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Article
Publication date: 19 June 2017

Johnson Kampamba, Emmanuel Tembo and Boipuso Nkwae

The purpose of this paper is to establish the relevance of the real estate curricula being offered by the two universities in Botswana to industry.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to establish the relevance of the real estate curricula being offered by the two universities in Botswana to industry.

Design/methodology/approach

This is a cross-sectional study in which a designed questionnaire was administered to the practitioners in real estate obtained from the membership list of the Real Estate Institute of Botswana (REIB), final-year students and former graduates of the Bachelor of Land Management programme using proportionate stratified random sampling technique. This resulted into the total population of 150 elements. Students for the Bachelor of Commerce in Real Estate (BCom RE) at Ba Isago and BSc Real Estate programme at the University of Botswana were excluded from the population because they did not have graduate degrees yet; therefore the study sample was drawn from the identified population at 90 per cent confidence level with a 10 per cent margin of error. The sampling frame composed of 122 registered property valuers and managers, 14 alumni and 14 final-year students of Land Management (150). The sample size of 60 was determined at 90 per cent level of confidence with a 10 per cent margin of error. The questionnaire was administered through e-mail using a contact list from the REIB to their members. It was also e-mailed to the alumni and physically administered to the final-year students as well. A 60 per cent response rate was achieved.

Findings

It was established that the three programmes offered at the two universities in their current form are relevant to the industry. The overall average scores out of 5 for these programmes were 4.14 for BSc Real Estate – UB, 4.10 for Bachelor Land Management – UB and 3.97 for BCom RE – Ba Isago University College. By using analysis of variance, the study further established that there were no significant differences between the two programmes that are offered at UB and the one at Ba Isago University College. This was established by looking at the computed F-test (0.89) and the critical F-test (2.36). Since the computed F-test was less than the critical F-test value, it was concluded that there is no significant statistical differences among the three programmes being offered in the two universities.

Research limitations/implications

The major limitation in this study was the use of an e-mailed questionnaire to the property practitioners and alumni of the Land Management programme which is characterised by a low response rate.

Practical implications

Since the three overall mean scores are close to and above 4.00, it means the current programmes offered at the two universities are relevant to the industry.

Social implications

The research results might be useful to the society and should be used to enhance the social uplifting of society by contributing to the decisions that are made which might affect the society as a whole.

Originality/value

This is the first study to be conducted in Botswana which was meant to establish if the real estate programmes offered in the two universities were relevant. It is the first study to compare and evaluate the relevance of the contents of three real estate programmes locally.

Details

Property Management, vol. 35 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0263-7472

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 11 April 2011

Alison Glover, Carl Peters and Simon K. Haslett

The purpose of this paper is to test the validity of the curriculum auditing tool Sustainability Tool for Auditing University Curricula in Higher Education (STAUNCH©), which was…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to test the validity of the curriculum auditing tool Sustainability Tool for Auditing University Curricula in Higher Education (STAUNCH©), which was designed to audit the education for sustainability and global citizenship content of higher education curricula. The Welsh Assembly Government aspires to incorporate sustainability across all sectors and required an audit of all higher education curricula within Wales. The paper also discusses responses to the auditing process, findings at an institutional and national level and proposes recommendations for improvements.

Design/methodology/approach

The University of Wales, Newport, provides the case study to test the validity of the STAUNCH© software.

Findings

The quality and effectiveness of the curriculum content was not identified by the audit. The audit identified what the curriculum offered but did not necessarily reflect that studied by students. Modules offered on more than one course were awarded credit within the “cross‐cutting” criteria of the audit and this distorted the final results. The audit enabled curriculum managers to identify programmes of study which exhibited strengths and limitations in this area. Utilising a common auditing tool across the Welsh higher education sector allows for future developments to be collective and collaborative.

