The Application of Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in Malaysian Schools

This chapter reports the application and utilization of virtual learning environment (VLE) in schools, specifically focused on Malaysian schools. The VLE utilization is an initiative by the Ministry of Education (MOE) Malaysia in its vision to embrace the global changes and advancement of technology. With the advancement of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0), this topic is especially important to address. This chapter discusses the provisions of technology-based facilities and tools in schools as part of the change initiatives by MOE Malaysia, and the accompanied teaching and learning practices and trainings affecting the teachers and students. These efforts are exemplified through specific programs which have been implemented namely e-Portfolio in the Genosis Program and Google Classroom, and by linking such endeavors to the Malaysia Education Blueprint. These initiatives are always challenging especially when it involves the utilization of the exponentially advancing technologies. This chapter also highlights the pursuing impacts and challenges of the initiatives on teachers, students, selected schools, and their receptions to change.

#ArtGoals

This qualitative case study investigated the challenges and opportunities for fostering artistic engagement in early adolescent students. As developmental stages are likely to be factor, the experiences of three middle school teachers were analyzed to identify strategies for nurturing artistic engagement in this population. A constant comparative method of analysis of interview data revealed the following themes: the importance of artistic engagement, how to recognize it, challenges with fostering this type of engagement and strategies for overcoming them, opportunities for promoting artistic engagement, the developmental needs of adolescent students, their relationship to artistic engagement and the implications for the secondary art curriculum. Ultimately, it was found that while stages of development do influence artistic engagement, extrinsic motivators also play a role. Challenges, however, can be mediated by a constructivist approach to art education, as it motivates and empowers students to become responsible for their learning, through the creation of meaningful artwork.

Insular/Integration

Higher education often implements tightly controlled group interventions to help support struggling student groups succeed in college. Insulation of underprepared students for “academic benefit” is prevalent and isolates students until they fulfill a defined curriculum. Evidence for invasive, targeted, and culturally relevant interventions in student learning certainly exists. However, colleges need a balanced approach to student academic progress. Insular/Integration outlines the strength in identifying and implementing strategies that support student needs, insulating at-risk students from the shocks and strains of entering college underprepared, while deliberately integrating students into college resources for success and engagement. This chapter focuses on using the insular/integration framework to develop network maps, success contracts, and policy additions/revisions for a purposeful retention configuration that strategically supports students and improves interdependence.

Elicitation Model

Student engagement can encompass many different levels of interaction. Whether it be between student and instructor, among students themselves, with the actual subject matter, or with the various resources and departments on campus, getting and keeping students engaged is a challenging proposition. Frequently, students say they fear speaking in public, being called upon in class, going to the whiteboard, and being singled out by an instructor. Collectively, these fears could be conceptualized as a wish or need for anonymity. Faculty have cited student actions such as participation, question asking, volunteering, office hour visits, and favorable body language as preferred behaviors. These preferences could be conceptualized as a wish or need for engagement.

Citizenship and the Shifting Values of Vietnam's Higher Education

This chapter explores perceptions and experiences of Vietnamese overseas-educated academics regarding Vietnam's higher education reform. Drawing on Delanty's concepts of citizenship and Bourdieu's theory of practice, the chapter makes two propositions. First, these academics hold contested values about citizenship and their role in Vietnam's higher education reform. They align with the policy mission of education for economic participation, which emphasise contributions of graduates to vocational needs of a transitional economy. At the same time, they follow the Vietnamese universities culture that value hierarchy of knowledge within existing social relations. Second, contested values lead to competing forms of technological and cultural citizenship, which may counter the momentum of reform. These academics nevertheless mediate modes of knowledge in accordance with cultural norms to enable changes in individual teaching practices. The chapter offers some implications about linking citizenship with higher education in the context of transitional economies like Vietnam.

Highly Intensive Teaching in Tertiary Education

This chapter provides a critical review of recently published empirical papers on highly intensive teaching in higher education. Highly intensive teaching refers to subjects taught face-to-face in four weeks or less. Building upon and extending an influential review of intensive mode delivery (IMD) in higher education by Davies in 2006, this literature review confirms the observation made by several scholars investigating IMD that despite the increasing popularity of this form of delivery, rigorous and methodologically robust research into the benefits and challenges of this form of pedagogy is still in its infancy. By applying cognitive learning theory, this chapter discusses the circumstances under which intensive mode teaching is likely to be most effective and outlines potential avenues for further research.

Culture-Based Gamification for Global Education

This chapter discusses gamification as a viable strategy to deliver tourism and hospitality management curricula effectively at a non-public Western university in Vietnam. This chapter discusses how Western tourism and hospitality curricula, which aim at developing problem-solving skills, independent thinking, and individual initiative in a global marketplace, are at odds with the education system in Vietnam, and proposes specific strategies that can be employed by global educators to bridge this gap. A case-study with upper-level tourism management Vietnamese undergraduates is presented as demonstrative of the benefits of gamification of tourism and hospitality management curriculum delivery. Knowledge of Vietnamese behavioral mores, culture, and language are highlighted as conditions for the successful implementation of gamification efforts in this educational setting. Implications for educational praxis, suggestions and recommendations for best uses, common pitfalls, and directions for future research in light of extant literature are discussed.

An Overview of the Frameworks for Measuring the Digital Competencies of College Students

The purpose of this chapter is to analyze the options for measuring the digital entrepreneurial competencies the college students acquire during the course of their formal education. The chapter examines the key aspects of various digital competence-related frameworks and proposes the development of a new methodology that will be focused on the digital entrepreneurial competencies of the students. This chapter proposes the development of the corresponding online assessment tool which could serve to measure the level of the acquired competencies by the students. The findings presented in this chapter may apply to other areas as well. The goal is to develop a set of competence assessment tools that could effectively determine the level of competencies the students acquire during the course of their formal studies and enable the formulation of adequate corrective measures in the curriculum plan.

National Foreign Language Policy

The push for English language education has become explosive in Vietnam since the Doi Moi era. It resulted in the birth of the National Foreign Language Project 2020 in 2008 with the adoption of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) (Decision No.1400, 2008) and later the passing of the so-called “Six-level framework for foreign language proficiency in Vietnam” (Decision No.729, 2015) to standardize learning and teaching outcomes across all levels of education. This chapter examines a case study at a major state-owned university in Vietnam to take a closer look at issues related to the adoption of the CEFR in Vietnam. More specifically, the authors assess the writing skill development in first-, second-, and third-year undergraduate students and align their writing gains with the corresponding expected CEFR cut-off scores as defined by the National Project 2020. The authors will then point out the impracticality of adopting the CEFR in assessment and make recommendations on assessment-related policy-making issues for the long-term success of the National Project 2020.

Women's Empowerment as a Tool for Sustainable Development of Higher Education and Research in the Digital Age

The chapter deals with the global issue of advancing women's role in higher education and research (HE&R) as a mechanism for reaching the Sustainable Development Goal 5 – gender equality. Gender analysis method is employed to identify historical and current differences between women and men relative to their participation in HE&R and access to decision-making and resources therein. The focus is on the global challenge of gender disparities, including horizontal and vertical segregation, the androcentric academic culture, and the gender pay gap. The authors warn of possible contamination of AI with human gender biases, which can be detrimental to academic hiring and assessment procedures. Summarizing gender-equality policies and practices available worldwide, the authors give recommendations on women's empowerment in HE&R on the global, national, and organizational levels.