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The outbreak of COVID-19 has triggered a worldwide upsurge in online education. This paper first reviews the actions implemented by Tsinghua University in response to COVID-19 as an example. Based on the experience, the paper further discusses how to turn the 'forced innovation' happened in the pandemic into an 'anti-pandemic dividend' that could expedite the transformation of higher education, through institutionalizing and normalizing the actions taken under the outbreak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary explores the role that academic developers (ADs) play in universities. Three case studies illustrate the roles that ADs may enact as agents of change. They reflect an emergent shift from acting as the institutional teaching and learning ‘expert’ (i.e. agent of change) to a more adaptive, collaborative partnership model where the AD works in partnership with academic leaders to change educational practice. The influence of national external forces on institutional philosophy, policy, and practice, and the AD role is also examined, using Australian initiatives as an example. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Growing pressure to restructure and reform tertiary education is encouraging university academics to use innovative practices that assist students to develop 'employable' skills. The hybrid approach described in this paper stimulated students to be self-directed adult learners who maximized their learning of content and skills by means of problem-based learning and action research strategies. The lecturer also operated as a reflective practitioner and role model by using an action research approach. This paper demonstrates the value of student empowerment, communication and leadership in autonomous learning groups. It outlines methods by which academic teaching staff can build continuous improvement into a university unit's curriculum design and processes. These can be powerful additions to lecturers' teaching strategies and to students' learning experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovations in assessment practice have become widespread in Higher Education (HE) throughout the world. Taking a case study approach, this paper examines the nature of students' assessment preferences at one English university, and compares the views of UK students with a sample of learners from a number of other countries studying at the same institution. A brief discussion of the literature is followed by a methodological overview, before turning to an examination of the study's findings with regard to the students' views and experiences of assessment. Similarities and differences in preferences are explored, and an attempt is made to account for these on the basis of the insights supplied by the students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creativity, which has now entered the discourse in higher education alongside other agenda items such as enterprise, entrepreneurship and innovation, is an elusive and complex notion. It may evade the sort of definition, categorisation and compartmentalisation required to integrate it fully into the curriculum frameworks and assessment regimes that are currently in place in higher education. After a contextualisation of the subject, this paper describes the outcomes of a phenomenographic research project that set out to identify the qualitatively different ways university lecturers, across a range of arts, humanities and science disciplines, conceptualise creativity in relation to their pedagogic practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on recent and innovative moves towards flexible learning in initial teacher education programmes in England and Wales, as part of the ‘widening participation’ agenda in higher education and in response to changes in teacher recruitment patterns. We take as our perspective our own experience as two course tutors in a higher education institution that introduced flexible routes into its secondary teacher education programme at the beginning of the academic year 2002/2003. Using the university's model for our case study, we have undertaken a small‐scale research project and reviewed the literature describing flexible learning discourses in higher education, to consider the extent to which concepts of flexibility are being translated into practice. In particular we highlight some implications for pedagogy and practice that have become apparent at this early stage in the development of flexible courses and which will have an impact upon their progress in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This reflective paper is an account and analyses of the change process forced upon a university’s education department in the light of unexpected financial downfall. Rather than rehearse the well documented research on innovation and change it focuses on the process from the head of department’s prospective. The issues raised highlight that there remain aspects of the change not yet fully documented and understood. These are discussed and used to illustrate how departments might prepare themselves for the changes they will inevitably face. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper contains a brief description of the research we have undertaken on innovations and innovation processes in higher education [1]. Within the framework of a larger project (a study of educational planning for Swedish Higher Education [2]), we have made seven case studies of innovation processes and tried to relate them to an attempt towards a general theory of innovations. We have built on, and tried to exemplify, the field theory of the social psychologist, Kurt Lewin [3]. This means that we view change as being realised through a form of political process, determined by the strength of the different forces within a social system. We have tried to define the characteristics of higher education as a social system and the factors which determine the nature of the various forces towards a certain type of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article analyzes the relevance of the studies related to role of the education policies. The author refers to a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association in San Diego, which debates that quasi-markets in education and training has settled into ritual. The author comments that as with an ongoing ideological struggle about the intensification of market forces and market culture in the realm of education in various societies the ritualistic aspect has nothing much to do with the changes in the culture of education. The article examines the views that the government intervention in the realm of education as natural because it is for social or public good. It comments that such views support the intervention as the best mechanism for the provision of educational services. But in reality it is liable to reduce freedom of choice and thereby curtail the sphere of responsibility of the citizens. The market culture in the field of education attempts to make it a commodity, which provides increment to knowledge and the curriculum. The role of the government is to roll back it with rules and jurisdiction to check the hidden hand of marketized individual competition.

