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Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) instruments can be administered online or with paper and pencil. These procedures involve different interactions between respondents and instruments which could cause errors when administrators and researchers want to compare or relate online results with paper-based results. This study aimed to analyze if the Romanian version of the Student Evaluations of Educational Quality instrument presents similar psychometric characteristics regardless if it is completed online or by paper and pencil. Data was collected from two groups of students (N = 809). One group completed the SEEQ on paper-pencil support (312 responders, 38.6%). The other group completed the scale for the same teachers and courses, but online and one year later. Psychometrical checks and measurement invariance analysis suggested that the Romanian version of SEEQ has passed the internal validity and reliability test and presented configural, metric, and scalar invariance across the results obtained from both administration procedures. • Nowadays, SET instruments are administered online or by paper-pencil procedures. • The procedures involve different interactions between respondents and instruments. • Checking the measure invariance is necessary when using both SET procedures. • The SEEQ has good invariance indices across data collected with both procedures. • The SEEQ has a good fit for the Romanian population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers have acknowledged that English-medium Instruction (EMI) instructors' professional development (PD) is crucial for promoting high-quality student learning outcomes, resulting in an increasing number of EMI PD programs worldwide across a variety of academic fields. Much research on EMI PD has focused on how to support EMI teachers rather than who can serve as teacher developers. This paper presents a glocalized EMI PD program designed collaboratively by experienced ESP teachers and EMI instructors in Taiwan's higher education. The study focused on a cohort from the medical and healthcare faculty, revealing significant improvements in their EMI pedagogical knowledge and self-efficacy. These enhancements were evidenced by increased skills and understanding related to EMI. Additionally, it highlighted the positive outcomes of dispelling EMI misconceptions, increasing awareness of effective language use in teaching, as well as addressing the nuances of EMI pedagogy and self-efficacy. The above findings suggest that ESP teachers can be leveraged as legitimate designers of PD programs to effectively address EMI university instructors' needs, given their expertise in ESP, disciplinary literacy, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Therefore, this study serves as a valuable reference and springboard for the future development of EMI PD programs. • Leverage ESP educators' roles as designers and facilitators of EMI PD programs. • Demonstrate the positive impacts of a glocalized, blended EMI PD program on EMP faculty. • Mediate EMI pedagogical concepts, tools, and languaging skills in EMI training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This commentary attempts to offer a practitioner's perspective on Chan (2019), which looks at how the communication skills of senior managers have changed throughout their careers. The findings of the study suggest that educators in ESP and higher education should prepare future leaders in a more long-term and holistic way so that they can become successful members of the business community. As they take up leadership functions, they will not only need an advanced proficiency of English but will have to use it as a lingua franca in business combined with relationship building, which requires relational language and soft skills. This repertoire will not only empower them but also create a company culture of trust and integrity for all the stakeholders. Educators in ESP and higher education need to prepare their learners to become holistic leaders and to overcome the challenges of workplace communication using English. This commentary discusses how Chan's findings could also be used to inform corporate training/coaching. It also provides tasks intended to support course participants in learning more about themselves, their own values, and their beliefs that are important for long-term relationship building. • A business English trainer's perspective on C. Chan's (2019) paper. • Language and communication strategies developed beyond formal learning. • English proficiency combined with soft skills and coaching throughout career. • Facilitating on-the-job learning via communities of practice and real-life experiences. • Long-term and holistic view for educators in ESP and higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Schizophrenia occurs worldwide, and the health, and economic burden is substantial. As one of the common proxies of socioeconomic status (SES), education was reported to be associated with the risk of developing schizophrenia. However, there is no causal evidence about the relationship. This paper explores the health benefits of college education for schizophrenia. Based on exogenous variation in college enrollment across regions and cohorts induced by college enrollment expansion policy, we use instrument variable (IV) estimate strategy to estimate impacts of college education on the risk of schizophrenia with the data from Second National Sample Survey on Disability. We find that college education reduces the risk of developing schizophrenia by 4.2 percentage points. Some further analyses suggest the causal protective effect is only found among men, rural, and low-income individuals. These findings provide new evidence for the causal relationship between college education and schizophrenia, and add to the literature on the health benefits of education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the reference management practices of students, researchers, and academic staff at the University of Huddersfield. The aim of the research was to explore the role of reference management software within scholarly workflows, alongside other ways of managing information including both digital and non-digital practices. An online survey consisting of both closed and open questions was completed by 263 respondents, comprising undergraduate students, taught postgraduates, postgraduate researchers, and academic staff at the university. Quantitative data was used to generate a descriptive overview of the research sample and to contextualise the interpretation of qualitative data. Qualitative data from the open questions was analysed using reflexive thematic analysis to generate the themes presented in this paper. Quantitative data revealed a wide range of both digital and non-digital methods for reference management. While most respondents had tried using at least one type of reference management software, use of software was higher among postgraduate researchers and academic staff than undergraduates and taught postgraduates. Three themes were generated from the qualitative data: practices are unique and contextual; practices develop over time; and reference management software forms part of wider practice. Exploration of these themes led to recommendations for librarians to incorporate this understanding of reference management practices into information literacy teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper studies the effect of politicians' education levels on government efficiency. Using data on Norwegian local government, the paper measures efficiency by DEA-productivity indicators and comprehensive indicators of service production. The identification of causal effects exploits close (within-list) elections to design an instrumental variable for council shares with higher education. Consistent with survey data, the estimates show that better-educated politicians induce higher levels of efficiency, particularly for old-age care services. A similar empirical strategy indicates that political experience has small efficiency effects. Educational misrepresentation has modest effects on fiscal allocations and is mostly canceled out by the efficiency gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Created in 2012 ORCID now enjoys global status as a Persistent Identifier (PID) in the academic community. The international literature has been generally positive towards this new piece of research infrastructure, particularly based on its obvious potential to aid name disambiguation. However, a small number of commentators have highlighted negative issues with ORCID, as well as the way in which they are increasing mandated by publishers, funders, and even employers. This research sought to critically evaluate perceptions of ORCID in the Technological University (TU)/Institute of Technology (IoT) sector in Ireland. This study adopted a mixed methods approach involving an online survey with academics in Ireland's TU/IoT sector and a survey of senior librarians. