Outsourcing in higher education: the known and unknown about the practice

Outsourcing or privatising services in higher education is a common practice, but what do we really know about it? Is outsourcing effective? It is imperative that these questions be addressed since outsourcing is becoming a norm in higher education institutions. Scholars, institutional administrators and policymakers need to understand the outsourcing phenomenon and whether it is beneficial. However, there has been little research documenting the cost-effectiveness or difference in the quality of service associated with outsourcing. This study reviews 30 empirical articles to find out whether outsourcing is effective, examines the knowns and unknowns about outsourcing, and the theories often used in outsourcing in higher education. The findings show that the effect of outsourcing varies across the institution, and ranges from the positive, negative, mixed, to no effect. Over time, outsourcing may become expensive for both institutions and students because of the profit factors intrinsic within private enterprises.     

The Belt and Road Initiative and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Kenya: The Kenya-China TVET Project

This study explores the impact of China’s Belt and Road Initiative on improving vocational education quality and employment rates in Kenya through a collaborative educational program known as the Kenya-China Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) project. The opinions and narratives of teachers and students with vibrant knowledge of the project were analyzed through the theoretical lenses of globalization and vocationalism. The results show that the Kenya-China TVET Project has improved Kenyan TVET classrooms with modern equipment to meet industrial standards and allowed essential skills to be developed through various collaborative opportunities with Chinese corporations. Despite minor challenges and obstacles, early evidence suggests benefits brought by the project including increased self-employment, a growth in Kenya’s manufacturing, and more mutual understanding between the two countries.     

An exploratory product evaluation of the Manchester Motor Skills Programme

This study is an exploratory product evaluation of the Manchester Motor Skills Programme (MMSP). A mixed methodology was used to explore intended, unintended, positive and negative outcomes for four Key Stage 2 (KS2) children with motor skills difficulties who participated in the MMSP. The children’s motor skills, social skills and self-esteem were assessed using standardised measures pre- and post-intervention and at follow-up. Semi-structured interviews and a focus group were used to elicit the views of pupils, the class teacher and the group leader. Results indicated positive yet variable improvements in motor skill domains which were sustained at three month follow-up. Qualitative data highlights some perceived improvement in children’s social skills, confidence and use of meta-cognitive strategies and an unexpected perceived outcome for one child with co-existing speech and language difficulties. The responses of this group highlight some individual factors which practitioner educational psychologists (EPs) should consider when planning motor skills interventions with schools.     

Quelques Erreurs Pouvant être Liées à Une Difficulté à Concevoir un Ensemble Comme un Objet Distinct De Ses éléments Chez Des étudiants Et Des étudiantes Universitaires

As a first step of a project on learning difficulties in elementary set theory, we carried out a study aimed at identifying some of the difficulties encountered by a group of 21 mathematics majors taking a course on logic and set theory. In this paper, we shall discuss one of the difficulties that we observed, namely a difficulty in conceiving a set as an object distinct from its elements, i.e. failing to fully grant sets the status of objects. This difficulty may be related to the following three types of errors that we observed in the students' first assignment: (1) confusing belonging and inclusion, (2) confusing the union of sets A, B, C, ... with the set whose elements are A, B, C, … and (3) adding or deleting curly brackets. We shall present excerpts from the students' work illustrating these three types of errors and explain how they may be related to a difficulty in conceiving a set as an object distinct from its elements.     

Word-reading and word-spelling styles of French beginners: Do all children learn to read and spell in the same way?

This article explores the styles of word reading and word spelling used by beginning readers in the French language. The aim of the study was to find out whether sub-lexical and lexical styles of reliance, which has been observed in children learning to read and spell in English, exists in French, a language with a more transparent orthography. A sample of 159 subjects were assessed on their reading and spelling of regular words, irregular words and nonwords. Cluster analyses on reading/spelling performances led us to identify various profiles, among which sub-lexical and lexical styles could be discerned. These profiles were then compared across a set of linguistic tasks in order to look for factors that might be related to individual differences in reading/spelling styles. Overall, our findings suggest that quantitative level differences explain most individual variation in literacy. These results are discussed in relation to developmental models of reading and spelling in different orthographic systems.     

Assessment of Autism Symptoms From 6 to 18 Months of Age Using the Autism Observation Scale for Infants in a Prospective High-Risk Cohort

The objectives were to characterize behavioral signs of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in younger siblings of diagnosed children (high-risk; HR) and examine classification features of the Autism Observation Scale for Infants (AOSI). Participants (501 HR and 180 low-risk [LR]) were assessed between 6 and 18 months using the AOSI and at age 3 for ASD diagnoses. Total AOSI scores differentiated HR infants later diagnosed with ASD starting at 12 months. ROC analyses identified 12- and 18-month cutoff scores associated with 0.52 sensitivity and 0.74 specificity and 0.73 sensitivity and 0.65 specificity, respectively. Although classification accuracy does not support use as a standalone screen, the AOSI identifies features associated with ASD starting at 6 months and differentiates HR infants with ASD by 12 months.     

Promoting ecologic health resilience for minority youth: Enhancing health care access through the school health center

Ethnic minority youth experience problems in access to healthcare, yet little is known about how to enhance utilization. This article will discuss the demographic realities of children of color in the United States, with a focus on health care needs and access issues that have an enormous influence on health status. The article will consider health policy as it describes the considerable barriers to quality health care for minority youth such as a lack of a usual source of care and limited health insurance. An ecologic model is presented that incorporates cultural values and community structures into the school health center. Enhancing access and utilization through the school setting is viewed as promoting ecologic resilience in youth. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 40: 265–278, 2003.     

Teaching sustainable entrepreneurship to engineering students: the case of Delft University of Technology

Sustainability, enhancement of personal skills, social aspects of technology, management and entrepreneurship are of increasing concern for engineers and therefore for engineering education. In 1996 at Delft University of Technology this led to the introduction of a subject on sustainable entrepreneurship and technology in the course programmes of Chemical Engineering and Materials Sciences Engineering. This subject combines lectures, project work in which a business plan is written, sustainability and presentation training. This paper shows that it has been possible to combine entrepreneurship, sustainability and project education successfully in a subject for undergraduate engineering students and describes background, assumptions, outline, results and recent adjustments of this subject. It includes a discussion on how to integrate sustainability and entrepreneurship in terms of triple P (People, Profit, Planet) and how to incorporate it pragmatically in the key elements of a business plan: (1) business idea, mission and strategy; (2) context, stakeholder and market analysis; (3) marketing; (4) production; (5) organisation and management; (6) finance and reporting. Attention is paid to results regarding the business plan, spin-off like start-ups and also to the learning results of both students and lecturers. It ends drawing some lessons derived from the subject’s results and the learning experiences of both students and lecturers.     

Wellness of Counseling Students: Practicing What We Preach

A study of wellness among 263 graduate students in counseling revealed that counseling students experienced greater wellness than the general population; however, significant within‐group variability existed. Doctoral students reported significantly greater wellness in most areas measured by the Wellness Evaluation of Lifestyle (J. E. Myers, T. J. Sweeney, & J. M. Witmer, 1996) as compared with entry‐level students. Moderate effect resulted for Sense of Control, Intellectual Stimulation, Work, and Total Wellness. Students who were not Caucasian reported greater wellness in Cultural Identity than did Caucasian counseling students.