Karin Edvardsson Björnberg, Inga-Britt Skogh and Lena Gumaelius
In this study, we critically examine how students enrolled in a combined engineering and teacher education program given at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden…
Abstract
In this study, we critically examine how students enrolled in a combined engineering and teacher education program given at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden, understand the concept of sustainable development (SD) and the professional responsibilities of engineers versus teachers in contributing to this goal. A questionnaire was used to collect and analyze data based on five research questions: (1) How do students conceptualize the notion of SD? (2) What aspects of SD are students interested in? (3) Are there any gender differences in what aspects of SD students are interested in? (4) How do students perceive the roles and responsibilities of engineers versus teachers in contributing to SD? and (5) How confident are students in their abilities to address SD issues vocationally? The data indicated a conventional view of SD among the students; a clear interest in sustainability issues, especially for ecologically linked questions; a tendency to ascribe significant but differentiated responsibilities to engineers/teachers; and a low degree of confidence in their own ability to adequately address SD issues vocationally. The data also indicated differences between male and female students when looking at interest in different aspects of SD. Overall, female students were found to be slightly more interested in SD than the male students. This gender difference is larger in relation to social aspects than ecological or economic aspects. It is suggested that future sustainable development education needs a shift of focus from what separates female and male students to what unites them. The observed “confidence gap” that exists between stated degree of interest in, and perceived importance of, sustainability issues, suggests the potential for significant improvement of the design of the Master of Science in Engineering and in Education program (CL-program).
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Supriya Pattanayak and Chhayabrita Maji
This chapter will discuss the case of Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM), Odisha, one of India’s leading skills universities that provides a hands-on…
Abstract
This chapter will discuss the case of Centurion University of Technology and Management (CUTM), Odisha, one of India’s leading skills universities that provides a hands-on, practice-oriented, experience-based, interactive, and learning-centered educational environment. This chapter will further argue that by designing a skill integrated interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary curriculum, CUTM has built employable and entrepreneurial-minded manpower in order to contribute meaningfully towards a sustainable future. The various courses address Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) either directly or indirectly through a broad range of disciplines spanning from agriculture to industrial automation to governance. This chapter also highlights five social entrepreneurial initiatives under the brand name of ‘Gram Tarang’. Centurion University has established strong collaborations with industry, national and state governments, non-governmental organizations, and the local community for sustainable development, in line with SDG 17. The impact of Higher Education Institutions through their outreach activities, social entrepreneurship, and their attempts at enhancing critical thinking, creativity, and ethical values among students is also discussed. In the Indian context, these are crucial parameters that define sustainability (Agrawal & Kumar, 2018).
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Briefly outlines main objectives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) research programme Food Acceptability and Choice. Looks at the project portfolio and…
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Briefly outlines main objectives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAFF) research programme Food Acceptability and Choice. Looks at the project portfolio and lists recent, current and future research topics by author. Concludes by listing relevant literature from the MAFF programme.
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Abstract
Reports on a study which addressed meal selection in catering outlets (e.g. school or workplace canteens) from the perspective of the caterer and consumer. Asks what foods are supplied and why these are chosen. Questionnaires were sent to a selection of catering colleges, school and workplace canteens and to a general catering industry sample.
Leyla Yılmaz Fındık, İlknur Bayram and Özlem Canaran
The purpose of this paper is to explore how sustainable development (SD) is conceptualized by pre-service English language teachers in Turkey and design a specialized course…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore how sustainable development (SD) is conceptualized by pre-service English language teachers in Turkey and design a specialized course syllabus on SD in English language teaching (ELT) in the light of the research findings.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a mixed-methods sequential explanatory study design and investigated the case of a state university in Turkey with the involvement of 133 pre-service English language teachers.
Findings
The findings indicated that most pre-service English language teachers received no training or a course on SD in their whole education life and tended to associate SD mostly with the economic growth of a country, followed by education, social and ecological concepts. It was also found that the majority of the participants had a unidimensional view of SD. No direct links with ELT have been detected from participants’ responses. The findings also pointed to the eagerness of the participants to receive an ELT-specific course on SD providing that the course involves interactive teaching and learning activities with reference to contemporary sources focusing on global and local issues, as well as studying the methods facilitating the incorporation of such issues into teaching practice.
