Transition from senior secondary to higher education: A learning environment perspective

The purpose of this study was to modify and validate a new form of the College and University Classroom Environment Inventory (CUCEI), and to then use it to compare students' actual and preferred perceptions of their classroom learning environments at the senior secondary and teritary levels of education. The study also examined differences in perceptions according to the student's gender. A sample of 504 students participated in the study. The reliabilities of the scales of the modified CUCEI ranged from .73 to .94. When the two levels were compared, students at the higher education level had a less favourable perception of their learning environment. Previous research was replicated in that females were found generally to perceive their learning environments in a more positive way than did males and that all students generally preferred a more positive learning environment in their classes.     

Attracting mature students into higher education: The impact of approaches to learning and social identity

This paper reports on data collected during an evaluation of two higher education courses designed to attract mature entrants aged between 21 and 60 to undergraduate degree programmes. Employing an evaluation design informed by a critical realist approach, the study utilised a mix of quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the outcomes of the two courses through the participants' constructed experiences. Two factors were inferred as being important in determining whether participants on these courses proceeded to higher education: whether participants adopted a deep or surface approach to learning, and the extent to which the experience of being on the courses had generated a shared social identity. Our analysis draws attention to interactions between (psychological) explanations of variation in learning and (social) explanations of participation.     

高中生高等教育需求的经济动因分析

本文通过估计高中生期望的高等教育回报率及其高等教育需求的影响,检验了人力资本理论的基本假设。研究表明,高中生对高等教育的市场回报率有比较准确的预期,他们的高等教育需求也受其期望的高等教育回报率的显著影响。个体的高等教育需求与人力资本理论的解释是一致的,即个体对高等教育的需求,受高等教育的经济回报所激励。     

Lifelong learning ecologies in online higher education: Students' engagement in the continuum between formal and informal learning

Lifelong learning opportunities are readily accessible through the hybridization of digital learning contexts—from formal to informal—in today's globally networked knowledge society. As such, expanded learning opportunities generate a continuum of learning contexts and experiences mediated through digital technology. Consequently, there is an urgent need to actively examine the interconnections and complex relations between what is learned in formal university scenarios and the everyday learning that happens outside of the classroom, particularly the informal learning that is afforded through expanded and emerging digital contexts. The current research problem illustrates that expanded and emerging professional development scenarios require new pedagogical designs for empowering lifelong learners to harness the affordances of the web across both formal and informal contexts and practices. This study outlines ways in which students shape their learning ecologies in virtual contexts to support formal academic learning in online higher education. The paper presents qualitative results from a larger mixed methods interpretive case study. The multicase and multisite study examines three fully online graduate programmes in Education and Digital Technology during the 2017–18 academic year, collecting data in the form of online programme documentation, student interviews and online participant observation. Purposeful and criterion sampling were used to select 13 participants across three sites in Spain, the UK and the USA. The study was underpinned by a lifelong learning ecologies theoretical perspective to analyse learning processes across a continuum of practices and contexts. Findings illustrate how students conceive of, as well as how they organize their learning ecologies through a unique configuration of activities, digital resources and networked social support, indicating that academic programmes and teachers have an essential role in empowering student learning ecologies across contexts, recognizing past trajectories and supporting the development of valued disciplinary practices and perspectives across a continuum of learning.     

军地高教结合:优化国民高教资源配置新举措

本文通过探讨军事高等教育和普通高等教育体系充分结合的必要性和可能性，提出了实现两者充分结合的基本构想，优化国民高等教育资源配置，共同培养21世纪合格人才。     

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.     

Formal reasoning performance of higher secondary school students: Theoretical and educational implications

The study investigated the structure and development of formal thought among tenth-, eleventh-, and twelfth-grade students. The subjects of the study were the total numbers of students attending the science, the economic, and the other sections of two higher secondary schools. Students' performance on a standardized Test of Logical Thinking (TOLT) was used as a measure of their cognitive abilities related to control of variables, proportional, probabilistic, correlational, and combinatorial reasoning. Students attending the different sections of study had significantly different TOLT performance, older students exhibited significantly better TOLT performance than younger ones, and boys performed significantly better on TOLT than girls did. The “rate” of development was, however, different for different reasoning modes and differences in school achievement between boys and girls did not tap differences in TOLT performance. Regression analysis showed that section of study, gender, grade level, and measures of school achievement contributed significantly to the prediction of TOLT performance. Factor analysis of performance on the ten TOLT items (two items from each reasoning mode) produced a two- and three-factor solution for the sample of boys and the sample of girls, respectively. The results indicate that different theoretical perspectives should be considered when evaluating cognitive development and that learning environments conducive to cognitive growth need to be designed and implemented.     

