Education Commons^™

Learning From Recent British Information Literacy Models: A Report To Acrl's Information Literacy Competency Standards For Higher Education Task Force, Justine Martin

Justine Martin

Information literacy is a fluid concept, shaped by our experiences, and changes in our information rich society. Guidelines articulating information literacy need modification to reflect the current form of this evolving concept. This report highlights the work of four groups in the United Kingdom to create innovative guidelines to assist practitioners in the promotion and teaching of information literacy.

Refreshing Information Literacy: Learning From Recent British Information Literacy Models, Justine Martin

Justine Martin

Models play an important role in helping practitioners implement and promote information literacy. Over time models can lose relevance with the advances in technology, society, and learning theory. Practitioners and scholars often call for adaptations or transformations of these frameworks to articulate the learning needs in information literacy development. This study analyzes four recently published models from the United Kingdom. The initial findings were presented in a report for an ACRL taskforce reviewing the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. This article presents complementary, yet distinct findings from the same dataset that focus on reoccurring themes for information literacy …

Perceptions Of Quality In Higher Education In Afghanistan: A Case Study Of Shaheed Rabbani Education University, Homayoon Taheryar

Master's Capstone Projects

This study investigates how the concepts of quality and quality assurance (QA) standards are understood in the Afghan higher education system. First, I carried out a literature review of the available literature globally and then reviewed the available literature about Afghanistan’s higher education quality assurance system. Second, I conducted a case study at Shaheed Rabbani Education University (SREU), a public higher education institution in Afghanistan, to explore how academic staff at this university understand the concepts of quality and the QA standards. The study included qualitative interviews with seven key respondents at SREU. The findings from the case study suggest …

English Language Competence: Why English Matters In Higher Education In Kenya, Ukaiko A. Bitrus-Ojiambo, Iddah Wayumba Mwaura, Annette Lutivini Majanja

English is an international language, used in many countries for business, tourism, and education (Roy-Campbell, 2014; Crystal, 2003). In Kenya, it is the official language and language of instruction. The country boasts high youth literacy rates 93% (UNESCO, 2012). As university instructors, we have observed that although students have been in the formal educational system for a minimum of 9 years, their output does not match university expectations (KICD, 2016, p. 44; Jayasundara & Premarathna, 2011; Njoroge, 2008). This study assesses English language use in a Kenyan institution of higher education, identifies emergent linguistic patterns, and suggests some solutions to …

Towards Different Conversations About The Internationalization Of Higher Education, Sharon Stein, Vanessa Andreotti, Judy Bruce, Rene Suša

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

As institutional commitments to internationalize higher education continue to grow, so too does the need to critically consider both the intended purposes and actual outcomes of the programs and policies that result. In particular, there is a risk that internationalization efforts may contribute to the reproduction of harmful historical and ongoing global patterns of educational engagement. In this paper we explore these issues by offering a social cartography of four possible articulations of internationalization, and considering their relation to an often-unacknowledged global imaginary, which presumes a colonial hierarchy of humanity. We also address the practical and pedagogical possibilities and limitations …

Development Of A Graduate Level Faculty Led Study Abroad Course, Chelsea Levine

Higher Education Student Work

As the world becomes more globalized, society must create ways to adapt to these changes. One result is more internationalization at the higher education level (Mckenzie, Lopez & Bowers, 2010). Internationalization includes recent efforts to increase study abroad participation for graduate students. This exploratory study sought to understand best practices for the creation of a faculty led study abroad course in a higher education Master’s degree program. Topics of research included preparatory travel logistics, coursework to maintain academic rigor, and outcomes as it relates to personal and professional growth. Faculty leaders from across the U.S. who lead their own courses …

Assessment Of Chinese International Graduate Students’ Experience Working With Agents, Haozhe Yu

Higher Education Student Work

In the past fifteen years, the numbers of Chinese international students have increased rapidly across the United States in all types of institutions of higher education (Farrugia & Bhandari, 2015). This study explores the experience of Chinese international graduate students working with study abroad agents in China. In this qualitative semistructured interview study, seven Chinese international students were interviewed. Students were asked x, y and z about their experience working with agents; several challenges of Chinese international students, including finding college information, Internet limitations, language barriers and limited time, and lack of knowledge of the application process. Based on the …

