HLRC - Higher Learning Research Communications (E-Journal)
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The role of business agreements in defining textbook affordability and digital materials: A document analysis
Full text linkAdopting digital materials such as eTextbooks and e-coursepacks is a potential strategy to address textbook affordability in the United States. However, university business relationships with bookstore vendors implicitly structure which instructional resources are available and in what manner. In this study, a document analysis was conducted on the bookstore contracts for the universities included in the State University System of Florida. Namely, issues of textbook affordability, digital material terminology and seller exclusivity were investigated. It was found that textbook affordability was generally conceived in terms of print rental textbooks and buyback programs, and that eTextbooks were priced higher than print textbooks (25% to 30% markup). Implications and recommendations for change are shared.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v5i4.28
Editorial
Full text linkIn this edition of Higher Learning Research Communications (HLRC), our authors present research on quality in the context of higher education, using e-portfolios to encourage responsible feedback, and student gender bias in teaching evaluations.Authors Laura Schindler, Sarah Puls-Elvidge, Heather Welzant, and Linda Crawford present their literature review findings concerning quality and higher education. The authors focus on the difficulties of defining quality, revealing there seem to be four broad manners to conceptualize quality: purposeful, exceptional, transformative, and accountable. They also identified four distinct categories regarding quality indicators in higher education: administrative, student support, instructional, and student performance. One of the main difficulties identified in defining quality assurance is the regional context since, while in some areas quality assurance and accreditation are distinct terms, in other regions they are considered synonyms. After their review and analysis, the authors put forth recommendations for defining quality according to the existing state of quality assurance in higher education, depending on whether the institution has both a definition of quality and a set of quality indicators, either, or none.As technology enters more and more the classroom, new approaches to assess students and provide them with responsible feedback are needed. Educators Lucia Morales and Amparo Soler-Dominguez have found, through research and experience, that electronic portfolios are an effective way to provide students with responsible feedback and promote self-regulated learning, encouraging a student-centered approach. Morales and Soler-Dominguez argue that, given the positive manner in which eportfolios seem to promote two-way communication between teacher and student, they encourage responsible feedback in the classroom and self-regulated learning in postgraduate finance students.Finally, researchers Narissra Punyanunt-Carter and Stacy L. Carter present their findings regarding a preliminary study to assess whether there is or not a bias in teaching evaluations depending on the students’ gender. Since most research conducted on this particular topic was published during the 1980s and 1990s, Punyanunt-Carter and Carter based their research on a previous study published in 2000 in order to validate their findings. After analyzing their results, they found there seems to be a slight gender bias in teaching evaluations; however, they found no indications that its magnitude impacts the evaluations in a significant manner. This contrasts with current research that has found higher incidences different types of gender bias in academia, such as hiring practices, less women in STEM, and citation gaps. Since the gender bias in many of those other cases seems to come from peers and not students, there is a chance there is a generational gap at play. The authors recognize more studies are needed in this area, especially with larger student samples and also qualitative research tools, given that most research on this area comes from quantitative survey questions that might elude students’ perspectives on the matter
Competence-based profile of undergraduate students in Madrid’s universities: Differences in terms of the gender and age
No full textThe aim of this study is to corroborate whether the development of academic excellence is affected by the gender and age of students. A sample of 364 students from different universities in the Community of Madrid were administered COMPEUEM, a test that assesses the extent to which students possess eight academic competencies: communication, leadership, team work, adaptation to the changes, initiative, problem solving, decision making, organization, and planning. All students took the test on site, in the classrooms of the participating universities. The results show that older subjects score higher in the acquisition of skills than younger ones. On the other hand, significant differences were found in function of the gender of the students. The authors conclude that having reliable tools to assess academic competencies may help design new teaching methodologies that better adapt to the students’ individual differences and the needs they will face when entering the labor market.