Examining scholarship in China’s academe: an exploratory study

We selected five Chinese university-based journals and five Western university-based journals to examine the extent of contributions by editorial board members and faculty from the universities in which the journals are published over a 6-year period from 2001 to 2006. A disproportionate contribution of faculty papers was from editorial board members in the Chinese university-based journals and faculty in the universities the journals are affiliated to. We speculate that this could be attributed to various reasons, including issues of protectionism, academic accountability, and the social capital of guanxi in the specific context of China. We suggest that editorial review boards of university-based journals in China may need to re-examine professional roles, responsibilities and ethics that may require new thinking on scholarship in higher education.     

Students’ evaluation of academic courses: An exploratory analysis to an Italian case study

Students’ evaluations of teaching is a common practice in higher education institutions, with the main purpose of improving course quality and effectiveness. In this paper we would like to contribute to the existing literature on course and teaching evaluation by providing an empirical analysis based on questionnaires collected by an Italian private institution, namely the Libera Università Maria Ss. Assunta (LUMSA), for several degrees in Social Sciences. In order to identify the main factors affecting students’ satisfaction, we use not only teaching indicators and degree-specific characteristics, but also control for student-specific characteristics. Our analysis is based on a Multiple Correspondence Analysis for categorical variables, which represents a very useful method to study the multidimensional relationship among qualitative variables, along with a hierarchical clustering, in order to better summarize the results. Our findings reveal that student satisfaction relates to teaching and course organization. Moreover, we find some evidence that students typically evaluate their course on the basis of their experience rather than their personal interests.     

An exploratory study of changes to university EFL teachers’ teaching practices

The brief report describes an exploratory investigation into changes to three university EFL teachers’ teaching practices in a research-intensive university framed by managerialist technologies to improve its visibility and global ranking. The findings revealed that substantial changes have been brought about to their teaching practices in terms of falling into the routine of ‘technification of teaching’, producing a spectacle ‘what is there simply to be seen and judged’ or striving to seek out new spaces for ‘authentic’ English teaching. The study concluded with implications for facilitating the managerial reforms that are congruent with the cognitive and contextual realities of different generations of Chinese university EFL teachers.     

New aspect of technology adoption: a case study of students’ self-made English-learning video

Understanding how students perceive and adopt technology in their daily life is particularly relevant to today’s Information and Communication Technology (ICT) environment, in which versatile ICT tools are becoming more and more pervasive, almost ubiquitous in our day-to-day activities. In the context of English as a foreign language, this study investigates how Chinese students produce an English video with over-the-counter technology tools for accomplishing a language-learning task. In particular, this study probes into how youngsters today respond to a given learning task, how and why they adopt technology tools available and of use to them for the task. Data collection is through observation, students’ reports, and interviews. The focus on specific case study settings offers a closer look at how the use of technology tools is socially and technologically shaped in each individual case. Students reported that they welcomed and valued such learning experience and had in general positive attitude toward the tools and their use in learning. The results reveal students’ willingness and capability in adopting technology tools, whether familiar or unfamiliar to them, and appropriating these tools to fulfill their individual leaning needs. Implications have been drawn to provide a new aspect of technology adoption in school learning.     

International students’ choice to study in China: an exploratory study

Tertiary Education and Management - International higher education is a major source of revenue in many developed countries. Historically the top destination countries for international students...     

‘Off-rolling’ and Foucault’s art of visibility/invisibility: An exploratory study of senior leaders’ views of ‘strategic’ school exclusion in southwest England

This article reports an unprecedented exploratory small-scale investigation of the views of senior school leaders in southwest England relating to ‘off-rolling’ (illegal exclusionary practices). ‘Off-rolling’ is conceptualised as a policy technology, however, the conceptual framework used in data analysis derives from Foucault’s treatment of power and pleasure, and the constitution in discourse of novel ‘permanent realities’. Relations of force that senior school leaders routinely navigate in neoliberal education cultures characterised by ‘performativity’ are highlighted. The latter describes pressures to evidence efficiency and continual improvement, including high-stakes performance monitoring and, in England, a national school inspection regime. The response rate to this online and predominantly qualitative survey was poor, which was attributed to the illegality of ‘off-rolling’ and the risk that academic research in this area could be perceived to reproduce the power–knowledge relations associated with a national school inspection regime and familiar neoliberal political or professional discourses around training of education professionals (where both are framed as addressing deficits to achieve improvements). Nevertheless, findings from a key question inviting comment on scenarios drawn from the authors’ teaching experience are presented here, as they highlight the issues arising in research of sensitive topics. Reliance on brief vignettes to explore levels of understanding was, arguably, a limitation of the study, risking participants interpreting this device as unwelcome external scrutiny. It is argued that Ofsted’s definition of ‘off-rolling’ as gaming (manipulation of academic performance data) effectively discourages recognition of exclusionary practices that are not irrefutably related to academic performance as such.     