Assessing The Role Of Academic Advisors In Retention Of International Students, Shreelekha Girish

Higher Education Student Work

The retention of international students should not be viewed as the responsibility of only international student advisors on the college campus. Instead, as suggested by Mamiseishvili (2012), it should become a joint responsibility of a broader campus community, including faculty, academic advisors, English language program staff, and student affairs professionals. Inspired by these ideas, this qualitative research study focused on international students' experiences during their advising sessions with their academic advisors at a four-year, post-secondary private institution in Massachusetts. The study was conducted by interviewing ten international students from different majors. This research explored the necessary information and resources international …

Challenges For Global Learners: A Qualitative Study Of The Concerns And Difficulties Of International Students, Chetanath Gautam, Charles L. Lowery, Chance Mays, Dayan Durant

Student Publications

The authors in this study seek to inform academia about international students’ experiences and challenges while attending universities in Small Town USA. Despite their eagerness to study in the United States (U.S.), international students are faced with setbacks that many universities fail to recognize or realize. The researchers conducted in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of students using questions based on information from the literature and an initial survey. The themes that emerged from the data analysis were language, jobs/finances, transportation, assimilation, religious interactions, and identity. Findings emphasize the imperative to understand the challenges these students face as they continue …

A Holistic Practice: The Art Of Facilitation In International Service-Learning, Jenny M. Clark

MA IDS Thesis Projects

International service-learning (ISL) continues to evolve its academic presence in higher education to encompass a more holistic, transformative experience for students and community partners. One way in which this pedagogy can increase the likelihood of growth and development in its students is through a richer understanding of facilitative techniques involved with reflection and transformative learning. This study aims to help guide those who design courses or programs that use reflection as a means of integrating student learning within ISL and related programs. The following research project investigated the ways in which seven facilitators understood and described their practice in relation …

Higher Education Preparation And Decision Making Trends Among International Students, Krishna Bista, Amy Dagley

Krishna Bista

Everything Changed: Experiences Of International Students Affected By A Home Country Crisis, Caitlin J. Mcvay

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The population of international students studying in the United States continues to break record enrollments each year, growing to 886,052 students in 2014 according to Institute of International Education (IIE) data (IIE, 2014b). As these numbers increase, so too do the numbers of students affected by crises in their home countries. These students face a number of adjustment issues unique to their situations, and may require additional support from administrators and others at their institutions. This qualitative, phenomenological study explores the experiences of five international students who studied at two public universities in the western United States while large-scale crises …

Understanding Why International Student Applicants Choose A Public Four-Year Institution, Mark Gene Darby

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of Understanding Why International Student Applicants Choose a Public Four-Year Institution was to apply a mixed-methods research approach to California State University, San Bernardino’s (CSUSB) international student population to better understand the factors associated with an international student’s decision-making processing to study abroad.

Internationalization by institutions reflects the current two million international students studying around the world. In recent years internationalization has become more of an economic driving force, whereas in the past it was an opportunity for diversifying knowledge and research. Studies on push and pull factors reflect reasons why international students have decided to go abroad. …

Perceptions Of Using Smart Mobile Devices In Higher Education Teaching: A Case Study From Palestine, Khitam Shraim, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

Smart mobile devices (SMDs), especially smartphones and tablets, are becoming increasingly ubiquitous among educators and students in Palestine. While their use is on the rise, many academics are not effectively incorporating this technology into their teaching, which may be attributable to their negative perceptions of these devices. This study therefore examined academics’ perceptions of the value of integrating SMDs into their teaching activities. A questionnaire survey collected data from 56 academic staff of the Palestine Technical University - Kadoorie, eliciting perceptions of the physical attributes of SMDs, participants’ self-efficacy, the pedagogical affordance of mobile devices and challenges to their use …

Global Learning And The Engaging Questions Of Globalization, Daniel Paracka

Daniel Paracka

While universities can act as important mediators amidst the highly disruptive and contentious change processes of globalization, very few institutions are intentionally fulfilling such a mission. Moreover, there are significant ethnocentric and ideological barriers to overcome before intercultural understanding and cooperation may occur. Nonetheless, universities in the global age are increasingly called upon to help prepare students to better perceive, understand, interpret, translate, and negotiate complex interdependent global contexts. This article examines the significance of several common reactions to the challenges of globalization for teaching and learning in higher education. It also outlines primary areas of focus for global educators …

Building Connections In South East Asia, Sarah Richardson

International Developments

Sarah Richardson reports on ACER’s recent collaborative work with institutions in South East Asia to support higher education.

