scholarly journals Rwandan Women in Higher Education: Progress, Successes, and Challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth C. Reilly
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Executive Leaders ◽  
Women Academics ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Scholarly Output ◽  
Service Expectations ◽  
The Many ◽  
The University ◽  
Successes And Challenges

In nearly three decades since Rwanda’s genocide and civil war, its education sector has undergone reconstruction to an unprecedented degree within higher education. While greater numbers of girls are attending university, and more women are becoming university faculty members, their status in educational leadership roles remains unclear. This qualitative investigation sought to present insight into four women who serve as professors and executive leaders within the higher education system by examining their progress, successes, and challenges. Four of the many insights that have emerged include women’s smaller acceptance rate into higher education as undergraduates; the country’s lack of Ph.D. programs, thereby requiring women to leave the country in order to obtain the terminal degree; disproportionate service expectations placed on women academics as compared to men that affect scholarly output; and society’s expectation for women’s responsibilities as wives and mothers regardless of career responsibilities or status. To remedy these findings, further investigation can shed light on the reasons for low acceptance of women into the university; may lead to development of a strategic plan to address the lack of opportunities for students to enter graduate level education leading to the Ph.D.; and may address broader national policies that support women academics such as attention to child care and mentoring for promotion.

scholarly journals Strengthening institutions of higher education through disruptive leadership

2021 ◽  
pp. 181-191
Author(s):  
Promise Zvavahera
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Staff ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Institutions Of Higher Education ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
The Face ◽  
The University

The intensifying COVID-19 calamity has caused massive pressure on institutions of higher learning across the globe. Most institutions of higher education closed down in order to protect students and staff from the deadly pandemic. However, it is important to understand that combined efforts by key stakeholders could inform future perspectives on higher education cognisant of the new normal. In view of these developments, this study sought to evaluate how positive disruptive leadership can have an important role in strengthening the higher education system in the face of COVID-19. The study used a case study approach applying a qualitative research design. Purposive sampling was used to select respondents from a private university operating in Zimbabwe. Virtual interviews were used to gather data from the University Board, University Executive, teaching staff and students, referred to as key stakeholders in this study. To overcome the challenges related to the unintended shift from face-to-face to online learning, disruptive approach to issues by these stakeholders has created a resilient institution that can survive during times of uncertainty where drastic changes are necessary as a result of external forces. The study noted that the key stakeholders exhibited positive disruptive leadership roles in their unique ways. The key challenges cited include limited accessibility to internet and lack of affordability in terms of data bundles and other ICT affordances to allow effective learning to take place. The study adds to knowledge different leadership roles played by the University Board, University Executive, academic staff and students to build a resilient and innovative institution in the face of COVID-19.

scholarly journals Effects of Socio-Academic Intervention on Student Performance in Vulnerable Groups

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7673
Author(s):  
Tarquino Sánchez-Almeida ◽  
David Naranjo ◽  
Raquel Gilar-Corbi ◽  
Jessica Reina
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Performance ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Academic Intervention ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
University System ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Economic Support ◽  
Support Mechanisms ◽  
The University

In Ecuador, affirmative action policies enable students from vulnerable groups to preferentially enter universities. However, these policies are limited to admission and do not include academic or socio-economic support mechanisms that, according to the literature, promote student insertion in the higher education system. In this study, the effects of socio-academic intervention on the academic performance of vulnerable students are presented. For this, 41 students were selected among 164 vulnerable students entering the Escuela Politécnica Nacional in the second term of 2019. The 41 students attended a socio-academic intervention course for one term, while the remaining 123 attended the Escuela Politécnica Nacional levelling course directly. Once both groups of students finished the levelling course, their performance in each of the course subjects was compared. The results showed that the academic performance of the students in the intervention was significantly higher in mathematics and geometry compared to the students who had no intervention. These results show that the socio-academic intervention promotes the real insertion of vulnerable students in the university system.

scholarly journals Threats and vulnerabilities of the academic profession vs university personnel potential development

2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (5) ◽  
pp. 440-450
Author(s):  
Svetlana V. Lobova ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Academic Profession ◽  
Academic Community ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
University Personnel ◽  
Scientific Periodical ◽  
Analysis And Synthesis ◽  
The University

The formation and development of the university's personnel potential is one of the conditions for joining the project to support higher education organizations announced by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation in June 2020. The project is called the Strategic Academic Leadership Program. The fulfillment of this condition cannot be carried out without overcoming the limitations and effective responses to the challenges that are associated with the academic profession. The article is a review. Its purpose is to study threats and barriers to the development of the university’s personnel potential. It is shown that as internal threats one should consider the high stressfulness of faculty activities, violation of their personal safety and low loyalty; the barrier is the vulnerability of the academic profession. The research focuses on the current staff of Russian universities. The main research methods are analysis and synthesis of relevant scientific periodical literature. The main result of the study is the position that the presence of threats and vulnerabilities in the academic profession entails consequences that have a devastating effect not only on the personality of the teacher, the university, the academic community, but also on the higher education system as a whole, catalyze the departure of teachers from the academic profession, and prevent the preservation of and the development of the university personnel potential, ensuring the competitiveness and attractiveness of the university.