This article analyses speeches made by UK higher education ministers, from the election of the Conservative government in May 2015 through to September 2020. The article uses disruptive innovation as a theoretical framework through which to analyse ministers' perspectives on innovation. The methodology is content analysis with a directed approach. Fourteen speeches are analysed. Innovation is shown to serve an economic agenda, enabling students to transact their higher education quickly and subsequently function without state support. Innovation is also a flexible term offering numerous solutions, from providing economic growth; to militating against the isolationism of Brexit; to providing a route out of the pandemic. Innovation is intended to enhance economic performance and to deliver efficiency, but not to fundamentally disrupt the existing organisation of the UK's higher education sector. Innovation, as articulated by Ministers for Higher Education, comprises sustaining innovation and efficiency innovation, but not disruptive innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article describes the development of an evaluation and impact framework to assess the effectiveness of educational innovations. It can be utilized within a single program, as well as at institutional and national levels. While it is contextualized in a Chilean university, it is argued that it is widely applicable as it is informed by international best practice. The rationale that informed the development of the evaluation framework is described and is illustrated using two programs: Faculty Learning Communities; and Student Learning Assistants. These demonstrate how the framework can be customized utilizing indicators and outcomes relevant to specific programs and stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Physical education can achieve a stronger place in higher education, but to do so it will have to confront at least three important alternatives. These are strengthening its mission versus improving its accountability, limiting versus expanding this mission, and educating liberally versus schooling more narrowly. It is argued that redefining and limiting its mission, in addition to choosing some brand of liberal education, will best strengthen physical education in the arena of higher education. Alternately it is suggested that attempts to gain support by proving that physical education accomplishes traditional objectives (i.e., that it is maximally accountable), by expanding its goals to cover yet more educational turf, or by holding on to health and recreational ‘schooling’ objectives will prove ineffectual if not also harmful for any attempt by physical education to seek a more central place in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relevance of initial teacher education is a widely recognised concern. Researchers are striving to find innovative pedagogies that would better prepare student teachers for actual day-to-day teaching. In this study, a guided reflection procedure is presented that aimed to support student teachers in constructing practical knowledge and linking this with research-generated knowledge. In all, 21 student teachers at an Estonian university participated in the guided reflection procedure. Their lessons were video recorded, two meaningful events (one empowering and one challenging) selected, and oral (alone or with a peer or supervisor) and written reflections carried out. Differences between students’ practical knowledge as presented in (1) oral and written reflections and (2) in three oral reflection conditions were investigated. Results indicated that the procedure supports the construction of different types of practical knowledge. Moreover, the practical knowledge gained could be more easily transferred to other situations when the oral reflection was carried out with a peer or supervisor. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article offers recommendations on how to improve time, technology, teaching, and degree program in education. It mentions the need to find ways for faculty and students to save time and to upgrade content, deepen learning, and improve the program's ability in order to attract and retain a variety of students. It also provides suggestions to improve teaching and learning including the need to focus on changes in research methods, to be compelling enough to academic programs to attract faculty, staff, and benefactor attention, and to extend and enrich interaction among students, faculty, and others. It also outlines the recommendations for implementing sustainable improvement through encourage peer support among faculty and developing coalitions to sustain the initiative.

