Degrees of value: comparing the contextual complexities of UK transnational education in Malaysia and Hong Kong

This paper reveals the complex diversity that underpins ostensibly similar transnational education programmes (TNE), through a comparison of UK TNE in Malaysia and Hong Kong. It draws on data from two different yet cognate studies on the role of UK universities in delivering higher education in Asia. Some fine-grained and informative differences between the ways in which ‘value’ in TNE is constructed in different host contexts is revealed. The paper brings to light the ‘voices’ of TNE students and graduates, which are very seldom heard. The arguments adapt and extend the concepts of education as a positional good, and as cultural capital. For various instrumental, intrinsic and personal reasons the authors discuss in detail, UK TNE is more highly valued in Malaysia than in Hong Kong. The paper makes a wider contribution to knowledge on the changing landscape of international higher education and the impact on social and personal (dis)advantage.     

Mapping the knowledge structure exhibited by a cohort of students based on their understanding of how a galvanic cell produces energy

This study evaluates the use of an open‐ended question to determine students' knowledge structure on the topic of galvanic cells. The open‐ended question was developed and administered to 163 Grade 10 students who had earlier completed a course on electrochemistry. Students' responses were marked as well as coded on the basis of the fields identified from their responses. This was then evaluated statistically to determine the collective knowledge structure of the sample of students. The knowledge structure thus mapped contains both canonical concepts and alternative conceptions (ACs). An important finding emerging from this study is that instructors need to focus student's attention on the dynamic processes involving electrons and ions during the operation of galvanic cells. In order for students to fully understand how a galvanic cell operates, they need to see the whole picture. There are three critical components that lead to students' understanding of how an oxidation–reduction reaction can generate energy and how a circuit is complete: transfer of electrons during oxidation–reduction half‐reactions, flow of electrons within metals, and migration of ions in solution. Also, we found that it is possible for students to use correct chemistry concepts in an incorrect way by establishing linkages among these in an inappropriate manner. We reiterate that apart from evaluating students' ACs, it is also important to evaluate the links between the concepts and conceptions present in students' knowledge structure so that teaching can be made more effective.     

Expectations versus reality: the case of Liberal Studies in Hong Kong’s new senior secondary reforms

This article reports the findings of a five-year longitudinal study investigating the introduction of Liberal Studies in the context of Hong Kong’s new senior secondary educational reforms. The aim of this empirical research, which adopted diachronic analysis to allow comparisons over time, was to compare teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the Liberal Studies curriculum before and after its introduction. Methodologically speaking, the study was informed by documentary inquiry, with approximately 560 newspaper articles and government reports collected to identify the issues surrounding the curriculum debate. Questionnaire-based surveys conducted in the pre- and post-reform periods revealed a sharp contrast between expectations and reality for both participant groups following the curriculum’s introduction. Whilst the students demonstrated favourable attitudes towards Liberal Studies before studying the subject, a certain degree of disappointment was expressed after the new curriculum came into effect. In follow-up interviews with teachers, they expressed a lack of confidence in teaching such a multi-disciplinary subject and criticised the overly ambitious nature of the curriculum. Liberal Studies, as currently taught, runs the risk of falling out of favour with Hong Kong secondary school teachers, and the question of whether it will play an increasingly important role in promoting patriotic education after the demise of Moral and National Education is deserving of research attention.     

Social factors and adult learners’ motivations in re‐entering higher education

While there is less doubt that adult learners are motivated by different reasons to re‐attend school, it is important to note that, other than psychological factors, social factors are also important in shaping the participation decision. Although researchers have attempted to include social factors in participation models, there is not a conclusive relationship between socioeconomic background and motivation for participation. This study attempts to clarify the linkage between different social factors and adult motivations in re‐entering school to acquire a university degree. By regressing motivations onto three sets of social variables, we found that family role and social position have significant impact in affecting some of the motivations for re‐entering school. These results confirm that adult motivations to learn are embedded within the social lives of adults.     

