Search results for: higher education instruction

Authors: Oscar E. Cariceo

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In Chile, social workers´ professional training is developed in the undergraduate level, mainly. Despite the fact that several schools have been launched Master of Social Work programs, the Bachelor in Social Work is the minimum qualification to start a professional career. In the current Chilean higher education system, there exist different financial aid options in order to guarantee equal access to higher education. These policies, which are student loans and scholarships, basically, are applied and distributed by Government agencies. They are linked to academic performance and socio-economic needs, in terms of standardized test scores and social vulnerability criteria. In addition, institutions that enroll students with high scores, also receive direct financial support. In other words, social work students must compete for the resources to pay for college tuitions and fees with other students from different programs and knowledge fields and, as a consequence, they can indirectly enhance schools´ money income. This work aims to describe the reality of social work students to access to financial aid in Chile. The analysis presents the results of the University Selection Test of students, who were accepted in social work undergraduate programs during 2014 related to their qualifications to apply to three main financial aid programs, and their contribution to attracting resources to their schools. In general, data show that social work students participate in a low proportion in the distribution of financial aid, both student loans and scholarships. Few of them reach enough scores to guarantee direct financial resources to their institutions. Therefore, this situation has deep implications on equal access to higher education for vulnerable students and affects equal access to training options for young social workers, due to the highly competitive financial aid system.

Keywords: social work, professional training, higher education, financial aid, equity

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Authors: Amy L. Smith

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This study investigates the impact of student authenticity while engaging in academic exploration of students' sense of belonging, autonomy, and persistence. Research questions include: How does incorporating authenticity in first-year academic exploration courses impact; 1) first-year students’ sense of belonging, autonomy, and persistence? 2) first-year students’ sense of belonging, autonomy, and persistence during the first and last halves of the fall semester? 3) first-year students’ sense of belonging, autonomy, and persistence among various student demographics? First-year students completed a Likert-like survey at the conclusion of eight weeks (first and last eight weeks/fall semester) academic exploration courses. Course redesign included grounding the curriculum and instruction with student authenticity and creating opportunities for students to explore, define, and reflect upon their authenticity during academic exploration. Surveys were administered at the conclusion of these eight week courses (first and last eight weeks/fall semester). Data analysis included an entropy balancing matching method and t-tests. Research findings indicate integrating authenticity into academic exploration courses for first-year students has a positive impact on students' autonomy and persistence. There is a significant difference between authenticity and first-year students' autonomy (p = 0.00) and persistence (p = 0.01). Academic exploration courses with the underpinnings of authenticity are more effective in the second half of the fall semester. There is a significant difference between an academic exploration course grounding the curriculum and instruction in authenticity offered M8A (first half, fall semester) and M8B (second half, fall semester) (p = 0); M8B courses illustrate an increase of students' sense of belonging, autonomy, and persistence. Integrating authenticity into academic exploration courses for first-year students has a positive impact on varying student demographics (p = 0.00). There is a significant difference between authenticity and low-income (p = 0.04), first-generation (p = 0.00), Caucasian (p = 0.02), and American Indian/Alaskan Native (p = 0.05) first-year students' sense of belonging, autonomy, and persistence. Academic exploration courses embedded in authenticity helps develop first-year students’ sense of belonging, autonomy, and persistence, which are effective traits of college students. As first-year students engage in content courses, professors can empower students to have greater engagement in their learning process by relating content to students' authenticity and helping students think critically about how content is authentic to them — how students' authenticity relates to the content, how students can take their content expertise into the future in ways that, to the student, authentically contribute to the greater good. A broader conversation within higher education needs to include 1) designing courses that allow students to develop and reflect upon their authenticity/to formulate answers to the questions: who am I, who am I becoming, and how will I move my authentic self forward; and 2) a discussion of how to shift from the university shaping students to the university facilitating the process of students shaping themselves.

Keywords: authenticity, first-year experience, sense of belonging, autonomy, persistence

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Authors: Atiqa Marium

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In 2015, all 193 UN Member countries adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is an ambitious 15- year plan to address some of the most pressing issues the world faces. Goal 4 is about Quality Education which highlights the importance of inclusive and quality education for sustainable development. Sustainable Development Goal 10 focuses on reducing inequalities within and among countries. In June 2019, Federal Government in Canada released “Towards Canada’s 2030 Agenda National Strategy”, which was an important step to move the 2030 Agenda forward. In April 2019, the Ontario government announced the performance-based funding model for publically assisted colleges and universities in Ontario, which is now part of the universities’ budget 2024-2025. The literature review has shown that the funding model has been implemented by different governments to achieve objectives. However, this model has also resulted in conflicting consequences like reducing university autonomy, education quality/ academic standards, and increased equity concerns. The primary focus of this paper will be to analyze the tensions and coherence between the proposed funding model for education for sustainable development goals and targets set by Canada’s 2030 Agenda National Strategy. Considering that the literature review has provided evidence that the performance-based funding model has resulted in reducing quality of education and increased equity issues in other countries, it will be interesting to see how this proposed funding will align with the SDGs of “Quality Education” and “Reduced Inequalities”. This paper will be well-suited for Volume 4, with the theme of re-visioning institutional impact and sustainability. This paper will underscore the importance of policy coherence between federal and provincial policies for higher education institutions in Ontario for better institutional impact and helping universities in the attainment of goals set in 2030 Agenda towards education for sustainable development.

