scholarly journals Barriers to teaching evolution in higher education

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ethan R. Tolman ◽  
Daniel G. Ferguson ◽  
Gabriella Hubble ◽  
Mahealani Kaloi ◽  
Megan Niu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
State Government ◽  
Ecological Model ◽  
Faculty Perceptions ◽  
Change Agents ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Teaching Evolution ◽  
Religiously Affiliated ◽  
Community Factors ◽  
Barriers To Teaching

Abstract Background Although progress has been made in evolution education, many educators face significant barriers in their efforts to teach evolution specifically, and science in general. The purpose of this study was to identify faculty-perceived barriers to teaching evolution, specifically in religiously affiliated institutions or institutions with a highly religious student body, as well as resources faculty feel would help promote discourse around faith, evolution and science. To do this, we held a workshop with teams consisting of a science professor, a theologian and a pastor (of the predominant on-campus faith tradition) from 17 different institutions of higher education with highly religious student bodies for the purpose of helping them to create a curriculum to address perceived conflicts between science and faith. During the workshop, participants created posters identifying barriers they face and resources they perceive as helpful. These posters were analyzed for prevalent themes and framed within an ecological model of behavior. Results These teams identified prevalent barriers at each level of the ecological model. Intrapersonal factors included a fear of rocking the boat and a fear of student conflict. Interpersonal factors included perceived student lack of knowledge, student ideology, and student apathy. Institutional factors included work politics, a lack of relevant discourse surrounding the conflict, and mixed messaging to students. Community factors included social norms associated with various student demographics. And public policy factors included local and state government attempts to limit the teaching of evolution. Additionally, participants identified resources that they felt would facilitate overcoming conflict including colleagues as change agents, various assets, and tools to negate conflict. Conclusions We determined that many of the concerns are addressable, and many resources are attainable. We urge the community to work toward these solutions. Additionally, we compare our findings to what the literature has shown and discuss the implications of faculty perceptions as compared to the published literature.

Faculty perceptions of engaging older adults in higher education: The need for intergenerational pedagogy

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Jason Dauenhauer ◽  
Afeez Hazzan ◽  
Kristin Heffernan ◽  
Chantré M. Milliner
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Faculty Perceptions

scholarly journals Mass Higher Education in Russia: Features of Dynamics

2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 74-82
Author(s):  
V. F. Pugach
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Economic Transformation ◽  
Turn Of The Century ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Mass Higher Education ◽  
The Public ◽  
Massification Of Higher Education ◽  
Unmet Demand ◽  
The Social ◽  
Soviet Russia

The article considers the massification of higher education in post-Soviet Russia and shows its special aspects against the background of the studentship history in our country from 1917 to 2017. The main cause of the boom in the sphere of higher education at the turn of the century is the social and economic transformation of the society. The emergence of private universities and fee-based education in the public sector of higher education provided opportunities for broad segments of society. The unmet demand for higher education has resulted in an upsurge in the interest to higher education among the society. The similar boom and wave-like dynamics may be traced regarding postgraduate training due to long lasting deficit. The paper presents the results of comparing student body dynamics in universities, postgraduate and doctoral schools and shows the boom synchronicity at the levels of universities and postgraduate schools.

scholarly journals Accounting for institutional variation in expected returns to higher education

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shawn Dorius ◽  
David Tandberg ◽  
Bridgette Cram
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Public University ◽  
Colleges And Universities ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Expected Returns ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Capital Theory ◽  
Post Secondary ◽  
Institutional Variation ◽  
Returns On Investment

This study leverages human capital theory to identify the correlates of expected returns on investment in higher education at the level of institutions. We leverage estimates of average ROI in post-secondary education among more than 400 baccalaureate degree conferring colleges and universities to understand the correlates of a relatively new metric of institutional ROI. Results indicate that a diverse undergraduate student body, high graduation rate, and public university status are strong, positive, and robustly associated with institutional ROI. The model accounts for more than 70% of inter-university variation in ROI, suggesting that the factors we have identified are among the most important correlates of institutional ROI. We discuss the policy implications of these findings for institutions of higher education in the context of institutional rankings and a rapidly evolving education landscape, giving special attention to student body characteristics colleges and universities.

scholarly journals A Business Analysis Perspective for Engineering Education in Egypt

