Development of a competency mapping tool for undergraduate professional degree programmes,using mechanical engineering as a case study

Mapping the curriculum of a professional degree to the associated competency standard ensures graduates have the competence to perform as professionals. Existing approaches to competence mapping vary greatly in depth, complexity, and effectiveness, and a standardised approach remains elusive. This paper describes a new mapping software tool that streamlines and standardises the competency mapping process. The available analytics facilitate ongoing programme review, management, and accreditation. The complete mapping and analysis of an Australian mechanical engineering degree programme is described as a case study. Each subject is mapped by evaluating the amount and depth of competence development present. Combining subject results then enables highly detailed programme level analysis. The mapping process is designed to be administratively light, with aspects of professional development embedded in the software. The effective competence mapping described in this paper enables quantification of learning within a professional degree programme, and provides a mechanism for holistic programme improvement.     

What future teachers believe about democracy and why it is important

This paper analyses pre-service education student perceptions and perspectives related to education for democracy in Australia. Using a critical pedagogical framework datum from an online survey, it presents both quantitative and qualitative responses of contrasting understandings of democracy. It begins by outlining the concepts of thick and thin democracy and why this is important in relation to contemporary debates about the state of civics and citizenship education, and then explains the conceptual framework of critical pedagogy and methodology. The datum analysed is discussed in relation to neoliberalism and indicates that the pre-service teachers in this study view democracy in a narrow or thin way that may impact on their classroom practice where they would be teaching about but not for democracy. A more critical and thicker understanding of democracy is suggested as essential if we desire our students to become active and transformative citizens.     

Issues in Adopting a Laserdisk-Based Science Curriculum

We examined the implementation of a laser-disk based science curriculum in an elementary school. The goal was to develop a richer understanding of the principles for designing a curriculum that will adequately support teachers in adopting a learner-centered framework. Issues included: who has ownership of the classroom discussion; what types of activities are engaged in terms of the constraints imposed; and what is the teacher's response to the specific tools provided (the teacher's guide, the Circle of Learning, and concept maps). In addition to looking at the implementation pattern, we also examined the impact of the implementation on student attitudes and anxiety toward science. Results indicated little adoption of the curriculum, and teachers continued to maintain a high degree of control in the classroom. However, results also indicated significant effects of the curriculum on science attitude and anxiety. Suggestions for future research are included.     

Usage patterns and social circles on Facebook among elderly people with diverse personality traits

Elderly people are exposed to information technologies to keep them in touch with younger generations. Among various technologies, social network sites (SNSs) are seldom used by the majority of elderly people. To bridge the digital divide, it is necessary to dig deeply into the minority elderly users of SNSs. This study explores usage patterns of elderly Facebook users and further investigates how their diverse characteristics influence their usage and social circles. Three findings were derived. First, a sharp digital divide on SNSs does exist, and existing elderly Facebook users are mainly the dabblers. Second, personality profiling could predict elderly people’s SNS usage behaviors. Elderly users with a high level of openness and extroversion have more friends, status updates, and group memberships, and those with a high level of conscientiousness have fewer likes and status updates. Elderly users are likely to seek insightful content on SNSs. Moreover, they may have a higher degree of emotional stability than young users when using SNSs. Third, elderly people tend to build small social circles on SNSs that “copy” the family relationship in the real world; whereas, they build large social circles with interests and hobbies that are difficult to share in the real world. Based on these results, detailed suggestions are presented for better targeting elderly people in ways that move them toward SNSs.     

Validity and use of an instrument for assessing classroom psychosocial environment in higher education

A strong tradition in research in primary and secondary schools has involved student and teacher perceptions of psychological characteristics of actual or preferred classroom environment. This paper provides a foundation for the extension of this tradition to the higher education level by describing the development, validation, and use of a new instrument, the College and University Classroom Environment Inventory (CUCEI), suitable for small higher education classes often referred to as seminars. The CUCEI assesses students' or instructors' perceptions of the following seven psychosocial dimensions of actual or preferred classroom environment: personalization, involvement, student cohesiveness, satisfaction, task orientation, innovation, and individualization. Administration of the CUCEI to 372 students in 34 classes and to 20 instructors attested to the internal consistency reliability and discriminant validity of the actual and preferred forms with either the individual or the class mean as the unit of analysis, and supported the ability of the actual form to differentiate between the perceptions of students in different classrooms. A research application of the CUCEI involving associations between student outcomes and classroom environment tentatively suggested that the nature of the classroom environment affects outcomes. Another research application suggested that both students and instructors preferred a more favorable classroom environment than the one actually present, and that instructors viewed classroom environments more positively than did their students in the same classrooms. Desirable future applications of the CUCEI for research purposes and in improving teaching in higher education are considered.The first main aim of this paper is to describe the development and validation of a new instrument to assess perceptions of classroom psychosocial environment in university and college classrooms. The second major purpose is to report the first two research uses of this instrument in, respectively, a study of associations between student outcomes and classroom environment and an investigation of differences between students and instructors in their perceptions of actual and preferred classroom environment. As well, desirable future research directions involving the new instrument are suggested. Before describing the development and use of the new instrument for the higher education level, important background information about analogous work at the primary and secondary school levels is briefly reviewed in an attempt to place the new work into context.     

A Comparison of the Australian and British Post Binary Higher Education Systems

Both Australia and Britain have recently moved from a binary system of higher education to a unitary system based upon the universities. In both countries change has been affected by an increasing emphasis upon higher education as a vital national economic resource and the need to make higher education institutions” more efficient.” As a result universities have a much closer relationship with government than ever before.

Yet there are important differences: Australia ended its binary system by consolidating its Colleges of Advanced Education into the university system. In Britain the trend has been to redesignate polytechnics as universities without amalgamation. Britain has evolved a much more competitive system in the allocation of resources which has had a profound affect upon the universities.

This article explores major similarities and contrasts in the Australian and British experiences.     

A SYSTEMIC,STUDENT-CENTERED STUDY OF UNIVERSITY SERVICE

This paper discusses the methods and findings ofthe Student Focus Project, a sixmonth study of studentperceptions of service at a large university inBrisbane, Australia. The study paneled 24 focus groups of undergraduate students to assess theirbeliefs about a pretested set of questions concerningpositive and negative aspects of university life,successes and frustrations with university service,attempts to overcome the obstacles of university life,and what students expect from their relationship to theuniversity. Of the themes identified in the StudentFocus study, it was found that malignantbureaucracy and the balkanization ofInformation are systemic factors that negativelyinfluence student perceptions of the quality ofuniversity service. It was also found that studentstrategies for service recovery can contribute to the overall confusion andpoor performance of university services.