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The aim of this paper is to evaluate the impact of internationalisation on academic work within a department of management in a large Australian university. It has been argued elsewhere that internationalisation strategies have transformed the nature and demands of academic work through the massification and commodification of educational curricula. Drawing on one of our university's projects to develop and deliver internationalised common curricula to students in Asia, South Africa and Australia we contend that internationalisation strategies have contributed to what we identify as the "Taylorisation" of teaching and learning. Frederick Taylor's principles of scientific management, exemplified by the growing trend towards standardisation of delivery and curricula, are readily identified in the pedagogical processes and expected academic practice in higher education. This paper draws on the work of others who highlight the complexity of internationalisation issues in the development and delivery of curricula and suggests a comprehensive programme of internationalisation that more effectively addresses the economic and social demands of the current global competitive environment. We argue for a programme of internationalisation that is counter-hegemonic, ongoing, comprehensive, multifaceted and integrated and we offer some practical suggestions to redefine the principles and practices of internationalisation within an Australian university. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Research into powerful learning environments has concentrated mainly on general influences on students'' engagement and learning. This paper considers a series of inter-related concepts that have been shown to be associated with student learning in higher education including, conceptions of knowledge and learning, learning orientations, and students'' perceptions of, and preferences for, different kinds of learning environments. At a more specific level, differences in study behaviour have been described in terms of approaches to learning, and regulation and processing strategies. The paper clarifies the meaning of the various concepts, highlights the interrelationships between them, and considers the ways in which they may affect students'' reactions to the learning environments they experience, whether powerful or not. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper explores the links between socio-economic disadvantage, non-completion in higher education and preparation initiatives. It does this through investigating the effectiveness of the Top-Up Programme, a preparation course for 17 and 18 year olds from schools that have low participation rates in higher education. The University of Glasgow, on behalf of the West of Scotland Wider Access Forum, has responsibility for running the TopUp Programme. It is part of the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council and local education authority funded GOALS (Greater Opportunity of Access and Learning with Schools) Project. The paper examines the hypothesis that students who undertake programmes such as the Top-Up Programme can counteract the effects of disadvantage through being prepared academically. The investigation is undertaken within the contexts of widening access research and theoretical models of student non-completion. This study reviewed the available data for the 44 schools involved in the Top-Up Programme, their levels of disadvantage as defined by their participation rates in higher education, and levels of non-completion at the University of Glasgow. This revealed that groupings of schools with extremely low participation levels have higher non-completion rates than less disadvantaged schools. At the same time, the authors attempted to investigate this finding further through examining a group of 44 similar comparative schools. The students' perceptions of the effectiveness, in terms of preparation for higher education, of undertaking the Top-Up Programme were also assessed by conducting interviews and administering questionnaires to the Top-Up students and other groups of students. The Top-Up students perceived that it had provided highly relevant preparation and had eased the transition from school to higher education. The effectiveness of the Top-Up Programme was also quantified by reviewing the pass/fail rates of the first-year students who had undertaken Top-Up in comparison to those who had come from the comparative groups. The results indicated that the Top-Up students were progressing at better rates than the other groups despite many more having come from the extremely low participation schools, known to be 'at risk'. The main outcome determined was that there is a link between attending an extremely low participation rate school and non-completion, despite similar pre-entry qualifications to other students. This indicates that disadvantage continues to impact on students' achievements throughout their educational careers. We argue that the result has implications for both wider access policies and non-completion research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the power to award degrees lies at the heart of the concept of a university, neither it nor degrees themselves have attracted much scholarly attention. The paper contends that award-conferment provides an interface of major importance between higher education and its environment; and that the awards themselves can serve as rich and informative (yet often coded) indicators of the relationship between the two. For awards to be seen in this way, the paper argues, two conditions are required: the conceptual independence of awards in theft own right has to be recognised as entities distinct from courses of study; and instrumentalist views have to be sufficiently prevalent to make it meaningful to treat an award as specifying a set of purposes and intended outcomes (that is to say, as an 'end' potentially achievable by various 'means'). These conditions, it is suggested, only tend to arise in particular social circumstances, specifically those of mass higher education. Having illustrated these points by considering certain changes of usage in the terms used for higher education awards (degree, qualification, etc), the paper concludes with a tentative sketch of a framework by which to analyse the various ways in which awards might contribute to the workings of HE as a system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Flipped classroom is a relatively new model in education that primarily focuses on learner-centered instructions. In other words, the model allows both management and teachers to build a more active and dynamic learning environment on the