Assessing university student perceptions and comprehension of climate change (Portugal, Mexico and Mozambique)

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (03) ◽  
pp. 316-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fernando Morgado ◽  
Paula Bacelar-Nicolau ◽  
Jaime Rendon von Osten ◽  
Paulo Santos ◽  
Leonor Bacelar-Nicolau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Perceptions ◽  
Education System ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Cultural Dimensions ◽  
Education Curriculum ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Higher Education Curriculum ◽  
Higher Education System

Purpose Higher education system has a critical role to play in educating environmentally aware and participant citizens about global climate change (CC). And, as shown by the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UN Convention on Climate Change – COP 21, held in Paris in December 2015, there is still a path to be followed regarding the role played by universities in the negotiations and in influencing decision-making on a matter of such global importance. The purpose of this first study conducted within Portuguese (Europe), Mexican (Spanish-speaking North America University) and Mozambican (Africa) universities is to investigate higher education system students’ perceptions on CC. Design/methodology/approach The data were collected through a questionnaire aiming at characterising students from the socio-demography, and from their perceptions, motivations, attitudes and knowledge relating to the topic of CC. Statistical analysis was used to compare and characterise the three national groups under study. Findings This study did not show significant perception differences among the analysed subsamples, although there was a tendency for Mexican students to express lesser belief that CC was happening, and for Mozambicans to show a greater belief in CC issues and motivation to mitigate its effects which may be related to the specifics contexts. The results show that relevant differences among nationalities mostly concerned the magnitude of choices (e.g. most respondents of each nationality expressed interest in CC issues, but the magnitude of this expression differed according to nationality). The principal component analysis (second and third components) clearly embodied nationality profiles (discussed in the context of different cultures, educational structures and CC impacts). Research limitations/implications Further research is warranted to understand the integration of CC into higher education curriculum to improve and target educational efforts to suit students’ needs. Practical implications How CC perceptions vary cross-nationally and how research studies that examine the integration of CC into higher education curriculum are areas for which more research is needed. Originality/value The results highlight the importance of socio-cultural dimensions of each country in relation to the understanding or perception of CC issues, namely, in what concerns aspects related with gender roles, age, active learning and citizenship. This study’s data evidenced that despite the surveyed students being familiarized with CC phenomena, this knowledge does not translate necessarily into concrete mitigation practices and behaviours.

Accreditation and ranking of higher education institutions (HEIs): review, observations and recommendations for the Indian higher education system

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jerald Ozee Fernandes ◽  
Balgopal Singh
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education System ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Academic Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Global Ranking ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
The World ◽  
Indian Higher Education

PurposeThe higher education system has been entrusted globally to provide quality education, especially to the youth, and equip them with required skills and capabilities. The visionaries and policymakers of the countries around the world have been working relentlessly to improve the standard of the higher education system by establishing national and global accreditation and ranking bodies and expecting measuring performance through setting up accreditation and ranking parameters. This paper focuses on the review of Indian university accreditation and ranking system and determining its efficacy in improving academic quality for achieving good position in global quality accreditation and ranking.Design/methodology/approachThe study employed exploratory research approach to know about the accreditation and ranking issues of Indian higher education institutions to overcome the challenges for being globally competitive. The accreditation and ranking parameters and score of leading Indian universities was collected from secondary data sources. Similarly, the global ranking parameters and scores of these Indian universities with top global universities was explored. The performance gaps of Indian university in global academic quality parameter is assessed by comparing it with scores of global top universities. Further, each domestic and global accreditation and ranking parameters have been taken up for discussion.FindingsThe study identified teaching and learning, research and industry collaboration as common parameter in the accreditation and ranking by Indian and global accreditation and ranking body. Furthermore, the study revealed that Indian accreditation and ranking body assess leniently on parameters and award high scores as compared to rigorous global accreditation and ranking practice. The study revealed that “research” and “citations” are important parameters for securing prestigious position in global ranking, this is the reason Indian universities are trailing. The study exposed that Indian academic fraternity lack prominence in research, publication and citations as per need of global accreditation and ranking standards.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of this study is that it focused only on few Indian and global accreditation and ranking bodies. The future implication of this study will be the use of methodology designed in this study for comparing accreditation and ranking bodies’ parameters of different continents and countries in different economic development stages i.e. emerging and developed economies to know the disparity and shortcomings in their higher education system.Practical implicationsThe article is a review and comparison of national and global accreditation and ranking parameters. The article explored the important criteria and key indicators of accreditation and ranking that would provide an important and meaningful insight to academic institutions of the emerging economies of the world to develop its competitiveness. The study contributed to the literature on identifying benchmark for improving academic and higher education institution quality. This study would be further helpful in fostering new ideas toward setting up of contemporary globally viable and acceptable academic quality standard.Originality/valueThis is possibly the first study conducted with novel methodology of comparing the Indian and global accreditation and ranking parameters to identify the academic quality performance gap and suggesting ways to attain academic benchmark through continuous improvement activity and process for global competitiveness.

