Fadi Abdelfattah, Abrar Mohammed Al Alawi, Khalid Abed Dahleez and Ayman El Saleh
This paper aims to review the critical challenges and factors influencing the successful adoption of electronic learning (e-learning) systems in higher educational institutions…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the critical challenges and factors influencing the successful adoption of electronic learning (e-learning) systems in higher educational institutions before and during the current propagation of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.
Design/methodology/approach
This study undertook a literature review concerning the in-depth revision of previous studies published in 2020 and 2021. A total of 100 out of 170 selected research papers were adopted to identify and recognise the factors restricting the application of e-learning systems.
Findings
The findings determine and illuminate the most challenging factors that impact the successful application of online learning, particularly during the wide propagation of the COVID-19 pandemic. The review of the literature provides evidence that technological, organisational and behavioural issues constitute significant drivers that frontier the facilitation of the e-learning process in higher educational institutions.
Practical implications
The current paper suggests a guide for managers and scholars in educational institutions and acts as a roadmap for practitioners and academics in the educational field and policymakers as this research spotlights the significant factors challenging the e-learning process before and during the pandemic crisis.
Originality/value
The provided in-depth literature review in this research will support the researchers and system designers with a comprehensive review and recent studies conducted before and during the COVID-19 pandemic considering the factors limiting the e-learning process. This paper formulates a valuable contribution to the body of knowledge that will assist the stakeholders in the higher educational institutions' context.
Peer review
The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-02-2022-0085.
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In this chapter, Turkish educational system and institutional quality assessment initiatives of education are explained. And also, the relationship between educational quality…
Abstract
In this chapter, Turkish educational system and institutional quality assessment initiatives of education are explained. And also, the relationship between educational quality assurance (QA) in Turkey and issues of effective schooling is summarised in terms of Turkish literature.
Education is widely accepted as a lifelong process. The school is an institution established in order to provide qualified education which contains complex and more abstract knowledge and ideas as well as literacy and simple numerical skills to the students. Each country has basically established education systems and educational institutions to ensure social integration, continuity and stability, and to sustain the social and cultural heritage of a society. Education in Turkey is one of the state’s basic functions according to the constitution and performed under the supervision and control of the state with the declaration of the Republic of Turkey. Ministry of National Education is responsible for the implementation of all education activities centrally managed in the Republic of Turkey. Higher Education Council (YÖK) is responsible for the management and thus the quality processes of the higher education institutions in Turkey. Two major attempts in this perspective are YÖK, which assesses the institutions with standards which are coherent with international accreditation institutions, and Higher Education Quality Council (YÖKAK), an independent and specific council which is established by YÖK. YÖK and YÖKAK are governmental-based quality-assessment institutions. Association for Evaluation and Accreditation of Teacher Colleges’ Educational Programs (EPDAD) is also an independent institution for quality assessment of education faculties which focusses on teacher training and education. The purpose of EPDAD is to strengthen the student learning in formal training and to ensure the quality standards for candidate teachers. Any undergraduate programme which meets the standards of EPDAD is accredited for three years. Standards of EPDAD are detailed in this chapter.
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After the COVID-19 epidemic, educational paradigms experienced radical changes, especially in the way that architecture was taught. This chapter explores how architecture…
Abstract
After the COVID-19 epidemic, educational paradigms experienced radical changes, especially in the way that architecture was taught. This chapter explores how architecture education evolved because of the current economic crisis, and how COVID-19 has affected instructional approaches. The main goal is to expose emerging educational strategies and their consequences for encouraging flexibility and resilience in architectural instructors and students. The study used a mixed-methods research methodology to gather information from stakeholders, educators, and students of architecture by combining document analysis of academic theses and publications with semi-structured interviews. Data analysis techniques such as thematic coding and pattern recognition revealed distinct categories of influencing factors, such as technological advancements, pedagogical modifications, student engagement and support, curriculum changes, faculty development, resource allocation, assessment and evaluation, as well as global and cultural considerations. The results highlight the varied and dynamic character of the pandemic’s effect. The crisis sparked a faster adoption of digital technologies, bringing forth blended learning and novel pedagogical approaches. As a significant result, resilience helped instructors and students overcome uncertainty by enhancing flexibility and using transdisciplinary methods. It also demonstrates how architectural education has persevered in the face of the COVID-19 epidemic and has the potential to spur larger changes in education. The possibility of sample bias and the crisis’s dynamic character are limits, though. Future research might examine the long-term effects of these emerging methods beyond crisis situations to expand the study’s results and influence the ongoing development of architectural pedagogy in a continuously changing global environment.
