Education Commons^™

The Language Of 21st Century Skills: Next Directions For Closing The Skills Gap Between Employers And Postsecondary Graduates, Gabe A. Orona, Ou Lydia Liu, Richard Arum

Chinese/English Journal of Educational Measurement and Evaluation | 教育测量与评估双语期刊

The onus of preparing skilled employees for the modern workforce is largely placed on institutions of higher education. However, recent surveys consistently show a skills gap between what employers’ desire and what graduates possess. This review engages this discussion in the context of measuring and assessing 21^st century skills. We begin by succinctly reviewing literature pertaining to the skills gap, including what types of skills are commonly referenced, before moving to examine literature indicating the relations between current 21st century skills and job-related outcomes. Finally, we conclude with recommendations for higher education researchers examining skill development. Our recommendations cover …

Practical Leadership In Implementing Online Education Programs, Felix O. Quayson, Christopher Zirkle

Journal of Research Initiatives

The growing presence of online education can become a challenge for academic leaders and institutions to lead, manage, and explore in higher education. Online education can be complex when considering the social presence (Keast, 2022; Quayson, 2022), course development (Martin et al., 2019; Orlando, 2019), and economic outcomes (Burnett & Conley, 2013; Rubin, 2013; Seaman et al., 2019). However, unraveling the fundamentals of practical leadership can help educational leaders to facilitate, maintain, and implement online education programs. The study found published research studies that helped us to extricate the fundamentals of practical leadership in implementing online education programs in the …

Faculty Perspectives On Online Teaching In Higher Education: A Qualitative Approach To Understand Faculty Members’ Challenges And Experiences, Felix O. Quayson

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study explored faculty members' perspectives on online teaching in higher education and described, analyzed, and interpreted faculty members challenges and experiences of teaching online courses. Participants were twelve (12) faculty members who have taught online courses or currently teach online courses. Data was collected from 60-minutes semi-structured interview sessions, 78 open-ended questions, three research driving questions, background questionnaire, and personal artifacts from faculty members. Five major themes with subthemes, 15 code categories, and code co-occurrences emerged from the data collection, field notes, memos, and data analysis. However, not all of the code categories were replicated by all of the …

Gaining A Better Understanding Of Higher Education: During And Post-Pandemic Scenario, Krati Sethi, Manas Roy

International Review of Business and Economics

Because of the coronavirus epidemic, faculty as well as the students have had to respond to “out of the ordinary” difficulty by quickly switching from traditional class - room education to online learning forms via “virtual classrooms”. Students facing challenges and continuing facing difficulties for various reasons required to adapt this modification in this delivery of curriculum becoming un attentive. Few solutions have been developed for students to assist them in freely transferring to virtual classrooms and maintaining proper online learning etiquette. A series of recommendations is offered in the present study to help students so that they can explore …

Quality Assurance, Meet Quality Appreciation: Using Appreciative Inquiry To Define Faculty Quality Standards, Ann M. Morgan, Rebecca L. Jobe, Juli K. Konopa, Lyda D. Downs

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: This study outlines the journey of an online university to evaluate faculty performance standards, key performance indicators, and systems for quality assurance using an appreciative inquiry summit model. The study reveals the power of quality appreciation as an approach that elicits a shared vision for quality definitions and standards and serves as a historical marker in the higher education shift from data-driven faculty performance approaches to strengths-based, inclusive methods.

Method: The retrospective business case outlines one university’s 2018 Appreciative Inquiry Summit, 5D (define, discover, dream, design, destiny/deliver) approach, resulting deliverables, lessons learned, and conclusions.

Results: The summit and subsequent …

Adaptive Analytics: It’S About Time, Charles Dziuban, Colm Howlin, Patsy Moskal, Tammy Muhs, Connie Johnson, Rachel Griffin, Carissa Hamilton

Current Issues in Emerging eLearning

This article describes a cooperative research partnership among a large public university, a for-profit private institution and their common adaptive learning platform provider. The focus of this work explored adaptive analytics that uses data the investigators describe as metaphorical “digital learning dust” produced by the platform as a matter of course. The information configured itself into acquired knowledge, growth, baseline status and engagement. Two complimentary models evolved. The first, in the public university, captured end-of-course data for predicting success. The second approach, in the private university, formed the basis of a dynamic real-time data analytic algorithm. In both cases the …

Factors That Influence Emirati Male Achievement In Higher Education, Melvin (Jai) Jackson, Kaitlin M. Jackson

Journal of Research Initiatives

The success of Emirati male students in higher education is one filled with positive interactions between the students, faculty, and staff. The influence of faculty in the success of Emirati males is vital to the overall curricular success of this student population. The strong cultural ties to seeking out elders for guidance and influence is easily replicated on college and university campuses. In this manuscript we examine the history of education in the Middle East from its inception to the meteoric rise of higher education. Through examining the past and present education we will explore how the cultural and societal …

The Perverse Dynamics Of University Career: A Narrative Analysis Based On The Personal And Professional Implications, Gustavo González-Calvo, Alejandra Hernando-Garijo, David Hortigüela Alcalá, Ángel Pérez-Pueyo