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to explore the qualitative data collected via open-ended questions. The results indicate that most lecturers have only minimally engaged with ORCID. Thematic analysis of responses from faculty identified six distinct themes. The majority of themes identified were negative towards ORCID, with many lecturers appearing unsure about its purpose, having only registered for ORCID because of external pressure. Faculty were also concerned that ORCID could facilitate external monitoring, as well as them being resistant to the effort involved in keeping an ORCID profile up to date. ORCID was also seen as a potential source of danger, although some lecturers had started to use their ORCID profile to promote their work. Perceptions amongst librarians were very different, with librarians notably more in favour of ORCID. Three themes were identified: name disambiguation, facilitation of linkages with other IT systems, and future potential. The paper offers a critical analysis of ORCID adoption in Ireland based on perceptions amongst two stakeholder groups, academics and librarians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper evaluates the rise of "Generative Artificial Intelligence" (GAI) in its myriad forms, with the highest profile being the "Large Language Models" (LLMs). More importantly, it analyses the potentially disruptive impact of this ascendant technology on higher education and the global workplace. The findings of this paper indicate that students pursuing higher education tend to perceive GAI favourably, as it frees them from the toil of rote-learning. However, the view is rather mixed in the case of educators, who are still coming to grips with this seemingly disruptive technology. In the case of the global labour market, GAI has the potential to decimate legions of white-collar jobs once it eliminates inherent issues of biases, security and misinformation. Despite the media's constant labelling of GAI as a disruptive technology that has suddenly burst onto the technological scene, it is evidenced in this paper that the technology has taken nearly eight decades to reach today's level of technological advancement. Further, it is far from reaching its full potential, as it is still incorporating advances in pattern recognition, planning and problem solving, and quantum computing technologies. This study also warns of concentrating the power of this game-changing technology in the hands of a few major corporate titans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rise of microlearning both for professional training and in the field of education seems unstoppable. Nonetheless, there is a lack of evidence of its learning effectiveness and student satisfaction. The purpose of this paper is to uncover these two aspects of microlearning when taking part in a business education program. Its originality is that it analyses in depth a fast-growing EdTech startup that provides business training using microlearning methods, exploring the effect in terms of student satisfaction and learning effectiveness when combining a significant number of microlearning lessons to create a macro-learning course. Findings show that learning effectiveness is mainly explained by the reason for enrolling in this type of training and its applicability to the students' current jobs, resulting in four possible learning outcomes of increasing levels of effectiveness: entertainment, updating knowledge and skills, unexpected learning, and effective learning. This paper helps fill a gap in the research on learner satisfaction and microlearning effectiveness, finding that they are not necessarily guaranteed. It also has practical implications for designing, recruiting for, and implementing microlearning-based programs. Keypoints: Empirical research into microlearning effectiveness and student satisfaction in postgraduate business education. Exploring the effectiveness of macro-learning, or the grouping of a significant number of microlearning lessons into a learning program. Uncovering different levels of learning effectiveness and their antecedent conditions. • Seeking learning or curiosity drive reasons to enroll in microlearning. • The effectiveness of microlearning hinges on reasons for enrolment and relevance to job roles. • Two thirds of the participants in microlearning are satisfied covering their learning objectives. • Four types of learning outcomes with increasing effectiveness are identified. • Outcome types: entertainment, updating knowledge and skills, unexpected learning and effective learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Advances in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) bear the promise of multiple benefits, including individual and entrepreneurial empowerment. The prospect of harnessing ICT as a means of creating growth and development opportunities is particularly appealing in developing countries. Still, several factors, including digital illiteracy and gender inequality, hamper the possibility of effective and universal utilization of these opportunities, in extreme cases leading to digital divide, gender-based exclusion, poverty, and precarity. Using this observation as a springboard, the objective of this paper is to conceptualize and quantify the digital divide-gender-entrepreneurial orientation nexus as it emerges in the perception of Pakistan higher education students. Using a quantitative approach, this study identifies the impact of digital skills (and thus the knowledge inequalities that can determine the potential digital gap) on entrepreneurship-related technology adoption (as measured through Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology, UTAUT), whereby gender is treated as a moderator. The empirical findings, based on Structure Equation Modelling (SEM) and Multiple Group Analysis (MGA), show that digital skills and perceptions of technology capabilities have a substantial impact on the desire to use ICT in entrepreneurial activities. The influence of technology adoption intent on the development of entrepreneurial orientation is also confirmed. This paper adds to the broader debate on gender, digital divide and entrepreneurship. Importantly, by identifying some of the drivers behind students' technology adoption in a developing nation such as Pakistan, filled with technological and economic unbalances, the conclusions of this study will have conceptual, managerial, and policymaking applications, notably in terms of technological access, digital literary, and gender-based exclusion. • This paper examines the digital divide-entrepreneurial orientation-gender nexus among Pakistani higher education students. • Digital skills and perceptions of technology capabilities significatly impact the desire to use ICT for entrepreneurship. • The influence of technology adoption intent on the development of entrepreneurial orientation is also confirmed. • Results have managerial and policymaking applications about technological access, digital literary and gender exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher education institutions (HEIs) in both developed and developing countries are confronted with increasing pressure to enhance their effectiveness and efficiency while contending with diminishing financial resources and austerity measures. Reductions in governmental budgets allocated to HEIs have resulted in decreased investment in research and infrastructure. Concurrently, HEIs are expected by both societies and governments to demonstrate greater economic and social responsibility, actively engage in addressing local and national socioeconomic challenges and adapt their educational programs to the skills and competencies demanded by diverse industries. Against this background, quantitative operations research and management science (OR/MS) modeling techniques can offer support to higher education policymakers, university leadership teams, and other decision-makers to optimize performance, enhance quality, and minimize costs. Based on a systematic literature review, this study sheds light on the use of quantitative OR/MS modeling techniques in the OR/MS and higher education literature. • The paper analyzes 203 papers published across 94 journals before 2024. • It proposes a classification system for techniques used in the study of the higher education sector. • It provides specific examples of how these quantitative techniques are used in HEIs. • Several future research directions are outlined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the current trend of curriculum reform in higher education worldwide, many institutions have taken the initiative to develop English for Specific Academic Purposes (ESAP) courses to cater for students' diverse needs for disciplinary learning and future professional practices. This paper illustrates the pedagogical innovations in an ESAP course to facilitate undergraduates' disciplinary learning at an international university in Hong Kong. Based on the data collected from students and discipline teachers, we, as the course developers, reflected upon the opportunities and challenges in implementing the revamped ESAP course. Our reflections reveal the importance of promoting flipped learning and peer feedback practices in the ESAP classroom and interdisciplinary collaboration between ESAP course developers and discipline teachers. This paper will be of interest not only to ESAP teachers but also to discipline teachers who intend to promote best practices for effective disciplinary studies through English teaching and learning in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores the recently launched initiative of the Kazakhstani government to establish a regional education hub in the country by providing an overview of the government's rationale, adopted policy documents, and some of the undertaken steps. In addition, the paper argues that a related initiative of creating an international research university in Astana was an important precursor of the regional hub idea. Drawing on the lessons from the creation of the Nazarbayev University the paper tries to forecast some of the possible challenges, which may face Kazakhstan's regional education hub and identifies some policy considerations, which could increase the likelihood of its success. • Several countries in Central Asia are becoming active in establishing regional education hubs. • In Kazakhstan the establishment of a hub was preceded by the creation of a world-class university with international partners. • Several lessons can be drawn from the experience in establishing a world-class university to create the regional hub. