Search Results for
"Higher education"

This study aimed to examine and assess the impact of the logistics industry’s environment, entry-level graduates’ characteristics and the logistics and supply chain management (LSCM) program design on the transformation of knowledge and skills at Sohar port in the Sultanate of Oman. The study employed a pragmatic research philosophy involving a structured questionnaire. The sample size included 49 mid-managers from the logistics industry who were working at Sohar Port. The study found that entry-level graduates’ characteristics and LSCM program design positively and significantly influenced the transformation of knowledge and skills. However, the organisational environment had a negative and insignificant impact on the transformation. This study revealed several dimensions that may require further research. It is pertinent to broaden the research scope to other towns, ports, and other countries in the Gulf Council Countries (GCC) to broaden the scope and generalisability of the results. According to the study findings, several recommendations are proposed for the logistics and supply chain sector in Oman to enhance the transformation of knowledge and skills by entry-level graduates, as well as for higher education institutions (HEIs). To meet the sector requirements, HEIs may improve the current university-industry collaborations by increasing the inputs of the industry in designing and developing the LSCM program. The organisational environment must reconsider the knowledge and skills transformation by entry-level graduates in their strategic plan of resources management, which must be emphasised by the remuneration system and career paths incentive. While other studies have explored knowledge and skill transformation in the context of employee training, this study aims to fill a specific research gap by focusing on the transformation of knowledge and skills by entry-level graduates, an area which has not been extensively studied before. Furthermore, this study is unique as it examines the impact of the industry’s environment, entry-level graduates’ characteristics and the LSCM program on the transformation of knowledge and skills within the unique context of Oman. This novel approach provides an opportunity to understand the specific challenges and opportunities faced by entry-level graduates in Oman and suggests strategies for addressing them. © 2024 by author(s).

This study investigates the role of Indian educational institutions, primarily engineering and management, in promoting entrepreneurship. It investigates the impact of university assistance for entrepreneurship on students' entrepreneurial intentions. The research involved 258 students from 27 Indian higher education institutions who became entrepreneurs. SmartPLS software was used to test the proposed hypotheses using structured equation modelling (SEM) techniques. The findings show that educational institutions help entrepreneurship by providing appropriate education and creating a conducive environment for growth. This study complements previous research on individual attributes in the relationship between university support and students' entrepreneurial intentions. © © 2024 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.

This experimental study investigates the effectiveness of virtual experiential learning in fostering student engagement by comparing the engagement and learning outcomes of two groups of students. One group (n = 69) participated in a virtual field trip to a winery, while the other group (n = 36) completed the field trip in person as part of an undergraduate culinary tourism course. A mixed-method approach was used to collect and triangulate data from a student engagement survey, reflective diaries, and assessment marks, which were analyzed using T-test and ANOVA, thematic analysis and descriptive statistics, respectively. Results showed that experiential learning increased students’ skill and emotional engagement in both groups while having no impact on participation and performance engagement. Skill engagement was significantly higher in the virtual group, while the in-person group scored slightly higher in emotional and performance engagement. Deep learning, however, was only reported by students who completed the in-person field trip. © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This study is an investigation of the English language learning aspirations and deprivations of female rural migrant youth in technical and vocational education and training (TVET) schools in two locales in western China. This study adopted basic interpretive research focused on individual voices and experiences. The capability approach provided the conceptual framework. Participants in this research primarily aspired to learn English for instrumental purposes: to pass exams, earn higher degrees, find better jobs in cities, and support their children in learning English. A lack of English proficiency, economic situation, and living environment greatly limited their aspirations. Participants showed a spectrum of levels of aspirations of English learning. For participants with low levels of English proficiency, their English could neither support their educational and employment goals nor inspire them for greater future plans. Participants from the TVET–university joint program formulated a stronger and wider range of aspirations when compared to those encapsulated in secondary TVET. Recommendations include increasing opportunities for exposure to English, reforming exam-oriented English learning, enriching the prevailing culture of learning and the perceived value and social uses of English, increasing TVET school and university cooperation, and adapting the TVET English curriculum to economic imperatives. © 2024 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

This study aims to take Chinese higher vocational colleges professional group leaders as the research subjects to analyze the components of their key competencies, develop the competency model of professional group leaders (PGL), and analyze the main factors influencing the model. It provides a powerful help for improving the scientific level of the construction and management of the teaching staff in higher vocational colleges and filling the gap in the research on the quality and ability of Chinese professional group leaders. A mixed research method is deployed in this study. Data are collected with the help of a self-administrated questionnaire and a semi-structured interview based on grounded theory. Data analysis involves structural equation modeling using AMOS, complemented by qualitative coding in NVivo. It concludes that the competency development model of professional group leaders comprises two main dimensions: explicit competencies and implicit competencies. Explicit competencies include cross-border adaptability (CBA), resource integration ability (RIA), innovation and development practice ability (IDPA), management leadership ability (MLA), and interdisciplinary scientific research ability (ISRA). Implicit competencies include personality attitude (PA), and intrinsic motivation (IM). The study fills a significant gap in the literature by providing a detailed model of competency for professional group leaders in the context of higher vocational education, offering a practical framework for improving the training and management of teaching staff and promoting the development of professional groups effective in vocational colleges. © 2024 by author(s).

