scholarly journals Exploring doctoral students’ expectations of work-based skills training

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 403-417
Author(s):  
Jenny Candy ◽  
Padmali Rodrigo ◽  
Sarah Turnbull
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Doctoral Training ◽  
Perceived Fit ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Doctoral Studies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Team Working ◽  
Uk Higher Education

Purpose Doctoral students are expected to undertake work-based skills training within their doctoral studies in areas such as problem solving, leadership and team working. The purpose of this paper is to explore student expectations of doctoral training within a UK Higher Education context. Design/methodology/approach The data for the study were gathered via two focus groups conducted among doctoral students from different faculties in a post-92 UK University. Participants were selected using a snowball sampling approach. Findings The findings suggest that the expectations of doctoral students are contingent upon their year of study, study mode, perceived fit between training goals and available training, peer recommendations, word-of-mouth (WoM) and the scholarly support they received from their supervisors. Practical implications The study suggests a better understanding of students’ segmentation can help Higher Education Institutions deliver training that meets the expectations of doctoral students in a way that result in zero or a positive disconfirmation. Originality/value This paper develops and deepens the understanding of the doctoral students’ expectations of work-based skills training and highlights the need for universities to adapt their doctoral training according to the expectations of different student segments.

Managing the quality of higher education in apprenticeships

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alison Felce
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Assurance ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quality Assurance Agency ◽  
Quality Of Higher Education ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Uk Higher Education

Purpose Traditionally, apprenticeships have been the domain of further education and skills training providers, predominately at pre-higher education levels where management, organisation, inspection and funding have little in common with those familiar to higher education. Higher level and degree apprenticeships have brought together different cultures and methods of designing, delivering and assessing knowledge, skills and behaviours, funding learners and learning providers, data reporting, quality management and its review or inspection. The purpose of this paper is to establish the primary concerns about managing quality in degree apprenticeships, the challenges the variances bring, how the challenges are being resolved and future work that may be required. Design/methodology/approach A review of a range of guidance and organisations involved in managing the quality of higher education in apprenticeships was undertaken. The primary focus is on the advice and guidance provided through the Quality Code and associated documentation, which are key to managing and assuring standards and quality in UK higher education. In addition, requirements and guidance provided through other bodies is considered along with the cross-sector groups charged with developing quality assurance processes for apprenticeships at all levels. Findings The paper shows a range of detailed guidance available to those entering the higher and degree apprenticeships arena and how the organisations involved in quality assurance of apprenticeships are working together to remove or mitigate concerns to ensure that quality is embedded and successfully managed. Originality/value Designing and delivering higher level and degree apprenticeships is a relatively new addition to UK higher education providers. There are long established practices to assure the quality and standards of UK higher education wherever and, however, it is delivered, in the UK, overseas and through online models. Apprenticeships across the UK have changed significantly over recent years, and new models, organisations and methods of working and funding have been introduced. This paper brings together key activity by the Quality Assurance Agency and other stakeholders to show how standards and quality can be managed and assured.

scholarly journals Analysis of Tinto’s student integration theory in first-year undergraduate computing students of a UK higher education institution

2017 ◽  
Vol 19 (2/3) ◽  
pp. 97-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandros Chrysikos ◽  
Ejaz Ahmed ◽  
Rupert Ward
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Retention ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Integration Theory ◽  
First Year ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Student Integration ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Uk Higher Education

Purpose Retention is one of the key performance indicators in university quality assurance processes. The purpose of this paper is to identify the causes leading to low retention rates for first-year undergraduate computing students in a UK higher education institution (HEI). Design/methodology/approach The study applies Tinto’s student integration theory, and connects it with the behavioural patterns of students. Data were collected from 901 students using Pascarella and Terenzini’s questionnaire (integration scales). This data were combined with student enrolment information and analysed using the structural equation modelling technique. Findings The study results indicate that Tinto’s student integration theory is useful in analysing student retention, but this accounts for only a modest amount of variance in retention. Nevertheless, important relationships amongst student’s initial and later academic goals and commitments have been identified through this new approach to analysing retention. The largest direct effect on retention was accounted for by initial goals and institutional commitments, followed by later goals and institutional commitments. In addition, the results show that academic and social integration constructs can have an influence on the student retention processes. When all, or some, of these relationships are operating towards students’ benefits, appropriate services or programmes, such as student support systems, can have their maximum benefits. Originality/value The authors mapped behavioural-related retention factors using a learning community lens. The study explored students’ social and learning experiences within the context of a UK HEI by employing Tinto’s model. This is the first time the model has been tested in this context.

