Higher Education

Ly Tran, Simon Marginson, Hoang Do, Quyen Do, Truc Le, Nhai Nguyen, Thao Vu, Thach Pham and Huong Nguyen: Higher education in Vietnam: flexibility, mobility and practicality in the global knowledge economy

Enrolment of newcomers in expert cultures: an analysis of epistemic practices in a legal education introductory course Abstract This article focusses on the transformative role of knowledge in student learning, paying particular attention to the mechanisms that facilitate the “enrolment” of students into their prospective expert cultures. It is vital for educational policy and practice to develop an understanding of how students enter a specialised knowledge domain. This requires a transformation in understanding as well as the appropriation of specific tools, discourses and practices. However, to investigate how this happens and identify aspects that matter for supporting processes of transformation and change, we need frameworks that move beyond traditional divides in educational research. In particular, we need to develop frameworks that capture the dynamic relationship between knowledge as historically developed but unfolding, evolving institutional arrangements, and student experiences. Drawing on the work of sociologist Knorr Cetina, we suggest an approach that highlights the concepts of epistemic machineries, epistemic practices and ‘epistementalities’ as a useful starting point to investigate such a relationship. We use a study of knowledge and learning in legal education during an intensive one-week course to illustrate how these more general concepts can be put to work to facilitate studies of the multiple levels and linkages involved in supporting enrolment processes. Thus the article builds on and contributes to previous discussions in this journal, where the need to develop new frameworks to account for the role of knowledge in student learning has been argued.

Regional, continental, and global mobility to an emerging economy: the case of South Africa Abstract This study examined mobility within the understudied region of southern Africa and particularly, the factors that drive and shape educational migration toward South Africa as a regional, continental, and global destination. Based on a survey administered to international students across seven South African universities, the findings revealed leading reasons were based on human capital and geopolitical rationales. The study also uncovered notable differences based on students’ geographic origins.

Contract faculty in Canada: using access to information requests to uncover hidden academics in Canadian universities Abstract In Canada, universities are undergoing a process of corporatization where business interests, values and practices are assuming a more prominent place in higher education. A key feature of this process has been the changing composition of academic labor. While it is generally accepted that universities are relying more heavily on contract faculty, to date, there is a lack of data to substantiate it in the Canadian context. This paper addresses this gap through reporting on a unique longitudinal dataset I have created on academic staff for 18 universities in Ontario collected through access to information requests under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. I analyze these data to address two key questions. First, to what extent have there been changes in the composition of academic labor in arts-related disciplines within Ontario universities? Second, to what extent are past claims that administrators have been unable and/or unwilling to provide these kinds of data legitimate? I conclude that there has indeed been a significant increase in part-time and full-time contract appointments relative to tenure stream positions in Ontario universities. My research also suggests that the reluctance of universities to share data on contract faculty has been motivated by both political considerations as well as the nature of university data management, which has been made more problematic by the precarious relationship between universities and their contract employees.

Measuring the value of externalities from higher education Abstract This paper takes an innovative approach. We have used the idea of converting international evidence of the size of higher education externalities as a proportion of GDP into Australian-specific dollar equivalents and added these estimates to estimates of lifetime fiscal returns to graduates. This allows us to estimate the expected spillovers over a graduate’s lifetime, an opportunity that has so far not been taken elsewhere. We conclude that an additional year of higher education in an Australian context, valued at the time of a student’s enrolment, lies between $10,635 and $15,952 in 2014 terms. We also acknowledge that it is difficult and inappropriate to apply estimates of average externalities to issues related to public sector pricing. However, having some idea of the boundaries of the potential sizes of higher education spillovers is a valuable and interesting exercise.

Erasmus student motivation: Why and where to go? Abstract The ERASMUS exchange program is considered an important contributor to the tourism industry and higher education within and beyond the European Union (EU). However, the questions arise: (1) Why do participants elect to go on a study exchange? (2) Why do participants opt to study in a particular location? Identified international mobility motives reflect students’ needs for professional and personal growth, but evidence also suggests some leisure travel motives. In line with such conceptualization, the present paper identifies the mobility and destination choice motives of 360 ERASMUS students from 26 European countries. One mobility motive (professional and personal growth) and two destination choice motives (infrastructure and image, and lifestyle and commercialization) emerged and are discussed in light of students’ personal and situational characteristics. Conclusions are that international study mobility is driven by students’ desire to grow personally and professionally while studying abroad, but students’ choice of a destination depends on the destinations’ general as well as touristic factors. Both mobility and destination choice motivations depend on students' personal and situational characteristics. As the student and educational tourism market is growing steadily, the EU is recommended to build on this market via ERASMUS and international student mobility to boost its weakening economy.

