From impostership to mastersness: experiences of a postgraduate student’s transition to higher education reflected through poetry

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 522-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruth E Aird

Mature students returning to education after a long absence often lack confidence, experiencing feelings of inferiority and of being unworthy of a student role in higher education institutions. The aim of this paper is to reflect upon my experience when making the transition from a mature, senior nurse to a student on a Master’s programme. My experience as a student describes this journey, using blogging and the language of poetry to articulate feelings of impostership, creating a canvas of words that draw pictures of a mind struggling to come to terms with new learning. During the learning journey I started to pen a poem, eventually called ‘Education at Sea’, which became the ensign of an academic voyage. Reflecting on this process through the use of Driscoll’s reflective model, I realised that I was experiencing what is called impostership. The conclusion asserts that higher education institutions must create cultures that enable students to openly communicate these experiences, and offer supportive scaffolded strategies to assist with transitions to and through Master’s-level learning. While this paper is directed specifically at Master’s-level learning, the recommendations may also apply to other levels of learning.

2021 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
pp. 320-340
Author(s):  
Kate Rousmaniere

AbstractThis essay examines the history of what is commonly called the town-gown relationship in American college towns in the six decades after the Second World War. A time of considerable expansion of higher education enrollment and function, the period also marks an increasing detachment of higher education institutions from their local communities. Once closely tied by university offices that advised the bulk of their students in off-campus housing, those bonds between town and gown began to come apart in the 1970s, due primarily to legal and economic factors that restricted higher education institutions’ outreach. Given the importance of off-campus life to college students, over half of whom have historically lived off campus, the essay argues for increased research on college towns in the history of higher education.


Author(s):  
Oleksandr Azhippo

The attitude of higher education aspirants of the II master's level to the use of innovative approaches and health technologies in physical education of higher education institutes is considered in the article. The system of higher education needs constant improvement, which is specified to the increase in requirements for the future specialists’ vocational training, in particular masters of education in the field of physical education and sports. At this time, the introduction of innovative approaches to the training process of higher education aspirants in the field of physical education and sports is relevant and necessary. It will allow future specialists to meet the needs of modern society, to be confident, more flexible in the system of training of higher education aspirants of a pedagogical profile, to have a sufficient level of adaptation to the fast-changing requirements of the world labor market, to be mobile to changing directions of the pedagogical activity, and to have the opportunity to choose new modern professions that arise with the advent of new sports. The analysis of the results of the research shows that respondents consider the decisive motive for higher education to have the possibility of employment in higher education institutions; young professionals note the need to reform the existing system of physical education in higher education institutions, offering for this the widespread use of innovative technologies and the exchange of international experience; point out the desirability of complementing the process of practical training of masters with combined and dance innovations and modern unconventional motor activity such as mixed martial arts (MMA), TRX and CrossFit; note the preparedness to introduce innovative technologies in their future professional activity. The main barriers to the introduction of innovative approaches and health technologies in the process of physical education of higher education institutions, according to aspirants, are excess of document circulation, reporting, and insufficient funding. The analysis of the questionnaire shows the need to modernize the modern system of physical education in higher education institutions through the use of innovative approaches and health technologies.


Author(s):  
A. A. Mitsel ◽  
A. A. Poguda

Currently, higher education institutions actively use and apply new learning. An example is the following form: remote, evening, part-time and others In recent times, Universities are becoming more and more students who enrolled after colleges and high schools, and students who transferred between Institutions. In connection with the expansion of forms of education, there is a problem effectively determine the level of students' knowledge. This problem depends on many factors such as curriculum, methods of teaching and the teacher. As a rule, the decision on such issues take teachers of the respective subjects. But even in this case, it is difficult to determine the true knowledge of the student, because the evaluation may depend on various factors such as the mood of the teacher, the appearance of the student or even a way to interpret thoughts.


2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 398-418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Reay

The stated UK Government policy on Higher Education is to attract increasing numbers of non-traditional applicants to Higher Education. Mature students are positioned as key within this policy initiative. However, the statistics suggest that recent policy changes have made it more rather than less difficult for non-traditional students to attend university. This paper explores some of the sociological and psychological processes which make working-class transitions to higher education problematic by focusing on the narratives of 23 mature students attending an inner London Further Education college. It is argued that class, although mediated by gender and ethnicity, always counts in the transition process. Also, within the working-classes there are different class fractions with differing priorities in relation to risk, challenge and fitting in. These solidarist and individualist fractions within the working-classes result in differing priorities, attitudes and actions in relation to the higher education choice process.


Author(s):  
Elena Belyaeva ◽  
Michael Freese

The article starts by examining the reasons behind the relatively recent growth of English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in Russian higher education institutions, from internationalization to more altruistic motives. While internationalization in Russia has recently been facilitated through a top-down approach at a national level, the quantity and quality of courses and programs taught in English are the responsibility of Russian universities and are primarily managed at an institutional level. Russian higher education institutions (HEIs) have been employing several strategies such as international recruiting, long-term university partnerships and faculty development. The authors take a closer look at each strategy, assessing its strengths and weaknesses, and illustrating it with some examples. Comparative analysis of the strategies under scrutiny allows to highlight more effective ones which are likely to positively impact the quantity and quality of EMI in Russian higher education in the years to come. 