Attracting doctoral students: case of Baltic universities

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 1017-1041
Author(s):  
Alexander Tarvid
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Doctoral Degree ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Doctoral Level ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Doctoral Programmes

Purpose In the context of falling demand for higher education and, in particular, doctoral studies, it is important to understand how to attract new students. The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis of the decision-making process the PhD students of Baltic universities followed when choosing whether to continue their education at doctoral level and in which institution to do it. Design/methodology/approach It uses the data gathered in 2014 from all major Baltic universities providing access to higher education at doctoral level. Findings At macro-level, the three Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) are rather different in the supply of doctoral programmes and the level and dynamics of the popularity of doctoral-level studies in the population. Besides, strong country-specific effects on the goals students pursued when they enrolled in a doctoral programme and the information about the university or the programme they found useful are observed at micro-level. The main result is related to systematic differences in the perceptions students have about the benefits they will get from a doctoral degree across the current (at doctoral level) and previous (at Bachelor’s and Master’s levels) fields of study, as well as depending on labour-market experience and family and social circle. Practical implications These findings suggest that Baltic higher education institutions should employ different marketing communication strategies when attracting new doctoral students, depending on the field of study and the country they operate in. Originality/value This is the first comprehensive study on the motivation of enrolment at doctoral level in the Baltic countries. It gives the management of Baltic universities a general picture of the motivation to get a PhD degree and factors affecting the choice of university, which can be readily incorporated into universities’ strategy.

Characteristics of UK higher education institutions that disclose sustainability reports

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (7) ◽  
pp. 1279-1298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Remmer Sassen ◽  
Dominik Dienes ◽  
Johanna Wedemeier
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Public Funding ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Uk Higher Education

Purpose This study aims to focus on the following research question: Which institutional characteristics are associated with sustainability reporting by UK higher education institutions? Design/methodology/approach To answer the aforementioned research question, this study uses logistic regression. Findings The results show that 17 per cent of the UK higher education institutions report on their sustainability (July 2014). In line with legitimacy and stakeholder theory, logistic regressions provide evidence that the larger the size of the institution, the higher the probability of reporting. By contrast, high public funding decreases this probability. Research limitations/implications The findings show characteristics of higher education institutions that support or hamper sustainability reporting. Overall, the findings imply a lack of institutionalisation of sustainability reporting among higher education institutions. Originality/value Although a lot of research has been done on corporate sustainability reporting, only a small number of studies have addressed the issues of sustainability reporting of higher education institutions. This study covers all sustainability reports disclosed among the 160 UK higher education institutions. It is the first study that investigates characteristics of higher education institutions that disclose a sustainability report.

Quality higher education drives employability in the Middle East

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (9) ◽  
pp. 1057-1069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Nauffal ◽  
Jennifer Skulte-Ouaiss
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Middle East ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Liberal Arts ◽  
Soft Skills ◽  
Skills Training ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse and explain the high rates of employability of one group of Middle East youth by focussing on liberal arts and soft skills education as an integral part of quality higher education. Design/methodology/approach This paper employs the survey research method using questionnaires, focus groups and interviews to understand the labour market dynamics in Lebanon and explore factors that correlate positively with gainful employment with a special focus on the graduates of an institution that emphasises the liberal arts and soft skills training. Findings The paper finds that quality higher education – particularly with a focus on soft skills and internships – boosts the potential of graduates to secure their first jobs after graduation. Research limitations/implications Reliable data on higher education, employability and youth are scarce in Lebanon and the region. The paper is based on one labour market study in Lebanon while seeking to extrapolate to Lebanese youth as a whole as well as reflect on employability and youth in the Middle East region. Practical implications The paper demonstrates support for improving quality in higher education as well as making soft skills training and the liberal arts critical components for increased employability of youth in Lebanon and the Middle East. Originality/value The paper is innovative in its reliance on primary data from a labour market survey as such data are scarce in Lebanon. In addition, advocacy for soft skills training and the liberal arts in the midst of focus on science, technology, engineering and mathematics and other professional education at the university level is rare in the Middle East.

