The Place of Higher Education in Supporting Lifelong Learning: Adult Upskilling and Personal Development (Published)
This study explores the role of higher education in fostering lifelong learning, with a focus on adult upskilling and personal growth in a rapidly changing world. As individuals navigate the complexities of modern life, lifelong learning emerges as a critical strategy for staying relevant, adaptable, and engaged. With flexible learning pathways, technology-enhanced learning, and community-driven initiatives, higher education institutions are in a unique position to support this endeavor. The benefits of lifelong learning are multifaceted, encompassing enhanced cognitive abilities, career advancement, and social integration. However, challenges such as limited funding, accessibility, and recognition of prior learning must be addressed to ensure inclusive and effective continuous education initiatives. By prioritizing lifelong learning, higher education institutions can empower individuals to thrive in an evolving landscape, promoting social cohesion, career progression, and personal growth. This article underscores the importance of investing in ongoing education and adult training, illustrating how communities and individuals can be transformed through lifelong learning.
Keywords: Adult Education, Higher Education, Inclusive Education, Lifelong learning, adult upskilling, continuous growth, personal development
Gender Diversity in Higher Education in Qatar: Challenges and Pathways for Progress (Published)
Qatar National Vision 2030 underscores the pivotal role of women in national development and promotes initiatives to enhance gender diversity. Given Qatar’s distinctive religious, social, and cultural context, pursuing gender parity invites broader discourse. While gender diversity is recognised nationally for its significance and benefits, its implementation across all sectors remains uncertain. This exploratory study investigates gender diversity within Qatar’s higher education workforce. A review of existing literature and a qualitative, interpretivist approach involving semi-structured interviews with purposively selected participants inform the research. Findings indicate widespread support for gender diversity; however, equitable representation remains elusive. Thematic analysis highlights legal frameworks and institutional policies alongside cultural and societal influences. Despite anti-discrimination laws, persistent barriers include cultural norms, implicit biases, and limited institutional and societal support. The study advocates for increased awareness and collective action, offering a foundation for future research to develop impactful strategies toward gender equity in Qatar’s higher education sector.
Keywords: Gender diversity, Higher Education, Qatar national vision 2030, cultural norms
Artificial Intelligence in Higher Education: Bridging the Gap for Students with Disabilities (Published)
Students with disabilities experience (SWDS) difficulties in learning due to limitations placed on them by their defect. To meet their learning needs distinguishing educational provisions from regular education were introduced into educational system which consist of special teachers and modification of curriculum, instructional procedures, methodology, instructional materials and learning environment contingent on category and magnitude of disabilities. Similarly, given that learning has to be effective; inclusive education in regular educational institutions was introduced. Nevertheless, while those who cannot benefit from inclusive education due to the severity of their handicap; provisions were made to accommodate them in special classes and special schools. These provisions are indeed beneficial to SWDs. However, introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in tertiary institutions personalizes and has been found to enhance learning for SWDs. Moreover, its use is not without challenges which need to be addressed to enable them benefit maximally from this novel and unique technology. This paper, therefore, through evaluative and prescriptive methodology using google search on the theme, concepts and keywords examines the type of AI technologies used by SWDs in higher education, benefits and challenges. Finally, the paper offers some suggestions on overcoming these challenges to enable SWDs benefit maximally from the usage.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, Challenges, Higher Education, students with disabilities (SWDs).
Transforming Teaching from Conventional to Digital Learning: Students Sensitivity in Higher Education (Published)
This study surveyed transforming teaching from conventional to digital learning: student sensitivity in higher education. The study was a descriptive survey which adopted the ex-post-facto design. 378 respondents were selected at random from a population of 24,888, students in Delta State higher education. The study instrument was self-constructed and titled Student Sensitivity to Conventional and Digital Learning System Questionnaire (SSCDLSQ). Face and content validity were employed for the instrument and it was further subjected to Cronbach alpha to establish the reliability and a value of .85 was obtained. Graphical representation to interpret the respondents’ information such as gender, academic level, and institution of learning. Research questions were analysed with mean rating and standard deviation. Hypothesis 1 was tested using a t-test. Hypotheses 2 and 3 were tested using ANOVA at a.05 significance level. Findings revealed, among others, that students display positive sensitivity to transforming teaching from conventional to digital learning. The researchers recommended, among others, that teaching should be transformed from a traditional classroom setting to digital learning, particularly for large classes, since it increases reading habits and collaboration.
Citation: Nkedishu V.C. and Okonta V. (2023) Transforming Teaching from Conventional to Digital Learning: Students Sensitivity in Higher Education, British Journal of Education, Vol.11, Issue 4, 18-36
Keywords: Higher Education, Technology, conventional, digital learning, student sensitivity, transforming teaching
Loans and Scholarships in Africa’s Higher Education Finance: A Comparative Analysis of Capitation, Policy and Recoveries in Eleven Countries (Published)
This article is a comparative analysis on financing of higher education in eleven African countries; Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia. Existing trends and practices on loans and scholarships in relation to capitation, policy and recoveries were compared in the eleven countries that were also member state countries to the Association of the African Higher Education Financing Agencies (AAHEFA). Data was collected at the 2019 AAHEFA conference held in Lusaka, Zambia, where eleven chief executive officials or their representatives from country loans and scholarship related institutions shared comprehensive reports related to funding of higher education in the eleven countries. The data collected was analysed thematically. The article shows that the eleven African countries shared several similarities and differences ranging from management structures, education prioritization, capitation, recovery methods and policies. High demand for student funding against limited resources and loan recovery methods were among the emerging similarities. The differences included variations in funding patterns, policy differences among funding agencies and nebulous management structures. It argues that since most of these loans boards are in their infancy, they needed to learn very fast on how to manage granting and recovery of loans.