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on a transdisciplinary approach to critical discourse analysis, this paper looks at the case of Chinese higher education to explore how neoliberal ideology is constituted, recontextualized, and legitimated in the public discourse of Chinese universities in a socio-political context marked by the intricate integration of administration and politics. The analyses show how these universities have endeavored to respond to the economic imperatives of a globalizing knowledge-driven economy while strategically absorbing the socio-political governance agenda inherited from the state's institutional legacies. The findings suggest that the discourse of higher education in China is a highly contested space for competing ideologies, reproducing a narrative that facilitates the commodification of higher education and dismisses the contradictions between ideological values at the glonacal nexus. • Universities are portrayed as student-centered and socially responsible. • Students and knowledge are commodified as marketable products. • Universities have been transformed into entrepreneurial selves directed by an instrumental-strategic intent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linguistic expressions of interest as emotive responses are not uncommon in academic discourse but have hardly attracted any research attention. This paper reports on a study designed to examine how the deployment of such expressions in academic writing is mediated by an academic author's disciplinary background and gender. Drawing on a semantic frame developed for interest markers found in a corpus of 640 research articles sampled from four disciplines, corpus-based quantitative analyses were conducted on the incidence of the various elements of the Interest frame. Text-based interviews were also conducted with 16 disciplinary informants to explore considerations behind their use of interest markers. The corpus analyses found that although discipline and gender did not reliably predict academic authors' overall use of interest markers, they were robust predictors of several frame elements. The analyses of the interview data revealed that the observed quantitative differences were related to disciplinary knowledge-making practices, knowledge/knower epistemological orientations prevailing in the disciplines, gender-preferential discursive practices and an author's relative status in academia. • We examined linguistic expressions of interest in 640 research articles. • These articles were authored by male and female academics from four disciplines. • We developed a semantic frame with four frame elements to study these expressions. • Disciplinary background influenced the use of Trigger, Explanation and Degree. • Gender differences were found in the use of Explanation, Degree and Experiencer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although work-integrated learning (WIL) programmes such as internships and placements can provide valuable opportunities for students from different disciplines to learn much about workplace communication, ESP research has not investigated how on-the-job learning of workplace communication during WIL can be facilitated. To address this gap, the present paper first illustrates how an eclectic and interdisciplinary approach was taken in designing a WIL module for some students at a university in Hong Kong, with a view to facilitating their experiential learning and informal workplace learning during their WIL and helping them to discover their workplace communication needs. The paper then evaluates the impact of the module, using data from the students' reflections on their WIL experience and a questionnaire survey that solicited their perceptions of the WIL module. It was found that the module, with its specially designed components, helped the students to learn proactively and enabled them to identify four aspects of their workplace communication needs, namely, 1) their target situation, 2) workplace discourse, 3) their current language skills and lacks, and 4) effective ways of learning workplace communication. Overall, the present paper argues that on-the-job learning of workplace communication is an area that warrants more pedagogical innovation and research attention in ESP. • The design of an eclectic work-integrated learning (WIL) module is illustrated. • The module facilitated on-the-job learning of workplace and business communication. • The students were guided to learn autonomously and proactively during their WIL. • The students discovered their own workplace communication needs and set goals. • More ESP research should be conducted on out-of-class, informal language learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines, many colleges and universities decided to mandate vaccination for all students and employees. The objective of this paper is to empirically investigate the effect of the mandate policy on Fall 2021 COVID-19 cases in institutions of higher education. We construct a unique dataset of a sample of 94 colleges and universities in the east and southeast regions of the United States, 41 of which required vaccination prior to Fall 2021. A difference-in-differences analysis is conducted, considering vaccine requirement as a policy implemented only in a sub-group of these institutions. We control for several factors, including state-level case per capita and student population. Our analysis shows that mandatory vaccination substantially decreased cases in institutions of higher education by 1,473 cases per 100,000 student population (95 CI: 132, 2813). The results suggest that a COVID-19 vaccine requirement is an effective policy in decreasing cases in such institutions, leading to a safer educational experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Does COVID-19 challen04ge the persistence of neoliberalism? The pandemic and popular resistance to globalization seem to coincide, and there considerable discussion of neoliberalism within LIS now. First, this paper defines the centrality of the market as neoliberalism. With that in place, the remaining parts of the paper will explore and document phenomena in and related to academic libraries that instantiate how neoliberalism stubbornly persists. Second, the continuing reliance on generational cohorts to characterize incoming students – generation-ism– is a manifestation of categories of consumption and marketing. The influence of generation-ism on academic libraries is significant in the form of design pressures on space and to market the college experience. Third, where neoliberalism does tend to drive higher education investments in facilities, it results in the "lazy river" trend. This will be examined in direct contrast to the finance/space pressures on academic libraries. The paper concludes with a short discussion of these factors and what this analysis can tell us about academic libraries going forward into a post-COVID-19 era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loanable technology is an emerging specialized collection in academic libraries. An effective collection depends on several moving parts, including funding; space; a collection management strategy; and information systems, including web pages, to support access to the collection. The current study surveys websites from institutions carrying the Carnegie classification of "Doctoral University: Very High Research" to determine the existence and design variations of loanable technology websites. The paper notes tendencies and exceptions in the designs and develops a general design framework to guide future design decisions. The results offer design options and recommendations based on variations of affordances; the scope and variety of the items in collections; and the use of images, catalog records, and supporting documents. A structural analysis of design variations can thus enhance the coherence, completeness, and overall effectiveness of loanable technology websites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Workplace cyberbullying is a significant problem in higher education institutions. This paper examines faculty self-reports based on victimization, coping, gender, and