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Topical Collection "Trends and Challenges in Higher Education"

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A topical collection in Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This collection belongs to the section "Higher Education".

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Editors

Prof. Paul Barach

E-Mail Website1 Website2
Collection Editor

Jefferson College of Population Health, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA 19107, USA
Interests: higher education; smart hospitals; telemedicine; medical education; simulation;team training; patient safety curriculum design; work based assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Donald A. Donahue
E-Mail Website
Collection Editor

The Graduate School, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
Interests: higher education; curriculum design; work based assessment; access; equity; medical education; team training; disaster medicine; humanitarian health; climate change and health

Topical Collection Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the field of education, interest in new methodologies, contexts, and technologies is rising. This Topical Collection intends, in this context, to address new research and trends in all dimensions of the educational process.

It will establish a global platform for the investigation and monitoring of specific challenges concerning education, namely: innovations in learning and pedagogies, digital technologies applied to Education, and new learning contexts.

Original research is requested, and authors are encouraged to contribute to the following topics with research papers: case studies and demonstrations, presenting original scientific observations, methodological aspects, concepts, and instructional technologies.

Specifically, the Topical Collection will be focused on:

Technological Developments in Education: mobile technology, virtual environments, augmented reality, automation and robotics, and other tools for universal learning, focusing on issues that are not addressed by existing research.
Digital Education: mobile learning, eLearning, game-based learning, social media in education, new learning models and technologies, and wearable technologies for education.
Case Studies in Education: empirical studies in higher education regarding digital technologies, new methodologies, new evaluation techniques and tools, perceptions of learning processes efficiency and digital learning best practices.

Prof. Paul Barach
Prof. Dr. Donald A. Donahue
Collection Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the collection website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

higher education
secondary education
digital education
innovations in education
new pedagogical methods
learning contexts
medical education
competency assessment
simulation
engaging learners digitally
patient safety – event analysis & learning assessment
harnessing the science of learning in the setting of a pandemic
work based assessment
faculty development

Published Papers (10 papers)

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2023

Jump to: 2022, 2021

Open AccessReview

Literature Review of Accreditation Systems in Higher Education

Nelson Duarte

and

Ricardo Vardasca

Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(6), 582; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13060582 - 07 Jun 2023

Abstract

This study investigates the accreditation processes in higher education across various countries, focusing on the time and bureaucratic burden associated with accrediting new courses. The aim is to identify strategies to accelerate the accreditation process for new courses in higher education institutions. A comprehensive literature review was conducted to achieve this objective, examining the accreditation processes in Portugal, Spain, the United States, France, China, Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom, India, and Germany. The study’s key findings revealed that the accreditation process is generally efficient in most countries, with courses receiving accreditation within a reasonable timeframe. However, the process can be more complex and time-consuming for institutions seeking accreditation for the first time or offering new or innovative courses. Institutions must meet all established criteria and promptly provide all required documentation to expedite the accreditation process. The implications of these findings suggest that higher education institutions should collaborate closely with relevant accrediting agencies to ensure a streamlined accreditation process. Institutions should also consider agency requirements and course specialization when developing new courses. Furthermore, governments play a crucial role in promoting transparency and competition among higher education institutions, which can lead to enhanced quality assurance and increased customer satisfaction in the education sector. Full article

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Open AccessArticle

Universities’ and Academics’ Resources Shaping Satisfaction and Engagement: An Empirical Investigation of the Higher Education System

Jana Prodanova

and

Ljupco Kocarev

Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(4), 390; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13040390 - 13 Apr 2023

