1,721,129 research outputs found
Conceptualising and developing evaluative judgement of holistic competencies : a focus on intercultural competence in engineering education
No full textEvaluative judgement, generally understood as the capability to assess the quality of one’s own and others’ work, prepares students for their lifelong learning beyond higher education. While its importance has been captured in the literature for some decades, evaluative judgement remains a poorly theorised and understood concept, especially in regard to judging holistic competencies (HC). Therefore, the overarching goal of this thesis is to advance the conceptual understanding of HC evaluative judgement, i.e., to conceptualise evaluative judgement in the context of judging HC.
This overarching goal is achieved by synthesising three empirical studies under two phases. Phase One is labelled as the “generalising phase” as it explores the theoretical tenets underlying HC evaluative judgement without distinguishing different HC. This phase includes one study (i.e., Study 1) which engages 14 international experts in three rounds of Delphi inquiries. As a result, Study 1 generates a tentative framework with five dimensions and 20 components to conceptualise HC evaluative judgement.
Phase Two is labelled as the “validating phase” as it contextualises, validates and nuances the tentative framework. It focuses on one example of HC – intercultural competence – among engineering students in China. There are two studies under this phase. Study 2 is an instrument development and validation study using a sample of 815 Chinese engineering students. Sequential exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses produce a six-factor 27-item instrument to measure engineering students’ perceived evaluative judgement of intercultural competence. Study 3 explores the process of evaluative judgement by engaging 20 engineering students to evaluate the intercultural competence of themselves and of other engineers in task-based interviews. In reference to the thesis’ overarching goal, Study 2 provides statistical evidence to validate and strengthen the tentative conceptual framework, whereas Study 3 contributes qualitative data to examining whether the framework can be empirically supported by students’ judgement process.
Synthesising findings across the three studies, the thesis discusses the possibility to conceptualise HC evaluative judgement as a process through which students negotiate multiple interrelated dimensions to judge their HC development and that of others. A process-oriented framework has been proposed with six validated dimensions (i.e., “Capability to judge”, “Action towards improvement”, “Attitude towards development”, “Knowledge of HC”, “Identity as assessor” and “Awareness of bias”), alongside 21 components which provide specific descriptors under each dimension. Features of this framework (i.e., multidimensional, interrelated, negotiated) have also been discussed.
The thesis concludes with its theoretical contributions, empirical insights, and practical implications. Theoretically, the thesis broadens the theoretical toolkit to understand the concept of evaluative judgement, and in particular, the concept of HC evaluative judgement. The process-oriented multidimensional framework is the first one to weave many relevant variables into a coherent whole to illustrate how HC evaluative judgement may be negotiated and developed. Empirically, the thesis offers original insights into Chinese engineering students’ evaluative judgement of intercultural competence, which adds to the limited literature on this topic in engineering education. Practically, the proposed conceptualisation brings new pedagogical insights into how students’ HC evaluative judgement can be developed in the curriculum.published_or_final_versionEducationDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph
Engineering students' experiential learning journey : nurturing generic competencies through internship experience
No full textThis thesis contains a mixed methods study investigating engineering students’ perception of the internship learning environment and their learning outcomes in internship courses offered at a university in Hong Kong, with a special focus on generic competencies development.
The study was informed by a conceptual framework developed based on Tynjälä (2013)’s 3P model, complemented by a number of experiential learning theories as well as student learning and workplace learning models. The study was undertaken in two phases, such that a survey study was conducted in Phase 1 and a multiple case study was conducted in Phase 2.
In Phase 1 of the study, an adapted version of Martin’s (1997) Work Experience Questionnaire (WEQ) was used to investigate engineering students’ perceptions of their internship experience. Engineering students’ perceptions of the internship learning environment, characterized by clear goals and adequate workplace support, was found to be positively related to their perceived generic competencies development.
In Phase 2 of the study, individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with six engineering students to advance the quantitative findings from Phase 1 by further exploring their perceived learning outcomes of internship and the factors influencing their generic competencies development at the workplace. Individual case reports indicated that each student intern differs in their perceived learning outcomes. Based on cross-case analysis, a taxonomy of students’ perceived learning outcomes of engineering internship consisting of general and specific learning outcomes was developed.
