Search Results for
"Higher education"

This study examines the social networks and networking behavior of students graduating from higher education and transitioning to the labor market. To obtain an in-depth understanding of graduating students’ social networks, a mixed method social network study was conducted. Network data from 12 graduating students were collected. The results showed that students seek labor market-oriented contacts with individuals in the personal, education, and work contexts. Students received more practical and job-specific support from weak ties (e.g., colleagues at internships) and more social and emotional support from strong ties (e.g., parents and fellow students). The development of a labor market-oriented network occurred spontaneously through social media channels or when students proactively connected with others at educational institutions or job events. However, not all students felt confident developing a network. In these cases, the lack of awareness of relevant network actors, and interpersonal and intrapersonal characteristics play a critical role. © The Author(s) 2024.

The importance of pedagogical innovations in management education for improved learning outcomes has been emphasized by scholars. However, the literature on these innovations has not been systematically synthesized. In this article, we use the 6w framework to provide a review of pedagogy innovations for learning in management education for the 21st century. We orchestrate the prior studies, argue for theoretically informed approaches to evaluate the various dimensions, present the gaps, and provide new measures that would guide advancement and research in this niche area. An integrated pedagogy innovation model framework is proposed from the evaluation of studies that could be used as a baseline for future research. We utilize the theory, context, characteristics, and methodology (TCCM) framework to expand on the research gaps to propose ideas for future research. © 2024 Elsevier Ltd

Introduction: International student mobility (ISM) is increasingly utilised in higher education to allow students the opportunity to engage authentically with cultures outside their own, providing an opportunity for self-growth. These growth opportunities often extend skills such as cultural competency, academic learning and self-efficacy, all of which are important skills for diagnostic radiography graduates. This study explores the motivations, benefits and pitfalls of an ISM program and highlights key considerations for academics considering organising a program within their own university. Methods: This study utilised a combination of individual and small group interviews to collect data about diagnostic radiography students’ motivations, perceived benefits and pitfalls of undertaking ISM. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and overarching themes were developed. Results and discussion: Three themes were developed from the data, challenges and uncertainty, personal growth, and support. Participants undertaking ISM faced challenges such as cultural differences, as well as feelings of uncertainty. Additionally, they highlighted the importance of organisation in mitigating these challenges. Despite the challenges faced, participants reported significant personal growth and success as a result of the program, integral to this success was the support of their peers and academic advisors. Conclusion: ISM programs may lead to enhanced employability of diagnostic radiography graduates, with integral skills such as teamwork, communication cultural competence being enhanced in participants. The role of support during ISM is integral to the success of the program. It is imperative for academics organising ISM programs at their institutions to deliberately consider the way in which radiography students are supported both before and during the program to enhance the experience and ensure outcomes are maximised. © 2024 The Authors

This contribution presents the validation of the Online Collaborative Project-based learning model based on the experience of a subject that is present in all the undergraduate programs in the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya called “ICT Competences”. Based on mixed method research through an online survey that combines quantitative and qualitative data, the opinions of 978 students from the different university programs were gathered. The main aim of this research was to know students’ opinions on the principal elements of the model and its transferability in academic and professional contexts. The contributions of the students are analyzed globally, by gender, and by undergraduate program. The presented results validate the model, but we suggest some adjustments in order to improve some aspects of the implementation process and open further research possibilities based on its application. As the main conclusions of the study, the results suggest the need to sequence students’ asynchronous communication, adapting the different roles of the teams and to provide a more professional-oriented context for some of the activities in order to make the model more closely related to the professional field. As an aspect for improvement, students mentioned some difficulty in managing situations in which the established agreements were not complied with. Among the positive aspects are the relationship with peers, learning new digital tools and resources, acquiring soft skills such as empathy and teamwork, and learning to collaborate effectively online. © 2024, Ibero-American Association for Distance higher education (AIESAD). All rights reserved.

This study explored the importance of higher education Institutions (HEI) by working closely with career counseling and guidance teams to develop programs that build students' confidence and resilience to mitigate anxiety and stress while preparing for their transition to the labor market in the post-COVID-19 economy. This study examined the effect of graduating student-level characteristics (GSLC), specifically employability skills and career adaptability behaviors, on the anticipatory emotions of college students transitioning from school to work. Data were collected through an online survey involving 754 students enrolled in internship courses in their final year of college. 44% reported feeling anxious about this transition, with 78% reporting anxiety at levels 5 to 8 on a 10-point scale. The GSLC model fit the data well, explaining 24.5% of the variance in anticipatory emotions, with four factors being significant predictors (P < 0.05). The findings revealed that students who feel less confident about their disciplinary expertise, career decidedness, and occupational self-efficacy are likely to report negative anticipatory emotions (anxiety), similar to students who are confident in their interpersonal skills. Student suggestions gathered from qualitative feedback corroborated the results, which offered ways to enhance school programs that prepared them for work. These results underscore the crucial role of HEIs in preparing students for employment, providing quality education, and offering sufficient mental health resources. © 2024, University of Malaya. All rights reserved.

