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Article
Publication date: 7 August 2019

Oscar Espinoza, Luis González, Luis Sandoval, Noel McGinn, Javier Loyola and Dante Castillo

The purpose of this paper is to improve future teacher training by assessment of university graduates’ satisfaction with their preparation in Basic Education teaching.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to improve future teacher training by assessment of university graduates’ satisfaction with their preparation in Basic Education teaching.

Design/methodology/approach

This descriptive study employed a self-administered survey questionnaire to a representative sample of 235 graduates between 2014 and 2016 from three universities in Chile. The questionnaire generated information about the graduates’ background (age, gender, parents’ education and prestige of secondary school attended); an evaluation of three dimensions of their degree program (instructional quality, infrastructure and employability), and experiences in the labor market (including salary). Analysis of variance was used to assess relationships between satisfaction, and other variables.

Findings

In general, graduates were satisfied with all aspects of their training. Satisfaction levels were higher from those assumed to have lower expectations. Contrary to this hypothesis, university prestige is not directly related to satisfaction. Instead, expectations and employability moderate the effect of prestige.

Research limitations/implications

The sample is not representative of the 59 universities in Chile nor of the many other degree programs offered in those universities.

Practical implications

Program directors concerned about improving the public reputation or prestige of their program will benefit from efforts to improve the quality of the program and its infrastructure, and relevance for entrance into the world of work.

Originality/value

This study provides information not previously available about graduate satisfaction in teaching degree programs in Chile.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. 10 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 February 2019

Ana Lucia Manrique, Ely A.T. Dirani, Annie F. Frere, Geraldo E. Moreira and Pedro M. Arezes

Despite dealing with special educational needs (SEN) students, many teachers feel unprepared for this task. This situation reveals the urgent need for studies in different areas…

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Abstract

Purpose

Despite dealing with special educational needs (SEN) students, many teachers feel unprepared for this task. This situation reveals the urgent need for studies in different areas, directed toward the inclusion of students in regular classrooms. Therefore, a diagnosis about the situation of inclusive education and the resources available in schools offering regular teaching becomes of paramount importance. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to present the results of an investigation that sought information on pedagogical work in inclusive education and in the use of support materials by teachers of basic education in Brazil and Portugal.

Design/methodology/approach

In order to carry out this investigation, a questionnaire was developed by a partnership between researchers from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil and the University of Minho, Portugal, and applied to mathematics teachers. The study participants consisted of 197 mathematics teachers, working in primary school, secondary school and young people and adult education. Data collection was carried out through a questionnaire, available online and designed in Google Forms, with 48 questions (both open and closed formats).

Findings

From the results obtained, there is a clear need not only for promoting initial and further teacher training that takes into consideration the profile of this teacher, but also for promoting the development of support materials (games, software, devices and assistive technology) in a collaborative way, involving users, teachers, engineers in a way to ensure a good usability and adequate adaptability. Thus, the inclusion of SEN students in schools must not take place only with their physical integration, but also must consider their integration at social, emotional and educational levels.

Originality/value

It is understood that the teacher should receive a solid training in successful inclusion experiences in terms of technological, educational and didactic experiences. Another problem that seems to be recurrent is that support materials have been developed in a way that is somehow disconnected from the reality of the classroom. The context in which the support material is inserted is fundamental to the success of its utilization. What is more, it cannot be isolated from the individuals who will use it. It thus becomes urgent to prepare the school environment for the reality of inclusion. This involves aspects from changes in infrastructure and development of assistive technology to assist the student with SEN in their learning, to the establishment of public policies that involve teacher initial and further training, specialized support and curricular discussions.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 33 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 18 March 2020

Lianda Coetzer and Patrick Mapulanga

The purpose of this study is to assess the perceived satisfaction of Advanced Certificate in Teaching students and facilitators regarding online library services offered by the…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to assess the perceived satisfaction of Advanced Certificate in Teaching students and facilitators regarding online library services offered by the University of the Free State (UFS) in South Africa.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a quantitative approach with open-ended questions that generated some qualitative data. Data has been presented using descriptive statistics in the form of tables, graphs and charts and thematic content analysis for some qualitative data.

Findings

All learners in this study were adults between 45 and 55 years of age. Of the respondents, 13% lacked online experience, while about 85% had never used online library services and 35% indicated that Google was their primary source of information. The majority of respondents indicated information literacy as a core function of the academic library. High data cost in South Africa came out as one of the major issues affecting distance learners as well as login and password frustrations. The study confirmed computer anxiety, physical discomfort, information overflow and prompt response as some of the perceived challenges and levels of satisfaction respectively of Advanced Certificate in Teaching students and facilitators regarding online library services offered by the University of the Free State (UFS) in South Africa.

Practical implications

The study revealed that a distance learning library policy is of the essence because it helps to put in place rules and regulations that guide the delivery of distance library services.

Originality/value

The offering of online and distance library services is a fairly new concept to the UFS library. This study bridges the gap between theory and practice regarding the perceived satisfaction of distance users on online library services and how to improve the current practice.

