1,721,044 research outputs found
Approaches in science teacher preparation: a comparative study of England and Zimabwe
No full textScience education is considered a vital tool for development across the world. The importance of well trained science teachers essential for preparing students to function effectively in an increasingly technological and information based environment is well documented. Despite a convergence in belief on the assumptions of science and science teaching and learning based on notions of constructivism, inquiry and reflective practice, sharp distinctions exist in the way science teachers are prepared. While such distinctions may reflect national and even institutional contextual factors, there are structural, programmatic and process elements that appear to be eroding the commitment to the basic values in science teacher preparation. The paper, based on evidence obtained through interviews of science teacher educators and the analysis of curriculum documents in England and Zimbabwe identifies threats to the key assumptions of science and science teaching and argues for a re-examination of practice in the two countries
Vice chancellors' perceptions of university marketing: a view from universities in a developing country
No full textFocusing on perceptions of university VCs of the marketing concept, this paper argues that despite the widely acknowledged development of university marketisation in the developed world, its practice in developing countries has not yet attained strategic levels. Based on research and interviews undertaken with 11 of 13 VCs in Zimbabwean universities, findings suggest that the curriculum seems to be the central focus of attention in these universities and that any decisions to market HE seems to depend on how the notion of curriculum is defined. The nature of the university in terms of being traditional, industry focused, specific subject oriented, seems to influence quite significantly how marketing in perceived and practiced. Traditional universities tend to demonstrate a product marketing orientation while industry linked universities are more customer focused
Interrogating the crisis in higher education marketing: the CORD model
No full textPurpose - Higher education (HE) marketing the world over is in a state of crisis that manifests itself on three fronts. First, there continues to be sizeable resistance towards the marketing idea in the academy of many universities across the world. Second, HE itself has failed to identify its core business without which the sector can not have a firm marketing foundation. Third, HE marketing has not adequately domesticated itself and continues to rely on imported wisdom from the business sector. The purpose of this paper is to explore these problems using evidence from international research and propose a curriculum focused marketing model which should help refocus HE marketing, domesticate it appropriately and reduce the internal resistance with which it is frequently associated. Design/methodology/approach - The paper begins by examining the imperatives for marketisation in HE. It then reviews the extent of the three obstacles using evidence from research in different parts of the world. It concludes by offering a curriculum focused marketing model (CORD) which could serve the basis for future HE marketisation. Findings - Based on wide ranging data from the developed and less developed countries, obtained through national and regional surveys and a review of secondary findings, the paper suggests that a way out of this crisis is for universities to identify their core business as the development of their curricula and to base their marketing on a proposed curriculum centred marketing model. Originality/value - The CORD model represents an attempt at addressing the crisis that HE marketing faces today
Strategies and challenges of internationalisation in HE: an exploratory study of UK Universities
No full textPurpose – Although internationalisation has become a key strategic element of universities across the world, there is little empirical evidence suggesting the nature and extent of integration of internationalisation into the strategic mission of individual institutions. Little is also known about challenges faced by institutions in their quest to integrate internationalisation into their broad strategic choices. This paper aims to address these issues. Design/methodology/approach – An exploratory study is conducted in six universities in the UK selected from the Russell pre-1992 group, the post-1994 group and former colleges of higher education (HE). The study has three distinct but interrelated aims: how internationalisation is conceptualised in the study institutions; the available evidence for its structural integration into the university services and understanding the perceived challenges institutions face in the quest to integrate the idea as a broad strategic element of those institutions. Findings – There exist a range of distinct barriers working against the full integration of the concept into the institutional cultures. These include: conceptual and structural deficiencies in the organisation of institutional internationalisation; over emphasis on human exchange initiatives over cultural integration efforts and increasing undercurrents of feelings among staff and students of local neglect at the expense of global attention. Originality/value – The paper creates a sound basis for a more broad-based study across the HE sector. Specifically, the paper suggests that the increasing cultural diversity in UK HE brought about in part by internationalisation and also by general human migration occasions new thinking and practices in organisational and management terms to address the needs of the “mosaic or cultural melting pot” phenomena characterising the increasingly multicultural HE learning environments.<br/
University marketing: perceptions, practices and prospects in the less developed world
No full textThe article reports on research conducted in Zimbabwe's 11 universities between 2001 and 2003. The research sought to find our VCs perceptions of marketing, and the extent to which university customers considered the current marketing arrangements to address their choice and decision needs in the diversifying HE market of Zimbabwe. The research used interviews and questionnaires as the basic data gathering approaches. It found a variety of marketing conceptualisations among the chief university executives and that there was a disjuncture between the core business of universities and their marketing orientations. The paper proposes a new curriculum focused model as a sound bais for developing the Marketing orientation in universities in Zimbabwe
Staff involvement in leadership decision making in the UK FE sector: perceptions of quality and social justice
