Search results

1 – 10 of over 3000
Book part
Publication date: 12 November 2012

Dobrochna Hildebrandt-Wypych

The aim of the chapter is to investigate the changing structural position of post-secondary schools in Poland, seen from the perspective of the expansion of higher education from…

Abstract

The aim of the chapter is to investigate the changing structural position of post-secondary schools in Poland, seen from the perspective of the expansion of higher education from one side and the current reform of vocational education from the other. Do post-secondary schools enhance opportunities for those who might not otherwise consider further education, especially when we consider lower cost, open admissions and greater accessibility in comparison with higher education institutions? Or do they play a role of a ‘discounted’ and ‘undervalued’ education for those who could not manage to enter three-year-bachelor cycles in tertiary education and thus were forced to lower their initial educational aspirations? The opening up of higher education to new student populations was done by the rapid expansion of the private (paid for) sector and the fee-paying courses in the public sector. Liberal educational policy not only opened an opportunity for the privatization in higher education, but also expanded the market-driven provision at the post-secondary level. The discussion on the relevance of post-secondary vocational qualifications must be seen within the context of the continual inflation of diplomas/degrees and the unemployment of graduates after finishing higher education. Since 2010, there has been a reverse process initiated at the governmental level in Poland: reform schemes to increase the participation of young people in vocational education and training. However, the structural position and functions of post-secondary schools, as well as their role in the employability of young people, are not subject to any open discussion at the political level. This sort of status quo concerning post-secondary institutions means that their institutional identity issues are resolved and their structural position defined predominantly by market forces.

Details

Community Colleges Worldwide: Investigating the Global Phenomenon
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-230-1

Article
Publication date: 10 February 2023

Yui-yip Lau, Lok Ming Eric Cheung, Eve Man Hin Chan and Stephanie Wing Lee

The present study adopts the analytical framework of new managerialism (NM) to explore the progress, challenges and outlook of self-financing post-secondary institutions in Hong…

Abstract

Purpose

The present study adopts the analytical framework of new managerialism (NM) to explore the progress, challenges and outlook of self-financing post-secondary institutions in Hong Kong since 2000. This study also identified issues and related managerial implications for developing this niche form of higher education in Hong Kong.

Design/methodology/approach

This study conducted a critical review of self-financing post-secondary institutions in Hong Kong, including the sub-degree and degree sectors, via collecting a series of policy documents and archives from the Legislative Council of Hong Kong, the Public Records Office and other government bodies. To supplement the findings, semi-structured in-depth interviews of 18 academic staff of Hong Kong's self-financing post-secondary institutions were carried out.

Findings

The study shows that self-financing post-secondary institutions not only encounter challenges related to insufficient resources but also face pressure from accreditation requirements of various international organisations. The study also suggests that massification and privatisation of self-financing post-secondary institutions, and embracing a managerial approach for operation and governance will induce a new wave of self-financing post-secondary institutions in the near future.

Originality/value

This study offers insights for self-financing post-secondary institutions into implementing appropriate strategies to maintain competitiveness and retain talents in the coming years.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 37 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 18 November 2015

Joanna Sikora

Young men and women dominate different niches of science education in Australia, but how this divide varies between university and post-secondary vocational education and training…

Abstract

Young men and women dominate different niches of science education in Australia, but how this divide varies between university and post-secondary vocational education and training (VET) is not well understood. Therefore, I compare courses in both sectors to assess if the male–female gap at later stages of education mirrors adolescent career plans and subject choices made in secondary school. Multinomial logistic regressions estimated on data from the Longitudinal Survey of Australian Youth (Y06) illustrate the extent to which the gender divides in secondary and post-secondary education correspond with one another. Y06 started with the 2006 Australian Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Each year until 2013, a nationally representative sample of youth, who were nearly 16 years old in 2006, reported their schooling and work experiences. I find that Australian women rarely specialise in physics, engineering and technology (PET); in contrast, they dominate the life sciences. While post-secondary science is segregated by gender everywhere, the disparity within VET is much deeper due to a large share of PET enrolments. VET students, who come from modest socio-economic backgrounds and have less academic success at school, learn in more segregated environments than their university peers. This analysis suggests that gender divides will be particularly hard to close within post-secondary VET, even if schools succeed in eradicating gender differentials in students’ career aspirations, science performance, self-concept and choices of science subjects.