Details

Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, vol. 70 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2514-9342

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 January 1978

Gordon Wills

BUSINESS SCHOOL GRAFFITI is a highly personal and revealing account of the first ten years (1965–1975) at Britain’s University Business Schools. The progress achieved is…

Abstract

BUSINESS SCHOOL GRAFFITI is a highly personal and revealing account of the first ten years (1965–1975) at Britain’s University Business Schools. The progress achieved is documented in a whimsical fashion that makes it highly readable. Gordon Wills has been on the inside throughout the decade and has played a leading role in two of the major Schools. Rather than presuming to present anything as pompous as a complete history of what has happened, he recalls his reactions to problems, issues and events as they confronted him and his colleagues. Lord Franks lit a fuse which set a score of Universities and even more Polytechnics alight. There was to be a bold attempt to produce the management talent that the pundits of the mid‐sixties so clearly felt was needed. Buildings, books, teachers who could teach it all, and students to listen and learn were all required for the boom to happen. The decade saw great progress, but also a rapid decline in the relevancy ethic. It saw a rapid withering of interest by many businessmen more accustomed to and certainly desirous of quick results. University Vice Chancellors, theologians and engineers all had to learn to live with the new and often wealthier if less scholarly faculty members who arrived on campus. The Research Councils had to decide how much cake to allow the Business Schools to eat. Most importantly, the author describes the process of search he went through as an individual in evolving a definition of his own subject and how it can best be forwarded in a University environment. It was a process that carried him from Technical College student in Slough to a position as one of the authorities on his subject today.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 12 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 March 2015

Marja-Leena Rönkkö and Jaana Lepistö

The aim of this paper is to reveal and investigate differences in how Finnish student teachers understand entrepreneurship education and how critical they are of it. The research…

1396

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of this paper is to reveal and investigate differences in how Finnish student teachers understand entrepreneurship education and how critical they are of it. The research question is: what kind of critical understanding do student teachers reveal in their conception of entrepreneurship education?

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative research approach termed content analysis was used to investigate student teacher’s conceptions. The data were collected from essays written by 257 student teachers at the University of Turku’s, Rauma teacher education department during 2010-2012.

Findings

The conception of entrepreneurship education is, in many ways, related to how much one already knows about entrepreneurship education or how one reacts to it. It seems that most student teachers’ conceptions of entrepreneurship are positive, but even those in favour of it, in principle, do not necessarily want to see entrepreneurship education included in the basic education curriculum. Nevertheless, they think that enterprising pedagogy is useful and that the way of thinking about teaching is inspiring. They also feel that both teacher education and basic education benefit from some kind of entrepreneurship component, but do not take entrepreneurship education for granted. On the basis of this study, it is proposed that teacher education should incorporate more teaching that supports critical thinking in all study modules.

Originality/value

The findings of this study illustrate that there is much more to do in teacher education and its curricula. Teaching situations and learning situations are always social situations and both learners and teachers have a vital role to play.

Details

Journal of Enterprising Communities: People and Places in the Global Economy, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-6204

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 6 August 2019

Hernán López Garay and Alfonso Reyes

Present-day engineering education is in dire need to expose would-be engineers to a systemic view of the world. Society’s problems are getting increasingly complex “wicked”…

Abstract

Purpose

Present-day engineering education is in dire need to expose would-be engineers to a systemic view of the world. Society’s problems are getting increasingly complex “wicked” problems, and they require inter and transdisciplinary approaches to understand and “dissolve” them (that is to solve them systemically). In this context, the purpose of this paper is to invite engineering educators to reflect on the need to teach systems thinking and spark their interest on finding appropriate methods to do so. This paper aims to describe an actual intervention at Universidad de Ibagué (UNIBAGUE), Colombia, where the methodology of teaching systems thinking as a foreign language has been on trial for one year.

Design/methodology/approach

Starting with a simple model of teaching systems thinking, and using an action-research methodology, the teaching model is gradually evolved to a model for teaching systems thinking as a foreign language.

Findings

The authors only have preliminary qualitative results with this systems-thinking teaching model. Although these results are encouraging (the authors think basic systems concepts are better apprehended by the students), further research is needed. One objective of the present paper is precisely to invite engineering educators to experiment with this teaching model.

Research limitations/implications

The authors think it is necessary to exploit further the teaching-a-foreign-language analogy. There is a vast experience on methods for teaching second and foreign languages. They could enrich the method and hint at possible directions for further research.

Practical implications

Teaching systems thinking is a field still open for wide research. The pedagogical model developed in this research to teach systems thinking could benefit other teachers of systems thinking to build upon.

Social implications

As one of the referees pointed out: “The implications of the insides obtained in this research are very significant to society. The problem observed in the systems thinking researchers and practitioner's community about how to disseminate systems thinking knowledge and how to embed this way of thinking into the minds of young people (K-12, university, etc.) is addressed in this research. In it is shown an experience that provides very valuable insides about how this can be done.