One element of the recent reforms of higher education sectors across Europe is the formation of new governance structures in universities. Supervisory boards are part of these reform processes. However, despite the importance of these boards, surprisingly little is known about their actual work. This article discusses the situation of boards in three European countries: the Netherlands, Austria and the UK. It compares the boards' constitutions with respect to composition, independence, accountability and transparency. Several problems and dilemmas come to the fore. The article concludes by indicating potential areas for improvement in the current board structure and working practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaysian higher education institutions, particularly universities, are critical to the economic and social future of the nation. This is so as demands for pursuit of knowledge and innovations as well as for highly specialized and educated people have made university education highly important and a priority for the Malaysian government. This article presents the alternative models for Malaysian universities by establishing a set of scenarios based on the current model and future trends of Malaysian higher education institutions. The first section gives a brief overview of the Malaysian university system and the main forces that drive changes in the system. The second section discusses the project undertaken in scenario building which aims to develop alternative models of universities in Malaysia. The alternative scenarios conceptualized provide three main paradigms on the future model of higher education in Malaysia. The concluding section highlights the importance of understanding the scenarios applied to the future of the university as well as of understanding the changing role and contribution of Malaysian universities in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale educational development initiatives are widely used to trial and introduce change. One such is the Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL) initiative in England, now drawing to a close. An interim evaluation of this initiative revealed some excellent practice but no major impact. As CETLs strive to gain or sustain funding, their need to evidence their impact gains importance. This article considers the notion of impact and contends that the audience dictates the meaning and measurement of the term. It reviews the evolution and trialling of an innovative tool, the 'influence wheel', which attempts to show selected aspects of impact graphically as an interactive web page. Developed through an action research project funded by the Centre for Inter-professional e-Learning (CIPeL CETL), the tool employs the doughnut graph facility within Microsoft Office Excel in a novel way. The tool models CIPeL's influence at local, national and international levels. A small-scale evaluation of the tool found that it communicated aspects of impact effectively despite issues of usability and data completeness. The particular context is illustrative of how the influence wheel can be used. The tool has potential to reflect alternative understandings of impact, and may therefore be of interest to others in further and higher education seeking to communicate project achievements visually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important facet of effective Web-based instructional design is the consideration of learning activities to stimulate students' learning motivation. In order to create a motivating interaction environment, the design of motivational strategies to foster student interest in learning is essential. The study employed Keller's ARCS Motivational Model (focusing on Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) in the design and implementation of a Web-based lesson. Co-operative learning activities and a task-oriented approach were used to augment students' learning motivation. During the implementation process, motivational problems were analysed, and instructional adjustment was made. Various data sources were used in order to assess students' learning and motivation. The ARCS Model was used as the main theme in summarising the motivational approach in the Web-based learning activities. Overall, students were positive about the innovative learning approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an empirically grounded critical exploration of conflict between two associated higher education agendas - audit-driven accountability and academic innovation. Feeding into a discourse of quality, audit and power, it considers how far prevailing economic-bureaucratic models of higher education accountability might actually inhibit the long-term success of other aspects of the quality agenda, such as innovation. Insider research into innovators' experiences of constraint in one higher education institution is used to interrogate assumptions about how meaningful academic innovation can be centrally promoted, managed and accountable. Drawing on this case, the article explores what emerges as a central dynamic of tension in relation to issues of cultural capital, trust, risk avoidance, ambivalence and subversion. It suggests that such tension is properly seen as a part of the realignment of fields of academic power, in both the UK and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article discusses the changes in Russian higher education policies and the role of international organizations - the World Bank and OECD - in promoting education reforms in this country. General and specific recommendations offered by the World Bank and the OECD expert teams to improve Russian higher education are analysed to determine if any of their suggestions have been considered and applied in recent government policies. We explore the mechanisms though which new policies are implemented at the institutional and national levels. Finally, we suggest that higher education institutions and the Russian government experience coercive, mimetic, normative and discursive pressures emanating from these global policy actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the status of higher education in Serbia and delineates some critical issues confronting students as the scope of reform is becoming more intense. The author highlights the role of the students in forcing the institutions for a change. She points out that students are both stakeholders as customers of the university and participants in the internal governing of universities. She adds that the role of students in higher education reform can be seen in their organizations, activities and views of the overall reform debate in the academic community. The author stresses relevant findings on whether students are equal partners in the higher education reform and their current strategic position in taking an active role in implementing change in the educational system.

