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1 – 10 of over 2000
Article
Publication date: 22 February 2024

Thomas Gauthier

American Community colleges are vital to the country's economic mobility and are leaders in developing and facilitating career, technical, and workforce education. This study…

Abstract

Purpose

American Community colleges are vital to the country's economic mobility and are leaders in developing and facilitating career, technical, and workforce education. This study explored employer perspectives on employees' common and specialized skills across industries in the United States.

Design/methodology/approach

Employers were profiled for one year using a case study and content analysis method. They submitted performance records for at least three employees who graduated from community college career, technical, or workforce programs.

Findings

Data revealed that overall, employees were successful at work, but employers focused on employability skills across disciplines (common skills); specialized skills employers focused on were associated with business operations and processes and seemed to be something other than industry-specific technical knowledge.

Originality/value

This article and the research it refers to constitute original work that has not been reproduced or published. The value of this article is premised on new longitudinal data, which could be used to improve and progress institutional CTE and WD programs.

Details

Higher Education, Skills and Work-Based Learning, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2042-3896

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 October 2023

Melanie Maksin and Debra J. Bucher

In describing these projects, the authors hope to encourage academic librarians and archivists to participate in, and even facilitate, similar work at their own institutions…

Abstract

Purpose

In describing these projects, the authors hope to encourage academic librarians and archivists to participate in, and even facilitate, similar work at their own institutions. Although both of these projects began in the library and included readings and discussions related to library and archival practices, the most generative conversations rapidly shifted from “how should the library handle these materials?” to “what might this institution do to reckon with its history?” When traditional library practices were de-centered and community perspectives were sought on the college archive, the authors were able to have more inclusive, authentic conversations about the college's history and future.

Design/methodology/approach

This case study explores two projects undertaken at a liberal arts college: a working group and a credit-bearing course intended to reckon with racist, xenophobic or otherwise harmful materials in the college archive. Both projects were informed by the authors' engagement with Tema Okun's White Supremacy Culture and guided by inclusive pedagogies and practices that participants had explored in workshops and within the context of the college's Engaged Pluralism Initiative.

Findings

The working group and the course underscore the centrality of relationships, trust-building and time to the work of addressing difficult histories. The “campus-wide conversations” the authors had hoped to have about the college archive evolved into smaller spaces developed with intention and care. The diverse perspectives of working group members and students in the course demonstrate the value of bringing together viewpoints from outside the library and beyond institutional or disciplinary silos, to consider far-reaching systemic issues.

Practical implications

Many US colleges and universities have begun, or will begin, to investigate the myriad ways in which racism, racial exclusion, or racial violence have marked their institutions and how these troubled legacies persist in the present day. This case study proposes possible approaches that academic libraries and librarians may take to contribute to this essential work.

Originality/value

These two projects propose that work that typically happens solely within libraries and archives (cataloging and description of potentially harmful materials) or within institutional or disciplinary silos (reckoning with legacies of racism and bias) can be discussed, debated, and shared among the campus community. All of the participants in the working group and the course, regardless of their title, role, or academic credentials, bring necessary expertise and experience to these projects. Inclusive practices, when paired with grassroots energy, suggest ways in which a college archive can be used as a site of evidence, reflection, interrogation, and repair.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 52 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 22 March 2024

Alaric Awingura Alagbela and Jonas Bayuo

School effectiveness has attracted some currency in educational research globally since the 1960s though such studies mostly point to the efforts of principal leadership as the…

Abstract

Purpose

School effectiveness has attracted some currency in educational research globally since the 1960s though such studies mostly point to the efforts of principal leadership as the basis for promoting effective schools. However, in the case of Ghana, there is a lack of research conducted in the area, and due to that, this study sought to explore internal public perspectives of what constitutes school effectiveness in the Colleges of Education in the Upper East Region of Ghana.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employed the convergent parallel mixed-method design otherwise called concurrent mixed-method design. The population for the study comprised second and third-year students, tutors and leadership of the colleges. In total, 308 respondents constituted the sample size. The breakdown is 257 students in all, 41 tutors and 10 leaders of the colleges. Two instruments, namely, an in-depth interview guide and a questionnaire were used to elicit responses to address the object of this study.

Findings

The study revealed that the characteristics of effective schools include the high academic performance of students and a good show of disciplined behavior by both students and staff in the colleges among others.

Originality/value

To the best of our knowledge, during the search for studies conducted on school effectiveness, there is no scientific study done in Ghana highlighting the attributes of effective educational institutions. Most of the studies conducted in the area of educational studies only focused on principal leadership, educational access, participation and equity at the level of pre-tertiary institutions.

Details

Arab Gulf Journal of Scientific Research, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1985-9899

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 20 March 2024

Tom O'Donoghue and John Mortimer

Abstract

Details

Teacher Preparation in Papua New Guinea
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83549-077-8

Article
Publication date: 25 March 2024

Sam Thomas

Prospective students and other stakeholders in the education system use global and national rankings as a measure of the quality of education offered by different higher…

Abstract

Purpose

Prospective students and other stakeholders in the education system use global and national rankings as a measure of the quality of education offered by different higher educational institutions. The ranking of an Institution is seen as a measure of reputation and has a significant role in attracting students. But are students happy in the top-ranked institutions? Does a high rank translate into high student satisfaction? This study answers this question taking data from top educational institutions in India.

Design/methodology/approach

This study examines how the top-ranked higher education institutions in India fare on student satisfaction. Using the data on key performance indicators published by the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) and student satisfaction scores of these institutions reported by NAAC, the study explores a possible relationship between the ranking of an institution and its student satisfaction score.