Findings from the interviews also suggest that the positive relationship found between students’ perception of the internship environment and their generic competencies development in Phase 1 was only partially supported by the qualitative findings, suggesting that generic competencies can be developed in the context of unclear goals and weak workplace support. Cross-case analysis suggested that students’ perceptions of the workplace environment was associated with their engagement in informal learning, which influence generic competencies development. In addition, some student characteristics and workplace characteristics were also identified to influence students’ engagement in informal learning and generic competencies development at the workplace. Based on the findings, a student engagement model of generic competencies development at the workplace was proposed. The model contends that each internship experience set students on a unique learning journey, with each student bringing with them their personal characteristics to an unfamiliar workplace environment. Generic competencies development is an individual students’ personal constructions because each student differs in their perception of the workplace environment, in their engagement in learning at the workplace, and subsequently in their perceived learning outcomes of their internship experience.
The thesis concludes with implications for engineering education researchers, practitioners and policy makers at the university, offering suggestions towards promoting generic competencies development as one of the key learning outcomes in the engineering curriculum and in higher education as a whole.published_or_final_versionEducationDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph
Investigating the development of university students' leadership skills self-efficacy beliefs during collaborative learning
No full textTransferable skills are non-discipline specific skills and abilities that can be applied across a broad range of situations and are crucial for students to face the challenges of an increasingly complex and globalised world. One such skill is that of leadership, which incorporates social awareness, self-reliance, adept problem-solving skills, and strong teamwork. As a skill, scholars have argued that leadership can be utilised by anyone, regardless of their designated role or level of authority.
Like other transferable skills, the development of leadership occurs over time through regular practice and feedback. One factor that may influence students’ engagement in and pursuit of opportunities for development is self-efficacy, a construct coined and defined by Albert Bandura as the “beliefs in one’s capabilities to organise and execute the courses of action required to produce given attainments” (1997, p. 3) where an individual’s self-efficacy beliefs impacts motivation, persistence, resilience, and effort towards a task, and in turn, potentially also learning outcomes achieved.
While they complement each other well, the self-efficacy construct has seldom been applied to transferable skills research. To thus explore the role of self-efficacy in students’ leadership skills development, while also laying the groundwork to introduce Bandura’s construct into skills development research, this study sought to investigate how students’ self-efficacy beliefs about their leadership abilities are impacted and formed. Furthermore, with leadership skills being inherently rooted in interpersonal and group-based contexts, the key research question (KRQ) was further specified to be, “in the context of collaborative learning activities (i.e., group work), how are students’ leadership skills self-efficacy beliefs developed?”
A mixed-methods convergent design was used to address the KRQ, collecting both quantitative (survey items) and qualitative (open-ended survey questions, reflective journal prompts, individual interviews) data and consolidating the findings to answer the key and guiding research questions. Data was collected in two phases: the student survey was conducted in Phase 1 (n = 304) and those who agreed to continue onto Phase 2 (n = 11) further completing the reflective journals and individual interviews.
Bandura’s work on self-efficacy was used to guide the exploration of the development of leadership skills self-efficacy (LSSE) beliefs among business and engineering students at a university in Hong Kong. In the findings, all four self-efficacy sources were evidenced, with students perceiving mastery experiences as having the greatest impact, though vicarious experiences, social persuasions, and physiological sources also play a role and have implications for effective peer feedback, students’ preparedness and sense of responsibility during collaborative work, and group project dynamics. Other elements including like students’ leadership understanding and values, comfort zones, opportunities to overcome challenges, influences from peers, and cultural perceptions and dynamics, were also examined.