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Ashraf Elsafty ◽  
Hanaa El Sayad ◽  
Ibrahim Shaaban
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Engineering Education ◽  
State Government ◽  
The State ◽  
Current Status ◽  
Economic Factors ◽  
Knowledge And Skills ◽  
Business Analysis ◽  
Business Perspective ◽  
Underlying Causes

This work examines engineering education in Egypt provided by state (government funded) universities. There have been concerns from all stakeholders about the graduates’ knowledge and skills. The chronic problems with higher education in Egypt in general have been previously reported in the Literature, but this paper provides insights form engineering academics with many years of experience in Egyptian engineering education and a fresh look from a business perspective at the phenomenon. In this manuscript, the institutions are analyzed using the integrated business anatomy model, in order to identify the underlying causes of the problems observed. The structural, operational and environmental (both external and internal) challenges that lead to the current status are clearly detected. The analysis highlighted several constraints that hinder radical reforms. Amongst these constraints is the legal and organizational framework in which the state funded universities operate. Other social, technological and economic factors also play important parts. The recipe for improvement provided by the authors has taken all these elements into consideration. This work hopes to provide focus and direction for future reform efforts.

Statistical Analysis of the Dynamics of Performance Indicators of Russian Universities

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 38-49
Author(s):  
A. V. Melikyan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Publication Activity ◽  
State Universities ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Russian Higher Education ◽  
Passing Score

The article presents the results of a study based on statistical methods for analyzing trends in the Russian higher education system over the five-year period preceding the global crisis provoked by the coronavirus pandemic COVID-19. This study is one of the first attempts at a large-scale analysis of the growth rates of the performance indicators of universities in recent years. Its results, according to the author, make it possible to form both a general picture of changes in Russian higher education and a detailed picture for individual groups of universities.The author has analyzed the dynamics of six indicators of the activity of organizations of higher professional education (535 universities from 80 constituent entities of the Russian Federation): the passing score of the Unified State Examination (USE), the qualifications of academic staff, their publication activity, the internationalization of the student body, the profitability of activities and the provision of educational and laboratory premises. Trends in the change in the values of these indicators are revealed depending on the form of ownership, specialization and status of the university.It was found that, in general, the average values of the indicators for five years increased: the passing score of the USE - by 5%; the share of the teaching staff with an academic degree in the total number of teaching staff - by 5%; the number of publications per one scientific and pedagogical worker (SPW) - 2.2 times; the share of foreign students in the total number of students - 1.5 times; profitability of activities - 1.3 times; the total area of educational and laboratory premises - by 8%.At the same time, in non-state universities, the USE passing score has decreased, and they lag behind state universities in terms of growth in the publication activity of the teaching staff and the internationalization of the student body. However, their results are higher in terms of the growth of profitability of activities and provision of educational and laboratory premises.Specialized universities have achieved an increase in the indicators of the publication activity of academic staff and the internationalization of the student body. Among the negative trends, a decrease in the passing score of the USE in medical universities, as well as in the equipment of teaching and laboratory facilities of medical and sports universities, was revealed.The highest growth in the publication activity of SPW was observed in national research universities (24.5%), and in the internationalization of the student body - in federal universities (33.3%).Changes in the operating conditions of universities during a pandemic are likely to have an ambiguous effect on the analyzed indicators in subsequent periods. For their adequate assessment, it may be necessary to adjust the methodology for calculating indicators of the activity of higher education institutions, taking into account their intensive use of distance learning technologies.

The Education of Electra

Ladies' Greek ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yopie Prins
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Women Students ◽  
First Generation ◽  
Smith College ◽  
Ancient Greek ◽  
Student Body ◽  
Performance Practices ◽  
Education Of Women ◽  
Dramatic Presentation

This chapter examines the spectacle of female classical literacy by focusing on two historic productions of Sophocles's tragedy Electra, staged in ancient Greek by the first generation of women students at Girton College in 1883 and at Smith College in 1889. It analyzes these women's performance of ancient Greek in relation to nineteenth-century debates about the higher education of women, and how they drew on a tradition of classical posing, to “transpose” the text into the visual and auditory languages associated with Delsartean performance practices. Their dramatic presentation depended on these alternative modes of translation as well as the subsequent re-presentation of the spectacle in various written accounts. The chapter considers how the cast of Electra was trained for a highly stylized performance, embodying the Sophoclean text in and for a collective student body that sought to commemorate itself through the ritual of mourning.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document