Keywords: performance-based funding model, education for sustainable development, policy coherence, sustainable development gaols

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Authors: Marlin Killen

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The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) describes academic freedom as essential to the purposes of research and teaching. The importance of academic freedom as a bedrock foundation that supports the work of the professoriate cannot be overstated, and there have been innumerable challenges that have attempted to curtail it. These challenges come from a variety of sources that span legal, ethical, cultural, institutional, and professional perspective and are amplified by social media, traditional media, and political action efforts. Because of these challenges, the development of a comprehensive institutional policy on academic freedom that addresses the principles, practices, and appropriate responses to modern challenges can be a daunting task. This presentation will focus on a case study of a university’s effort to develop an updated, evolving policy on academic freedom that provides a framework and remedies for contemporary challenges to this critical function in higher education.

Keywords: academic freedom, academic freedom policy, higher education policy

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Authors: Marndarath Suksanga

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The purposes and policies applied to sabbatical leave, along with the cost of using sabbatical leave. The potential benefits of the use of sabbatical leave to enhance organizational commitment are then examined. The focuses on the role of the sabbatical leave in the development, satisfaction, and productivity of faculty in institutions. An examination of the origin, definition, purposes, and outcomes of sabbatical leaves reviewed in the literature clarifies the role and benefits of the sabbatical leave. The result of this review can be used to determine the need for further study of how sabbatical leave might be used in higher education in universities level to the benefit of the faculty, students and organizations. The result of this review can be used to determine the need for further study of how sabbatical leave might be used in professional-technical and community colleges to the benefit of the faculty, students and organizations.

Keywords: return on investment, ROI, sabbatical leave, higher education

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Authors: Catherine Chua, Kashif Raza

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Work-integrated learning (WIL) has been heightened in the last few years across countries. With a specific attention on working adults, the key objective is to integrate work experiences with academic studies so that they will be given more opportunities to advance, gather relevant skills and credentials to enable them to contribute more positively to the labour market. In Singapore, developing talent through WIL aims to develop specialist and enduring skills for the industries. Collaborating with the institutes of higher education in Singapore, the Integrated Work Study Programs (IWSP) seek to harmonize classroom learning with practical work experiences so that adult students can develop skills and knowledge that are needed in the existing and future workplaces. Local higher education institutions will also work closely with industry partners, and design courses that support these students to deepen their skills. Using Critical Discourse Analysis, this paper examines the Singapore government policies in WIL and argues that despite the various supports and interventions provided by the government, it is equally important to create a ‘space’ in the society whereby there is a greater recognition for WIL as a valuable education approach, i.e., “continuous meritocracy”. This is especially so in Singapore where academic excellence and conventional front-loaded approach to education are valued.

Keywords: work-integrated learning, adult learners, continuous meritocracy, skillsfuture singapore

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Authors: Colleen McMillan, Alice Schmidt-Hanbidge, Beth Archer-Kuhn, Heather Boynton, Judith Hughes

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It is well known that social work students enter the profession with higher scores of adverse childhood experiences (ACE). Add to that the fact that COVID-19 has forced higher education institutions to shift to online teaching and learning, where students, faculty and field educators in social work education have reported increased stressors as well as posing challenges in developing relationships with students and being able to identify mental health challenges including those related to trauma. This multi-institutional project included three Canadian post-secondary institutions at five sites (the University of Waterloo, the University of Calgary and the University of Manitoba) and partners; Desire To Learn (D2L), The Centre for Teaching Excellence at the University of Waterloo and the Taylor Institute for Teaching and Learning. A sequential mixed method research design was used. Survey data was collected from students, faculty and field education staff from the 3 universities using the Qualtrics Insight Platform, followed by virtual focus group data with students to provide greater clarity to the quantitative data. Survey data was analyzed using SPSS software, while focus group data was transcribed verbatim and organized with N-Vivo 12. Thematic analysis used line-by-line coding and constant comparative methods within and across focus groups. The following three objectives of the study were achieved: 1) Establish a Canadian baseline on trauma informed pedagogy and student experiences of trauma informed teaching in the online higher education environment during a pandemic; 2) Identify and document educator and student experiences of online learning regarding the ability to process trauma experiences; and, 3) Transfer the findings into a trauma informed pedagogical model for Social Work as a first step toward developing a universal trauma informed teaching model. The trauma informed pedagogy model would be presented in relation to the study findings.

Keywords: trauma informed pedagogy, higher education, social work, mental health

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Authors: Aabha Chaubey, Bani Bhattacharya

