Higher EducationPub Date : 2024-01-26DOI: 10.1007/s10734-024-01181-6
Binh Ta, Cuong Hoang, Hang Khong, Trang Dang
{"title":"Australian PhD graduates’ agency in navigating their career pathways: stories from social sciences","authors":"Binh Ta, Cuong Hoang, Hang Khong, Trang Dang","doi":"10.1007/s10734-024-01181-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-024-01181-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Despite limited opportunities for tenured academic positions, the number of PhD graduates in Social Sciences has steadily risen in countries with developed research systems. The current literature predominantly portrays PhD graduates as victims, either of the higher education system or of their own optimism in pursuing an academic career. This paper takes an alternative stance by spotlighting the agency exhibited by PhD graduates in Social Sciences as they deftly navigate their career pathways amid the constrained academic job market. Specifically, we adopt an ecological perspective of agency to explore how PhD graduates in Social Sciences exercise their agency in navigating their career from the beginning of their PhD candidature until up to 5 years after graduation. We employ a narrative approach to delve into the employment journeys of twenty-three PhD graduates. Within this cohort, we select to report four participants from four Australian universities, each possessing distinct career trajectories. Our analysis highlights agency as the link between various personal and institutional factors that shape our participants’ career trajectories. Based on this finding, we offer recommendations for practice and policy changes that appreciate PhD graduates’ agency.</p>","PeriodicalId":48383,"journal":{"name":"Higher Education","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139590665","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Higher EducationPub Date : 2024-01-25DOI: 10.1007/s10734-023-01172-z
Kathleen M. Quinlan, Dave S. P. Thomas, Annette Hayton, Jo Astley, Leda Blackwood, Fatmata K. Daramy, Morag Duffin, Muhammad Arslan Haider, Deborah Husbands, Richard Joiner, Helen Kay, Mary Mosoeunyane, Ian J. Turner, Claire Walsh, Dan West
{"title":"Promoting students’ interest through culturally sensitive curricula in higher education","authors":"Kathleen M. Quinlan, Dave S. P. Thomas, Annette Hayton, Jo Astley, Leda Blackwood, Fatmata K. Daramy, Morag Duffin, Muhammad Arslan Haider, Deborah Husbands, Richard Joiner, Helen Kay, Mary Mosoeunyane, Ian J. Turner, Claire Walsh, Dan West","doi":"10.1007/s10734-023-01172-z","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01172-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Previous studies have emphasized culturally sensitive curricula in the context of enhancing minoritized students’ education. We examined the relationship between second-year higher education students’ perceptions of the cultural sensitivity of their curriculum and both majoritized and minoritized students’ interest in their course. A total of 286 (228 F) students rated the cultural sensitivity of their curriculum on six scales using a revised version of the Culturally Sensitive Curricula Scales (CSCS-R), the perceived quality of their relationships with teachers, and their interest. The CSCS-R widened the construct with two new scales and showed better reliability. Ethnic minority students (<i>n</i> = 99) perceived their curriculum as less culturally sensitive than White students (<i>n</i> = 182), corroborating previous findings. Black students perceived their curriculum as less culturally sensitive than Asian students. There were no significant differences between ethnic minority and White students on interest or perceived quality of relationships with teachers. Five dimensions of cultural sensitivity (<i>Diversity Represented</i>, <i>Positive Depictions</i>, <i>Challenge Power</i>, <i>Inclusive Classroom Interactions</i>, <i>Culturally Sensitive Assessments</i>) and perceived quality of relationships with teachers predicted interest. Ethnicity did not. Ensuring curricula and assessments represent diversity positively, challenge power and are inclusive may support students’ interest while reflecting an increasingly diverse society.</p>","PeriodicalId":48383,"journal":{"name":"Higher Education","volume":"28 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139585548","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Higher EducationPub Date : 2024-01-23DOI: 10.1007/s10734-024-01182-5
Meshal Abdulaziz Aldhobaib
{"title":"Quality assurance struggle in higher education institutions: moving towards an effective quality assurance management system","authors":"Meshal Abdulaziz Aldhobaib","doi":"10.1007/s10734-024-01182-5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-024-01182-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Quality assurance (QA) is considered a critical component in higher education institutions (HEIs) and their academic programmes in the twenty-first century. Despite significant investments to enhance QA in HEIs, contemporary research suggests that QA systems may not always meet the expectations of HEI stakeholders. The literature review suggests that differing interpretations of ‘quality’ in HE can impact the progress of QA and related issues. This study, therefore, aims to empirically investigate the reality of QA in HEIs, specifically how it is perceived and implemented in these institutions. Additionally, it seeks to identify challenges impacting the success of QA and propose practical