Turning the Titanic: inertia and the drivers of climate change education

2014 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 44-62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shireen J. Fahey ◽  
John R. Labadie ◽  
Noel Meyers
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Higher Education ◽  
Curriculum Design ◽  
Internal Resistance ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Higher Education Curriculum ◽  
National Education ◽  
Global Issues ◽  
Internal Inertia

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to present the challenges external drivers and internal inertia faced by curriculum designers and implementers at institutions of higher education. The challenges to academics from competing factors are presented: internal resistance to changing existing curricula vs the necessity to continuously evolve programmes to reflect a dynamic, uncertain future. The necessity to prepare future leaders to face global issues such as climate change, dictates changing curricula to reflect changing personal, environmental and societal needs. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses the case study method to examine two models of climate change curriculum design and renewal. One model, from an Australian university, is based upon national education standards and the second is a non-standards-based curriculum design, developed and delivered by a partnership of four North American universities. Findings – The key findings from this study are that the highest level of participation by internal-to-the-programme academics and administrators is required. Programme quality, delivery and content alignment may be compromised with either stand-alone course delivery and learning outcomes, or if courses are developed independently of others in the programme. National educational standards can be effective tools to guide course and programme management, monitoring, review and updating. Practical implications – The paper includes implications for postgraduate level curricula design, implementation and programme evaluation. Originality/value – The paper is the first to compare, contrast and critique a national standards-based, higher education curriculum and a non-standards-based curriculum.

scholarly journals A CASE STUDY OF "HABITUS" AND "FIELD": THE CHINESE RURAL STUDENTS ON THE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS

2012 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-64
Author(s):  
Jingyi Dong
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education System ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Rural Students ◽  
Chinese Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Education Inequality ◽  
Financial Pressure ◽  
The University

This research focuses its inquiry on the economic aspect of rural university students' life in China, but the discussion goes beyond the economic field. Massification in the Chinese higher education system has increased the chance for rural youths to receive tertiary education. However, there is rarely sufficient data to record their status quo on the campus. This research intends to fill up the gap by making a comparison between the rural students who are located at different levels in the higher education system. This comparative analysis eventually leads to such findings: Those at the higher extreme of the hierarchy, who have more subsidies, tend to experience more frustration under financial pressure than those at the lower extreme, who are insufficiently funded. Presumably, the former are more directly exposed to rural-urban disparity. While the latter experience less frustration, they are less prepared to impacts from the unfamiliar urban society. The research, eventually going beyond the economic problems, has exposed a process in which the rural youths are victimized by the system that discriminates against the Chinese peasants, in which the higher education system plays a critical role. Key words: higher education, inequality, poverty, rural students.

Students’ attitudes towards sustainable development in Serbia

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 733-755
Author(s):  
Vesna Nikolic ◽  
Tamara Vukic ◽  
Tatjana Maletaski ◽  
Milica Andevski
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Education System ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
The Other ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Students Attitudes