Transition points: well-being and disciplinary identity in the first years of doctoral studies

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Gonzalez ◽  
Heeyun Kim ◽  
Allyson Flaster
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Developmental Trajectories ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Needs ◽  
Doctoral Studies ◽  
Doctoral Study ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Disciplinary Identity

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine doctoral students’ developmental trajectories in well-being and disciplinary identity during the first three years of doctoral study. Design/methodology/approach This study relies on data from a longitudinal study of PhD students enrolled at a large, research-intensive university in the USA. A group-based trajectory modeling approach is used to examine varying trajectories of well-being and disciplinary identity. Findings The authors find that students’ physical health, mental health and disciplinary identity generally decline during the first few years of doctoral study. Despite this common downward trend, the results suggest that six different developmental trajectories exist. Students’ backgrounds and levels of stress, psychological needs satisfaction, anticipatory socialization experiences and prior academic success predict group membership. Originality/value Although there is emergent evidence of a mental health crisis in graduate education scant evidence exists about the way in which well-being changes over time as students progress through their doctoral studies. There is also little evidence of how these changes might be related to academic processes such as the development of disciplinary identity. This study reported varying baseline degrees of well-being and disciplinary identity and offers that stress and unmet psychological needs might be partially responsible for varying trajectories.

scholarly journals Wybrane problemy dotyczące statusu doktoranta

2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 111-124
Author(s):  
Agata Pyrzyńska ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
School System ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Doctoral Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Status ◽  
Education Model ◽  
New Education ◽  
Academic Group

The Act of 20 July 2018 Law on Higher Education and Science modifies the system of education of PhD students in a significant way. In this act, the doctoral studies model was abandoned in favor of the doctoral school system. Along with the indicated change, the status of PhD students as a separate academic group was also ordered. Thus, the practice of treating PhD students as quasi -students has been broken. The new education model also provides for a number of institutional guarantees, which should have a pro -quality impact on the education system of future academic staff. The paper discusses selected solutions in this area, paying special attention to the universal scholarship system, the social security system of PhD students and mechanisms of parenthood protection among doctoral students.

scholarly journals Becoming academics: embracing and resisting changing writing practice

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 315-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saija Katila ◽  
Mikko Laamanen ◽  
Maarit Laihonen ◽  
Rebecca Lund ◽  
Susan Meriläinen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Performance Management ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Academic Writing ◽  
Group Method ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Memory Work ◽  
Writing Practices ◽  
Writing Practice ◽  
Over Time

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyze how global and local changes in higher education impact upon writing practices through which doctoral students become academics. The study explores how norms and values of academic writing practice are learned, negotiated and resisted and elucidates how competences related to writing come to determine the academic selves. Design/methodology/approach The study uses memory work, which is a group method that puts attention to written individual memories and their collective analysis and theorizing. The authors offer a comparison of experiences in becoming academics by two generational cohorts (1990s and 2010s) in the same management studies department in a business school. Findings The study indicates that the contextual and temporal enactment of academic writing practice in the department created a situation where implicit and ambiguous criteria for writing competence gradually changed into explicit and narrow ones. The change was relatively slow for two reasons. First, new performance management indicators were introduced over a period of two decades. Second, when the new indicators were gradually introduced, they were locally resisted. The study highlights how the focus, forms and main actors of resistance changed over time. Originality/value The paper offers a detailed account of how exogenous changes in higher education impact upon, over time and cultural space, academic writing practices through which doctoral students become academics.

