Spanish Adult Students’ Intention- Behaviour Toward MOOCs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Many Spanish students need to learn English beyond the age of 25 to be able to find a job or be further promoted. Unfortunately, those who attempt to pass a university entry-qualifications test often lack the required academic level. To help them achieve this goal, they are usually provided with learning materials and supportive digital resources. During the covid-19 pandemic, the need for online resources increased. This is why the National Distance Education University offered a massive open online course (mooc) on elementary English. The main goal of this contrastive qualitative study was twofold: First, it attempted to explore adult students’ intention-behaviour while taking the course. Secondly it delved into students’ satisfaction with this type of courses during two different years: 2017 and 2020 when the pandemic had a clear impact on distance education. For this purpose, the study used a comprehensive post-questionnaire given at the end of both courses. The data revealed a few significant differences regarding students’ satisfaction, intentions, perceptions, and interests in contexts where face-to-face-learning was not an option. These findings suggest that mooc should be considered as an alternative way to build specific content in situations of crisis.

A theological assessment of clergy leadership capabilities in the Ethiopian Episcopal Church in South Africa

That theological training, only, may not be in itself adequate to prepare priests for their leadership roles, is a subject which many in the church circles, prefer to avoid. Using Mumford’s Leadership Capabilities and Osmer’s Practical Theology theories, this study sought to assess the clergy’s leadership capabilities in the Ethiopian Episcopal Church in South Africa, and to suggest solutions that could be implemented to mitigate the leadership competency gaps, should such be identified. The authors opted for a mixed-methods approach to the study, intending to first expose the respondents to information about what capabilities leaders needed to possess, to be effective. Following self-assessment, they were requested to suggest what might be done to improve their leadership capabilities and their capacity to lead the church. The most compelling findings were that the clergy largely confirmed the inadequacy of clerical training as well as their incapacity and supported the idea of additional capacitation to augment their theological training. This includes a crossdisciplinary approach to clergy development, interdenominational collaboration, formalisation of clergy development programmes and open discussions on the church’s doctrine, vision and values. The study also found sizeable support for the regulation of admission to the priesthood and the setting of minimum entry qualifications for such admission to be effected.

New Principals' School Culture Awareness and School Change

An influx of new principals having improved base-entry qualifications has raised some concerns about principal-school ‘fit' in Trinidad and Tobago. This chapter encompasses findings on three new principals' professional judgment in relation to their leadership and its impact on their schools, focusing on their school culture awareness. A multi-method case study approach is adopted. Findings suggest that the new principals' school culture awareness is indirectly associated with school change, having informed both what they attended to (their improvement foci) and how they did that (leadership practice and strategies).

A MULTI CRITERIA DECISION ANALYSIS APPROACH TOWARDS CREATING A INCLUSIVE CURRICULUM FOR GENDER RESPONSIVE HIGHER EDUCATION

In the era when globalisation have challenged the ways we traditionally conceptualise higher education curriculum and its implications, the academic debates with respective to importance of gender inclusive higher education has brought to the surface the necessity of discussion about the factors/components which contributes in making higher education curriculum inclusive. Although there are multitude of publication which exists on gender inclusivity and higher education, very less work has been done on designing an inclusive curriculum for gender responsive higher education. This paper is an attempt to fill this gap by taking wider and a more holistic view that is based on a Multi Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) framework. A comprehensive list of factors/components essential for designing higher education curriculum was extracted from extant literature and expert opinion was developed. Further, Analytical Hierarchy Process was adopted as a MCDA method and established priorities using pair wise comparisons and judgements to identify the relative importance of these factors/components. Our findings show that among all the factors/components identified (Educational, Dispositional, Conditional and Cultural), Educational component which consists of attributes like entry qualifications, educational experiences, experiences of work and life, learning approaches contributes maximum in designing an inclusive curriculum for gender responsive higher education. Moreover, the paper contributes methodologically by proposing first time development of Multi Criteria Decision Analysis Framework in precise and a unique way. Through this study, we also highlight the need for adapting a pro active anticipatory approach in teaching pedagogy by higher education instructions.