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Evaluation of the quality of teaching in engineering education in India needs to be conducted on a continuous basis to achieve the best teaching quality in technical education. Quality teaching is an influential factor in technical education which impacts largely on learning outcomes of the students. Present study is not exclusively theory-driven, but it draws on various specific concepts and constructs in the domain of technical education. These include teaching and learning in higher education, teacher effectiveness, and teacher evaluation and performance management in higher education. Student Evaluation of Education Quality (SEEQ) was proposed as one of the evaluation instruments of the quality teaching in engineering education. SEEQ is one of the popular and standard instrument widely utilized all over the world and bears the validity and reliability in educational world. The present study was designed to evaluate the teaching quality through SEEQ in the context of technical education in India, including its validity and reliability based on the collected data. The multiple dimensionality of SEEQ that is present in every teaching and learning process made it quite suitable to collect the feedback of students regarding the quality of instructions and instructor. The SEEQ comprises of 9 original constructs i.e.; learning value, teacher enthusiasm, organization, group interaction, and individual rapport, breadth of coverage, assessment, assignments and overall rating of particular course and instructor with total of 33 items. In the present study, a total of 350 samples comprising first year undergraduate students from Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT, Kharagpur, India) were included for the evaluation of the importance of SEEQ. They belonged to four different courses of different streams of engineering studies. The above studies depicted the validity and reliability of SEEQ was based upon the collected data. This further needs Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Analysis of Moment structure (AMOS) for various scaled instrument like SEEQ Cronbach’s alpha which are associated with SPSS for the examination of the internal consistency. The evaluation of the effectiveness of SEEQ in CFA is implemented on the basis of fit indices such as CMIN/df, CFI, GFI, AGFI and RMSEA readings. The major findings of this study showed the fitness indices such as ChiSq = 993.664,df = 390,ChiSq/df = 2.548,GFI = 0.782,AGFI = 0.736,CFI = 0.848,RMSEA = 0.062,TLI = 0.945,RMR = 0.029,PCLOSE = 0.006. The final analysis of the fit indices presented positive construct validity and stability, on the other hand a higher reliability was also depicted which indicated towards internal consistency. Thus, the study suggests the effectivity of SEEQ as the indicator of the quality evaluation instrument in teaching-learning process in engineering education in India. Therefore, it is expected that with the continuation of this research in engineering education there remains a possibility towards the betterment of the quality of the technical education in India. It is also expected that this study will provide an empirical and theoretical logic towards locating a construct or factor related to teaching, which has the greatest impact on teaching and learning process in a particular course or stream in engineering education.

Keywords: confirmatory factor analysis, engineering education, SEEQ, teaching and learning process

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Authors: Desta Kebede Ayana, Lies Sercu, Demelash Mengistu

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The study is set in Ethiopia, a sub-Saharan multilingual, multiethnic African country, which has seen a significant increase in the number of universities in recent years. The aim of this growth is to provide access to education for all cultural and linguistic groups across the country. However, there are challenges in promoting intercultural competence among students in this diverse context. The aim of the study is to investigate the interculturalization of Ethiopian Higher Education Institutions as perceived by university lecturers and administrators. In particular, the study aims to determine the level of support for this educational innovation and gather suggestions for its implementation and institutionalization. The researchers employed semi-structured interviews with administrators and lecturers from two large Ethiopian universities to gather data. Thematic analysis was utilized for coding and analyzing the interview data, with the assistance of the NVIVO software. The findings obtained from the grounded analysis of the interview data reveal that while there are opportunities for interculturalization in the curriculum and campus life, support for educational innovation remains low. Administrators and lecturers also emphasize the government's responsibility to prioritize interculturalization over other educational innovation goals. The study contributes to the existing literature by examining an under-researched population in an under-researched context. Additionally, the study explores whether Western perspectives of intercultural competence align with the African context, adding to the theoretical understanding of intercultural education. The data for this study was collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with administrators and lecturers from two large Ethiopian universities. The interviews allowed for an in-depth exploration of the participants' views on interculturalization in higher education. Thematic analysis was applied to the interview data, allowing for the identification and organization of recurring themes and patterns. The analysis was conducted using the NVIVO software, which aided in coding and analyzing the data. The study addresses the extent to which administrators and lecturers support the interculturalization of Ethiopian Higher Education Institutions. It also explores their suggestions for implementing and institutionalizing intercultural education, as well as their perspectives on the current level of institutionalization. The study highlights the challenges in interculturalizing Ethiopian universities and emphasizes the need for greater support and prioritization of intercultural education. It also underscores the importance of considering the African context when conceptualizing intercultural competence. This research contributes to the understanding of intercultural education in diverse contexts and provides valuable insights for policymakers and educational institutions aiming to promote intercultural competence in higher education settings.

Keywords: administrators, educational change, Ethiopia, intercultural competence, lecturers

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Authors: Jiawei Liang

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Against the backdrop of China's burgeoning migration from rural to urban areas, a demographic group has emerged in China, which is called left-behind children. Due to many reasons, including the issue of the rural-urban education gap, the education of left-behind children has been below the national education average. In this situation, the issue has attracted the attention of researchers and policymakers. In order to gain a comprehensive understanding of this issue, this paper adopts an analytical approach to studying the rural-urban education gap and left-behind children in rural China. The paper first introduces the current situation of migration, the education gap, and left-behind children within China. Then, it further explores the causes of these two questions and barriers as well as the consequences for left-behind children. Finally, the study offers some suggestions to alleviate the urban-rural gap and the current situation of education for left-behind children in rural areas, which will hopefully shed light on the issue of left-behind children in China and the urban-rural education gap.