Know-who? Linking faculty’s networks to stages of instructional development Abstract Research into faculty members’ instructional development has primarily focused on individual skills and knowledge. As collegial interactions may support or constrain faculty’s professional development in higher education, this study compared and contrasted the networks of faculty members in different stages of instructional development (novice, experienced non-expert, and experienced expert teachers). Faculty networks comprised the relations that teaching faculty members used to communicate about their teaching practice. To capture these networks, a total of 30 faculty members were interviewed. We used an egocentric network approach to examine the differences between the networks in network size, tie strength, and network diversity. Results based on analyses of variance and multilevel analyses suggested three key findings: (a) Faculty members in different stages of instructional development varied in the size of their network; (b) faculty members in different stages of development had access to different types of networks in terms of tie strength; and (c) faculty members in different stages of development varied in the diversity of teaching experience in their networks. Experienced expert teachers had larger, stronger, and more diverse networks compared with experienced non-experts. Novices also had larger networks, but they were characterized by lower tie strength and less diversity. These findings demonstrate that network development is not just a time–age effect, but suggests arrested development for experienced non-experts linked to limited network input. This provides important evidence for the role of collegial interactions throughout faculty’s development as a teacher. We further discuss the implications of this study in light of faculty members’ instructional development.

Showing your pride: a national survey of queer student centres in Canadian colleges and universities Abstract The presence of queer student centres (QSCs) across Canadian universities and colleges is largely unknown. It is an important area of investigation since queer-identified students have previously identified several benefits of these services, including receiving support from other queer individuals. The focus of the current study was to determine (a) the number of QSCs in Canadian universities and colleges; (b) factors predicting their existence; (c) types of support they receive; and (d) future directions. A national online survey of 156 institutions and two in-person focus groups (n = 5; n = 2) were conducted. Descriptive analyses and a logistic regression were completed, and qualitative responses of the survey and the focus groups were thematically coded. Results demonstrate that universities and institutions with larger student populations are more likely to have a centre and that institutional support is crucial for their operations. Implications for the sustainability and creation of centres are discussed.

The expansion of English-medium instruction in the Nordic countries: Can top-down university language policies encourage bottom-up disciplinary literacy goals? Abstract Recently, in the wake of the Bologna Declaration and similar international initiatives, there has been a rapid increase in the number of university courses and programmes taught through the medium of English. Surveys have consistently shown the Nordic countries to be at the forefront of this trend towards English-medium instruction (EMI). In this paper, we discuss the introduction of EMI in four Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden). We present the educational setting and the EMI debate in each of these countries and summarize relevant research findings. We then make some tentative suggestions for the introduction of EMI in higher education in other countries. In particular, we are interested in university language policies and their relevance for the day-to-day work of faculty. We problematize one-size-fits-all university language policies, suggesting that in order for policies to be seen as relevant they need to be flexible enough to take into account disciplinary differences. In this respect, we make some specific suggestions about the content of university language policies and EMI course syllabuses. Here we recommend that university language policies should encourage the discussion of disciplinary literacy goals and require course syllabuses to detail disciplinary-specific language-learning outcomes.

Learning autonomy: higher education reform in Kazakhstan Abstract Higher education is a key economic and social priority in the global arena. Many countries have sought to advance reforms aimed at increasing access, promoting greater educational quality, and ensuring financial responsibility and sustainability. Often, strategies for achieving these aims are informed by experiences elsewhere. However, transporting education policy reforms can be problematic. Kazakhstan, a signatory of the Bologna Process, offers an example of a country seeking to improve student access and success and promote greater fiscal efficiency to advance the overall quality of its higher education system (Merrill in Int High Educ 59:26–28, 2010). A key strategy for achieving these goals is through reforms in university governance. In Central Asia, policy makers advance education reforms in order to accomplish several goals, including meeting “the new demands of ethnic nationalism, a globally competitive economy, and a labour market freed from administrative control” (Anderson and Heyneman 2005, p. 361). In Kazakhstan, policy makers have concluded that a system predicated on decentralized control with greater institutional autonomy (and accountability), along the lines of the US system, offers a promising strategy for improving the overall quality of its higher education system. This research collected on-site data on Kazakhstani higher education and presents the most recent data since efforts from OECD and World Bank in 2006 [OECD in Higher education in Kazakhstan (reviews of National Policies for Education). OECD, Paris 2007]. This research utilized semi-structured interviews with senior higher education administrators (53), members of the Ministry of Education and Science (6), a representative from the government (1), and experts from the World Bank (2) for a total of 62 participants. The results of the study show that academic leaders in Kazakhstan want greater autonomy. However, there is no clear consensus about what level of fiscal and academic autonomy is desirable and whether all institutions are prepared to manage themselves without Ministerial oversight. The roles of key constituents in academic governance have also not yet been clearly defined.