the Big 5 Personality traits. A cross-sectional survey was distributed via Qualtrics to obtain the perceptions of 179 faculty members. Prevalence results indicated that faculty victims experienced cyberbullying from colleagues/peers, administrators, staff, students, and external members. Results also demonstrate that university faculty are unaware of resources to address cyberbullying. The study found evidence of gender differences in cyberbullying victimization in higher education. Agreeableness and neuroticism were also related to experiencing workplace cyberbullying. The article concludes with a discussion of the study's implications and potential areas of future research. • Most faculty experienced cyberbullying from colleagues/peers, administrators, and students. • Cyberbullied faculty are not likely to report the incident, which make it difficult to be addressed in the future. • Females are more likely to experience cyberbullying across relationship types in comparison to male faculty members. • The personality traits of agreeableness and neuroticism related to workplace cyberbullying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of qualitative research on new practices (habitus) of researchers in higher education (HE) in Mexico during the pandemic in three institutions in the State of Sonora. The research focused on modified or new practices or habitus during the pandemic, the challenges those scholars faced, and their view on remote scientific production in this period. Bourdieu's concepts of Habitus, Discipline, and Socialization are instrumental in interpreting data. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed using coding and MAXQDA software. The main results refer to the individual, academia, and the constraint to produce knowledge. The results show that for individuals, habitus refers to the care of people. In the face of a health emergency, the focus is on it combined with academic, administrative, and research activities. Such weight is distributed unequally among the female gender; it is about caring for the family, attending research, and more work. In the case of academia, the specific tasks of some disciplines, such as economics, do not present restrictions on productivity, while others do. The regulations of Mexico's National System of Researchers, SNI constitute a rule that constrains researchers. We assume that it is the primary mechanism for evaluating his/her productive habitus. • Scholars had to modify the volume of research they were used to produce (most of them presented a decrease). • Remote work (academic activities overall) was met with hesitation and restraint by most of the participants. • Neither researchers nor institutions were prepared to work remotely. • Higher education institutions should comprehend the need to identify the areas of opportunity to enhance their scholars' production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Three different initiatives for online dissemination of nuclear energy culture are described. • An online university level course, series of webinars and a career event are reported. • The three initiatives share the great simplicity of conception and delivery. The paper reports about three initiatives that partly preceded and then followed the groundbreaking experience of the Covid-19 pandemic, by offering a university level course available online, a series of webinars and an online career event, all including educational content that pertains to the category of nuclear energy culture. These initiatives had different characteristics and varied content, but all share the feature to be prepared for online delivery with the intention to make sound nuclear related contents available to possibly interested audiences in a remote and both synchronous and asynchronous way. The first in chronological order of these initiatives was set up in a pre-Covid-19 period, when the use of online teaching was already insistently proposed and implemented in academy and industry as a powerful means to create contents available to a vast public of attendees; in that period, resistances and inertia to the introduction of these new means were anyway witnessed and an effort was made in order to propose online a classically structured university course. On the other hand, the other two initiatives benefitted of a post-pandemic environment, in which any doubt about the necessity, the feasibility and the effectiveness of such initiatives had been ruled out by witnessing the need to continue education and information during an unprecedented historical event that disrupted teaching schedules worldwide. The three initiatives and their outcomes are commented and general conclusions are proposed on the potential of distant teaching techniques in relation to its appropriateness in supporting the in-presence teaching to make nuclear energy culture available remotely without any remarkable loss in quality of the conveyed information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Findings highlight the importance of peer support and the possibility of participatory research approaches in catalyzing peer connectivity and agency among foster scholars in higher education. • Actions and advocacy associated with Participatory Action Research have benefits for students with foster care experience and can contribute to critical consciousness raising among those within and outside of child welfare and university systems. • Integrating youth voice and perspective to our existing body of knowledge about youth with foster care experience in higher education adds a critical, often missing perspective. • Universities, child welfare system professionals, policymakers, child welfare scholars desiring to create policy and practice more affirming of young people with foster care experience should center the voices and recommendations of youth with foster care experience in their decision making. This paper presents findings from a focus group conducted as part of a larger Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) study with a cohort of university students with experience in foster care. Six foster scholars (ages 18–21) participated in a research collective offered as a collaboration between the School of Social Welfare and the Educational Opportunities Program (EOP) at a large Northeastern public research university. Over the course of several semesters, students received an overview of research methods, evaluated existing research regarding the educational outcomes of youth with foster care experience, then designed an interview guide for a focus group that they later participated in. Focus group data was transcribed and then analyzed in two ways, first through thematic content analysis using ATLAS TI qualitative software, and simultaneously through participatory narrative analysis using an adapted version of Carol Gilligan's Listening Guide. The cluster of findings presented in this paper highlights co-researchers' experiences of a YPAR approach to research. Three themes emerged: validation of experience and peer support , connection to available resources, and YPAR as a tool of collective action and empowerment. An overview of the significant actions and change efforts associated with the YPAR process is also provided. Findings highlight the importance of peer support and the possibility of participatory research approaches in catalyzing peer connectivity and agency among foster scholars in higher education. Integrating youth voice and perspective to the existing body of knowledge about youth with foster care experience in higher education adds an important perspective needed to more holistically understand what resources and supports are most critical in ensuring their success. Recommendations are made for both universities and child welfare scholars desiring to center the voices and experiences of youth with foster care experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper explores a contemporary trend of developing regional spaces in higher education, transcending national boundaries and promoting cross-border integration. • Using original data from the survey of 87 university international officers and interviews with seven policy-makers, this study charts the regional spaces in higher education in the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) and Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan). • The findings unveil a complex landscape of spatial identities marked by diversity and tensions. Various spaces, such as the European space, Eurasian Space, and commonwealth of independent States' Space, play significant roles, albeit to varying degrees across countries. • The European space is recognised as the most important space in higher education, highlighting its influence and relevance. • The study also observes the nascent development of immediate geographic spaces in central Asia and the Caucasus, where respondents express enthusiasm for collaborative efforts with neighbouring countries to advance common interests in higher education and research. One of the contemporary trends in global higher education is the emergence of regional spaces that transcend national boundaries, fostering cross-border integration and cooperation. This paper presents original data from surveys of university international officers and