scholarly journals Attrition in Higher Education: From a Problem to a Wicked Problem or a Pure Case of Economics?

2017 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Pure Case

Conceptualizing international positioning strategies for Indian higher education institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudhir Rana ◽  
Shubhangi Verma ◽  
Moon Moon Haque ◽  
Gouher Ahmed
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Cultural Sensitivity ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Future ◽  
Indian Higher Education

Purpose The manuscript reflects on the future of higher education from an emerging country perspective. The authors specifically answer how new education policies, ranking and accreditation are impacting the current state of Indian higher education institutions (IHEIs) and how IHEIs can cultivate their path towards positioning themselves internationally. This study aims to bring together existing scenarios and to serve as a springboard for future research and applications. Design/methodology/approach The manuscript is designed and executed as a conceptual study exploring the current state and prospects for IHEIs. The study synthesizes the concepts of positioning strategies in context to IHEIs. A conceptual diagram integrating existing concepts from marketing, total quality management and business education is created to understand the phenomenon among the IHEIs stakeholders. Findings The authors found that IHEIs started showing their international presence yet they are facing various challenges (government bureaucracy; international salary standards; global student population; and cultural sensitivity). The authors also found that the positioning problem is not a one-time attempt; the complexity of higher education is a “wicked problem” and, hence needs to be evaluated, changed and executed continuously. The manuscript offers relevant information to IHEIs leaders and stakeholders to improve on their international positioning strategies and proposes avenues for future research. Originality/value The study outlines future development and positioning strategic plans that IHEIs may consider and reflect in their strategic plan. The conceptual diagram on achieving successful international positioning and problem areas is expected to act as a guidebook for the key decision-makers. The focus is on distinguishing the imperatives, creating a key guide for meeting immediate requirements, allotting assets prudently to update their international presence. The study will provide IHEIs with a new lease of life in the future.

Developing inclusive and quality learning environments in HEIs

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 823-836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seerat Gill ◽  
Gurparkash Singh
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Critical Issue ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Theoretical Paper ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
Quality Learning ◽  
Quality Debate

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to redefine quality in the context of “access” providing higher education institutions (HEIs), through a theoretical lens, in order to find solutions to the wicked problem of access vs quality and “inclusiveness vs excellence” debate in higher education (HE).Design/methodology/approachThis theoretical paper builds upon institutional theory and resource dependency theory to, first, analyse access vs quality debate and, second, provide answers to the undesirable and at times conflicting “trilemma” of scale, cost and quality in HEIs. To achieve the second objective, the paper offers a different perspective to address trilemma by proposing a synergistic coexistence between inclusiveness and excellence through “transformative” quality and learning theory.Findings“Transformative” quality uses reframing the problem, appraising culture and quality concepts, and eventually develops transformative interventions in access providing HEIs to improve their quality and enhance inclusiveness. Inclusiveness in HEIs needs to be addressed through the investigation of specific hypotheses, for which a closer examination of factors impacting the quality of access providing HEIs has been conducted. The goal is to facilitate a perfect mélange of inclusiveness and excellence in HE and, thus, create a new learning environment.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper contributes towards the access vs quality debate through transformative quality by developing transformative interventions and investigating factors affecting quality in HE.Practical implicationsThe contribution has several policy, managerial and governance implications. Addressing these implications will enable the promotion of the third mission of HE, that is, to develop graduates who meaningfully engage with the society and their profession.Originality/valueQuality and inclusiveness is a serious global problem requiring immediate attention and rigorous theory-informed frameworks. Through the investigation of specific factors and proposing meaningful interventions, this paper identifies the need to study a critical issue having global implications and investigates how it can be resolved.

scholarly journals Learning to survive: Wicked problem education for the Anthropocene age

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-79
Author(s):  
William J. F. Keenan
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Meaning In Life ◽  
Scientific Progress ◽  
Global Markets ◽  
Cultural Imperialism ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Global Citizens ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
Knowledge Interests

