scholarly journals Exploring Quality of Learning and Teaching Experiences in Higher Education using the Theory of Constraints: Kenya and New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sarah Wambui Kimani
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Business School ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Theory Of Constraints ◽  
Senior Administrators ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
3P Model ◽  
T System

<p>The purpose of this study is to examine the quality of learning and teaching (L&T) experiences in higher education (HE) and the effect of undesirable factors on the achievement of L&T goals with an aim of assisting key stakeholders to improve the quality of L&T.  As a qualitative study, the theory of constraints (TOC) methodology is espoused as a suitable framework that guided the construction of the interview guide and the analysis of data. The research is conducted in two business schools, one in Kenya and another in New Zealand (NZ). Three different groups of stakeholders were involved in each business school: students, lecturers and senior administrators. To collect data from students, focus group discussions were used, while personal interviews were used to collect data from lecturers and senior administrators.  Findings indicate that the goals of L&T are not commonly understood within the two business schools, and that there are very few critical root causes that cause many undesirable factors that impact on the quality of experiences of L&T. In Kenya, two critical root causes were identified: bureaucratic structure of the university and limited government funding. In NZ one critical root cause was identified: research is given more priority than teaching.  Since the study only explored quality of L&T in two business schools, collection of more data in other faculties is required to provide more general findings. The use of TOC methodology in HE sector is limited. It therefore produces a platform for further studies. Nevertheless, the findings have practical implications to key stakeholders who could explore resolutions to one or two critical root causes of undesirable factors that impact on quality of L&T experiences specific to their business school as a way to improve quality of L&T.  This study also makes theoretical and methodological contributions. At a theoretical level, the work connects with research on L&T in the HE literature which has pointed to the importance of goals and/or learning outcomes, but does so by providing an alternative systems perspective, TOC. TOC places high importance on first understanding the goal of a system. This goal then becomes the benchmark against which efforts are measured. The study has demonstrated, in particular, the negative effects of a lack of clear and common understanding and communication of the L&T goals to the learning outcomes. The study also contributes to the literature through identifying the critical factors of less than desirable effects that impact the quality of experiences of L&T in HE institutions. Its major contribution is the identification of one or two critical root causes that are specific to each business school. The use of TOC methodology in exploring quality of experiences of L&T has identified many factors that impact on L&T experiences, which are similar to those identified in other quality studies in HE. Relatedly, this study has shown that the TOC models, particularly the goal tree and the current reality tree models, embed assumptions, variables, and relationships that are in harmony/consonant with existing HE models of L&T experiences. In particular this study has used Biggs 3P model to map out the cause-effect relationships of the undesirable effects of L&T experiences and concludes that integration of the TOC models with the 3P model provides a comprehensive analysis of the L&T system. Moreover by exploring L&T experiences with a seemingly negative lens this study has exposed many ‘critical’ views that would otherwise not have surfaced. Furthermore, the use of two diverse cases brings to the fore an international perspective of the experiences of L&T in HE sector.  With regard to the methodology, this study has undertaken a rigorous application of the TOC methodology to explore the experiences of L&T in two diverse HE sectors. The study is the first of its kind in Kenya and NZ to address these L&T issues using the TOC-Thinking Processes (TOC-TP). The use of the TOC methodology in HE has broadened the TOC body of knowledge which has been predominantly practice-led. The results of this study have demonstrated the value of the TOC methodology in producing useful insights about perceived quality of L&T in the HE sector. The use of TOC methodological tools has proven to be effective in identifying very few critical factors where management could focus attention. Moreover, TOC goes beyond this identification, with recommendations focused on these key root causes rather than treating causes and effects as unrelated, focusing on symptoms rather than root causes, and providing general exhortations to do everything better. Contributions are also made in the manner of usage of the TOC-TP tools within a qualitative research framework, by using the TP tools to capture/convey/communicate the cause- effect interrelationships between factors in the L&T system. The analysis of individual stakeholder views within each case, as well as their combined views, and cross-case analysis, is further aided by the use of TP. By weaving together the TOC’s system thinking approach and the qualitative approach, this study has demonstrated that the two approaches can complement each other to enhance trustworthiness and rigor of study.</p>

scholarly journals Exploring Quality of Learning and Teaching Experiences in Higher Education using the Theory of Constraints: Kenya and New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Sarah Wambui Kimani
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Business School ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Theory Of Constraints ◽  
Senior Administrators ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
3P Model ◽  
T System