Because conversation is a constant in our personal and professional lives, we are not inclined to stop and think about it as a phenomenon. However, that is what I have found myself doing. In particular, I have become much more self-conscious, and hopefully more thoughtful, about the conversations that constitute an inevitable aspect of my day to day work in an academic staff development role. Drawing on my own reflections and a body of related literature, I have thought about the features of conversation that may make it conducive for professional learning; how “valued” conversation is as a context for professional learning; the possible ingredients of a conversation and the extent to which they can be controlled or influenced without disturbing, or even destroying, the defining essence of conversation; and the competencies and sensitivities that may be required if conversation is to become an occasion for learning. In this article, I present the outcomes of my reflections and inquiry with the hope that they will prompt conversation about conversation as a context for professional learning and development. Puisque la conversation est une constante dans nos vies personnelle et professionnelle, nous sommes peu enclins à nous arrêter et à y réfléchir en tant que phénomène. Cependant, c’est ce à quoi je me suis affairé. Plus particulièrement, je suis devenu davantage conscient et, je l’espère, davantage réfléchi, en ce qui a trait aux conversations qui constituent un aspect inévitable de mon travail quotidien en tant que conseiller pédagogique. Puisant dans mes réflexions et dans un ensemble de connaissances connexes, j’ai réfléchi aux aspects de la conversation qui la rendent propice à un apprentissage professionnel; dans quelle mesure la conversation constitue-t-elle un contexte valorisé d’apprentissage professionnel; les ingrédients possibles d’une conversation, ainsi que la mesure dans laquelle ceux-ci peuvent être contrôlés ou influencés sans déranger, ou même détruire, l’essence même de la conversation; de même que les compétences et les habiletés pouvant être requises pour que la conversation constitue une occasion d’apprendre. Dans cet article, je présente le résultat de mes réflexions et interrogations dans l’espoir de susciter une conversation au sujet de la conversation en tant que contexte d’apprentissage et de développement professionnel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major higher education reforms in the 1980s generated increased numbers of Australian university research centres, accompanied by equivalent numbers of academics acting as centre directors. This qualitative investigation using seven in-depth case studies explored the relationship between a centre's location in the university structure and its director's success. Lack of role clarity meant that the university hierarchy sometimes expected directors to maintain demanding involvement in university life outside their centre, regardless of their primary obligation to achieve the centre's objectives. All directors experienced pressure to attract external research funds but those in centres situated outside departments enjoyed greater financial freedom and autonomy in their role. To offset the role's demands directors held implicit expectations of organisational support as positive encouragement that was not always forthcoming. A number of practical suggestions for university hierarchy are offered regarding appropriate ways to support their research directors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the social and technological change in post-school education in Glasgow, Scotland. Concentration on the educational needs of young people in the higher education sector; Development of a new curricular prescription called vocational preparation for the sector; Determination of the major elements of vocational preparation.

The article discusses vocational education, focusing on the present trends and problems of such in Germany. In the past several years, the most important developments in vocational education are connected to rationalization of structures, the widening of opportunity and modernization of curricula. The result of such developments is a great increase in the demand for higher education, and especially for university places. There have also been attempts to devise acceptable non-university forms of vocationally-oriented higher education. More information could be found in the article.

The article presents information on changes that should be made in the higher education system. Higher education has been accused of failing to respond to the needs of students and society. It is viewed that higher education should be replaced by an educational change which is based on problem solving, and on method, relevance, participation, initiative and practice. Such an educational change should be open to all, irrespective of their prior qualifications, and should be designed to produce the competence that an individual and society need. Steps necessary to implement such an educational change include proper planning at the levels of institutions, local authorities and central government, with plans and performance being subjected to external validation and assessment. Innovation usually describes not merely change in a value-free way, but progressive change. Thus innovation ideas depends on personal views of an individual. What is innovation for one group may be a dangerous tampering with educational standards for others.