The personal tutor–student relationship: student expectations and experiences of personal tutoring in higher education

The personal tutor plays a key role in the student experience at university, and personal tutoring embodies the student relationship with the university, suggesting that it has the potential to provide insights beyond that specific relationship to the institution and higher education context. A focus session with first year undergraduate students explored expectations and experiences of personal tutoring from the student perspective. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to explore students’ lived experiences, and identified superordinate themes of expectations, experiences and relationships, with cluster themes including independence and authenticity. Developing a positive and genuine relationship with the personal tutor was found to ‘buffer’ against some of the first year challenges and contribute towards a sense of belonging. Importantly, this study provides evidence that experiencing poor personal tutoring is worse than not having a personal tutor at all, as this can lead to students experiencing strong negative emotions and re-evaluating their decision to go to university. Implications of these findings in the current higher education context of fee-paying students and competing institutional demands are discussed.     

对高职新生学业指导的实践与思考——以北京城市学院现代职业学部为例

近年来,在校高职生中学业困难的人数比例呈上升趋势,这不仅是学生自身的问题,也显现出了院校对高职学生日常学业指导工作的滞后。中美两国的高校已经在学业指导方面开展了各种实践并积累了大量经验。结合这些经验,北京城市学院现代职业学部基于自身情况,开展了针对高职新生的学业指导探索,并建立了该校高职学生学业指导体系。     

基于网络的学习支持服务实证研究

作为远程教育的重要过程因素,学习支持服务是自主学习的基本保障。本文报告了作者在开放教育试点专升本英语专业课程辅导中实施学习支持服务的行动研究。研究结果表明,开展基于网络的“四导多互动”支持服务对学生的自主学习具有明显的促进作用,其做法对其他学科辅导教学有一定的借鉴意义。文章最后介绍了作者对完善远程教育学习支持服务的思考和建议。     

A practical tutorial programme for first-year university students: impact of its academic recognition / Un programa tutorial práctico en alumnos universitarios de nuevo ingreso: incidencia de su reconocimiento académico

The task of guiding and tutoring in higher education contributes to increasing the quality of teaching at university. Students who access university studies require specific guidance which is different from that required by more senior students. The aim of this study is to present a comprehensive model of tutorial guidance. The model seeks to satisfy the specific needs of first-year university students, both in terms of personal support and formative and informative support, through a set of coordinated activities during the first year of their degree. The teaching experience carried out demonstrates the students’ interest in the tutoring programme offered, and measures the impact that its academic recognition has in terms of students enrolling on and following the programme. The methodology used shows the characteristics of the programme introduced and then shows the results obtained, which are discussed in relation to the research objectives.     

西藏高校管理的二元权力博弈分析

随着现代大学制度的确立,西藏高校的管理也要适应时代需求和变化,不仅要在权力结构观方面树立新的理念,提高高校办学自主权,还应尝试“学术决策、行政执行”的运行管理新模式,在大学内部建立良好的权力约束机制,健全并完善学术管理体系.     

Private tutoring in a high socio-economic secondary school in Israel and pupils’ attitudes towards school learning: A double-edged sword phenomenon

Private tutoring (PT) is a widespread educational phenomenon that blurs the conceptual boundaries of public and private education and can affect the formal school system and teachers’ work. This study examined whether participation in PT and the estimation of private tutors’ contributions are related to pupils’ attitudes towards teachers’ effectiveness. Based on a questionnaire administered to all pupils (n = 855) from Grades 7 to 10 from one secondary school located in an affluent area at the centre of Israel (respondence rate, 83.2%), it was found that overall, there were few differences in students’ attitudes between participants in PT compared to those who did not participate in PT. However, among those who participate in PT, their attitudes towards school teachers are related to the distinction between the academic and social-affective contribution of private tutors. When PT is related to academic spheres, it enhances positive attitudes towards school teachers and when PT is related to socio-affective aspects, it increases criticism. The findings highlight the complex interactions of PT with mainstream education and emphasise the challenges school teachers face in view of the trend for more personalised learning approaches.     