interviews with national policy-makers to explore regional spaces in higher education across the Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) and Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan). The findings unveil a complex landscape of spatial identities marked by diversity and tensions. The European space is recognised as by far the most important space in higher education. At the same time, the Eurasian/the Commonwealth of Independent States' space(s) remain to be prominent in higher education, albeit to a varying degree in different countries. The study also observes the nascent development of immediate geographic spaces in Central Asia and the Caucasus, where participants express enthusiasm for collaborative efforts with neighbouring countries to advance common interests in higher education and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This short note outlines some of the rewards and frustrations that have arisen during my 40 years as a consultant in education – mainly, but not entirely, in higher education. It is a personal picture, with no pretence to be an academic paper. It is illustrated by references based on my own experience rather than references to the work of others. The note considers consultancy projects in two parts: first, the set up stage before the work really begins, and then the analysis stage. A primary problem in the set up stage is to determine with true clarity who is actually the 'client' for the work and who is the 'decision maker' about it. This is often no easy task and the answer is rarely simple – especially for projects that are commissioned and paid for by one party, but with the claimed intention being that they are for the benefit of another. During the work, conflicts of objectives can appear that were not apparent at the start, sometimes between the parties, sometimes within them. Difficulties can also arise from being a 'foreign' consultant, in terms of needing to understand – and to take into account, the local culture and ways of doing things – not least, interpretations of corruption. Sometimes an attempt is made to 'import' a solution developed for one country into another, which in my view is a disgrace. A very rewarding 'result' for any consultancy work is for the 'client' to think that the answer developed is 'obvious'. The note also reflects on the frequent uselessness of so-called 'hard data'. The paper concludes by drawing on the 40 years to say a few brief words about the world of higher education and the importance of leadership both by and within universities. This is followed by four examples of issues in education more generally which, in my view, have not yet been satisfactorily resolved. It concludes with a brief note on my views as to whether it was all worth it. It was! [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communicating the means and ends of internationalization can be daunting amidst competing agendas in higher education. This paper examines how elite global journals in social sciences deal with discursive dilemmas while addressing geopolitical agendas in the internationalization of post-Soviet higher education. In particular, this paper seeks to understand how the "prestige economy" agencies have shaped explanations of problems of the Soviet legacy in disparate national contexts of post-Soviet higher education. Under the growing resurgence of Russian imperialism, the study delves into claims and concerns of social scientists from post-Soviet republics, who remain on the periphery of the global "prestige economy," as well as in the subaltern position to the geopolitical agendas championed by the Russian government. While examining the research on geopolitics in the internationalization of divergent systems and institutions of higher education in the region, the paper also tries to shape a more nuanced analysis of the under-investigated tensions within the post-Soviet world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the results of the research on the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dissemination of innovative e-learning tools in higher education. Research was carried out in Poland in December 2021 on a sample of 621 students. The main issue that was the subject of the author's analysis was the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the change in the use of innovative e-learning tools in university education. After conducting the research and discussing this and related research about e-learning during the pandemic, it was concluded that the percentage of students familiar with the analyzed e-learning tools has increased significantly during the pandemic. There has been a visible rise, especially in the usage of the following tools: MS Teams, Zoom, and Google Classroom. The most frequently used e-learning tools during the COVID-19 pandemic have been mainly videoconferencing tools such as MS Teams and Zoom. However, students also have used e-learning platforms and e-mails. The author's research identified three hidden factors (categories) of the used e-learning tools. They include the following categories: popular services and applications adapted to e-learning; popular applications for synchronous meetings adapted to e-learning; and other synchronous and asynchronous e-learning methods. The familiarity with information technology, as well as an interest in innovative e-learning tools, have positive influence on the ease of acquiring content in e-learning. Having the proper resources also positively influences the absorption of e-learning content. On the basis of the achieved results, the authors prepared a model of relations between students' interest in innovative e-learning technology and the resources they possess to participate in e-learning classes. This model enables us to assess which method—e-learning, traditional or hybrid—should be used in the given situation. The developed model can be useful for universities. They can assess the students' interest in innovative e-learning technologies and their level of technical resources using questionnaires and on this basis divide students into groups to prepare the optimal learning way—e-learning, traditional or hybrid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intercultural communication has become increasingly important due to the growing internationalization of higher education, even outside the English-speaking world. Similar to multinational corporations, academic environments are believed to be one of the best examples of a social space where English is a lingua franca. In this paper, we question this claim. Focusing on the case of foreign-born scholars who hold academic positions in Poland, a country where the number of international faculty members and researchers is low, we conducted 100 biographically oriented in-depth interviews about their work at Polish universities and their language issues. This sociological qualitative approach enabled us to identify both the domains where English fluency is an asset and the "black holes" (bureaucratic issues, teaching, research collaboration) where English language communication is either impossible or impeded. The study also identifies the facilitators (cultural intermediaries) and strategies (e.g., intercomprehension and niche lingua francas) used to overcome language barriers. • English is not the lingua-franca in Polish academia. • Fluency in English is not enough to develop an academic career in Poland. • Non-Polish scholars use 'facilitators' to work around language barrier. • Non-Polish scholars use niche lingua francas or rely on Slavic intercomprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scant research has centred on the wellbeing of librarians. This paper seeks to answer how do librarians in the Higher Education sector describe their wellbeing, including what enables and impacts it? An Adapted Interactive Model of Research Design (AIRD) (adapted from Maxwell, 2009) was used together with Contributive Research Method (Puig et al., 2018). Data was collected during an online satellite event where 97 people from 34 institutions in three countries participated, from which 57 contributed data to the study through a workshop presentation on maintaining wellbeing. During the online interactive workshop, data was gathered in a contributory a manner, using embedded digital tools Mentimeter, and Hypothes.is. Higher Education librarians in the study aligned with Diener's (1984) conceptualisation of subjective wellbeing when defining wellbeing. Data also surfaced a shared understanding of subjective wellbeing, and identification of impactors and enablers to the wellbeing of librarians in the Higher Education Sector. The study surfaced two key findings: firstly six enablers to wellbeing were identified; and secondly, the wellbeing of Higher Education sector librarians is heavily impacted by work intensification. The voices of librarians in the Higher Education sector have surfaced the need for inclusive wellbeing programs and strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous scholarship has established a connection between information literacy and writing, highlighting in particular how writing theories could inform our understanding of information literacy. This paper continues this line of inquiry and discusses how information