Details

Gender Segregation in Vocational Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78560-347-1

Book part
Publication date: 14 November 2012

Mary Isabelle Young, Lucy Joe, Jennifer Lamoureux, Laura Marshall, Sister Dorothy Moore, Jerri-Lynn Orr, Brenda Mary Parisian, Khea Paul, Florence Paynter and Janice Huber

In a paper shared at the 2004 Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE), Marie Battiste urged Canadian academics and policy makers to become part of a transformative…

Abstract

In a paper shared at the 2004 Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE), Marie Battiste urged Canadian academics and policy makers to become part of a transformative process of reconstructing Canada's colonial education system which she describes as shaping “Indigenous peoples’ trauma and disconnection with many aspects of education and themselves” (p. 2). Battiste calls for the repositioning of Indigenous knowledges in post-secondary institutions, a process through which institutional structures and practices, curriculum foundations, and traditions are substantially changed and, in particular, that these are changed in ways that value and engage the capacities of Aboriginal students. Battiste's argument is significant for both Aboriginal post-secondary students and for their communities.

Details

Warrior Women: Remaking Postsecondary Places through Relational Narrative Inquiry
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-235-6

Book part
Publication date: 18 March 2020

Alice Cassidy, Yona Sipos and Sarah Nyrose

There is a growing need to train and support educators to introduce or enhance aspects of sustainability into post-secondary curriculum. The authors provide an overview of…

Abstract

There is a growing need to train and support educators to introduce or enhance aspects of sustainability into post-secondary curriculum. The authors provide an overview of integration of curricular sustainability development and education as well as related institutional leadership at the post-secondary level. Turning to educational development for sustainability education, the authors share tools and resources to support educators from any discipline, to introduce, integrate, and/or enhance sustainability in their course, program, or initiative. The authors found very few examples of workshops to post-secondary teachers. For one such example, the Sustainability Education Intensive, a three-day workshop that the authors designed and led at the University of British Columbia. The authors summarize the workshop aspects that two years of participants found helpful, and how workshop involvement affected them as sustainability educators. The authors encourage post-secondary institutions to provide support in the form of workshops, resources, and funding to help educators introduce or enhance aspects of sustainability into their courses and programs. Students are asking for this, and, as they are future leaders, it is important that educators address the numerous environmental, social and economic issues that demand attention.

Details

Integrating Sustainable Development into the Curriculum
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78769-941-0

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 23 August 2021

Katharine McGowan, Latasha Calf Robe, Laura Allan, Elinor Flora Bray-Collins, Mathieu Couture, Sarah Croft, Antonio Daling, Amy Farahbakhsh, Susan Grossman, Sara Hassan, Paul Heidebrecht, Nicole Helwig, Michelle Jackett and Jessica Machado

The purpose of this paper is to explore multiple Canadian educators' experiences with the Map the System (MTS) competition, designed to foster and grow systems thinking capacity…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore multiple Canadian educators' experiences with the Map the System (MTS) competition, designed to foster and grow systems thinking capacity among students exploring complex questions. The challenge has been an opportunity for social innovation programs (from the nascent to the established) across Canadian post-secondaries to engage both with their own communities and with social innovators internationally, connecting social innovation spaces as part of their third mission. Across the organizations, students valued the interdisciplinary and systems thinking qualities, and organizations benefited from the external competition, there remain questions about organizational engagement in social innovation as a deeply transformative process internally.

Design/methodology/approach

All Canadian post-secondary institutions who participated in the 2020 MTS competition (17) were invited to a digital roundtable to discuss their experiences. Ten were able to participate, representing a range of post-secondaries (including large research institutions, undergraduate-only universities and colleges). To facilitate discussion, participants met to discuss format and topics; for the roundtable itself, participant educators used a google form to capture their experiences. These were summarized, anonymized and redistributed for validation and clarification. To reflect this collaborative approach, all participant educators are listed as authors on this paper, alphabetically after the organizing authors.

Findings

For students participating in MTS, they have built both their interdisciplinary and systems thinking skills, as well as their commitment to achieving meaningful change in their community. But MTS arrived in fertile environments and acted as an accelerant, driving attention, validation and connection. Yet while this might align with post-secondary education’s third mission, educators expressed concerns about sustainability, internal commitment to change and navigating tensions between a challenge approach and collaborative work, and internal work and national competition limitations. This complicates the simple insertion of MTS in a post-secondary’s social innovation-related third mission.

