Facing up to the challenge: why is it so hard to develop graduate attributes?

Debate continues regarding the nature and desirability of graduate attributes, driven partly by stakeholder expectations that universities will prepare employees for the knowledge economy and partly by higher education academics and learning specialists. While universities appear to have accepted their new vocational role, there is considerable confusion over how these things – graduate skills, attributes or capabilities – should be defined and implemented. Conceptual confusion combined with a range of external pressures and internal management issues have the potential to derail this important project. To date, stakeholders such as government and business, as well as universities have seriously underestimated the kind of cultural, institutional and policy changes required to implement the graduate skills agenda. This paper outlines the issues that will need to be addressed by the higher education sector if universities are to play a proactive rather than reactive role in shaping this agenda.     

城市邻避设施建造决策中的公众参与

公众参与是城市邻避设施建造决策时必须面对的难题之一。现有的研究忽视了对邻避冲突各方进行结构化分析。通过引入利益相关者理论的分析视角,从影响力、合法性和利益性三个标准,可以将邻避冲突的主体归纳为关键利益相关者、次要利益相关者和潜在利益相关者三类。而在分析了中国石油Y省1000万吨／年炼油项目的决策案例后可以得知,当前城市邻避设施建造决策中的公众参与呈现出四大特征：公众参与在城市邻避设施建造决策中的强化,关键利益相关者受到高度关注,次要利益相关者的相对忽视和潜在利益相关者的挑战。     

Responsible Research and Innovation as a Novel Approach to Guide Educational Impact of Mind,Brain, and Education Research

We propose a Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) framework to improve the alignment between mind, brain, and education (MBE) research, the educational practice, and other societal stakeholders. RRI is an approach that has successfully been used in different research fields, but not yet in MBE research. After substantiating the need for, and possibilities of using this framework within MBE research, we report a case study to demonstrate the feasibility and benefits of RRI within an MBE context. This case study entails developing an educational intervention to improve learners' sense of agency regarding their own learning processes using neurofeedback. Using RRI, we found that societal stakeholders (teenagers, parents, and teachers) anticipate different potential impacts of this neurotechnology‐based intervention than researchers did, enabling us to adapt the intervention according to these perspectives. This example demonstrates that RRI enables researchers to be reflexive and responsive to the stakeholders needs and values, to ultimately improve the educational and societal value of MBE research.     

职业教育利益相关者研究与分析

职业教育利益相关者是指影响职业教育发展或受职业教育发展影响的团体或个人,包括直接利益相关者、间接利益相关者和准利益相关者。职业教育的利益相关者组织体系非常繁复,体系中各主体利益上的诉求存在较大的差异。职业院校应当围绕本身的发展目标,处理好与各利益相关者的关系,高效率高效果地实现职业教育的目标。     