围绕素质教育构建高职生教育管理系统

新形势下，学生教育管理应围绕素质教育主线，树立现代教育思想理念，探索新的教育管理模式。创造新的教育管理方法，构建高职生教育管理和有利于学生综合素质提高的教育管理系统。     

Digitalisation in higher education: mapping institutional approaches for teaching and learning

This paper explores the digitalisation of teaching and learning understood as external processes, influenced by government and international trends and as internal processes within the institutions, in Denmark and Norway. These are countries with similarities regarding digitalisation and educational systems. In the internal processes, there was some use of digital technology in teaching and learning when initiated from administration including IT-staff, in collaboration with academic leaders. There was little or only limited reported use of technology for teaching and learning, when the processes were initiated by administration together with enthusiasts among faculty staff, who did not have leadership roles or influence on change. There was more reported use of technology in teaching and learning in Denmark than Norway. The paper discusses possible explanations for these findings and thus illuminates how processes of digitalisation are influenced by broader governance arrangements, institutional maturity and academic and administration staffs.     

Transnational approaches to teaching and learning in higher education: challenges and possible guiding principles

The higher education sector has become increasingly internationalised over recent decades. This paper examines a range of challenges that can arise where teaching staff in one context support and implement learning and teaching initiatives in another international context – transnational teaching. We use examples and experiences from our own practice to highlight challenges that arise from implementing cross-cultural and transnational teaching and that warrant further exploration, including differing expectations; differing views of learners and learning; the illusory nature of transformed practice; and time constraints. We discuss these challenges in the light of Hofstede's model of cultural dimensions as well as critiquing this model. We then highlight some possible guiding principles for transnational higher education work that include modelling good practice; ensuring reciprocity and mutual benefit; ensuring individual integrity and institutional credibility; and developing and supporting transnational staff.     

Preparing to transition to secondary education: perceptions of Dutch pupils with migrant backgrounds

Background: The transition from primary school to secondary school is a crucial period of time for children and this may be especially the case for pupils with migrant backgrounds. While there has been considerable research on the transition from primary to secondary school, more needs to be known specifically about the experiences of this group of pupils during their final year of primary school, as they prepare for their transition to secondary school.

Purpose: The study investigated how Dutch children with migrant backgrounds in their final year of primary school perceive the preparatory process for the transition to secondary school. In particular, we were interested in who the children felt were the important ‘actors’ (e.g. pupils, parents, teachers and others) in the preparatory process.

Sample: We collected data from 76 primary school pupils from three schools in an urban city in the Netherlands. The sample included pupils who, according to the Dutch system, were preparing to follow an academic pathway (i.e. the tracks known in this system as ‘HAVO’ or ‘VWO’) and those who were preparing to follow a vocational pathway (i.e. the track known as ‘VMBO’) in secondary education.

Design and methods: We used photo elicitation (N = 76) and also conducted semi-structured interviews with a subsample of the pupils (N = 25) to examine the roles of the important actors in the preparatory process. Data were analysed qualitatively; responses were coded and underwent pattern analysis in order to identify and describe repeating structures in the data. Data were grouped according to whether the pupils received school recommendations for an academic track or a vocational track.

Results: Findings suggested that the pupils perceived the most important actors to be the pupil, the classroom teacher and the parents. Both teachers and parents were considered valuable resources for pupils in the preparatory process. Patterns representing the participants’ perceptions of the roles of three actors – namely, (1) the child, (2) the classroom teacher and (3) the parents, were identified. Six patterns were identified with respect to the child, four with respect to the classroom teacher and two with respect to the parents. For some patterns, it was apparent that the responses of children in the vocational group and the academic group had different emphases.

Conclusions: The study highlights the importance for teachers and parents of children in their final year of primary school to be aware of the pupils’ perceptions of and feelings about their preparation for secondary school, so as to be in the best position to support them collaboratively.     

Deconstructing barriers: perceptions of students labeled with learning disabilities in higher education

This phenomenological study investigated barriers to higher education faced by 11 college students labeled with learning disabilities (LD) using their voice as the primary data. Data were analyzed and interpreted through a disability theory perspective revealing barriers stemmed largely from external social causes rather than individual pathology. Barriers included being misunderstood by faculty, being reluctant to request accommodations for fear of invoking stigma, and having to work considerably longer hours than nonlabeled peers. Findings indicated barriers could be overcome through raising faculty awareness about LD issues, engaging the assistance of the college LD specialist, and participation in a LD democratic empowerment community on campus.     

