Risk,identity and change: Becoming a mature student

This article looks at the stories mature students tell about the risks of higher education, in terms of its effects on identity and the implications for relationships with their families and former friends. Two sources of risk are highlighted in their stories; firstly, risks stemming from challenges to established gender roles in the family, which are mediated by the effects of social class; and secondly, risks that accompany the movement away from working class habitus which is an inevitable consequence of being in higher education. To be 'educated' is to stake a claim to a new identity which can be threatening both to one's own sense of self or to others. This may be experienced either as being seen by others as superior, or as feeling superior to others, but in both cases, there is an implicit challenge to former relationships. In their accounts, students describe how they try to manage relationships with families and former friends in order to minimise the disruption to their lives. Whatever strategy they adopt has consequences for their self-identity, which is experienced as fragmented and compartmentalised. In this process of becoming a different person, gender and class interact to produce specifically gendered and classed experiences of this painful transition.     

论网络教育的利弊与完善

本文将网络教育界定为信息化带动的教育工业化实践，认为其优势与缺陷同出一源，都来自网络教育的工业化提供方式和“四大分离”固有特性，并在此基础上提出了扬长避短的五项完善措施。     

Becoming and Being a Specialist: anticipating and experiencing higher education English

Abstract

This paper presents and discusses a hitherto largely neglected area of academic and pedagogic research in one of the most popular subjects in higher education — English. The authors examine student‐held views of what constitutes ‘English’, focusing for part of the discussion on reading and reading logs in routine English teaching. The first part of the paper concentrates on the quality of students’ insights into reading as revealed by the novel experience of keeping a reading log. The second part of the paper places this pedagogic experience in a larger context. Here, students’ own views of English, anticipated and subsequent to arrival in higher education, are evaluated. The authors apply different theoretical constructs in both their methodology and interpretation of findings. They conclude that one significant challenge for students in higher education English today is to adjust themselves, with a balance between flexibility and coherence, to a new techno‐cultural world. This world demands the intellectual capabilities both of self‐reflection and community affiliation in an expanding disccurse called ‘English’.     

“朋辈教育”在高校新生教育中的优劣探析

朋辈教育作为一种大学生教育管理模式已经被越来越多的国内高校尝试和实施,并获得了一定成效。它一改高校新生教育工作中的单向教育模式,向互动模式延伸,达到交流平等、无障碍、可接受性强,更好地推动学生工作有效开展的目的。同时在实施朋辈教育过程中,也应该注意这一模式的不足,做到扬长避短。     

Stress and the higher education student: a critical review of the literature

The available research indicates that the prevalence of stress is increasing among students studying in higher education. Issues such as student retention and student progression are becoming increasingly important for all universities. There are a significant number of studies that have examined stress and this paper critically reviews that research and identifies several issues that as yet have not been explored. The paper also highlights a number of key weaknesses in the current literature base. In previous studies there has been a focus on a quantitative approach, and research studies have been restricted to using as subjects individuals from a narrow range of disciplines. It is also suggested that there is a need to undertake longitudinal research to investigate individuals' stress experiences during the period they study at university.     

多媒体软件技术辅助高职数学教学利弊探究

随着现代科学技术的发展,多媒体课件教学技术已经越来越受到学生们的认可与关注。多媒体实践性教学成了高职数学教学的全新领域,并逐步取代传统思维的教学方式。大量的信息及生动直观的影像和快捷的连接方式使老师在教学手段、教材观念、教学形式与方法、教学思想、课堂教学结构与教学理论的教学利弊进行探究。     

Understanding the higher education student in Europe: a comparative analysis

Higher education is of considerable importance to policymakers across Europe. Indeed, it is viewed as a key mechanism for achieving a range of economic, social and political goals. Nevertheless, despite this prominence within policy, we have no clear understanding of the extent to which conceptualisations of ‘the student’ are shared across the continent. To start to redress this gap, this article explores four key aspects of contemporary higher education students’ lives, considering the extent to which they can be considered as, variously, consumers, workers, family members and political actors. On the basis of this evidence, it argues that, despite assumptions on the part of European policymakers that there are now large commonalities in the experiences of students across Europe – evident in pronouncements about Erasmus mobility and the operations of the European Higher Education Area – significant differences exist both between and within individual nation-states.     

Becoming a female leader in higher education: investigations from a regional university

Issues of gender imbalance in leadership have long been a significant issue in universities, as is the case across most industries. This paper explores the experiences of seven females who have successfully achieved senior leadership positions at a regional university in Australia. While the experiences of these women differ in many ways, there are certainly similarities in the challenges and adversities that they have faced, and their perceptions of what has allowed them to experience success in their leadership roles. This paper provides a number of recommendations for women aspiring to be leaders in higher education, such as committing to ongoing development, taking opportunities when presented, developing resilience, developing a track record, and seeking support, and also recommendations for institutions.     