The learning credit card: A tool for managing personal development*

This is the report of a five month study, undertaken by Sundridge Park Training Technologies in association with Guildford Educational Services to assess the potential of smart card technology to support learning and the management of learning. The study had two strands—the state of the art of the technology and its potential for supporting, delivering and managing learning. In addition to a study of the literature and extensive discussions with people using smart cards, potential users of smart card and visionaries, the project team developed two illustrative systems using cards to store personal data relating to education and training. The term ‘smart card’ is often used loosely to describe three different types of card, each of which is similar in general shape and size to a traditional credit card. These are: memory cards, laser cards—and true smart cards incorporating a processor and memory. This study has been concerned with memory cards and smart cards. The focus for smart card applications has been predominantly financial: there are relatively few applications in education or training. A notable exception is the large scale project at the University of Bologna which uses smart cards to manage the progress and achievements of a large number of students in the Department of Electronics. The two illustrative systems provided valuable experience of using memory cards and smart cards in quasi‐real education and training applications. They highlighted the problems of limited memory capacities and confirmed the high level of user acceptance reported by other trials. We can expect considerable advances in the technology of both memory cards and smart cards over the next months and years. The memory capacities of both types of cards will increase many‐fold and the unit costs will fall as large quantities of cards are produced for financial applications. Education and training applications will benefit from this expanding market. The major surprise from the study was the level of interest in the work and the enthusiasm expressed by almost all of those who came to hear of it. The general level of awareness of smart card technology was found to be low. However, the requirement for a system which will enable individuals to manage and own their learning on an extended timescale was generally recognised. Some of the possible applications for smart cards and memory cards in education and training had emerged before the official start of the study and it is clear that the technology is potentially pervasive. The project team and those consulted identified a wide range of possible applications both in education and in training. These focussed on assessment, personal course planning and management, identification of relevant learning opportunities, and the ownership of learning. It was felt that, over the next few years, smart cards are very likely to be in common use as credit cards for financial applications. Therefore, their use for education and training should be planned now. The recommendations from the study are that: More detailed studies are needed to find out how smart cards and memory cards could be used by different organisations in a fully operational system; Standards should be established for smart card applications in education and training, similar to those governing financial applications; Applications should be developed after the standards have been established. To be convincing, these should take a case study approach with small pilot studies in a variety of contexts and must follow real needs rather than attempt to drive them; The case studies would then form the basis for a campaign to increase awareness of smart cards and their potential for education and training, together with a programme for building an infrastructure to support the proposed systems. The public sector should fund the task of developing standards and providing interfaces with existing educational systems and projects to demonstrate the feasibility of various applications. Since educational standards have a European dimension, the European Community may be a source of support for work in the area of standards. At the same time, private sector funding should be sought for skill development and career development systems in industry and in education. The Training Agency itself should consider the application of smart card technology to the control and management of the Youth Training Scheme (YTS).     

Searching for the Norm in a System of Absolutes: A Case Study of Standards-Based Accountability Reform in Pre-Kindergarten

Research Findings: The emergence of standards-based accountability reforms in early childhood education has created new challenges for the field. This article presents findings from a case study that explored how stakeholders in a large urban pre-kindergarten program struggled to implement an assessment tool that aligned the normative academic achievement expectations found among their teachers and administrators with the absolute measures of this construct found in their state policymakers' high-stakes standards-based accountability reforms. Analyzing the tension that emerged in this process of alignment highlights the challenges early educators face as they fold their child-centered programs into these larger high-stakes standards-based kindergarten through grade 12 education systems. Practice and Policy: The findings from this study illuminate the need for early childhood education programs to understand how high-stakes standards-based accountability reforms define student achievement. Furthermore, as early childhood programs and personnel address these reforms, their responses need to be explicit about how their assessment measures are connected to their normative conceptualizations of student achievement and what this means for the education of children in their programs.     

Decentralization of educational decision-making in Ghana

Much of the current literature on decentralization of decision-making suggests that significant benefits accrue to educational organizations which adopt that model. Although most of the research reported in this literature has been conducted in developed countries, several developing countries, including Ghana, have chosen to decentralize educational decision-making in the hope of obtaining the benefits reported to be linked to decentralization.A key thesis for proponents of decentralization is that, when those closest to where decisions are implemented are empowered to make decisions and given ownership of the results, better decisions will be made. The quality of education is thus improved. The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which this thesis has been enacted in Ghana. A study of the perceptions of key stakeholders in Ghanaian education with respect to the extent to which they were involved in various aspects of educational decision-making provides the ‘lens’ through which this examination is conducted.The study suggests that, currently, key educational stakeholders in Ghana may not feel the levels of empowerment and ownership which the literature links with the potential benefits of decentralization. However, it may be too early to expect that they would feel such levels of empowerment and ownership. With careful attention to feedback, such as that obtained in the study reported herein, educational policy makers may well be able to respond so as to ensure that decentralization enhances the quality of education in Ghana.     

