Educational Administration and Supervision Commons^™

How Are They Going?: A Project To Monitor Student Engagement, Anthony Williams, Maria T. Northcote, John Reddin

Maria Northcote

The transition from school or work to university studies is not always a smooth change for many students. The university context may appear threatening, strange and isolating for some students, whether the courses be offered in on-campus or online contexts. While most modern day universities offer a raft of support services for students, including both academic and non-academic services, problems of low retention and high attrition rates still plague some institutions and some sections of particular institutions in the higher education sector. This paper presents an innovative program that uses technology-supported strategies within a regular learning management system (LMS) to …

Getting On The Online Education Train: The Journey Of A Small Higher Education Institution, Anthony Williams, Maria T. Northcote

Maria Northcote

Many universities have instituted professional learning centres that support academic teaching staff in their capacity to facilitate student-centred learning. Some of these centres also extend their reach to incorporate scholarship and research. This paper reports on one such case, in which a small higher education institution in Australia established what has become known as the Centre for Advancement of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (CASTL). From its inception, the CASTL’s intentions have been multi-dimensional, in that its programs, activities and resource development span the following areas of scholarship: 1) learning and teaching; 2) researcher education and support of postgraduate …

Integrating The Scholarship Of Teaching, Learning And Assessment Into One Institution’S Homegrown Professional Learning Resources, Maria Northcote, Anthony Williams, Kevin Petrie, John Seddon, Sherene Hattingh

Maria Northcote

Many professional learning (PL) programs in universities aspire to support tertiary educators to perform duties associated with teaching, student learning and assessment. Additionally, because much of a university academic’s work is associated with conducting scholarly research and supervising students’ research, PL programs also need to provide support associated with supervision and research activities. Faced with these multiple PL demands, one small Australian higher education institution developed a suite of resources to support faculty teaching staff and researchers in their professional capacities using a heuristic (self-determined) approach to resource development. The content of the resources drew on the principles of the …

Leveraging Resources Across Units And Universities To Address Academic Literacies And Research Skills In Ontario Graduate Students, Melanie Mills, Elan Paulson

Melanie Mills

The Apprentice Retention Program: Evaluation And Implications For Ontario, Catharine Dishke Hondzel, Ronald Hansen

Catharine Dishke Hondzel

Apprentice retention and completion focus of new study

The completion rates of Ontario’s apprentices remain a point of concern, prompting growing interest in programs to improve retention and completion. A new study from the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario examines the development, implementation and efficacy of the Apprentice Retention Program (ARP).

Project description

ARP was developed in a partnership with Western University, Fanshawe College, the local Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities’ (MTCU) Employment Ontario office, the Apprenticeship Network and the Elgin Middlesex Oxford Workplace Planning and Development Board. The program consisted of nine hands-on and two online workshops …

Women Of African Descent: Persistence In Completing A Doctorate, Vannetta L. Bailey-Iddrisu

Vannetta L. Bailey-Iddrisu

This study examines the educational persistence of women of African descent (WOAD) in pursuit of a doctorate degree at universities in the southeastern United States. WOAD are women of African ancestry born outside the African continent. These women are heirs to an inner dogged determination and spirit to survive despite all odds (Pulliam, 2003, p. 337).This study used Ellis’s (1997) Three Stages for Graduate Student Development as the conceptual framework to examine the persistent strategies used by these women to persist to the completion of their studies.

Women, Education & The Diaspora, Dr Williams Emeka Obiozor

Dr Williams Emeka Obiozor

Educating the woman is a challenge to many governments in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria where successive governments have made efforts to promote and support women education and bridging the gender gap in the education, labor and economic sector. This position paper examined issues and challenges of women regarding education and the Diaspora: An experience coming from a Nigerian-American who spent more than a decade living and working in the United States of America. Motivations for leaving an individuals’ homeland are as varied as the immigrants themselves, especially women who leave for opportunity, some for adventure, education, marriage and some to …

Authenticity In Academic Development: The Myth Of Neutrality, Gail Rathbun, Nancy Turner

Gail A. Rathbun

Academic developers are often positioned as intermediaries who wield value-neutral tools—language, models, and techniques—in service of decidedly non-neutral institutional goals. We challenge the value of perpetuating the ideal of the neutrality of academic developers and their tools by examining the ways in which our resources and approaches produce imbalances of control, power, and authority in a consulting relationship. We suggest that the values embedded within the practices of academic development lead developers, and the people they help, to act inauthentically. By recognizing the improbability of neutrality in academic development work, the authors seek to open the way to constructive reflection, …

Ageing And Women Disabilities In Sub-Sahara, Dr Williams Emeka Obiozor, Uzoamaka Lucynda Koledoye Mrs.

Dr Williams Emeka Obiozor

In a typical African community, women age gracefully, as they bear children, care, train, provide natural support; as well as receive support from their children when they grow older. The presence of infirmities and disabilities affect aging and hinder effective livelihood, human performance and general well-being of sub-Saharan African women. Critical knowledge gaps exist for responding to the general needs of the disabled women which is a concern to the authors. This position paper addressed the issues concerning aging and women disabilities in Sub-Saharan Africa, the challenges, and roles of adult educators could play as support systems and in ensuring …

Exploring The Teaching Mind: Extending Participation In Lifelong Learning Through Engagement With A Supportive Community, Jeremy Szteiter

Jeremy Szteiter

This paper extends the notion of lifelong learning beyond gaining knowledge over a lifetime to preparing oneself to teach what has been learned to others. The "Teaching Mind," as I define the idea, involves thinking about what has been learned and what one knows by reconsidering that knowledge through the eyes of self as a teacher. The Teaching Mind assumes a broad notion of teaching that relates to informal and community learning across all areas of life and culture, beyond professional teaching in formal schools. The pursuit of the Teaching Mind is highly accessible to all those who wish to …

Faculty Diversity, Kyle Scafide, Barbara Johnson

Kyle Scafide

This article presents a broad view of issues related to faculty diversity. Headings include Demographics, The Growth of Faculty Diversity as an Ideal, and Barriers in the Academic Workplace. Race, ethnicity, and gender are the most common characteristics that institutions observe in order to measure faculty diversity. An even broader approach to faculty diversity involves age, socioeconomic background, national origin, sexual orientation, and diverse learning styles and opinions. Until the latter part of the twentieth century, the professoriate in the western world was composed almost exclusively of privileged, heterosexual males of Caucasian descent. Higher education institutions are generally concerned with …