campus. The current paper tries to document the implementation of the flipped classroom model in two big data courses. Here, the course contents have been curated from a couple of websites with different contents including videos and short books as well as reports. The mixed-method approach was applied while analyzing the student perceptions in demographically two different groups. It was found that students of both groups responded positively to the flipped classroom, with each focusing on their specific goals. Consequently, the first group focused on the academic achievement whereas the second group with managerial jobs focused on solving problems in their workplaces. Students of both groups, although preferred TED talks and documentaries, they were opposed to university-like videos and O'Reilly short books and reports. Meanwhile, the use of English language contents turned out to be both a challenge and an opportunity for students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The key purpose of educational welfare officers in England is to support students and parents to maximise educational opportunities for young people. However more is known about their role in relation to school attendance than in relation to pupils' educational outcomes. Using the Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England ( LSYPE), this paper investigates the characteristics of teenagers who received educational welfare contact because of their behaviour between 2004 and 2006. With observational data it is often difficult to isolate respondents exposed to a particular intervention or 'treatment', because of non-random allocation. We address this using inverse-probability-weighted regression adjustment ( IPWRA) to estimate more accurately the effect of educational welfare contact on outcomes of educational achievement and aspiration. Our findings indicate that young people who had educational welfare contact because of their behaviour were less likely to apply to university, less confident in university acceptance if they applied and had lower odds of achieving five General Certificate of Secondary Education at grades A*-C, the government benchmark for education achievement at age 16. We discuss the limitations we face and implications of these findings for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The theory of planned behaviour attempts to explain factors which influence behaviour. One of these factors is intention. Positive or negative intentions are formed by a person's impression of the way other people would perceive similar behaviour (external forces). The authors of this study used the theory of planned behaviour to examine, compare and interpret the academic performance of students entering a university either via direct intake or via a bridging programme. This study focuses on the UniBridge programme offered by Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), which is an intensive one-semester course that prepares students for undergraduate-level study. While direct-intake applicants pass minimum requirements for entry and are able to enrol directly into an undergraduate programme, applicants who do not meet these minimum requirements can join this bridging programme which is designed to be a 'second-chance' entry option. Using a mixed-methods approach, the authors subjected student performance data of both direct-intake and bridge-programme undergraduates to statistical analyses, carried out interviews and then used the theoretical framework of planned behaviour to pinpoint individual attitudes and social pressures which form an intention to prepare for entry examinations. The results were mostly consistent and showed that the two groups were competitive in terms of undergraduate academic achievement, thus proving the second-chance programme to be effective in enabling students with poor A-Level results to experience academic confidence at university level. On the strength of these findings, the authors conclude their paper with recommendations for tertiary institutions to support lifelong learning initiatives through the use of multiple channels of entry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment regulations in higher education, which are important for assuring threshold academic standards, reflect institutional cultures and histories, and are shaped by pragmatic concerns about quality indicators such as retention and progression rates, as well as principles of equity. This paper articulates some of the tensions that confront higher education institutions in the development and revision of regulatory frameworks, and describes a survey of assessment regulations from a sample of UK higher education institutions for the first year of undergraduate study. The survey identifies key variations in regulatory policy and practice that challenge assumptions about comparability of academic standards between higher education institutions. These findings imply that student success and progression may not be a simple reflection of academic attainment, and raise questions about notions of equity. It is intended that this research will contribute to informed discussion in the sector about academic standards and the regulatory frameworks underpinning first-year assessment policy and practice, and thus potentially lead to more transparent and consistent practice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Singapore has been assigned the role of a ‘model’ nation state primarily for two reasons: its rapid rate of economic growth and its outstanding performance on cross-national tests of educational achievement, such as PISA. This has resulted in advocates of reform citing it as illustrating ‘best practices’, especially in the field of education, and it has more generally been viewed as demonstrating the benefits of economic globalization. This paper analyses from a comparative perspective the more problematic and relatively unexplored third dimension of being a model ‘global’ nation, namely its impact on income inequality and the quality of citizens’ life. We focus on the role of the system of lifelong learning which was designed generally to upgrade the skills of the workforce and specifically to provide low-paid/skilled workers with opportunities to improve incomes and enhance their socio-economic mobility. We demonstrate that despite the remarkable economic growth at a national level and the significant expansion of lifelong learning provision, productivity rates have not improved, income inequality has increased, social mobility has declined and the ‘quality of life’ is, in comparative terms, poor. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Purpose – This paper aims to analyze and illustrate achievements and challenges of Ethiopian higher education, both at the system level and at the level of new public universities. Design/methodology/approach – Achievements and challenges at the system level are based on literature review and secondary data. Illustrative case studies are based on university data and interviews with university representatives. Findings – The Ethiopian higher education system has increased its enrollments substantially. The construction of 13 new universities that started enrolling students around 2007 contributed greatly to this achievement. Challenges accompanying this growth lie in funding, quality and quantity of staffing, teaching practices, research and community service, quality assurance and gender balance. Originality/value – The present study contributes to existing literature by describing case studies illustrating challenges and achievements in new public universities in Ethiopian higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper sets out a discussion on the theme of eldership in the context of schools, with particular reference to implications for school eldership and pastoral care. The author provides a commentary on the decline of available support for school leaders in terms of informal eldership networks and the changing demographic of the teaching profession. The discussion considers specific consequences of this changing demographic, and a subsequent shift in focus amongst new entrants to teaching, with particular attention to the impact for delivering pastoral care. The author presents a perspective on eldership, suggesting a range of qualities and expertise that constitute the role of the elder, raising questions and challenges for re-establishing eldership in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic staff is a key resource in higher education institutions (HEIs) and therefore has a major role in the achievement of the objectives of these institutions. Satisfied and well-motivated academic staff can build a national and international reputation for themselves and their institutions. Moreover, the performance of academic staff impacts student learning. In this context, the study of academic staff job satisfaction and motivation to perform their professional activities becomes crucial, especially as higher education is traversed by multiple changes. The purpose of this paper is to present and analyze the findings of a nationwide study on satisfaction and motivation of academics. All academics working in Portuguese HEIs were invited to complete a survey online. The data obtained from 4529 academics were extensively analyzed and findings are presented here along with their implications for HEIs in Portugal. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A growing number of studies are focusing on the ‘fit’ between the higher education student and the educational institution. These studies show that a lack of fit between the two generates anxiety, ultimately acting as a barrier to student learning. Research involving 23 higher education students attending a dual-sector further and higher education college in Northern Ireland was conducted in order to examine ‘this fit’. It was assumed that this fit should be greatest in a local institute serving the needs of its local population. Findings however highlight that the expectation of what a student is and should be by an institute is not in tandem to the life the student lives. Study participants cited an institute lacking in understanding; an institutional habitus that does little to make this a space that supports the learning needs of students. While this lack of understanding has been found in traditional higher education institutions, it is most surprising to find that it exists in a dual-sector organisation. The paper concludes that those who deliver higher education in this space must understand and respond to the modern-day student, before success of this initiative can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper reflects upon the development of a multidisciplinary lesson plan aimed at developing science skills for Physics and Astronomy, Geographical and Earth Sciences, and Chemistry students at a research intensive Scottish university. The lesson plan was co-developed with a small group of staff and undergraduate students from these disciplinary areas. The authors discuss the rationale and process for developing the course, drawing upon literature relating to students and staff co-creating curricula in higher education. The authors conclude by offering suggestions for the academic development community about ways in which this kind of collaboration can be supported at local and institutional levels. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The number of international higher degree research students has grown at a significant rate in recent years, with Australia becoming a hub for attracting such students from around the world. However, research has identified that international higher degree research students often encounter a wide range of academic and socio-cultural challenges in adapting to their new environment, which can have a significant bearing on their levels of satisfaction with their studies. This paper outlines the findings of a mixed method study exploring the experiences and perceptions of international higher degree research students from five different countries in Australia. Findings revealed that the most important issues in terms of satisfaction were not directly related to academic studies. Instead, factors such as integration into the community, interacting with other students, relationships with supervisors, and the provision of adequate desk space were often given the greatest weight. Implications for how university policy can better support international doctoral students are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Introduction of law school admission examinations has increased the debate regarding the relevance of prior studies for the enrollees in the program. The key issues of contention are whether prior studies reliably predict academic achievement of enrollees, and demonstrate proficiencies required for admission in the program. The purpose of this paper is to use administrative records of law students at Makerere University – over a four-year stipulated period of bachelor’s studies – to investigate the above-mentioned issues further. Design/methodology/approach – Panel data of 2,485 records enable us to explore time variant and invariant factors in the course of bachelor’s candidature. Findings – About 81 per cent of differentials in academic achievement was found to be due to variation across students. In addition to confirming prior academic attainment as a contributing factor to variations in academic