The Myth of the Digital Native and What It Means for Higher Education

Author(s):  
Linda Corrin ◽  
Tiffani Apps ◽  
Karley Beckman ◽  
Sue Bennett

The term “digital native” entered popular and academic discourse in the early 1990s to characterize young people who, having grown up surrounded by digital technology, were said to be highly technologically skilled. The premise was mobilized to criticize education for not meeting the needs of young people, thereby needing radical transformation. Despite being repeatedly discredited by empirical research and scholarly argument, the idea of the digital native has been remarkably persistent. This chapter explores the myth of the digital native and its implications for higher education. It suggests that the myth’s persistence signals a need to better understand the role of technology in young people’s lives. The chapter conceptualizes technology “practices,” considers how young adults experience technology in their college and university education, and how their practices are shaped by childhood and adolescence. The chapter closes with some propositions for educators, institutions, and researchers.

Author(s):  
Ingrid Schoon

This article reviews the evidence on young people in the UK making the transition from school to work in a changing socioeconomic climate. The review draws largely on evidence from national representative panels and follows the lives of different age cohorts. I show that there has been a trend toward increasingly uncertain and precarious employment opportunities for young people since the 1970s, as well as persisting inequalities in educational and occupational attainment. The joint role of social structure and human agency in shaping youth transitions is discussed. I argue that current UK policies have forgotten about half of the population of young people who do not go to university, by not providing viable pathways and leaving more and more young people excluded from good jobs and employment prospects. Recommendations are made for policies aimed at supporting the vulnerable and at provision of career options for those not engaged in higher education.


2010 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 189-206
Author(s):  
Graham Brotherton ◽  
Christina Hyland ◽  
Iain Jones ◽  
Terry Potter

Abstract This article brings together four different perspectives which explore the way in which various policy initiatives in recent years have sought to construct young people resident in the United Kingdom within particular policy discourses shaped by neoliberalism. In order to do this it firstly considers the way in which the assumptions of neoliberalism have increasingly been applied by the new Coalition Government to young people and the services provided for them; it then considers the particular role of New Labour in the UK in applying these ideas in practice. Specific examples from the areas of young people’s participation in youth services and higher education policy are then considered.


2019 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathrin Konrad ◽  
Sören Groth

Abstract In this paper, we examine the role of mobility-related attitudes in the travel mode use of young people, the extent to which young adults and teenagers behave consistently in relation to their attitudes, and the conditions on which the consistency of attitudes and behaviour depends. We thus continue the current discussion about the loss of importance of the car for young people in which various socio-demographic trends, but also changed attitudes, are used as explanatory factors, especially on a hypothetical level. Our contribution closes a research gap in that so far neither the relationship between attitudes and behaviour among young people has been empirically investigated nor has this relationship been empirically placed in a context of spatial, economic and socio-demographic conditions. We address this by means of differentiated correlation analyses and the calculation of correlation differences on the basis of a nationwide German survey of young people from 2013. This enables us to demonstrate that young people basically behave consistently in line with their attitudes. However, there are significant differences which confirm that certain spatial, economic and socio-demographic conditions are essential for the implementation of attitudes into corresponding travel mode use.


2014 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-67
Author(s):  
Sabina Kołodziej

Nowadays policymakers, government agencies and educators in Poland and in many European countries emphasize the role of individual possibilities to take independent decisions regarding one’s financial resources. Consequently, the increased interest in financial education programs is observed. Moreover, the complexity of financial products further demonstrates the need for a financial knowledge when making decisions in this sphere. However, simultaneously, the common observation of numerous examples of irrelevant decision-making, consequently leading to financial (e.g. abundant debt) or professional (e.g. loss of work) problems as well as results of studies on the level of financial knowledge show that in many cases our society, most probably, does not have the indispensable level of analyzed knowledge. The article presents results of 2 studies on the relation between financial knowledge and economic decisions made by Polish young adults. The study 1 focuses on the correlation between financial knowledge and saving decisions while the study 2 financial knowledge and respondents debts. In both studies the level of financial knowledge was measured by the test relating to the current economic situation of Poland, knowledge of basic economic and financial concepts and understanding of basic market mechanisms. Specially designed questionnaires analyzed respondents’ savings (study 1) and debts (study 2) decisions. The results of those studies show that examined a group of Polish young adults has an average level of financial knowledge. Moreover, the first study found positive correlation (on the level of statistical trend) between financial knowledge and savings decisions. The results of study 2 showed the higher financial knowledge among people who took credits or loans from bank in comparison with people who take credit and loans outside the banking system. Results obtained in the studies reinforce the idea of the important role of financial education in preparing young people to make their own economic decisions. Key words: debt, financial education, financial knowledge, saving, young people.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (S2) ◽  
pp. 68-79
Author(s):  
Oksana A. Hysa ◽  
Ihor V. Stepaniuk ◽  
Liudmyla S. Vaniuha ◽  
Bogdana Ye Zhorniak ◽  
Iryna V. Rehulich

The relevance of the research topic consists in the necessity of a comprehensive study of the educational and scientific activities of the departments of musicology of Krakow and Lviv universities during the first half of the twentieth century in the context of coverage of the interaction experience between Ukrainian and foreign higher education institutions so to determine in such way the features and values of the Ukrainian music science in the European scientific and educational space. The purpose of the research is to discover and to analyze the creative activity of the departments of musicology at the Krakow and Lviv Universities in the context of Jagellonism through the consideration of the principles of European musical academic education since the establishment of these institutions in 1911-1912 and till the beginning of the XXI century. The scientific novelty of the research consists in finding out the leading role of Z. Jachimecky and A. Chybi?ski in the formation and development of national musicological schools in Poland and Ukraine as inheritors of the cultural genetic code of Jagiellonism. That cultural genetic code consisted of special attention to the inter-Slavic relations within the Western-Eastern cultural heritage. 


