Synthesizing Pedagogies and Engaging Students: Creating Blended eLearning Strategies for Library Research and Writing Instruction

Twenty-first century students need consideration, ideas, and face-to-face work to enable their success in acquiring new information. Twenty-first century skills are generally described as core competencies such as collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem solving. Collaborative work between the classroom instructor and the librarian builds digital reference and research materials to follow a scaffolded research project specifically from start to finish. This article identifies reference opportunities and the importance of online and face-to-face student support. Instead of a linear approach to information literacy, this article demonstrates a chunked eLearning in-context performance support style.     

Rethinking leadership and change: a case study in leadership succession and its impact on school transformation

This qualitative, historical study, based on interviews with participants and archive data, reconstructs the extended process through which three successive heads contributed to the transformation of the Felix Holt School. Over a 10‐year period the roll rose from 560 to 1109, while the percentage of pupils achieving 5 GCSE higher grades increased from a low point of 13% to 57% in 2002. Unlike the majority of schools nationally, Felix Holt moved definitively from one level of effectiveness to another. Concepts from the leadership literature frame an analysis of how three contrasting leaders influenced organizational characteristics. Despite disruption and turbulence as the heads adopted discontinuous strategies and contrasting styles, their respective contributions broke the mould and built the capacity of the school. Successful transition from one leader to another seems to be a critical but neglected dimension of sustainable improvement. All those concerned with the appointment of school leaders are recommended to give more care to managing their arrival, induction and departure.     

Investigating higher Education Students’ Professional Socialisation: a revised framework

Research on professional socialisation in higher education has been conducted in nursing, pharmacy, teaching and law, but there is a lack of studies on professional socialisation in tourism and hospitality education. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by revising the professional socialisation framework ‘Conceptualising Graduate and Professional Student Socialisation’ through the findings of a broader study on the professional socialisation of Chinese international students enrolled in tourism and hospitality degrees at a particular Australian university. The study examined diverse stakeholders’ perceptions of attributes needed by Chinese graduates with Australian university qualifications in tourism and hospitality management entering the Chinese hotel industry. The revised framework, ‘Higher Education Students’ Professional Socialisation Framework’, suggests different processes for enhancing the socialisation and career development of Chinese international students with an Australian tourism and hospitality management degree through work-integrated learning; language learning and communication; teamwork and mentoring; and interactions among different stakeholders. Furthermore, workplace socialisation emphasises mentoring and recognises different approaches to career development. Finally, the revised framework explains how the different stakeholders impact on the professional socialisation of students and graduates. The revised framework, which has a cross-cultural dimension, is generic and can be applied to other fields of study and to both international and domestic students in higher education.     

Computer assisted learning in Singapore

Many nations are now using computers in order to provide their peoples with improved educational opportunities and a competitive edge in developing an effective workforce. In 198 7, the author visited Singapore in order to assess (a) how effectively computer assisted learning techniques are being used within its educational system, and (b) how other nations might benefit from Singapore's experience. This article reports observations from this visit.     

Can high-performing academies overcome family background and improve social mobility?

This article investigates whether schools that match Coalition Government criteria for excellence can enable hardworking students, regardless of background, to achieve good examination results and improved chances of social mobility. Students at two case-study academies were interviewed about family influences on their development and choice of education and employment pathways. In a ‘best case’ scenario, where prototype academies have rigorously implemented government policy, are students less reliant than before on family resources, influences and dispositions? Our data suggest that family background continues to be an important influence on participants’ attitudes, values, occupational interests and preferences. There are few signs that the new academy regime is creating improved opportunities for social mobility.     

Action Learning Projects For Management Development

The origins and characteristics of Action Learning together with some of its uses in business/industry and education are described. Methods of assessment for Action Learning projects in education are suggested. The approach to Action Learning in courses at the Middlesex University Business School are used to illustrate the wealth creating aspects of the Action Learning process.     

Managing to make a difference

This is an account of a programme involving the application of action learning to the task of ‘blending personal development with development of an organisation's capability’. It was aimed at dismantling cross boundary barriers and extending cross boundary networks. It became clear that staff needed to reflect on their own effectiveness in current roles and, despite considerable ongoing change, begin to drive their own development in the organisation. The changes also demanded that they extend their knowledge and skills in confronting and solving problems. The programme designed to achieve these aims proved to be highly successful.     

Quality and Equity in Australian Universities: Contradictions and Challenges

There is no apparent relationshipd bettwen the outcome of 1993 CQAHE quality ratings and universities’ standing on several measures of equity performance. Further, there is no relationship between the overall quality ratings and the content of universities’ submissions referring to equity issues.     

Epistemological Beliefs Across Domains Using Biglan's Classification of Academic Disciplines

The purpose of this study was to examine students' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning, epistemological beliefs, across domains that vary according to Biglan's classification of academic disciplines (hard vs. soft disciplines and pure vs. applied disciplines). One hundred and fifty-two university students completed three questionnaires that assessed their epistemological beliefs about mathematics (hard-pure), the social sciences (also pure), and business (neither hard nor pure). Correlations indicated that students' epistemological beliefs were similar for mathematics and social sciences, as well as for mathematics and business. When the amount of academic experience was taken into account, some evidence of domain specificity was found. These results support Sternberg's caveat that the dichotomy of domain generality/specificity is an assumption that should be questioned. We propose that future researchers should investigate the breadth of applicability of epistemological beliefs.