Beyond The Neoliberal Imaginary: Investigating The Role Of Critical Pedagogy In Higher Education, Melanie M. Mazier

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Abstract

This thesis uses the qualitative case study approach to investigate the lived experience of three faculty members in higher education who identify themselves as critical pedagogues during an era of neoliberal restructuring. This research explores what the possibilities are for enacting critical pedagogies within a neoliberal climate of educational restructuring in higher education. Existing literature struggles to define neoliberalism as a result of globalization; further, present neoliberalization is penetrating all levels of social life and informing what many now accept as everyday thinking. The faculty members selected for this research each speaks to these struggles, while providing rich accounts …

Interview With Paulo Speller, Brazilian Higher Education Secretary, Marion Lloyd

Marion Lloyd

In an interview, Paulo Speller, Brazil´s secretary for higher education, speaks of the challenges in overseeing sweeping higher education reforms, including federally mandated affirmative action policies and the region´s largest science and technology study-abroad scholarship program.

What The U.S. Can Learn From Affirmative Action In Brazil, Marion Lloyd

Marion Lloyd

The United States has much to learn from Brazil´s sweeping affirmative action programs--in particular, the South American country´s efforts to combine socio-economic and racial criteria in selecting beneficiaries.

Off The Beaten Track: The Experiences Of Jamaican Student Athletes In Us Higher Education, Michelle Antoinette Rankine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

International student athletes populating American colleges and universities have gained visibility and prestige due to their athletic and academic capabilities. International student athletes emerge from a variety of backgrounds. These backgrounds vary in terms of geographic origin, cultural orientation, and social custom. The students themselves also differ in the amount of change they, as individuals, experience during the migration process from their home countries to the United States. There have been many studies related to the traditional student athlete experience. However, recent literature fails to examine the experiences of international student athletes, and in particular, Jamaican student athletes, in terms …

Crossing Borders And Building Bridges: Transatlantischer Austausch Und Wissenschaftliche Zusammenarbeit Unter Besonderer Berücksichtigung Der Langjährigen Partnerschaft Zwischen Der Universität Innsbruck Und Der University Of New Orleans, Eva-Maria Fink

Center Austria Research

Crossing Borders and Building Bridges lautet der Titel dieser Diplomarbeit, mit der ich herausfinden möchte, warum akademischer Austausch seit vielen Jahren betrieben und gefördert wird, welches ‚Plus‘ die Beteiligten nach einem Aufenthalt im jeweils anderen Land mitnehmen können und auch warum dieser Austausch für Universitäten und die Allgemeinheit wichtig ist. Im Rahmen meiner Forschungsarbeit möchte ich den Fokus auf die langjährige Partnerschaft zwischen der Universität Innsbruck und der University of New Orleans richten und an dieser beispielhaften Kooperation die genannten Themen untersuchen. Die Motivation diese Arbeit zu schreiben, entstand während meines Auslandsaufenthaltes an der University of New Orleans. Beeindruckt von …

E/Merging Across Africa: Five Papers On The Use Of Educational Technology In African Higher Education, Tony Carr

The African Journal of Information Systems

This guest editorial comments on the rapidly changing environment for the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in African Higher Education Institutions (HEI), introduces the e/merge online conferences and gives a brief introduction to the papers in the special issue.

International Collaboration Of Distance Learning Universities For Online Learning In Indonesia, Diki Diki

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

Indonesian higher education must improve its enrollment as well as its quality. One possibility for improving the quality of distance learning universities is collaboration with foreign universities. This paper discusses models for international collaboration among distance learning universities. However, there are also several problems that may result from collaboration. As a consequence, the model of collaboration should include joint development of curriculum, quality assurance, and appropriate technology.

Learning From Recent British Information Literacy Models: A Report To Acrl's Information Literacy Competency Standards For Higher Education Task Force, Justine Martin

Library Services Publications

Information literacy is a fluid concept, shaped by our experiences, and changes in our information rich society. Guidelines articulating information literacy need modification to reflect the current form of this evolving concept. This report highlights the work of four groups in the United Kingdom to create innovative guidelines to assist practitioners in the promotion and teaching of information literacy.