Keywords: left-behind children, rural China, education improvement, Hukou policy, rural-urban education gap

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Authors: Surasak Khamkhong

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This study aimed to investigate the use of the PISA reading literacy assessment framework (PRF) to improve EFL learners’ critical reading and thinking skills. The sample group, selected by the purposive sampling technique, included 36 EFL learners from a university in Northeastern Thailand. The instruments consisted of 8 PRF-based reading lessons, a 27-item-PRF-based reading test which was used as a pre-test and a post-test, and an attitude questionnaire toward the designed lessons. The statistics used for data analysis were percentage, mean, standard deviation, and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. The results revealed that before the intervention, the students’ English reading proficiency were low as is evident from their low pre-test scores (M=14.00). They did fairly well for the access-and-retrieve questions (M=6.11), but poorly for the integrate-and-interpret questions (M=4.89) and the reflect-and-evaluate questions (M=3.00), respectively. This means that the students could comprehend the texts but they could hardly interpret or evaluate them. However, after the intervention, they could do better as their post-test scores were higher (M=18.01). They could comprehend (M=6.78), interpret (M=6.00) and evaluate (M=5.25) well. This means that after the intervention, their critical reading skills had improved. In terms of their attitude towards the designed lessons and instruction, most students were satisfied with the lessons and the instruction. It may thus be concluded that the designed lessons can help improve students’ English critical reading proficiency and may be used as a teaching model for improving EFL learners’ critical reading skills.

Keywords: second language reading, critical reading and thinking skills, PISA reading literacy framework, English L2 reading development

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Authors: Karl Eddie T. Malabanan

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Due to the quick transmission and public health risk of coronavirus disease, schools and universities have shifted to distant learning. Teachers everywhere were forced to shift gears instantly in order to react to the needs of students and families using synchronous and asynchronous virtual teaching. This study aims to explore the lived experiences of physical education teachers who are currently experiencing remote learning in teaching during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the challenges that the physical education teachers encounter during remote learning and teaching. The participants include 12 physical education teachers who have taught in higher education institutions for at least five years. The researcher utilized qualitative research; specifically, the researcher used Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR). The results of this study showed that there are five categories for the Lived Experiences of Physical Education Teachers with thirty-one subcategories. This study revealed that physical education teachers experienced very challenging situations during the time of the pandemic. It also found that students had challenges in the abrupt transition from traditional to virtual learning classes, but it also showed that students are tenacious and willing to face any adversity. The researcher also finds that teachers are mentally drained during this time. Furthermore, one of the main focuses for the teachers should be on improving their well-being. And lastly, to cope with the challenges, teachers employ socializing to relieve tension and anxiety.

Keywords: lived experiences, consensual qualitative research, pandemic, education

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Authors: Deanna Ruano-Meas, Laura Shenkman

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Variances are seen in the way healthcare personnel (HCP) don and doff PPE risking contamination to self and others. By standardizing practice, variances in technique decrease, and so does the risk of contamination. To implement this change, the Model for Improvement will be used. A system change will be developed that will outline the role of the organizational leader’s support of HCP in the proper donning and doffing of PPE. Interventions will include environmental surveys to assess the safety and work situation ensuring a permissible environment, plan audits to confirm consistency, and the assessment of PPE wear for standardization. The change will also include an educational plan that will involve instruction of the current guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to all pertinent HCP, and the incorporation of PPE education in yearly educational training. The goal is a standardized practice and a reduced risk of contamination through education and organizational support. Personal protective equipment has had recent attention with the coming of the SARS-CoV-2. The realization that proper technique is important to decreasing contamination of pathogens has led to the revising of current processes.

Keywords: donning and doffing, HAI, infection control, PPE

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Authors: Teresa Kupczyk, Selçuk Mustafa Özcan, Joanna Kubicka

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The paper presents results of specialist literature analysis concerning learning outcomes and student satisfaction as a factor of the necessary change in the Polish higher education system. The objective of the empirical research was to determine students’ assessment of learning outcomes, satisfaction of their expectations, as well as their satisfaction with lectures and practical classes held in the traditional form, e-learning and video-conference. The assessment concerned effectiveness of time spent at classes, usefulness of the delivered knowledge, instructors’ preparation and teaching skills, application of tools, studies curriculum, its adaptation to students’ needs and labour market, as well as studying conditions. Self-assessment of learning outcomes was confronted with assessment by lecturers. The indirect objective of the research was also to identify how students assessed their activity and commitment in acquisition of knowledge and their discipline in achieving education goals. It was analysed how the studies held affected the students’ willingness to improve their skills and assessment of their perspectives at the labour market. To capture the changes underway, the research was held at the beginning, during and after completion of the studies. The study group included 86 students of two editions of full-time studies majoring in Management and specialising in “Mega-event organisation”. The studies were held within the EU-funded project entitled “Responding to challenges of new markets – innovative managerial education”. The results obtained were analysed statistically. Average results and standard deviations were calculated. In order to describe differences between the studied variables present during the process of studies, as well as considering the respondents’ gender, t-Student test for independent samples was performed with the IBM SPSS Statistics 21.0 software package. Correlations between variables were identified by calculation of Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients. Research results suggest necessity to introduce some changes in the teaching system applied at Polish higher education institutions, not only considering the obtained outcomes, but also impact on students’ willingness to improve their qualifications constantly, improved self-assessment among students and their opportunities at the labour market.

