An exploration of university student perceptions of discipline

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hana Krskova ◽  
Yvonne Breyer ◽  
Chris Baumann ◽  
Leigh Norma Wood
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
University Students ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Workplace Performance ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Academic Progression

Purpose The role of discipline in achieving higher academic and workplace performance is receiving increasing attention; however, research into student discipline has historically centred on schools. The purpose of this paper is to explore how university students from multiple faculties and at different stages of academic progression understand discipline in higher education, with the aim to investigate how graduates could become more disciplined and more work ready. Design/methodology/approach This study adopted a qualitative exploratory approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with university students and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings The students viewed discipline as internally driven as opposed to being enforced externally, which is often the case in schools. Five main themes were identified as discipline dimensions: “focus”, “intention”, “responsibility”, “structure” and “time” (F.I.R.S.T.). Originality/value A new concept of discipline is presented, underpinned by a conceptual framework comprised of self-determination, goal-setting, self-efficacy, self-regulation and time management principles. A “Threshold Concept of Discipline”, a hierarchical four-layered concept that develops over time for every individual with the ultimate level being “Creative Discipline”, is proposed. These findings illuminate learning strategies that higher education institutions can use to further enhance learning and increase the work readiness of their graduates. Such strategies can empower students who aspire to perform at a higher level and to become true professionals.

scholarly journals Examining Procrastination among University Students through the Lens of the Self-Regulated Learning Model

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 184
Author(s):  
Pierpaolo Limone ◽  
Maria Sinatra ◽  
Flavio Ceglie ◽  
Lucia Monacis
Keyword(s):  
University Students ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Self Regulated Learning ◽  
Regulated Learning ◽  
Academic Settings ◽  
Account Due

Generally considered as a prevalent occurrence in academic settings, procrastination was analyzed in association with constructs such as self-efficacy, self-esteem, anxiety, stress, and fear of failure. This study investigated the role played by self-regulated learning strategies in predicting procrastination among university students. To this purpose, the relationships of procrastination with cognitive and metacognitive learning strategies and time management were explored in the entire sample, as well as in male and female groups. Gender differences were taken into account due to the mixed results that emerged in previous studies. This cross-sectional study involved 450 university students (M = 230; F = 220; Mage = 21.08, DS = 3.25) who completed a self-reported questionnaire including a sociodemographic section, the Tuckman Procrastination Scale, the Time Management Scale, and the Metacognitive Self-Regulation and Critical Thinking Scales. Descriptive and inferential analyses were applied to the data. The main findings indicated that temporal and metacognitive components play an important role in students’ academic achievement and that, compared to females, males procrastinate more due to poor time management skills and metacognitive strategies. Practical implications were suggested to help students to overcome their dilatory behavior.

Family−school conflict and self-regulation among diverse women in higher education

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinyoung Koh ◽  
Susan P. Farruggia ◽  
Nicole Perez ◽  
Julienne Palbusa
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Ethnic Groups ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Latina Students ◽  
School Conflict ◽  
Racial Ethnic

PurposeThis study investigated whether family−school conflict, directly and indirectly, predicts behavioral regulatory strategies (via emotion regulation) among women in higher education. The authors aim to hypothesize that the direct and indirect effects would vary by race/ethnicity.Design/methodology/approachParticipants were 1,872 incoming first-year female students from a large, racially/ethnically diverse urban public university. They were classified into four racial/ethnic groups: 22% Asian American (n = 403), 11% Black (n = 209), 46% Latina (n = 865), and 21% White (n = 395). Data were collected from institutional records and an online student pre-matriculation survey. Multigroup structural equation modeling (SEM) was performed to explore the structural relations among key variables.FindingsFamily−school conflict was negatively associated with help-seeking in all racial/ethnic groups, whereas family−school conflict was negatively associated with time management only for Latina students. In addition, family−school conflict indirectly predicted time management and help-seeking through increased emotion regulation, particularly among Latina students.Originality/valueIn considering racial heterogeneity, the results showed the importance of analyzing racial/ethnic groups separately to obtain more accurate information on self-regulation mechanisms in family−school conflict contexts.

