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1 – 10 of over 4000Pooja Darda, Om Jee Gupta and Susheel Yadav
Alexa’s integration in rural primary schools has improved the pedagogy and has created an engaging and objective learning environment. This study investigates the integration…
Abstract
Purpose
Alexa’s integration in rural primary schools has improved the pedagogy and has created an engaging and objective learning environment. This study investigates the integration, with a specific focus on exploring its various aspects. The impact of Alexa’s on students' English vocabulary, comprehension and public speaking are examined. This study aims to provide insights the teachers and highlight the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in rural education.
Design/methodology/approach
This content analysis study explores the use of Alexa in primary education in rural areas of India. The study focuses on the types of the questions asked by the students and examines the pedagogical implications of these interactions. By analyzing the use of Alexa in rural educational settings, this study aims to contribute to our understanding of how voice assistants are utilized as educational tools in underprivileged areas.
Findings
Alexa significantly improved students' English vocabulary, comprehension and public speaking confidence. Alexa increased school enrollment and retention. Virtual voice assistants like Alexa may improve pedagogy and help India’s rural education. This study shows AI improves rural education.
Research limitations/implications
The study only covers rural India. Self-reported data and observations may bias the study. The small sample size may underrepresent rural educational institutions in India.
Originality/value
Alexa is used to study rural India’s primary education. Voice assistants in rural education are understudied. The study examines Alexa’s classroom use, student questions, and policy and teacher education implications. AI’s education transformation potential addresses UNESCO’s teacher shortage. This novel study examines how AI can improve rural education outcomes and access.
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Tinde Kovacs Cerovic, Jadranka Ivkovic, Mónika Kapás and Evgeny Ivanov
Key international and intergovernmental organizations assess the size of the Roma population in Serbia to be around 4–600.000, rendering Serbia among the five countries in Europe…
Abstract
Key international and intergovernmental organizations assess the size of the Roma population in Serbia to be around 4–600.000, rendering Serbia among the five countries in Europe with the highest percentage of Roma population. Although Roma in Serbia have a long history of self-organization, cultural and media organizations, and are formally recognized as national minorities with a National Council of the Roma National Minority as a body with political decision-making influence, the Roma community in Serbia, as in most other European countries, is the most disadvantaged and underprivileged group in the country, often living in underdeveloped neighbourhoods with limited access to social services, especially education and health.
The educational attainment of the Roma population in Serbia, as in other countries in Europe, is far below the attainment of the general population. The education indicators are showing a developing trend, albeit slow. Roma integration policies evolved in Serbia from the early 2000s in the general policy framework of Equity of Education and Inclusive Education and a comprehensive education reform agenda, promoted and legally endorsed by the 2009 Law on the Foundations of the Education System. As the consequence of such an approach, the Roma integration policies intertwined and mutually reinforced with other reform policy areas. The most important post-2000 policies supporting the integration of Roma students into education are the introduction of pedagogical assistants in elementary schools and preschool institutions as a profession, paid from the budget, abolishing the system of school readiness assessment, introducing individual education plans and intensifying affirmative action and scholarships for enrolment in secondary and tertiary education.
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Silvia Romero-Contreras and Ismael García-Cedillo
Mexico is a large, culturally and linguistically diverse country. More than half of its population lives below the poverty line, a fifth is of indigenous origin, and 5% have a…
Abstract
Mexico is a large, culturally and linguistically diverse country. More than half of its population lives below the poverty line, a fifth is of indigenous origin, and 5% have a disability. This chapter offers a brief description of the general characteristics of the country and the legislative changes toward inclusion and presents the status and progress toward the 2030 Agenda educational goals toward inclusive education. Although efforts have been made to improve the quality of education and inclusion, the country's complexities: poverty, cultural diversity, and political adjustments, among others, have held back progress, as will be explained in this chapter.
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Emma Sadera, Elina E.K. Suonio, Joseph Chih-Chien Chen, Rowan Herbert, Dennis Hsu, Branka Bogdan and Bridget Kool
The aim of this scoping review was to identify key characteristics related to strategies and approaches for delivering sustainable training and professional development (PD) of…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this scoping review was to identify key characteristics related to strategies and approaches for delivering sustainable training and professional development (PD) of graduate teaching assistants (GTAs), teaching assistants (TAs), and tutors. While the continuous, coherent and responsive programmes for such training and PD may address needs that are congruent with the needs of other sessional teachers, the literature has not focussed on GTA training and PD that support the longer-term retention of GTAs as sessional teachers.
