a Cultural-Historical Activity Theory framework. Distinct differences in the teachers’ sociocultural context were identified as influencing change and development. Departmental teaching cultures and patterns of communication influenced practice both positively, by offering collegial support, and negatively by impeding change. The findings have significance for academic development strategies. They suggest that departmental-level support should include communicative pathways that promote reflection upon and development of conceptions of teaching and learning.