Reciprocal modeling of university students’ perceptions of the learning environment,engagement, and learning outcome: A longitudinal study

While researchers have proposed a reciprocal and bidirectional relationship among students' perceptions of their learning environment, engagement, and learning outcomes in college learning, scant research has effectively tested this assertion using longitudinal data. The present study examined this relationship with the use of an auto-/cross-lagged longitudinal structural equation modelling across a lag of 2.5 years. University students’ (N = 966) perceptions of the learning environment, engagement, generic skills, and GPA were surveyed and collected at sophomore and senior years. In addition to significant auto-lagged effects, the cross-lagged results showed unidirectional predicting paths from prior perceptions to subsequent engagement, and reciprocal and bidirectional relationship between engagement and generic skills. The results provided partial support for the reciprocity of these variables, and confirmed the important role of engagement in the process of college student learning, which extends previous cross-sectional findings in theoretical meaningful ways.     

Wallerstein’s world-systems analysis in comparative education: A case study

Since the 1970s, using his world-systems analysis, Immanuel Wallerstein has developed a wide-ranging framework for the social sciences, with potential applications for comparative educational research. In this paper we outline key aspects of Wallerstein’s theorising, and then analyse the uptake, understandings, and applications of his analysis in the field of comparative and international education, through a case study of the Comparative Education Review (CER) journal from 1980 to 2008. This paper examines how, and how widely, his analysis has been adopted and interpreted. Our analysis highlights significant and—given the broader emphasis in comparative education on questions of education and development—surprising absences in the application of this approach. We conclude by arguing for the use and development of three critical features of his analysis in comparative work, as relevant and timely interventions in the field.     

Education policy in an era of neoliberal urbanisation: a case study of Istanbul’s school relocations

This article examines an effort to spatially re-organise urban public schools in the largest city in Turkey. Recently, the Turkish government has made an effort to relocate inner-city public schools in Istanbul to less desirable parts of the city. Analysing how education policy in the country is tied to wider political mechanisms and considering the results of the studies carried out in various parts of the world, this article argues that the interaction between education and urban life in Turkey displays unique characteristics in terms of the populations implicated in the policy change and the spaces transformed as a result. Two salient characteristics are the involvement of the secular middle class and the perception by them that school relocations entail de-secularisation of the city and the education system. The article argues that these characteristics should be conceptualised in the context of particular conjunctures of forces driven by different contradictions.     

Examining teachers’ use of computer-based technologies: A case study

This paper presents a case study that illustrates the extent to which technology is used in and out of the classroom in the elementary schools of Turkey. The data were collected through interviews, observations and document analyses. The results show that teachers use technology for administrative purposes, technology education, non-educational purposes, instructional preparation, teacher-directed instructional delivery, student homework and instructional assessment. This study further reveals that teachers’ use of technology is very limited. If teachers use technology for instruction, it is almost always to support their traditional teaching methods.     

A case study of low‐status women’s attitudes towards computers

This study investigates the attitudes of a group of low‐status women towards computers through a deliberately designed computer training programme. Four aspects of the women’s attitudes were examined, including computer anxiety, confidence, liking and usefulness. Data sources consist of pre‐ and post‐surveys and interviews with the participants. The results show that the participants’ attitudes towards computers improved greatly after attending the training course, especially in terms of the aspect of anxiety. It was also found that the instructor’s patience, repeated step‐by‐step demonstrations, detailed notes presented with screen‐image snapshots, stand‐by tutors and a friendly learning environment were the main elements that effectively helped the learners increase their positive feelings towards learning to use computers. The study reveals that once women have opportunities to use computers and once they are adequately instructed, the majority will be connected to the digital world in no time.     

International doctoral students’ experience of supervision: a case study in a Chinese university

Internationalisation in higher education is now a worldwide phenomenon but there is little attention paid to internationalisation at doctoral level, although this phenomenon has grown exponentially in recent years. This study focuses on a university in China to examine how international doctoral students and their supervisors perceive supervision and the relations between supervisor and student. It describes and analyses the experiences of supervisors and students, and the concepts they used to articulate and reflect on them. Semi-formal interviews were conducted with six doctoral students and their supervisors. Analysis shows that, apart from formal supervision, informal enculturation through social and academic networks, the tongmen, plays an important role in supervision and in socialising the doctoral researchers into the community of practice. The study adds to the field a new case from a specific epistemological and intellectual tradition and challenges existing theories concerning methods and concepts of supervision.     

Evaluating students’ perceptions and attitudes toward computer-mediated project-based learning environment: A case study

This research investigated 68 secondary school students’ perceptions of their computer-mediated project-based learning environment and their attitudes towards Project Work (PW) using two instruments—Project Work Classroom Learning Environment Questionnaire (PWCLEQ) and Project Work Related Attitudes Instrument (PWRAI). In this project-based learning environment, students experienced a face-to-face classroom setting and e-learning by using a synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) tool called ‘iCollaborate’ for online communication and project collaboration with peers from other countries. The PWCLEQ and PWRAI instruments were used to evaluate the computer-mediated project-based learning environment using students’ perceptions of the learning environment and to further investigate how their perceptions might affect their attitudes towards PW lessons. Students perceived the computer-mediated project-based learning environment favourably but they preferred to experience more Material Environment and more Open-Endedness and Social Presence. Simple correlation analysis revealed that all environment dimensions were significantly and positively related to the students’ attitudes towards PW, while multiple regression analysis indicated that two scales, Instructor Support and Social Presence, were the strongest predictors of attitudes towards PW lessons.     