Viewed by 683

Abstract

Higher education research has claimed that the successful future of the educational service is highly dependent on the competencies and observations of the participants in the system, where service quality, employee satisfaction and engagement play an essential role in organizational competitiveness. Therefore, to contribute to the scarce investigation of the role of the institutions’ efforts in the support of engaged academics, we aim to assess the quality of higher education from an internal angle by investigating universities’ and academics’ resources as the antecedents of job satisfaction and engagement. The data from a survey with 322 academics from Macedonian public universities were analyzed using partial least squares structural equations modelling. The results of the estimated model reveal that institutional and educational capacities and academics’ adequate competencies are essential for accomplishing favorable perceptions, leading to a committed community dedicated to improving the higher education system. The implications underline that it is vital to recognize the institution’s potential by identifying and assessing the resources and capacities it possesses or can access. Moreover, to involve satisfied employees, universities must encourage academics’ position and integrity in the institution and promote harmonious collaboration while motivating their capacities and excellence development. Full article

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Open AccessOpinion

The Changing Face of Veterinary Professionalism—Implications for Veterinary Education

Catherine Werners-Butler

Jaelene Haynes

and

Talia Guttin

Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(2), 182; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13020182 - 09 Feb 2023

Viewed by 923

Abstract

Veterinary professionals need to maintain currency with the rapidly expanding knowledge, techniques, and diagnostic skills available to the profession, while also accommodating the developing needs and expectations of clients and other veterinary stakeholders. Today, societal influence and expectations impose a heavy demand on veterinary practitioners, making it essential for tertiary veterinary education to equip veterinary graduates with the skills necessary to face these challenges and flourish in their profession. This paper explores four challenges faced by veterinary education in the development, maintenance, and upkeep of professional skills training: the divarication between employer expectations and veterinary education, the impact of demographic changes on the profession, the influence of institutional structures on the teaching of professionalism, and the risks associated with outdated models of professionalism training. The teaching of professionalism in veterinary education must continually evolve. One issue that may hinder this process is a divergence between the expectations of employers and tertiary institutions regarding the employability skills required by veterinary graduates. Veterinary professionalism education must also consider changing demographics within the profession and within society to provide all new graduates with the skills and tools necessary to succeed in the workplace, establish a sustainable work–life balance, combat burnout in new graduates, and be equipped to serve the general public. Failure to do this could result in professionalism teaching becoming complicit in a socialization process that perpetuates gender and cultural inequalities. This paper outlines some of the changes that have occurred in the veterinary profession and their implications on veterinary professionalism education. The article champions the necessity for veterinary professionalism education to evolve in concert with the constant changes in the profession. Full article

2022

Jump to: 2023, 2021

Open AccessArticle

A Long-Life Predictive Guidance with Homogeneous Competence Promotion for University Teaching Design

Juan Jose Aciego

Alicia Claros Colome

Ignacio Gonzalez-Prieto

Angel Gonzalez-Prieto

and

Mario J. Duran

Educ. Sci. 2023, 13(1), 31; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci13010031 - 28 Dec 2022

Viewed by 685

Abstract

Even though planning the educational action to optimize student performance is a very complex task, teachers typically face this challenging issue with no external assistance. Previous experience is, in most cases, the main driving force in curriculum design. This procedure commonly overlooks the students’ perception and weakly integrates the students’ feedback by using a non-systematic approach. Furthermore, transverse competences are, unfortunately, typically omitted in this procedure. This work suggests the use of a predictive tool that determines the optimal application time of different methodological instruments. The suggested method can be used for an infinite number of scenarios of promoted competences. The results can be regarded as a guide to modify the course structure, but, more importantly, it offers valuable information to understand better what is occurring in the teaching-learning process and detect anomalies in the subject and avoid the students’ exclusion. The predictive scheme simultaneously considers the teacher’s perspective, the student’s feedback, and the previous scores in a systematic manner. Therefore, results provide a broader picture of the educational process. The proposal is assessed in a course of Electrical Machines at the University of Malaga during the academic year 2021–2022. Full article

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Open AccessArticle

The Challenge of an Interactive Audiovisual-Supported Lesson Plan: Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in Adult Education

Constantinos Nicolaou

Maria Matsiola

and

George Kalliris

Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(11), 836; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12110836 - 19 Nov 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1674

