Students in Transnational Tertiary Education 1

Transnational tertiary education is an ancient, growing field but one comparatively little investigated to date, especially as regards its effects on students who study in branches of foreign higher education institutions or who cross national boundaries in pursuit of learning at the tertiary level. This article attempts, through the use of case studies, to explore these effects across a range of transnational study scenarios, with special emphasis on the legal, ethical, and practical implications of effects on students. A taxonomy is presented to guide providers and accrediting bodies in setting and monitoring standards in all aspects of transnational tertiary education.

     

Service matters: Single Service Point as a collaborative and professional learning initiative for service excellence

ABSTRACT

Changes and innovations in higher education learning and teaching acted as a catalyst for rethinking the way in which service was delivered to library clients at Australian Catholic University. The Single Service Point was piloted at one campus library in 2014 to develop a best practice approach to service delivery. The merging of cultures within the library environment was achieved through committed leadership, with staff agreeing on shared values and goals and applying the university mission. All staff were responsible for seeking solutions to challenges and becoming autonomous in their professional development and training. Overall, in a Single Service Point model, service efficiency, excellence, and quality increased through staff teamwork, contribution, and collaboration.     

Review of the Leaving Certificate biology examination papers (1999–2008) using Bloom’s taxonomy – an investigation of the cognitive demands of the examination

It is widely recognised that high-stakes assessment can significantly influence what is taught in the classroom. Many argue that high-stakes assessment results in a narrowed curriculum where students learn by rote rather than developing higher cognitive skills. This paper describes a study investigating the various cognitive objectives present from Bloom’s Taxonomy Educational Objectives on the Leaving Certificate biology examination. The study analysed examination papers from the past and current biology syllabuses. Analysis was also carried out to determine the marks being awarded to the different cognitive objectives. The findings show that the examination predominately includes questions that do not promote higher levels of thinking. The majority of the marks on the paper were allocated to the lower objectives of the taxonomy, suggesting students can rely on rote learning to succeed when undertaking the biology examination. This study strongly highlights how high-stake examinations have a narrow scope in terms of student achievement and shows how current biology examination procedures promote low-level learning. This low level of thinking promotes rote learning and regurgitation of facts, requiring little to no understanding of the topics. To prepare students for the working world, there needs to be a shift from only terminal exams to a mixed approach.     

Schooling in Capitalism: Navigating the Bleak Pathways of Structural Fate

In this review essay Kevin Murray and Dan Liston examine three texts in what this symposium has deemed the recent resurgence in neo‐Marxist accounts of schooling: David Blacker's The Falling Rate of Learning and the Neoliberal Endgame, Mike Cole's Marxism and Educational Theory, and John Marsh's Class Dismissed. Murray and Liston argue that Blacker, Cole, and Marsh provide a much‐needed structural delineation of schooling in capitalist society. All three works have substantial merit and are in need of minor adjustments. Blacker's vision is telling and chilling but may need some fine‐tuning; Cole's defense of Marxism is commendable but tends toward the disembodied abstract; and Marsh's text capably highlights educationists' blinders but seems to miss elements of a critical structural account. While recognizing real limitations on transformative education under capitalism, Murray and Liston nevertheless elaborate a variation of the radical humanist project. It is their skeletal attempt at an educationally and morally defensible reparative theory.