Choosing Home: International Pushes And Pulls For Malaysian Alumni Of U.S. Graduate Programs, Pauline Chhooi

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Malaysians’ journeys to pursue graduate education in the U.S. generate more than just degree attainment. This dissertation looks at how experiences in the U.S., both in graduate school and in the workplace, influenced highly educated Malaysians, especially in their exploration of push and pull factors that influence their decisions to remain in the U.S. or to return to Malaysia. This study focuses on twenty-two participants comprised of those who have returned to Malaysia, those who are working in the U.S. on non-immigrant visas, those who became Permanent Residents and those who are naturalized U.S. citizens.

The first major finding demonstrates …

Refreshing Information Literacy: Learning From Recent British Information Literacy Models, Justine Martin

Library Services Publications

Models play an important role in helping practitioners implement and promote information literacy. Over time models can lose relevance with the advances in technology, society, and learning theory. Practitioners and scholars often call for adaptations or transformations of these frameworks to articulate the learning needs in information literacy development. This study analyzes four recently published models from the United Kingdom. The initial findings were presented in a report for an ACRL taskforce reviewing the Information Literacy Competency Standards for Higher Education. This article presents complementary, yet distinct findings from the same dataset that focus on reoccurring themes for information literacy …

Who Is Guilty And What To Do? Popular Opinion And Public Discourse Of Corruption In Russian Higher Education, Ararat Osipian

Comparative and International Education / Éducation Comparée et Internationale

Corruption in higher education in Russia is a growing problem. This paper considers scholarly and popular discourse in Russia around this corruption and the discussion examines its context within the overall corruptness of the society and reflects on measures of comprehensive educational reform. Drawing upon a theoretical framework linking popular opinion and public discourse, discussion in the scholarly and popular press between 1998 and 2011 is analyzed, and the themes of the discourse are traced. Results focus on the reasons for corruption in the higher education sector, as well as on current and potential ways to tackle corruption, including the …

O Colégio Da Bahia E O Ensino Superior: A Formação Da Elite Na American Portuguesa, 1572 A 1759 [The College Of Bahia And Higher Education: Educating The Elite In Portuguese America, 1572 A 1759], Karl M. Lorenz, Ariclê Vechia

Karl M Lorenz

An abbreviated version of this paper was presented at the X Conference of the Iberoamerican Society on the History of Latin American Education, held in Salamanca, Spain in July 2012. The paper discusses the nature and the evolution of the studies of the College, noting the addition of advanced courses of study in philosophy and theology to the traditional study of the humanities; and the efforts of the Society of Jesus, the elites and the City Council of Salvador, the capital of the northeastern state of Bahia, to obtain the approval of authorities in Portugal to transform the College of …

O Colégio Da Bahia E O Ensino Superior: A Formação Da Elite Na American Portuguesa, 1572 A 1759 [The College Of Bahia And Higher Education: Educating The Elite In Portuguese America, 1572 A 1759], Karl M. Lorenz, Ariclê Vechia

Education Faculty Publications

An abbreviated version of this paper was presented at the X Conference of the Iberoamerican Society on the History of Latin American Education, held in Salamanca, Spain in July 2012. The paper discusses the efforts of the Society of Jesus and the City Council of Salvador, the capital of the northeastern state of Bahia, to elevate the status of the College of Bahia to that of a university. It discusses the nature and the evolution of the studies of the College, noting the addition of advanced courses of study in philosophy and theology to the traditional study of the humanities. …

The Mexican Idea Of Twoyear University Degrees: A Model Of Opportunities And Challenges, Gus Gregorutti

Faculty Publications

This study had the following general goals: a) Map some of the political and social factors that prompted the establishment of two-years Technological Universities in Mexico; b) Describe the main features of the model and how it differs from other models; c) Discuss Neoliberal Human Capital Theory as one of the main theoretical backdrop for expanding this kind of institutions; and finally, d) Assess the model’s strengths and weaknesses. To accomplish these goals, the study drew data from existing policies and from a set of six interviews to human resources directors in Monterrey area, Northern Mexico. These recruiters belonged to …