Abstract

The rapid development in the fields of science, and information and communications technologies (ICTs) in recent years, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, have brought about and continue to generate transformations in education, especially in adult education. In the present enhanced research article, an interactive audiovisual-supported lesson plan template and its non-verbal role in our psychological and mental health are presented in-depth. Applying a multi-methodological approach, this interactive communication-themed adult lesson plan was executed and researched in the framework of an interactive seminar in Greece and Cyprus. The research sample consisted of adult educators as adult learners and involved empirical research where technology-enhanced research methods were applied as qualitative action research with quasi-experiments. Specifically, the attitudes and views of an adult educators’ group regarding the research interactive seminar that they participated in were re-investigated through secondary analysis. Similarly, the suitability of specific ICTs as well as whether they help or change the physical or psychological and mental health of the participants at the end of a teaching–learning procedure as a pilot case study were explored. The research results, effects and findings confirm the current debate on the employment of contemporary ICTs within the framework of the educational process of technology-enhanced learning in education (including adult education) as derived both by the literature, and by the research results, effects and findings of various other studies and research papers. Finally, this study can be used as a basis for creating and/or developing an audiovisual-supported lesson plan aimed at adult learners as an alternative approach. Full article

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Open AccessArticle

How UK HE STEM Students Were Motivated to Switch Their Cameras on: A Study of the Development of Compassionate Communications in Task-focused Online Group Meetings

J. M. P. V. K. Jayasundara

Theo Gilbert

Saskia Kersten

and

Li Meng

Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(5), 317; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12050317 - 30 Apr 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1775

Abstract

HE’s pandemic-driven shift to online platforms has increased social and learning disconnection amongst students. In online group work/teamwork, many are reluctant to switch on their cameras to be more present to others. Compassion in group work/teamwork is defined as noticing, not normalizing, one’s own and/or others’ distress or disadvantaging and taking wise action to prevent or reduce this. This notion of compassion is being assessed in the HE sector using filmed task-focused in-class group work meetings to identify levels of both inclusivity and criticality around the team. This study investigates the use and outcomes of using the compassionate communications strategies (that were developed in and for the offline classroom) in online team meetings. In this mixed-methods study, two groups of four international STEM students, each from a sample of five UK universities, were video-recorded in task-focused group work meetings (TGMs) before and after an online interactive 90-min training session (‘the intervention’) on the Cognitive Skills of Compassionate Communications (CSCC) in teams. A comparison of the (pre and post CSCC intervention) quantitative and qualitative data results indicated, post-intervention, a significant increase in students’ screen gaze attentiveness to each other, and reasons why students’ motivation to switch on their cameras had changed. Full article

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Open AccessArticle

Tales of Doctoral Students: Motivations and Expectations on the Route to the Unknown

and

Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(4), 286; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12040286 - 18 Apr 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1927

Abstract

This paper provides a reflection on the way changes taking place in doctoral education are being perceived and internalized by doctoral students. The Doctoral perceptions are analyzed through Ph.D. candidates’ motivations to enroll in the program and to their levels of satisfaction with the supervision experience. Comparisons between national and international students, as well as differences according to doctoral programs’ scientific areas, i.e., between students enrolled in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and in Social Sciences, Languages and Humanities (SSLH) are established. Based on a case study developed in a Portuguese university, conclusions point to the dominance of a romanticized, traditional view of doctoral education, with the academic profession at its core. This view is mostly shared by international students and those from SSLH scientific areas. In turn, national Ph.D. candidates and those from STEM areas have incorporated a more instrumental view of doctoral education, aiming for training participants to professions outside academia. Full article

Open AccessArticle

Teaching Staff and Student Perceptions of Staff Support for Student Mental Health: A University Case Study

Helen Payne

Educ. Sci. 2022, 12(4), 237; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12040237 - 25 Mar 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2235