scholarly journals Relationship between learning strategies and academic performance: a comparison between accreditation of prior experiential learning (APEL) and regular entry undergraduates

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Saw Fen Tan ◽  
Arathai Din Eak ◽  
Li Hsien Ooi ◽  
Anna Christina Abdullah
Keyword(s):  
Academic Performance ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Cognitive Skills ◽  
Help Seeking ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Management Training ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Significant Difference

PurposeThe purpose of this study aims to compare the academic performance and types of learning strategies used by APEL and regular entry undergraduates. It also explored the relationship between the academic performance and the types of learning strategies utilised by these two groups of undergraduate.Design/methodology/approachThis quantitative study involved 400 undergraduates from an open distance learning (ODL) institution. A correlational research design was used in this study. Data were collected through archival data and questionnaire. Independent t-test and Pearson’s correlation analyses were performed using SPSS.FindingsRegular entrants were found to perform slightly better than APEL entrants. There is no significant difference between the types of learning strategies used by APEL and regular entrants. For both groups, the higher performers adopted time and study environment management as well as effort regulation strategies. Besides this, there was no correlation between cognitive skills and peer learning with their academic performance. Meta-cognitive self-regulation and help-seeking which were found to affect the regular entrants’ academic performance did not correlate with those of APEL entrants.Research limitations/implicationsThis study was conducted within only one institution. The generalisation of findings may therefore be limited. Future studies could be conducted to include students from several institutions.Practical implicationsTime management training could be provided to students. Additional support, like foundation courses and supplementary readings, could be provided to APEL entrants to support their learning.Originality/valueThe findings would be beneficial to ODL institutions who offer APEL entry to understand the academic performance and learning strategies used by APEL entrants relative to regular entrants.

scholarly journals Teaching innovations in Asian higher education: perspectives of educators

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
T.M. Wong
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
The Other ◽  
Asian Countries ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Advanced Technologies ◽  
The Many

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the teaching innovations that have been implemented in higher education institutions in Asia and the perspectives of educators on them. Design/methodology/approach Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 educators who were affiliated with 23 higher education institutions in ten Asian countries/regions. The interviews covered information about the teaching innovations of the participants’ institutions, the characteristics of the innovative practices and the participants’ views on them. The relationships between the characteristics of institutions and their teaching innovations were also examined. Findings The results showed that the teaching innovations included two main categories, namely, those which involved the use of advanced technologies and those which did not. The innovations that involved the use of advanced technologies were mainly from larger institutions, while the other category was mainly from smaller ones and had been practised for less than 1.5 years. Differences were also identified between the two categories in terms of the aims and importance of innovations, innovative features, the evaluation of innovations and improvements needed for them. Originality/value The results highlighted that technology is only one of the many aspects of teaching innovations, which is different from the view prevailing in the literature. They also suggested that differences in the scale of institutions (in terms of number of students) possibly influences the kind of teaching innovations adopted.

Framing the role of higher education in sustainable development: a case study analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanna Elmassah ◽  
Marwa Biltagy ◽  
Doaa Gamal
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Study Analysis ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Case Study Analysis

Purpose Higher education institutions (HEIs) should play a fundamental role in achieving the international 2030 sustainable development (SD) agenda. Quality education is the fourth of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), and one of the targets related to this is to ensure that by 2030 all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote SD. Therefore, the SDGs provide a motive for HEIs to integrate SD concepts into their day-to-day practices. This study aims to introduce a framework for HEIs’ sustainable development assessment. Such a framework guides HEIs and educational leaders to support their countries’ commitments to achieving the SDGs. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents the results of a case study analysis of the role and successful techniques of HEIs in achieving SD in three countries, namely, Germany, Japan and Egypt. Primary data was collected by semi-structured interviews with three Cairo University officials, while secondary data was collected by reviewing the universities' official websites, reports, publications and related papers. This study introduces a novel framework for HEIs' SD analysis and assessment, which guides HEIs and educational leaders to support SD to fulfill their countries' commitments to achieving the SDGs. This framework is based on the following five categories: strategic direction and institutional working practices, supporting students, supporting university staff competencies, supporting society's stakeholders and networking and sustainable campus. Consideration is given to the potential role of HEIs to support SD in each of these areas. Findings Cairo University could learn from the novel and pioneer practices of the Leuphana University of Lüneburg, and the University of Tokyo to fill in the gaps it has in different roles. It can also put more effort into adopting the suggested higher education programs of Egypt's Vision 2030. Research limitations/implications This paper is limited to a case analysis comparing three countries, Germany, Japan and Egypt. Second, this study has not considered school education, which is equally essential in countries' SD. Practical implications HEIs can use the framework and the findings in this paper to evaluate their current roles in supporting SD, identify the gaps and take actions accordingly to address their weaknesses. Originality/value The paper compares three universities, one in each of the case study countries. It draws conclusions that identify ways in which the paper's framework and findings can guide SD practice in HEIs internationally, especially those in the developing world.

