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Full-Text Articles in Education

The Role Of Business Agreements In Defining Textbook Affordability And Digital Materials: A Document Analysis, John Raible, Aimee Denoyelles Sep 2011

The Role Of Business Agreements In Defining Textbook Affordability And Digital Materials: A Document Analysis, John Raible, Aimee Denoyelles

Higher Learning Research Communications

Adopting digital materials such as eTextbooks and e-coursepacks is a potential strategy to address textbook affordability in the United States. However, university business relationships with bookstore vendors implicitly structure which instructional resources are available and in what manner. In this study, a document analysis was conducted on the bookstore contracts for the universities included in the State University System of Florida. Namely, issues of textbook affordability, digital material terminology and seller exclusivity were investigated. It was found that textbook affordability was generally conceived in terms of print rental textbooks and buyback programs, and that eTextbooks were priced higher than print …


Editorial, The Editor Sep 2011

Editorial, The Editor

Higher Learning Research Communications

In this edition of Higher Learning Research Communications (HLRC), our authors present research on quality in the context of higher education, using e-portfolios to encourage responsible feedback, and student gender bias in teaching evaluations.Authors Laura Schindler, Sarah Puls-Elvidge, Heather Welzant, and Linda Crawford present their literature review findings concerning quality and higher education. The authors focus on the difficulties of defining quality, revealing there seem to be four broad manners to conceptualize quality: purposeful, exceptional, transformative, and accountable. They also identified four distinct categories regarding quality indicators in higher education: administrative, student support, instructional, and student performance. One of the …


Editorial, The Editors Sep 2011

Editorial, The Editors

Higher Learning Research Communications

This Special Issue of Higher Learning Research Communications (HLRC) is dedicated to research in content language integrated learning (CLIL) and English-medium instruction (EMI). A we make our way in the 21st century, higher education institutions are faced with multiple challenges as they try to prepare future professionals. Issues such as globalization and internationalization, technology, access to information, interculturality, and the like pose challenges for future generations. And, higher education institutions play a fundamental role in shaping how that future will look like. In the face of multiculturalism and the communication barriers that are bound to happen, many countries and educational …


Introduction To The Special Issue On English Medium Instruction As A Major Driver In The Internationalization Of Higher Education, Victoria Bamond, Birgit Strotmann Sep 2011

Introduction To The Special Issue On English Medium Instruction As A Major Driver In The Internationalization Of Higher Education, Victoria Bamond, Birgit Strotmann

Higher Learning Research Communications

This volume of HLRC is dedicated to the emergent and rapidly growing interest in English Medium Instruction as a major driver in the internationalization of higher education. It focuses on sharing knowledge and experience in CLIL (Content and Language Integrated Learning) and EMI (English Medium Instruction) from different universities in Eastern and European countries as a means to reflect and improve upon teaching and learning.As editors, we would like to kick this volume off with a review of one of the most comprehensive and relevant publications on the topic in recent times, The Higher Education Language Landscape: Ensuring Quality in …


A Different Viewpoint On Student Retention, Watson Scott Swail Sep 2011

A Different Viewpoint On Student Retention, Watson Scott Swail

Higher Learning Research Communications

Although student retention, persistence, and graduation is a high priority for institutions and policymakers, graduation rates are not improving. Nowadays, more students from first-generation and low-income backgrounds have access to traditional higher education. In this essay, the author argues that an educational system that fails to prepare many students for higher education and the growing costs of attending college are making it more and more difficult for many students to persist and graduate. He concludes by stating that ultimately, we might need to decide, on a policy basis, who we want to go to college, who we want to succeed, …


Common Ground: Addressing Attrition Across Diverse Institutions In Higher Education, Rebecca L. Jobe, Jim Lenio Sep 2011

Common Ground: Addressing Attrition Across Diverse Institutions In Higher Education, Rebecca L. Jobe, Jim Lenio

Higher Learning Research Communications

Student attrition is an ongoing concern in American higher education, where institutions are being increasingly held accountable for the success of the students they admit. While differences across diverse institutions exist, research suggests that there are many similarities regarding issues related to student persistence and success. In fact, this common ground presents an opportunity for common solutions. The variety of higher education institutions utilizing knowledge gained through institutional initiatives continues to identify new, better ways of serving students. This article sheds light on the known differences between institution types while recognizing the common goals of improving student persistence. The article …


International Perspectives On Retention And Persistence, Gary Burkholder, Nicole Holland Sep 2011

International Perspectives On Retention And Persistence, Gary Burkholder, Nicole Holland

Higher Learning Research Communications

Access to higher education globally is increasing dramatically; attainment of tertiary degrees is a high priority, as educational attainment is associated with increased personal incomes as well as growth of the middle class in developing countries. The purpose of this essay is to briefly examine retention and persistence issues from a global perspective, review some retention strategies that have been employed at schools outside the United States, and to identify several key factors that related to retention and persistence globally, including access, infrastructure, financial consideration, and readiness for tertiary education. There exists an opportunity to utilize knowledge gained in the …