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This chapter discusses a number of well-known African Philosophies of Education (APE) that could significantly improve the development of an international educational leadership…
Abstract
This chapter discusses a number of well-known African Philosophies of Education (APE) that could significantly improve the development of an international educational leadership curriculum. These include Preparedness/Preparationism, Utilitarianism/Functionalism, Communalism; Holisticism and Perennialism, Ethnophilosophy, Ubuntu, Community, Reasonableness, Moral Maturity, Maat or Ma'at African philosophies discovered from papyrus manuscripts including Imhotep, The Teachings of the Vizier Ptahhotep, The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant, and The Dialogue of a Man with his Soul, Kemit and As Above so Below, etc. In so doing, I identify the salient values of these philosophies, bringing out their qualities as well as their limitations, and discussing ways in which they could be incorporated into the contemporary field of developing an international leadership curriculum. This chapter first reviews contemporary literature on African Indigenous Education (AIE) and APE and their relevance in developing an international leadership curriculum using a descriptive and analytical interpretive approach then proposes an epistemic leadership theoretical framework to guide the delivery of APE in educational leadership learning. Such a leadership curriculum framework could be developed as part of the de-colonial epistemic movement within the Global South. The chapter concludes that while the link between APE, policy and practice is significant and new in the context of educational leadership curriculum research, its survival depends on the establishment of such a de-colonial epistemic theoretical framework.
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The purpose of this paper is to explore the process of internationalization of higher education (HE) in the United Arab Emirates by examining the development of its HE system, and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the process of internationalization of higher education (HE) in the United Arab Emirates by examining the development of its HE system, and analyzing the components and results of internationalization.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a qualitative research methodology to analyze primary evidence from interviews with academics in the UAE, and uses documents and archival research as secondary evidence to provide a comprehensive view of the UAE’s internationalized HE sector. A review of the literature is undertaken to inform discussion and analysis which focuses on the internal and external environments of the UAE. A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis identifies the benefits and challenges for the UAE of internationalized HE.
Findings
The study finds that internationalization of HE in the UAE has grown rapidly in the last decade, and that the UAE has sought to establish and promote itself as an “education hub” in the Middle East. However, this may subsume the government’s parallel goal of educating its citizenry to the level of skills necessitated by globalization. Three major forces promoting internationalization in the UAE are neoliberalism, quality assurance, and imported internationalization, an approach seeks the prestige conferred by international accreditation that is predominant in the UAE as well as other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states. An area of concern is the governance of systems to ensure high quality for universities that may be state-owned, privately owned, or international branch campuses. The study concludes that regional integration could provide the way forward for these countries in their internationalization efforts, not by standardizing but by better formulating study programs across the range of state, private and international higher education institutions.
Research limitations/implications
The study has important implications for HE policy and governance in the development of internationalized HE in the UAE. It provides theoretical perspectives with practical implications, focusing on some of the critical issues in this developing field for HE administrators and practitioners alike. It also has implications for the UAE’s national social values and cultural identity. This may be a reflection of the UAE’s relatively recent unification as a state whose HE system, developed to skill its population, has been overtaken by the imperative to compete in a globalized world. The research is limited by the absence of longitudinal data to review longer-term outcomes.
Originality/value
The UAE, like other GCC countries, is striving to take its higher educational system to a higher level of performance. This study can be considered as one of the very few studies in the area of the internationalization of HE in the UAE. It contributes to the HE literature by identifying factors and circumstances that facilitate, and hinder, the development of internationalization of HE in the UAE. Globalization can be considered as one of the history’s most significant social processes, and the HE sector plays a vital role in the delivery of knowledge and skills to societies, and thus its socio-economic development.
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Michèle E.M Akoorie, Qiang Ding and Yafei Li
Following the Olympic Games of 2008 and the World Expo in 2010, many Westerners have increasingly begun to pay attention to China; a country which combines ancient history with…
Abstract
Purpose
Following the Olympic Games of 2008 and the World Expo in 2010, many Westerners have increasingly begun to pay attention to China; a country which combines ancient history with modern economic achievements. As a consequence there has been renewed interest in the West in learning about Chinese language and culture. Confucius education schools have even begun to spring up round the world, with the intention of promoting interest in Chinese language and cultural influences. The purpose of this paper is to focus on a community‐based Chinese culture education institution, in a provincial city in New Zealand, to understand the issues and risks of operating a cross‐cultural education institution business in a foreign country which is physically distant from China and to identify barriers which need to be overcome in order to run such an institution more effectively.
Design/methodology/approach
This research used a single site case study research design. Qualitative in‐depth interviews were used to develop an understanding of the rich, complex and idiosyncratic nature of human phenomena. In total, ten interviews were conducted with the Principal, Board members, teachers, local students of Institute A, students' parents (both Chinese and New Zealand), and institutional “outsiders”.
Findings
It was found that Institute's management team preferred the traditional Chinese educational methods which conflicted with ways used in the local (New Zealand) teaching system. It also found that the current management style conflicts with the professional style of organization management. The management team had a chaotic management and operational style, while lacking basic knowledge of the principles of effective administration concepts.
Practical implications
Identifying the risks and issues associated with the operation of a community‐based cultural education institution outside China will assist managers to understand the potential for cross‐cultural clashes between their belief in the principles of traditional Chinese education systems and the fit with the local culture. The finding of this study, in identifying the specific issues in relation to operational and professional modes of management, should assist managers to put into place an administrative system which is sufficiently flexible to accommodate both perspectives.