Government,business and the public: The role of environmental education in creating sustainable urban places

This paper focuses on the need to further environmental education research within a context in which local government, local business and tertiary institutions are viewed as interlinked components of the development process. Research and interaction with local stakeholders offers an opportunity to chart a path that intersects and then fuses environmental education with that of environmental and development practice. The paper focuses on three research initiatives that highlight the intrinsic need to create a learning society and how to gain more robust recognition for the role of environmental education research as a developmental process. The three research initiatives deal with the integration of environmental management systems thinking in local government (case 1), how a local government envisaged environmental education campaign constitutes challenges for environmental education research (case 2), and how pollution highlights the need for partnerships in addressing the Polluter Pays Principle (case 3). Findings from the research underscore the lack of environmental concerns within the decision-making process in local government. Paucity of capacity to monitor and act on challenges within this sector also point to the need for coordinated action against industrial misdemeanours, where self-regulation is still far from a reality. Most importantly, we argue that environmental education research and practice should contribute to the strengthening of facilitation skills and systems thinking amongst researchers who work within networks of stakeholders who must ensure sustainable urban places in the future.     

Media education for older people - views of stakeholders

ABSTRACT

This study is a part of an ongoing design-based research (DBR) project aimed at designing, piloting, and assessing a digital study module focused on older people’s media education. In order to gain a better understanding of older people’s media literacy and develop the teaching of adult educators, participatory creative workshops for a total of thirty-one stakeholders (older people and professionals who work with them) were conducted. Research data was collected from these workshops through a case exercise from stakeholders and a questionnaire from older people during the year 2019. According to the stakeholders, older people need more training in all the dimensions of media literacy, which is understood as competence in accessing, using, understanding, creating, and critically analyzing different media texts. However, use dimension was the most featured dimension in the data. In addition, older people are a heterogeneous group and it is essential that media education is tailored to meet the current needs of older people. The results indicate that media education should be designed especially to address the needs and individuality of older people.     

教育公平视角下的农村留守中学生心理问题研究

新时期要实现教育公平,必须解决农村留守生的教育问题。根据相关调查,农村留守生在接受教育的过程中普遍存在不良的心理问题,这对他们的健康成长有着不良影响。在西部农村地区,留守生群体数量十分庞大,他们在生活与学习过程中都会产生很多心理问题,需采取措施进行心理疏导,改善他们的学习环境,促进其身心健康成长。     

Professional recognition: promoting recognition through the Higher Education Academy in a UK higher education institution

This study is on how one higher education institution included the United Kingdom Professional Standards Framework, developed by the Higher Education Academy, as a strategic benchmark for teaching and learning. The article outlines the strategies used to engage all academic (and academic-related) staff in achieving relevant professional recognition under the framework and highlights the need for such a project to be driven by visible and consistent commitment from senior management. A survey of participants highlights the benefits to be gained by entrants to the profession from participation in an accredited course, and by more established professionals from the individual entry route. While a significant proportion of participants expressed scepticism about the benefits of work towards recognition, findings indicate a significant degree of peer development underpinning activities which enhanced individual and group confidence, supported developing practice on an ongoing basis and were believed to be relevant to students and other stakeholders.     

Improving forestry education through participatory curriculum development: A case study from Vietnam

Abstract

As agriculture and forestry practices change in different contexts, new requirements emerge for the development of education programmes. In forestry education there is a need for a shift of focus from technology towards an interdisciplinary approach based on a new range of knowledge, skills and attitudes, and drawing on new concepts of knowledge and learning. Increased participation of stakeholders in the forestry education process seems essential for this shift to take place, leading to greater empowerment, commitment, and more effective learning. This paper presents a case study of the Social Forestry Support Programme in Vietnam, in which participatory curriculum development (PCD) plays a fundamental part. Beginning with stakeholder identification and analysis, PCD provides an overall framework for educational development. Recognising constraints associated with the process, the paper describes strategies aimed at capacity building, management of stakeholder involvement, and planning and evaluation. As different stakeholders learn to learn together through discourse and interaction, the chances of sustainable outcomes from the PCD process should be improved. The dynamic and flexible nature of PCD suggests that there is considerable potential for its adaptation and application in a range of different contexts.     