Online student orientation in higher education: a developmental study

Although orientation for online students is important to their success, little information about how to develop an online student orientation (OSO) has appeared in the literature; therefore, the purpose of this article was to describe the entire process of developing an OSO. This article describes the analysis, design, development, and evaluation phases of the OSO in higher education. The orientation consists of four modules titled as follows: (a) What is the nature of online learning? (b) How to learn in Blackboard (c) What are the technical requirements to take an online course? and (d) What learning skills and motivations are necessary for online learning? Formative evaluation was conducted to improve the initially developed OSO program. Summative evaluation showed the OSO program can be useful for future online students. Discussion and future direction of OSO program are provided.     

浅析网络环境下高校思想政治教育的利弊

随着信息化的发展,人类社会已步入信息化时代,信息化的产物是互联网,互联网的产生和发展改变着人们的生活方式和思维方式。在网络环境下开展高校思想政治教育,既有机遇同时也面临着挑战。     

市场进入次序优势与高等教育发展

在我国高等教育发展中,综合大学具有先动优势,理工类大学的后动优势较为明显。高等教育的效益滞后性、大学精神培植的长期性、事业发展的开拓性、进入壁垒的存在造就了先动优势大学。后动优势大学源于国家高等教育的政策导向、学科专业的应用性、搭便车的成本优势和教育方法、学术研究的创新。必须采取有效措施,扬长补短,打造高等教育的持续综合优势,促进我国优质高等教育的不断发展。     

Becoming real: adult student impressions of developing an educational researcher identity

This study investigated the inner experiences of adults learning to become educational researchers. Through narrative analysis of doctoral students’ tales of memorable early encounters in conducting research, insight was gained into the self-questioning tension, conflict, and drama often experienced. A discussion about how to utilize students’ reflective writings to provide appropriate developmental support in doctoral programmes is provided.     

Bridging the gap: supporting student transitions into higher education

This research focused on the early experience of students entering an undergraduate course in a post‐1992 university that is committed to widening participation. Using Bourdieu’s concept of cultural capital and habitus as a theoretical framework, data were collected from students using an online questionnaire and small‐group discussions during the critical first days and weeks when they need to fit in to their new environment. The research was designed to consider whether there is a ‘new student’ in higher education (HE) and to consider the possible influence of cultural capital and habitus on a student’s transition. Data were collected using an online questionnaire with a response rate of 52% (n=180), and this was followed up with five small‐group discussions with 25 of the respondents. Participants self‐selected to take part in the small‐group discussions but the sample did reflect the cohort in relation to ethnicity, age and gender. The data collected from the questionnaire provided a snapshot of the students’ early experience within the university, and data from the small‐group discussions were used to triangulate this and allow emerging themes to be explored in greater depth. The results showed that the majority of the students (70%) were combining work with study and most students spent a minimal amount of time on campus, perhaps supporting the concept that there is a ‘new student’ in HE. Perceptions about their transition varied, but most of the students expressed concern about the perceived need to be an independent learner. Students stated that they needed more structured activities on campus to encourage them to fit in, and more support from academic staff, with clear instructions about what was expected.     

Massification in higher education: large classes and student learning

In introducing the special issue on Large Class Pedagogy: Opportunities and Challenges of Massification the present editorial takes stock of the emerging literature on this subject. We seek to contribute to the massificaiton debate by considering one result of it: large class teaching in higher education. Here we look to large classes as a problem in promoting student learning, quality education, and consequently as a challenge to socio-economic development. That said, whilst large classes do pose very specific challenges, they also hold promise and opportunities for innovation in support of student learning. Here we consider the contributions to this special issue from a cross section of disciplines and higher education environments.     

Expectations of higher education students: a comparison between the perception of student and teachers

Higher education institutions are ever more interested in the development of tools that enable them to evaluate and manage the expectations of their students with the purpose of attracting and keeping them satisfied. This research compares what the faculty believes the students expect from a higher education institution with the expectations of students entering higher education. A quantitative study was performed with students from a higher education institution through the application of a questionnaire covering 32 different expectations. The perceptions of the faculty were also collected through the same questionnaire, suitably adapted. The results of the investigation demonstrated differences in thinking between students and professors, with 19 variables representing student expectations that showed statistically significant mean differences. In 13 variables the students had greater expectations than the faculty believed, while for six variables the faculty indicated higher expectations than the students declared. Identifying the existence of this gap in knowledge will allow the higher education institution to adjust its services to the expectations of students, leading them to greater satisfaction.     