Finally, Chan and Yeung’s (2019) Holistic Competencies Development Framework is referenced to reflect upon the role of LSSE beliefs on students’ leadership skills development and practices. Recommendations for educators and institutions with regard to providing greater comprehensive support to students for their transferable skills development, fostering of their resilience, and additional suggestions for future research are presented.published_or_final_versionEducationDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph
Identifying and understanding the graduate attributes learning outcomes in a case study of community service experiential learning project
No full textExperiential learning has been increasingly adopted by universities worldwide as the means to develop students' graduate attributes. In this paper, the author investigated the learning outcomes that the type of graduate attributes can deliver in the University of Hong Kong (HKU) Sichuan reconstruction project. This project encompassed an experiential learning experience enabling students to serve the post-quake Sichuan community by applying their knowledge and skills. The author will explore how this community service type of experiential learning in the engineering discipline allowed students to experience deep learning and develop their graduate attributes. It is shown that most students dealt with authentic and unfamiliar challenges through group cooperation, and were able to reflect from the experience and act accordingly. Copyright © 2012 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd
Exploring an experiential learning project through Kolb's Learning Theory using a qualitative research method
No full textExperiential learning pedagogy is taking a lead in the development of graduate attributes and educational aims as these are of prime importance for society. This paper shows a community service experiential project conducted in China. The project enabled students to serve the affected community in a post-earthquake area by applying their knowledge and skills. This paper documented the students' learning process from their project goals, pre-trip preparations, work progress, obstacles encountered to the final results and reflections. Using the data gathered from a focus group interview approach, the four components of Kolb's learning cycle, the concrete experience, reflection observation, abstract conceptualisation and active experimentation, have been shown to transform and internalise student's learning experience, achieving a variety of learning outcomes. The author will also explore how this community service type of experiential learning in the engineering discipline allowed students to experience deep learning and develop their graduate attributes. © 2012 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.link_to_subscribed_fulltex
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Generic competencies development through experiential learning : investigating diversity in first-year residential experiences
No full textHigher education sectors around the world have highlighted the importance of developing student generic competencies to address the public concerns about the eroding employability of graduates. A need hence arises as to how to develop undergraduates’ generic competencies along their study path. Given the challenges to integrate generic competencies into formal academic curriculum, a growing number of researchers and educators have explored the possibilities to achieve this goal through extra-curricular activities. In the current study, the potential of university residential halls was examined as its educational potential to develop students’ generic competencies was seldom been mentioned. This longitudinal study adopted photovoice, focus group, individual interviews, and pre-post survey to examine how first year residents benefited from their residential experience, using the University of Hong Kong as an example. Despite the long history of residential education in HKU, the educational value of residential experience is still unclear and has long remained as a “black box”. Both qualitative and quantitative research methods were used to investigate how different residential experiences facilitate student generic competencies development. The key objective of this study is to derive a model that applies to residential halls and, by extension, make practical recommendations for the advancement of current residential halls.
The findings suggest that participation in hall activities led to the development of student residence life outcomes, including justice, humanity, wisdom, courage, transcendence and wellbeing. Furthermore planning/organising hall activities greatly improved students’ sense of justice while interpersonal dynamics facilitated the improvement of humanity only. The analysis indicated that students without specific engagement in hall activities were also able to develop temperance, particularly in self-regulation. The present study provides evidence that students can benefit from residential experiences regarding their generic competencies development and well-being. Besides, this study adopted the constructivist grounded theory to process the empirical data, this led to the development of a new model for university residential halls to explain factors that affect students’ hall involvement. This new model was based on the preliminary framework which consisted of the presage-process-product model and input-environment-output model (student involvement theory). Recommendations are suggested based on the study results, such as providing opportunities for residents to solve authentic problems, and the formation of mentor-mentee relationships between senior and junior student residents. This study also suggested what types of residential accommodation should be built for creating educational and meaningful university residential experience.
This study made theoretical, methodological, practical and empirical contributions to the current research. It provided deep understanding of student residential experiences and scaffolds the educational potential of residential halls. However, one-year longitudinal study may not fully capture student residential experiences, and further study shall evaluate how sustainable the impact of university residential experience on students. It is intended that the findings of this thesis will assist universities and governments to create a more educational and meaningful university residential environment.published_or_final_versionEducationDoctoralDoctor of Philosoph
Professional Development and Quality Assurance in Teaching and Learning for Hong Kong Higher Education
No full textThis chapter gives a detailed summary of how teaching and learning is supported and enhanced in Hong Kong universities. It begins by providing a history of professional development and the challenges in higher education around the world and how Hong Kong institutions adapted to these changes and reforms in higher education. The government of Hong Kong plays a major role in the quality assurance and enhancement of teaching and learning in higher education as the eight-major universities are publicly funded by the government. The functions and structure of how the universities in Hong Kong support teaching and learning are explained and the author provides an account of the current situation in some of the universities in Hong Kong
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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