<p>The purpose of this study is to examine the quality of learning and teaching (L&T) experiences in higher education (HE) and the effect of undesirable factors on the achievement of L&T goals with an aim of assisting key stakeholders to improve the quality of L&T.  As a qualitative study, the theory of constraints (TOC) methodology is espoused as a suitable framework that guided the construction of the interview guide and the analysis of data. The research is conducted in two business schools, one in Kenya and another in New Zealand (NZ). Three different groups of stakeholders were involved in each business school: students, lecturers and senior administrators. To collect data from students, focus group discussions were used, while personal interviews were used to collect data from lecturers and senior administrators.  Findings indicate that the goals of L&T are not commonly understood within the two business schools, and that there are very few critical root causes that cause many undesirable factors that impact on the quality of experiences of L&T. In Kenya, two critical root causes were identified: bureaucratic structure of the university and limited government funding. In NZ one critical root cause was identified: research is given more priority than teaching.  Since the study only explored quality of L&T in two business schools, collection of more data in other faculties is required to provide more general findings. The use of TOC methodology in HE sector is limited. It therefore produces a platform for further studies. Nevertheless, the findings have practical implications to key stakeholders who could explore resolutions to one or two critical root causes of undesirable factors that impact on quality of L&T experiences specific to their business school as a way to improve quality of L&T.  This study also makes theoretical and methodological contributions. At a theoretical level, the work connects with research on L&T in the HE literature which has pointed to the importance of goals and/or learning outcomes, but does so by providing an alternative systems perspective, TOC. TOC places high importance on first understanding the goal of a system. This goal then becomes the benchmark against which efforts are measured. The study has demonstrated, in particular, the negative effects of a lack of clear and common understanding and communication of the L&T goals to the learning outcomes. The study also contributes to the literature through identifying the critical factors of less than desirable effects that impact the quality of experiences of L&T in HE institutions. Its major contribution is the identification of one or two critical root causes that are specific to each business school. The use of TOC methodology in exploring quality of experiences of L&T has identified many factors that impact on L&T experiences, which are similar to those identified in other quality studies in HE. Relatedly, this study has shown that the TOC models, particularly the goal tree and the current reality tree models, embed assumptions, variables, and relationships that are in harmony/consonant with existing HE models of L&T experiences. In particular this study has used Biggs 3P model to map out the cause-effect relationships of the undesirable effects of L&T experiences and concludes that integration of the TOC models with the 3P model provides a comprehensive analysis of the L&T system. Moreover by exploring L&T experiences with a seemingly negative lens this study has exposed many ‘critical’ views that would otherwise not have surfaced. Furthermore, the use of two diverse cases brings to the fore an international perspective of the experiences of L&T in HE sector.  With regard to the methodology, this study has undertaken a rigorous application of the TOC methodology to explore the experiences of L&T in two diverse HE sectors. The study is the first of its kind in Kenya and NZ to address these L&T issues using the TOC-Thinking Processes (TOC-TP). The use of the TOC methodology in HE has broadened the TOC body of knowledge which has been predominantly practice-led. The results of this study have demonstrated the value of the TOC methodology in producing useful insights about perceived quality of L&T in the HE sector. The use of TOC methodological tools has proven to be effective in identifying very few critical factors where management could focus attention. Moreover, TOC goes beyond this identification, with recommendations focused on these key root causes rather than treating causes and effects as unrelated, focusing on symptoms rather than root causes, and providing general exhortations to do everything better. Contributions are also made in the manner of usage of the TOC-TP tools within a qualitative research framework, by using the TP tools to capture/convey/communicate the cause- effect interrelationships between factors in the L&T system. The analysis of individual stakeholder views within each case, as well as their combined views, and cross-case analysis, is further aided by the use of TP. By weaving together the TOC’s system thinking approach and the qualitative approach, this study has demonstrated that the two approaches can complement each other to enhance trustworthiness and rigor of study.</p>

scholarly journals Developing Circular Motion Physics Module Integrated with Gumbaan Local Wisdom in Cooperative Learning Setting to Improving Learning Achievement

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 47
Author(s):  
Saidatun Navisah ◽  
Mustika Wati ◽  
Abdul Salam M
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Cooperative Learning ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Test Scores ◽  
Learning Outcome ◽  
Senior High School ◽  
Circular Motion ◽  
Learning Achievement ◽  
Learning And Teaching

