Supporting high-quality teaching in higher education through the HowUTeach self-reflection tool

This article introduces the development of the self-reflection tool HowUTeach for higher education teachers. HowUTeach is a research-based self-assessment tool created primarily for teachers in both science universities and universities of applied sciences. The purpose of HowUTeach is to increase teachers’ awareness of their teaching and thereby enhance individual self-reflection relating to work and well-being. HowUTeach uses responses to a questionnaire as a base to generate feedback that includes descriptions of different teaching dimensions as well as ideas on how to develop and improve teaching practices. This article defines these dimensions and presents the idea of counter feedback. The results from the pilot tests of HowUTeach were promising, and teachers identified that the instrument advanced their teaching practices. The tool is now being developed further.

Mapping the Role of European Universities of Applied Sciences as Entrepreneurial Hubs of Regional Development

The chapter focuses on mapping and analysing regional engagement of universities of applied sciences through an institutional self-reflection tool which is developed within the international project UASiMAP and which aims to be useful at institutional level as well as to highlight the important role of this specific area of HE activities. The tool should serve not only for immediate self-evaluation but also to inform institutional improvement and dynamics. The authors define UAS as a specific entrepreneurial hub for regional development and propose a multidimensional model for reflection of the UAS role in regional development. Opportunities, challenges, and limits of the model´s individual dimensions are discussed in two ways: firstly, as reflections of relevant literature and, secondly, using the practical experiences of project partners from different European countries as arguments for the proposed dimension(s). A strategy for assessing progress using the proposed model and criteria for indicators are presented and discussed.

Updating the Standardized Terminology for Nurses’ Daily Documentation

In Finland, the nationally unified and standardized nursing documentation model comprises the nursing process model and the Finnish Care Classification (FinCC). The aim of the study was to assess how well the further developed FinCC complies with actual nursing practices and how pragmatic and understandable it is. An e-questionnaire based on the revised version of the FinCC was sent to healthcare organizations (n=34) and Universities of Applied Sciences (n=14). Data was gathered and organized in Excel. Narrative comments were read and analyzed. The mean of questions of 17 components of both the FICND and the FICNI was over four (scale 1–5). The biggest revision of the FinCC is that different scales and evidence-based research have been utilized in the development of the terminology. Based on the findings, revisions have been made, and the new version, FinCC 4.0, will be published at the end of 2019.

Business as usual? Assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic to research, development and innovation (RDI) activities of universities of applied sciences

Universities of applied sciences (UAS) have a strong mandate to carry out research, development and innovation (RDI) activities in collaboration with local stakeholders. Geographical proximity is one of the key factors for the creation and success of RDI activities because of the positive balance between costs and benefits of local knowledge transfer, but they also depend on the networks of individual staff members. This paper aims to explore how maintaining and developing purpose-built and individual RDI partnerships during the COVID-19 pandemic has been managed. An enhanced conceptual framework for assessing contextual dimensions of the RDI activities beyond academic entrepreneurship as business ventures has been developed. The paper focuses on a single case study drawing on semi-structured research interviews investigating how the swap to remote working have affected RDI activities at Tampere University of Applied Sciences, one of the biggest UAS in Finland with intense regional linkages. The contribution of the study is twofold; firstly, the paper introduces an expanded theoretical approach for assessing the external and internal factors having an impact on the RDI activities beyond academic entrepreneurship. Secondly, by testing the proposed framework, it shares insights and good practices derived from empirical evidence, namely binary data and semi-structured interviews revealing experiences of RDI personnel and project managers involved with different phases of RDI process, for optimising high-quality innovation support, knowledge transfer activities and co-creation of new knowledge in exceptional circumstances.

Englishization ‘under the radar’

Based on statistical information and policy texts, this chapter provides an overview and evaluation of the use and roles of English in traditional research universities and universities of applied sciences in Austria. While internationalization is interpreted and realized in different ways by different institutions, English functions as a central element. A factor supporting the widely unquestioned use of English might be found in the socio-economically strong position that German still enjoys in business, work-life, and higher education in Europe. This predominance is also noticeable in the utilitarian relevance awarded to both German and English in Austrian higher education, thereby failing to recognize the multi-layered relevance multilingualism could have in implementing internationalization policies that would go beyond Englishization practices.

VALIDATION IN ART TEACHER AND PROFESSIONAL TEACHER EDUCATION CURRICULA IN FINLAND

<p>Intention and opportunity for validation of competences acquired in different contexts are considered influential to meet the incremental changes in the world of work. Positioned in the universities of applied sciences delivering art and professional teacher education in Finland, we study emergence of validation of prior learning in the intended, or planned, curricula. The Nordic Quality Model for Validation was employed as the empirical frame of reference. Data were collected from the institutions’ open websites. The critical discourse analysis revealed differences in curricular discourses between and across the institutions. Texts with more indicators of validation were found within larger providers of professional teacher education, whereas those were more scarce in texts from smaller institutions. Validation texts are shorter in length and more fragmented in art teacher curricula. Despite its centrality in educational policy, validation remains in the margins of art and professional teacher education curricula. It is unlikely that the intended curricula facilitate teacher trainers’ efforts to form a shared repertoire of a community of practice in validation of non-formal and informal learning. We suggest further study on the enacted and experienced curricula to examine the role of validation in art teacher and professional teacher education.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0893/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

University of Applied Sciences Students’ Engagement with Scientific Literature for Final Year Projects: An Exploratory Study

Students at universities of applied sciences (UAS) tend to overlook the importance of using scientific literature in their final year projects (FYP), which could affect the quality of their research. This paper explores how UAS students use scientific publications and theories/research frameworks for empirical research in their FYPs. Data were collected from 1) questionnaire completed by 31 final-year and recently graduated students, and 31 academic supervisors and Research Methods teachers, and 2) evaluation of 18 FYPs in an international UAS in the Netherlands. The samples were randomly selected from the university’s formal database (i.e., sampling frame). The analysis of the data led to the discovery of some key factors, such as lack of knowledge in selecting literature, inability to conduct an effective literature review and inability to develop a suitable conceptual/theoretical framework, which hindered the engagement of UAS students with scientific literature. Students’ lack of knowledge in conducting a literature review limited the quality of their final year projects and they need specialized workshops to develop their skills in literature research and critical analysis.

Psychological Distress, Dental Health, and Dental Fear among Finnish University Students: A National Survey

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between dental fear, psychological distress, and perceived symptoms of teeth controlled for age, gender, educational sector, and tobacco use. The data from the Finnish University Student Health Survey 2016 targeting students (n = 10,000) of academic universities and universities of applied sciences were used. Psychological distress was measured with the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation 10 (CORE-10) and the General Health Questionnaire 12 (GHQ-12) and dental fear with the question ‘Do you feel scared about receiving dental care?’. The study included 3110 students. In logistic regression analyses those with psychological distress (measured with CORE-10 and GHQ-12) and those reporting teeth-related symptoms were more likely than their counterparts to have high dental fear. In gender-specific analyses men with psychological distress (measured with CORE-10) and women with teeth-related symptoms were more likely to have high levels of dental fear. Finnish university students with psychological distress and teeth-related symptoms were more likely to experience higher levels of dental fear than their counterparts were. The results of this study support possible common vulnerability factors that dental fear and other psychological disorders may share.