Compounding roles: A study of Washington’s principals

A survey of principals and assistant principals in Washington State has revealed mounting changes in the role of these school leaders. In addition to impacts felt from state-wide education reform activities, the school principals of Washington State who participated indicated that their role is becoming more complex and onerous; the image suggested is ‘layer-upon-layer’ of devolved responsibility. Through analysis of the survey data, a picture emerges of a complex role engaged by committed (if overloaded) professionals. Three themes of principal role change are discussed: complexity, capacity, and threats to morale. New means of understanding principal roles, combined with clear understanding by policy-makers is crucial to ensure the on-going effectiveness of school leaders.     

Ready for university? A cross-national study of students’ perceived preparedness for university

Students’ preparedness for higher education is seen as one of the main factors affecting first-year attrition or study success. In this paper we report on a cross-national study in which students’ preparedness for university was measured before students commenced their study at a university in New Zealand or in the Netherlands. This cross-national project provided a unique opportunity to compare students’ perceptions of readiness for university where students are prepared for higher education in quite different secondary school systems. Departing from a transition framework, and comparing the results in both countries using logistic regression techniques to investigate which aspects of readiness could predict perceived preparedness, we discovered similarities in as well as differences between students’ perceived readiness for university study. It could be argued that differences are caused by the different educational systems at secondary level. However, overall we can conclude that, in spite of differences between the educational systems in the two countries, many differences were not remarkable or very significant. This has clear implications for how we view the relative importance of secondary school preparation and tertiary induction. We can expect greater benefit from implementing first-year pedagogical practices in universities that would assist students to develop their academic skills, than from demanding that high schools prepare students better.     

Lasting impacts of an Aboriginal youth leadership retreat: a case study of Alberta’s Future Leaders Program

In this paper, we use a postcolonial lens to analyze the impacts of Aboriginal youth’s participation in Alberta’s Future Leaders Program’s youth leadership retreat. While the retreat appeared to have positive lasting impacts on many of the participants, it seemed to have the greatest impact on those who already displayed Eurocentric leadership skills; it had little effect on those who did not display these skills prior to retreat participation and it focused on North American, Eurocentric approaches to leadership. By becoming more culturally relevant, we argue that the retreat could have broader impacts on a greater number of Aboriginal youth.     

Teachers’ perceptions of professional identity: an exploratory study from a personal knowledge perspective

The purpose of this study was to investigate experienced secondary school teachers’ (N=80) current and prior perceptions of their professional identity. A questionnaire was used to explore the way teachers see (and saw) themselves as subject matter experts, didactical experts, and pedagogical experts. The teachers currently see their professional identity as consisting of a combination of the distinct aspects of expertise. Most teachers’ current perceptions of their professional identity reportedly differ significantly from their prior perceptions of this identity during their period as beginning teachers. On the basis of their current perceptions of their professional identity, five groups of teachers could be distinguished. These groups had different learning experiences throughout their careers for each aspect of expertise. Also, teachers from different subject areas did not undergo the same changes in their perceptions of their professional identity. The differences among the groups in teachers’ current perceptions of professional identity were not related to contextual, experiential, and biographical factors that might influence these perceptions.     

A language teacher’s agency in the development of her professional identities: A narrative case study

This narrative case study examined how a Hispanic language teacher invested agency while developing professional identities in different contexts. A recursive analysis of interviews and journal entries indicated that the participant’s English language learning experience, the discrimination and marginalization in the work environments, and the knowledge gained through graduate studies all shaped her agency and professional identities development. The findings highlight the complex links among and significant roles of ethnic and racial background, past experience, and power differentials in shaping the dynamic nature of teacher agency and identities.     

Postgraduate study and managers’ subsequent work experience: an exploratory evaluation

Drawing on an exploratory qualitative study, this article considers the link between business school teaching at graduate level and subsequent work behaviour and experiences of former students. It evaluates the student experience some time after graduation. The findings of the retrospective evaluation point to the value of classroom peer discussion, the testing of ideas against prior work experience and the opportunity to make sense of organisational issues by setting them into broader context. The importance of andragogical approaches to teaching is discussed as well as the implications of the study findings for teaching quality enhancement.     

National pride and students’ attitudes towards history: an exploratory study

Recent debates about “Britishness” have drawn increasing attention to the inculcation of national values within the school history curriculum. To date, however, few studies have explored young people’s attitudes towards history or how these are related to their sources of national pride and shame. This paper draws on a survey of over 400 undergraduates’ experiences of secondary education, investigating their attitudes towards the history curriculum and how these relate to their feelings of national pride. Using principal components analysis we found that students’ attitudes towards history loaded on to two distinct factors: traditional/conservative and multicultural/liberal. Bivariate correlations then revealed that pride in national sporting and economic achievements and a sense of shame about immigration were positively associated with a traditional attitude towards history. Pride in British civil liberties and social diversity and a sense of shame about racism and UK foreign policy were associated with a multicultural attitude. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.