This research is carried out to examine the developed circular motion physics module in a cooperative learning setting for students of Grade X Science Senior High School in Banjarmasin. This study's general objectives are to produce a circular motion physics module integrated with gumbaan local wisdom in cooperative learning settings and describe its feasibility. Moreover, this study's specific objectives aimed to describe the validity, practicality, and effectiveness of the module. This study utilizes the ADDIE (Analyze, Design, Develop, Implement, Evaluate) development design model. The instruments used consisted of module validation sheets, students’ questionnaire responses, and learning outcome test. The results of the study indicated that: (1) the validity of the module, based on the content and display, obtained a score of 3.20, which fell in the "good" category, (2) the practicality of the module, based on students' questionnaire responses, obtained a percentage of 64.92% which is categorized as “good”, and (3) the effectiveness of the module, based on students' test scores, obtained a score of 0.44 which belonged in the "moderate" category. It is then concluded that the circular motion physics module, which integrated gumbaan local wisdom contents in cooperative learning settings, is proven feasible for learning and teaching and can be used as an alternative reference in improving the quality of learning, especially to improve the learning outcomes of learners. This module can be used as a reference that teachers can use in learning at senior high school. 

Learning Based on ‘Entrepreneurial Volunteering’

2011 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 461-467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Clarke ◽  
Sarah Underwood
Keyword(s):  
Social Responsibility ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Business School ◽  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Disciplinary Knowledge ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Enterprise Education ◽  
Stages Of Learning

This article presents a case study of how a business school has developed enterprise education to incorporate ethics and social responsibility. The authors describe the process of developing volunteering opportunities and embedding them in the curriculum, and outline the underlying pedagogy. They describe how existing approaches to project-based and problem-based learning may be applied to the different stages of learning and teaching development in enterprise, ethics and volunteering education. Finally, they offer their own adaptation of these frameworks to create an entrepreneurial volunteering-based learning, whereby student volunteering opportunities are embedded into enterprise education with a clear disciplinary knowledge base and explicit and assessed learning outcomes in both skills and knowledge.

scholarly journals A Pillar For Successful Business School Accreditation: Conducting The Curriculum Review Process A Systematic Approach

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 39-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
David E. Gundersen ◽  
Susan Evans Jennings ◽  
Deborah Dunn ◽  
Warren Fisher ◽  
Mikhail Kouliavtsev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
External Validation ◽  
Quality Standard ◽  
Business Programs ◽  
Curriculum Review ◽  
Affinity Group ◽  
Wide Range

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) describes their accreditation as the hallmark of business education. According to information at BestBizSchools.com (n.d.), AACSB accreditation represents the highest standard of achievement for business schools worldwide. Being AACSB accredited means a business school is able to continuously pass a strict set of standards that ensure quality. As of December 2010, only 5%, or 607, of the academic business programs globally were accredited by AACSB. This number represents schools in 38 countries where the majority of programs incorporate both undergraduate and graduate education covering business, accounting, or both. An institution must be a member of AACSB in order to apply for accreditation. It is important to note, however, that membership does not imply that the program is accredited (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, n.d.-a). Recent emphasis demanding external validation on the quality of Business Schools has resulted in the promotion of AACSB accreditation as the de facto quality standard. Earning this quality seal of approval, business programs can verify they have met the 21 AACSB standards that cover strategic, participant, and assurance of learning achievements and processes. Programs with AACSB accreditation are encouraged to promote the standard using it to externally validate their quality and to market their programs to external groups including students, employers, and contributors (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, n.d.-b). Despite established standards, no single approach to meeting standards for accreditation is suggested by AACSB. Rather, varying approaches to meeting standards should be developed to fit individual programs of institutions (Bryant & Scherer, 2009). This position by AACSB underscores its recognition of the diversity across accredited programs and allows educators wide latitude in developing and implementing approaches to excellence. Small programs are not disadvantaged so long as their students, faculty, graduates, and the employers who hire them receive the quality outputs that help them meet the external competitive requirements (Olian, 2007). In recognition of member institutions diversity, the AACSB has established the Affinity Group program where school administrators from schools sharing similar characteristics can interact, exchange ideas, and present views on a wide range of issues (Olian, 2007). This allows AACSB member schools, who have varying missions and constituents, to find and link with other programs of a similar nature where creativity and synergy can more easily occur. The AACSB wants the accreditation process to help facilitate creativity in designing business school strategies rather than being viewed as an impediment to a programs push to quality (Romero, 2008).

scholarly journals Investigation of Factors Affecting Information Literacy Student Learning Outcomes Fails to Undercover Significant Findings

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason Martin
Keyword(s):  
Theoretical Model ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Information Literacy ◽  
Business School ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Undergraduate Business Students