scholarly journals Unwaged Posts in UK Universities: Controversies and Campaigns

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 533-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Forkert ◽  
Ana Lopes
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Trade Unions ◽  
Creative Industries ◽  
Early Career ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University ◽  
Uk Higher Education

This article examines unwaged posts at UK universities, using recent examples of advertised job posts. While unpaid work is common in the UK higher education system, unwaged posts are not. The posts under scrutiny in this article differ from traditional honorary titles as they target early career academics, who are unlikely to have a paid position elsewhere, rather than established scholars. The article contextualizes the appearance of these posts in a climate of increasing marketization of higher education, entrenching managerialism in higher education institutions, and the casualization of academic work. We also discuss resistance to the posts, arguing that the controversy surrounding unpaid internships in the creative industries created a receptive environment for resisting unwaged posts in academia. We analyze the campaigns that were fought against the advertisement of the posts, mostly through social media and the University and College Union. We explore the tactics used and discuss the advantages and limitations of the use of social media, as well as the role of trade unions in the campaigns against these posts, and we reflect on what future campaigns can learn from these experiences.

scholarly journals Thoughts on the higher education system in Poland. Changes – issues – evaluation. Part 1

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-137
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Grzywacz ◽  
Grażyna Miłkowska ◽  
Magdalena Piorunek ◽  
Lech Sałaciński
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Education System ◽  
Bologna Process ◽  
Education Systems ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Higher Education Systems ◽  
University Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The University ◽  
Education Science

This report is a part of the results of the international project entitled “Studium in Osteuropa: Ausgewählte Aspekte (Analysen, Befunde)” conducted in the years 2013-2015 under supervision of Prof. Wilfried Schubarth and Dr Andreas Seidl from the Potsdam University, Department of Education Science, and Prof. Karsten Speck from the University of Oldenburg, Germany. The project was conducted jointly by representatives of academic centres from Germany, the Czech Republic, Poland and Russia. Its general aim was a comparative analysis of the effects of implementation of Bologna Process directives into the higher education systems of the individual countries. The changes introduced into the higher education systems in the countries involved in the project were described and evaluated, discussed was in particular the problems of education of teachers at the university level. The following text is the result of the contribution of the Polish group participating in the project. The report will be presented in two parts. The first part is focused on the macro-societal context of transformations in the higher education system in Poland. The implementation of selected aspects of Bologna Process directives is described and supplemented by empirical comments. The second part deals with selected aspects of university level education of teachers, followed by a polemic against the assumptions and execution of the target transformations of higher education system.

scholarly journals Changing teaching practice: The evolving purpose of the teacher in higher education

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Prue Gonzalez ◽  
◽  
Beate Mueller ◽  
Kevin Merry ◽  
Colin Jone ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Learning ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
University Teaching ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Future Expectations ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Subject Matter Expertise ◽  
Cultural Historical Activity

In this Editorial, we take the opportunity to expand on the second Journal of University Teaching and Learning theme, Developing Teaching Practice. Building on Editorial 18(4), which articulated changes to higher education in the period roughly between 1980 and 2021, we believe it is pertinent to explore the changing conceptions of academic as ‘teacher’. We use Engeström’s cultural-historical activity theory as a lens to consider how higher education teachers are situated in the current context of rapid changes arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. We explore possible future purposes of higher education to consider flow-on impacts on the purpose of its teachers and how their roles might change to accommodate future expectations. We assert the need to challenge the notion of the academic as a person who is recruited into higher education largely because of their subject matter expertise and maintains strong commitment to teaching expertise that is grounded in scholarship, critical self-reflection, and agency. In our various teaching and leadership roles, and consistent with the literature, we have observed paradoxical outcomes from the nexus between risk, innovation and development, driving risk aversity and risk management, with significant (contradictory) impacts on teaching, teachers and student learning. The barriers to implementing innovative curricula include questions of do students get a standardised and ‘safe’ educational experience or are they challenged and afforded the opportunity to transform and grow? Are they allowed to fail? Related, do teachers have genuine agency, as an educator, or are they positioned as agents of a higher education system? We explore these questions and invite our readers to engage in serious reflexivity and identify strategies that help them question their attitudes, thought processes, and assumptions about teaching and student learning. We welcome papers that contribute values-based conversations seeking to continue exploring ways of dealing with and adapting to change in our teaching practices, case studies of learning through failure, change and adaptation and the development of the field.

scholarly journals Students with Specific Learning Disabilities in the Higher Education System in Israel: Successes and Challenges

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 123-140
Author(s):  
Ronit Mandelblit
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Disabilities ◽  
Education System ◽  
Students With Learning Disabilities ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
The World ◽  
Uniform Policy ◽  
Successes And Challenges ◽  
Very High ◽  
Specific Learning

