scholarly journals FROM CERTIFICATES TO PERFORMANCE: A PARADIGM SHIFT AND ITS CONSEQUENCES FOR HIGHER EDUCATION RESEARCH

Author(s):  
Ulrike Schwabe ◽  
Edith Braun

Against the backdrop of recent social and technological developments, the relationship between the educational system and the employment system has also changed. The “lifelong learning” paradigm is now firmly established within the field of educational research. In this article, we argue that empirical researchers have shifted using certificates to capture educational attainment, focusing instead on competence and performance. We define “performance” as the ability to react adequately and flexibly to new situations within job-related contexts. This paper thus aims to describe the shifting research paradigm in the context of political agenda-setting and presents some examples from different disciplinary perspectives to illustrate the potential of interdisciplinary research. Interdisciplinary, collaborative research, we suggest, shows great potential for providing empirical evidence to measure the consequences—intended and unintended—of political reforms in higher education. Even though our arguments and implications are formulated from the perspective of the German education and science system, their essence can also be applied to other national contexts.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel C. Minutolo ◽  
Albena Ivanova ◽  
Michelle Cong

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated model assessing the frequency and timing between reports on the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) reporting the framework by higher education institutions (HEIs) and the relationship between the STARS score and reputation (enrollment), finances (endowment) and performance (emissions). Design/methodology/approach The development of the theoretical model is based on learning, signaling and legitimacy theories. This study collects data from the AASHE STARS to indicate the rating level of 202 HEIs, control variables, enrollment, endowments and emissions. The hypotheses were tested using generalized linear models. Findings Findings suggest that as HEIs report on their sustainability activity, they learn to report better but that there is also an “un-learning” aspect if the HEI skips reporting in a period. The results support the main hypothesis that there is a relationship between reporting and engagement with the HEIs in the form of enrollment and endowments. Finally, the findings provide evidence that the HEIs’ reporting is associated with a reduction in emissions. Practical implications The findings suggest that HEIs should develop a reporting strategy on a standardized framework such as AASHE STARs and they ought to codify the approach to learn from prior reporting. Students and alumni are increasingly seeking to engage the HEI in the sustainability process and the report is a mechanism for signaling activities. Social implications The findings suggest that AASHE STARS scores may be used by HEIs as a signaling mechanism to stakeholders of their commitment to sustainability. The signal is a mechanism to reduce information asymmetry between the HEI and stakeholders who may want more information on the institution’s attempts toward sustainability but lack access to information. Further, HEI partners have a mechanism to assess the overall level of commitment of the HEI toward sustainability and can, therefore, engage accordingly. Originality/value There has been significant work on signaling theory and sustainability. However, the relationship between STARs reporting as a signal that legitimates the HEI, learning how to report well and HEI performance has received less attention. The current study demonstrates that the STARS framework as a reporting mechanism signals the HEIs’ level of commitment to sustainability thereby legitimating it resulting in improved performance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-17
Author(s):  
Ritu Gandhi Arora

Purpose To deal with highly energetic younger generation patiently, need academicians who can spread happiness while teaching/mentoring are needed. This is possible when an academician himself is a happy person. This paper aims to explore the factors that generate happiness among academicians, studies the impact of demographic variables on academicians’ happiness and examines the relationship between academicians’ happiness and their performance. Design/methodology/approach Convenience purposive sampling method was used to obtain data through self-administered survey questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale, delineating the research purpose and assurance of confidentiality. For data analysis, statistical techniques like mean, percentage method, Levene’s test, t-test and analysis of variance were used. To study the relationship between performance and happiness, the attitude, motivation and outcome theory was applied and happiness index was developed. Findings After analyzing the various factors impacting academicians’ happiness, this study found that except for work–life balance, research activities and working environment, all other factors are available to academicians according to their ranked importance assigned to them. This study also obtained a happiness index using matrix and has developed an equation which can be applied to find out the relationship between happiness and performance in future. Research limitations/implications This study has certain limitations, first, this study has been conducted on academicians working in higher education institutes situated in Delhi/NCR and thus entails a specific socio-cultural environment that may limit the potential level of generalization. Practical implications The results of this research might help institutes/higher education bodies to make rules and policies which may further augment academicians’ happiness to accomplish their desired goals. Social implications An academician who is happy, satisfied and motivated can easily deal with today's enthusiastic younger generation and can spread happiness amongst them. so it is very much necessary for an academician to be happy and energetic all the time. Originality/value This study found the factors impacting higher education academicians’ happiness and its impact on their teaching performance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 95-106
Author(s):  
Bhawna Chahar ◽  
Samax Rana Jain ◽  
Vinod Hatwal

The motivation of the individuals working in higher education institutions has been a topic of great interest for managers and researchers for a long while. This study has been taken to estimate the importance of faculty development program (FDP) as perceived by a faculty member, the role of FDP on faculty motivation and faculty performance, exploring whether faculty motivation mediates the relationship between FDP and employee performance. To achieve the stated aim, data has been collected from 311 faculty members associated with government and private sector institutions of higher education in Uttarakhand State (India). Important factors that motivate faculty to participate in FDP and its influence on faculty motivation and performance were analyzed using factor analysis, regression analysis, and Sobel test to establish the relationship. The findings indicate that FDP has a positive effect on the teaching of faculty, enhances their skills, helps control their emotions, and strengthens their capacity to perform academic and administrative duties. Moreover, FDP enhances work motivation and, in turn, helps faculty in improving their performances. To strengthen faculty motivation, the emphasis must be put on improving faculty recognition and reputation, making work more challenging and exciting, providing better career advancement prospects, and focus more on appropriate salary and compensation benefits for faculty members.