achievement, our findings affirm that competence in literature, history and divinity predicts success on the program. Research limitations/implications – Competence in these subjects (literature, history and divinity) certainly demonstrates proficiencies required by a student of law. Thus, admission based on competence in these subjects provides insights into proficiencies required by enrollees to excel academically in the program. Originality/value – Unlike prior studies, this study explores time-variant factors in the course of bachelor’s candidature, and is based on subjects taken during prior studies (secondary education) rather than a pooled index or weighted score adopted on admission to the program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we consider whether certain countries are particularly adept (or particularly poor) at getting children from disadvantaged homes to study for a bachelor's degree. A series of university access models are estimated for four English-speaking countries (England, Canada, Australia and the USA), which include controls for comparable measures of academic achievement at age 15. Our results suggest that socioeconomic differences in university access are more pronounced in England and Canada than Australia and the USA and that cross-national variation in the socioeconomic gap remains even once we take account of differences in academic achievement. We discuss the implications of our findings for the creation of more socially mobile societies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deficiencies in beginning undergraduate students’ basic mathematical skills has been an issue of concern in higher education, particularly in the past 15 years. This issue has been tracked and analysed in a number of universities in Ireland and internationally through student scores recorded in mathematics diagnostic tests. Students beginning their science-based and technology-based undergraduate courses in the University of Limerick have had their basic mathematics skills tested without any prior warning through a 40 question diagnostic test during their initial service mathematics lecture since 1998. Data gathered through this diagnostic test have been recorded in a database kept at the university and explored to track trends in mathematical competency of these beginning undergraduates. This paper details findings surrounding an analysis of the database between 2003 and 2013, outlining changes in mathematical competencies of these beginning undergraduates in an attempt to determine reasons for such changes. The analysis found that the proportion of students tested through this diagnostic test that are predicted to be at risk of failing their service mathematics end-of-semester examinations has increased significantly between 2003 and 2013. Furthermore, when students' performance in secondary level mathematics was controlled, it was determined that the performance of beginning undergraduates in 2013 was statistically significantly below that of the performance of the beginning undergraduates recorded 10 years previously. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Higher education in business school environments is increasingly focused on how to best equip students with the skills necessary for leadership in the global workplace. This paper examines the impact of two particularly important cognitive capabilities – task reflexivity and intercultural sensitivity, on academic performance in an MBA programme. It was hypothesised that in an intercultural learning environment, task reflexivity would be associated with higher academic performance, and that this relationship would be mediated via intercultural sensitivity. Questionnaire data from 77 MBA students was analysed alongside academic performance. Results demonstrated that task reflexivity was indirectly related to academic performance through intercultural sensitivity. These findings suggest that engagement in task reflexivity enables students to develop greater levels of intercultural sensitivity, allowing them to reap the positive effects of diversity in their peer group for their own learning and performance. Limitations and practical implications of the research for professional practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The considerable impact of problem-based learning (PBL) on academic achievement of students in medical education has prompted the K-12 community to start implementing this non-traditional, student-centered, and inquiry-driven teaching approach in its classrooms. This paper examines the current reported evidence of PBL effectiveness in secondary education. To our knowledge, there has been no systematic review of the literature that evaluates the impact of PBL on student academic achievement in high school education. Based on the exhaustive review of the current literature it is not possible to claim with a high degree of confidence that PBL is indeed more effective in increasing student content knowledge. While it is evident from the results of the reviewed studies that PBL positively influences student academic achievement, there are several reasons that prevent the generalization of these findings to a wider, secondary education population. The current reported literature lacks sufficient, rigorous evidence that supports superiority of PBL over traditional methods of instruction. However, it needs to be remembered that PBL fosters not only development of content knowledge, but also a wide range of skills, such as communication and collaboration skills, decision-making, problem-solving, critical-thinking, and self-directed learning. Keeping in mind that these skills are highly valued in secondary education, the inefficiency of traditional methods to aid in development and strengthening of these particular student abilities was the main reason to start considering and adopting various instructional approaches, including PBL. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A key predictor of young people’s future outcomes is their level of academic achievement whilst at school. In England this is most commonly measured by achievement in GCSEs. However, not all pupils will have taken the same set of GCSE examinations as, for example, they may make different subject choices. For this reason, GCSE performance is often aggregated into a simple measure such as ‘mean GCSE grade’ before being used in statistical models. This paper investigates the merits of using an alternative method, based upon the relatively new technique of Generalised Boosting Models, which does not require for GCSE results in different subjects to be aggregated together. The importance of this research is that by evaluating the predictive performance of such a method we can ascertain how much useful information is lost in the process of GCSE aggregation. The results show that traditional predictions based upon simple aggregated measures of GCSE attainment are fairly similar to those based upon the more complex approach. This provides some confidence that, for the majority of outcomes, only a small amount of predictive information will be lost through the use of aggregated measures of GCSE performance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The teacher academic performance evaluation is a way of increasing the quality of teaching at the university and an important source to carry out this process is the student's criteria. The aim of this paper was to analyze the evaluation of the academic competencyof a teacher, using the student's perceptions, through a Research Methodology course that was thought as a part of the mastership in Spanish language and literature teaching taking place at Artemisa University, Cuba. To do so, a survey based on the academic competency indicators was used. The software “Coharentia" made possible to process the results of the survey. According to the student's perceptions, the teacher was evaluated as competent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This dataset contains participant data related to the use of badging (achievement) feedback in pedagogical design. Two sections each of web-based graphic design and web design undergraduate courses were offered at the University of Central Florida. A badging system for achievements was included in one section of each. Performance, engagement and behavior-related data were collected. The dataset comprises complete data from 44 undergraduate students. This paper includes a justification for data collection, methodology and preexisting usage of the data. It also discusses limitations of the dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses national data on 450 Dutch bachelor programs to measure the effect of the introduction of academic dismissal policies on study progress and first-year drop-out. Our results show that these policies increase first-year drop-out on average by 6-7%. They also have the effect of improving the study progress of first-year survivors by 5-9%, as measured by their 4-year completion rate. We conclude that academic dismissal policies can be an effective intervention to decrease the study duration of motivated and talented students. Academic dismissal policies thus do not reduce student dropout, but rather bring it forward in time. While these policies strengthen the selective function of the first year, they do little to put dismissed students on a more successful academic path. The referential function of academic dismissal policies therefore needs further strengthening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the empirical evidence on participation and attainment in higher education by reviewing the patterns of entry and success of undergraduate students. It examines the characteristics of entrants to different subjects and considers the role that subject studied plays in determining the likelihood of graduating with a 'good' degree. The data used were drawn from the administrative records of over 38,000 UK-domiciled undergraduate students from one 'elite' British university. Despite considerable between-subject variation in degree outcomes, multivariate analysis of the relationship between students' social and academic characteristics and achievement at university revealed that once social background and prior attainment had been controlled for, the subject students studied added little explanatory power to models predicting final degree classifications. Differences in degree outcome were most strongly related to attainment on entry to higher education, sex and ethnicity. In contrast with attainment during the earlier phases of education, the relationship with occupational class was relatively weak. Disparities between the proportion of higher level classifications awarded in different subjects can be largely explained by the background characteristics of the students who choose (and are accepted) to study on these degrees. This finding has particular implications for policies aimed at increasing both the number and quality of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics ( STEM) graduates in what is often argued to be a 'shortage' or 'priority' area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a study of teacher educators preparing teachers for the Further Education and Skills sector in England. Thirty-six teacher educators participated in an intervention intended to enhance understanding of subject-specialist pedagogy. Based on a socially-situated conception of pedagogical content knowledge, the intervention included a workshop supplemented by specially-developed learning resources. Data on prior knowledge, initial reception, and longer-term impact was collected by pre-intervention survey and at least one post-intervention interview. The paper explores how the intervention impacted participants' understanding and practice, and proposes a typology for understanding the longer-term sustainability of this impact. • Intervention to develop teacher educators' knowledge of subject-specialist pedagogy. • Impact of the intervention investigated by survey and semi-structured interviews. • Participants initially reported significant potential for impacts on practice. • Variable longer-term impact: reports of improved practice but also of no change. • Structural explanations specific to English further education sector are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Claremont Colleges Library conducted direct rubric assessment of Pitzer College First-Year Seminar research papers to analyze the impact of diverse levels of librarian course collaborations on information literacy (IL) performance in student writing. Findings indicate that progressive degrees of librarian engagement in IL-related course instruction and/or syllabus and assignment design had an increasingly positive impact on student performance. A secondary indirect analysis of librarian teaching evaluations and self-perceived learning gains by students and faculty showed no correlation to rubric IL scores, suggesting the importance of "authentic" assessment in determining actual learning outcomes. This mixed-methods study presents findings in each area and examines their implications for effective IL course collaborations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the field of civil engineering evolves to address twenty-first century challenges, the demand for creative and innovative thinking rises. Engineering institutions around the nation have begun to integrate sustainability into the curriculum. Topics