Objective – To ascertain the factors influencing student learning during information literacy instruction (ILI) and create a theoretical model based on those factors. Design – Mixed methodology consisting of interviews and an assessment test. Setting – Three Canadian business schools. Subjects – Seven librarians, 4 library administrators, 16 business faculty, and 52 undergraduate business students were interviewed, and the Standardized Assessment of Information Literacy Skills (SAILS) test was administered to 1,087 undergraduate business students across three different business schools. Methods – The authors used an interview script to conduct interviews with librarians, library administrators, business school faculty, and undergraduate business school students at three business schools in Canada. The authors also administered the SAILS test to undergraduate business students at the same three Canadian business schools. Main Results – ILI works best when it is related to an assignment, part of the curriculum, periodically evaluated, adequately funded, timely, mandatory, interactive, uses handouts, provides the proper amount of information, and favourably viewed within the school. ILI student learning outcomes are affected by whether the students find the ILI beneficial and relevant, their year in the program, gender, status as international or domestic student, and overall academic achievement. Conclusion – Creation of theoretical model consisting of the three main factors influencing student learning outcomes in information literacy instruction: learning environment, information literacy components, and student demographics.

scholarly journals PROBLEMS AND PILLARS OF BUSINESS EDUCATION IN KAZAKHSTAN

World Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (8(36)) ◽  
pp. 57-60
Author(s):  
Daniya Asanova
Keyword(s):  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Business Education ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Stages Of Development ◽  
Key Issues

The beginning of development of Kazakhstani business education dates back to the end of the 80s – beginning of the 90s of the XX century. Along with the achievements in the sphere of business education, there are key issues that hampers the development of business schools and have an impact on the learning outcomes and the quality of business education in general. This article reviews the stages of development of business education in Kazakhstan and explores key issues in this sphere. Furthermore, the author suggests a series of systematic measures to strengthen the capacity of business education in Kazakhstan and gives the examples of contribution of Almaty Management University in this sphere.

Harnessing the Power of Differentiation

2019 ◽  
pp. 134-148
Author(s):  
Farah Naeem
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Market Forces ◽  
Thought Process ◽  
Admission Process ◽  
Innovative Strategies ◽  
Multiple Factors ◽  
Indian Context

Gone are the days when attracting quality students for admissions used to be a cake walk. Nowadays, the admission process particularly for business schools has become a herculean task as it incurs lot of challenges even for prestigious ones. Nevertheless, there are multiple factors likely to impact thought process of prospective candidates while choosing appropriate B-schools like placement track, infrastructure, and quality of faculty, accreditation, ranking, etc. This chapter reviews marketing drives adopted by business schools as an attempt to stand out and differentiate them in a crowded and volatile market and attract students worldwide. The chapter also deals with range of marketing initiatives undertaken by B schools in recent times to attract potential students. Considering the relevance of adapting to the changing market forces, the purpose of this chapter is to analyze innovative strategies adopted by business school in the Indian context. Methodology adopted in the paper is conceptual and analytical. Suggestions are proposed at the end of chapter.

Becoming a Teacher Scholar: The Perils and Promise of Meeting the Promotion and Tenure Requirements in a Business School

2020 ◽  
pp. 105256292093961
Author(s):  
Fengli Mu ◽  
James Hatch
Keyword(s):  
Business School ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Faculty Performance ◽  
Promotion And Tenure ◽  
Teaching Ability ◽  
Teaching Research ◽  
Research Contribution ◽  
T System ◽  
Learning Area

Many business schools continue to use contribution in teaching, research, and service as measures of faculty performance. There has been a long tradition of thinking of faculty as making their research contribution within a specific subdiscipline. We call these teaching and discipline scholars (TDS). However a growing number of faculty who, although they teach in a subdiscipline, are choosing to make their research contribution in the teaching and learning area. We call these persons teaching and learning scholars (TLS). A major hurdle facing TLS candidates is a promotion and tenure (P&T) system primarily designed for teaching and discipline scholars. This article takes a granular look at the typical P&T system within business schools. It proposes a way of thinking about what is typically meant by teaching ability and how it might be measured. It then discusses what is meant by research, how this definition might be applied to measure the output of TLSs and the special challenges for TLSs in having their research accepted as part of their P&T portfolio. Suggestions are provided for how the TLS may navigate the P&T process in light of these challenges.

scholarly journals PROCESS MANAGEMENT IN RUSSIAN BUSINESS EDUCATION

2013 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 188-195
Author(s):  
Svetlana Korobeynikova ◽  
Ludmila Dukanich
Keyword(s):  
Business Education ◽  
Business School ◽  
Management System ◽  
Process Management ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Business Schools ◽  
Current Management ◽  
Employee Monitoring ◽  
Recent Establishment