literacy and writing can mutually inform and support each other. Based on a review of major theoretical developments in both fields, this paper proposes a three-dimensional model of information-based academic writing (IBAW) in higher education that foregrounds information literacy as an integral part of the writing process. Specifically, the model illustrates how writing tasks situated in specific rhetorical, disciplinary, and information contexts activate one's knowledge base and generate information needs, which then guides the iterative information literacy and writing processes, as regulated by one's affective and metacognitive strategies, to generate new knowledge. The IBAW model, with the three dimensions and specific factors explicitly identified, also reflects truthfully the defining features of information literacy as contextual, process-oriented, value-laden, interactive, strategic, and always goal-oriented. As such, it also serves as a contextualized, process-oriented, and task-based model for information literacy instruction and development. Implications for how information literacy and information-based academic writing could be taught based on this proposed model are then discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internationalisation of higher education has increased the number of EAL students studying in Anglophone countries, including Australia. Required English language proficiency tests (e.g., IELTS) do not reflect discipline-specific terminology nor prior learning necessary for successful study. Furthermore, anatomy study, the focus of this paper, requires an extensive terminology, predominantly derived from Latin or Greek, that creates significant learning challenge for all students, particularly EAL students. This pilot study was based in a large first-year anatomy course at an Australian university, with >30% EAL students. To address challenges for EAL students (as identified by teaching staff), translanguaging pedagogies were implemented through repeated cycles of action research. Translanguaging approaches, beyond simply translation of resources, employ EAL students' full linguistic repertoire in the classroom to support acquisition of discipline content and the target language. Collaboration between the teaching team, a translanguaging expert and past EAL students identified specific translanguaging strategies for implementation. These strategies included a translanguaging workshop for teaching staff, encouragement of students' use of home languages and targeted translated documents. A mixed methods approach was applied to evaluate the implementation. Initial findings show a positive response from both staff and students with additional reflections for future implementation and transferability to similar educational contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Student support services staff act on implicit knowledges and understandings embedded in university processes and practices. • Non-deficit understandings are essential in the design and delivery of support services if student equity is to be achieved. • Identifying and embedding practices supporting social justice will improve university retention of equity students. • The student services matrix model shows how universities can identify and embed support practices that assist equity students. University provision of student support services sits at the interface between universities and the broader community. The success of Australian inclusive education funding imperatives requires a revised model of support to improve access and retention. Using a Foucaultian discourse analysis and the notion of 'contingency', data from interviews with 'student support services' staff in four Australian universities was interrogated to determine the most accessible and effective services for equity students. This paper introduces the Supporting a Diverse Student Body matrix which sets out principles, strategies and characteristics for supporting the needs of equity students and service access and delivery preferences of diverse student bodies. The matrix provides a useful basis for universities to consider their own student support practices and signpost a pathway for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Australian financial planning sector has seen recent regulatory changes introduced to address misconduct. One such introduction surrounds increased levels of mandatory financial adviser education. This paper examines the Banning orders between March 2015 and March 2023 to identify relationships between levels of misconduct and education. Analysis of findings supports the validation of education requirements and outlines identifying properties assisting consumer decisions to avoid those advisers affiliated with misconduct. This research further explores avenues to develop the sector's professionalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper estimates the impact of accountability scores on Brazilian higher education. We implement a regression discontinuity design to explore a natural experiment resulting from the federal rules for assigning quality levels to undergraduate programs. We test whether program quality is sensitive to negative reinforcement, such as punishments imposed when a minimum threshold is not attained. The findings indicate that program administrators exhibit a positive response to the prospect of punishment by enhancing program quality in the subsequent evaluation cycle. The primary drivers of this advancement – infrastructure, teaching and learning evaluations, faculty dedication, and the proportion of faculty with a Ph.D. degree – are largely under the administrators' direct control. However, quality indicators less subject to administrative manipulation, such as student performance and value-added measures, exhibit minimal change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Students appreciate UDL affordances of group work activities where different strengths and interests are valued. • Accessible digital technology and in-person learning time facilitate effective group work. • Design of learning activities needs to understand and align with learner motivation. • UDL-informed group work enables students to use a range of modalities to negotiate social and cultural diversity. • Support needs to be sensitive to diverse international students' transitioning to different learning traditions. International students face many challenges transitioning to post-graduate study in UK institutions. Students often need to adapt to a range of cultural practices and curricular norms, often without the differences between UK and their home countries being made explicit. Building on Vygotskian concepts of scaffolded learning and the importance that group interaction plays within learning, this research reports on an initiative to embed Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles through group work to develop research skills within a research methods module on an international Masters in Education programme. This small-scale case study across two campuses, with 11 survey respondents and nine focus group participants, analyses questionnaires and focus group interviews and yields important theoretical insights into the interaction of UDL components. The three UDL principles of multiple choices of learning materials, learning activities, and expression of learning outcomes each impacted on the other. The study also provides significant findings about hybrid learning at a crucial point in its development post COVID-19. Technology played an enabling role as students used a range of modalities to negotiate social and cultural diversity. However, the study indicates that on campus learning time is indispensable for students to fully access the power of digital technology. This paper contributes to advancing the understandings of international education and its interactional challenges and opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education hubs represent the third generation of crossborder education activities, which emerge onto the landscape of our more globalized world. As a new phenomenon in higher education, education hubs are appearing in different locations around the globe. In the literature on education hubs, most research studies have focused on Southeast Asia and Middle East. To address this gap in the literature, we seek to explore the emergence of China as an international education hub, especially with respect to its impact on development. Against the backdrop of China's national strategy to develop its international competitiveness in education, we conduct case studies of three education hubs in China: (i) the International Collaborative Education Exemplary Zone by the International Campus of Zhejiang University (iZJU) in the Yangtze River Delta; (ii) the International Higher Education Demonstration Zone in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area; and (iii) the International Education Innovation Pilot Zone in the Hainan Free Trade Port. Overall, our paper draws implication on how education hubs developed through university-industry-government collaboration can help the region to shift to a knowledge and service-based economy, and gain a competitive edge within the country and beyond. • Education hubs represent the third