Categories of the academic revolutions and innovations in a perspective of educational policy at the higher school are considered. Special attention is paid to the development of innovations in training at the foreign and Ukrainian universities, since X1X of a century up to now. It is noted that agricultural, industrial, global, demographic and other revolutions created basis for the academic revolutions which resulted from transformations of society and caused innovations in higher education systems. The contribution of the academic revolutions in strengthening of role of the universities in society is confirmed. The major innovations in training stimulated university teaching throughout all academic revolutionary periods (after 1867, 1945, 1983) in developed industrial and developing countries, such as the USA, some states of the European Union and Ukraine. Emergence of innovations in policy of teaching at the universities during the first academic revolution, their modification during the second one, and new turns in transformation of innovations during the third academic revolution is investigated. Introduction of innovations in teaching differed in intensity and scale during the academic revolutions. On examples of teaching it is shown how political and ideological processes in society influenced functioning of the universities. An attempt to compare educational processes during three revolutions and to reveal the most innovational period was made. It is proved that innovations in training were implanted in three academic revolutions, the third one turned out to be the most innovative. The major innovations in policy of teaching were connected with the development of scientific and technical knowledge that contributed to the emergence of the information society. The developed countries offered the introduction of policy of cooperation in the higher education that made impact on innovations in university education. The Coronavirus pandemic of 2019/20 demonstrated the need to use various forms of Internet communications (Zoom, Google Classroom, Moodle, Whereby, etc.) to switch to new opportunities to teach students in higher education institutions around the world at the beginning of the XXI century.


2004 ◽  
Vol 49 (8) ◽  
pp. 139-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Iza ◽  
P. García Encina

The Declaration of Bologna and subsequent documents have drastically changed the European university panorama and the future role of universities as providers of continuous education for a lifelong learning. There will be a convergence not only in academic titles, but also in the way we see university education. The previous EEE symposium gave some clues on the approaches taken by different European countries: organization of EE studies, integration of graduates into the market, and interaction with professional bodies. Bologna's outcomes were sold in Spain as a change into an American (USA) model, which, as any other model, has advantages and drawbacks. This paper deals with an open reflection on the future of university studies in Europe.


Author(s):  
Alla Durdas

The article deals with the complex and multistage system of higher education of the French Republic. The structural features of higher education in France, its complex and multi-stage system has been considered. Attention is drawn to the role of the state in the field of higher education in France. The importance of the development of education for the national development of the country and civilization as a whole has been stressed. A strong centralized presence and role of the state in the field of education in France has been noted, in particular in the organization of the educational process and in financing the education sector, as well as in determining the fundamental principles of the educational process, the details of the curriculum at all levels of education, the organization of the procedure for receiving teachers, determining the content, recruitment teachers who become public officers, ensuring their continuing education; recruiting and training inspectors responsible for quality control of the education system; funding public education and subsidizing “private schools under contract”. The article focuses on the constant attention of the state to the problems of education. It highlights the openness of the French system of higher education and its accessibility for most of the population. The features of France’s higher education management system and the specifics of its legislative framework have been disclosed. Four Legislative Acts of the Ministry of Education are characterized, played an important role in its functioning. A more democratic and collegial management of universities for today has been noted. The relevance of the study of the structure and legislative framework of university education in France has been grounded. The types of higher education institutions in France and their features in the context of development trends have been investigated. The current stage of development of the system of French university education and the features of structural transformations have been considered. The features of the functioning of universities, “grand schools” and private higher education institutions have been disclosed. The article draws attention to the achievement of the French system of higher education and its uniqueness. The role and place of large schools in the system of higher education in France have been highlighted. Leading elite schools and universities have been mentioned, as well as the conditions for entering them. Attention was paid to the almost equal quality of education in the capital and in the province.


PRIMO ASPECTU ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 46-51
Author(s):  
Dang Khoa Mai ◽  
Nikolai M. Borytko

The world is witnessing dramatic changes in the digital age, marking the advancement and rise of digital technologies that enable more efficient processing, transmission, storage and review of information. As digital technology is increasingly affecting all aspects of social life, innovation is considered the key to making competitiveness and sustainble development of individuals, organizations and the whole society. Innovation is the process of creating new values by applying new solutions to existing problems. And innovation culture is an enviroment that nurtures, promotes and realizes innovation. This shows that the formation of an individual’s innovation culture is essential to be able to build an innovation culture of the organization and even of society. Higher education is also not out of this trend. Therefore, it is necessary to study the innovation culture in the field of higher education, first, the university lecturer’s innovation culture. The article aims to clarify some issues related to innovation culture. On that basis, the content of the concept of university lecturer’s innovation culture will be analyzed, simultaneously, the impacts of the digital age on higher education in general and university lecturer in particular will be mentioned to highlight the role of university lecturer’s innovation culture in the new context of society.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document