Practical implications

A general consensus of opinion from a network of Welsh higher education institutions regarding any future use of this auditing tool is currently one of uncertainty as far as any validity the tool may bring to driving the sustainability agenda forward. Alterations to the STAUNCH© software and auditing process are proposed if possible future audits are to be more effective. Nevertheless, within a relatively short time span education for sustainable development and global citizenship within Welsh higher education is gaining momentum. Amendments have been made to university documentation, staff‐training initiatives developed and the potential impact of curriculum development in this area is beginning to be realised.

Originality/value

This paper discusses the application of a new sustainability curriculum‐auditing tool and the validity of the tool in progressing sustainability within the higher education sector.

Details

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, vol. 12 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1467-6370

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 February 2018

LeAnne Petherick

The purpose of this paper is to explore issues of race and culture in health education in the secondary school health and physical education (HPE) curriculum in Ontario, Canada.

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore issues of race and culture in health education in the secondary school health and physical education (HPE) curriculum in Ontario, Canada.

Design/methodology/approach

Using Ontario’s secondary school curriculum as a point of analysis, this paper draws from critical race theory and a whiteness lens to identify how cultural and race identities are positioned in contemporary health education documents. The curriculum document and its newest strategies for teaching are the focus of analysis in this conceptual paper.

Findings

Within the curriculum new teaching strategies offer entry points for engaging students in learning more about culture and race. In particular, First Nation, Métis and Inuit identities are noted in the curriculum. Specifically, three areas of the curriculum point to topics of race and culture in health: eating; substance use, abuse and additions; and, movement activities. Within these three educational areas, the curriculum offers information about cultural practices to teach about what it means to understand health from a cultural lens.

Social implications

The HPE curriculum offers examples of how Ontario, Canada, is expanding its cultural approaches to knowing about and understanding health practices. The acknowledgment of First Nations, Métis and Inuit health and cultural ways of approaching health is significant when compared to other recently revised HPE curriculum from around the globe. The teaching strategies offered in the curriculum document provide one avenue to think about how identity, culture and race are being taught in health education classrooms.

Originality/value

First, with limited analysis of health education policy within schools, the use of critical theory provides opportunities for thinking about what comes next when broadening definitions of health to be more inclusive of cultural and race identity. Second, curriculum structures how teachers respond to the topics they are delivering, thus how HPE as a subject area promotes healthy practices is highly relevant to the field of health education. This paper provides an important acknowledgment of the educative work being undertaken in the revision of HPE curriculum.

Details

Health Education, vol. 118 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0965-4283

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 1980

Eugene A. Engeldinger

With the job market as it is for many college graduates, it is more important than ever that students choose those professional and graduate schools which will best meet their…

Abstract

With the job market as it is for many college graduates, it is more important than ever that students choose those professional and graduate schools which will best meet their individual needs and help them achieve their goals. The process of graduate school selection is often difficult, but libraries can facilitate the process with a good collection of specialized guides to graduate schools, frequently obtainable at little cost.

Details

Reference Services Review, vol. 8 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0090-7324

Article
Publication date: 16 November 2012

Donato Iacobucci and Alessandra Micozzi

The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the present situation and recent evolution of entrepreneurship education in Italian universities and to discuss whether…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to provide an analysis of the present situation and recent evolution of entrepreneurship education in Italian universities and to discuss whether these courses and curricula match the demand for entrepreneurial competences.

Design/methodology/approach

The empirical analysis is based on a census of entrepreneurship courses and curricula run by universities. The information collected through the internet refers to the academic years 2003‐2004 and 2009‐2010.

Findings

Compared with the situation observed in the USA and in other European countries, entrepreneurship education in Italy is rather “underdeveloped”. Only a few universities have courses or specific curricula dedicated to entrepreneurship. The courses are concentrated within business faculties while very few exist in science and engineering faculties. The slow pace with which Italian universities are keeping up with the global trend in entrepreneurship education at university level seems in vivid contrast with the need for the Italian economy to change its industry structure from the so‐called “traditional” to “high‐tech” sectors. The paper discusses the reasons for this situation.