Design/methodology/approach
In this scoping review, we devised a search strategy to identify literature relating to the key characteristics of strategies and approaches for delivering sustainable GTA training and professional development in higher education settings. We were guided by the frameworks for such reviews developed by Arksey and O’Malley (2005), Levac et al. (2010) and Westphaln et al. (2021). We used PRISMA guidelines to guide our reporting processes, and used thematic analysis practice (Braun and Clarke, 2022) as our analytical approach in order to identify and discuss the key themes.
Findings
We identified that strategies and approaches for delivering sustainable GTA training and PD frame GTAs as future academics and leaders in teaching; provide institutional support and investment in teaching; deliver departmental training; facilitate peer support; provide pedagogical training; implement training strategies; and support the teacher identity of GTAs.
Originality/value
These findings add to the body of research that explores how strategies and approaches for delivering sustainable GTA training and PD address and meet the needs common to all sessional teachers constrained by the precarity of the part-time faculty/academia. While our findings indicate such training and PD enhance the quality of teaching available to university students, this effect is dependent on institutional support and facilitation of peer and faculty networks.
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Lindsay Hastings, Hannah Sunderman and Nick Knopik
The purpose of the current application paper is to integrate previous literature with recent results from practitioners on effective practices for utilizing small groups in the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of the current application paper is to integrate previous literature with recent results from practitioners on effective practices for utilizing small groups in the leadership classroom.
Design/methodology/approach
We use these integrated findings to innovate practice on maximizing the role of undergraduate teaching assistants (UTAs) by matching their tasks to signature pedagogies in leadership education.
Findings
The integrated findings revealed three practice themes: (1) match UTAs to pedagogical approach, (2) create small groups by design and (3) providing training and reflection practice for UTAs.
Originality/value
In sum, leadership education can and should challenge historical practices in higher education whereby UTAs are used purely for grading and course logistics management.
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Imdadullah Hidayat-ur-Rehman and Yasser Ibrahim
A number of recent artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled technologies, including summarisers, paraphrasers and the cutting-edge chatbots not only have outstanding potentials in…
Abstract
Purpose
A number of recent artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled technologies, including summarisers, paraphrasers and the cutting-edge chatbots not only have outstanding potentials in modern educational systems but also could lead to a dramatic paradigm shift in the whole education process. This study aims to explore the factors that shape the academic community’s desire and intention to use AI conversational chatbot technology, with a particular focus on the leading ChatGPT.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses a mixed method approach to explore the educators’ adoption of chatbots through an empirically validated model. The model, known as the “Educators’ Adoption of ChatGPT”, was developed by integrating the theoretical foundations of both the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology and Status Quo Bias (SQB) frameworks, as well as insights gathered from interviews. The relationships within this model were then tested using a quantitative approach. The partial least squares-structural equation modelling method was used to analyse 243 valid survey responses.
Findings
The outcomes of the analysis indicated that perceived educators’ effort expectancy, educators’ autonomous motivation, perceived learners’ AI competency, perceived educators’ competency, innovative behaviour towards technological agility and perceived students’ engagement are significant determinants of educators’ intention to use chatbots. In contrast, perceived unfair evaluation of students, perceived students’ overreliance and perceived bias/inaccuracies were shown to have significant impacts on the resistance to use the technology, which typically implies a negatively significant influence on the educators’ use intention. Interestingly, perceived fraudulent use of ChatGPT was proven insignificant on the resistance to use chatbots.
Originality/value
This study makes a significant contribution to the field of educational technology by filling the gap in research on the use and acceptance of AI-enabled assistants in education. It proposes an original, empirically validated model of educator adoption, which identifies the factors that influence educators’ willingness to use chatbots in higher education and offers valuable insights for practical implementation.
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Through addressing female academics in four public universities in Egypt, the author of this paper aims to answer the question: How do female academics cope with the career shock…
Abstract
Purpose
Through addressing female academics in four public universities in Egypt, the author of this paper aims to answer the question: How do female academics cope with the career shock resulting from the spread of COVID-19?
Design/methodology/approach
The author used a qualitative research method through semi-structured interviews with 32 female academics from four public universities selected from among 26 public institutions of higher education in Egypt. Thematic analysis was subsequently used to determine the main ideas in the transcripts.
