scholarly journals UNIVERSITY STUDY PROBLEMS FROM THE POINT OF VIEW OF STUDENTS: ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

Author(s):  
Vincentas Lamanauskas ◽  
Dalia Augienė ◽  
Rita Makarskaitė-Petkevičienė

The problems of higher university education are not only urgent but, it can be asserted, that due to many reasons they are getting sharper. The dynamism of labour market and always changing society require flexible, innovative and creative lifelong learning possibilities; higher education institutions do not limit themselves to primary preparation of specialists, the possibilities ought to be found for the development of specialists and professionals, for specialisation change, for the development of personal abilities and for expansion of high level professional competences. Continuing education at universities is becoming more and more urgent in the Strategic priorities of European education. It is necessary to seek for high scientific activity and high study level and for the results acknowledged on an international level. On the other hand, the competition among universities is evidently getting stronger both on national and international levels. Very often blind orientation only to a consumer (a student), only to service provision to him, make the quality of studies and at the same time the quality of acquirable education worse. The solution of any problem requires reliable and adequate information. The researches, regarding university students’ opinions on higher education problems do not lose their urgency. On the contrary, in this way rather objective primary information about processes taking place in this sector is obtained. The empiric research (N=544), carried out in January-February 2012, showed that student opinions on higher university education are controversial, in fact. Having carried out content analysis on the respondents’ expressed positions, considerable advantages and disadvantages of university studies were discerned. Education acquisition and good study quality are pointed out as the most important university education advantages. These positions have relatively the biggest weight among all categories defining the advantages. Self-realisation and career possibilities occupy the middle position in the advantage category scale. Their weight fluctuates in the interval of 10-20 percent. Communication possibilities and study management are not regarded as considerable advantages. It has been stated, that a considerable shortage of university education is study quality. One third of the respondents gave the biggest weight to that category. It can be asserted, that study quality and conditions for practical ability formation in the study process worry the respondents most. Evaluating study quality, the respondents most often express dissatisfaction with the overloading of the study content: a lot of insignificant subjects must be studied, too many unnecessary lectures, inexpedient lectures, poor lectures, worthless; a lot of unnecessary study programmes and so on. A part of respondents accentuate dissatisfaction with the teachers’ work: poor competence of some teachers, unfair student evaluation, the requirements raised are too high. It can be asserted, that university studies are more often understood as experience process, during which theoretical and practical knowledge are integrated and on this basis professional experience is acquired and professionalism is mastered. Key words: survey, empiric research, qualitative analysis, university education.

In recent years attention to quality of studies is not decreasing. Lots of different level and type articles have been written, books and other literature have been published. On the other hand, over the last few years different national, regional and international science conferences and symposiums took place. So, it is obvious, that the concern in the university study quality is really huge. However, the essence of the matter lies somewhere deeper. The main goals, formulated in Bologna declaration, had to be implemented by 2010. However, now it becomes clear, that some of the vitally important things were not realised and there are more and more doubts if they will, on the whole, be carried through. The Bologna process itself is not sought to be analysed. What interests us firstly, is the quality of studies’ management question. Various researches reveal that the university study quality in some countries has significantly decreased even measuring according to the most minimal criteria. First of all, this is because most universities are oriented into providing service. It is known, that service University is not capable to ensure the proper quality of the studies and of provided education at the same time. Mass universities meant for mass usage. University education is more and more “Mc.Donaldized” (Lamanauskas, 2011a). Thus, the problem of the quality of studies remains the key problem in nowadays university work. It is understandable, that different countries have different experience in this field both in horizontal and vertical sense. The quality of studies conception despite all efforts remains diverse and has multiple meanings. Paraphrasing a familiar soviet times’ statement (“from everyone – according to possibilities, for everyone – according to demands”), one can state, that higher education can’t be provided according to demands, and it can’t be required from graduates according to their abilities and possibilities. Massification of higher education in a direct way negatively affects the quality of studies (process), as well as higher education quality (result). This is the essential risk in university management. Key words: education policy, quality of studies, management, university education system.


