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Focusing on the quality of teaching and learning, this study aims to explore the perceptions of accountancy students in two emerging UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) of the quality of their learning experiences and the impact of these experiences on generic skills development.

A questionnaire survey was used to collect the data. OLS regression was used to test the hypothesis regarding the impact of student learning experiences (lecturer ability, assessment and curriculum) on generic skills development.

Students value the lecturer as the most important determinant of the quality of their experience. They rated their assessment programme very positively, and the curriculum suggests that students tend to experience a deep blended approach to learning. They also felt that they acquired a wide range of soft competency skills such as those associated with research, critical thinking and time management. Multivariate findings indicate that lecturer ability and curriculum contribute significantly and positively to generic skills development.

The study provides a benchmark for international accounting and business educators in any efforts to assess the efficacy of HE delivery since the pandemic. By implication, it enables the identification of enhancements to the previous character of delivery and hence offers the means to direct improvements to the student experience. Such improvements can then be seen in the National Student Survey (NSS) scores, thereby positively contributing to the next Teaching Excellence Framework. Additionally, such tangible enhancements in NSS scores may be advantageous to HEIs, in the UK and other Western countries, in their efforts to recruit international students on whom they place great reliance for increased revenue, to their international business education programmes.

This study addresses the research gap surrounding the link between teaching and learning approaches in accounting and the development of generic skills. Furthermore, acknowledging that the COVID-19 pandemic with its imposed structural change in the HE teaching and learning environment ushered in a new model of curriculum delivery, this study reflects on the pre-COVID-19 scenario and gathers student perceptions of their teaching and learning experiences before the changes necessitated by lockdowns. It therefore brings the opportunity to anchor future research exploring the post-COVID-19 environment and secure comparative analyses.

The purpose of this paper is to describe this new evaluation experience with portfolio in economics, not only from the teacher’s point of view but from the student perspective, and all the learning from its implementation; to provide ideas of evaluation practices in virtual and face-to-face modality in international business education; to motivate the rethinking of assessment practices in higher education to combine the best of each modality in the future.

The present work is a case study based on a qualitative description of the implementation of a portfolio as an assessment practice, supported by a reflection questionnaire with students’ perceptions and some elements of metacognition. The first section summarizes the literature used as a theoretical framework of this work. The second section describes the portfolio implementation by analyzing teachers and students reflections with a qualitative approach. The third section presents the findings. The fourth section is a discussion of findings, practical implications, limitations and future research directions. Finally, the conclusions of the work are shared.

Because the portfolio has had overwhelming results to assess what students have learned during the pandemic, it has become the learning and assessment tool after the pandemic, as it transforms the classes experience by shifting the focus from traditional examinations to more comprehensive, personalized and reflective ones. It also empowers students to take ownership of their learning, develop essential skills and cultivate a deeper understanding. Among other benefits, the portfolio means the creation of a safe and supportive environment for honest reflection, the development and design of strategic directions to improve learning and lead students toward metacognitive autonomy. Reflection pieces, a critical component of the portfolio, are a vital tool in the proactive learning process, as through reflection students learn to examine their own performance and discuss strategies to enhance their success in future work.

This work began as an educational experience per se, not for research purposes, which caused it to be systematized and reconstructed in a descriptive way, not to measure quantitative results. In this way, the present work describes that the portfolio helps to achieve better results on students’ learning than traditional examinations but, as another limitation, it does not measure them nor the process. One more limitation of this work is that it was written in a postpandemic context but was implemented during the pandemic; therefore, the circumstances of writing are not the same as those of implementation, and this could also entail a certain margin of decontextualization. At the same time, this is an experience that is still in process and continually being adapted to this changed and changing educational postpandemic context.

One of the main implications of the portfolio experience, transferable to all educational contexts, is that it transforms the final exam into a metacognitive one, letting students be aware of their own process of learning and results – objectives and competences – acquired. In this way, it lets teachers witness a part of the learning process that is not so evident in the traditional assessment practices – focused on some aspect of the learning – as it makes visible the way in which students receive, process and apply content, that is to say, how they make it their own.

The portfolio promotes reflective learning and metacognition, vital skills that benefit students beyond the classroom. This can have a positive impact on societal attitudes toward education and the quality of learning. Of the students, 82% felt the portfolio creation was helpful in their personal and professional lives, suggesting a broader societal impact. The paper’s findings contribute to the body of knowledge about the effectiveness of portfolio-based assessment in higher education, especially in the worldwide transition from online education to postpandemic education. This could guide future studies in similar educational contexts or with different pedagogical innovative tools.

In light of the 2020 pandemic lockdown, this work delves into the pressing need for educators to adapt and modify their teaching approaches. The relevance of this study is accentuated by the worldwide transition from online education to postpandemic education. This paper bridges the gap between theory and practice because the research can be applied to the educational practice of any international business education context, as well as lay the foundations for future research in the field that contributes to increasing evidence of the effectiveness of the use of the portfolio to achieve significant and deep learning in higher education.