-------Perfil competencial de los estudiantes de últimos cursos de grado en las universidades de la Comunidad de Madrid: Diferencias en función del género y la edadResumenEl objetivo de este estudio es comprobar si el desarrollo de las competencias académicas se ve afectado por el género y la edad de los estudiantes. Para alcanzar este objetivo, a una muestra de 364 estudiantes de diferentes Universidades de la Comunidad de Madrid se les aplicó COMPEUEM, un test que evalúa en qué medida los estudiantes poseen 8 competencias académicas: comunicación, liderazgo, trabajo en equipo, adaptación a los cambios, iniciativa, solución de problemas, toma de decisiones, organización y planificación. Todos los estudiantes realizaron la prueba de autoinforme de forma presencial, en las aulas de los distintos centros universitarios que participaron en el estudio. Los resultados encontrados ponen de manifiesto que los sujetos de más edad presentan mayores niveles en la adquisición de competencias que los de menor edad. Por otro lado, se encontraron diferencias significativas en función del género de los estudiantes. Los autores concluyen que este tipo de resultados permite plantear que establecer herramientas fiables de evaluación en competencias académicas ayudará a diseñar nuevas metodologías de enseñanza más adaptadas a las diferencias individuales de los estudiantes y a las necesidades que se encontraran cuando se incorporen al mercado laboral.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v5i2.225 PDF document contains both the original in Spanish and an English translation.
Making the match between content and foreign language: A case study on university students’ opinions towards CLIL
Full text linkThe present article intends to show the positive evaluation of post-graduate university students at a Spanish university after the curricular integration experience and the application of CLIL scaffolding techniques. It also aims to identify areas of methodological improvements and recommendations in the application of CLIL in the referred programme as well as in higher education contexts. The researchers used a cross-sectional study to survey the students’ opinion on ICL after the integration of the syllabus of one foreign language subject and another content subject in a post-graduate degree at a private Spanish university in Madrid (Spain). The results point to a positive view of CLIL from Spanish higher education post-graduate students. The survey results also seem to show the students’ confidence in CLIL for their English-led classes aids them to simultaneously increase their foreign language acquisition and their nonlinguistic contents learning. However, researchers detected certain linguistic scaffolding aspects appear to need further students’ training and teachers’ methodological adjustments, as they can negatively affect learners’ engagement and hence, their learning outcomes. The authors note more research is needed to collect data from a wider population and increase the reliability of the results.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v5i1.23
Editorial
Full text linkThis Special Issue of Higher Learning Research Communications (HLRC) is dedicated to research in content language integrated learning (CLIL) and English-medium instruction (EMI). A we make our way in the 21st century, higher education institutions are faced with multiple challenges as they try to prepare future professionals. Issues such as globalization and internationalization, technology, access to information, interculturality, and the like pose challenges for future generations. And, higher education institutions play a fundamental role in shaping how that future will look like. In the face of multiculturalism and the communication barriers that are bound to happen, many countries and educational systems are incorporating English, not only as a means to facilitate contact among cultures, but as a means of instruction in itself. The groundwork laid down during the past decades by several researchers, such as David Marsh, has paved the way to promote multilingualism, not just by learning a language but also by using the second or foreign language as a content delivery method.Most research in this area has focused on primary and secondary education; thus, the research regarding CLIL and EMI in tertiary education is limited at the moment. However, in recent years there has been a boom in English-taught programs in non-English speaking countries. This means the need for research is this area is bound to grow exponentially as faculty, students, and institutions, and even governments and the labor market, take on the challenges of English-mediated instruction. It is out hope that with this Special Issue, which features research from Japan and Spain, we can contribute meaningful research to the field
Linguistic outcomes of English medium instruction programmes in higher education: A study on economics undergraduates at a Catalan University
Full text linkGlobalisation and international mobility in the 21st century has led to the internationalisation of the English language (Crystal, 2003). Research regarding linguistic gains at university levels is however extremely scarce. This study aims to address this gap of knowledge and provide some answers as to how much linguistic gain can be expected after one year of English medium instruction. Two groups of undergraduate students enrolled in different levels of English medium instruction (EMI) were given a pre and post-test over a 1 year period. Results were analysed statistically; significant gains were found only in the semi- immersion group in the grammatical domain; although, there was a trend for improvement as well as higher scores for full immersion students. It might be interpreted that in order for linguistic gains to be seen in adults there needs to be some focus on form and language guidance (Muñoz, 2007; Pérez-Vidal, 2007). Thus, an integrated content and language (ICLHE) approach is more effective than a solely content based EMI model for university level content courses, if linguistic gains are the desired outcomes of the programme.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v5i1.239
Online college laboratory courses: Can they be done and will they affect graduation and retention rates?