Research limitations/implications
This research is based on the experience of one Turkish university with limited quantitative and qualitative data.
Practical implications
Based on the participants’ knowledge, views and suggestions, this paper contributes to the existing literature by providing empirical evidence obtained from a local context and suggests a practical framework for a field-specific course syllabus aiming to enhance teacher candidates’ knowledge, skills and values related to SD and its incorporation into ELT.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study seeking to explore pre-service ELT teachers’ conceptualization of SD in Turkish higher education, and drawing on the research findings, the authors attempted to design a course syllabus targeted at pre-service teachers in ELT departments.
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Bill Lee and Catherine Cassell
The purposes of this paper are to explain how the need arose for trade unions to develop accounting systems to monitor learning outcomes and to illuminate how trade unions rose to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purposes of this paper are to explain how the need arose for trade unions to develop accounting systems to monitor learning outcomes and to illuminate how trade unions rose to that challenge.
Design/methodology/approach
A semi‐structured interview study of the full‐time educational officers of a number of the UK trade unions produced transcripts that were analysed using template analysis and were supplemented by collection of documentary evidence from the trade unions and interviews and documents from related organizations.
Findings
Trade unions are starting to compile extensive information about the learning opportunities that they are facilitating.
Practical implications
Information produced by the trade union's accounting systems highlights the value of the government's investment in the union learning fund (ULF).
Originality/value
This is the only study to address the systems of monitoring developed by trade unions in response to the receipt of funds from the ULF in the UK.
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One of the most prominent developments in vocational education and training in recent years has been the development of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) in England and…
Abstract
One of the most prominent developments in vocational education and training in recent years has been the development of National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) in England and Wales, based on the assessment of an individual’s competence at work. However, the initial implementation of the NVQ policy generated a considerable amount of criticism. The standards of occupational competence on which the NVQs are based were attacked for being too narrow; employers appeared reluctant to take up the new qualifications; and the introduction of NVQs appeared to exacerbate, rather than mitigate, the “jungle” of vocational qualifications. Drawing on in‐depth interviews with key informants and an analysis of relevant documentation this article ascribes the initial failure of the NVQ initiative to progress in the manner that its planners had originally anticipated to the existence of certain institutional constraints: the political imperative to manage high levels of youth unemployment; inadequate accountability and supervision in policy implementation; the presence of a renewed ethos of voluntarism in UK labour market policy; and the weakness of employers’ representative structures.
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This special “Anbar Abstracts” issue of Employee Relations is split into seven sections covering abstracts under the following headings: Design of Work; Performance, Productivity…
Abstract
This special “Anbar Abstracts” issue of Employee Relations is split into seven sections covering abstracts under the following headings: Design of Work; Performance, Productivity and Motivation; Patterns of work; Pay, incentives and pensions; Career/manpower planning, recruitment; Industrial relations and participation; Health and safety.
The purpose of this paper is to conceptually discuss whether and how feminine voice is muted within e‐mails in organizations; the implications of which are substantial and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conceptually discuss whether and how feminine voice is muted within e‐mails in organizations; the implications of which are substantial and far‐reaching for human resource development (HRD) professionals as well as the HRD field as a whole.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilizing the approach and arguments in muted group theory, the author conceptually applies these tenets to organizational e‐mail.
Findings
Current gender‐preferential research concentrates on the textual polarity of male‐ and female‐preferential language. These language differences carry over to organizational e‐mail despite the lack of contextual cues within e‐mail as well as the masculine nature of organizations. A critical assessment of these findings, rooted in muted group theory, reveals that women's voice is not merely marginalized (i.e. is present, but relegated to the margin), but it is mute (i.e. is not even present because it has no authentic language with which to use).
Research limitations/implications
Future research should concentrate on ways in which women remain muted and strategies to “un‐mute” them such that they are able to utilize a language reflective of their own experiences.
Practical implications
Diversity trainers who seek to incorporate diversity into organizations must look at the deeply entrenched assumptions of a culture that embraces likeness rather than difference. Many norms and taken for granted day to day procedures, such as e‐mail exchange, foster, and reinforce resistance to diversity.
Originality/value
The paper urges researchers, practitioners and academics to continue to analyze critically the muteness of women in organizations.