scholarly journals Building your influence: the role of the smart sustainability leader

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
Janet Haddock-Fraser ◽  
David Gorman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Training Programme ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Working Models ◽  
University Of Edinburgh ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University

Anyone seeking to influence another is a potential leader.  Within higher education, determining what an institution should undertake on sustainability can be daunting.  Sustainability leaders face labyrinthine, multifaceted sub-cultures, influencers and viewpoints across staff, students, government, business and alumni all with an opinion on whether, how and in what order of priority sustainability should be taken forward.  In this paper we take on this challenge by synthesising and critically evaluating core principles and working models for influencing and leading for sustainability in higher education. We identify a series of eight challenges affecting delivery of sustainability and seek to understand how conceptual models and principles in sustainability decision-making and leadership could address these. We draw on the experience of both authors, in tandem with comments from workshop and leadership training programme participants who attended the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) Leadership Lab training in the UK, as well as reflections arising in a detailed case study from the University of Edinburgh.  We bring key insights from theory and practice for the benefits of individuals or teams seeking to influence and persuade key decision-makers to embrace the sustainability agenda.

“You Can Lead the Horse to Water, but … ”

2012 ◽  
pp. 182-199
Author(s):  
Henk Huijser ◽  
Michael Sankey
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Distance Education ◽  
Web 2.0 ◽  
Learning Management Systems ◽  
Web 2.0 Technologies ◽  
Learning And Teaching ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
The University

This chapter outlines the potential benefits of incorporating Web 2.0 technologies in a contemporary higher education context, and identifies possible ways of doing this, as well as expected challenges. It uses the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), primarily a distance education provider, as the context for many of its case study examples. In particular, it addresses the important role of the allowances of particular learning management systems (LMSs) in pedagogical applications of Web 2.0 technologies. Overall, this chapter argues that the goals and ideals of Web 2.0/Pedagogy 2.0 can be achieved, or at least stimulated, within an institutional LMS environment, as long as the LMS environment is in alignment with such goals and ideals. It uses the implementation of Moodle at USQ as a case study to reinforce this argument and explore which factors potentially influence a shift in thinking about learning and teaching in a Web 2.0 context.

scholarly journals MOOCs and their Influence on Higher Education Institutions: Perspectives from the Insiders

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel León-Urritia ◽  
Ruth Cobos ◽  
Kate Dickens
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Courses ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Massive Open Online Courses ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Educational Approach ◽  
Positive Attitudes ◽  
The University

Since Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) became a global phenomenon in 2012, there has been constant evolution in the way Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) make sense of them. HEIs embracing MOOCs have dedicated a variety of human resource to this venture. Only in a minority of cases, staff have been appointed exclusively to this role. In all other cases, MOOC related tasks have been allocated to professionals who were already performing other educational tasks. This article contains a study that captures the experiences of these professionals in a Spanish university and a British university, as relates to their involvement in MOOCs. Interviews and group sessions were conducted to ascertain the influence of MOOCs in their practice, and in their opinions about the role of MOOCs in their institutions. The results seem to suggest that participants have positive attitudes towards incorporating MOOCs at the university, although they demand a serious bet for this educational approach from the strategic decision makers in the institutions.

scholarly journals Making connections and building resilience: Developing workshops with undergraduates

2017 ◽  
pp. 404-418
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Education Sector ◽  
High Achieving Students ◽  
Financial Pressure ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University ◽  
Uk Higher Education

While defining resilience is recognised as complex with recent research highlighting the disparity of interpretations, there is however, a common appreciation of the wide range of contributory factors impacting on students’ resilience within the Higher Education sector. These can include but are not limited to, an increasingly competitive environment for graduate jobs, increased financial pressure from student tuition fees, alongside the more traditional concerns of moving away from home and transitioning towards greater independence. Building on previous research at the University of Surrey with high achieving students, this paper outlines the development and delivery of a student focused workshop designed to enable the participants to build their understanding of resilience using different but complementary pedagogic approaches: LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY® and Concept Mapping. The case study included within this paper demonstrates one student’s reflection of the workshop and previous experiences which have contributed to their own resilience. What has become apparent at the University of Surrey, and more broadly within the UK Higher Education sector, is that universities have a vital role to play in fostering positive mindsets amongst students and developing strong and resilient independent learners.

scholarly journals Higher Education Students’ Assessments towards Gamification and Sustainability: A Case Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8513
Author(s):  
María Jesús Santos-Villalba ◽  
Juan José Leiva Olivencia ◽  
Magdalena Ramos Navas-Parejo ◽  
María Dolores Benítez-Márquez
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Student Motivation ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Education Students ◽  
The University ◽  
Teaching Criteria

Some academics are pushing for teaching staff to implement didactical practices to obtain sustainable behavior. Moreover, a fundamental element of gamification in all educational stages is the noteworthy effect it has on student motivation. In our study, we examined higher education students’ assessments in the University of Malaga on the design of educational gamification and the teaching criteria that relate to gamification, and its effect on student’s motivation, the applications of gamification, and the attitude towards sustainability. A questionnaire was administered to students studying for degrees in education from the University of Malaga. A total of 187 valid surveys were obtained. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was computed for these data based on an exploratory–confirmatory model and using SmartPLS version 3.3.2. A positive relationship between assessment of students’ motivation and sustainability attitude was found. We found that the opinions of the students about the role of their training and teaching design material in education would affect students’ motivation and the sustainability behavior, although the power of this last construct is moderate.