Originality/value

The idea of teaching systems thinking as a foreign language has not been widely explored. Furthermore, we feel that inasmuch as systems thinking is more of a skill or competency, than a technique or theory, then the model of teaching which emerges from this case study might be more appropriate than models of teaching based in the old educational paradigm.

Details

Kybernetes, vol. 48 no. 7
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0368-492X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 October 2022

Carolyn Caffrey, Hannah Lee, Tessa Withorn, Maggie Clarke, Amalia Castañeda, Kendra Macomber, Kimberly M. Jackson, Jillian Eslami, Aric Haas, Thomas Philo, Elizabeth Galoozis, Wendolyn Vermeer, Anthony Andora and Katie Paris Kohn

This paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy. It provides an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper presents recently published resources on library instruction and information literacy. It provides an introductory overview and a selected annotated bibliography of publications covering various library types, study populations and research contexts. The selected bibliography is useful to efficiently keep up with trends in library instruction for busy practitioners, library science students and those wishing to learn about information literacy in other contexts.

Design/methodology/approach

This article annotates 424 English-language periodical articles, monographs, dissertations, theses and reports on library instruction and information literacy published in 2021. The sources were selected from the EBSCO platform for Library, Information Science, and Technology Abstracts (LISTA), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Scopus, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses, and WorldCat, published in 2021 that included the terms “information literacy,” “library instruction,” or “information fluency” in the title, abstract or keywords. The sources were organized in Zotero. Annotations summarize the source, focusing on the findings or implications. Each source was categorized into one of seven pre-determined categories: K-12 Education, Children and Adolescents; Academic and Professional Programs; Everyday Life, Community, and the Workplace; Libraries and Health Information Literacy; Multiple Library Types; and Other Information Literacy Research and Theory.

Findings

The paper provides a brief description of 424 sources and highlights sources that contain unique or significant scholarly contributions.

Originality/value

The information may be used by librarians, researchers and anyone interested as a quick and comprehensive reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy within 2021.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 50 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 November 2013

Anna Marie Johnson, Claudene Sproles and Robert Detmering

– The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide a selected bibliography of recent resources on library instruction and information literacy.

Design/methodology/approach

Introduces and annotates periodical articles, monographs, and audiovisual material examining library instruction and information literacy.

Findings

Provides information about each source, discusses the characteristics of current scholarship, and describes sources that contain unique scholarly contributions and quality reproductions.

Originality/value

The information may be used by librarians and interested parties as a quick reference to literature on library instruction and information literacy.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 41 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 February 2018

Kehdinga George Fomunyam

This study aims to examine six South African universities with a particular focus on the quality of teaching and learning.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to examine six South African universities with a particular focus on the quality of teaching and learning.

Design/methodology/approach

A qualitative case study approach was adopted and data were mainly generated by means of open-ended questionnaires. The questionnaire was circulated to approximately 1,800 students and 746 completed it. The data were categorized and analysed thematically, using both national and international benchmarks for quality teaching and learning.

Findings

The findings reveal that teaching and learning in South African universities is marred by a plethora of challenges. Lecturers lack basic skills and essential resources to effectively facilitate teaching and learning. Furthermore, quality benchmarks set by the Council on Higher Education are only met on paper and little or nothing is done to translate this into practice.

Originality/value

The study proposes among others that clearer policies on funding are recommended to ensure proper allocation of resources, staff development and institutional comeliness. Finally, to enhance transformation, universities should prioritize teaching and learning and take steps to ensure that those teaching in the classroom are qualified to do so.

Details

Quality Assurance in Education, vol. 26 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0968-4883

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 12 April 2013

Elena Ruskovaara and Timo Pihkala

This study aims to highlight the entrepreneurship education practices teachers use in their work. Another target is to analyze how these practices differ based on a number of…

3768

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to highlight the entrepreneurship education practices teachers use in their work. Another target is to analyze how these practices differ based on a number of background factors.

Design/methodology/approach

This article presents a quantitative analysis of 521 teachers and other entrepreneurship education actors. The paper first examines the overall picture of entrepreneurship education practices. Then, after a factor analysis, the paper builds new sum measures of entrepreneurship education practices. Finally, the paper studies the teachers’ background information to further analyze the entrepreneurship education practices.

Findings

The findings provide information on which methods appear to be used the most frequently in basic and upper secondary education, and how these practices vary between different school levels. The results also indicate that the perception teachers have of their own entrepreneurship education skills is closely connected to the implementation of entrepreneurship education. Moreover, the findings present the connection between teacher training and the implementation of entrepreneurship education.

Originality/value

Teachers’ entrepreneurship education practices and related teaching and working methods are important in many respects. As research has primarily focused on higher education where the transferability of the results to basic and upper secondary education seems vague, this paper concentrates on the teachers’ role and especially their practices in lower education. The authors consider that their article has a special value in exploring and opening dialogue in this area.

1 – 10 of over 35000