Bi-Lingual Teaching And Learning: Effectiveness And Challenges In Postgraduate Studies, Lee Kar Ling Aug 2011

Bi-Lingual Teaching And Learning: Effectiveness And Challenges In Postgraduate Studies, Lee Kar Ling

Higher Learning Research Communications

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the use of bilingual teaching and learning methodology for Vietnamese postgraduate students from 2011-2012. Overall, the findings indicated relatively positive outcomes in most of the spectrum evaluated or assessed. These findings were then compared with previous researches and to ascertain the applicability to fundamental theories underpinning bilingual education to determine the correlation between theory and practice. This research provided an in-depth contextual based research that contributed to an extensive understanding of the effectiveness of the adoption of bilingual teaching and learning at postgraduate level within ASEAN countries. The research …


Internationalization: From Concept To Implementation, Craig Billingham, Monica Gragg, Guy Bentley Aug 2011

Internationalization: From Concept To Implementation, Craig Billingham, Monica Gragg, Guy Bentley

Higher Learning Research Communications

Higher education is in a phase of rapid internationalization, with practices and impacts ranging from curriculum reform to satellite campuses to affiliated partner institutions. Internationally, higher education institutions are increasingly engaged with issues pertaining to technology integration. The primary reason for this is a growing acceptance of the importance of student-centered and heuristic learning, and the emergence of mobile devices as learning tools. The purpose of this case study is to describe and provide evidence for technology integration as an internationalizing practice that promotes and enables mobility for the brand, staff, and students of Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School …


Students’ Perception Of Diversity In An International Classroom, Loïse Jeannin Aug 2011

Students’ Perception Of Diversity In An International Classroom, Loïse Jeannin

Higher Learning Research Communications

This paper presents students’ perception of diversity in an international classroom in one international university in Thailand. The aim of this exploratory study is to better understand students’ perception of diversity to better meet their learning needs. By conducting a survey among students enrolled in bachelor’s and master’s international programs, this study explores how students perceive their classmates’ diversity, such as, but not limited to, cultural, language, and knowledge differences. How does diversity affect students’ learning in an international setting? What kind of diversity is the most disturbing for learners? Some recommendations grounded in the conceptual framework of cultural responsive …


Blogs, Webinars And Significant Learning: A Case Report On A Teacher Training Program For College Teachers, Rodrigo Polanco-Bueno Aug 2011

Blogs, Webinars And Significant Learning: A Case Report On A Teacher Training Program For College Teachers, Rodrigo Polanco-Bueno

Higher Learning Research Communications

This case study reports on a teacher training experience for college professors in which participants were trained, taking advantage of technological tools, in two main teaching competences. First, professors were trained to use technology to enrich students’ learning outcomes. Second, they applied strategies of significant learning in the design of students’ learning experiences. The learning experience consisted in an International Certificate on Significant Learning integrated by six modules, 20 hours each. Every module of the program consisted of two consecutive webinars with online activities in between. The results showed the positive impact of the program on participants’ perceptions about the …


Notes On The Emerging Accreditation Regimes In Australia And New Zealand, Kristian Boehringer, Fionna Scott, Sue Blyth Jul 2011

Notes On The Emerging Accreditation Regimes In Australia And New Zealand, Kristian Boehringer, Fionna Scott, Sue Blyth

Higher Learning Research Communications

In recent years, new higher education regulatory regimes have emerged in both New Zealand and Australia. In Australia, the new Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) employs a risk management approach while New Zealand Quality Agency (NZQA) has adopted an evaluative approach. In practice, these varying approaches create real differences in the ways in which the regulatory regimes are applied. This paper considers one discreet but critical element of these new regulatory regimes, academic staff qualifications, as an example of the difference between the risk management and evaluative regulatory approaches. Unsurprisingly, the application of academic staff qualifications requirements is …


The European Credit Transfer And Accumulation System: The Udla Case In Chile, Pilar Armanet Jul 2011

The European Credit Transfer And Accumulation System: The Udla Case In Chile, Pilar Armanet

Higher Learning Research Communications

Universidad de Las Américas - UDLA, is a Chilean University with 30.000 students located on 6 campuses. One third of students are working adults. A university like UDLA requires a flexible educational model to fulfill the learning requirements of different kinds of students and of the ever-changing conditions of the labor market that its graduates face. Following the ETCS, Credit System of Universidad de las Américas (SCUDLA) is a student-centered system based on transparency of outcomes and learning processes, which facilitates the planning of teaching, the evaluation of learning, and the recognition and validation of qualifications. SCUDLA is a tool …


Accreditation Processes In Mexico: Origins And Relevant Changes, Cesar Morales Hernandez Jul 2011

Accreditation Processes In Mexico: Origins And Relevant Changes, Cesar Morales Hernandez

Higher Learning Research Communications

The author discusses the origins and relevant changes that have occurred in Mexican higher education, regarding institutional and academic programs assessment and evaluation.-------Los Procesos de Acreditación en México: Origen y Cambios RelevantesResumenEl autor discute el origen y cambios relevantes que se han dado en la educación superior en México, en cuanto a evaluación y acreditación de programas e instituciones.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v2i3.73PDF document contains both the original in Spanish and an English translation.