Findings

The study finds no significant relationship between the ranking of an institution and its student satisfaction score. The only institutional performance dimension which has a positive correlation with student satisfaction is graduate outcome. The diversity dimension is seen to be negatively correlated with student satisfaction.

Practical implications

The importance of modifying the ranking frameworks to account for the real drivers of student satisfaction is highlighted. The items in the student satisfaction survey should be regularly updated to reflect the actual concerns of the students. This is very important given the fact that the number of Indian students going abroad for higher education recorded a six-year high in 2022 at 750,365.

Originality/value

With more than 50,000 institutions catering to over 40 million students, India has the largest higher education system in the world. Given the high level of competition among these institutions, ranking and accreditation have become important parameters used by students for selection of an institution. But do top-ranked higher education institutions have the most satisfied student community? The assumption is disproved using the most credible secondary data. This study is the first of its kind in the Indian context. It has huge implications for the most respected ranking frameworks.

Details

Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2050-7003

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 31 January 2024

J. Luke Wood and Frank Harris III

This article provides an overviews of the concept of racelighting. Racelighting is “is an act of psychological manipulation where Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC…

Abstract

Purpose

This article provides an overviews of the concept of racelighting. Racelighting is “is an act of psychological manipulation where Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) receive racial messages that lead them to second-guess their lived experiences with racism”

Design/methodology/approach

This conceptual paper articulates four primary ways that racelighting manifests in the lives and experiences of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC).

Findings

There are four common messages that often lead to racelighting: stereotype advancement, resistive actions, inauthentic allyship and misrepresenting the past.

Originality/value

While much has been written about gaslighting, few frameworks articulate how gaslighting occurs in a racialized context.

Details

Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, vol. 43 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2040-7149

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 20 October 2023

Manuel Vallée

This study aims to assess the spread of environmental literacy graduation requirements at public universities in the USA, and to highlight factors that mediate the adoption of…

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to assess the spread of environmental literacy graduation requirements at public universities in the USA, and to highlight factors that mediate the adoption of this curriculum innovation.

Design/methodology/approach

The author analyzed the undergraduate general education curriculum requirements at all 549 public BA-granting higher education institutions in the USA between 2020 and 2022.

Findings

The study found that only 27 US public universities out of 540 have an environmental literacy graduation requirement, which represents 5% of universities and is substantially lower than previous estimates.

Originality/value

First, this study provides a more complete, more reliable and more current assessment of the graduation requirement’s presence at US tertiary institutions, and shows the number of universities that have implemented this innovation is lower than was estimated a decade ago. Second, it draws from the scholarship on the infusion of sustainability into the university curriculum to provide a comprehensive discussion of factors that mediate the pursuit and implementation of the graduation requirement. As well, it identifies factors that played a key role in one pertinent case.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 25 no. 9
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 10 April 2024

Troy Heffernan

This chapter is focused on what we can learn from oppressive governance, in this case specifically relating to university governance in terms of vice chancellors and presidents…

Abstract

This chapter is focused on what we can learn from oppressive governance, in this case specifically relating to university governance in terms of vice chancellors and presidents, to the deputy vice chancellor and deputy president and down the ever-growing university hierarchy to deans and heads of schools and their deputies, from a Freirean perspective. Freire wrote at length about how leaders ‘controlled’ education and why they did so, but he also wrote at length about how governments control populations – himself being both a political prisoner and a person in exile to escape persecution. This chapter subsequently examines Freire's ideas around what techniques people employ to control populations and applies them to a higher education setting because the similarities are numerous and the tactics familiar.

Details

Academy of the Oppressed
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-316-9

Article
Publication date: 5 August 2022

Mohamad Zuber Abd Majid, Saraswathy Kasavan and Rusinah Siron

While technical vocational education training (TVET) has been studied in-depth, the evolution and performance patterns of the subject remain unknown and limited. A bibliometric…

Abstract

Purpose

While technical vocational education training (TVET) has been studied in-depth, the evolution and performance patterns of the subject remain unknown and limited. A bibliometric analysis was performed to examine the global scientific literature to assess the state of the art in TVET research over the past 23 years.

Design/methodology/approach

The Web of Science (WoS) database was searched to explore TVET-related research from 1999 to 2021, resulting in the identification of 7,512 articles. The VOSviewer software was used to investigate the network of collaboration between authors, institutions, countries and author keywords.

Findings

The results reveal that the subject categories of “education” and “educational research” are the most prolific contributors to TVET-related research, with 3,314 articles. Most of the previous studies in Phase I (1999–2006) focussed on human capital resources development in the TVET sector. Phase II (2007–2014) follows with the centralisation of TVET, focussing on technology transition in education. However, in Phase III (2015–2021), researchers appear to focus on vocational studies in higher education towards increasing the productivity of human resources via the implementation of technology transition.

Originality/value

The valuable findings of this study can facilitate better understanding among scholars on the trends of TVET research developments and on the direction of future research.

Book part
Publication date: 10 April 2024

Troy Heffernan

The purpose of this chapter is to highlight how universities got into the predicament in which they currently find themselves in, or somewhat planned to be in, in the 2020s. The…

Abstract

The purpose of this chapter is to highlight how universities got into the predicament in which they currently find themselves in, or somewhat planned to be in, in the 2020s. The historical account outlines the purpose of higher education and who it was for throughout the last few centuries, before a more in-depth analysis of the last few decades will highlight how, and why, neoliberal and subsequently managerial aspects of leadership and performance metrics crept into universities before an analysis of the last 5–10 years, including the onset and consequences of COVID, will demonstrate that many ‘COVID recovery plans’ around staff cuts and course reforms were already in place before COVID, but it was COVID that allowed these plans in most cases to be escalated.

Details

Academy of the Oppressed
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80455-316-9

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