Keywords: higher education, learning outcomes, students, change

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Authors: Hazri Jamil, Munir Shuib, Farhah Muhammad

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In line with the 27th ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Summit 2015 principles in Kuala Lumpur on higher education, synergised collaboration is aimed to promote resilience and vibrancy between institutions and academia. Hence, this paper aims to discuss matters concerning collaboration among ASEAN Universities derived from the perspectives of academics from the universities in ASEAN countries. The data were collected from 234 respondents of nine universities in ASEAN using questionnaires and online survey analyzed using purposive sampling. The findings revealed that more than half of the respondents in this survey were optimistic that the ASEAN universities have a great potential in collaboration among academics in ASEAN countries. The findings also indicated that collaboration among ASEAN universities will have a positive impact on the ASEAN economy and society. Finally, to enhance collaboration among the universities in ASEAN, educational improvement and exchanges as well as environmental issues are among the noteworthy aspects which need to be taken into account.

Keywords: academics, ASEAN, collaboration, higher education, universities

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Authors: Samar Alharbi, Yota Dimitriadi

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The literature on educational technology in Saudi Arabia reveals female learners’ unwillingness to study fully online courses in higher education despite the fact that Saudi universities have offered a variety of online degree programmes to undergraduate students in many regions of the country. The root causes keeping female students from successfully learning in online environments are limited social interaction, lack of motivation and difficulty with the use of e-learning platforms. E-immediacy remains an important method of online teaching to enhance students’ interaction and support their online learning. This study explored Saudi female students’ perceptions, as well as the experiences of lecturers’ immediacy behaviours in online environments, who participate in fully online courses using Blackboard at a Saudi university. Data were collected through interviews with focus groups. The three focus groups included five to seven students each. The female participants were asked about lecturers’ e-immediacy behaviours and which e-immediacy behaviours were important for an effective learning environment. A thematic analysis of the data revealed three main themes: the encouragement of student interaction, the incorporation of social media and addressing the needs of students. These findings provide lecturers with insights into instructional designs and strategies that can be adopted in using e-immediacy in effective ways, thus improving female learners’ interactions as well as their online learning experiences.

Keywords: e-learning, female students, higher education, immediacy

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Authors: M. Umar Hafeez, Furqan Khursheed Hashmi, Nadeem Irfan Bukhari, Shahzad Ali, Muzammil Ali

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The trend of self-medication is increasing due to various factors and is associated with a large number of complications. A cross-sectional study was aimed to investigate self-medication trend in an urban community and its correlates such as level of education, gender and behavior of using psychoactive medicines. A validated questionnaire was used to collect the data from different locations of Lahore, provincial capital of Punjab, Pakistan. The trend of self-medication was noted in reference to difference in educational level and in gender. This study showed that total 110 respondents, all literate,were found to be self-medicating, and their educational status was as 73.13% primary, 63.15% secondary, 61.12% higher secondary and 62.15% university going. In this sample 74.99% were males and 48.00%were females. Twenty nine (26.36%) of the total sample were found to be using psychoactive agents without consulting the physician. The trend of self-medication was 10% higher in individuals having primary level education, whereas there was not much difference of self-medication trend in other levels of education. The main reasons involved in self-medication trend were socio-economic status, medicine accessibility, religious and cultural beliefs, lack of awareness about risks associated with medicine, non-prescription sale of medicines and previous medication experience. The trend of self-medication of psychotropic agents is quite significant.

Keywords: self-medication, educated community, psychotropic drugs, education levels

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Authors: Luigi Iannacci

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This study critically explores how disability and disability are presently and problematically configured within education. As such, pedagogies, discourses, and practices that shape this configuration are examined to forward a reconceptualization of disability as it relates to education and the inclusion of students with special needs in mainstream classroom contexts. The study examines how the dominant medical/deficit model of disability positions students with special needs and advocates for a shift towards a social/critical model of disability as applied to education and classrooms. This is demonstrated through a critical look at how language, processes, and ‘interventions’ name and address deficits people who have a disability are presumed to have and, as such, conceptualize these deficits as inherent flaws that are in need of ‘fixing.’ The study will demonstrate the necessary shifts in thinking, language and practice required to forward a critical/social model of disability. The ultimate aim of this research is to offer a much-needed reconceptualization of inclusion that recognizes disability as epistemology, identity, and diversity through a critical exploration of dominant discourses that impact language, policy, instruction and ultimately, the experiences students with disabilities have within mainstream classrooms. The presentation seeks to explore disability as neurodiversity and therefore elucidate how people with disabilities can demonstrate these ways of knowing within inclusive education that avoids superficial approaches that are not responsive to their needs. This research is, therefore, of interest and use to educators teaching at the elementary, secondary, and in-service levels as well as graduate students and scholars working in the areas of inclusion, special education, and literacy. Ultimately the presentation attempts to foster a social justice and human rights-focused approach to inclusion that is responsive to students with disabilities and, as such ensures a reconceptualization of present language, understandings and practices that continue to configure disability in problematic ways.