How might mature students with low entry qualifications succeed in undergraduate science?

Widening participation has been a key UK higher education policy for at least 20 years, but accessing university remains challenging for mature (aged 21+) students with low prior educational qualifications. This is particularly apparent in the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) disciplines, in which the lack of standard UK university matriculation requirements (two A levels) can increase the obstacles faced by vulnerable learners. Since 2013 the Open University has sought to address this by offering a preparatory STEM access module. In this article, the researchers report a comparative case study using a mixed methods approach to identify the extent to which the impact of a STEM access module was sustained into Level 4 science study. Analysis revealed that students progressing from the access module had a 24% greater chance of passing than a control group who entered the undergraduate programme directly. Results are discussed in relation to the increased confidence that the students acquired during their preparatory study. We relate the increased confidence of these students to two key aspects: first, an acquired tenacity, which helped learners navigate the initial challenging steps into undergraduate science; second, sustaining the confidence established by overcoming the maths fear factor.

BSc Applied Physics: A physics degree for students with non-standard qualifications

<p>In the UK, the primary route to a physics degree is through studying for advanced level qualifications (known as A-levels) in both physics and mathematics. 38,958 students were entered for A-level examinations in physics in 2019, with the majority of these candidates also entered for A-level mathematics.</p><p>In recent years the UK has seen a growth of vocational, technical and wide entry qualifications. The vocational and technical qualifications are targeted at teenagers, and the latter targeting mature students returning to education later in life. These qualifications all cover a wider breadth of material, but in less depth than traditional A-levels. In order to ensure that these students can succeed at a physics degree, Nottingham Trent University developed a new course, BSc Applied Physics.</p><p>BSc Applied Physics is designed to follow on directly from vocational, technical and wide entry courses, including the BTEC Extended Diploma in Applied Science and Diplomas in Access to Higher Education. In the first year of BSc Applied Physics students have extra workshops to support their studies, and extra sessions on mathematics for physics. The aim is that, at the end of the first year, these students should have the same mathematical ability as year 1 students on our main BSc Physics course. The BSc Applied Physics students then have a choice. They can either continue with BSc Applied Physics, which focusses on the applications of physics, or transfer to a more traditional BSc Physics programme.</p><p>The purpose of this poster is to showcase to teachers how this type of non-standard degree programme can benefit students studying for non-traditional qualifications.</p>

Higher Education, Widening Access and Market Failure: Towards a Dual Pricing Mechanism in England

Over a period of around fifteen years English higher education has become characterised by an increasingly marketise and differentiated system, most recently with the encouragement of new “challenger” providers potentially creating price competition for undergraduate degrees. This paper explores shifting patterns of enrolments between different institution types (those requiring high entry grades and those requiring lower entry grades) for evidence of how these types may be responding to the new market conditions. We introduce the concept of a “dual-pricing” mechanism to model how different institution types may be reacting. Dual pricing would be exemplified as a situation where entry requirements (a “price” based on qualification tariff points required for entry) and tuition-fee are matched in a linear hierarchy of institutions: Only the most prestigious institutions offering the courses demanding the highest entry qualifications (tariff) would command the highest fee (in this case a maxima of £9250 per annum), with fees demanded by institutions requiring lower entry requirements tapering off towards £6000 per year. This dual-pricing mechanism is discussed here as a policy aim, and the intention of this paper is to locate it in relation to market failure (defined as the failing of a market intervention to meet that policy aim). This paper’s critique of the marketised direction of travel in English higher education (HE) policymaking is that a dual-price mechanism would seriously undermine efforts to widen access for underrepresented social groups, particularly those from low income households who may be more likely to access low-cost provision rather than more transformative HE opportunities (supposedly those deriving from having a degree from a more prestigious institution), even if they met the entry requirements for higher-cost provision.