generation of crossborder education activities, which emerge onto the landscape of our more globalized world. • We seek to explore the emergence of China as an international education hub, especially with respect to its impact on development. • Against the backdrop of China's national strategy to develop its competitiveness in education, we conduct case studies of three hubs in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Croatian and international higher education institutions (HEIs) value university ranking lists as a method for evaluating the impact of higher education institutions. Different ranking lists utilize different calculation methods to position universities on a scale, thus giving said institutions lower or higher visibility in the academic environment. One of the criteria used to classify a particular university is the scientific output of its researchers. Data on research productivity are mainly collected from bibliographic and citation databases such as the Web of Science Core Collection (WOSCC) and Scopus. The accuracy of collected data depends, among other things, on the institutional affiliations that the authors list in their papers. The aim of this paper is to show that the correct listing of institutional affiliations in scientific articles indexed in the WOSCC and Scopus databases affects the number of papers attributed to the institution in question. This paper analyses the variants of institution names that are listed as affiliations of two faculties of the University of Split. The results show that, due to different name variants entered as institutional affiliations when searching for affiliations by category, a certain number of papers cannot be attributed either to the University of Split or to a particular faculty. This may have also had an impact on some faculties' positions within the University, as well as on their placement on ranking lists. The focus is on the role of academic librarians as professionals who are familiar with the organization of scholarly databases, as well as their institutions' scholarly output. They are often able to resolve the issue of missing author affiliations and missing links between faculty and university affiliations. Furthermore, recognition of the librarians' efforts and achievements in supporting the faculties positioning within the university, and the universities positioning nationally could benefit the status and the visibility of academic librarians within their communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students around the world are expected to read, comprehend and learn from growing numbers of English texts in higher educational contexts where the official medium of instruction is the local language. Despite this language shift, relatively little attention has been paid to the challenges academic texts in English present for students. The present paper provides insights into first-year university students' perceptions of and attitudes towards academic reading in English in Sweden through a sequential explanatory design with questionnaires and follow-up interviews. Sweden is often seen as a model country in terms of second-language proficiency in English, but as this study shows, a majority of first-year university students expressed negative attitudes towards academic reading in English. Student responses suggested more than one third of first-year Swedish university students in social science subjects struggled to comprehend and keep up with their assigned reading, with vocabulary and reading speed cited as their biggest challenges. This paper further shows that a considerable number of students entered higher education unaware that they were going to be required to read academic texts in English, with some questioning this common practice. Finally, implications for teachers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intellectual discourse on academic freedom has gained prominence across the globe in recent past. While such discussions portend a positive signal for academics, little is known about academic freedom in Africa. This article examines the existing research and scholarship on academic freedom in Africa with the sole intention of questioning the conceptual underpinnings of the frequently studied topics related to academic freedom and the methodological distribution of studies related to academic freedom in Africa. An electronic database search was performed in Scopus and google scholar for papers published between 2004 and 2022, followed by a systematic review of content analysis articles which described academic freedom in Africa. After eliminating all the duplicates, 29 unique research studies were identified as peer-reviewed articles in English. Out of the 29 full texts which were assessed for eligibility criteria, 4 were excluded with 25 Full-text records left to be used for the systematic review of content analysis. The systematic review revealed five main areas of study namely, legal and constitutional laws for the protection of academic freedom, effects of colonialism on academic freedom, challenges and safety of academic freedom, academic freedom and intellectual engagement, and academic freedom and sexuality. Our findings further revealed that there is a dearth of literature on academic freedom in Africa presumably because of the chequered development of Africa's democracy. One thing is however clear that as the democratic architecture of Africa dips, as a result of the upsurge of coup d'detat in recent past, the future of academic freedom remains bleak. It called for academics to seek support from other civil society groups to promote academic freedom and to keep the discussion on academic freedom alive, relevant and current, within the academic community. • The article questions the conceptual underpinnings of the frequently studied topics related to academic freedom. • And the methodological distribution of studies related to academic freedom in Africa. • An electronic database search was performed in Scopus and google scholar for papers published between 2004 and 2022. • This was followed by a systematic review of content analysis articles which described academic freedom in Africa. • The systematic review revealed five main areas of study namely, legal and constitutional laws for the protection of academic freedom, effects of colonialism on academic freedom. • The challenges and safety of academic freedom, academic freedom and intellectual engagement, and academic freedom and sexuality. • It called for academics to seek support from other civil society group to promote academic freedom. • And keep the discussion on academic freedom alive, relevant and current, within the academic community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considerable research argues the importance of situating information literacy in disciplinary curriculums. Arguments within this body of publications frequently share a common recommendation, to look towards national disciplinary standards and curriculum learning outcomes to develop relevant learning outcomes for librarian-led information literacy instruction. The assumption underlying this recommendation is that disciplinary faculty are knowledgeable of and use national standards to design their curricula and learning outcomes. This paper presents the results of a single-institution survey that explored California State University, Los Angeles faculty's knowledge of national disciplinary standards and program learning outcomes and tested if that knowledge is related to disciplinary faculty teaching information literacy. The findings suggest that faculty are generally more aware of program learning outcomes (PLOs) than national standards and that there is an association between knowledge of PLOs and teaching information literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government policies increasingly call for educators to teach for social justice. This paper presents auto-ethnographic narratives about how two higher education teacher educators aspire to teach with a focus on social justice education. This paper supports the role of reflexive and critical reflections of onto-epistemological beliefs in teacher educators' work to give meaning to the wider social contexts, including the neo-liberal hegemonic higher education agendas, influencing their work. The narratives shared in this paper demonstrate how teaching with a social justice focus in higher education is a delicate balancing act, navigating personal beliefs and understandings about justice and inclusive knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Critical self-reflection, a process of self-examination and self-evaluation, facilitates introspective learning, which is a highly valued active learning technique and hence frequently employed in higher education. This paper reports on a cross-age fixed-role peer tutoring project where student tutors were required to reflect critically on their tutoring practices. Among several reflective efforts was writing a self-reflection at the end of each semester. 