SummaryStudies show the very high probability that a child with learning disabilities will grow up to be an adult with learning disabilities and will experience difficulties in his academic or professional studies and in the world of employment. Today, there is an increase in the number of students with learning disabilities in academic institutions in Israel and around the world, with the extent of students with learning disabilities in Israel being estimated at up to 15% of diagnosed students. The article discusses the problem that most studies address children and teens with learning disabilities, while knowledge about coping with students with learning disabilities in the higher education system is limited. Moreover, there seems to be no uniform policy on supporting these students. The article is addressed to policymakers and lawmakers in Israel’s higher education system, with the aim of presenting current support and proposing changes and improvements intended for these students.

scholarly journals TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT IN MOROCCAN UNIVERSITIES : READING IN THE REALITY OF PRACTICE IN THE LIGHT OF INTERNATIONAL EXPÉRIENCES

2021 ◽  
Vol 03 (03) ◽  
pp. 247-257
Author(s):  
Saadia LADBES
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Quality Management ◽  
Total Quality Management ◽  
The State ◽  
Total Quality ◽  
Management Planning ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
International Experiences ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The University

In Morocco, there is a crisis that has not yet found its way to serious and decisive treatment, which is the output crisis of the higher education system. Though the successive public policies seek to contain correctional projects and initiatives, they have not made the difference, and have not set out effective and efficient tracks in developing mechanisms for evaluation, development and reconstruction, to produce educational and learning outputs that contribute to the real takeover of the State's development aspirations. The weak capacity of Moroccan universities to respond rapidly to the global, economic, cultural and technological variables imposed by globalization and securing the conditions for social, economic, political and security stability of the state, requires bypassing through advanced science-based treatment of quality and value of achievement. The issue of total quality management in higher education institutions may be raised by including international experiences that have succeeded to curb the regulatory and administrative failure of its educational institutions, to enhance the chances of Moroccan universities to transfer higher education in Morocco from traditional measure to modern measure by applying quality control standards in management, planning and implementation, in accordance with a strategy that is supported by the State and the University.

HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS SUBORDINATE TO THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE-A FORGE OF PERSONNEL FOR THE AGRO-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ирина Ивановна Широкорад ◽  
Олеся Михайловна Фадеева ◽  
Елена Геннадьевна Пафнутова
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Labor Market ◽  
Education System ◽  
Industrial Complex ◽  
Higher Education System ◽  
Productive Labor ◽  
Level Of Knowledge ◽  
The One ◽  
The University

Система высшего образования развивается не в изоляции. Она находится в непосредственной зависимости от школьной системы и от рынка труда. С одной стороны, образовательные результаты, полученные в университете, зависят от уровня знаний и навыков, которые получили студенты на предыдущем этапе образования, с другой стороны, ожидаемое высокое качество жизни, которое является ключевой мотивацией для поступления в вуз для большинства населения, определяется состоянием и структурой рынка труда. Именно наличие спроса на продуктивную рабочую силу определяет результативность системы высшего образования. The higher education system does not develop in isolation. It is directly dependent on the school system and the labor market. On the one hand, the educational results obtained at the University depend on the level of knowledge and skills that students received at the previous stage of education, on the other hand, the expected high quality of life, which is a key motivation for entering the University for the majority of the population, is determined by the state and structure of the labor market. It is the demand for productive labor that determines the effectiveness of the higher education system.

Robbins and After

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Willetts
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Further Education ◽  
Cultural Preservation ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Education Students ◽  
Government Bonds ◽  
The First World War ◽  
The Many ◽  
The University ◽  
Further Education Colleges

The early 1960s saw the biggest transformation of English higher education of the past hundred years. It is only matched by the break-up of the Oxbridge monopoly and the early Victorian reforms. It will be forever associated with the name of Lionel Robbins, whose great report came out in November 1963: he is for universities what Beveridge is for social security. His report exuded such authority and was associated with such a surge in the number of universities and of students that Robbins has given his name to key decisions which had already been taken even before he put pen to paper. In the 1950s Britain’s twenty-five universities received their funding from fees, endowments (invested in Government bonds which had largely lost their value because of inflation since the First World War), and ‘deficit funding’ from the University Grants Committee, which was a polite name for subsidies covering their losses. The UGC had been established in 1919 and was the responsibility not of the Education Department but the Treasury, which was proud to fund these great national institutions directly. Like museums and art galleries, higher education was rarefied cultural preservation for a small elite. Public spending on higher education was less than the subsidy for the price of eggs. By 1962 there were 118,000 full-time university students together with 55,000 in teacher training and 43,000 in further education colleges. This total of 216,000 full-time higher education students broadly matches the number of academics now. Young men did not go off to university—they were conscripted into the army. The annual university intake of around 50,000 young people a year was substantially less than the 150,000 a year doing National Service. The last conscript left the army in the year Robbins was published. Reversing the balance between those two very different routes to adulthood was to change Britain. It is one of the many profound differences between the baby boomers and the generation that came before them. Just over half of students were ‘county scholars’ receiving scholarships for fees and living costs from their own local authority on terms decided by each council.

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