The University of Panic

2022 ◽  
pp. 277-289
Author(s):  
Tara Brabazon

A pandemic crushes assumptions and inherited narratives of higher education. This chapter explores how COVID-19 tested the parameters of teaching and learning and how universities failed this test. Through the panic of shutdowns, lockdowns, economic restructures, social distancing, and closures, the speed of change and decision making was profound and under public scrutiny. Online learning has been a panacea for economic and social problems for 20 years. To manage a crisis the scale of COVID-19, online learning would be the obvious solution. However, the pandemic showed the flaws in this strategy and the toxic reality of quick fixes to higher education. Students were short changed and academics pushed to exhaustion. After COVID-19, higher education is in shreds. The visions and futures of universities are blurred. Using the theories of Paul Virilio, particularly his University of Disaster, this chapter probes how higher education unravels and dissociates teaching and research. When time is short and risks are high, what mode of leadership will survive in the post-pandemic university?

1995 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 133-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Fernández ◽  
Miguel A. Mateo ◽  
José Muñiz

The conditions are investigated in which Spanish university teachers carry out their teaching and research functions. 655 teachers from the University of Oviedo took part in this study by completing the Academic Setting Evaluation Questionnaire (ASEQ). Of the three dimensions assessed in the ASEQ, Satisfaction received the lowest ratings, Social Climate was rated higher, and Relations with students was rated the highest. These results are similar to those found in two studies carried out in the academic years 1986/87 and 1989/90. Their relevance for higher education is twofold because these data can be used as a complement of those obtained by means of students' opinions, and the crossing of both types of data can facilitate decision making in order to improve the quality of the work (teaching and research) of the university institutions.


Author(s):  
Jennifer Munday ◽  
Jennifer Rowley

The online learning space can appear to be cold and impersonal for Higher Education students. The aim of this chapter is to show the progress of a teaching and learning design using a “sense of self” model, which is being used in ePortfolio creation in two Higher Education institutions. This chapter demonstrates that an ePortfolio can be a tool for showcasing students' levels of achievement in regard to a “sense of self”. The authors intend that the positive results from the outcomes of the two pedagogic approaches to the ePortfolio process should encourage other users of ePortfolio to engage with flexible and creative approaches to the production of showcase and reflective ePortfolios with students at all phases of a degree program. Academics can positively affect the human connections between students and teachers, emerging professionals and the profession, by encouraging multi-faceted aspects within an ePortfolio as the interface between the online and the professional world.


Author(s):  
Jennifer Munday ◽  
Jennifer Rowley

The online learning space can appear to be cold and impersonal for Higher Education students. The aim of this chapter is to show the progress of a teaching and learning design using a “sense of self” model, which is being used in ePortfolio creation in two Higher Education institutions. This chapter demonstrates that an ePortfolio can be a tool for showcasing students' levels of achievement in regard to a “sense of self”. The authors intend that the positive results from the outcomes of the two pedagogic approaches to the ePortfolio process should encourage other users of ePortfolio to engage with flexible and creative approaches to the production of showcase and reflective ePortfolios with students at all phases of a degree program. Academics can positively affect the human connections between students and teachers, emerging professionals and the profession, by encouraging multi-faceted aspects within an ePortfolio as the interface between the online and the professional world.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Feldman ◽  

The article discusses the online teaching and learning experiences of university students during the recent countrywide lockdown and higher education institutional shutdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Drawing on philosopher Joan Tronto’s phases of care and associated moral elements, the article reports on survey data from a large cohort of students in the Post Graduate Certificate of Education programme at Stellenbosch University and seeks to analyse the students’ care needs and experiences of care during this period. The aim of the article discussion is not to answer the question whether the university institution offered the students good care during the campus shutdown and remote teaching and learning, but rather to understand the experiences of the students of online teaching and learning during this time.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 137-139
Author(s):  
Janine Delahunty ◽  

by Laura Ritchie, Palgrave Teaching and Learning series (2016) What is self-efficacy, why is it worthy of attention in higher education, how are selfefficacy beliefs linked to teaching and learning excellence and what is “excellence” anyway? These are some points of discussion found in the first few pages of Laura Ritchie’s book, directing the reader towards strategies in later chapters that are drawn from real-life situations aimed at helping the practitioner recognise and apply principles for building strong self-efficacy beliefs in their students. The author argues that the impact of self-efficacy on learning is “fundamental to everything” (p. vii); she writes from her years of teaching and research in higher education, and as a recipient of a UK National Teaching Fellow award.