scholarly journals Integrated reporting in UK higher education institutions

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 844-876 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abeer Hassan ◽  
Mahalaximi Adhikariparajuli ◽  
Mary Fletcher ◽  
Ahmed Elamer
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
International Integrated Reporting Council ◽  
Uk Higher Education

Purpose This paper aims to examine trends in the content of reporting within 135 UK higher education institutions (HEIs). It explores the extent to which integrated reporting (IR) content elements, reflecting integrated thinking, are disclosed voluntarily and whether HEI-specific features influence the resulting disclosures. Design/methodology/approach Existing IR guidelines given by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and the adoption of content analysis have provided the opportunity to examine the trend and extent of IR content elements associated in HEI corporate reports. The evidence was obtained from 405 UK HEI annual reports covering the period 2014-2016. Findings The results indicate a significant increase in the number of IR content elements embedded in HEI annual reports. The HEI-specific characteristics examined, such as the establishment of HEI (before or after 1992), adoption of IR framework and size of HEI, are all significantly and positively associated with IR content elements disclosure. This paper argues that institutional theory, isomorphism and isopraxism are relevant for explaining the changes in the contents of HEI annual reports. The findings also suggest that universities are beginning to adopt an integrated thinking approach to the reporting of their activities. Research limitations/implications The study is based on IR content elements only and could be extended to include the fundamental concepts and basic principles of the IR framework. There are other factors that have a potentially crucial influence on HEI core activities (such as teaching and learning research and internationalisation) which have been omitted from this study. Practical implications The findings will allow policymakers to evaluate the extent to which integrated thinking is taking place and influencing the UK HEI sector in the selection and presentation of information. A further implication of the findings is that an appropriate a sector-wide enforcement and compliance body, for instance, the British Universities Finance Directors Group (BUFDG), may consider developing voluntary IR guidance in a clear, consistent, concise and comparable format. Also, it may pursue regulatory support for this guidance. In doing so, it may monitor the compliance and disclosure levels of appropriate IR requirements. Within such a framework, IR could be used to assist HEIs to make more sustainable choices and allow stakeholders to better understand aspects of HEI performance. Social implications The research has implications for society within and beyond the unique UK HEI sector. Universities are places of advanced thinking and can lead the way for other sectors by demonstrating the potential of integrated thinking to create a cohesive wide-ranging discourse and create engagement among stakeholder groups. Specifically, IR builds on the strong points of accounting, for instance, robust quantitative evidence collecting, relevance, reliability, materiality, comparability and assurability, to explain the sustainability discourse into a “language” logical to HEIs organisational decision makers. Consequently, IR may generate better visibility and knowledge of the financial values of exploiting capitals (financial, intellectual, human, manufactured, social and natural) and offer a multifaceted approach to reassess HEIs organizational performance in various sectors that support the growth of integrated thinking. Originality/value This is the first known study to explore HEI characteristics and link them with the level of voluntary IR content elements disclosed in UK HEIs.

Stop the pain: Black and minority ethnic scholars on diversity policy obfuscation in universities

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Akile Ahmet
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Predominately White ◽  
Diversity And Inclusion ◽  
Diversity Policy ◽  
Uk Higher Education ◽  
Minority Ethnic

PurposeThe author extends the work on diversity policy in UK higher education by centring the voices of Black and minority ethnic scholars and de-centring white comfort with the aim of a call to stop the pain that sanitised university diversity policies cause Black and minority ethnic scholars.Design/methodology/approachUsing in-depth qualitative and auto-ethographic research methods, this paper engages with both respondents' narratives as well as the author's experience of carrying out the research within the walls of predominately white universities.FindingsIn order for universities to move beyond hollow and sanitised diversity, they must centre the voices of Black and minority ethnic scholars. Respondents spoke of their experiences of pain, and feelings of “taking up” space in predominately white universities. The author also discusses respondents' feelings towards diversity and inclusion policies such as the Race Equality Charter Mark.Originality/valueThe research is built on previous work on diversity by decentring white comfort.

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