The changing role of the university in the production of new knowledge

Abstract

‘Internationalisation’ became a key theme in the 1990s both in higher education policy debates and in higher education research. Starting off from a heterogeneous set of phenomena, internationalisation does not merely mean varying border‐crossing activities on the rise anymore, but rather substantial changes: first, from a predominantly ‘vertical’ pattern of cooperation and mobility towards the dominance of international relationships on equal terms; second, from casuistic action towards systematic policies of internationalisation; third, from disconnection of specific international activities on the one hand and on the other internationalisation of the core activities towards an integrated internationalisation of higher education. Though higher education policy remains predominantly shaped on a national level and tends to underscore specific traditions and conditions of individual countries, the responsibility of individual institutions of higher education in Europe for their own future grows in the process internationalisation which is accompanied, among others, by growing pressure for diversity and increasing popularity of managenalism as well as by a policy of the European Commission which seems to favour de‐nationalisation of higher education.     

Initial Teacher Education: the pedagogy is the message

This paper addresses the need to increase the coherence between educational theory and pedagogical practices at the level of initial, or preservice, teacher education. It provides a case study of pedagogical practices within the context of a third‐year unit/subject on the psychology of teaching and learning in a four‐year Bachelor‐of‐Education course. These practices were developed and implemented within the framework of a constructivist view of teaching and learning, a framework which was itself a central component of the theory base of the unit. The case study includes student responses to these practices.     

Students with special educational needs within PISA

Abstract

Since 2003, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) has included students with special educational needs (SEN), identified as those with functional disabilities, those with cognitive/behavioural/emotional disabilities and those with limited test language proficiency. While the number of countries and included students has increased with each test administration, the percentage of students with SEN remains extremely low. The inclusion of these students is not an intentional PISA design parameter but rather a response to the interaction between the need to maintain strict sampling criteria and country-level educational mandates to include SEN students in standardised testing. Based on the analysis of student participation and performance across four cycles of PISA (2003–2012), this paper examines the challenges that exist in current PISA procedures related to: student sampling, eligibility and identification; assessment methodology; and reporting results. PISA practices, their limitations for scientific inferences and recommendations for design improvements are given.     

Lifelong education and transnational migration

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether and through what mechanisms vulnerable adults are empowered through a second-chance education programme. At the same time, the paper aims at unveiling the obstacles hindering learners’ empowerment process and making suggestions for the improvement of the educational programme fostering further empowerment of the learners. To achieve the objectives set by the research, a hybrid methodological design was applied combining hermeneutic phenomenology and critical discourse analysis. Data collection was performed using three tools: semi-structured interviews, reflective journals and document analysis. The results led to the emergence of a multilevel empowerment scheme of vulnerable adults in the programme. The empowerment mechanisms that emerged were as follows: (a) empowerment through participation as a self-value, (b) empowerment through the reconstruction of past experiences, (c) empowerment through the strengthening of their social capital and (d) empowerment through literacy skills. At the same time, the study shed light on a number of factors that inhibit the process of learners’ empowerment, which unveil structural and operational weaknesses of the programme as well as of the policies pursued by the State.     

Assessment of mentally retarded children with the Matrix Analogies Test-Short Form,Draw A Person: A quantitative scoring system,and the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement

This study examined the utility of the MAT-SF and the DAP: A Quantitative Scoring System as screening instruments for mental retardation. In this study, 46 normals and 39 developmentally handicapped (DH) 4th- and 5th-grade students were group administered both screening tests and individually administered an achievement test, the KTEA. The results found the MAT-SF to correlate significantly with all areas of achievement for both groups, whereas the DAP did not correlate significantly with any areas of achievement for the normal group but correlated significantly with math, but not reading, for the developmentally handicapped students. The results support the use of the MAT-SF as a screening instrument for mental retardation, whereas the usefulness of the DAP is not as clear.     

No regrets? Measuring the career benefits of a psychology placement year

We report an analysis of whether a psychology placement provides significant benefit to graduates’ careers. Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey data six months post‐graduation suggested that placement programme graduates across the university are significantly more likely to be (1) in work and (2) in graduate‐level jobs. For psychology, the association between graduates’ placement status and employment status at the same time was not significant overall. However, when analyses were split by degree classification obtained, it was shown that amongst those graduates with 2.1 degrees reporting themselves as working, more placement vs. non‐placement programme graduates had obtained graduate‐level jobs (63% vs. 33%). In 2.2 classified graduates there was no significant association. This pattern persisted in the data from a survey of psychology alumni (from 18 months to six and a half years post‐graduation). Psychology placement programme alumni were also more satisfied with their careers. Although placement graduates earned marginally more, this difference did not reach statistical significance. This study was therefore able to show some measurable and persistent effects of a psychology placement year, although whether the benefits can be claimed to outweigh the costs is inconclusive. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed.     

Assessing collaborative learning: big data,analytics and university futures

Assessment in higher education has focused on the performance of individual students. This focus has been a practical as well as an epistemic one: methods of assessment are constrained by the technology of the day, and in the past they required the completion by individuals under controlled conditions of set-piece academic exercises. Recent advances in learning analytics, drawing upon vast sets of digitally stored student activity data, open new practical and epistemic possibilities for assessment, and carry the potential to transform higher education. It is becoming practicable to assess the individual and collective performance of team members working on complex projects that closely simulate the professional contexts that graduates will encounter. In addition to academic knowledge, this authentic assessment can include a diverse range of personal qualities and dispositions that are key to the computer-supported cooperative working of professionals in the knowledge economy. This paper explores the implications of such opportunities for the purpose and practices of assessment in higher education, as universities adapt their institutional missions to address twenty-first century needs. The paper concludes with a strong recommendation for university leaders to deploy analytics to support and evaluate the collaborative learning of students working in realistic contexts.     

STS and comparative assessment of scientific theory

Comparative studies of science education can emphasise either student learning of school science in a competitive sense or the variety of science learnings that contemporary curricula for science expect. The Third International Maths and Science Study (TIMSS) is endeavouring to achieve a balance between these two different and psychometrically conflicting possibilities. The impact of STS on a number of countries' science curricula in the last few years is used to explore these tensions in the planning of TIMSS.     

The enlightenment revolution: A historical study of positive change through science teacher education

Conclusion The impact of Pestalozzian theory as embodied in object teaching was only significantly felt in America when teacher-education institutions began teaching the spirit and techniques of this method. Sheldon and his colleagues helped spread object teaching across America by utilizing inservice teacher education, preservice teacher education, a Practice School, and education of teacher educators. This enlightenment in education shifted the instructional focus to the child, stressing activity and concrete experiences, rather than dull rote memorization. Elementary school science evolved from object teaching, and methods of science instruction were influenced by the object teaching movement. Educational reform may never again occur as swiftly or as dramatically; however, the message is clear: Significant, meaningful changecan occur in schools through teacher education.