Research limitations/implications

This study was limited to Canadian post-secondaries participating in MTS, and therefore are not representative of either post-secondaries in Canada, or all the MTS participants although Canada is well represented in the challenge itself. Additionally, while the authors believe their approach to treat all participants as authors, and ensured multiple feedback opportunities in private and collectively, this is a deliberate and potentially controversial move away from a traditional study.

Social implications

More than half of Canadian universities (a subgroup of post-secondaries) had at least one social innovation initiative, but questions have been raised about whether these initiatives are being evaluated internally, or are triggering the kinds of transformative internal work that might be an outcome. Understanding the impact of MTS one example of a social innovation-related initiative can help advance the broader conversation about the place (s) for social innovation in the post-secondary landscape – and where there is still significant work to be done.

Originality/value

As Canada has only participated in MTS for four years, this is the first inter-institution consideration of its related opportunities and obstacles as a vehicle for transformational social innovation. As well, educators talking openly and frankly to educators reinforces the collaborative quality of social innovation across the post-secondary landscape.

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 18 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Schooling and Social Capital in Diverse Cultures
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84950-885-8

Article
Publication date: 6 May 2021

Ethan McGuirk and Patricia Frazer

The prevalence of mental health (MH) issues amongst post-secondary students is on the rise. This study aims to assess if a student’s mental well-being (MWB) is impacted by a range…

Abstract

Purpose

The prevalence of mental health (MH) issues amongst post-secondary students is on the rise. This study aims to assess if a student’s mental well-being (MWB) is impacted by a range of predictors such as gender, education level, mental health literacy (MHL) and the post-secondary campus climate.

Design/methodology/approach

A correlational, cross-sectional design was implemented amongst a student population (N = 100). A questionnaire was administered electronically to participants’. Levels of MWB, campus climate and MHL were evaluated alongside a number of demographics.

Findings

Campus climate was a significant predictor of student MWB. Gender differences were discovered amongst MHL levels. MHL was found to be significantly associated with the level of education.

Originality/value

This study is one of few evaluating the relationship between MWB, MHL and the post-secondary campus climate. Based on these findings, the post-secondary campus may predict student MWB, therefore can be possibly augmented to assist students. Additionally, MHL interventions should focus on education level and gender-specific cohorts to enhance student MWB.

Details

The Journal of Mental Health Training, Education and Practice, vol. 16 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1755-6228

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 May 2012

Tom P. Abeles

The purpose of this editorial is to describe a current and recurring problem in post‐secondary education and a path out of it.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this editorial is to describe a current and recurring problem in post‐secondary education and a path out of it.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a viewpoint paper.

Findings

Education has to change direction. Badging and the world of multiplayer games provides one path to change the institutions and how to prepare, primarily, undergraduates as education moves from pre‐K‐12 to pre‐K‐16 and towards lifelong learning

Originality/value

The paper provides a viewpoint into one way in which post‐secondary education can move forwards.

Article
Publication date: 28 September 2010

Dennis Chung Sea Law

A major focus of the recent research into the quality of post‐secondary education is the centrality of the student experience. The purpose of this paper is to review the…

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Abstract

Purpose

A major focus of the recent research into the quality of post‐secondary education is the centrality of the student experience. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on studies addressing such a focus to shed light on how quality assurance (QA) practices can be improved.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper reviews some of the approaches to addressing the quality issues from the viewpoints of students' evaluations of teaching effectiveness, students' programme experiences, students' total experiences, student satisfaction and service quality, and some of the quantitative instruments that have been developed for measuring the respective constructs.

Findings

The employment of student surveys using self‐report inventories/questionnaires with established reliability, validity and diagnostic power has the potential to transform both the external and internal quality‐monitoring mechanisms now being practiced in post‐secondary education, and help shift the focus of QA activities more to the enhancement‐led views.

Originality/value

To cope with the complexity of the education system and to get quality into it, this paper promotes the practice of conducting student surveys by taking reference from the relevant research literature and adopting a rigorous approach to developing and improving data‐collection instruments to tap into the students' experiences, so that the QA activities of educational institutions are research informed, evidence based and enhancement led.

Details

Quality Assurance in Education, vol. 18 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0968-4883

Keywords

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