In Spain, dual vocational training has recently become a fundamental pillar to train the working population. This article focuses on two objectives: to evaluate the quality of two models of dual VET in Spain and to identify their differences in terms of the following dimensions: Teaching Team, Process, Evaluation and Synergies. To achieve these objectives, a quantitative methodology and a cross-sectional design were used to collect data using an ad hoc questionnaire (37 items) developed based on a literature review and the 14 European quality criteria. The sample consisted of 263 educational institutions. Regarding the results for the first objective, Model B implemented EQAVET with higher quality. With regards to the second, researchers observed that all dimensions received a high or very high comp liance of 70%. However, discrepancies were primarily found in the training of tutors in training centres, quality certification of dual VET and links, and support and cooperation between training centres and companies. This study provides empirical evidence regarding the factors that lead to higher quality dual VET in schools, based on the manner in which the criteria of the European Framework for Quality and Effective Vocational education and Training (EQAVET) are implemented. © 2024 by the authors.

Addressing the skill gap between labor market requirements and graduate readiness is crucial for the sustainable development of China’s vocational education system. This study investigated how outcome-based education (OBE) influences the attainment of graduate competence in China’s higher vocational education system, using the theory of Constructive Alignment (CA) as its foundation. The OBE model incorporates intended learning outcomes, project-based learning, and assessment strategies to ensure graduate competence aligns with professional sustainability practices. This study assessed the impact of intended learning outcomes, project-based learning, and assessment strategies on graduate competence attainment through surveys administered to 320 Cross-border E-commerce learners in April 2024, resulting in 301 usable responses. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 24.0. The results indicated that project-based learning and assessment strategies were directly and positively related to graduate competency attainment, while intended learning outcomes were indirectly associated with graduate competence through the mediating roles of project-based learning and assessment strategies. Assessment strategies had the most significant mediating effect, followed by project-based learning and the combined mediating effect. These findings advance the theoretical understanding of OBE and provide methods for promoting sustainability in vocational education. Beneficiaries include educators, policymakers, and accreditation bodies, who can use these insights to implement sustainable educational practices and ensure graduates contribute to sustainable development. © 2024 by the authors.

This article investigates the pedagogical and digital practices of vocational education and training teachers, offering comparative insights from both teacher and student perspectives. To this end, two questionnaires were constructed for teachers and students and then validated by means of inter-judge procedures and expert review. The questionnaires were administered to representative samples of 158 teachers and 309 students in intermediate and higher vocational education and training programs in the Spanish region of Catalonia. Thanks to institutional collaboration, it was possible to obtain both samples by a non-probability sampling technique. The results obtained from the quantitative analyses performed show that while most vocational education and training teachers utilize a combination of active and lecture-based methods, less than a third incorporate online tools, prioritizing institutional platforms. Although both teachers and students acknowledge a diversity of teaching strategies, the latter, particularly female students and those in advanced years or on dual programs, tend to be more critical of the effectiveness of the teaching strategies employed compared to their teachers. The findings underscore the need for vocational education and training programs to enhance digital tool integration and address the varying perceptions of teaching effectiveness to better meet students’ expectations and needs. © 2024 by the authors.

The expansion of higher education has led to a more diverse student population, theorized around the concept of the non-traditional student. This term is used to describe students whose socio-demographic characteristics, motivations, study engagement and experiences differ from those of traditional higher education participants. The non-traditional student population is a highly heterogeneous group in which the individual student presents with specific motivations, needs, and constraints, but a common requirement is for more flexible teaching and learning methods to meet their complex educational needs. We here examine this demand for flexibility through the preferences students express for online teaching methods, and we investigate whether differences between traditional and non-traditional students are mainly due to inequalities, the role of parental education in particular, or on the contrary, whether they are related to certain characteristics such as age, employment and residential status. The data used in this investigation was collected during the period characterized by the containment measures linked to the Covid-19 pandemic from students enrolled at the University of Bologna. The results of the investigation presented below confirm that non-traditional students exhibit a clear preference for online as opposed to face-to-face learning and that parental education is particularly relevant for those under 25. © 2024, Padova University Press. All rights reserved.

Learning Management Systems (LMS) are crucial in modern educational technology, enhancing education through personalized support, efficient resource management, and data-driven decision-making. LMS holds a pivotal position in contemporary higher education. This research explores undergraduate students’ continued learning intentions, grounded in the Expectation-Confirmation Model and Flow Theory, while assessing the moderating effect of intrinsic motivation within this context. From January to August 2023, an online survey gathered self-reported data on satisfaction, confirmation, perceived value, continued intention, flow experience, and intrinsic motivation from 232 undergraduate students across three universities in Henan Province using the Questionnaire Star platform. Analysis using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) confirmed all research hypotheses except for the insignificant impact of flow on satisfaction and continued intention, demonstrating the model’s significant explanatory power for continued intention, explaining 90.8% of the variance. The adjusted R2 was 90.6%, and the Q2 value reached 78.5%. Intrinsic motivation was found to moderate the relationship between satisfaction and continued intention positively, but it did not affect the relationship between perceived value and continued intention. The findings underscore the importance of LMS in educational settings and provide insights into enhancing user experience, student engagement, and satisfaction. Recommendations include the need for developers to improve the LMS interface and functionalities, for educators to enrich learning resources, and for students to recognize the value of LMS and set clear goals to foster their intrinsic motivation. © The Author(s) 2024.