Author(s):  
Adela Coman ◽  
Catalina Bonciu

In this paper we discuss organizational culture of higher education institutions whose components have been thoroughly described by authors such as Tierney (1988) and Valimaa (1998). We focused on the elements of organizational culture which outlines the identity of a higher education institution: why does the institution exist? How does the institution reach its goals and mission? What does the institution offer to its internal and external public? As such, we analyzed the mission, structure, governance and decision making processes, teaching and research in a comparative perspective: Harvard University (HU) and the University of Bucharest (UB), Romania. By looking into the organizational culture of the best, we learnt some lessons that may inspire, motivate and urge action if UB wants to progress so as to become one day a top leader in higher education worldwide.


Author(s):  
Nahla Moussa

This empirical research report intended to explore the impact of the sudden transition to online learning and teaching and assessment at higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Furthermore, the study assessed the difference in students’ academic achievement and their perception of the transition to online learning. A mixed-method research design was adopted to achieve the purpose of this research paper. Content analysis, the Correlation Coefficient, and Simple Linear Regression were supportive analysis tools. Data analysis proved that the higher education system in the UAE embraced appropriate teaching and assessment approaches to the online mode of teaching and learning. Moreover, higher education students maintained high academic success after transitioning to online learning. Students’ perception of the transition to online learning positively correlated to students’ academic success. Thus, higher education students maintained a decent level of academic success after transitioning to the online mode of learning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 221258682110070
Author(s):  
Ka Ho Mok ◽  
Weiyan Xiong ◽  
Hamzah Nor Bin Aedy Rahman

The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak has forced online teaching and learning to be the primary instruction format in higher education globally. One of the worrying concerns about online learning is whether this method is effective, specifically when compared to face-to-face classes. This descriptive quantitative study investigates how students in higher education institutions in Hong Kong evaluated their online learning experiences during the pandemic, including the factors influencing their digital learning experiences. By analysing the survey responses from 1,227 university students in Hong Kong, this study found that most of the respondents felt dissatisfied with their online learning experiences and effectiveness. Meanwhile, this study confirms that respondents’ household income level and information technology literacy affected their online learning effectiveness. Moreover, this study highlights the significant contributions of the community of inquiry, which places social presence on the promotion of a whole person development that could not be achieved when relying mainly on online learning. Findings encourage university leaders and instructors to search for multiple course delivery modes to nurture students to become caring leaders with the 21st century skills and knowledge set.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 200-212 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Darwin

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the challenges and obstacles encountered in the implementation of a mentoring program for Master of Business Administration (MBA) students at the University of South Australia (UniSA) Business School. The paper starts with an exploration into the need for a mentoring program, the trial and subsequent four years of implementation. The paper also explores the network model of mentoring and the reasons why this, rather than a more traditional model, was chosen for the program’s implementation. Design/methodology/approach – This exploratory case study uses data from over 600 students and their alumni mentors over a five-year period to evaluate and improve the program as well as cultivating a critical community of adult learners. Findings – Feedback from students indicates that the mentoring program is regarded by most as a value-added feature of their early learning as it offers support, if and when it is required, from those who have been there before. Research limitations/implications – Results are limited to one institution. However, as research into mentoring for higher education students is thin on the ground, this study contributes to our understanding of the positive impacts of mentoring on student success. Practical implications – This paper emphasizes the importance of business leaders giving back to their alma mater through mentoring current MBA students. It shows how mentoring can support learning and management development. Originality/value – This is an original study which explores ways to increase the learning of higher education students for positive social outcomes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2-2 ◽  
pp. 100068
Author(s):  
Svenja Bedenlier ◽  
Iris Wunder ◽  
Michaela Gläser-Zikuda ◽  
Rudolf Kammerl ◽  
Bärbel Kopp ◽  
...  

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document