This article aims to identify settings where joint working in third space occurs between academics and other professionals supporting educational outcomes and through the development and sustainability of unique learning environments that link academic provision and work-related learning. Specifically, the focus of the article is on the preparation of higher education students for the world of work, facilitating links between academic studies and practical experiences. It aims to unpack the ways in which higher education institutions respond to the complexities of the changing labour market and develop approaches when moving their academic provision towards a more work-related provision to enable students to engage with industries and learn alongside professionals. An explorative, qualitative case study approach was employed, using semi-structured interviews with staff members from two universities. Findings indicate that the crossover between theoretical learning, practical experiences and employer engagement involves continuous boundary crossing of in-between spaces (for example, intersections between higher education and work) to foster the effective development of skills and expertise of students necessary for the contemporary world of work. The case study universities showed that engaging with third spaces contributes to integrating academic and practical learning, and introduces students to industry-engaged higher education, enhancing employability skills. Through these spaces, students can experience unknown challenges in the context of a constantly changing world of work. The findings suggest that this requires an enabling learning ecosystem, underpinned by a range of components, including continuous stakeholder collaboration, curriculum development and integration of theory and practice. © 2024, Katherine Emms, Natasha Kersh and Andrea Laczik.

In a country like India, with a booming youthful population and a diversified workforce, vocational education plays a critical role in supporting skill development, employment, and economic progress. In recent times, India is seeing all out efforts to enhance the enrollment for skilling programs, with the aim of creating work-ready graduates, through vocational education and internships. By the 2019–2020 All India Survey on higher education (AISHE, 2020), over 15.2 million students were enrolled in various vocational courses at the undergraduate and the postgraduate levels. This significant enrollment highlights the need to expedite the process of bridging the skill gaps, keeping in mind the industry requirements. In this endeavour, the issues identified and required to be addressed, include, perceptions of vocational education as a secondary option, ignorance of potential career paths, and the private sector’s unwillingness to absorb a greater proportion of skill trainings that align with the economy’s emerging needs. This chapter examines the composition of India’s vocational education system, the previous 10 years’ worth of efforts to improve worker skill levels, and the potential impact of the National education Policy (NEP) 2020 on meeting the country’s skilling goals, if it is implemented effectively and with clear goals in mind. The study compares the inherent barriers and the efforts taken in each setting to produce outcomes that result in enhanced employability, as it examines the skilling initiatives in South Korea, Singapore, Germany, and India. The study provides actionable insights and suggests effective implementation of NEP-2020 in India. This paper examines the comparative skilling approaches in the tourism and logistics sectors of India, providing specific insights on skilling related to tourism, to bring to light the gap between the two. Additionally, it suggests measures to overcome the challenges faced in building a better skilling ecosystem in India, through effective policy execution and by strengthening industry links, as the country’s economy grows. The chapter concludes that even the most well-designed models of vocational education, however, will not produce the desired results unless the learners are willing, there are verifiable job outcomes, and the stakeholders actively collaborate to create a win-win situation for all. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd 2024.

In an ever-changing and uncertain world, it is challenging to tackle the multiple factors that influence the job prospects of young researchers as well as their employability enhancement opportunities. This academic research is intended to address the spill overs of gender-based gaps, and to unveil the manifestations of postcolonial dynamics within higher education, Research, and Innovation (HERI) institutions contexts. Specifically, by recognizing the key elements of intersectionality that assist in or hinder young researchers in (i) acquiring, keeping, and finding jobs; (ii) comprehending the intricate social encounters that are fortified by intersectional investigation to overcome distinct obstacles; and (iii) enhancing employability skills and qualities in the educational setting intelligently and sustainably. The study is informed by ‘intersectional praxis’ for institutional transformation in HERI contexts. The paper’s discussion delves into ways how intersectionality is both a catalyst for employability enhancement and institutional excellence. Methodologically, the study comprised a qualitative scrutiny of how the concept of intersectionality featured in a selection of articles published 5-10 years earlier and scoped from established databases (WOS, SCOPUS). The findings support the discussion on the impact of postcolonial perspective(s) of young researchers on disrupting socio-political discourses, fostering further sustainable, nuanced, and comprehensive treatments of (anti) and (de)colonizing HERI contexts and experiences. © 2024, University of Malta. All rights reserved.

Adult vocational training of higher education institutes has great potential to help workforce coping with uncertainties of the fast-changing Labor market in the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0. However, the lack of clarity regarding strategies for effectively establishing adult vocational training in higher education institutes may hinder progress. The aim of this study was to develop agreed strategies of adult vocational training for higher education institutes in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. The 3-round Delphi method used semi-structured interviews and questionnaires to explore and reach an agreement on the future direction of the strategies. The semi-structured interview was used in the first round to explore the ideas in relation to such strategies. the questionnaires were used in the second and the third rounds to explore further and reach the consensus on expert opinions defined at interquartile range (IQR) ≤ 1. Besides that, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) methods were used to calculate the weights of each consented statements. Through Delphi method, the comprehensive strategies have been articulated with the highlights of 1 vision, 6 goals and 40 actionable strategies. furthermore, the experts commonly highlighted that the vision of future adult vocational training shall prioritizes cultivating skilled professionals with industrial needs, offering everyone accessible opportunities for career development. Besides that, the result also showed that reskilling and upskilling and extending the leaners’ interpersonal networks have been ranked as the two most important goals for future adult vocational training in higher education institutes. © 2024 by author(s).

The integration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM)-based digital learning has shown a significant impact on enhancing the 6C skills (character, citizenship, critical thinking, creative thinking, collaboration, and communication) of elementary school students. This quasi-experimental study, involving 200 participants from primary schools, compared the efficacy of STEM-based digital learning against STEM-conventional methods in fostering these essential twenty-first-century skills. Data were collected through case study tests and analyzed to evaluate the differences in skill development between the two groups. The results indicate a noticeable improvement in the 6C skills among students engaged in STEM-based digital learning compared to those in STEM-conventional settings, with the former group achieving higher average scores across the skill set. These findings highlight the value of adopting STEM-based digital learning in elementary education to better prepare students with the competencies necessary for their future. This research underscores the positive influence of innovative learning models on developing critical life skills in elementary school students. © 2024 the author(s), published by De Gruyter.