Academic Understandings of and Responses to Bologna: a three-country perspective

This article aims to describe how academics in England, Denmark and Portugal understand the Bologna Process, their attitudes towards the initiative, and how understandings and attitudes determine action. It shows how contextually and culturally determined academic understandings, expectations, preferences, priorities and constraints are key influences in the process of educational change envisaged by the Bologna Process. Second, inspired by the implementation staircase metaphor which illustrates different actors' perceptions conditioned by their location on the path of the policy, the article presents three different examples of interplay between national authorities responsible for policy-making in the wake of the Bologna Process and the institutional field responsible for policy implementation. It reveals variations from country to country with regard to bottom-up and top-down initiatives, both at the level of actors' expectations and of actual measures to implement Bologna policy. This article comes in response to the frailty of an empirical base for the understanding of Bologna from an institutional and academic perspective. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at http://youtu.be/9YVouJ35XuE     

Cognitive load in algebra: element interactivity in solving equations

Central to equation solving is the maintenance of equivalence on both sides of the equation. However, when the process involves an interaction of multiple elements, solving an equation can impose a high cognitive load. The balance method requires operations on both sides of the equation, whereas the inverse method involves operations on one side only. In an experiment, middle school students (N?=?71) were randomly assigned to the balance and inverse methods to complete a pre-test, an acquisition phase and a post-test. Pre-test and post-test comparisons found that the inverse group outperformed the balance group for those equations that involved high element interactivity. Instructional efficiency measures further confirmed that the balance method imposed higher cognitive load. The inverse method was capable of reducing cognitive load due to the interacting elements.     

Student-centred learning and disciplinary enculturation: an exploration through physics

This study argues that student-centred methods in the teaching of physics can be beneficial for students’ enculturation into the discipline and into a physicist’s profession. Interviews conducted with academics and students from six master degrees in physics in three different European countries suggest that student-driven classroom activities, collaborative learning and problem-solving, or integration in research groups/projects enable students to engage in practices similar to those which are part of professional scientists’ routine. Through interactive, participative methods reminiscent of cognitive apprenticeship, students develop a range of abilities necessary in a physicist’s career: capacity of explanation, argumentation and defence of claims; analytical reasoning; capacity to critically review literature; ability to discern research paths worth pursuing; writing skills; and interpersonal skills. These give them a first taste of what it is like to be a physicist and ease their transition into a professional physics career.     

Neighborhood disparities in access to information resources: Measuring and mapping U.S. public libraries’ funding and service landscapes

Information inequity is a central concern of the digital age. Many recognize the role of public libraries in bridging such inequities. Unfortunately, however, public libraries are often limited by the funding available to them. This study used a geographic information system (GIS), inequality measures, and multiple regressions to analyze statistics from the Public Libraries Survey (PLS) collected by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and from census tract data. It evaluated the levels of public library funding and services and tested how these resources vary with neighborhood income and urbanization levels. This is one of the few nationwide multivariate studies of neighborhood-level variations. The study revealed significant funding and service variations across the nation's 9000 library systems. Distributions of digital materials, full-time staff with a master's degree in library and information science, and library programs were especially disparate. Library systems in lower-income or rural neighborhoods were relatively less funded and offered fewer information resources. Interestingly, the only variable that was not significantly associated with neighborhood income was the number of public Internet terminals. This suggests that recent funding and research efforts may have made a difference. Similar funding efforts are encouraged for other types of library resources such as staff education and training. In light of the prevalent disparities in resource levels across neighborhoods, the study calls for a fundamental evaluation of the funding mechanisms for libraries. Also, information behavior research should investigate how this structural information inequity affects individuals’ information use decisions.     

Use and evaluation of information from social media: A longitudinal cohort study

This cohort study examined longitudinal changes in undergraduates' use of social media as information sources in academic and everyday-life contexts, covering types of social media used, purposes of use, and evaluation strategies. Web surveys were used, collecting data from 1,355 and 928 undergraduates in 2013 and 2019. The study found that students used most types of social media less in 2019 than 2013 in both contexts. Only media-sharing services bucked this downward pattern. Overall, a majority of social media types underwent changes in the top three purposes of use. The 2019 cohort used most evaluation strategies more frequently in both contexts. However, they favored simplistic strategies relying on superficial physical cues when evaluating information. Based on the findings, this study provided recommendations for information literacy education and interface design, such as covering multimedia information evaluation, leveraging various heuristics to prime careful use of social media and analytical evaluation of information.     

The Effects of Paraphrasing Interventions on Problem‐Solving Accuracy for Children at Risk for Math Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine effectiveness of paraphrasing interventions on mathematics word problem‐solving accuracy in third grade children (N = 72) at risk for mathematics disabilities (MD). Three instructional conditions directed students’ attention through paraphrasing, via writing, to different propositions within word problems. Students were randomly assigned to one of four intervention conditions: paraphrase question propositions (restate), paraphrase relevant propositions (relevant) and paraphrase all propositions (complete) or an untreated control. A mixed ANCOVA indicated that paraphrasing relevant and complete propositions significantly increased posttest accuracy when compared to the control and restate condition. Results from the study provide support for the effectiveness of paraphrasing interventions that directs students to restate/paraphrase propositions of mathematics word problems relative to the control condition.