Full text linkOnline education has been steadily growing during the last decade. This growth has mainly taken place in the non-laboratory science fields. This essay describes some of the best practices to increase and maintain student retention, increase student engagement and increase graduation rates for college running online laboratory science courses. This article further discusses how to run successful, hands-on laboratory courses for your online students. The most common issues are being discussed and what can be done to provide the students with the same hands-on experience online as what they would experience in a more traditional classroom setting.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v5i4.28
The relationship between listening proficiency and speaking improvement in higher education: Considerations in assessing speaking and listening
Full text linkThis study examines the outcomes of having recourse to listening skills as support to improve oral skills in English language teaching. In this context, data from 120 students at a specific higher education institution was analyzed; 60 of whom were provided with totally listening-focused instruction and activities, while a separate group of 60 students receiving normal institutional English teaching. A comparative analysis of pre- and post-test rubric labels and scores indicated a close link between listening proficiency and a slight improvement in functional and interactive oral sub-skills. The results of this study have implications for defining the foundations of future research in English teaching methodologies and strategies, and the second language assessment process for speaking and listening skills.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v5i2.236
Undergraduate students’ perceptions of their advisors: SocioCommunicative style and perceptions of relational satisfaction
No full textThis study examined the specific interpersonal communication styles and behaviors of advisors and the expectations they have on their advisee’s level of satisfaction, as well as what characteristics lead to higher relational satisfaction in the advisor-advisee relationship. A combination of convenience and snowball sampling were utilized to obtain participants for this study. Three hundred and ninety-seven college students voluntarily completed a survey on their current advisor. The instruments used relied on the Sociocommunicative Style Scale created by Richmond and McCroskey (1985), and on the Relational Satisfaction Scale created by Beatty and Dobos (1992). Results revealed that there is a significant relationship between sociocommunicative style and relationship satisfaction. The authors note as study limitations the lack of qualitative data, the randomness of the sample, and the large proportion of female participants that resulted from the random sample. The authors conclude that by further studying variables within the advisee-advisor relationship, advisors can learn how to communicate better in order to have a satisfying and beneficial relationship with their advisees. Additionally, advisees can learn what to expect from advisement and how to attain satisfying relationships with their advisors.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v5i2.18
Definitions of quality in higher education: A synthesis of the literature
Full text linkThe aim of this paper is to provide a synthesis of the literature on defining quality in the context of higher education. During a search for relevant literature, the authors intentionally cast a wide net, beginning with a broad search in Google Scholar and followed by a narrower search in educational databases, including Academic Search Complete, Education Research Complete, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), and SAGE Premier. The authors identified both peer-reviewed journal articles and publications from professional organizations, such as the International Organization for Standardization. The paper begins with a discussion of the existing challenges and strategies for defining quality. Next, the authors provide a conceptual model of quality based on their review of the literature. Then, they examine some considerations for defining quality assurance and provide recommendations to help bring greater clarity and alignment to existing quality assurance practices. Their findings reveal important gaps in the literature. First, more research is needed to determine the feasibility of developing a universal definition of quality that would apply to different types of institutions in diverse geographic locations. Second, more research is needed to better understand the influence of culture on the use and meaning of quality terminology. Specifically, research is needed to determine whether the terms, quality and quality assurance, are applicable across cultures and, if so, whether there are distinct regional and national meanings of these terms. Finally, the relationship between quality assurance and accreditation in the literature is unclear.DOI: 10.18870/hlrc.v5i3.244