The Qualitative Report

We seek to describe some of the features and symptoms that define novice university teachers in their attempts to pursue a professional career at university. Presently, university culture revolves around the evaluation of professionals based on the quantity of work published in high-impact journals (“weight evaluations”).This situation not only has its effects at a personal level, but also on the quality of the education that teachers might wish to impart. Nine university teachers -five women and four men- with experience of between three and five years in different knowledge areas were interviewed to ascertain these symptoms. The results reflected the …

School Districts And A University Principal Preparation Program Partnership: A Cohort Model, Alejandro Garcia, Velma Manchaca, Frederico Guerra

Journal of Educational Leadership in Action

The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover the perceived benefits and challenges of preparing principal candidates for school district/university partnerships. Data analysis from focus group interviews revealed both benefits and challenges. Themes that were perceived as benefits were: 1) increased opportunities for graduate students in educational leadership preparation programs, 2) integration of field-based experiences, 3) a supportive learning environment, and 4) networking opportunities. Conversely, challenging themes were: 1) need for school district liaison, 2) better collaboration between school district/university partnerships, 3) employment consideration for graduates of educational leadership preparation programs, and 4) better school facilities and equipment. The …

The Motivation To Write Profile-College: A Tool To Assess The Writing Motivation Of Teacher Candidates, Ernest Solar, Angela Marie Mucci-Guido Ph.D., Carolyn Cook, Barbara Marinak

Teaching/Writing: The Journal of Writing Teacher Education

Writing is an important aspect of literacy regardless of the grade or discipline. State standards have defined the writing genres, crafts, and skills that are to be taught by teachers in PK-12 classrooms. However, in addition to standards, research indicates that a teacher’s own conception of writing is crucial to establishing classroom conditions necessary for young writers to grow, explore and take risks. If this is the job of PK-12 educators, then it is essential for higher education instructors to understand and explore the writing conceptions of teacher candidates. One of these critical conceptions is the motivation to write. The …

Effects Of A Peer-To-Peer Mentoring Program: Supporting First-Year College Students’ Academic And Social Integration On Campus, Griselda Flores Ph.D., Antonio G. Estudillo Ph.D.

Journal of Human Services: Training, Research, and Practice

This paper presents findings from a peer-to-peer mentoring program supporting ethnically diverse first-generation students at a mid-sized university in the Southwest. Research on mentoring during the undergraduate years has placed emphasis on the quality of lived-collegiate experiences from both a peer-mentor and mentee perspective (Crisp, Baker, Griffen, Lusnford, & Pifer, 2017). Using a mixed methods approach, two survey instruments and qualitative analysis, interviews with peer-mentors and mentees suggested student development occurred through various means: (i) academics, (ii) university involvement, and (iii) the reinforcement of friendship. These findings reinforce theory first drawn from Tinto’s (1993) student integration perspectives (e.g., academic and …

Is It Worth The Effort? Evaluating A Third Generation Research Method For A Third Generation Approach To The First Year Experience In Higher Education, Trevor S. Black, Romina Jamieson-Proctor

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

: The first year experience of students studying at higher education institutions has been intensively studied over the past forty years (Nelson & Clarke, 2014). Much has been learnt, but institutions are continuing to face unacceptable levels of student withdrawal. Concerns have been raised that the constructs on which previous studies have been based may be restricting researchers’ efforts to develop a deeper understanding of the first year phenomena (Kahu, 2013). There is strong support for new and creative ways to investigate the lived experience of first year students across their full first year of study. This paper details and …

Informal Order, Needs Analysis, And The Eap Curriculum, Faisal S. Al-Maamari

The Qualitative Report

The academic curriculum is developed through a systematic process whereby content is created through the alignment of needs to stakeholder or target group. This qualitative research study features a small-scale, English for academic purpose (EAP) needs analysis (NA) of three credit-bearing EAP programs and the corresponding departmental programs conducted at a Language Center at a higher education institution in Oman. Based on interview, observational and documentary data, the analysis showed divergences in academic literacy (writing and reading) between the EAP and content programs. Principally, the findings pointed to the presence and operation of a group of informal orders and the …

The Influence Of Creativity Inhibitors And Collectivist Dynamics, Anthony Abidemi Olalere

Journal of Research Initiatives

This study examines the mediating influence of creativity inhibitors on collectivist dynamics and faculty creativity in higher education organizations. Complexity theory was employed to frame how collectivist dynamic (Complexity Interaction) and creativity inhibitor foster faculty creativity in higher education. The Partial Least Square of Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze data using the PLS algorithm, and mediating effect to assess the predictive accuracy on creativity among 73 tenure and tenure-track faculty members in a south east research-based university in the United States. The result showed that creativity inhibitors have positive influence on the interaction between complexity interaction (collectivist) …

The Journey To The Top: Stories On The Intersection Of Race And Gender For African American Women In Academia And Business, Deanna R. Davis

Journal of Research Initiatives

This research study was designed to determine how the intersection of race and gender identities contributed to the elements of leadership development as perceived by eight African American female executives in academia and business. The researcher sought to explore strategies future leaders might utilize to address leadership development and career ascendency for African American females who aspire to leadership roles. A phenomenological research method was most appropriate for this research study to capture the lived experiences of individuals from their perspectives and to develop themes that challenged structural or normative assumptions.

This research study examined leadership development of eight African …