Search Results for
"Higher education"

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is an expanding international strategy aimed at bolstering the employability of higher education students. With WIL participation on the rise, there is a growing focus on fostering wellbeing during WIL. Drawing on the sociomaterial theoretical framework actor-network theory (ANT) and the WIL Wellbeing Framework, this paper examines data from semi-structured interviews with 15 university students to explore wellbeing practices. The findings illustrate the relational nature of wellbeing, where social, textual and material relations come together to enact practices as students prepare for, encounter and acquiesce to wellbeing stressors. Students draw upon a diverse range of tools to create their own assemblages of support. Importantly, the findings highlight that students’ use of university services for wellbeing are limited, with preference shown instead for peer support and personal coping strategies. This study reveals wellbeing to be constantly emerging in practice, and often enacted with little input from university support services and actors. © 2025 International Journal of Work-Integrated Learning. All rights reserved.

This study examines the impact of teacher competency and industry-academic collaboration on vocational ability, focusing on technical, problem-solving, and soft skills. It also explores the mediating role of career self-efficacy and the moderating role of social support in these relationships. A quantitative and cross-sectional survey was conducted among Chinese students in higher vocational institutions. Stratified random sampling resulted in 350 distributed questionnaires with 270 completed responses. Data were analyzed using SmartPLS 4. Teacher competency and industry-academic collaboration both positively impacted vocational ability. Career self-efficacy mediated the relationships between these factors and vocational ability. Social support moderated these relationships highlighting its importance in enhancing vocational outcomes. This study integrates key factors— teacher competency, industry-academic collaboration, career self-efficacy, and social support providing a comprehensive understanding of vocational outcomes in higher vocational education. The findings offer insights to improve vocational education practices and policies, particularly in rapidly developing economies like China. Enhancing teacher competency, fostering industry-academic collaboration, and supporting career self-efficacy and social networks are crucial for improving vocational outcomes. © 2025 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved.

Virtual reality (VR) tools represent current interactive computerized simulation tools. The application of VR can provide immersive simulations by facilitating hands-on exploration and analysis, fostering a deeper understanding of complex phenomena. VR can also permit the development of competencies in different contexts, such as in education. This article investigates the potential of VR as an educational tool at two educational levels in Chile: high school and university students. Given the positive experience results, this article aims to generalize in academic contexts about how the implementation of VR can support learning in the academic field and analyze the associated benefits and challenges. The experimental study was carried out with groups of students from the two educational levels, applying a standard instrumental model to identify VR's advantages and limitations concerning improving students' learning, participation, and motivation to continue learning with similar experiences. We highlight that the results obtained provided valuable information for understanding the impact of VR in education and offering recommendations for its effective implementation in educational settings. The primary limitation of this study is the existing hardware limitations that prevent this experience from being repeated in other academic settings. However, technology has reduced costs and is more accessible than before. Concerning the students' experience, they expressed their satisfaction and motivation regarding experiencing VR and related learning. Hence, without a doubt, VR represents a transformative tool in education. © 2025 IEEE.

This article develops an empirical typology of traditional and non-traditional students in a university degree program with non-selective academic access and with a wide range of alternatives for financing their studies. The data come from an analysis tool applied to the Social Work degree program at a Chilean university. Based on dummy variables, a cluster analysis was carried out (using k-medians) and the results showed five clusters presenting a complex composition related to the heterogeneity of the student body in a highly overcrowded university system, where the variables concerning the age of access to the university and the performance in work activities do not determine the conformation of the subsets; this setting implies a challenge for the institution implementing academic processes centered on the diversity of actors as a paradigm of teaching and learning. © 2025 Consejo Mexicano de Investigacion Educativa. All rights reserved.

One-year postgraduate taught programmes in the UK attract global talent through high-quality education, yet the employability and career pathways of these students remain understudied despite their recognised vital economic and cultural contributions. Amid the UK's higher education financial crisis, marked by funding cuts, staff layoffs, rising costs, and reliance on international student recruitment, this study employs the PRISMA 2020 framework to systematically review literature (2014–2024) on international postgraduate taught student employability. Analysing 13 studies from Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar, the findings reveal gaps in tailored sector-specific career and employability support, access to employment development opportunities and work-integrated learning practices, and culturally sensitive language support. The limited number of available studies highlights the need for further research, particularly in STEM-related subjects of study and among African and Indian Subcontinent students, to address systemic barriers and enhance employability support in a shifting academic and geopolitical landscape. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This paper proposed a study about applying the modern apprenticeship system on the higher IT education institutions for the high-quality training model of IT professional. This study is based on the authors’ previous works in the Changzhou College of Information Technology in the recent years. Based on the study, the authors proposed some comments: to build a modular curriculum system based on the concept of industry-school cooperation, with the aim of cultivating high-quality IT professional through collaborative efforts between schools and enterprises; to construct a trinity teaching model of “role-playing, learning guidance with the job, and group training,” forming a classroom teaching and practical teaching that combines engineering and learning and combines knowledge and action; and to implement the “Five in One” teaching evaluation model and form a scientific and reasonable diversified evaluation system. By constructing modular curriculum systems, optimizing teaching modes, and innovating teaching evaluation systems and other IT professional cultivation paths, we aim to enhance students’ comprehensive quality and abilities and cultivate high-quality IT professionals. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2025.