Facts and fallacies: differentiation and the general education curriculum for students with special educational needs

As policy makers and educators respond to legislation promoting the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms, there is sometimes confusion about why this is being done and how it can be accomplished effectively. In this article, two categories of fallacies, or misunderstandings, are identified. The first fallacy is that students with disabilities are incapable of learning the general education curriculum. The second fallacy is that teachers are required to ‘cover’ the entire curriculum, sometimes at a pace that leaves students with and without disabilities behind. Facts are presented following each fallacy. These facts describe research‐based pedagogies effective for students with and without disabilities, indicating that students with mild disabilities can learn the general education curriculum when responsive pedagogies are used. These facts also describe how schools that promote differentiation can potentially achieve higher scores on large‐scale assessments than schools that promote ‘one size fits all’ instruction.     

高职、中职教育异同辨

高职、中职教育同为职业技术教育,二者在办学层次、人才培养规格、课程内容和毕业胜任的岗位等方向迥然有别,应各自办出特色、健康发展。     

Belonging to higher education: inclusive education for students with intellectual disabilities

Abstract

The college experience in Iceland has traditionally been reserved for those who have passed the matriculation examination and meet the admission requirements of higher educational institutions. Since 2007, the University of Iceland has offered a Vocational Diploma Programme for people with intellectual disabilities in inclusive settings. The purpose of this article is to describe the diploma programme as well as exploring students’ sense of belonging to the college community. The diploma programme is located at the School of Education and students trained to work at pre-primary schools, after school clubs and within the field of disability such as self-advocacy. Inclusion has been achievable by adapting the general curriculum and learning outcomes to individual needs, flexible teaching methods and the cooperation between academic faculty members, programme coordinators, student mentors and the diploma students themselves. The diploma students receive academic and social support from student mentors who are other undergraduate students at the School of Education. The collaboration with student mentors has proven to be valuable, expanded diploma students’ social networks and contributed to a sense of belonging. Regardless of various attitudinal and structural hindrances, there is much evidence that the diploma students are not only tolerated but welcomed at the School of Education and belong to the college community.     

Diversity in intensive English language centres in South Australia: sociocultural approaches to education for students with migrant or refugee backgrounds

While there is a body of research concerning the education of students with migrant or refugee backgrounds, little of this research focuses on primary school-aged children. In order to address this gap, the current paper utilises data gained from an ethnographic study to consider the challenges and opportunities associated with diverse classrooms designed for students learning English, in which students come from a complex range of backgrounds and may have experienced trauma. The paper provides support for sociocultural learning approaches, whereby students’ own cultural and linguistic background are treated as beneficial to education rather than as obstacles to be overcome.     

Diverging paths in upper secondary education: competence attainment among students with special educational needs

The main objective of specially adapted teaching in upper secondary education in Norway is to help students attain vocational or academic competence. However, a contested issue is whether it is conducive to place students with special educational needs in regular or special classes. Another question is whether boys and girls benefit to the same degree from placement in a specific type of class. The analyses presented in this article are based on data from a longitudinal study of nearly 500 adolescents with special educational needs who have been followed prospectively over 6 years. The results demonstrate that students receiving special support in regular classes obtain vocational or academic qualifications to a greater degree than students in special classes. In particular, girls benefit from placement in regular classes. This pattern does not change when the analyses control for relevant variables that are known to affect competence attainment, e.g. the students’ functional level registered at the start of upper secondary school.     

从大学生就业看高校通识教育的问题与对策

近年来大学毕业生就业中的突出问题，从一个侧面清晰地折射出我国高校通识教育中普遍存在的一些根本问题。章拟对此做出分析和阐释，并提出解决问题的思路与对策。     

The relationship between students’ approaches to learning and the assessment of learning outcomes

The purpose of the present study is to gain more insight into the relationship between students’ approaches to learning and students’ quantitative learning outcomes, as a function of the different components of problem-solving that are measured within the assessment. Data were obtained from two sources: the revised two factor study process questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F) and students’ scores in their final multiple-choice exam. Using a model of cognitive components of problem-solving translated into specifications for assessment, the multiple-choice questions were divided into three categories. Three aspects of the knowledge structure that can be targeted by assessment of problem-solving were used as the distinguishing categories. These were: understanding of concepts; understanding of the principles that link concepts; and linking of concepts and principles to application conditions and procedures. The 133 second year law school students in our sample had slightly higher scores for the deep approach than for the surface approach to learning. Plotting students’ approaches to learning indicated that many students had low scores for both deep and surface approaches to learning. Correlational analysis showed no relationship between students’ approaches to learning and the components of problem-solving being measured within the multiple choice assessment. Several explanations are discussed.