This article investigates the application of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) in experiential learning for authentic assessment in higher education. Recognized for its human-like content generation, GenAI has garnered widespread interest, raising concerns regarding its reliability, ethical considerations and overall impact. The purpose of this study is to explore the transformative capabilities and limitations of GenAI for experiential learning.

The study uses “thing ethnography” and “incremental prompting” to delve into the perspectives of ChatGPT 3.5, a prominent GenAI model. Through semi-structured interviews, the research prompts ChatGPT 3.5 on critical aspects such as conceptual clarity, integration of GenAI in educational settings and practical applications within the context of authentic assessment. The design examines GenAI’s potential contributions to reflective thinking, hands-on learning and genuine assessments, emphasizing the importance of responsible use.

The findings underscore GenAI’s potential to enhance experiential learning in higher education. Specifically, the research highlights GenAI’s capacity to contribute to reflective thinking, hands-on learning experiences and the facilitation of genuine assessments. Notably, the study emphasizes the significance of responsible use in harnessing the capabilities of GenAI for educational purposes.

This research showcases the application of GenAI in operations management education, specifically within lean health care. The study offers insights into its capabilities by exploring the practical implications of GenAI in a specific educational domain through thing ethnography and incremental prompting. Additionally, the article proposes future research directions, contributing to the originality of the work and opening avenues for further exploration in the integration of GenAI in education.

This study explores the extent of undergraduate students' engagement in interdisciplinary learning experiences across their academic journey and its potential correlation with elevated levels of self-efficacy in learning. Furthermore, the research investigates how the clarity of career decisions and future goals contributes to the perception of relevance, value and alignment of interdisciplinary learning experiences among undergraduate students.

Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire in a longitudinal survey administered annually to undergraduate students at a university in northern Taiwan over four waves from 2018 to 2021. The sample analyzed for this study consisted of 123 undergraduate students who willingly and continuously participated in the research throughout the specified period.

The results showed that self-efficacy within interdisciplinary learning experiences could be classified into three clusters: high efficacy, moderate efficacy and fluctuating efficacy. The determinants influencing these clusters include career decisions and years spent in university. Undergraduate students who have determined their career decisions and are in their latter two years of undergraduate studies demonstrate higher self-efficacy in interdisciplinary learning. Conversely, students who have yet to determine their career decisions exhibit a fluctuating pattern of self-efficacy across the three interdisciplinary learning categories.

Two key limitations of this research include a small sample size and a confined university-specific context, potentially constraining the applicability of the results to a broader population.

This study contributes to the interdisciplinary learning experience in higher education by explaining the significance of undergraduates' self-efficacy and career-related factors. Whereas most research has focused on the effects of self-efficacy, this study investigated the factors that influence undergraduates' self-efficacy.

First-generation college students in the United States are a unique demographic that is often characterized by the institutions that serve them with a risk-laden and deficit-based model. However, our analysis of the transcripts of open-ended, semi-structured interviews with 22 “first-gen” respondents suggests they are actively deft, agentic, self-determining parties to processes of identity construction that are both externally imposed and potentially stigmatizing, as well as exemplars of survivance and determination. We deploy a grounded theory approach to an open-coding process, modeled after the extended case method, while viewing our data through a novel synthesis of the dual theoretical lenses of structural and radical/structural symbolic interactionism and intersectional/standpoint feminist traditions, in order to reveal the complex, unfolding, active strategies students used to make sense of their obstacles, successes, co-created identities, and distinctive institutional encounters. We find that contrary to the dictates of prevailing paradigms, identity-building among first-gens is an incremental and bidirectional process through which students actively perceive and engage existing power structures to persist and even thrive amid incredibly trying, challenging, distressing, and even traumatic circumstances. Our findings suggest that successful institutional interventional strategies designed to serve this functionally unique student population (and particularly those tailored to the COVID-moment) would do well to listen deeply to their voices, consider the secondary consequences of “protectionary” policies as potentially more harmful than helpful, and fundamentally, to reexamine the presumption that such students present just institutional risk and vulnerability, but also present a valuable addition to university environments, due to the unique perspective and broader scale of vision their experiences afford them.

The use of augmented reality (AR) and experiential learning go hand in hand. Although AR learning opportunities have been well discussed, there is limited empirical research on the use of AR within higher education settings. Drawing from the uses and gratifications theory (U&GT), this study aims to explore the use of AR for learning satisfaction and student engagement, while also examining differences in learning styles.

This study used experiments with higher education students in the UK to explore the use of AR as part of the learning experience. Data from 173 students who experienced AR as part of their learning experience were analysed using partial least square analysis.

The authors found that hedonic, utilitarian, sensual and modality gratifications influence AR learning satisfaction and student engagement. Furthermore, the authors found differences between active and passive learners with regards to utilitarian (information seeking, personalisation) and sensual gratifications (immersion, presence) and effects on learning satisfaction.

This study developed and validated a U&GT framework incorporating different learning styles rooted in Kolb’s learning cycle. Findings provide important implications for the use of commercial AR applications as part of the learning experience within higher education settings.

