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1 – 10 of 438Francisco Buitrago-Florez, Mario Sanchez, Vanessa Pérez Romanello, Carola Hernandez and Marcela Hernández Hoyos
Numerous challenges in education emerge as our technology-driven society rapidly evolves and manifests more exigent requirements from engineering professionals. Higher education…
Abstract
Purpose
Numerous challenges in education emerge as our technology-driven society rapidly evolves and manifests more exigent requirements from engineering professionals. Higher education, nonetheless, seems to adapt to such requirements at an unequal speed, generating some tensions between industry and higher education institutions. The purpose of this paper is to share the experiences obtained through a process of assessment and redesign of a large enrollment course of programming from which the authors developed a systematic approach for course design/redesign.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed method approach was deployed for data gathering and evaluation, consisting of close-ended surveys, open-ended questionnaires, information matrices and state of the art compilation. Triangulation of the information offered clear data about the necessity of curriculum redesign; therefore, a new programming course curriculum encompassed with relevant necessities in engineering and science was developed.
Findings
The authors produced a coherent and dynamic systematic path for assessment and design/redesign of course curriculum, which the authors find extremely helpful to improve negotiation processes inside higher education institutions, as it can be implemented to improve any large enrollment course curricula in engineering and science.
Research limitations/implications
By following the systematic path for assessment and design/redesign of curricula the authors developed, higher education systems could embark more efficiently in the ever-challenging process of adapt their courses and programs to tackle the upcoming demands of our society.
Originality/value
So far, a systematic path for assessment and design/redesign of course curriculum was not published, and it supports the improvement of pedagogical approaches in academic institutions.
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Julia E. Calabrese, Nancy Butler Songer, Holly Cordner and Daniel Kalani Aina
The authors designed a science and engineering curricular program that includes design features that promote student interest and motivation and examined teachers' and students'…
Abstract
Purpose
The authors designed a science and engineering curricular program that includes design features that promote student interest and motivation and examined teachers' and students' views on meaningfulness, motivation and interest.
Design/methodology/approach
The research approach consisted of mixed methods, including content analyses and descriptive statistics.
Findings
The curricular program successfully included all four of the US National Academies of Sciences' design features for promoting interest and motivation through scientific investigation and engineering design. During interviews, teachers and students expressed evidence of design features associated with interest and motivation. After experiencing the program, more than 60% of all students scored high on all four science and engineering meaningfulness and interest survey items.
Originality/value
A curricular program that extends science learning through the engineered design of solutions is an innovative approach to foster both conceptual knowledge development and interest and motivation in science and engineering.
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Humanity is facing an unprecedented challenge of climate crises. Rapid changes to the physical environment and living conditions will be accompanied by challenges to mental health…
Abstract
Purpose
Humanity is facing an unprecedented challenge of climate crises. Rapid changes to the physical environment and living conditions will be accompanied by challenges to mental health and well-being. Consequently, education for sustainable development should also include coping strategies for stress and anxiety. Adding intra-personal skills to the curriculum, such as self-reflection and mindfulness training, could aid in this education. This case study aims to explore the barriers to and drivers for fostering inner transitions through intra-personal skills training and mindfulness.
Design/methodology/approach
This case study from Lund University, Sweden, constitutes a critical case for investigating inner transitions in education. Data collection was designed around semi-structured qualitative interviews, to investigate the barriers to and drivers for intra-personal skills and mindfulness in education for sustainable development at all institutional levels of the university.
Findings
The results indicate that education for sustainable development already includes elements of introspection, albeit informally. However, there is a lack in a fundamental understanding of intra-personal skills and how they relate to other key competences for sustainable development. To make intra-personal skills training a formal component of the education, it must receive the full support from all levels of the university.
Originality/value
The study outlines general recommendations for universities to challenge existing policies while also finding ways to work around them. In the meantime, universities should make intra-personal skills training an informal learning activity. Recognizing that the students’ prior knowledge in this area is a potential asset, universities should collaborate with their students to support student-led intra-personal skills training.
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How can students become transformational leaders if they are left alone to grapple with the emotional toll of climate change, preparing for careers while scientists sound the…
Abstract
How can students become transformational leaders if they are left alone to grapple with the emotional toll of climate change, preparing for careers while scientists sound the alarm that business as usual is untenable? Ecoanxiety, solastalgia, and climate grief are the affective undercurrents in sustainability and environmental science classrooms. This case study discusses strategies used to support students' emotional well-being in an introductory sustainability class and a co-curricular climate change support group program at Oregon State University. Psychologists and sustainability educators created space for students and faculty to engage in authentic dialogues confronting the emotional uncertainty of the climate crisis and working together to define their roles building a resilient future.
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The purpose of this study is to explore decision-making of elementary teachers (n = 5) specific to US/American history content and curricular resources. More specifically for this…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to explore decision-making of elementary teachers (n = 5) specific to US/American history content and curricular resources. More specifically for this study, the author asks the following broad research question: When presented with a collection of social studies instructional resources, how do elementary teachers describe the choices they do make/may make?
Design/methodology/approach
In this comparative case study, fifth-grade teachers were interviewed using verbal protocol methodology, they discussed their curriculum, teaching and instructional decisions as each was presented with history/social studies resources associated with newly adopted state standards.
Findings
Findings indicate these elementary teachers have professional freedom to make instructional decisions in the ways they interpreted the standards, design instruction and select materials for social studies.
Originality/value
This study contributes to and extends the research in elementary social studies. Teachers' voices and decisions are presented as intellectual and pedagogical actions associated with teaching elementary school social studies.