Research limitations/implications

The paper does not evaluate the impact of entrepreneurship education. A suggestion for future research could be to analyze the role of these courses in encouraging entrepreneurial activity of students.

Practical implications

Entrepreneurship education at university level can play an important role in the Italian economic system, fostering the creation of new business in knowledge‐intensive sectors.

Social implications

The exploratory analysis of the state of entrepreneurship education in Italy suggests the need to develop these courses and spread the presence, especially in the science and engineering universities.

Originality/value

The paper covers a lack of research on the attitude of higher education institutions towards entrepreneurship education in Italy.

Book part
Publication date: 12 August 2009

Jacqueline J. Schmidt, Brian Patrick Green and Roland Madison

Employers state that their major concern with accounting graduates is their inadequate skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening (Kranacher, 2007, p. 80). Yet, the…

Abstract

Employers state that their major concern with accounting graduates is their inadequate skills in reading, writing, speaking, and listening (Kranacher, 2007, p. 80). Yet, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and some state boards of accountancy have minimized the importance of these skills on professional certification exams. This conflict creates a mixed message. The purpose of our study is to determine accounting department chairs’ perceptions of the importance of writing, speaking, listening, interpersonal, and technological communication skills for both the accounting and the business curricula and where in the curriculum these skills are taught. In our study, we surveyed 122 accounting administrators from the largest North American accountancy programs. Survey respondents report that most required communication courses are in the general business curriculum and, to a lesser extent, as a required course in the accounting major. Consistent across demographics, respondents also indicate that all communication skills are important, but writing skills followed by technological skills are the most valued for the accounting curriculum, while writing and speaking skills are most important in the business curriculum. Implications for the curriculum are discussed.

Details

Advances in Accounting Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-84855-882-3

Book part
Publication date: 1 September 2014

Li Wang

Information literacy education plays a vital role in developing students’ information capabilities in higher education. Curriculum integration of information literacy is advocated…

Abstract

Information literacy education plays a vital role in developing students’ information capabilities in higher education. Curriculum integration of information literacy is advocated by ACRL (2000) in the United States and ANZIIL (Bundy, 2004) in Australia and New Zealand. Research (Derakhshan & Singh, 2011; Dixon-Thomas, 2012) suggests that the most effective way to provide information literacy education is to integrate information literacy throughout the curriculum. The purpose of this chapter is to discuss curriculum in higher education and to introduce a model of curricular integration of information literacy.

The curriculum of a university (as one form of higher education) is usually seen as an educational plan to engage learners in the acquisition of knowledge and skills leading to a degree, diploma or certificate. The curriculum can be viewed at various levels, namely: institutional, faculty, programme, course and class levels. Therefore, information literacy can be integrated at different levels: university, faculty, programme, or courses and associated classes. This chapter will explain a model of curriculum integrated information literacy developed by Wang (2010) which was based on sociocultural theories and practitioners’ experiences in information literacy curriculum integration in higher education. Explanations of how to apply it in curriculum integration and curriculum design in higher education will also be provided.

Details

Developing People’s Information Capabilities: Fostering Information Literacy in Educational, Workplace and Community Contexts
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-766-5

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 5 November 2018

David William Stoten

This paper aims to explore the reform and development of the MBA within pre-1992 and post-1992 universities in the United Kingdom with reference to New Institutionalism and field…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the reform and development of the MBA within pre-1992 and post-1992 universities in the United Kingdom with reference to New Institutionalism and field theory.

Design/methodology/approach

The methodology adopted the approaches of Navarro (2008) and Kars-Unluoglu (2016) that involved a web-based review of those pre-1992 universities listed in the Financial Times “top-100” MBAs, as well as a review of a regional grouping of four post-1992 universities.