Conceptual Framework For Mentoring Doctoral Students, Iris M. Yob, Linda Crawford Jul 2011

Conceptual Framework For Mentoring Doctoral Students, Iris M. Yob, Linda Crawford

Higher Learning Research Communications

In the research and professional literature, there are at least four lines of inquiry around mentoring: perceptions of successful mentoring in general, mentoring of doctoral dissertations in particular, mentoring specific to the online environment, and relative importance of mentoring behaviors. In each case, particular qualities that make for successful mentoring are identified and described but not coalesced into a conceptual model of mentoring. In examining this literature, the authors identified 94 mentor behaviors and characteristics of effective mentors, which were reduced for redundancies to 55. These were clustered into a conceptual model of mentoring with two domains, academic and psychosocial …


Can Students' Concept Of Learning Influence Their Learning Outcomes?, Despina Varnava Marouchou Jul 2011

Can Students' Concept Of Learning Influence Their Learning Outcomes?, Despina Varnava Marouchou

Higher Learning Research Communications

This paper aims to readdress the lack of empirical data concerning university learning and in particular the dynamics students’ conceptions of learning may have on students’ learning outcomes. This paper is written at a time when the EU commission for Higher Education (HE) through the Bologna Process declaration has put into action, since 1999, a series of reforms needed to make European Higher Education compatible, efficient and competitive for students and academics alike. One of the reforms was the development of learning outcomes in the form of the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS). As part of the process …


Editorial, The Editors Jul 2011

Editorial, The Editors

Higher Learning Research Communications

With this first issue of Higher Learning Research Communications (HLRC), Universidad Andrés Bello in Chile, Universidad Europea de Madrid in Spain, Istanbul Bilgi University in Turkey and Walden University in the United States, in consonance with their mission, are sponsoring collaboratively a journal dedicated to higher learning in the international arena. The knowledge driven society that so clearly marks our era, where real time communications make the phrase “global world” a true feature of our lives, has changed the means through which we learn. The rapid expansion of multicultural environments and the influence of the fast changing techno-scientific advances, social …


Internationalization 2011: An Overview, Drummond Bone Jul 2011

Internationalization 2011: An Overview, Drummond Bone

Higher Learning Research Communications

The author provides an overview of internationalization in higher education since 2008 to the present. The essay is a partial follow-up to Bone’s 2008 paper on internationalization.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v1i1.41


B-Learning Under Examination: Advantages, Disadvantages, And Opinions, Sergio Bemposta Rosende, María José García García, Juan José Escribano Otero Jul 2011

B-Learning Under Examination: Advantages, Disadvantages, And Opinions, Sergio Bemposta Rosende, María José García García, Juan José Escribano Otero

Higher Learning Research Communications

In recent years, learning management systems (LMS) have become very popular in almost all traditional universities, generating a new learning strategy approach, mixing elements from both traditional and online learning: the blended learning or b-learning. How these new environments influence teaching activities and learning processes are the main topic of this paper. References about this subject are also analyzed, enriching them with the expertise and opinion of authors and other teachers. Finally, the students’ point of view is presented, through the results of a survey of Polytechnic School students at Universidad Europea de Madrid.------El b-learning a examen: Ventajas, desventajas y …


Can The Use Of Clickers Or Continuous Assessment Motivate Critical Thinking? A Case Study Based On Corporate Finance Students, Lucia Morales Jul 2011

Can The Use Of Clickers Or Continuous Assessment Motivate Critical Thinking? A Case Study Based On Corporate Finance Students, Lucia Morales

Higher Learning Research Communications

This study explores the use of clickers as a tool to support, encourage and motivate critical thinking in higher education students. A case study was carried out with a cohort of undergraduate students undertaking the BSc. in Accounting and Finance during the academic year 2009/10, were corporate finance was a major component. Since the students in this sample had previously demonstrated passivity during their corporate finance classes, it was proposed that clickers would help motivate them to participate during face to face sessions. Previous research on the use of clickers shows evidence that this tool has a positive effect on …


Capacity Building Through Integration And Transformational Leadership - A Case Study, Sacha Michael Stocklin Jul 2011

Capacity Building Through Integration And Transformational Leadership - A Case Study, Sacha Michael Stocklin

Higher Learning Research Communications

This article suggests that educational managers can have an influence through leadership by establishing certain moderators that integrate and shape the faculty into a solid team working towards a high performing organisation. The study looks at a case in China and draws suggestions that could be used in other similar settings. The conclusion is to make integration a crucial part of capacity building.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v1i1.28