高校德育量化测评的优劣分析及优化

高校德育量化测评符合现代教育发展方向和大学生德育实际，但其本身存在一定的局限，在具体的德育量化测评中也容易产生某些偏差。搞好高校德育量化测评还应处理好定量与定性、科学性与可行性、规范性与导向性、测量与评价等几对关系。     

Becoming a student teacher: core features of the experience

This paper reports early findings of a longitudinal research project on the experiences of beginning teachers in England. In the first phase of the study (2003–2004), data were generated via: (1) in‐depth, face to face interviews with 85 student teachers throughout England; and (2) self‐completion questionnaires, returned by 4,790 student teachers across a range of initial teacher preparation (ITP) routes. Through these methods the study set out to explore student teachers' accounts of their motivations for entering ITP, their preconceptions and expectations of teaching and ITP, and their early experiences as student teachers. A number of general themes were found to cut across all of these areas, and are presented here as core features of the experience of becoming a student teacher. These relate to the concept of teacher identity, the role of relationships, the notion of relevance, and the central presence of emotion.

Cette étude décrit les conclusions préliminaires d'une recherche continue sur les expériences de ceux qui sont en train de devenir professeurs d'école en Angleterre. En première phase de l'étude (2003–2004), les données ont été recueillies par: 1) des entretiens approfondis en tête‐à‐tête avec 85 professeurs stagiaires dans toute l'Angleterre; et 2) des questionnaires, remplis eux‐mêmes par 4,790 professeurs stagiaires sur un échantillon de préparations initiales de professeur (PIP). Avec ces méthodes l'étude avait pour but d'explorer les explications des professeurs stagiaires concernant leur motivation pour entrer dans la PIP, leurs idées reçues et leurs attentes de l'enseignement et de la PIP, ainsi que leurs expériences initiales de professeur stagiaire. On a trouvé un nombre de thèmes généraux à travers tous ces domaines, et ceux‐ci sont présentés ici comme caractéristiques fondamentales de l'expérience vécue de professeur stagiaire débutant. Ils sont relatifs aux concepts suivants : l'identité du professeur, le rôle des relations, la notion de pertinence et la présence capitale de l'émotion.

Este documento es un informe sobre los primeros resultados de un proyecto de investigación longitudinal sobre las experiencias de profesores principiantes en la Inglaterra. En la primera fase del estudio (2003–2004), los datos fueron obtenidos a partir de dos fuentes: minuciosas entrevistas cara a cara con 85 profesores en prácticas por toda Inglaterra y cuestionarios personales que fueron devueltos por 4,790 profesores en prácticas procedentes de distintas ramas de la ITP (preparación para profesores principiantes). A través de estos métodos, el estudio fue lanzado con el propósito de sondear las razones que motivaron a los profesores en prácticas a entrar en la ITP, sus preconcepciones y expectativas en cuanto a la ITP y a dar clase y sus primeras experiencias como profesores en prácticas. Estas áreas presentaron una serie de temas generales comunes que son presentados aquí como características centrales de la experiencia de convertirse en profesor en prácticas. Estas están relacionadas con el concepto de identidad del profesor, la importancia de las relaciones, la noción de relevancia, y el papel central de las emociones.

Dieses Referat berichtet über die ersten Ergebnisse eines langfristigen Forschungsprojektes, basierend auf Erfahrungen von Lehrern in England, die in den Beruf einsteigen. In der ersten Phase der Studie (2003–2004) wurden Daten gesammelt mittels: 1) ausführlicher, persönlicher Gespräche mit 85 auszubildenden Lehrern aus ganz England; und 2) selbstauszufüllender Fragebögen, die von 4,790 auszubildenden Lehrern aus verschiedenen Ausbildungsrichtungen zurückgesendet wurden. Die Studie hatte das Ziel, die Berichte der auszubildenden Lehrer zu untersuchen hinsichtlich ihrer Motivation, eine Ausbildung anzufangen, ihrer Erwartungen vom Unterrichten und von der Ausbildung, sowie ihrer ersten Erfahrungen als auszubildende Lehrer. Eine Anzahl von allgemeinen Themen wurden in allen diesen Bereichen festgestellt und sind hier als Kernmerkmale des Ausbildungsverfahrens dargestellt. Diese beziehen sich auf das Konzept der Lehreridentität, auf die Rolle von Beziehungen, auf die Idee der Relevanz, sowie auf die zentrale Präsenz von Emotionen.