Keywords: inclusion, disability, critical approach, social justice

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Authors: Momen Yaseen M. Amin

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Despite widespread coverage of language policy in the literature, there has been scant research probing into English language education policy at tertiary levels in general and in the case of higher education context of Iraqi Kurdistan in particular. The present qualitative study investigated the results of a questionnaire on attitudes toward English language education policy in terms of attitudes toward the English language in general, the current English education policy, and the purposes for learning English among Kurdish EFL university students. Moreover, this study aimed to investigate this topic in light of the participants’ gender and major. To this end, an adapted version of Yang’s (2012) questionnaire was administered to university EFL students majoring in soft and hard sciences (N=300, male 34%, female 67%, four and two disciplines, respectively) at two-state and private universities in Iraqi Kurdistan. The findings revealed positive attitudes toward English as an international language in both soft and hard sciences. While strongly subscribing to the idea that all Iraqi Kurdish students should learn the English language and the courses to be offered in English as well as Kurdish, the majority of the participants expressed their readiness and enthusiasm to excel in English and considered such competency a significant academic accomplishment. However, a good number felt dissatisfied with the status quo of English education at their institutions. This paper provides some implications and recommendations for English education policies makers, administrators, and English language instructors at tertiary levels.

Keywords: attitudes, language policy, English language education, Iraqi Kurdistan

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Authors: Nicole Nicholson, Anne Spillane

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The purpose of this quantitative, descriptive analysis was to determine the success of a post-graduate new teacher education program, designed to teach educators the knowledge and skills necessary to use technology in the classroom, improve the ability to communicate with stakeholders, and implement EBPs and UDL principles into instruction for students with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorders ). The success of candidates (n=20) in the program provided evidence as to how candidates were effectively able to use technology to create meaningful learning opportunities and implement EBPs for individuals with ASD. ≥90% of participants achieved the following competencies: podcast creation; technology used to share information about assistive technology; and created a resource website on ASD (including information on EBPs, local and national support groups, ASD characteristics, and the latest research on ASD). 59% of students successfully created animation. Results of the analysis indicated that the teacher education program was successful in teaching candidates desired competencies during its first year of implementation.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorders, ASD, evidence based practices, EBP, universal design for learning, UDL

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Authors: Luis Javier Serrano-Tamayo

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This paper focuses on the recent interest in the concept of inclusion from multiple areas of social sciences, but particularly from the academic studies on what do scholars mean when they refer to inclusive education. Therefore, this paper has been based on a three-year systematic review of near two hundred peer-reviewed documents in the last two decades. The results illustrate some of the use, misuse, and abuse of inclusive education as well as shed some light on the identification of the different stakeholders involved in the dynamic concept of inclusive education and their suggested practices.

Keywords: inclusion, inclusive education, inclusive practices, education stakeholders

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Authors: Puja Mahesh

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Purpose: A good slogan captures the essence of your brand's promised consumer benefit in one short phrase. A good slogan conjures up positive imagery about your business or your product. A good slogan has the element of immediacy. Immediacy does not necessarily mean that the slogan will inspire consumers to run right out and buy your product. It does mean, however, that your slogan has an immediate cognitive impact. It forces your audience to "stop-and-think" after exposure as a necessary first step toward remembering your slogan promise. A good slogan is memorable and durability. When your slogan promise is occupying prime real estate in the consumer's subconscious, it aids in recall and activates preference for your brand when you want it -when consumers are ready to buy. The objective of current study is to understand the consumer perception of slogans/taglines of higher education sector in India. Design/Methodology/Approach: Survey of 500 consumers (largely comprising of youth) will be done using questionnaire. Universities and institutes will be chosen on the basis of various streams and Credible Rankings. The perception will be taken from the respondents on the basis of scale. Findings: Catchy phrases, rhymes, music, jingles, avatars (visual representations) and unique imagery are just a few of the mnemonic clutter-busting tactics commonly used in slogans to stand apart from the competition and to aid in memory recall. The study will reveal whether it is true that catchy phrases, rhymes, music, jingles, avatars (visual representations) and unique imagery across disciplines and universities help in building stronger brands. It will also be found whether consumers pay more attention to reputation of University/ College or brand identity. Originality/Value: Researcher has not come across any study of Consumer Perception of Slogans/Taglines of Higher Education Brands in India. Also, it would be interesting to understand Consumer Perception of various colleges/streams particularly Management colleges who invest a lot of time in branding exercise.

Keywords: consumer perception, higher education, slogans, taglines

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Authors: Khaled Barkaoui

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Research on second-language (L2) learning tends to focus on comparing students with different levels of proficiency at one point in time. However, to understand L2 development, we need more longitudinal research. In this study, we adopt a longitudinal approach to examine changes in three indicators of L2 ability, complexity, accuracy, and fluency (CAF), as reflected in the writing of L2 learners when writing on different tasks before and after a period L2 instruction. Each of 85 Chinese learners of English at three levels of English language proficiency responded to two writing tasks (independent and integrated) before and after nine months of English-language study in China. Each essay (N= 276) was analyzed in terms of numerous CAF indices using both computer coding and human rating: number of words written, number of errors per 100 words, ratings of error severity, global syntactic complexity (MLS), complexity by coordination (T/S), complexity by subordination (C/T), clausal complexity (MLC), phrasal complexity (NP density), syntactic variety, lexical density, lexical variation, lexical sophistication, and lexical bundles. Results were then compared statistically across tasks, L2 proficiency levels, and time. Overall, task type had significant effects on fluency and some syntactic complexity indices (complexity by coordination, structural variety, clausal complexity, phrase complexity) and lexical density, sophistication, and bundles, but not accuracy. L2 proficiency had significant effects on fluency, accuracy, and lexical variation, but not syntactic complexity. Finally, fluency, frequency of errors, but not accuracy ratings, syntactic complexity indices (clausal complexity, global complexity, complexity by subordination, phrase complexity, structural variety) and lexical complexity (lexical density, variation, and sophistication) exhibited significant changes after instruction, particularly for the independent task. We discuss the findings and their implications for assessment, instruction, and research on CAF in the context of L2 writing.

