Networked Services of NIT libraries in India: A study

The main purpose of the paper is to find out the provision of providing Networked Services (NSs) among National Institute of Technology (NIT) libraries in India. Methodology used for collecting data was questionnaire. The survey findings indicate that the majority of libraries prefer to provide communication network services (telephone, Internet, e-mail, facsimile etc), online journals (90%), automated catalog system (85%), multimedia databases (85%) and support (70%) services rather than the other services. Concerning the zone wise performance, south zone (80%) libraries are more potential than the other zone libraries in providing NSs.     

Rites of Passage: Does adaptation to university mean severing connections?

Many factors go into the decision of selecting a university, ranging from the overall costs and the programme of study to the institute’s reputation; however, accommodation while at university and proximity of the university to one’s permanent abode also play important roles in this decision-making process. Thus, first-year students experience different stages of separation from their prior networks depending on their individual situations. The results of this Ontario (Canada) 2012 study add to prior research by indicating that separation of students’ living arrangements and distance from home impact on transition and incorporation variables, which influenced students’ adaptation to university.     

Promoting Inclusive (and Dialogic) Leadership in Higher Education Institutions

Higher education institutions are facing major challenges requiring traditional leadership and administrative policies and practices to be rethought and renewed. These challenges concern the whole academic community but mostly the institutions’ administrative leaders. This article suggests how applying the democratic principles of “inclusion”, which stresses critical dialogue and social justice, can reach beyond the traditional managerial and administrative policies when meeting the new requirements; and be a catalyst for change in leadership practices.     

Mentoring partnerships in a community technology centre: A constructionist approach for fostering equitable service learning

Mentoring programmes have gained increasing popularity in institutions of higher education to support undergraduates in community service or outreach efforts. Many of these programmes partner mentors with inner‐city youth, providing assistance in underserved communities while mentors gain experiences that connect theory and practice. Here we report on two years of fieldwork in a Community Technology Centre that created mentoring partnerships in which 36 liberal arts undergraduates engaged with local youth to design, create, and build technology projects involving graphics, video, music, and animation. We analysed over 200 field notes, which described their mentoring interactions over eight weeks and conducted exit interviews about their mentoring experiences. Our results indicate that mentors participated not just as more knowledgeable peers but also as facilitators, advisors, observers and, most importantly, as learners in this process. In the interviews, nearly all mentors reviewed assumptions about their own learning and mentoring, in addition to reflections about social issues. We discuss the importance of these findings for conceptualising mentoring as a partnership by creating more equitable interactions in service learning initiatives. We also address the role of constructionist activities in facilitating learning opportunities for both mentors and mentees.     

Inservice Teachers Mentoring Aspiring Teachers

This qualitative study examined the impact of mentoring relationships upon preservice and inservice teachers' literacy instruction. Twenty-two undergraduate students seeking teacher certification were assigned in pairs to tutor primary school students in a university reading clinic. Eleven classroom teachers seeking reading specialist certification conducted ten mentoring sessions with each pair of preservice teachers. Purposeful sampling was used to select three of the mentoring teams for data analysis. In two out of three teams, results indicated that preservice teachers expanded their instructional strategies as a result of three components of the mentoring relationship: selection of strategies, organization, and non-judgmental support. All inservice teachers reported increased reflection on and adaptation to their instructional strategies. Findings support the conclusion that early mentoring experiences foster growth for both preservice and inservice teachers.     

The Purpose and Functions of Budgets – Some Theoretical Perspectives for Education Managers

While educational leadership and management has experienced impressive development over the last three decades the fact that a robust comparative branch of the field has failed to emerge is equally conspicuous. This article builds a case for comparative and international educational leadership and management, arguing that the development of conceptual frameworks and instrumentation are imperative if the field is to keep abreast of globalisation of policy and practice. Accordingly, a conceptual framework is described and justified based on a cultural and cross-cultural approach focusing on the school level as the baseline unit for analysis. Specifically, the proposed framework is architectured around the interrelationship between two levels of culture, societal and organisational, and four elements comprising schooling and school-based management, namely, organisational structures, leadership and management processes, curriculum, and teaching and learning. Finally, limitations and implications of the model are discussed, including the need for the framework to be operationalised by developing appropriate research instruments.     

Mathematics and Language Skills and the Choice of Science Subjects in Secondary Education

A growing shortage of technical and science graduates means that the question of determinants of differences in performance and choices in that field based, among other things, on social background characteristics (gender, socioeconomic status, ethnic origin, family composition) remains a topical one. In this study, a rational choice model is proposed in which background-specific comparative advantages in different subjects are in focus. Secondary analyses of a large-scale cohort study (VOCL) show that in addition to the most important explanatory variable, namely gender, the gap between mathematical and language skills makes a relevant contribution in predicting the choice of science subjects in secondary education. This gap can, in turn, be predicted on the basis of gender and family composition.     

A Q factor analysis of college undergraduate students' study behaviours

This study attempted to better understand the study behaviours of undergraduate students by categorizing students into distinctive typologies based on their self-reported study behaviours through an exploratory approach – Q factor analysis. A sample of 152 undergraduate students completed a survey instrument, the Study Behavior Inventory. The Q factor analysis yielded a 2-factor structure. Participants exhibiting the 1st behavioural type demonstrated reflective, well-organized study behaviours and favoured high-level thinking; thus were described as “Organized Holistic Learners”. Those exhibiting the 2nd behavioural type were found to manage time poorly and primarily focus on memorizing facts; thus were labelled “Disorganized Procrastinators”. Type 1 students had significantly higher grade point averages (GPAs) than Type 2 students. Student type was a significant predictor of academic achievement, as measured by self-reported GPA above and beyond students' attribute variables including sex, age, major, and enrolment status. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.     

Towards a Definition of Community Education

Community work in the UK has developed in a haphazard way and would appear to have two major roots which have influenced its development and application. In one direction community work has grown out of education and in the other direction out of social work, and it would seem that much of community work in this country can be viewed and evaluated as having objectives which are either educationally or socially remedial. In recent years, the term ‘community work’ has come to be related much more clearly to socially remedial work rather than to educationally remedial work. The term ‘community education’ has tended to be applied much more to the changing and developing role of the secondary school within the community and the establishment of the concept of the community school or community college.     

Agricultural extension in South-Eastern Europe: Issues of transition and sustainability

Following the economic reforms in the early 90's, most of the south-eastern European countries (SEE) made efforts to establish agricultural extension services. However, a number of factors including tight governmental budgets, lack of experience, and the existence of vested interests have constrained the development of extension services. This paper examines the rationale for public funding of extension programs and evaluates the incentive structure for private and public provision of agricultural extension service in the SEE countries. It suggests a medium and long-term approach with a primary focus on institutional design. Two groups of factors that affect the private sector supply of extension are analyzed: (i) demand and supply-side factors that affect the profitability of the service and (ii) factors arising from the public-good nature of extension output, externalities, and moral hazards that affect the appropriation of returns of the service. The main conclusion is that the SEE countries should try to achieve a public-private extension balance by following a gradual approach toward privatization of the agricultural extension service. However, the paper advocates a continued important role for the public sector to correct for potential undesirable effects of private advisory services.