Higher education amid COVID-19 pandemic: contributions from resilience, positive orientation and grit

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Afsaneh Ghanizadeh
Keyword(s):  
Academic Achievement ◽  
University Students ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Academic Resilience ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Positive Orientation ◽  
Major Purpose ◽  
Content Type

PurposeThe major purpose of the present study is to investigate the contribution of academic resilience in accounting for two motivational and attitudinal constructs ? Grit and positive orientation and also probe the predictive power of all these constructs in academic achievement of university students in the midst of the pandemic COVID-19.Design/methodology/approach521 university students participated in an online survey. To measure academic resilience, a scale designed and validated by Kim and Kim (2016) comprising 26 items was employed. The scale contains five sub-factors: perceived happiness, empathy, sociability, persistence and self-regulation. Grit was assessed via an 8-item scale comprising two facets: perseverance of effort (PE) and consistency of interest (CI). It was designed by Duckworth and Gross (2014). Positive orientation was determined through positivity scale developed by Caprara et al. (2010), consisting of eight items.FindingsThe results of structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that resilience positively and significantly predicted both grit (β = 0.56, t = 6.41) and positive orientation (β = 0.54, t = 6.35). Resilience also predicted academic achievement directly (β = 0.71, t = 9.12) and indirectly via its impact on grit and positive orientation. It was also found that positive orientation and grit are positively and highly associated (β = 0.77, t = 9.28).Originality/valueThe pandemic COVID-19 brought about substantial changes in university students' education and their overall life style. Many university students around the globe experienced virtual education. Balancing personal and academic roles in these unprecedented conditions seems to be a tough challenge for every university student.

Exploring the student perspectives on the barriers of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study using interpretative phenomenological analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shikha Rana
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Learning ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Student Perspective ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Student Teacher Relationship ◽  
Academic Courses ◽  
The Government

PurposeThe present study aims to gauge the perspectives of students on the difficulties they faced during online learning during the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) through the interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) technique.Design/methodology/approachThe current study employed IPA, and it was conducted among the students enrolled for professional courses in the government, private and deemed-to-be universities in Uttarakhand, India, using semi-structured interviews for the purpose of data collection.FindingsThe findings have been grouped under five parts referred to as “superordinate themes” or “barriers” which comprises learning in an online class environment, online learning in the home environment, student–teacher relationship in online learning, technical hindrances in online learning and health issues in online learning. These superordinate themes were further grouped under sub-themes.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study focused on the students of various private, public and deemed-to-be universities of the Uttarakhand region and represents the higher education sector only and did not tap the primary, secondary and vocational education. The students of academic courses or degree courses like arts, commerce, basic sciences and humanities, etc. were not included in the research study. Hence, the study lacks generalizability.Practical implicationsThe research findings of the present study have implications for higher education institutions (HEIs), teachers, students and policymakers.Originality/valueThe present study addresses the methodological gap by offering a new line of research where IPA has been used as the methodology to determine the barriers of online learning in the COVID-19 situation, and to the best of the authors’ knowledge, none of the studies have used it so far to ascertain the barriers to online learning from the student perspective.