The current management system in Russian business education is predominantly based on the principle of functional management, which in turn does not comprehensively address the emerging objectives and terms of modern-day education providers in Russia. The countries’ business schools are of the particular concern of the issue, considering the factors of their recent establishment and revenue-based financing. Presented in this paper is the outcome of implementation of the process-orientated approach to business education based on the experience of one of the leading Russian business schools. The implementation of the process-orientated approach into the management system of the business school has resulted in an array of advantages: a significant improvement in the speed of the management process; a horizontal and vertical compaction of processes due to employees making independent decisions, reduction in the number of errors, delays and alterations, an increase in the quality of tasks executed by the personnel, a decrease in the need of employee monitoring; reduction of costs associated with employee wages and equipping workplaces; development of the basis for automation of educational and supporting business processes and delegation of particular elements of business processes to external.

PENGEMBANGAN MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN INTERAKTIF TEKNIK PEMESINAN BUBUT

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 169
Author(s):  
Philip Nababan ◽  
Efendi Napitupulu ◽  
R Mursid
Keyword(s):  
Student Learning ◽  
Learning Outcomes ◽  
Interactive Learning ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Student Learning Outcomes ◽  
Field Trials ◽  
Student Responses ◽  
Analysis Techniques ◽  
Qualitative Descriptive

Abstrak: Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk: (1) Mengetahui tanggapan siswa terhadap kualitas media pembelajaran interaktif pada pembelajaran Teknik Pemesinan Bubut. (2) Mengetahui keefektifan media pembelajaran interaktif pada pembelajaran Teknik Pemesinan Bubut pada siswa program keahlian Teknik Pemesinan. Jenis penelitian ini adalah penelitian pengembangan. Data tentang kualitas produk pengembangan ini dikumpulkan dengan angket dan dianalisis dengan teknik analisis deskriptif kualiatatif. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa; (1) uji ahli materi pelajaran Teknik Pemesinan Bubut berada pada kualifikasi sangat baik (88,92%), (2) uji ahli desain pembelajaran berada pada kualifikasi sangat baik (85,21%), (3) uji ahli rekayasa perangkat lunak berada pada kualifikasi sangat baik (84,03%), (4) uji coba perorangan berada pada kualifikasi sangat baik (88,75%), (5) uji coba kelompok kecil berada pada kualifikasi sangat baik (91,35%) dan (5) uji coba lapangan berada pada kualifikasi sangat baik (88,31%). Hasil pengujian hipotesis membuktikan bahwa terdapat perbedaan antara hasil belajar siswa yang menggunakan media pembelajaran interaktif  dengan hasil belajar siswa yang menggunakan buku teks. Hal ini ditunjukkan dengan hasil pengolahan data diperoleh  thitung sebesar 4,68 dan ttabel sebesar 1,67 pada taraf kepercayaan 95 persen. Maka diperoleh bahwa thitung> ttabel. Disimpulkan bahwa  hasil belajar siswa yang menggunakan media pembelajaran interaktif dengan efektifitas sebesar 72,77 %. lebih tinggi dari hasil belajar siswa yang diajar dengan pembelajaran menggunakan buku teks dengan efektifitas sebesar 62,13%. Kata Kunci: media pembelajaran interaktif, teknik pemesinan bubut Abstract: This study aims to: (1) Determine student responses to the quality of interactive learning media on learning Lathe Machining Techniques. (2) Knowing the effectiveness of interactive learning media on learning of Machining Lathe in students of Machining Engineering expertise program. This type of research is development research. Data about the quality of this development product was collected by a questionnaire and analyzed by qualitative descriptive analysis techniques. The results showed that; (1) Lathe machining engineering subject matter expert test is in very good qualification (88.92%), (2) learning design expert test is in very good qualification (85.21%), (3) software engineering expert test is in in very good qualifications (84.03%), (4) individual trials were in very good qualifications (88.75%), (5) small group trials were in very good qualifications (91.35%) and (5 ) field trials are in very good qualifications (88.31%). Hypothesis testing results prove that there are differences between student learning outcomes using interactive learning media with student learning outcomes using textbooks. This is indicated by the results of data processing obtained by tcount of 4.68 and ttable of 1.67 at a confidence level of 95 percent. Then it is obtained that tcount> ttable. It was concluded that student learning outcomes using interactive learning media with an effectiveness of 72.77%. higher than student learning outcomes taught by learning to use textbooks with an effectiveness of 62.13%. Keywords: interactive learning media, lathe machining techniques

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