such as innovation and entrepreneurship are highly correlated with sustainability goals; however, many times they are viewed as market or management-driven principles. The Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network (KEEN) Program was established to transform the U.S. workforce through equipping graduate engineers with an entrepreneurial mindset. This program is based on KEEN student outcomes (KSOs), which can be incorporated into department level, as well as course level, curricula. This paper focuses on the integration of KSOs into a senior civil engineering capstone course through two course activities over two years. KEEN rubrics are used to assess student achievement of the KSOs focused on innovative thinking and productive collaboration. The assessment results indicate that there are existing strengths as well as future opportunities to enhance student performance of innovative thinking and open-ended problem solving--skills that are essential to promoting sustainable design and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) is an effective approach for promoting active learning. When inquiry-based learning is incorporated into instruction, teachers provide guiding questions for students to actively explore the required knowledge in order to solve the problems. Although the World Wide Web (WWW) is a rich knowledge resource for students to explore using search engines, it is hard for students to filter out required knowledge from the unorganized web pages and the huge number of search results. In this paper, an inquiry-based learning support system with two advanced knowledge exploration modules, namely the Q&A module and the Segmented Supplemental Material (SSM) module, is proposed and developed to assist students' inquiry-based learning. This study also evaluates the effects of the proposed system on students' learning achievement and learning efficiency with the various supports provided by the proposed system. Experiments were undertaken on a "Computer Science" course for first year undergraduate students. The experimental results show that with the support of the two advanced modules, both the students' learning achievement and their learning efficiency were enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper examines the effects of state merit-based student aid programs on college attendance and degree completion. Our primary analysis uses microdata from the 2000 United States Census and 2001-2010 American Community Survey to estimate the effects of exposure to merit programs on educational outcomes for 25 states that adopted such programs by 2004. We also utilize administrative data for the University System of Georgia to look more in depth at the effects of exposure to the HOPE Scholarship on degree completion. We find strong consistent evidence that exposure to state merit aid programs have no meaningfully positive effect on college completion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on domestic and international students’ perceptions of the influence of group diversity on communication, learning, task performance and assessment grades. The study’s methodology involved quantitative and qualitative analysis of surveys (N = 312), focus group interviews of students (n = 26) and individual staff interviews (N = 7). More domestic (79%) than international (29%) students stated that they preferred working with students from a similar background. While a proportion of the sample of domestic students stated that intercultural group work raised their awareness of interaction styles in other cultures, others noted that the group experience was negatively affected by issues related to language proficiency and awareness of academic requirements. Qualitative analysis reveals that ‘othering’, a process by which members of an in group (Us) distance themselves from an outgroup (Them), was often used as a basis for these students avoiding intercultural group assessment. Finally, there was a clear pattern overall of higher achieving international and domestic students perceiving that their grades for group assignments were below what they would normally receive for individual assignments, and lower achieving students perceiving that their grades were higher for group assignments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Data Driven Decision Support Systems are mature technologies whose effectiveness in business and management seem to be well established and uncontroversial. Under the circumstances of increased competition between universities in their attempt to better position themselves on the market of educational services, a Data Driven Decision Support System could become a powerful instrument meant to enhance all the decisions that target various aspects of the educational process. This paper is a case study conducted in a Romanian university, presenting the development of such a system, emphasizing the analytical capabilities related to student results at exams, as this topic is of interest for the users of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the impact of Facebook usage on students' academic performance. In addition, it also analyse whether Socialization influences Facebook usage. Empirical data was collected from 1165 Malaysian university students using a questionnaire survey. It was found that the construct Socially Accepted influences Facebook usage while Acculturation does not have any significant relationship with usage. The results also illustrated that there is a positive relationship between students' Academic Performance and Facebook usage i.e. the higher the usage the better they perceived they perform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The restructuring of the Australian labour market decreased demand for low-skilled workers and increased demand for highly skilled workers and professionals further strengthening the relationship between educational and occupational attainment. To satisfy the demand for highly educated workers, the government reorganised the higher education sector increasing the number of universities and trebling the number of places for domestic undergraduate students. Analysing data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, this paper examines the association between parents' education and the likelihood of graduating from university for six birth cohorts of Australians. Overall, the findings suggest that although the expansion of the higher education sector in Australia provided alternative pathways into university, differences in educational attainment, on both quantitative and qualitative dimensions, persist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The role and impact of diversity in higher education has permeated