Keywords: second language writing, Fluency, accuracy, complexity, longitudinal

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Authors: Luke Power, Paul O'Leary

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Research has long described the enhancement of student engagement as a fundamental aim of delivering a consistent, lifelong benefit to student success across the multitude of dimensions a quality HE (higher education) experience offers. Engagement may take many forms, with Universities and Institutes across the world attempting to define the parameters which constitutes a successful student engagement framework and implementation strategy. These efforts broadly include empowering students, encouraging involvement, and the transfer of decision-making power through a variety of methods with the goal of obtaining a meaningful partnership between students and staff. As the Republic of Ireland continues to observe an increasing population transferring directly from secondary education to HE institutions, it falls on these institutions to research and develop effective strategies which insures the growing student population have every opportunity to engage with their education, research community, and staff. This research systematically reviews SPAs (student partnership agreements) which are currently in the process of being defined, and/or have been adopted at HE institutions, worldwide. Despite the demonstrated importance of a student-staff partnership to the overall student engagement experience, there is no obvious framework or model by which to begin this process. This work will therefore provide a novel analysis of student-staff agreements which will focus on examining the factors of success common to each and builds towards a workable and applicable framework using critical review, analysis of the key words, phraseology, student involvement, and the broadly applicable HE traits and values. Following the analysis, this work proposes SPA ‘toolkit’ with input from key stakeholders such as students, staff, faculty, and alumni. The resulting implications for future research and the lessons learned from the development and implementation of the SPA will aid the systematic implementation of student-staff agreements in Ireland and beyond.

Keywords: student engagement, student partnership agreements, student-staff partnerships, higher education, systematic review, democratising students, empowering students, student unions

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Authors: Naziema Jappie

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There is a wealth of knowledge about JEDI (Justice Equity Diversity Inclusion), but unfortunately this remains at a discrete initiative level at universities. South African universities are committed to social justice by promoting inclusive teaching, learning and research environments, diversity and equity in access and participation of students and staff regardless of age; disability; gender; sexual orientation; nationality, ethnic or national origin; religion; and socioeconomic background in all aspects of higher education at a national level. Universities strive to promote and protect equal rights and equity of access is safeguarded for international students by recognizing the foreign policies and practices. Nevertheless, many international students remain underrepresented, alienated and often without employment. Universities see internationalisation as a commercial venture, but where does JEDI fit into this plan? Given the focus on diversity in higher education institutions, one would assume that JEDI should have a broader compass rather than a narrow scope. Over the past decades, national trends have emerged in the commitment to international diversification by admitting students and recruiting staff, mainly from the African continent. Most importantly, emergence of statements of broader diversity and equity plans across the campuses, included in the strategic plans of institutions are counterproductive to the statements of the Employment Equity plans and targets when aligned to the recruitment processes. These trends are certainly significant and relevant given the increasing diverse populations in higher education. What is missing in JEDI initiatives is the lack of global perspective and situating JEDI within a larger and inclusive context to embrace institutional internationalization. It is not a separate construct but internationalization framework takes the JEDI vision from local to global. Embracing JEDI and internationalization are fundamental for future economic growth. JEDI creates diverse perspectives and builds a team of top diverse and international talent that will gives a competitive edge. Increasing internationalization efforts and creating a knowledge platform will affect the innovation performance of the economy. Transforming South African policies require a comprehensive educational strategy on justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion (JEDI).

Keywords: equity, diversity, inclusion, internationalization, justice, higher education

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Authors: Evgeny Pyshkin, Maxim Mozgovoy, Vladislav Volkov

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The paper follows a discourse on computer-assisted language learning. We examine problems of foreign language teaching and learning and introduce a metamodel that can be used to define learning models of language grammar structures in order to support teacher/student interaction. Special attention is paid to the concept of a virtual language lab. Our approach to language education assumes to encourage learners to experiment with a language and to learn by discovering patterns of grammatically correct structures created and managed by a language expert.

Keywords: computer-assisted instruction, language learning, natural language grammar models, HCI

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Authors: Martabolette Stecher

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Introductory: How is knowledge and ability to act on employable opportunities constructed among students and graduates at higher educations? This question have been drawn much attention by researchers, governments and universities in Denmark, since there has been an increases in the rate of unemployment among graduates from higher education. The fact that more than ten thousand graduates from higher education without the opportunity to get a job in these years has a tremendous impact upon the social economy in Denmark. Every time a student graduate from higher education and become unemployed, it is possible to trace upon the person´s chances to get a job many years ahead. This means that the tremendous rate of graduate unemployment implies a decrease in employment and lost prosperity in Denmark within a billion Danish Kroner scale. Basic methodologies: The present study investigates the construction of knowledge and ability to act upon employable opportunities among students and graduates at higher educations in Denmark in a literature review as well as a preliminary study of students from Aarhus University. 15 students from the candidate of drama have been engaging in an introductory program at the beginning of their candidate study, which included three workshops focusing upon the more personal matters of their studies and life. They have reflected upon this process during the intervention and afterwards in a semi-structured interview. Concurrently a thorough literature review has delivered key concepts for the exploration of the research question. Major findings of the study: It is difficult to find one definition of what employability encompasses, hence the overall picture of how to incorporate the concept is difficult. The present theory of employability has been focusing upon the competencies, which students and graduates are going to develop in order to become employable. In recent years there has been an emphasis upon the mechanism which supports graduates to trust themselves and to develop their self-efficacy in terms of getting a sustainable job. However, there has been little or no focus in the literature upon the idea of how students and graduates from higher education construct knowledge about and ability to act upon employable opportunities involving network of actors both material and immaterial network and meaningful relations for students and graduates in developing their enterprising behavior to achieve employment. The Act-network-theory combined with theory of entrepreneurship education suggests an alternative strategy to focus upon when explaining sustainable ways of creating employability among graduates. The preliminary study also supports this theory suggesting that it is difficult to emphasize a single or several factors of importance rather highlighting the effect of a multitude network. Concluding statement: This study is the first step of a ph.d.-study investigating this problem in Denmark and the USA in the period 2015 – 2019.