No full textA key challenge arising from the increasing diversity in educational establishments is how to harness the potential that this human heterogeneity can bring while at the same time limiting the dissonance that often arises when human difference expands in limited work spaces. Drawing on data from the project Integrating Diversity in Leadership (Lumby et al., 2007) sponsored by the Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL), this paper investigates the extent to which staff in FE colleges feel included in the decision making processes of their colleges and perceive the decision processes as being fair and just. The paper adopts the view of Elsass & Grave (1997) who argue that leadership is crucially about making decisions, and uses the integrated decision-making model by Hoffberg & Korver (2006) to explore the extent to which diversity features are being integrated into leadership decision-making structures and processes in FE colleges in the UK
Diversification of the post graduate recruitment markets: emerging opportunities for PGCE science and maths recruitment
No full textRecruitment to Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) science and maths training programmes in university schools of education departments possess serious challenges and does little to ameliorate the persistent shortage of secondary school teachers in these subjects. The one size fits all approach suited to traditional recruitment markets in undergraduate programmes for these subjects fails to recognise the growing diversity in the types of students currently undertaking training in these subjects. Using questionnaires with current students, interviews with programme tutors and analysis of marketing documents and websites, the research has identified five distinct market segments which require differentiated marketing and recruitment strategies to help institutions meet their recruitment targets. The findings suggest that PGCE training departments need to recognise the increasing diversity in their recruitment markets, employ segmentation strategies to understand these potential markets and develop suitable strategies for engaging more proactively with these new markets in the increasingly competitive HE marketplace
The Marketing Landscape of Universities in Zimbabwe: Perspectives, Practices and Prospects.
No full textThe paper synthesizes findings based on a wide ranging research on university marketing in Zimbabwe. The research was primarily aimed at determining university Vice Chancellors’ and internal marketers’ perceptions of marketing, how the marketing function was organized and how specific university customer groups perceived the effectiveness of current university marketing. Data was collected through interviews with Vice Chancellors and ten head teachers of schools with sixth form and through questionnaires for marketing staff and sixth form pupils in the ten schools. Findings were triangulated with data from university marketing documents. Overall it was found that marketing was narrowly conceived and lay on a frail organisational foundation often buried under traditional university structures. Generally lacking a strategic focus, university marketing tended to be determined by the product philosophy of many institutions. The findings suggest that in a higher education environment characterized by growing competition, increasing expansion and diversity and greater choice for university customers, institutions will need to determine a new focus for marketing based on the curriculum which is the core business of these institutions
University and course choice: implications for positioning, recruitment and marketing
No full textPurpose – Higher education environments have become increasingly competitive and institutions have to compete for students in the recruitment markets. With the introduction of student fees, it is hypothesised that potential applicants to HE will increasingly become consumerist. The research upon which this paper was based was aimed at finding out the factors students consider important in their decision making related to choice of university and courses of study. Design/methodology/approach – Five sixth form schools and colleges in the Southampton University Partnership Scheme participated in the study. Three hundred and eighty seven students (186 male and 201 female) voluntarily participated. The study involved a survey questionnaire based on a 10 point Likert scale and included 35 university choice factors which students were to rank accordingly. It also included 10 items similarly ranked to identify factors influencing university subject or course choice. Simple descriptive statistics were used to identify the factors students consider most important in their choice and decision making. Findings – Two key signals have been identified. First is that, students seem to be adopting a consumerist approach to their HE decision making. The importance attached to labour market motives in terms of employment and career prospects significantly outweigh those related to pursuing HE on the basis of subject interest and a love for the subject. Second is that as a result of this, students consider programme and price related issues as more important than other elements of universities marketing mix. Research limitations/implications – There are no claims for generalisability of findings from this research on account of the small sample of participants and the use of convenience sampling employed in the study. However, the findings generally support what is already known about factors influencing university choice and go beyond to show signals of change within the undergraduate recruitment market. Practical implications – The findings have implications for university positioning in a diversifying recruitment market, and for a reconsideration of marketing and recruitment strategy at institutional levels. Originality/value – The paper identifies signals of a changing undergraduate recruitment market and notes the implication this has on recruitment and marketing activities for institutions intending to position or reposition themselves in the highly competitive markets
How globalisation and internationalisation are understood in HE sectors
No full textThe chapter explores the range of understandings around the notions of globalisation and internationalisation in universities. based on returns by 49 universities across the world, the chapter identifies that meanings attached to these concepts are closely associated with the profile and status of the university, the country specific economic status and whether the host nation belongs to the core, semi periphery and periphery in world systems orde
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