The purpose of our research is to better understand inquiry-based pedagogy in the context of leadership education. Specifically, we sought to learn about how leadership learning is characterized in an immersive inquiry course, and how inquiry-based pedagogy is experienced by students engaged in interdisciplinary leadership learning.

We used a case study approach as an overarching methodology. The research methods employed to collect data were World Cafe and episodic narrative interview. Further, we used collocation analysis and systematic text condensation as analytical strategies to interpret data.

Our findings led us to four primary conclusions: (1) inquiry-based learning helps to foster an inquiry mindset amongst leadership education students; (2) the challenges and tensions associated with inquiry-based learning are worth the learning gains for leadership students; (3) the opportunity to learn in relationship is beneficial for leadership development outcomes and (4) students’ experiences of inquiry-based learning in leadership education often included instances of transformation.

Limitations of the research were: (1) it is a case study situated within a unique, particular social and educational context; (2) demographic data were not collected from participants, so results cannot be disaggregated based on particular demographic markers and (3) the small sample size involved in the study makes it impossible to generalize across a broad population.

This research has enabled a deep understanding of structural and relational supports that can enable effective inquiry-based learning in leadership education. It also offers evidence to support institutional shifts to inquiry-based pedagogy in leadership education.

Our research demonstrates that use of inquiry-based pedagogy in leadership education has long-lasting positive effects on students' capacity for applied leadership practice. Consequently, participants in this type of leadership learning are better positioned to effectively lead social change that is pressing in our current global context.

There is scant (if any) published research that has focused on using inquiry-based pedagogies in leadership education. This research makes a significant contribution to the scholarship of leadership education.

This case study sought to investigate the relationship between pre-service teachers’ participation in designing and delivering one-on-one literacy intervention lessons to beginning readers and their own evolving self-efficacy in literacy instruction.

The study was embedded within a 4000-level course in the elementary education major where pre-service teachers learn to administer, analyze and interpret a variety of literacy assessments. Based on the results of these assessments, pre-service teachers designed and implemented literacy lessons (twice a week, 30-min sessions) that addressed the beginning readers' specific instructional needs. Through collecting pre/post data with their first-grade intervention students, and participating in reflective “check-ins” (surveys, a focus group and end-of-course written reflection), a portrait of increased pre-service teacher self-efficacy in literacy instruction comes into focus.

The data showed, primarily through the thematic analysis of qualitative data, that the experience of conducting a one-on-one intervention with a striving reader impacted pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy positively.

The methodology of this study was limited by the small sample size and the low participant response rate on the quantitative survey measure.

This paper highlights one aspect in which clinically-rich field experiences can make a difference in the literacy instruction self-efficacy of pre-service teachers.

This study adds to the support for authentic instructional applications of course content in educator preparation programs, specifically in Professional Development School (partner school system) contexts. The aspect of observing and measuring intervention student progress was one lens through which pre-service teachers viewed their efficacy. Further investigations focusing on other assessment-instruction cycles could provide additional insights.

Self-initiated international placements by students have been largely ignored in the literature on outward mobility in higher education. The support given to self-initiated international placement students, if any, has received even less attention. This study aims to address this lacuna.

Drawing on insights from global mobility literature, we conducted a survey of UK university students who engaged in self-initiated international placements to various countries such as France, China, Brazil and Ghana. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic content analysis.

Findings reveal that these “voluntary” placements can improve language fluency, increase self-confidence, renew stress management abilities and enhance cross-cultural competencies and intercultural sensitivity. The study problematises the lack of support given to these students particularly in terms of career development.

Our paper is one of the first to bring this under-studied population to the attention of career guidance scholars. We propose that scholarly attention should be directed toward the agency of self-initiated international placement students and that targeted career guidance must be provided through more inclusive career services.

The marketisation of higher education fosters the notion of students as consumers, highlighting the shifting dynamics of student–teacher relationships. This paper aims to contribute to ongoing discussions about students as consumers and their involvement in pedagogical practices. We explore students’ experiences in short-term study abroad (SA) programmes that involve collaborative learning, examining how a consumerism-oriented approach affects students’ perceptions of their pedagogical identities and student–teacher pedagogical relationships.

A qualitative exploratory study was conducted to capture students’ rich and subjective perceptions and experiences. The data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 15 Chinese undergraduate students who participated in a short-term SA programme at a UK university. Following data translation and transcription, a thematic analysis approach facilitated our exploration.

Chinese students engage in SA programmes as a strategic investment in personal growth and transformation, with their consumer-oriented identity fostering a mutually beneficial relationship with educators and group members. This consumer mindset appears to enhance active student engagement and, to some extent, create reciprocal student–teacher interactions through power sharing and collaborative involvement.

This study presents empirical data exploring the impact of consumer identity on the dynamics of student–teacher relationships in the SA context. It provides recommendations for implementing pedagogical approaches designed to mediate the influence of consumerism on student engagement, particularly in shaping collaborative student–teacher relationships. This study offers insights for future research on the effects of consumerism in higher education within cross-cultural contexts.