42 self-reflections over 3 semesters were collected. Qualitative analysis of the contents revealed multiple tensions and negotiations on this dynamic site of tutoring that contributed to the success or failure of a tutoring session. By presenting a preliminary framework of interrelated tensions and negotiations in the cross-age fixed-role peer consultations, this paper argues that peer tutoring is a collaborative and cooperative enterprise that is jointly owned and controlled by both the tutor and tutee. This study has theoretical and pedagogical implications for the design of and training for similar peer tutoring programmes in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the contributions of co-teaching to learning-oriented assessment in eight co-taught undergraduate courses, over two academic years, in the fields of Education and Translation and Interpreting; specifically, whether collaborative teaching enhances assessment design and practices while developing instructors' and students' assessment literacy. Evidence from reflective teacher diaries and student focus group data was triangulated, with results suggesting a positive effect of co-teaching on formative assessment, especially regarding the quantity and quality of feedback received by students. Concerning summative assessment, transparency and communication were found to be key factors in reducing student concerns over the grading process. Finally, co-teaching appears to enable a two-way street encouraging students to provide feedback to their instructors and, in the process of doing so, develop their own feedback literacy. Overall, co-teaching, when well-planned and coordinated, can facilitate learning-oriented assessment, as well as provide a fruitful space for instructors' professional development in assessment practices. • Co-teaching enhances instructors' professional development in assessment design. • Collaborative teaching develops instructors' and students' assessment literacy. • Collaborative teaching facilitates formative, learning-oriented assessment. • Co-teaching enables a two-way street encouraging student-to-teacher feedback. • Collaborative teaching encourages educational innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whereas there is a large literature evaluating the impacts of education, most of the focus has been on getting to universal primary enrollment and understanding the returns to basic education; but it misses the major shifts toward higher education in many fast-growing parts of the developing world over the last 20 years. In this paper, I study the returns to higher education in China using the reinstatement of the National College Entrance Examination in 1977 as a natural experiment, investigating the causal impacts of higher education on later life outcomes and well-being. Through a combination of regression discontinuity and difference-in-difference methods, I find that cohorts that were more likely to complete high school and obtain a college education as a result of the reform were no more likely to be employed, but were more likely to have a high-socioeconomic (SES) occupation in their early 30s, and lesser of the same in their 40s. Cohorts with higher education work for fewer days in a week, and, on average, earn a higher monthly income by 56 percent in their late 40s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Pilots a critical realist autoethnography methodology in researching impact of international higher education scholarships. • Illustrates scholarships impact is a dynamic, contingent, and co-constitutive process. • Extends empirical support of current scholarship based on researching in a new country context. International higher education scholarships can be an impactful tool of development. They have demonstrable potential to advance the knowledge, skills, and networks of individuals, who may then be able to use these outcomes in making significant contributions in their workplaces and societies. This evolving theory of change has rightly guided the growing body of academic research and professional evaluations in this area. However, this academic and grey literature tends to limit investigations to the post-completion stage, often focusing on exploring impact through such neoliberal indicators such as economic return, career progress, and links to the foreign country of study. This exploratory scope and methodological-theoretical design demonstrably limit the extent to which scholarships impact may be understood in terms of its emergence or appreciated in terms of its manifestation. I try to respond to this limitation in this paper; I pilot a critical realist autoethnography methodology in explaining how two recent graduate scholarships have impacted me. The study makes three contributions to this area of research and practice. Empirically, it extends support for current research findings in the area by offering the first scholarly account of a Palestinian's scholarship experiences and impact. Drawing on empirical findings, it demonstrates that scholarships impact is a dynamic, contingent, and co-constitutive process. Methodologically, it illuminates the practice of critical realist autoethnography in both exploring and explaining this process of scholarship impact. Practically, it proposes this alternative conceptual-methodological approach may be a powerful tool of evaluating—and simultaneously optimizing—scholarships impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Chatbots are regularly used in education in different roles. • The fields where most chatbots were used were health and learning support. • The key chatbot roles are assistant, tutor, student, and virtual patient. • 63.3% of health-related chatbots were classified as Virtual Patients. • Only one study researched the role of a chatbot as a student. With AI's advancing technology, pedagogical changes are occurring, and chatbots are becoming more intertwined in our daily lives. While these can be used in a variety of disciplines, they play a particularly significant role in the digital transformation of education. We present a scoping review of chatbots in higher education (HE), investigating where chatbots are being applied. The main benefits and challenges of chatbots were explored. The quality of the selected papers was assessed using the International Organization for Standards (ISO) 9241–11 guidelines. A total of 2692 citations were found while searching recognized digital databases. After reading the abstract and full text, 64 publications were considered. Backward and forward reference checking yielded four further studies. Altogether, 66 studies were included. This review provides a comprehensive overview of research on using chatbots in HE, including advantages, and challenges. Research demonstrates the versatility and the promising aspects of this type of support system for university education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports on responses from an online survey designed to explore the before, during and after lockdown experiences of higher education teacher educators in Vietnam (n = 145) who were required to use digital technologies and pedagogies exclusively in their teaching during the 2020/21 lockdown. The data is interpreted using the TPACK framework (Koehler & Mishra, 2009) which enables analysis of the participants' technological, pedagogical and content knowledge in relation to teaching online using digital tools. The findings indicate mixed responses and experiences of teacher educators during this period with many having struggled with new technologies and unfamiliar pedagogical strategies whilst others enjoyed the opportunity to develop new approaches to their teaching. The paper concludes with key recommendations for best practice in this sector going forward post pandemic including the development of national and institutional e-learning policies, improvements in IT infrastructure and increased provision of professional training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peer review of teaching (PRT) is often used as a mechanism for professional development and an indicator of teaching quality. Yet there has been minimal research into establishing the key success factors for its retention. This paper provides a systematic review of the PRT literature that evaluates their use of peer review programs (PRPs) and tracks their role in influencing teaching. The thematic analysis allowed us to identify six areas of focus needed for PRP development. A second purpose was to use these insights to inform the development of a PRT framework and elucidate the environment required for its implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the effect of student loans on students' (financial) behavior. For causal identification, we exploit quasi-experimental evidence using a nudge in the take-up of student loans in higher education in the Netherlands. We estimate an instrumental variable (IV) model with a first-stage Difference-in-Differences design. We find that a decline in the default student loan reduced monthly student borrowing by 141 euros. A one-euro decline in student loans reduced students' expenditures by 61 cents, but also led to a substantial increase of parental financial contributions (43 cents). Especially expenditures on leisure activities were affected. There is no evidence for increased labor earnings among students, on average. Self-reported indicators of academic performance do not worsen in response to the reform; students' GPA even improves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]