Curing the Common Curriculum

Professional degree programs in higher education are increasingly under fire on matters of quality, proficiency, and cost. To address these issues and anticipated controversies, the authors of this chapter provide context to the process of developing a micro-credentialing system at the central university level at Florida International University (FIU) and how it was adapted at its medical school as an innovative tool for developing medical student skill sets. Through a use-case, the authors highlight examples of common challenges identified within professional degree programs, how they were addressed at FIU's Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine using the centralized micro-credentialing system, and the planning and implementation stages of a formalized micro-credential program in undergraduate medical education. Finally, the authors discuss the potential for micro-credentials to supplement or replace dual degree programs, enhance interdisciplinary collaboration, and influence the future of entrustable professional activities of professional practice in medical education.

Psychological Perspectives Toward Student’s Incompetency in Foreign Language Course

Learning a foreign language enables learners to go further after graduation. In today’s world, there is a need for students to be able to communicate in at least one foreign language so that they can function well globally. This study investigates learning the German language among engineering students who are taking a dual degree program in a public university in east coast Malaysia. The objectives of the study were: (a) to determine the students’ attitude in learning German language; (b) gauge their understanding of the course in terms of materials and lessons used in learning the language; and (c) identify their motivation and performances taking German language. Using a descriptive research design, 60 students were involved as respondents in this study. Their responses to the researchers’ questionnaire were gathered in a WhatsApp group called Success German Course (SGC). The results of the study indicated that students demonstrated moderate attitude in learning the course since some of them were eager to learn the language while others were not. Some students reported failing to understand the course in the use of the current materials and lessons. Although they showed positive attitude in learning the course, their performances, nevertheless, were not encouraging because they did not have sufficient time to learn the language. It is concluded that students need to learn study skills to help them to be more competence in foreign language proficiency. The overall findings implied th

The Missing Professional Perspective: Medical, Veterinary, and Dual Degree Public Health Student Perceptions of One Health

Introduction: One Health (OH) is an important concept to design appropriate public health responses to emerging diseases such as COVID-19. How trainee health professionals understand this concept is important to its implementation. In this study, we explored how medical (MD), veterinary (DVM), and dual degree MD and DVM Master of Public Health (MPH) students define OH and its relevance to practice.Methods: Students participated in a survey that included the Readiness for Interprofessional Learning Scale (RIPLS), and two questions requiring them to define and explain the relevance of OH. The transcripts of the OH responses underwent thematic analysis. Role theory was used to explain the variation in how students from these different programmes viewed the concept.Results: The responses of the MD and DVM students in contrast to the dual degree MPH students reflected gaps in their understanding of the concept that pertained to the specific health impacts of global warming; antimicrobial resistance, food security; social, cultural and environmental determinants of zoonoses occurrence, and health policy formation.Discussion: Mitigation of the global risks to public health require a collaborative approach by health professionals. Our findings suggest that MD and DVM students are unaware of many factors that impact patient health outside of their own discipline. The inclusion of dual degree students revealed novel insights that undertaking an MPH may have enabled them to be more aware about the interdisciplinary relevance of OH to their professional practice. We recommend that structured incorporation of OH should inform future medical and veterinary curricula.

Los mediadores literarios de los futuros maestros. Exploración de los relatos de vida literaria

This work is part of the research in the field of teaching literature and the profile of the reader and the belief system of teachers in initial training. Its objective is to delve into the literary biography of future teachers, paying special attention to who their literary mediators were, since, possibly, they end up acting as mediation models in their future tasks as teachers. To carry out this research we use an Author Recognition Test to establish the degree of familiarity of students with literature, and the literary life story of the 35 students of the dual degree in Infant and Primary Education at the University of Barcelona, that configure the sample. The results, which are constructed from a qualitative approach to literary life stories and the quantitative data from the Author Recognition Test, show a nuanced relationship between the degree of familiarity of students with literature and the type of literary mediator and literary experiences lived so far.

International higher education brand alliance: the role of brand fit and world-mindedness

PurposeThis research investigates three major research questions. First, how does brand alliance type, defined by a partner's location and brand quality, affect consumers' emotional value perceptions of higher education brand alliances for dual-degree programs? Second, does perceived brand fit mediate the relationship between brand alliance type and emotional value perceptions? Third, do individual differences in world-mindedness moderate the influence of brand alliance type on emotional value perceptions?Design/methodology/approachIn total, two experiments are performed. Experiment one examines the effect of brand alliance type, at varying combinations of partner brand quality and partner location (domestic or foreign), on consumers' emotional value perceptions. Experiment two examines the moderating role of world-mindedness in the relationship between brand alliance type and consumers' emotional value perceptions.FindingsResults provide evidence that consumers' perception of brand fit mediates the relationship between brand alliance type and consumers' emotional value perceptions of the alliance. Results also indicate that world-mindedness moderates the relationship between brand alliance type and emotional value perceptions.Originality/valueThis research extends the previous literature on higher education dual-degree brand alliances and introduces world-mindedness as an important consumer-based characteristic to consider in this line of research. It answers calls for more research on higher education branding and calls for research into the potential mediating role and importance of brand fit. It provides several theoretical and managerial implications relevant to the higher education brand alliances, particularly in dual-degree programs.