Author(s):  
Vincentas Lamanauskas ◽  
Dalia Augienė ◽  
Rita Makarskaitė-Petkevičienė

University education is a multiplex phenomenon. Both global and local political, socioeconomic changes condition higher education system’s development too. Universities seek to adequately react to various challenges, though not always successfully. An obvious thing is growing competition among universities – both at national and international levels. It is natural, that various hardships are being faced. It is understandable, that solution to any problem requires reliable and adequate information. University students’ opinion on higher education problematics questions research doesn’t lose its relevance. On the contrary, in this way rather objective initial information is obtained about the processes taking place in this sector. The empiric research (N=544) carried out between January and February 2012 showed, that students’ opinions about higher university education are, in fact, controversial. Having accomplished expectation analysis of the respondents, it was stated, that young people mostly orientate into self-realisation. Finding a job according to the acquired speciality, having a likable job, making career are the very essential students’ expectations. Education seeking, career possibilities are also the most important motives having determined the students’ decision to study at university. The main motive, having encouraged the students to choose university studies is seeking for education. Seeking for education is becoming a very important value for contemporary youth. A very important motive choosing university studies is seeking for future career and better (or imaginably better) person’s, having a university education, position in labour market. People of great significance (parents, teachers, friends and other) have very little influence on choosing university studies. Personal decision has the greatest influence while making a decision. Having graduated from university, and acquired necessary education, the biggest part of students relate their expectations with the open opportunities to realise themselves and seek professional career both in the country and outside its boundaries. A part of students after graduation from bachelor studies are planning to seek further education studying for master’s degree in Lithuania or abroad. Another part of students, as the main expectation related with university studies, point out the nearest, obviously pragmatic purposes – to successfully graduate the studies, not foreseeing further goals and opportunities. A very essential thing that came into light is student’s expectations focused on finding a job, getting it and so on. Almost unexpressed expectations are related with personal working place creation (own business, enterprise establishment and so on), which would be a very significant indicator and result of a qualitative university education. Key words: survey, empiric research, qualitative analysis, university education, expectations.


2009 ◽  
Vol 48 ◽  
pp. 68-81
Author(s):  
Birutė Galinienė ◽  
Algirdas Miškinis ◽  
Albinas Marčinskas ◽  
Greta Drūteikienė

Europos aukštojo mokslo erdvės kūrimas skatina šio kontinento aukštąsias mokyklas susimąstyti apie aukštojo mokslo konkurencingumo ir jo vertės didinimą. Tai pasiekti Lietuvos aukštosios mokyklos gali tik nuolat gerindamos studijų kokybę,savo įvaizdį ir reputaciją. Šiame straipsnyje aptariamos bendrosios studijų kokybės ir įvaizdžio gerinimo aukštosiose mokyklose teorinės prielaidos, jas iliustruojant tyrimų, kurie buvo atlikti visame Vilniaus universitete ir atskirai Ekonomikosfakultete, duomenimis. Visuose Vilniaus universiteto padaliniuose 2005–2006 m. atlikome keturis didelio masto tyrimus (įvertinome vidinį Vilniaus universiteto įvaizdį, studentų požiūrį į studijų kokybę, pradedančiųjų studijuoti Universitete ir jų tėvų lūkesčius, tų lūkesčių pokyčius po pirmojo studijų pusmečio) ir identifikavome pagrindines problemines sritis. Siekdami nustatyti šių problemų priežastis, mėginome pažvelgti dar giliau – atlikome tyrimą viename Vilniaus universiteto padalinyje (Ekonomikos fakultete), kuriuo aiškinomės, kokie veiksniai daro įtaką aukštosios mokyklos įvaizdžiui ir kaip Universiteto įvaizdis siejasi su siūlomų studijų kokybe.Reikšminiai žodžiai: studijų kokybė, įvaizdis, aukštoji mokykla.The impact of study quality on the image of a higher education institutionBirutė Galinienė, Algirdas Miškinis, Albinas Marčinskas, Greta Drūteikienė SummaryIssues concerning the image and reputation strengthening of higher education institutions have recently been given an important consideration in Lithuania and other European countries. In the article we will discuss the fundamentals of the university education quality and image strengthening in theoretical premises, and illustrate them using data of studies performed at the Vilnius University. The research results demonstrate that the quality of studies is the main factor in determining the image of a higher education institution. Key words: study quality, image, higher education institution.