Findings
The findings assert that the following three strategies: heroism, cronyism and temporalism are used by female academics in the Egyptian context to cope with the career shocks they feel during the time of COVID-19. The findings assert that female academics try to reassert their professionalism in their academic duties and familial obligations even after the spread of COVID-19. Moreover, they tend to use forms of cronyism behaviour to alleviate the effect of the career shock, mostly via hypocritical phrases. Furthermore, the thought that COVID-19 is a temporary stage helps female academics to actively accept their challenging new work conditions.
Originality/value
This paper contributes by filling a gap in human resources management and higher education in which empirical studies on the career shock of female academics have been limited so far.
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Agostino Marengo, Alessandro Pagano, Jenny Pange and Kamal Ahmed Soomro
This paper aims to consolidate empirical studies between 2013 and 2022 to investigate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education. It aims to examine published…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to consolidate empirical studies between 2013 and 2022 to investigate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education. It aims to examine published research characteristics and provide insights into the promises and challenges of AI integration in academia.
Design/methodology/approach
A systematic literature review was conducted, encompassing 44 empirical studies published as peer-reviewed journal papers. The review focused on identifying trends, categorizing research types and analysing the evidence-based applications of AI in higher education.
Findings
The review indicates a recent surge in publications concerning AI in higher education. However, a significant proportion of these publications primarily propose theoretical and conceptual AI interventions. Areas with empirical evidence supporting AI applications in academia are delineated.
Research limitations/implications
The prevalence of theoretical proposals may limit generalizability. Further research is encouraged to validate and expand upon the identified empirical applications of AI in higher education.
Practical implications
This review outlines imperative implications for future research and the implementation of evidence-based AI interventions in higher education, facilitating informed decision-making for academia and stakeholders.
Originality/value
This paper contributes a comprehensive synthesis of empirical studies, highlighting the evolving landscape of AI integration in higher education and emphasizing the need for evidence-based approaches.
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Victor Rudakov, Margarita Kiryushina, Hugo Figueiredo and Pedro Nuno Teixeira
The aim of the research is to estimate the level of the early career gender wage gap in Russia, its evolution during the early stages of a career, gender segregation and…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of the research is to estimate the level of the early career gender wage gap in Russia, its evolution during the early stages of a career, gender segregation and discrimination among university graduates, and to identify factors which explain early career gender differences in pay. Special emphasis is placed on assessing the contribution of horizontal segregation (inequal gender distribution in fields of studies and industries of employment) to early-career gender inequality.
Design/methodology/approach
The study is based on a comprehensive and nationally representative survey of university graduates, carried out by Russian Federal State Statistics Service in 2016 (VTR Rosstat). The authors use Mincer OLS regressions for the analysis of the determinants of gender differences in pay. To explain the factors which form the gender gap, the authors use the Oaxaca-Blinder and Neumark gender gap decompositions, including detailed wage gap decompositions and decompositions by fields of study. For the analysis of differences in gender gap across wage distribution, quantile regressions and quantile decompositions based on recentered influence functions (RIFs) are used.
Findings
The study found significant gender differences in the early-career salaries of university graduates. Regression analysis confirms the presence of a 20% early-career gender wage gap. This gender wage gap is to a great extent can be explained by horizontal segregation: women are concentrated in fields of study and industries which are relatively low paid. More than half of the gender gap remains unexplained. The analysis of the evolution of the gender wage gap shows that it appears right after graduation and increases over time. A quantile decomposition reveals that, in low paid jobs, females experience less gender inequality than in better paid jobs.
Social implications
The analysis has some important policy implications. Previously, gender equality policies were mainly related to the elimination of gender discrimination at work, including positive discrimination programs in a selection of candidates to job openings and programs of promotion; programs which ease women labour force participation through flexible jobs; programs of human capital accumulation, which implied gender equality in access to higher education and encouraged women to get higher education, which was especially relevant for many developing countries. The analysis of Russia, a country with gender equality in access to higher education, shows that the early career gender gap exists right after graduation, and the main explanatory factor is gender segregation by field of study and industry, in other words, the gender wage gap to a high extent is related to self-selection of women in low-paid fields of study. To address this, new policies related to gender inequality in choice of fields of studies are needed.
Originality/value
It has been frequently stated that gender inequality appears either due to inequality in access to higher education or after maternity leave. Using large nationally representative dataset on university graduates, we show that gender equality in education does not necessarily lead to gender equality in the labour market. Unlike many studies, we show that the gender gap in Russia appears not after maternity leave and due to marital decisions of women, but in the earliest stages of their career, right after graduation, due to horizontal segregation (selection of women in relatively low-paid fields of study and consequently industries).
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