Originality/value
Although formerly a bi‐cultural nation, New Zealand has increasingly become a multicultural society. Interest in Chinese language and culture has also been fuelled by New Zealand's shift in immigration policy from 1974 (to a skills based rather than an ethnicity policy). This study is a first attempt to evaluate the efficacy of a Chinese community‐based educational institution in New Zealand.
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Senad Bećirović and Boris Mattoš
As an emerging technology marked by rapid advancements, artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to profoundly transform higher education, particularly after the emergence…
Abstract
As an emerging technology marked by rapid advancements, artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to profoundly transform higher education, particularly after the emergence of ChatGPT at the end of November 2022. Because of its immense power, it poses greater expectations and challenges than any technological advancement in the past. Thus, this paper aims to identify and discuss the need for AI-driven transformation, its challenges as well as policies and expectations of AI's successful integration into teaching and learning. This study examined recent literature and policy documents mostly published after ChatGPT's launch. This study may assist students and instructors in promoting awareness of the importance of ethical, positive and productive AI applications. Besides, the findings of this paper may aid in developing and adopting appropriate educational policies, improving curricula and training pre-service and in-service instructors in adopting knowledge, competencies and strategies for the efficient integration of AI in the teaching process. Thus, the study may help build a strategy for integrating AI systematically into higher education processes and contributing to the transformation of higher education.
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Leonard Waks and Eric Sandelands
In interview format this paper provides an introduction to the US education system for the non‐American faculty member, focusing primarily on the university sector. Issues…
Abstract
In interview format this paper provides an introduction to the US education system for the non‐American faculty member, focusing primarily on the university sector. Issues addressed include: key differences inherent in the US system (versus the majority of the world); the structure of education; the role of the individual states and that of the federal government; funding; accreditation; faculty assessment and promotion; and the practicalities of teaching for an American university.
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Clive Dimmock and Cheng Yong Tan
While Singapore's outstanding educational achievements are well known worldwide, there is a disproportionate paucity of literature on school leadership practices that contribute…
Abstract
Purpose
While Singapore's outstanding educational achievements are well known worldwide, there is a disproportionate paucity of literature on school leadership practices that contribute to and support pedagogical initiatives that – along with socio‐cultural factors – are normally considered responsible for its educational success. The aim of this paper is to explicate system‐wide school leadership factors that contribute to Singapore's educational success.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper includes critical discussion, review of literature and conceptualization.
Findings
It is argued that three unique features of Singapore school leadership, namely – logistics of a small tightly‐coupled school system, human resource policies that reinforce alignment, and a distinctive “leader‐teacher compact” reflecting the predominant Chinese culture – account for the extraordinary level of tight coupling and alignment of leadership across the school system. In turn, these unique features bring synergies of sustainability, scalability, succession, and high performance across the entire Singapore school system.
Research limitations/implications
Unique features of Singapore school leadership must be examined in conjunction with pedagogical initiatives and socio‐cultural factors for a more complete and nuanced understanding of educational success in Singapore.
Practical implications
Tightly coupled mechanisms of leadership underlie the success of Singapore education. Government needs to consider whether such tightly‐ coupled leadership will continue to serve it well in future, given the demand for twenty‐first century knowledge based skills.
Social implications
The influence of socio‐cultural factors (e.g. leader‐teacher compact) on educational success merits inclusion in any explanation.
Originality/value
This paper addresses an important gap in the literature by promulgating crucial features of school leadership that contribute to Singapore's educational success.
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Afandi Agusman Aris, Haris Maupa, Mahlia Muis and Muhammad Idrus Tabba
This paper aims to examine and analyze the effects of government policy, quality of human resources and professional institutions on workforce competitiveness using welding…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to examine and analyze the effects of government policy, quality of human resources and professional institutions on workforce competitiveness using welding technology variable as a mediating variable.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used quantitative research by using partial least square – structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the collected data.
Findings
Based on the results of the analysis, it was noted that there was a significant influence between government policy, quality of human resources and professional institutions on welding technology. The coefficients are characterized by a positive direct relationship, which means that the higher the quality of government policy and human resources professionals variables, the higher the value of the institute of welding technology.
Social implications
This study recommends that government should create policies that have benefits to competitiveness of Indonesian workforce. Implications from this study support government to use the model to determine and initiate policies in the field of welding as well as establish clear and standardized operating standards and recruitment process (government apparatus) that can accommodate the competitiveness of welding workers in Indonesia.
Originality/value
The originality of this paper is that the participatory approach was adopted in this study using PLS-SEM. In addition, this study was one of the first studies to carry out research at the BNSP office, BLK-Bandung-Jakarta, Makassar, B4T and dismiss the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Industry in Jakarta, Indonesia, where there was no research in this location. Previous studies conducted research in various case studies.