2021 ◽  
Vol 121 ◽  
pp. 01004
Author(s):  
Larisa Nikolaevna Nabilkina ◽  
Ekaterina Aleksandrovna Nikolaeva ◽  
Olga Nikolaevna Chelyukanova

The article is devoted to the analysis of the problems and prospects of Russia’s innvolement in a single European area of higher education, better known as the Bologna process, its purpose being to create an unlimited scientific environment in the field of education and scientific activity. The study aims to consider the features of Russia’s entry into the Bologna system, analyze the advantages and disadvantages of this process, and outline the importance of higher education in the formation of national identity and national mentality. The main research methods are system-analytical, comparative and axiological ones. Also, the study employs other methods relevant to the objectives of the work: the method of sociological observation, description, linguoculturological analysis. The problem of higher education integration is debated a lot in the pedagogical community. Our teachers, methodologists, culturologists also participate in scientific discussions. Despite a number of advantages, Russian education does not quite fit into the context of Western culture: the unification of the educational process leads to the destruction of scholarly traditions, the ideas of “educational tourism” and “double” diplomas cannot be fully implemented, especially in provincial universities, Russian universities fail to take their worthy place in international rankings. As a result, the authors of the article come to the reasonable conclusion that the task of the cultural and educational community is to preserve national identity, basic values, traditions of elite imperial education and their integration into European educational space. The main mission of university education is the formation of a universal educational idea based on the priority of the humanities. This is what scientists and educators should strive for, regardless of nationality and linguistic affiliation.


Author(s):  
Oksana Kravchenko ◽  
Olga Matros ◽  
Anzhelika Bilenko

The purpose of the student scientific society is to organize student research, promote the quality of scientific and practical training of students, expand their general and professional worldview, meet other needs and interests, which is an integral part of the successful development of the institution. Therefore, students of the faculty are active participants in All-Ukrainian competitions of scientific works, student Olympiads, where they constantly certify a high educational, methodological, and scientific level of training, receiving victories and prizes. The purpose of the study is to cover and analyze the student scientific society in higher education and at the Faculty of Social and Psychological Education of PTUSPU, in particular, as the main centre of organization and involvement of students in research. Methodology. The features of the student scientific society have been revealed using methods of analysis, synthesis and generalization of regulations and documents, its research work at the faculty. Results and practical significance. It has been found that the activities of the faculty of the Student Scientific Society contribute to the intensification of the student's research work as one of the most important means of improving the quality of training with higher education and the development of scientific thinking and creativity. It is determined that due to the activity of the society students develop skills of independent scientific activity.


Telos ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 754-775 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Valdés Montecinos

Year after year the number of students in higher education increases worldwide, and particularly in the virtual mode. In the face of this reality, a series of phenomena combine that have driven university institutions to reinvent themselves. The objective of this work is to analyze the influence of globalization and internationalization on the curriculum of university education, with particular emphasis on Latin American virtual education. The methodology used is the review of both literature specialized in the subject and official documents of the agencies involved. The results reveal that: 1) multilateral agencies have been made efforts to establish two-way academic partnership and cooperation agreements, on the one hand, to promote the mobility of students and teachers, as well as the realization of joint projects; on the other hand, to promote the processes of quality control and internationalization of the curriculum. 2) Regarding virtual education in the region, the need to ensure and demonstrate the quality of its programs has been set, with the Latin American and Caribbean Institute of Quality in Distance Higher Education (CALED) being one of the main references regarding guidelines and instruments for evaluation and advice to universities on quality assessment and accreditation processes. It is concluded that the internationalization of the curriculum in virtual university education in Latin America faces the challenge of taking the step towards comprehensive internationalization, that is, the one that comprehensively impacts the curriculum from a conceptual and cultural structure including interdisciplinary studies and multiculturalism.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-71
Author(s):  
Miroslav Dopita ◽  
Jana Poláchová Vašťatková