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John Chung-En Liu and Ting-Yu Kan
This study aims to evaluate the current situation of education for sustainable development, climate change education and environmental education in a nationwide context…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to evaluate the current situation of education for sustainable development, climate change education and environmental education in a nationwide context. Methodologically, this study calls for more research to go beyond case studies and take a similar approach to examine university curricula and facilitate cross-country comparisons.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines the status of climate and sustainability curricula in Taiwan’s higher education system. Using the course catalog for the 2020–2021 academic year, the authors constructed a unique data set that includes 1,827 courses at 29 major universities in Taiwan. In each institution, the authors search for course titles that include “climate,” “sustainable/sustainability” and “environment/environmental” as keywords and code the courses according to their disciplines.
Findings
The finding highlights the variations across institutional types and subject matters. Public universities have an average of 4.94 related courses per 1,000 students, whereas private universities have only 3.13. In general, the relevant courses are more concentrated in the STEM and bioscience fields. The curricula, however, are seriously constrained by the disciplinary structure and foster few transdisciplinary perspectives.
Originality/value
The authors seek to go beyond case studies and offer one of the most comprehensive curricula samples at the national level. Taiwan adds an important data point, as the current literature focuses heavily on the USA and Europe.
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Arda Arikan and Mehmet Galip Zorba
This study aims to examine the outcome of an online project to inform preservice English language teachers regarding the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the outcome of an online project to inform preservice English language teachers regarding the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research method was used to understand participants’ overall knowledge. In total, 30 preservice teachers were selected from a larger pool after considering their grade point averages, sex, university affiliations and geographical backgrounds to ensure a balanced distribution and diversity. Qualitative data were collected through written productions, video recordings and a postproject survey.
Findings
Findings revealed that preservice teachers deepened their understanding of SDGs and adopted a positive attitude toward SDGs while increasing their pedagogical awareness and knowledge of teaching English in response to SDGs. They also regarded literary texts as a valuable resource for teaching SDGs.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating that literary works are valuable for educating preservice teachers on integrating SDGs. A detailed overview of the project and its outcomes can guide practitioners and teacher educators in integrating SDGs into their education programs and English language teaching.
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Anaile Rabelo, Marcos W. Rodrigues, Cristiane Nobre, Seiji Isotani and Luis Zárate
The purpose of this study is to identify the main perspectives and trends in educational data mining (EDM) in the e-learning environment from a managerial perspective.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify the main perspectives and trends in educational data mining (EDM) in the e-learning environment from a managerial perspective.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper proposes a systematic literature review to identify the main perspectives and trends in EDM in the e-learning environment from a managerial perspective. The study domain of this review is restricted by the educational concepts of e-learning and management. The search for bibliographic material considered articles published in journals and papers published in conferences from 1994 to 2023, totaling 30 years of research in EDM.
Findings
From this review, it was observed that managers have been concerned about the effectiveness of the platform used by students as it contains the entire learning process and all the interactions performed, which enable the generation of information. From the data collected on these platforms, there are improvements and inferences that can be made about the actions of educators and human tutors (or automatic tutoring systems), curricular optimization or changes related to course content, proposal of evaluation criteria and also increase the understanding of different learning styles.
Originality/value
This review was conducted from the perspective of the manager, who is responsible for the direction of an institution of higher education, to assist the administration in creating strategies for the use of data mining to improve the learning process. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this review is original because other contributions do not focus on the manager.
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Theresa Ann McGinnis, Eustace Thompson and Sheilah Jefferson-Issac
This paper aims to explore how one elementary school administrative team responded to their changing student populations to include Latin(x) within their black community. The…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to explore how one elementary school administrative team responded to their changing student populations to include Latin(x) within their black community. The responses included looping practices, relationship building with families and culturally relevant pedagogies. In particular, this paper considers how the three aspects of the change worked together toward the goal of providing its students with quality educational opportunities and enhancements.
Design/methodology/approach
The research presented here is part of a longitudinal (four-year) qualitative study where ethnographic approaches to data collection were adopted.
Findings
The four-year immersion in the values of culturally relevant pedagogy created a reciprocal growth in understanding among the teachers and the students of the black and Latin(x) populations, sustained the overarching ideas of deep family connections and contributed to asset-driven curriculum.
Originality/value
A national trend shows rapid changing demographics where Latin(x) families are moving into black neighborhoods and schools. This change in schools’ student populations finds educators facing new challenges in addressing the educational and cultural needs of two minoritized populations. This research adds to the existing scholarship by documenting how one school shifts their learning atmosphere to deeply engage students in culturally relevant pedagogies.
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The purpose of this study was to examine curricular innovation in accounting using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and t-test to measure the effects of transformative…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to examine curricular innovation in accounting using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and t-test to measure the effects of transformative sustainability education in accounting on the attitudes of male and female undergraduate accounting students at a public university in the southwestern USA toward the four sustainable development dimensions of environment, economy, society and education.
Design/methodology/approach
A quasi-experimental research methodology using data from a convenience sample of 157 accounting students’ responses to an online Qualtrics survey compared the attitudes of male and female undergraduate accounting students who had sustainability education in accounting to those who did not toward the four aspects of environment, economy, society and education for sustainable development using correlation, MANOVA, independent- and paired-samples t-tests.
Findings
While there were no significant differences between the male and female accounting students’ attitudes who had sustainability education and those who did not, there were significant differences between some dimensions of sustainable development with medium effect sizes, and correlations between the students’ attitudes were moderate, positive and significant.
Research limitations/implications
This study was relatively small and conducted at one university, but the results indicated that the students consider sustainability education valuable to their future careers, which is important for future curriculum development.
Originality/value
This study showed that transformative sustainability education does not produce gender differences in students’ attitudes toward sustainable development.
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