Citation: Chirwa I.N., Masaiti G., Mwale N., Mkandawire S.B., Mulenga I.M., Sichula N.K. (2022) Loans and Scholarships in Africa’s Higher Education Finance: A Comparative Analysis of Capitation, Policy and Recoveries in Eleven Countries, British Journal of Education, Vol.10, Issue 16, 67-88
Keywords: Financing, Higher Education, Loans, Policy, capitation, recovery, scholarships
Book Review: Interculturality in Learning Mandarin Chinese in British Universities. By Tinghe Jin. London and New York: Routledge, 2021. 188 pp., £120 (hardback), £33.29 (e-book). ISBN: 9781138228306 (Published)
This account provides a critique of Tinghe Jin’s recently-published book entitled Interculturality in Learning Mandarin Chinese in British Universities, which offers one of the first in-depth enquiries on interculturality and language learning in the context of UK higher education. A review of the book’s objectives, content and key messages is given, while terminology and concepts encountered in Jin’s research are discussed and problematized. Emphasis is given to evolving concepts, such as ‘culture’, ‘Chinese culture’ and ‘intercultural competence’, as well as to hidden problems in Chinese language learning. The need to extend insight into teachers’ perspectives on interculturality is highlighted for future research.
Citation: Yanyi Lu (2021) Book Review: Interculturality in Learning Mandarin Chinese in British Universities. By Tinghe Jin. London and New York: Routledge, 2021. 188 pp., £120 (hardback), £33.29 (e-book). ISBN: 9781138228306, British Journal of Education, Vol. 9, Issue 8, pp.50-54
Keywords: Higher Education, Interculturality, Language Learning, Teaching
A Case for Blended Learning: Integrating Massive Open Online Courses in Traditional Degree Programmes, (Published)
In 2008, when they first emerged, Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) were regarded as an opportunity to transform traditional education. They were expected to bring changes to the way knowledge is conceived and delivered and open the door to education that is more accessible, more affordable, more global and, at the same time, more individualized. MOOC platforms were seen as a conducive learning environment in which students could acquire new knowledge and skills in an autonomous and collaborative manner. However, despite the advantages that they offer, MOOCs have had a limited impact on higher education. The present paper will review the potential and challenges of the MOOC learning model and make a case for blended learning as a viable educational alternative.
Keywords: Higher Education, MOOCs, blended learning, online learning
Women in Higher Education Institutions in Ghana: Discourse on Colonial Legacies and Cultural Norms (Published)
This study addresses the fundamental question of the under representation of women in higher education institutions in Ghana. The paper employed the qualitative research method to interrogate and understand beyond the statistics how the legacies of Colonialism have impacted the lives of female academics. Using a post-colonial theoretical lens, this paper explores the experiences of senior female academics by analyzing their perspectives on under-representation of females within public universities in Ghana. The study elicited information from 9 senior female academics within three Ghanaian public universities. A multiple case study design was adopted to provide a wider set of contexts in which to explore the research questions. The discussion in this paper produced knowledge that being a senior female academic was a struggle that has several gendered dimensions bequeathed through traditional Ghanaian practices as well as colonial vestiges that ensured the academy is male dominated. From the data discussed, this study argues that issues of postcolonial gender inequalities and the interface of cultural norms created gender tensions for women within higher education institutions and the wider society.
Keywords: Higher Education, Institutional colonialism, gender inequalities, post-colonialism
Adopting Alternative Methodologies and Practices in Educational Research in Higher Education in Nigeria (Published)
Alternative methodologies and practices have gained prominence in educational research in the 21st century. The application of other research methodologies and practices challenges the one-fit-all approach associated with a single research methodology in educational research. The current practice is one that has developed to re-position the subsisting culture of research to rather assume a multidirectional trajectory in educational research in higher institutions of learning. While this is the case in the educational systems of other contexts, it raises concern about whether alternative methodologies and practices also apply in educational research in higher education in Nigeria. This literature examines what obtains in the Nigerian context, and where there seems to be gaps, strives to inspire a rethink of the existing research methodology and practices in educational research for better research in higher education in Nigeria.
Keywords: Higher Education, Nigeria, Practices, educational research, methodologies
Implementing Quality and Accreditation in Higher Education in Five European Countries (Published)
The national Quality Assurance Agencies of most European countries have developed accreditation criteria considering the Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area (ESG, 2015). The paper reports the findings of a comparative study of the national accreditation criteria for programme evaluation which are in use in five European countries, namely Greece, Denmark, Austria, Britain and Ireland. The official published documents available on the Agencies’ websites were reviewed and analyzed. The paper presents and discusses the variation of the criteria additions and omissions from the ESG model for each individual case. The reported comparisons show that a ‘general model’ is followed since the agencies of the five countries operate in substantial compliance with the ESG. However, each country places emphasis on different criteria.
Keywords: European Standards and Guidelines, Higher Education, Quality Assurance, Quality Management, accreditation criteria, national systems