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine university students’ attitudes towards the concept of sustainable development and towards the need for the implementation of education for sustainable development into the higher education system. To that end, the paper explores in a process-oriented focus which drivers and barriers are experienced as being the most important ones and how they relate to one another. Design/methodology/approach The study is based on the questionnaire for the evaluation of attitudes towards the concept of sustainable development. This instrument consists of 9 batteries with 83 items presented in the form of the five-point Likert scale. The questionnaire evaluated different aspects of respondents’ attitudes towards the concept of sustainable development, but students’ attitudes in relation to the items from the following subscales will be presented for this paper: understanding the concept of sustainable development, position of sustainable development in the system of higher education, sources of information about sustainable development and entities responsible for sustainable development. The study sample consisted of students from the University of Novi Sad, specifically from the faculties with accredited programs in the field of humanities and technological sciences. Findings In general, students recognized the main determinants of sustainable development and they support an integral approach to sustainability, i.e. the need to include the knowledge, values and skills for sustainable development in the higher education programs. In addition, they identified a number of obstacles and the uncertainties of overcoming them. In this regard, the students did not recognize the responsibility of the higher education institutions as the key responsibility or their own responsibility in relation to sustainable development, which can be related to their feeling of marginalization and the doubt that their behaviour and decisions can influence the development of the local society, as well as the development of the society as a whole. On the other hand, the respondents acknowledged the role, the importance and the responsibility of the mass media in the process of developing the attitudes towards and opinions about the problems related to environmental protection and sustainable development. Practical implications The results of the study indicate the students’ attitudes towards sustainable development, thus making the directions for higher education reform clearer and in line with the present needs for sustainable development in Serbia. The obtained results can serve as a recommendation to the governing structures, i.e. to the relevant ministries of education and environmental protection, as well as to the universities in terms of which direction their process of planning and creating paths of sustainability should take. This is particularly important in the case of the Republic of Serbia, which is currently in the process of joining the European Union and responding to the requirements set by the process of negotiation for Chapter 27 in terms of improving the strategic framework and plans for the education for sustainable development and building the capacities in response to climate change. On the other hand, linking the results of this research with the results of similar studies around the world contributes to the further enrichment of the scientific knowledge base in this field and confirms the need for stronger and united efforts on the path to a sustainable future. It is a fact that, regardless of the national, economic, socio-political and cultural context, there is a global lack of success in shaping a humane and sustainable relationship between man and nature. Therefore, the results of this research should be considered as an invitation for new research initiatives regarding the ways to support the positive attitudes of students towards the concept of sustainable development and to facilitate their further development in the educational process, as well as in other academic domains. Originality/value This research is inspired by the fact that, in the Balkan countries, education for sustainable development has not been extensively discussed within the scientific discourse on higher education for sustainable development. This is one of the first papers to provide data about students’ attitudes towards the concept of sustainable development and the need for its implementation in the higher education system in Serbia. The value of the paper lies in its potential to help understand the role that different drivers and barriers play in higher education for sustainable development.

Exploring education-related use of social media: business students perspectives in a changing India

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 198-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jehangir Bharucha
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Student Engagement ◽  
Education System ◽  
Business Education ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Depth Interviews ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Purpose Within a connectivist learning model, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the adoption of social media for educational purposes in India, a hitherto unexplored area of research. The basic research thrust is on students’ experiences when social media is incorporated into higher education. This research tries to gather evidence on the effectiveness of this role and its potential future role as a facilitator and enhancer of learning in the Indian system. Design/methodology/approach The current research draws on the perspectives of the students regarding the adoption of social media for educational purposes. The data collection was done in two separate stages. Stratified random sampling was applied and a structured questionnaire was sent via e-mail. Usable responses were received from 568 respondents. The second stage consisted of an exploratory qualitative study using in-depth interviews and reflections of 250 students from the original sample. Findings Four clear themes emerged from the responses collected via the structured questionnaire and particularly from the in-depth interviews. These include: widespread usage of social media, definite usage in business education, strengths of social media in business education and the flip side of learning with social media. One thing is certain: social media will continue to play an important role in the Indian education sector. A number of colleges and universities in India are including social media in their pedagogy, but the challenge lies in effectively aligning it with curriculum. Practical implications Despite the widespread use of online social media for communication and entertainment, the use in the educational sphere seems to be less. This year-long study tries to gather evidence on all these issues. No doubt social media’s contribution in the classroom depicts a rising interest in technology as a tool to assist learning but it also reinforces a paradigm shift in the way students learn. Social implications With nearly a billion people on mobile phones, the online system certainly has vast potential to create the right kind of learning. As this study has shown at a micro-level, technology-led reach and easy access is bringing about a socio-economic difference in the lives of Indian learners. While this study certainly supports digital learning in India it points out that higher educational institutions are yet to exploit its full advantage for better student engagement. Originality/value One key characteristic of this generation is that they are very education oriented. Due to the relative freshness of the approach in India and fairly restricted use in the Indian higher education system, empirical studies are limited and the impact of social media on student engagement in the higher education system in India is not known.

Mechanisms of institutional regulation of government policy building in the higher education system in the conditions of Industry 4.0

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 230-238
Author(s):  
Konstantin V. Vodenko ◽  
Olga S. Ivanchenko ◽  
Eleonora V. Tereshchenko ◽  
Nina F. Petrova ◽  
Viktoria A. Mishchenko
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Government Policy ◽  
Education System ◽  
Student Attitudes ◽  
Self Control ◽  
Innovation Activity ◽  
Creative Development ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Innovative Potential

Purpose The article analyzes the mechanisms of institutional regulation of government policy on the establishment and development of the research-innovative potential of youth in the higher education system. Design/methodology/approach The concepts of this paper are focused on the research of innovation within transformation of education, studying youth as a subject of innovation, analyzing the socio-cultural points of youth innovation activity in the professional area and revealing the theoretical and methodological foundations of personal creative development. Findings The article provides analysis of research-innovative practices offering their own methodological basis for the research of public regulation of the establishment and development of the research-innovative potential of the person. The analysis made it possible to conclude that an important short-term objective is to create competitive and convenient conditions for scientific research, opportunities for self-development and self-control of the national scientific-technical system, forging relations between actors at all stages of the knowledge cycle. Originality/value It is substantiated that the young people who should provide an innovation breakthrough and development of an innovative economy plays a crucial role in taken development measures. We managed to identify three types of student attitudes to scientific and research-innovative activity and, respectively, support and stimulation measures for each type (young research workers, formalists (or officially involved in R&D), passive observers).