This article addresses major lacunae in higher education from the standpoint of Anthropocenic survival. Wicked problems transcend national, cultural and disciplinary boundaries. Eco-survival, international migration, destabilized global markets, shifts in the balance of strategic power, population pressures, cultural imperialism, post-secular quests for meaning-in-life, ambivalence of bio-scientific progress, to name a selection, are global. The case is put that features of a postmodern orientation to the academic curriculum—transdisciplinarity, transnationalism, wicked problem engagement—are better equipped to meet the fuzzy knowledge interests of tomorrow’s world than traditional mono-disciplinary curricula. However, both subject-based and transdisciplinary approaches can coexist with profit in the education of tomorrow’s global citizens. A paradigm shift in how we educate for survival is proposed here.

scholarly journals Piloting a Methodology for Sustainability Education: Project Examples and Exploratory Action Research Highlights

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 312-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cory Jensen ◽  
Mohamed Kotaish ◽  
Aditi Chopra ◽  
Kiran A. Jacob ◽  
Taqdees I. Widekar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Action Research ◽  
Leadership Skills ◽  
Education Institution ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Higher Education Institution ◽  
Research Perspective ◽  
Educational Structure ◽  
Student Projects

This invited writing shares the education methodology known as Wicked problem, Experiences, Available Resources, Solution-Innovation (WEARS) and results from applying a pilot education program with a group of international students. The pilot involved three components that contribute to enhancing leadership skills based on stakeholder informed or bottom-up change: 1) developing a professional competition, 2) proposing a WEARS project, and 3) initiating a related outreach event. Outlines of student projects are shared. Students’ interests in generalized sustainability related education topics were polled and results are presented as an average of the group. Reflection on conducting the pilot is also presented from an exploratory action research perspective. Potential translation to higher education sustainability related projects was a driver for action research. Several conclusions are shared related to the educational structure and content for application of the WEARS methodology at a higher education institution. Future research and iterations of the program are proposed in coordination with a higher education institution that promotes interdisciplinary education. Specifically, means to select program candidates and longitudinal study of overall impacts are proposed as necessary to continuously update the WEARS methodology.

scholarly journals Exploring the ‘wicked’ problem of student dissatisfaction with assessment and feedback in higher education

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 385-405
Author(s):  
Susan J. Deeley ◽  
Moira Fischbacher-Smith ◽  
Dimitar Karadzhov ◽  
Elina Koristashevskaya
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Wicked Problem

Social equity in higher education: a wicked problem exacerbated by multiple discourses

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-200
Author(s):  
Ana Larsen ◽  
Susan Emmett
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Great Influence ◽  
Social Equity ◽  
Human Potential ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Education Literature ◽  
Performance Based Funding ◽  
Massification Of Higher Education

Social equity in higher education has been a priority for universities and policy makers throughout Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) nations for more than a decade. Limited improvement is seen among students in under-represented groups which remains a concern and for this reason social equity in higher education is presented as a wicked problem. This article will outline the steady massification of higher education where elitist discourses were largely abandoned, while social equity discourses flourished. The discussion will include key documents that have wielded great influence on discourse including The Bradley Review, Performance-Based Funding (PBF) and the Job-Ready Graduates legislation. After illuminating the Australian political context, this article will define four social equity discourses currently distinguishable in higher education literature: meritocratic, economist, social justice and human potential. Interrogation of these discourses will reveal complexity and divergence that contributes to the wicked nature of improving social equity in higher education.

scholarly journals Wicked2 : The Increasing Wickedness of Educational Developers as DEI Cultural Influencers

2022 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauri Dietz ◽  
China M. Jenkins ◽  
Laura Cruz ◽  
Amber Handy ◽  
Rita Kumar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Lifelong Learning ◽  
Wicked Problems ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Wicked Problem ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Equity And Inclusion

The global pandemic that began in 2020 amplified the chasm between higher education’s stated goals to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and the systemic realities that many students, instructors, and staff grapple with on a daily basis. We contend that attenuating the barriers to DEI outcomes means first acknowledging that DEI is a wicked problem, in that it is impossible to solve because of often competing, conflicting, and complex sociocultural forces from within and outside our institutions. We also contend that educational developers (EDs) are particularly well-situated within the higher education ecology to be key cultural influencers in how to mitigate DEI-related wicked problems by tapping into our deep commitment to lifelong learning as a means for honing and modeling an equity mindset.

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