solutions that may improve QA systems in HEIs. Applying a qualitative ethnographic approach, this research includes in-depth interviews with 53 participants, both participant and non-participant observations, and document analyses at three universities (two public and one private), as well as related QA agencies. The findings of this study offer a range of theoretical and practical insights. Most notably, they contribute to the existing literature on QA and HEIs by providing detailed evidence of the contentious aspects of QA and their implications, particularly regarding the understanding and implications of QA in HEIs from the perspective of relevant participants. Furthermore, the study provides QA policymakers (both external and internal), staff, and general members of HEIs with various challenges and practical solutions for enhancing awareness and engagement with QA issues. Finally, the conclusion and implications section outlines key areas for future research in different contexts of the world.</p>","PeriodicalId":48383,"journal":{"name":"Higher Education","volume":"206 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139555577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Disrupting internationalisation of the curriculum in Latin America","authors":"Craig Whitsed, Carla Camargo Cassol, Betty Leask, Marilia Costa Morosini, Cristina Elsner, Diep Nguyen","doi":"10.1007/s10734-023-01163-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01163-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Internationalisation of the curriculum (IoC) is typically approached very differently across national, institutional and disciplinary contexts. This paper reports on research on internationalisation of the curriculum in Latin America and discusses its potential to provoke disruptive innovation in higher education internationalisation. Traditionally, approaches to internationalisation of the curriculum in Latin American universities have been focused almost solely on student mobility programs. The research reported in this paper was conducted by a project team from Brazil and Australia in 2021–2022. A qualitative methodology was used. Methods included a tri-lingual literature review of scholarly publications on curriculum internationalisation in English, Portuguese and Spanish and a modified e-Delphi methodology with a panel of experts comprising international higher education scholars and practitioners working in Latin America (and conducted in Spanish, Portuguese and English). The purpose of the research was to identify ways in which existing approaches to internationalising the curriculum in Latin America might be enhanced in order to provide more students with opportunities to develop international perspectives and intercultural knowledge and skills. The research found that there is significant potential to achieve this outcome if the process of internationalising the curriculum is approached as a long-term project involving complex collaborative boundary work.</p>","PeriodicalId":48383,"journal":{"name":"Higher Education","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139555543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Higher EducationPub Date : 2024-01-22DOI: 10.1007/s10734-023-01179-6
Marco Chiodaroli, Lisa Freyhult, Andreas Solders, Diego Tarrío, Katerina Pia Günter
{"title":"“Every morning I take two steps to my desk…”: students’ perspectives on distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic","authors":"Marco Chiodaroli, Lisa Freyhult, Andreas Solders, Diego Tarrío, Katerina Pia Günter","doi":"10.1007/s10734-023-01179-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01179-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p>During the COVID-19 pandemic, distance learning became the predominant teaching method at most universities, exposing students and teachers alike to novel and unexpected challenges and learning opportunities. Our study is situated in the context of higher physics education at a large Swedish university and adopts a mixed-methods approach to explore how students perceive shifts to distance learning. Quantitative student survey responses comparing distance learning during the pandemic with previous in-person learning are analyzed with k-means cluster analysis and with a random-intercept multilevel linear model. Combined analyses produce a consistent picture of students who report having experienced the greatest challenges. They are on average younger, report being less autonomous in their learning, and find it harder than peers to ask questions to the instructor. They are also less likely to have access to a place where they can study without interruptions. Variation across courses is small with students being largely subjected to the same set of challenges. Qualitative data from semi-structured focus group interviews and open-ended questions supports these findings, provides a deeper understanding of the struggles, and reveals possibilities for future interventions. Students report an overall collapse of structure in their learning that takes place along multiple dimensions. Our findings highlight a fundamental role played by informal peer-to-peer and student-instructor interactions, and by the exchange of what we refer to as “structural information.” We discuss implications for teachers and institutions regarding the possibility of providing support structures, such as study spaces, as well as fostering student autonomy.</p>","PeriodicalId":48383,"journal":{"name":"Higher Education","volume":"256 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139515878","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Higher EducationPub Date : 2024-01-19DOI: 10.1007/s10734-023-01173-y
