Listening to the Voices of Students Who Studied Abroad: Students their agency to maximize their abroad experiences

This article learns from student voices about how their education abroad experiences was shaped by their agency. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with 22 United States community college and university students and with United States faculty and United Kingdom senior staff who worked at a study abroad Center in London. The study focuses on what the students said were the impact they had from studying abroad, what they said about institutional support that they needed prior to studying abroad, and what they said about their changing sense of being while studying abroad. Counter-Barrier construct and agency theories were used to ground the findings. The findings showed that these students used their agency to influence their decisions to study abroad, to find the strength to transcend weak institutional support services, and to recognize their own personal, social, and critical skills development as a result of studying abroad.

Effect of the Migration Option on Rural Microenterprise Establishment Decisions in the Mfantsiman Municipality of Ghana

The role of microenterprise in providing economic opportunities and employment options to the poor due to their ease of entry is recognised across the world. To enhance rural job creation through microenterprise development interventions, it is essential to understand how microenterprise establishment decisions are made among rural dwellers. The study examined how the option to migrate to other localities affects microenterprise establishment decisions among rural dwellers in the Mfantsiman Municipality of Ghana. A mixed method design was used in the study. This involved a cross-sectional survey of 20 rural communities, during which data was collected from 800 respondents. Data were also collected from one focus group in each of the 20 communities. A conjoint decision analysis was carried out from interactions of the attributes of each respondent with the migration factor and other socio-economic factors. The migration option reduced the probability of local microenterprise establishment, with the most significant effect among people aged between 15 and 30 years. Furthermore, rural microenterprise establishment decisions are least influenced by the interactive effect of personal attributes and the migration factor as compared to interaction with other factors including access to electricity, institutional support services, market for outputs and returns on investment.

Determining Academic Success in Students with Disabilities in Higher Education

Students with disabilities have not been fully welcomed in higher education in spite of litigation, court cases, and positive shifts in public perceptions. The transition from high school to college is challenging for students without disabilities. Students with disabilities often get overlooked by their institution and overwhelmed during this transition, contributing to an achievement gap for these students. Student success is measured by retention, academic achievement, and on-time graduation. This research study examined how student success was impacted by a student’s registration with the campus disability office, use of accommodations, and use of institutional and social support systems. This study explored a new frontier of research that dispels the myth that students with disabilities are a homogenous group. The results of this study can be used to increase knowledge regarding students with disabilities and their success in higher education. The results will assist college and university administrators as well as staff in disability services offices in tracking the success of accommodations for students with disabilities. This study can help university administration to better understand the benefits of institutional support services as well as encourage faculty involvement in implementing accommodations and helping students see the benefit of student registration with the campus office of disabilities.

Identifying the characteristics of support Australian university teachers use in their design work: Implications for the learning design field

Quality teaching is a strategic objective for universities; thus, there is an expectation that university teachers design high quality learning experience for their students. The field of learning design has developed over the past 15 years as a way to support teachers in their design work. There has been significant research and development work that has focused on creating support tools to help teachers plan, develop and deliver learning experiences. However, little is known about what supports teachers access and use when they design and overall how teachers undertake their design work. This paper presents the findings from a qualitative study that investigated the types of supports 30 teachers from 16 Australian universities reported using in their design work. Data was collected from semi-structured interviews, and the results show that participants accessed a variety of supports depending on their design need. The kind of support participants accessed in their design work were colleagues, literature, workshops and seminars, conferences, institutional support services, and enrolment in postgraduate study. How participants explained using these supports can be characterised as varied, personalised, dynamic and networked. Based on these results, implications for the learning design field are discussed with recommendations for future research.

Desafios institucionais à inclusão de estudantes com Necessidades Educativas Especiais no Ensino Superior

Com base nos pressupostos da educação inclusiva e crescente democratização do ensino superior temos vindo a verificar a progressiva abertura da universidade a diversas minorias, nomeadamente estudantes com Necessidades Educativas Especiais (NEE). Constata-se que ainda há pouco conhecimento sobre o tema da diversidade e inclusão entre docentes e estudantes, em geral, sendo que os serviços institucionais de apoio aos estudantes com NEE existentes carecem de eficácia em diversos níveis, nomeadamente ao nível das atitudes dos docentes e pessoal não-docente. O que pensam estes atores institucionais sobre a inclusão destes estudantes? Proporcionam as universidades as condições adequadas a esta minoria estudantil? Através de um estudo de caso na Universidade do Algarve, pretendeu-se analisar as conceções e atitudes dos docentes e pessoal nãodocente face à inclusão dos estudantes com NEE no Ensino Superior. Pretendeu-se ainda conhecer quais os desafios que estes atores institucionais assinalam no âmbito da inclusão. Tendo por referência os seus testemunhos, constata-se que, apesar do esforço da instituição em análise, continuam a existir áreas que necessitam de um maior investimento, desde a remoção das barreiras arquitetónicas, ao desenvolvimento de atitudes mais inclusivas da comunidade académica, passando por práticas de ensino aprendizagem e de avaliação, que assegurem a igualdade e equidade.Palavras-chave: Educação Inclusiva; Necessidades Educativas Especiais; Ensino Superior ABSTRACTBased on assumptions of inclusive education and increasing democratization of higher education, the university has been progressively opening up to various minorities, including students with Special Educational Needs (SEN). There is still little knowledge on the subject of diversity and inclusion among teachers and students, in general. Institutional support services to students with SEN need improvement at various levels, namely in terms of the attitudes of teachers and non-teaching staff. What do these institutional actors think about the inclusion of these students? Do the universities provide appropriate conditions to this minority student group? In order to address this issue, we present the results of a study, at the University of Algarve, that aimed to analyze the concepts and attitudes of teachers and non-teaching staff in view of the inclusion of students with SEN in higher education. It was also intended to understand what challenges these institutional actors point out in a context of inclusion. The results presented, with reference to the testimonies of several institutional actors, reveal that, despite the efforts made by the institution, there are still many areas that need more investment: the architectural barriers, the development of more inclusive attitudes of the academic community, teachinglearning practices, and evaluation to ensure equal and fair treatment.Keywords: Inclusive Education; Special Educational Needs; Higher Education