Lefa la Tsebo: A Proposed Model for Framing Tshwane University of Technology’s Libraries Policies

Mousaion ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahlaga Johannes Molepo ◽  
Archie Leonard Dick
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Academic Library ◽  
Qualitative Evaluation ◽  
Knowledge System ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
The University ◽  
Purposive Sample

This article presents a proposed model for framing the policies of Tshwane University of Technology’s (TUT) libraries. The authors draw on a focused literature review across various disciplines as well as empirical evidence collected from a purposive sample of 40 participants in a case study. The qualitative evaluation method is used to evaluate a set of models. A self-developed set of criteria is used as a tool to test the models towards a selection of elements and features that are then used to table the proposed model for TUT’s libraries. The evaluated models were categorised to produce models for academic library activities, models for higher education as well as models that depict changes in society’s knowledge system. The adapted model proposes a multiple reality constructionist approach to improve a shared understanding of what constitutes knowledge in democratic South Africa. It was found that there are inconsistencies and a lack of clarity on the role of TUT’s libraries in transformation initiatives of the university. The main argument is that the future role of TUT’s libraries should include taking part in other processes of the knowledge system such as knowledge production, application and use. The main value of the article is to provide a comprehensive strategic outlook that guides the transformation of TUT’s libraries. This will assist to frame TUT’s libraries policies in light of changes taking place in higher education.

scholarly journals Universities for sustainability – new challenges from the perspective of the University of Warsaw

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Kalinowska ◽  
Anna Batorczak
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Good Practice ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
The Status ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The University

AbstractThe documents adopted by the international community during the UN Conference on the Environment and Development convened in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 make clear the leading role institutions in higher education are to play in transforming contemporary civilisation in the direction of sustainable development. It is beyond dispute that higher education has a critical role to play in developing tomorrow’s decision makers, professionals and citizens. Universities can help with the accomplishment of sustainable development goals if they transform education in this direction, extend their support to interdisciplinary scientific research and ensure the appropriate evolution of the means by which they themselves are managed. However, ensuring that a higher education establishment heads in the direction of sustainability in all academic areas of activity is a difficult process requiring much effort. The article thus presents current international initiatives of the UN in this regard, as well as Higher Education initiatives, alliances and treaties in support of the process, and the objectives and activities of the network of cooperative links between universities that is now taking shape. Also the status of education for sustainable development (ESD) in higher education and existing ESD professional development opportunities for university educators is discussed. In this context, examples of good practice characterising the activity of the University Centre for Environmental Studies and Sustainable Development will serve as a case study.

The role of higher education institutions as employers of apprentices

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 651-657
Author(s):  
Caleb Wright
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The University

PurposeA discussion piece of how apprenticeships can be used by HEIs as employers.Design/methodology/approachThe paper explores the current apprenticeship landscape; what HEIs are already doing with apprenticeships; the arguments for using apprenticeships in the sector. There is then a case study on how the University of Birmingham uses apprenticeships before a discussion about future directions.FindingsThe paper reports that although there are a range of advantages for using apprenticeships, HEIs could still use apprenticeships more.Originality/valueThis paper uses a range of sources as detailed in the reference.

scholarly journals Student Protests. Three Periods of University Governance

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 524-539
Author(s):  
Joan Ramon Rodriguez-Amat ◽  
Bob Jeffery
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Political Action ◽  
University Governance ◽  
The Political ◽  
Student Protests ◽  
Political Role ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Right ◽  
The University

Exploring the idea of student protests as an autonomous object of research and discussion, this paper leads to the understanding that the transforming role of the university and its governance defines the possibilities for the political role of students. In this perspective, there is a particular constellation of the different forms of higher education governance that provides students with the right and even the responsibility of protesting as politically engaged citizens of the university and of the state. Approaching the transformation of the models of university governance as a set of archaeologically organised states this paper identifies the sequential roles provided to the students and the meaning of their protests and demonstrations. After visiting some antecedents of more contemporaneous student movements and protests, this paper focuses on the UK to explore three manifestations of university governance that can be roughly differentiated as the enduring democratic period that extends from the late 1960s to the late 1980s, the globalisation period that extends from the early 1990s to the mid-2000s and as the post-millennial turn. These periods, embodying three different styles of governance of higher education, not only demonstrate conformity with the political and economic contexts in which they are embeded, they also correspond to particular socio-technological and communicative ecosystems and determine the specificities of the role of the students and their capacity for political action.

scholarly journals The Necessity of Clinical Legal Education in University Law Schools: A UK Perspective

2014 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Marson ◽  
Adam Wilson ◽  
Mark Van Hoorebeek
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Legal Education ◽  
Higher Education Funding ◽  
Law Schools ◽  
Legal Studies ◽  
Academic Benefits ◽  
Set Up ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The University

This paper proposes that the expansion and subsequent unbridling of the provision of a law clinic in the sector will provide the students with the skills necessary of graduates in the increasingly corporate, commercially motivated, UK university sector. Secondly, it provides a basis for the rationale of a movement in funding bands, a study which is being undertaken by the Higher Education Funding Council for England over the proceeding three years, in consequence to the increasing costs involved to the institutions. This increase in funding, coupled with a determination from the institution and case study evidence as presented in this paper, will hopefully propel clinical legal education to the forefront of undergraduate legal studies in the UK. Clinical legal education is a method of improving the student experience and offers various advantages if integrated fully into the university administrative set up. Such views have been given rigorous academic coverage, however this paper further analyses the academic benefits passed on to the student populace, in relation to the potential advantages to UK universities.

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