conversations about student access and achievement for many years. Language articulated by various courts suggests that higher education policies should reflect a broad conceptualisation of diversity beyond that of the magnitude and proportion of race and ethnicity, yet institutions struggle to measure diversity in a manner that effectively supports the management of diversity goals and meets the legal requirements for targeted strategies. Building on methodologies from biology and political science, this paper proposes a new way of conceptualising and measuring diversity that addresses the limitations of traditional diversity metrics and accounts for race and race-neutral attributes within a single model. Using data from over 1500 colleges and universities, the development of a composite diversity index is demonstrated as a strategy for meeting organisational need to account for and measure multiple diversity attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background After graduation from secondary school, academic tasks (i.e., learning contents) are no longer structured in terms of school subjects (i.e., English, mathematics). Therefore, learners lack past performance and mastery experience to inform their expectancy of success (i.e., ability beliefs) regarding novel tasks. Aims In this paper, we investigate how individuals establish expectancy of success regarding novel academic tasks. We hypothesize that individuals draw on ability beliefs regarding known tasks that are deemed similar to novel tasks to estimate expectancy of success (generalization hypothesis). Sample(s) Participants were first-year students ( n = 354) in the field of business administration (Study 1), and (Study 2) psychology students predominantly ( n = 174). Methods In Study 1, we analysed relations between ability beliefs (i.e., academic self-concepts of ability) regarding four school subjects and four fields of study varying in similarity. In Study 2, we assessed mastery experience regarding two school subjects and expectancy of success (i.e., self-efficacy) regarding a fictitious course manipulating participants' similarity judgement. We analysed the data using mainly structural equation modelling. Results Results support the generalization hypothesis regarding both indicators of expectancy of success (i.e., self-concept and self-efficacy). Subject-specific self-concepts of ability predict study-related self-concepts of ability according to individuals' similarity judgements. Subject-specific mastery experience predicts expectancy of success only if the respective school subject is emphasized in the course description. Conclusion Individuals apparently draw on established ability beliefs regarding known tasks to inform their expectancy of success regarding novel tasks. Findings further our understanding of the development of motivation to learn in adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of increased demands for excellence in all areas, academic promotion and tenure is now directly linked to achievement of measurable outputs in all areas of performance. In a work environment characterised by high workloads, competing expectations and reduced resources, academics must increasingly demonstrate active engagement with the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). For many, this may mean adopting new cultures, methodologies, theories, languages and modes of enquiry outside their home or cognate discipline. In the context of performance management, academics must reconceptualise and articulate notions of 'good academic practice', often in parallel with the practical requirement to continue to teach in the culture and practices of their cognate discipline. We need to better understand the implications, for institutions and individuals, of approaching SoTL through the lens of performance evaluation. This paper reports the key themes from a pilot study examining how academics at an Australian university are responding to the emergence of SoTL in the performance management context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a video-game designed to support teaching introductory economics at undergraduate level. In order to test its effectiveness compared to traditional textbook learning we designed a laboratory experiment. Results show no evidence that playing the video-game leads to lower exam performance than reading a textbook, neither for multiple-choice nor for essay questions. We also find no gender bias and no effect of announcing the test prior to the learning task or thereafter. However, game behavior appears to be related to test performance, and differently so for different types of learning. Students perceive the two learning tools similarly in terms of understanding requirements or usefulness, but enjoyed the video-game considerably more. Interestingly, although women enjoyed the game less than men, they do not differ in their test performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of a podcasting task on the examination performance of several hundred first-year chemistry undergraduate students. Educational researchers have established that a deep approach to learning that promotes active understanding of meaning can lead to better student outcomes, higher grades and superior retention of knowledge over time. We attempted to promote such an approach by setting a task that involved student collaboration, contextualisation of content, and communication through new media, specifically creative podcasting. Examination results were used as a source of empirical evidence of changes in understanding and retention that occurred for students who completed this task. In comparing results across 2 years on similar questions related to the podcasting topics, we found a statistically significant improvement after introduction of the podcasting task on the questions related to one of the topics on which students had actively created their own podcasts ('acids & bases'), but not on the other ('oxidisation and reduction'). Improved learning outcomes in the form of better understanding and retention over time in at least one case suggest that under some circumstances creative podcasting may indeed help to promote a deep learning approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To what extent and why do social origins matter for access to higher education, including access to elite universities? What is the role of private and selective schooling? This paper uses the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) to analyse the trajectories of a generation currently in early middle age. We find that the influence of social origins, especially parental education, remains when both a wide range of cognitive measures and school attainment