Author(s):  
Muhamadi Kaweesi ◽  
Farooq Miiro

As it is stated that the economy of a country can never be greater than the education of its people, today parents and several organizations are investing a lot of money in education to better the future of their children and also meet the demands of the several generations to come. Through this process, the level of competition among higher education institutions is too high for them to survive and continuously attract parents, citizens and funders to meet demands of both institutional and community challenges. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to explore the concept of decision making, factors that determine the decision making process, the effectiveness of decision making and problem solving in higher education institutions deemed to be largely chaotic and complex. World over, government and states are investing in higher education to transform their communities in terms of knowledge, skills, culture and economic development.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (6 (344)) ◽  
pp. 193-201
Author(s):  
Olena Pavliuk ◽  

The article «Organization of research work of applicants of the second level of higher education in the specialty «017 Physical Culture and Sports» reveals the features of the organization of research activities of applicants of the second (master's) level of higher education in the field. It is proved that research work is an integral part of the educational process in higher education institutions and is provided by a number of legal documents and is implemented by specially organized activities of the educational institution, and directly in the study of general and professional educational components. It is noted that special importance in the research work of applicants for the second level of higher education belongs to the process of its organization. The list of normative-legal documents regulating scientific activity in institutions of higher education is specified, namely: laws of Ukraine; decrees of the President of Ukraine; normative and legal documents of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine; Statute and Concept of scientific activity of educational institution; orders of the rector; The standard of higher education of Ukraine, etc. It is established that the unsurpassed responsibility for research activities in higher education institutions rests with the educational institution and directly on the organization and conduct of educational components of a clearly expressed professional research orientation. It is proved that the organization of research work in higher education institutions, and directly in the specialty «017 Physical Culture and Sports» in modern conditions is provided by: legal documents, and directly approved and implemented by the Standard of higher education of the second (master's) level of higher education; creation of appropriate material and technical research conditions by higher education institutions; active participation of research supervisors and interest of researchers.


Author(s):  
Mykola Zhilenko

Management in the higher education system is usually carried out by managers from representatives of scientific and pedagogical personnel who do not have special professional training to realize the rights and fulfill obligations determined by legislative and regulatory documents. The management effectiveness of a manager in a higher education institution depends largely on the personal characteristics of a leader, but competencies that cannot be formed without special knowledge are a mandatory component of his productivity. The article examined the extent to which the requirements for creating standards and already existing standards provide the basis for the formation of readiness of graduates of educational programs of the second (master's) level of higher education for managerial activities in higher education institutions. Based on the analysis of the legislative and regulatory framework, it has been found to what extent the State standards of higher education of the new generation, the requirements for their creation, the description of general and subject competencies, the program results of training determined by their content, the National Framework of Qualifications of Ukraine, the description of the framework levels of higher education provide the foundations for preparing for managerial activities graduates of educational programs of the second (master's) level. It was established that at the seventh level of the NQF, the formation of specialized conceptual knowledge is provided, including modern scientific achievements in the field of professional activity or the field of knowledge and is the basis for original thinking, critical understanding of problems in the industry and on the verge of knowledge industries; Problem solving skills/skills required for... innovation to develop new knowledge and procedures, the ability to integrate knowledge and address complex challenges in broad or multidisciplinary contexts, problems in new or unfamiliar environments with incomplete or limited information, taking into account aspects of social and ethical responsibility; communication (interaction of persons for the purpose of transmitting information, coordination of actions, joint activities), as an understandable and unambiguous communication of their own knowledge, conclusions and arguments to specialists and non-specialists; responsibility and autonomy, such as the management of work or training processes, which are complex, unpredictable and require new strategic approaches, assessing the results of teams and teams. On the basis of the analysis of internal relations, which are mandatory in the process of creating standards and educational programs, it is necessary that the existing system, combined with the requirements for the quality of higher education, fully provide the basis for the formation of general competencies among graduates of educational programs of the second (master's) level of higher education for managerial activities in higher education institutions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-95
Author(s):  
Carla Bohndick ◽  
Elke Bosse ◽  
Vanessa K. Jänsch ◽  
Miriam Barnat

In the light of growing university entry rates, higher education institutions not only serve larger numbers of students, but also seek to meet first-year students’ ever more diverse needs. Yet to inform universities how to support the transition to higher education, research only offers limited insights. Current studies tend to either focus on the individual factors that affect student success or they highlight students’ social background and their educational biography in order to examine the achievement of selected, non-traditional groups of students. Both lines of research appear to lack integration and often fail to take organisational diversity into account, such as different types of higher education institutions or degree programmes. For a more comprehensive understanding of student diversity, the present study includes individual, social and organisational factors. To gain insights into their role for the transition to higher education, we examine how the different factors affect the students’ perception of the formal and informal requirements of the first year as more or less difficult to cope with. As the perceived requirements result from both the characteristics of the students and the institutional context, they allow to investigate transition at the interface of the micro and the meso level of higher education. Latent profile analyses revealed that there are no profiles with complex patterns of perception of the first-year requirements, but the identified groups rather differ in the overall level of perceived challenges. Moreover, SEM indicates that the differences in the perception largely depend on the individual factors self-efficacy and volition.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document