Keywords: employablity, graduates, action, opportunities

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Authors: Wade Ghribi, Abdelmoty M. Ahmed, Ahmed Said Badawy, Belgacem Bouallegue

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In higher education institutions, the most pressing priority is to improve student performance and retention. Large volumes of student data are used in Educational Data Mining techniques to find new hidden information from students' learning behavior, particularly to uncover the early symptom of at-risk pupils. On the other hand, data with noise, outliers, and irrelevant information may provide incorrect conclusions. By identifying features of students' data that have the potential to improve performance prediction results, comparing and identifying the most appropriate ensemble learning technique after preprocessing the data, and optimizing the hyperparameters, this paper aims to develop a reliable students' performance prediction model for Higher Education Institutions. Data was gathered from two different systems: a student information system and an e-learning system for undergraduate students in the College of Computer Science of a Saudi Arabian State University. The cases of 4413 students were used in this article. The process includes data collection, data integration, data preprocessing (such as cleaning, normalization, and transformation), feature selection, pattern extraction, and, finally, model optimization and assessment. Random Forest, Bagging, Stacking, Majority Vote, and two types of Boosting techniques, AdaBoost and XGBoost, are ensemble learning approaches, whereas Decision Tree, Support Vector Machine, and Artificial Neural Network are supervised learning techniques. Hyperparameters for ensemble learning systems will be fine-tuned to provide enhanced performance and optimal output. The findings imply that combining features of students' behavior from e-learning and students' information systems using Majority Vote produced better outcomes than the other ensemble techniques.

Keywords: educational data mining, student performance prediction, e-learning, classification, ensemble learning, higher education

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Authors: Johanna Gamboa-Kroesen

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School connectedness, or the sense of belonging at school, is a critical factor in adolescent health, academic achievement, and socioemotional well-being. In educational research, the construct of the psychological sense of school membership is often referred to as school engagement, school bonding, or school attachment. While current research recognizes school connectedness as integral to a child’s mental health and academic success, many schools have yet to develop adequate interventions to promote a child’s overall sense of belonging at school. However, prior researches in music education indicates that, among other benefits, music classrooms may provide an environment where students feel they belong. While studies indicates that music learning environments, specifically performing ensemble learning environments, instill a sense of school connectedness and, more broadly, contribute to a student’s socio-emotional development, there has been inadequate research on how the actions of music teachers contribute to this phenomenon. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between school connectedness and music learning environments with middle school music students enrolled in a school-based music ensemble. In addition, the study aimed to provide a descriptive analysis of the instructional practices that music teachers use to promote an inclusive environment in their classrooms and an overall sense of belonging in their students. Using 191 student surveys of school membership, student reflective writings, 5 teacher interviews, and 10 classroom observations, this study examined the relationship between 7th and 8th-grade student-reported levels of connectedness within their school-based music ensemble and teacher instructional practice. The study found that students reported high levels of positive school membership within their music classes. Students who participate in school-based orchestra ensembles reported a positive change in emotional state during music instruction. In addition, evidence in this study found that music teachers use instructional practices to build connectedness through de-emphasizing competition and strengthening a student’s sense of relational value within their music learning experience. The findings offer implications for future music teacher instruction to create environments of inclusion, strengthen student-teacher relationships, and promote strategies that enhance student connection to school.

Keywords: music education, belonging, instructional practice, school connectedness

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Authors: Mohd Aderi Che Noh, Tuan Rahayu Tuan Lasan

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Higher order thinking skills (HOTS) is an important skill in the Malaysian education system to produce a knowledgeable generation, able to think critically and creatively in order to face the challenges in the future. Educational challenges of the 21st century require that all students to have the HOTS. Therefore, this study aims to identify the level of knowledge, attitude and readiness of students towards HOTS. The respondents were 127 form four students from schools in the Federal Territory of Putrajaya. This study is quantitative survey using a questionnaire to collect data. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 23.0. The results showed that knowledge, attitudes and readiness of students towards HOTS lam were at a high level. Inferential analysis showed that there was a significant relationship between knowledge with attitude and readiness towards HOTS. This study provides information to the schools and teachers to improve the teaching and learning to increase students HOTS and fulfilling the hope of Ministry of Education to produce human capital who can be globally competitive.

Keywords: high order thinking skills, teaching, education, Malaysia

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