关于开发外来务工人员开放教育市场的调研报告

中国在农民工继续教育上有着根本的利益,农民工聚居社区的政府、企业、农民工,甚至学校,他们在农民工教育方面也都有着共同利益.外来务工人员是一个非常好学的群体,在很大程度上是愿意为自己的继续教育买单的,平均每人年继续教育开支的意愿达700元.必须把教育基础设施建到农民工的身旁,在每个拥有1～1.5万元左右农民工的聚居区建立一个学习中心,一辆短程的公共汽车就能把一个学习中心和周围的学习中心联结起来,形成一个社区/开放大学.农民工需要职业技术培训和学历文凭相结合的教育项目,成人补习教育、娱乐休闲教育等需要创造性地运用网络和面对面授课相结合.我们需要一个真正的开放大学:即是没有门槛;教育超市;开放教育市场.我们建议“政府自上而下推动“ “有创意的红娘“ “社区利益相关者共建“的模式.中央政府和工业区密集的地方政府可以分别设立“工业区社区大学专项资金“,鼓励“有创意的红娘“来申请“赠款“,举办工业区的社区大学.工业区建立之前就存在的成人学校挂上一块社区大学的牌子来面对今天农民工这批新产业工人的多样性教育需求,弄得不好就是“刻舟求剑“、“削足适履“.因此,鼓励大学教育家举办社区大学,这不是传统意义上的国家所有制的大学,也不是民办大学,而是既有国家“赠款“,又有社区(镇/村)公共投入,还有企业和其他社会团体和民众投入的真正意义上的社区大学.这种社区大学是真正非盈利的,可定性为新兴的“事业单位“,产权完全归社会所有.当中国在五到十年内进入下一轮高等教育扩张时,可能这种“全工半读“的“开放大学“将成为高等教育的主力,一种提供“只要愿意,肯劳动,人人都可上大学“的新通道.     

利用网络服务教师教育：广东省的个案研究

世纪之初的广东省教师教育承担着学历达标和学历提升双重任务，网络的发展以及现代远程教育试点的推进，为广东省教师教育的发展提供了不竭动力。文章以广东省为个案，介绍了广东省开展“利用网络提升教师学历工程”的概况、取得的成绩，以及实践所依据的理念，为全国教师教育的改革发展提供了一个较好的范式。     

Assessment innovation and student experience: a new assessment challenge and call for a multi-perspective approach to assessment research

The impact of innovative assessment on student experience in higher education is a neglected research topic. This represents an important gap in the literature-given debate around the marketisation of higher education, international focus on student satisfaction measurement tools and political calls to put students at the heart of higher education in the UK. This paper reports on qualitative findings from a research project examining the impact of assessment preferences and familiarity on student attainment and experience. It argues that innovation is defined by the student, shaped by diverse assessment experiences and preferences, and therefore its impact is difficult to predict. It proposes that future innovations must explore assessment choice mechanisms which allow students to shape their own assessments. Cultural change and staff development will be required to achieve this. To be accepted, assessment for student experience must be viewed as a complementary layer within a complex multi-perspective model of assessment, which also embraces assessment of learning, assessment for learning and assessment for lifelong learning. Further research is required to build a meta-theory of assessment to enhance the synergies between these alternative approaches and minimise the tensions between them.     

Introducing school-based assessment as part of junior cycle reform in Ireland: a bridge too far?