are controlled. Attending a private school is powerfully predictive of gaining a university degree, and especially a degree from an elite institution, while grammar schooling does not appear to confer any advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Community colleges play a major role in postsecondary education, yet previous research has emphasized the impact of merit aid on four-year students rather than two-year students. Furthermore, researchers have focused on the impact of merit aid on enrollment and outcomes during college, but to my knowledge, none have yet considered the impact of aid on earnings after college. This paper utilizes discontinuities in eligibility criteria for a large merit scholarship to examine the local impact of aid on student outcomes both during college and after college. The findings suggest that reducing the cost of community college does not impact persistence, academic performance, degree completion, expected earnings, or short-term earnings after college for marginally eligible students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate on academic achievement is a heated issue that involves all the higher education contexts. This paper attempts to provide an indicator that can make the measurement of university student performance easier and that can be easily applied to different systems, making comparisons more fair. The Italian University System is used as a starting point to make several considerations on the current measures and to build up a new performance indicator. Then, a generalization for other marking systems is shown and finally a quantile regression is performed to investigate some determinants of the new performance indicator, also with respect to the current one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic achievement is regarded an indicator of the success of individuals, schools, universities and countries. 'Success' is typically measured using performance indicators such as test results, completion rates and other objective measures. By contrast, in this article we explore students' subjective understandings and constructions of success, and discourses about 'successful' students in higher education contexts that are renowned for being demanding and pressured. We draw on data from 87 semi-structured interviews with students and staff on law, medicine and engineering physics programmes in a prestigious university in Sweden. We focus particularly upon academic expectations, effort levels, and programme structures and cultures. Achieving top grades while undertaking a range of extracurricular activities was valorised in all contexts. Top grades were especially impressive if they were attained without much effort (especially in engineering physics) or stress (especially in law and medicine); we introduce a new concept of 'stress-less achievement' in relation to the latter. Furthermore, being sociable as well as a high academic achiever signified living a 'good life' and, in law and medicine, professional competence. We discuss the implications of the dominant constructions of success, concluding that (upper) middle-class men are most likely to be read as 'successful students', especially in engineering physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a qualitative study exploring the role and functionality of emotions in feedback. In-depth interview data from students and lecturers at an Australian university are analysed using cognitive appraisal and prototype theory. Results suggest that students experience a range of positive and negative emotions in feedback contexts which function to address both achievement and relational concerns. Practical implications are identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates degree classification outcomes for students with SQA Higher qualifications at an elite Scottish university. Students are characterised according to a new indicator based on their secondary school’s academic performance relative to the national (Scottish) average. The results show that our school context indicator provides valuable information for interpreting school qualifications with respect to a student’s potential to benefit from their university studies. If school context is ignored, raw school grades alone may be an incomplete measure of academic ability and the probability of success at university. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The significant increase of entrepreneurship education (EE) is a trend in Europe. Entrepreneurship education is supposed to promote general and specific entrepreneurial abilities and improve academic performance. This paper evaluates whether EE influences academic performance, measured by Grade Point Average. The main indicator used for EE is the Company Program (CP), a program taught in upper-secondary school in 40 European countries. The data derive from surveys conducted in Norway in 2008 (1,400 pupils) and 2011 (1,100 post-graduates). Results from econometric analyses show that there is no difference in the GPA between participants in CP and other forms of EE and non-participants. This indicates that EE is neither good, nor bad as a teaching method for improvement of academic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

For years, universities worldwide have offered English-medium degrees as a way to attract international students and staff, enhance their institutional profile and promote multilingualism. In Europe and the European Higher Education Area (EHEA), English-medium instruction (EMI) is more recent, but the dimension and speed of its implementation has outpaced language policies, methodological considerations and empirical research. In view of this, this paper focuses on an empirical study examining the effect that the teaching of a Business Administration degree in English as a foreign language may have on Spanish students’ academic performance (as measured through coursework and final grades), when compared to their counterparts’ learning in Spanish. Students’ grades are analysed in three different disciplinary subjects and treated statistically. Findings show that both cohorts obtain similar results, suggesting that the language of instruction does not seem to compromise students’ learning of academic content. Differences, however, are found regarding learners’ performance in the three disciplinary subjects under scrutiny, with history yielding slightly higher results than accounting and finance. This finding runs counter to the general belief that the more verbal subjects, like history, would have a ‘limiting’ effect on EMI students’ final performance and, moreover, raises questions concerning disciplinary differences and assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]