Nan Yang, Patrizia Ghislandi
{"title":"Quality teaching and learning in a fully online large university class: a mixed methods study on students’ behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement","authors":"Nan Yang, Patrizia Ghislandi","doi":"10.1007/s10734-023-01173-y","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01173-y","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The two main trends in the development of higher education worldwide are universal access and digital transformation. These trends are bringing about an increase in class sizes and the growth of online higher education. Previous studies indicated that both the large-class setting and online delivery threaten the quality, and the exploration of strategies to ensure quality teaching and learning in the large-class setting was in face-to-face or blended learning mode. This study contributes to this topic by exploring the quality of teaching and learning in a new scenario: the fully online large university class. Furthermore, it proposes to use student engagement as a new means to explore the quality of teaching and learning in a large-class setting as it offers evidence on quality from the in-itinere perspective rather than the more commonly ex-post perspective offered by existing studies, collected, for example, from student feedback or course grades. This study was conducted in a mandatory course at an Italian university. Both the Moodle log data and students’ reflective diaries are collected to analyze the presence of students’ behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement. Tableau and NVivo handle the quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. By confirming the presence of all three types of engagement, the result indicates quality teaching and learning happens in the fully online large university class. Since we select both “high-grade” and “low-grade” students as representative samples, the Tableau visualization also indicates that only using behavioral engagement to predict students’ academic performance is unreliable.</p>","PeriodicalId":48383,"journal":{"name":"Higher Education","volume":"6 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139516177","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Higher EducationPub Date : 2024-01-16DOI: 10.1007/s10734-023-01170-1
Steve R. Entrich, Nicolai Netz, Ryoji Matsuoka
{"title":"The role of institutional contexts for social inequalities in study abroad intent and participation","authors":"Steve R. Entrich, Nicolai Netz, Ryoji Matsuoka","doi":"10.1007/s10734-023-01170-1","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01170-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p>We contribute to research on social inequalities in educational attainment by examining the role of institutional contexts for students’ study abroad (SA) intent and participation. To do so, we extend the individual-level rational choice model predicting SA intent and participation depending on students’ socioeconomic status (SES) into a multi-level model emphasizing the importance of context effects. We test our model based on unique micro-level student data, which we supplement with context data. Examining 18,510 students nested in 69 universities, we provide the first in-depth multi-level analyses of SA intent and participation of students from Japan. In line with findings from many Western countries, our results show that higher-SES students are more likely to (intend to) study abroad. Regarding the role of institutional contexts, we find that programs designed to improve SA opportunity structures hardly affect students’ SA intent but significantly positively affect SA participation above and beyond other university-level and student-level characteristics. Importantly, both lower- and higher-SES students benefit from favorable SA opportunity structures. These findings suggest that Japan’s recent push toward internationalization of higher education has created relevant SA opportunities for students from different social backgrounds. Still, higher-SES students are currently overrepresented among those studying abroad because they are more likely to select into universities offering favorable SA opportunity structures. Our analysis calls for more research combining individual-level with contextual-level theories and data to better understand the conditions shaping SES-specific SA intent and participation.</p>","PeriodicalId":48383,"journal":{"name":"Higher Education","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139495645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Higher EducationPub Date : 2024-01-15DOI: 10.1007/s10734-023-01175-w
Reiko Yoshida