Factors Impacting on Students’ Readiness for Higher Education

This article reports on a study that examined the readiness levels of students in the South African context. Particularly, the study explored the differences between various students’ academic proficiency, support mechanisms, motivational levels and overall integration with the university. A quantitative approach was used and 117 full-time first-year National Diploma in Human Resource Management students from the Nelson Mandela University (formerly known as Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University) participated in the study. This study therefore focused on one student cohort at a particular higher education institution (HEI). The findings revealed that a combination of cognitive and non-cognitive variables influences student readiness and success. Even though HEIs have implemented interventions, the level of student readiness remains low. It was noted, however, that students who scored high on the variables were more likely to succeed in higher education.     

Students’ continuity norms in the university and exam calendar: do they affect university academic performance? / Normas de permanencia y calendario de exámenes: ¿afectan al rendimiento académico universitario?

Students’ academic performance is a key factor in evaluating the efficiency and quality of university degree programmes. Not only do personal characteristics and the students’ own performance affect these results, but so does the university’s academic organization. Based on a database that contains the overall results by course and exam period in three different degree programmes from 2007–15, we estimate what external factors influenced the percentages of students sitting for and passing exams. The analysis of the data panel shows that the order of the exams and the students’ continuity norms established by the university to penalize failing grades are two incentives that improve student performance only in the ordinary exam periods. These results also imply first keeping the incentive system at the university and secondly strategically using the exam calendar for the courses with the worst overall results.     

高职教育实行导师制的探索与实践

在一个迅速变革的时代中,高职教育需要有新的观念和模式,彻底变革教育内容、方法和教学手段。而高职教育推行导师制是一个探索。它不仅是对传统“班建制”教学模式的重要补充,更重要的是真正贯彻“以学生为本”的教育理念,倡导个性教育,实现教学相长的实践和提高高职教育教学质量的有效措施。     

论\"学术自由\"理念的现代意义

学术自由产生于思想自由,其精神实质是一种人性的体现。现代高等教育在学术自由理念支配下取得了辉煌的成绩。学术自由与学术责任是一对辩证的范畴,学术自由必须承担学术责任。学术自由弘扬批判精神和张扬个性,为创造性提供精神氛围。学术自由体现以人为本,最终是实现人的全面发展。     

Employers’ support for adult higher education students in liberal post-socialist contexts

In most European countries, the proportion of adult students among both full-time and part-time workers has increased significantly over recent decades. Undertaking paid work is also increasingly common among traditional students. The opportunities to work while studying depend largely on the role of employers in promoting learning. However, both theoretical frameworks and empirical studies typically focus on the behaviour of firms in providing training. The support of employers for formal adult education has remained a marginal topic. The aim of this article is to analyse the contributions of employers to the acquisition of higher education from the perspective of the adult learners; we investigated how employers support their staff in higher education studies. We also tried to identify which kinds of learners have a better chance of receiving various benefits. We used two different data-sets: quantitative data from a study of adult students in higher education and qualitative data from interviews with managers of small- and medium-sized enterprises and at least one employed participant in formal adult education, collected in the framework of the international research project Towards a Lifelong Learning Society in Europe: The Contribution of the Education System supported by the EU Sixth Framework Programme.     

高职高专院校班主任心理健康教育能力培养探讨

目前,高职高专院校对班主任心理健康教育能力重视不够,班主任在心理健康教育能力方面存在一定缺失。面对高职院校学生独特的心理现状和需求,高职高专院校应当重视心理健康教育的意义。加强对班主任心理健康教育能力的重视和培养。     

促进成人高等学历教育不断创新的思考

我国成人高等学历教育,已成为高等教育的重要组成部分。在新形势下,成人高等学历教育显露出不适应经济形势发展的现象越来越明显,必须转变观念,与时俱进地对其进行改革创新,才能不断注入活力,实现高等教育大众化,实现党的十六大提出的造就数以亿计的高素质劳动者,数以千万计的专门人才和一大批拔尖创新人才的战略目标。     

高等教育评价的教育性视角

高等教育评价应包括对高等教育作为价值客体和价值主体两方面的价值关系的评价。现在的研究往往重视前者而忽视后者,必须倡导从教育性视角(即把高等教育作为价值主体)来认识高等教育的价值评价。教育性视角的高等教育评价具有科学性、深刻性和反思性。