The role of insiders and organizational support in the learning process of newcomers during organizational socialization

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (7) ◽  
pp. 562-575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cecilia Mornata ◽  
Iolanda Cassar
Keyword(s):  
Learning Strategies ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Learning Strategy ◽  
Organizational Socialization ◽  
Human Resources Management ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Proactive Behaviors ◽  
Interpersonal Characteristics

Purpose This study aims to focus on newcomers’ learning strategies when they perceive organizational socialization support to be lacking, and on interpersonal characteristics that insiders should possess to support the newcomers’ proactive behaviors in this context. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through 14 face-to-face, in-depth semi-structured interviews and analyzed with a conventional content analysis method (Paillé and Mucchielli, 2013), involving first a thematic analysis and afterward, a conceptual analysis using MaxQDA11©. Findings The authors’ analysis highlights that when newcomers perceive the formal organizational socialization support as lacking, they regulate their proactive behaviors by seeking indirect guidance, and more precisely, by engaging in informal interactions with insiders likely to help them socialize. These interactions can have a cost in terms of self-image, so newcomers regulate their proactive behaviors by looking for insiders perceived to be psychologically safe, even if they have to look for them in other working contexts. Practical implications Considering the regulation process of newcomers’ proactive behaviors according to their perceptions, human resources management should focus on those perceptions and develop a blended learning approach including formal learning programs, as well as individualized support to facilitate on-the-job learning and respond to personal needs. Special consideration should also be given to interpersonal skills displayed by insiders. Originality/value The originality of the study is the use of a qualitative methodology focusing on newcomers’ main learning strategy according to their perception of organizational socialization support and the psychological safety climate. The limitations of the authors’ work are the size of the study population and the fact that part of the interviewees were successfully socialized by reaching 15 months on their new post at the point where the interviews were conducted.

Development of public sector information management systems: challenges and promising practices

2018 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 184-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannan Khalid ◽  
Asim Noor ◽  
Javed Iqbal ◽  
Shahid Farid ◽  
Victor Chang
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Information Management ◽  
Time Management ◽  
Information Management System ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Governmental Organizations ◽  
Project Integration ◽  
Management Project ◽  
Scope Management

Purpose More and more governmental organizations are switching to information systems to enhance their operations and reduce cost but the development of these systems involves a lot of challenges. This paper aims to find out the challenges that project managers have to face during the development of such systems and the practices they can adopt to address these challenges. Design/methodology/approach To identify the challenges, data have been gathered across six key project management areas. The six targeted key areas are project integration management, project scope management, project time management, project cost management, project human resource management and project communications management. The authors have coordinated with 11 managerial-level IT professionals using semi-structured interviews and have gone through their communication archives. Findings Findings prove that practices such as focusing on cost reduction, informal congregations, trainings and frequent communication between vendor and client help in addressing the challenges. Furthermore, learning from management experiences of the managers can assist managers in similar role to create a pattern of success while working with governmental projects. Originality/value The authors peek into the development life cycle of a public sector project named as prison information management system. The project has encountered numerous challenges and has been accomplished in significantly delayed time than designated.

scholarly journals Organisational learning and the organisational life cycle

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Tam ◽  
David E Gray
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Human Resource Development ◽  
Learning Strategies ◽  
High Growth ◽  
Organisational Learning ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Life Cycle Stages ◽  
Timely Fashion ◽  
Sound Foundation

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to relate the practice of organisational learning in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the organisational life cycle (OLC), contextualising the differential aspects of an integrated relationship between them. Design/methodology/approach – It is a mixed-method study with two consecutive phases. In Phase I, 30 Hong Kong SMEs identified through theoretical sampling were classified into three life-cycle stages – inception, high growth and maturity. In Phase II, their employees’ learning practices (grouped by learning levels) were statistically compared using the analysis of variance and then followed up for confirmation with qualitative semi-structured interviews. Findings – This study uniquely suggests the nature of a relationship between SME organisational learning and the OLC. Empirical results show that three of the four learning levels (individual, group, organisational and inter-organisational) practised in SMEs are varied in importance between life-cycle stages. Research limitations/implications – Comparative studies are encouraged in other parts of the world to strengthen the findings – with either SMEs or large organisations. Practical implications – The study informs SME owner/managers about what is important for employee learning at different business stages so that appropriate learning strategies or human resource development policies can be formulated in a timely fashion to promote competitiveness. Originality/value – It is among the first studies to connect SME learning with organisational growth. The relationships found serve as a sound foundation for further empirical investigations.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document