Assessments and examinations play a critical role in certifying student achievement in secondary education. Prompted by concerns about the negative effects of examinations on curriculum, teaching and learning, elements of School-Based Assessment (SBA) have been introduced into certification systems, sometimes modelled on practice in other jurisdictions. This case study investigates factors influencing efforts to introduce SBA in lower secondary education in the Republic of Ireland and reactions from the main stakeholders. Policymakers’ perspectives were informed by national consultations, results of international assessments, trends towards skills-based curricula and practices in relation to SBA as part of high-stakes assessment internationally. Despite broad enthusiasm for the reforms from most stakeholders, teachers remained opposed. A series of compromise proposals shifted the reforms far from their intended nature, leaving in place a dual system of assessment that incorporates continued centralised examining by the state along with some non-certified SBA by teachers. The efficacy of this solution in relation to the original aims of the reform remains to be seen. The analysis explores relevant substantive and methodological issues. The complex interplay between international, national and very local influences on policy implementation is highlighted, suggesting the need for due diligence in anticipating and managing stakeholder responses to reform initiatives. Readers’ attention is also drawn to the intricacy of undertaking qualitative case study inquiry and the need for awareness in relation to possible alternative interpretations of data.     

制约学校职业教育有效需求的因素分析与对策

学校职业教育的有效需求是科学制定职业教育发展规划所必须关注的重要因素。当前可供选择的生源数、文化观念及对学校职业教育的认同度、家庭经济支撑能力、就业拉动水平、社会职业培训的质与量、学校职业教育投资收益率等均制约着学校职业教育的有效需求。为此,我们需要更新社会人才观念、提高技能型人才待遇：凸显办学特色、拓展教育市场、完善服务体系以刺激学校职业教育的有效需求。     

Performance Improvement in Small and Medium‐Sized Enterprises Due to Information Systems Implementation

The importance of integrated information systems in large firms is widely accepted by academicians and practitioners. The need for information systems adoption has been proved beyond a doubt for large firms. Small and medium‐sized enterprises can also improve their performance by implementing modern information systems. This case study analyzes the benefits of information systems implementation by comparatively highlighting the performance of three small and medium‐sized enterprises with varied extent and nature of information systems in them.     

Student perceptions of successful learning support for an international high school programme: a comparative case study in Turkey

Abstract

This study used comparative case study methodology to investigate student perceptions of different programmes that prepare them for a challenging high school education programme: the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). Given the benefits and challenges of the programme, educators and stakeholders want to ensure students feel ready to participate. In the literature, studies support that programmes such as the International General Certificate of Secondary Education and the International Baccalaureate Organisation’s Middle Years Programme prepare students for the IBDP; however, there is a need for students’ voices on how they perceive they are prepared through these programmes. This study investigated three different approaches to IBDP preparation by gaining student insights through a scaled-item questionnaire and interviews. Students identified experiences that gave them skills to monitor their learning and resources that motivated them to participate in an advanced upper-high school programme.     

Increasing the supply of secondary teachers in sub‐Saharan Africa: a stakeholder assessment of policy options in six countries

Over the next decade many countries of sub‐Saharan Africa will face a demand for qualified secondary school teachers that current systems for teacher recruitment, training, deployment and retention will be unable to meet. While strategies for increasing teacher supply to meet this shortage have been suggested, less attention has been given to investigating the acceptability of these potential solutions by those educators closest to the school and classroom level and who often serve as gatekeepers to policy implementation. Kingdon’s multiple streams model is the framework used in this study to assess the feasibility of key strategies widely offered as possible solutions to resolve the projected teacher shortage. This study investigated the responses of 114 secondary school teachers, headteachers and education officials across six countries to policy options for increasing teacher supply. While none of the groups supported options to increase the supply through changed teacher training, there was support among all three groups for options that affected retention, including increased in‐service training and distance education, more mentorship for new teachers and more opportunities for teachers to network with each other. These findings suggest that policy‐makers in sub‐Saharan African countries need to build political support among education stakeholders to find the most feasible and viable solutions to address the large teacher shortages through both increasing supply and retention.