Author(s):  
Genevieve Newton ◽  
Patrick McCunn

<p>Perception of topic difficulty is a likely predictor of lecture capture video use, as student perception of difficulty has been shown to affect a variety of outcomes in academic settings. This study measured the relationship between perceived difficulty and the use of lecture capture technology in a second year biochemistry course while additionally taking into account student learning approaches, comfort with technology, gender and performance outcomes. In several analyses, it was found that a higher perceived level of difficulty was associated with an increased number of video accessions, although this relationship was not consistent across all topics. As well, it was found that surface learning approach score and gender were significantly associated with the number of accessions of lecture capture videos, while deep approach score, course grade, and level of comfort with technology were not. This study confirms that student use of lecture capture is related to their perception of topic difficulty, and demonstrates that student characteristics also influence lecture capture behaviour. Although the strength of our observed associations were weak, the level of content difficulty may be an important factor to consider when deciding when to use lecture videos as learning resources in higher education.</p>


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 166
Author(s):  
Idris Idris

<p class="Abstract"><span lang="EN-GB">This study aims to examine the relationship between organizational culture, quality assurance, and organizational performance, and test the quality assurance can be a mediator in their relationship. The research design uses quantitative methods using a questionnaire instrument. The sample is determined based on the Slovin formula. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Square (PLS). This research found that organizational culture can influence organizational performance and quality assurance. Also, quality assurance influences organizational performance positively and significantly. The mediation testing found that quality assurance can positively and significantly be a mediator in the relationship between organizational culture and organizational performance. This research indicates that the organizational culture climate has a very strategic role in driving the performance and implementation of the organization's quality assurance in higher education. </span></p>


Author(s):  
Pramana Saputra ◽  
Achmad Sudiro ◽  
Dodi W. Irawanto ◽  
Idris Idris

This research aims to examine the role of job satisfaction in compensation, environment, discipline, and performance in Indonesia Higher Education, exactly in State Polytechnic of Banjarmasin (POLIBAN). To examine the hypotheses and mediator variabel, this research used <em>Partial Least Square</em> (PLS)<em>.</em> It found that of ten hypotheses tested, four hypeteses were negative and insignificant. In addition, the test of mediation, by PLS, also showed that Job satisfaction cannot mediate the relationship between compensation and performance. However, it can be a mediator for the relationship between environment or discipline and performance. These results confirmed and contradict to the previous studies conducted.


2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Remus Ilies ◽  
Timothy A. Judge ◽  
David T. Wagner

This paper focuses on explaining how individuals set goals on multiple performance episodes, in the context of performance feedback comparing their performance on each episode with their respective goal. The proposed model was tested through a longitudinal study of 493 university students’ actual goals and performance on business school exams. Results of a structural equation model supported the proposed conceptual model in which self-efficacy and emotional reactions to feedback mediate the relationship between feedback and subsequent goals. In addition, as expected, participants’ standing on a dispositional measure of behavioral inhibition influenced the strength of their emotional reactions to negative feedback.


2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 81-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen Van Benthem ◽  
Chris M. Herdman

Abstract. Identifying pilot attributes associated with risk is important, especially in general aviation where pilot error is implicated in most accidents. This research examined the relationship of pilot age, expertise, and cognitive functioning to deviations from an ideal circuit trajectory. In all, 54 pilots, of varying age, flew a Cessna 172 simulator. Cognitive measures were obtained using the CogScreen-AE ( Kay, 1995 ). Older age and lower levels of expertise and cognitive functioning were associated with significantly greater flight path deviations. The relationship between age and performance was fully mediated by a cluster of cognitive factors: speed and working memory, visual attention, and cognitive flexibility. These findings add to the literature showing that age-related changes in cognition may impact pilot performance.


2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 55-65 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lonneke Dubbelt ◽  
Sonja Rispens ◽  
Evangelia Demerouti

Abstract. Women have a minority position within science, technology, engineering, and mathematics and, consequently, are likely to face more adversities at work. This diary study takes a look at a facilitating factor for women’s research performance within academia: daily work engagement. We examined the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between two behaviors (i.e., daily networking and time control) and daily work engagement, as well as its effect on the relationship between daily work engagement and performance measures (i.e., number of publications). Results suggest that daily networking and time control cultivate men’s work engagement, but daily work engagement is beneficial for the number of publications of women. The findings highlight the importance of work engagement in facilitating the performance of women in minority positions.


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