Abstract

Background: There are significant concerns for student mental health in higher education. New factors affect student mental health, and campus counselling services are overwhelmed. Struggling students turn to ideally placed familiar teaching staff for support. This qualitative study, conducted in an East of England university, aimed to explore student and staff perceptions of support offered by teaching staff to students grappling with their mental health. It is unique, combining both staff and student perceptions, many of which overlapped. Methods: A thematic analysis was conducted of in-depth, semi-structured interviews with a small number of self-selecting staff/students. Findings (results): Staff felt inadequate in several aspects, and students agreed to give useful suggestions for their preferred support. Conclusions: It was cautiously established that staff training in mental health literacy (knowledge, skills, attributes, and understanding) was required. Specific training was recommended in pastoral care for personal tutors and for staff pedagogy on health professional programmes. Finally, teaching staff needed support when supporting students with poor mental health. Such training and support can be integrated into a preventative, university-wide, holistic policy for student mental health commensurate with the University Mental Health Charter. Embedding such supportive practice into the curriculum is preferable to add-on services and/or interventions. Full article

2021

Jump to: 2023, 2022

Open AccessReview

Fostering the Development of Professionalism in Veterinary Students: Challenges and Implications for Veterinary Professionalism Curricula

and

Educ. Sci. 2021, 11(11), 720; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11110720 - 09 Nov 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1598

Abstract

The importance of professional skills teaching and assessment within veterinary education has recently been highlighted in the veterinary education literature. This academic discourse follows the acknowledgement by both veterinary employers and graduates themselves that new graduates often lack the professional skills and attitudes needed for success in clinical veterinary practice. Traditionally, veterinary curricula have focused solely on teaching content knowledge and clinical skills; however, veterinary education curricula clearly must also contain dedicated instruction in veterinary professionalism. This must include instruction in communication skills, emotional intelligence, cultural awareness, teamwork abilities, dispute resolution strategies and the awareness that multiple approaches may be required to resolve challenges. It has become unrealistic to expect students to rely on observation and role modelling to foster the development of professionalism. There is a need to incorporate explicit learning activities that reinforce the knowledge, attitudes, values, and behaviours that characterise veterinary professionalism. While role modelling remains a key aspect of the veterinary professionalism learning that takes place through the informal/hidden curriculum, many students have often had more experiences with negative role models than with positive ones. This can lead to the development of a tolerance or normalisation of negative behaviours and a decline in students’ perceptions of professionalism. This article aims to continue recent conversations on professional skills teaching within veterinary education, define what is meant by veterinary professionalism and consider the plethora of terminology used when trying to establish a definition, highlight those attributes of veterinary professionalism deemed important by veterinary stakeholders for career success and employability, and explore the challenges of incorporating the teaching and assessment of professional traits into veterinary education. Full article

Open AccessArticle

University Professor Training in Times of COVID-19: Analysis of Training Programs and Perception of Impact on Teaching Practices

Anabel Ramos-Pla

Isabel del Arco

and

Òscar Flores Alarcia

Educ. Sci. 2021, 11(11), 684; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci11110684 - 27 Oct 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2109

Abstract

During the confinement and post-confinement period, the continuous training centers at different Catalan universities adapted the lifelong learning of professors. The present study analyzes the education of lecturers from Catalan universities before and after the pandemic, as well as their perception of its impact. A documentary analysis was performed of the continuous training programs for professors. Posteriorly, an enquiry was made about the perception of impact of this training, through a descriptive and inferential analysis with the use of a questionnaire designed ad hoc. Results indicated an increase in training associated with institutional digital tools, online evaluation, and design of online courses. The efforts by the professors to implement the knowledge acquired is underlined, with a higher perception of impact observed in the areas of Social and Legal Sciences and Arts and Humanities. In addition, the main difficulties perceived were the lack of time for adapting their practice of teaching with the knowledge acquired, as well as the complexity of performing an online evaluation. It is concluded that there is a need for continuous training programs that help establish support networks and collaboration between professors for the improvement of teaching, and in which one of the priorities is online evaluation. Full article

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Topical Collection "Trends and Challenges in Higher Education"

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Published Papers (10 papers)

2023

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2022

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2021

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