{"title":"Autoethnography of a Japanese academic in an Australian university: the development and changes of professional identity","authors":"Reiko Yoshida","doi":"10.1007/s10734-023-01175-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01175-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study uses autoethnography to examine the development of and changes in my professional identity through my study and work experiences since I came to Australia from Japan. I am currently an academic teaching Japanese language and research in the field of applied linguistics in an Australian university. I wrote a self-narrative about my experiences and the related emotions covering the time of my arrival in Australia from Japan in 1997. Because teaching and research are the major roles in my current position, I coded the narrative for statements concerning my teacher identity and my researcher identity. After reading the narratives and repeatedly reviewing the coding, I produced stories about my teacher and researcher identities. The development and changes of my professional identity were closely linked to sociopolitical aspects of my work in my immediate teaching and research contexts and to my linguistic and cultural backgrounds. My relationships with students and research colleagues tended to trigger positive emotions and contribute to the development of a positive professional identity, whereas relationships with higher management at the university were likely to cause negative emotions and contribute to the development of a negative professional identity.</p>","PeriodicalId":48383,"journal":{"name":"Higher Education","volume":"19 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139470589","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Higher EducationPub Date : 2024-01-10DOI: 10.1007/s10734-023-01171-0
Génesis Guarimata-Salinas, Joan Josep Carvajal, M. Dolores Jiménez López
{"title":"Redefining the role of doctoral supervisors: a multicultural examination of labels and functions in contemporary doctoral education","authors":"Génesis Guarimata-Salinas, Joan Josep Carvajal, M. Dolores Jiménez López","doi":"10.1007/s10734-023-01171-0","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01171-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study focuses on the changes that doctoral education has experienced in the last decades and discusses the role of doctoral supervisors. The figure of doctoral supervisor continues to be a subject of much debate; therefore, the aim of this study is to provide a universal, global, and common definition that clearly establishes the roles and functions of doctoral supervisors. Employing a multi-method approach, the study utilized the perspectives of linguistic relativism and prototype theory to understand how linguistic and label diversity may influence the perception and approach to supervisory tasks. We examine a corpus of 55 different labels to refer to “doctoral supervisor.” Data was collected from 116 countries, encompassing 47 different languages and 55 distinct labels from Europe, Africa, America, Asia, and Oceania, forming a unique corpus of information. The results reveal a total of 18 functions to be fulfilled by the doctoral supervisor. Additionally, the findings underscore the significance of linguistic influence in conceptualizing the functions associated with the supervisor in various cultural contexts and highlight the necessity for redefining the role of the thesis supervisor. The results hold potential benefits for doctoral schools and supervisors, serving as guidelines for standardizing the functions of the doctoral supervisor.</p>","PeriodicalId":48383,"journal":{"name":"Higher Education","volume":"4 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139422526","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Higher EducationPub Date : 2024-01-05DOI: 10.1007/s10734-023-01167-w
Agata A. Lambrechts, Marco Cavallaro, Benedetto Lepori
{"title":"The European Universities initiative: between status hierarchies and inclusion","authors":"Agata A. Lambrechts, Marco Cavallaro, Benedetto Lepori","doi":"10.1007/s10734-023-01167-w","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-023-01167-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Using a dataset of higher education institutional alliances within the framework of the European University initiative (EUi), we test empirically whether the policy-defined goal of a relative balance between <i>excellence</i> and <i>inclusiveness</i> within the scheme has been achieved. Specifically, we provide a descriptive and analytical account of the diversity of the higher education institutions (HEIs) participating in the EUi, the composition of—as well as the mechanisms behind—the formation of individual alliances. We observe that alliance formation activated the deep sociological mechanisms of hierarchisation, with the alliances largely reproducing the existing <i>hierarchy of European HEIs</i>. Specifically, we argue that the global-level stratification hierarchy cast by rankings influences the participation of individual institutions and—although to a more limited extent—the formation/structure of the alliances. Further, we demonstrate that the EUi has strengthened existing ties since most alliances thus far have built on existing forms of collaboration. However, we also show empirically that some of the distinctive policy design measures, namely the requirement for broad geographical coverage and generically framed rules for participation, as well as opening the initiative to new alliances and encouraging enlargement of the existing ones, have generated opportunities for involvement of the lower-status institutions. This broadened the scope of the EUi beyond the core of top-ranked research universities located in the knowledge production centres of Europe. We suggest that these observations may have important implications for how the intended extension of the EUi may be implemented in the future.</p>","PeriodicalId":48383,"journal":{"name":"Higher Education","volume":"49 12 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":5.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139373556","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}