Student engagement is a well-established factor that impacts the achievement of learning outcomes in higher education and as such, it is being widely researched. This paper explores the efficacy of the Context Challenge Activity Feedback (CCAF) framework in an in-person classroom setting for third-year bachelor students in an Information Systems (IS) Security course. Adopting a quantitative research methodology, the study analyzes student surveys to evaluate the effect of the CCAF framework on aspects such as the applicability of course material to real-world scenarios, course structure and clarity, stimulation of intellectual curiosity, and overall student satisfaction. The findings reveal that a majority of students perceive the course material as highly relevant to real-world IS Security issues, indicating the framework’s effectiveness in contextualizing theoretical concepts. The course’s structure and content clarity were also well-received, with a majority of students reporting positive experiences, suggesting the framework’s success in creating a clear and engaging learning environment. However, responses regarding the stimulation of intellectual curiosity showed variability, highlighting the necessity for adaptive teaching methods to cater to diverse learning preferences. Overall, the study reports high levels of student satisfaction, underscoring the potential of the CCAF framework in enhancing learning experiences in IS Security within traditional classroom settings. The study contributes to the existing studies by providing empirical support for the application and efficacy of the CCAF framework in in-person higher education settings, particularly in a technical and rapidly evolving field like IS Security. The findings have significant implications for pedagogical practices, suggesting that innovative, student-centered approaches like CCAF can effectively enhance student engagement and educational experiences in higher education. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2025.

The primary objective of this study is to explore and implement an innovative learning model that integrates a Case-driven Flipped Classroom with the online communication platform Discord, aimed at enhancing students’ computational thinking and problem-solving skills in higher education. This research addresses the gap in utilizing online communication technology in case-based learning to improve student competencies. The research methodology employs a systematic and detailed approach, including needs analysis, curriculum analysis, and student characteristics, to develop and validate the model. The study participants consist of 126 students enrolled in the Algorithms and Programming course in the Informatics Engineering education program. A sample of 65 students was selected using a proportional random sampling technique. Researchers collected data through learning outcome measurements, classroom observations, questionnaires, and student feedback. They measured learning outcomes using the same pre-test and post-test instrument administered in the 12th week. They assessed student engagement and understanding through classroom observations and student feedback, indicating a qualitative approach in this research. The main findings of this study demonstrate that the learning model significantly enhances students’ understanding of computational concepts and problem-solving abilities. Additionally, this research provides a strong foundation for further implementing similar models in educational settings, integrating online communication technology with relevant instructional approaches, thereby contributing to the literature on learning innovation in higher education. © 2025 by the authors.

The continuously evolving labor market increases the need to develop students’ employability competencies in higher education. Engaging in reflection is crucial for developing these competencies, as reflection supports students in learning from their experiences and identifying their skills gaps. Nevertheless, without guidance or structure, students find it challenging to engage in deep levels of reflection. Therefore, mentoring programs are frequently introduced to provide reflection-inducive conditions. Existing research has already demonstrated the positive relationship between mentoring and reflection but has not explored students' perceptions of which types of mentoring support actually induce reflection and how these relate to the depth and content of reflection. In this study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 13 master's students in an employability-oriented mentoring program in higher education. Data were analyzed using direct content analysis and co-occurrence analyses. Results showed that autonomy support, empathy, trust, and availability especially induce student reflection. Regarding reflective depth, students mainly reflected on the levels of reflection and critical reflection. Psychosocial support (i.e., empathy, trust, and availability) especially evoked students’ critical reflection. All students reflected on non-cognitive and cognitive content, but only half of them were about affective content. Finally, the results suggested making a distinction between reflecting back, up, and forward, which is in line with the feedback literature (feedback, feedforward, and feed up). The findings add depth and specificity to the scientific discourse on mentoring and reflection in higher education, and provide practical guidance to mentors on how to stimulate reflection in students. © The Author(s) 2025.

In the rapidly evolving post-pandemic era, the tourism industry struggles to find new talent and (re)define the (new) skills this talent should have. higher education institutions’ challenge is preparing graduates in light of the hazy expectations of the tourism industry. This study investigates how collaboration strategies between higher educational institutions and the tourism industry can enhance graduates’ employability. E-mail interviews were conducted with sixteen senior managers across various tourism segments in India. The analysis revealed eight recommended critical themes(strategies) of Industry academia collaboration for improving graduate readiness: training collaboration, embedding technology-based modules, introducing education 4.0, curriculum enrichment, experiential learning, adapting to consumer behavior shifts, and new soft skills. The present study offers a more comprehensive approach to improving the employability of graduates through industry-academia collaboration, in contrast to previous research that concentrated only on curriculum for graduate employability. The study offers a roadmap for the current post-COVID-19 environment for industry-academia partnerships and tourism career trajectories. © 2025 ICHRIE.