Adequate staffing of university studies with qualified academics was completed thanks to the reimplementation of three-stage university education during the post-socialist restoration of higher education in the Czech Republic. Thus, the doctoral degree of education has been attained by more than four-fifths of academic staff, with over two-fifths of them being aged 50+. The current course of university studies, including doctoral study programs, is influenced by their focus on educational and research strategy. With regards to the regulations for graduating in doctoral studies, doctoral candidates act as homo oeconomicus following neo-liberal educational policy. The conditions for doctoral studies, namely, those in educational sciences, thus lead to paradoxes caused by the current higher educational policy. The objective of the paper is to analyze the neoliberal set-up of the higher education policy of the Czech Republic in the field of doctoral studies in educational sciences in particular and its possible impacts in the area of labor-market integration of graduates and university training of academics.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4-1) ◽  
pp. 113-128
Author(s):  
Andrey Ivanov ◽  
◽  
Irina Fotieva ◽  

The article considers two interrelated problems of modern Russian higher education: the strengthening of administrative coercion and control as well as the introduction of distance education. As a theoretical and methodological basis of the study, the authors rely on the socio-philosophical analysis of the problems of education in the famous S.I. Hessen’s work, where three basic principles of the effective functioning of the university are highlighted: the completeness of scientific knowledge, the freedom of teaching and learning, and self-government. The authors substantiate the view that at present all these principles are violated. Violation of the first of them is manifested in a decrease in hours devoted to the teaching of fundamental disciplines and in a general orientation toward the graduation of a “narrow” specialist; the second principle is incompatible with the extremely increased reporting of universities and overly formalized indicators of the quality of their work. Violation of the third principle is manifested in the gradual elimination of university autonomy, in particular, free election of rectors. The most negative manifestation of administrative pressure, according to the authors, today is the forced introduction of distance learning. The authors critically analyze the main arguments put forward in favor of this project: saving university budgets, ensuring a higher quality of teaching, the need to follow the general logic of modernization of education as a whole. The solution to financial problems, according to the authors, should not be based on forced economy, but on the competent organization of the country’s economic life. An appeal to a higher quality of teaching, which, it is argued, must be provided by teachers from the country’s central universities, is based on biased and unproven ideas. In addition, for mastering critical and systematic thinking skills, conducting scientific discussions, direct communication between teachers and students is necessary, which is not feasible in the conditions of online teaching with a very large number of students. In addition, the authors highlight the idea that nobody takes into account the need for close knowledge of a particular audience by a teacher to choose an adequate style of lecturing or conducting practical classes. The article concludes that the current administrative-bureaucratic style of managing higher education, in which not only the basic principles of the successful functioning of the latter are violated, but also destructive reforms are carried out, is destructive not only for education as such, but also for the state itself.


Author(s):  
Elżbieta Janczyk-Strzała

The basis of any business, including non-public Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), is financial security, which is ensured by achieving sufficiently high profits and financial liquidity. Especially in these times, a rapidly changing market, the competition, and the upcoming birth rate forces HEIs to optimize operational and strategic decisions. On one hand, it creates new opportunities for non-public HEIs, but on the other, it is a source of danger for the future of their operations. Therefore, they must not only overcome the difficulties encountered in everyday life but also try to respond to the challenges posed by their environment, demonstrating the special care to ensure the efficiency of their operations. They must not only try to increase the quality of offered services or manage their funds rationally but with equal attention should “invest” in modern management methods and concepts. Through the use of controlling, contemporary non-public HEIs are able to choose an optimum variant of decision facilitating the achievement of their goals. In view of the above, this chapter discusses the special considerations relating to controlling HEIs from the point of view of increasing their effectiveness.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 186-193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulla Runesson

Purpose – It has been suggested that, if pedagogical and learning theories are integrated into lesson and learning study, a systematic construction of pedagogical knowledge is possible (Elliott, 2012). In this Special Issue, it is reported how theory and theoretical concepts can add value to lesson and learning study. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the Special Issue and explore the above concepts. Design/methodology/approach – This paper presents the Special Issue papers thematically and the main issues are discussed. Findings – Together the papers suggest that pedagogical theories and theorizing practice may contribute to the improvement of teachers’ practical knowledge and knowledge about teachers’ professional tasks and objects. Furthermore, some theories and theoretical concepts hitherto under-exploited in lesson and learning study are presented and discussed from the point of view how these might improve the quality of the studies. Originality/value – As a total, this collection of papers bring out issues about the role of pedagogical and learning theories and how these could inform lesson and learning study.


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