Findings

The findings echo the work of Wilkins and Huisman (2012) who argued that British business schools were stratified into distinct organisational fields, each catering for their own market. While the pre-1992 universities are able to offer a wide array of electives and pathways to enable personalisation and specialisation of the curriculum, post-1992 universities appear to offer a more constrained curriculum offer. The reform of the MBA should be seen as part of a wider agenda of professionalisation.

Research limitations/implications

Albeit following on other research that used this research strategy, this web-based review would have benefited from closer interrogation of curriculum content through interviews with Programme Leaders/Directors. Future research should involve a larger sample from the post-1992 sector.

Originality/value

This paper provides an up-to-date analysis of the direction taken by British universities. It shows that the MBA market is differentiated with an elite focussed more catering for an international market than the post-1992 universities who still exhibit a commitment to their local market.

Details

Journal of International Education in Business, vol. 11 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2046-469X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 26 March 2024

Philangani Thembinkosi Sibiya

The library and information science (LIS) profession experienced drastic changes in its job requirements due to emerging digital scholarship trends, especially the growth of the…

Abstract

Purpose

The library and information science (LIS) profession experienced drastic changes in its job requirements due to emerging digital scholarship trends, especially the growth of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). As a result, there is a discrepancy between the job market and the LIS curriculum. This study addresses this gap by looking into incorporating digital scholarship into the LIS school curricula in South Africa. This may have implications for other contexts as well, because digital scholarship is becoming pervasive.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a constructivist paradigm using a qualitative approach and a multiple case study design. Primary data using semi-structured interviews were collected from 10 academics at LIS schools and 10 librarians from both academic and special research council libraries in South Africa.

Findings

The study revealed that LIS schools did not have content on digital scholarship such as research data management (RDM), digitisation, metadata standards, open access, institutional repositories and other related content. Stakeholders who needed to be consulted included librarians, information technology (IT) and information and communication technology (ICT) specialists, computer scientists, humanists, the South Africa Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and LIS professional bodies. There were gaps and redundancies in the curriculum as far as digital scholarship was concerned. Digital scholarship presented opportunities for librarians and academics to acquire emerging jobs and to collaborate more in the digital space.

Originality/value

The article advances knowledge on the importance of incorporating digital scholarship in the LIS curriculum in South Africa. Furthermore, it provides guidance regarding stakeholders to be consulted when incorporating content into the LIS curriculum with the intention of closing the gaps and curbing or removing discrepancies between job requirements and graduates’ skills and competencies.

Details

Library Management, vol. 45 no. 3/4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-5124

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 2 August 2021

Jun Teng and Na An

With the rapid development of the Chinese economy and society, the number of international schools in China has increased sharply. As a core part of school quality, the curriculum

Abstract

With the rapid development of the Chinese economy and society, the number of international schools in China has increased sharply. As a core part of school quality, the curriculum development in international schools is facing a series of challenges due to the changing requirements from both the government and the market. In order to better understand the current practices of curriculum development in these international schools in China, this study adopts Tyler’s and Gu’s curriculum theories to design a questionnaire to collect data from 104 international schools national-wide. In addition, a semi-structured interview for teachers and principals was also conducted in nine international schools in five different cities in China.

The findings show that most international schools aim at cultivating “global citizens” or “leaders and elites.” In China, most schools attach importance to foreign language teaching, and most courses are offered in English. Group work, inquiry and discussion, and project-based learning are frequently adopted in international schools. The findings also show there is a strong integration of “Chinese culture” and “global vision,” and schools generally try to balance the two aspects. Some schools rely heavily on foreign curriculum resources, and are in urgent need of capacity building in term of curriculum development based on Chinese policy, market demands and their school realities. Compared with developed countries, international schools in China endorse the new mission, mixing the requirements of modernization and globalization at the same time. Therefore, how to reconstruct a Chinese neo-modern curriculum system is the fundamental challenge for all international schools in China.

Details

Annual Review of Comparative and International Education 2020
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80071-907-1

Keywords

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