Establishing transdisciplinary minor programme as a way to embed sustainable development into higher education system

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-169
Author(s):  
Qian Jia ◽  
Ying Wang ◽  
Li Fengting
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Education Reform ◽  
Education System ◽  
Organizational Support ◽  
Education For Sustainable Development ◽  
Institutional Setting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Core Courses

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to provide a case study of the establishment and development of a minor program in Sustainable Development in Tongji University, China, and how it contributes to embedding sustainable development into higher education system as an alternative platform for researchers and students to involve in a transdisciplinary teaching and learning process. Design/methodology/approach This case reviews the institutional setting and the different studying models and requirements for postgraduates and undergraduates. Postgraduate students have to take four core courses, select one module with four themed courses (4 + 4 fixed) and complete a transdisciplinary essay, and undergraduates can choose any three courses in all modules apart from the four core courses (4 + 3 open), with a transdisciplinary group project. Findings The development of the minor program reveals the popularity and decline of different modules, because of the popularity of the schools and institutes behind them, the university legacy and the media influence. The program design spurs transdisciplinary thinking on sustainable development but brings about challenges including time conflict with students’ major study. In conclusion, this program explores alternative education practices in embedding sustainable development in education system, contributing to and reflect on Education for Sustainable Development and the education reform in China. Originality/value The case presents a unique way of implementing Education for Sustainable Development in higher education system, in which minor education stands between formal and informal curriculum to tackle the barriers in undertaking sustainable development initiatives in curricula, through nurturing the culture and providing organizational support.

A new model of practical spiritual intelligence for the leadership development of human capital in Indian Universities

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 957-973
Author(s):  
Chetan Jayant Prabhu ◽  
Mita Mehta ◽  
Anugamini Priya Srivastava
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Leadership Development ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Education System ◽  
Research Work ◽  
Spiritual Leadership ◽  
Spiritual Intelligence ◽  
Model Framework ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Higher Education System

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to make a case for linking spiritual intelligence to the Indian university curriculum for creating sustainable leaders and change agents. The growing emphasis on higher education sustainability involves taking a step back from the daily rigors of academic life and giving a thought to the unique approaches to promote sustainability. Though there are several initiatives for making the environment in the campus sustainable – switching off lights/fans, reducing consumption, etc., there are very few initiatives promoting the transformation of the individual. This paper defines a new conceptual framework linking spiritual intelligence to leadership and sustainability of the higher education system. Design/methodology/approach This present study is analytical and comprises secondary data which are collected from research papers, books, periodicals and journals. Using keywords search in the Scopus database, a list of papers was arrived at, analyzed and distilled to arrive at select journals. These journals were cross-reference to the SCimago’s journal portal ranking and established journal selected. Papers based on these established journals were taken for systematic review and synthesis of literature. Literature studies for bibliometric analysis work were also conducted using the using tools like “VOSviewer” for precisely arriving at current and future areas of research. Findings There were three main findings: defined a new conceptual model/framework of practical spiritual intelligence in the higher education system; defined the key shared language of spiritual intelligence in a higher education system; and defined the key attributes of practical spiritual leadership and sustainability. Originality/value This research is based on developing a conceptual model of interaction between spiritual intelligence and spiritual leadership in a higher education university environment that can give us a new insight into the manifestation of practical spirituality in universities. The extent of research work, both conceptual as well as empirical, as evidenced, does indicate the growing and sustained interest in the subject of spirituality and spiritual intelligence, but there is limited research in the area of leadership development and sustainability in the higher education system.

scholarly journals DEVELOPMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN SINGAPORE EDUCATION SYSTEM

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andria Pragholapati
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education System ◽  
Learning Activities ◽  
Education Curriculum ◽  
Teaching Materials ◽  
Higher Education Curriculum ◽  
National Education ◽  
National Education System ◽  
System P ◽  
Strategic Role

The curriculum is one component that has a strategic role in the national education system. Thehigher education curriculum is a set of plans and arrangements regarding the objectives, content,and teaching materials and ways used as guidelines to organize learning activities to achievehigher education goals. Different education systems in each country are important elements inthe key to the success of education in a country. One country that competes with Indonesia is theSingapore Education system.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document