Search Results for
"Higher education"

Purpose: Students in higher education (HE) and Technical Vocational education and Training (TVET) represent a significant source of future entrepreneurs. While pro-entrepreneurial traits like core self-evaluation (CSE) are vital, little research explores the environmental factors shaping CSE in these groups. Our study addresses this void. Design/methodology/approach: Data was captured using a cross-sectional survey of 221 HE and TVET students, and hierarchical regression to model CSE based on a number of environmental factors, namely social conditions (role models, parents with HE) and experiential factors: full-time work experience (FTWE), self-employment experience (SEE), and entrepreneurship education (EE), while controlling for age and gender. Findings: Parents with HE positively associated with CSE among TVET students but not HE students. Overall, the study found that TVET and HE students do not share a mutual set of experiential factors associated with their CSE; FTWE and SEE were linked to higher CSE among HE students, but this was not the case among TVET students. Conversely, EE was positively associated with CSE among TVET students but not among HE students. There was a mean difference of −0.10 for our TVET sample. Originality/value: Our study is among the first to comparatively examine external influences on potential entrepreneurs’ CSE, focusing on HE and TVET students—two distinct entrepreneurial pathways. We extend the literature on CSE and entrepreneurship by shifting beyond individual traits to social and experiential factors, offering new insights with implications for EE and public policy. © 2025, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Universities increasingly recognize that personal attributes influence how students learn, process information, and develop competencies. Identifying factors that impact students' interests and motivations is crucial for understanding their decision-making and problem-solving in education. This study presents the results of an analysis exploring the relationship between the development of the complex thinking competency and Allport's categories of values among a sample of Mexican university students. Using multivariate descriptive statistical methods, including analyses of means, standard deviations, and boxplots, we examined the associations between students' perceived development of complex thinking and their dominant personal values. The findings demonstrate a link between complex thinking and its subcompetencies with the six types of values proposed by Allport, revealing a concordance between value profiles and corresponding thinking characteristics. This study contributes to the understanding of how personal values influence competency development, offering a novel perspective on integrating psychoemotional factors in education. By addressing both variables, educators can enhance the development of complex thinking by strengthening specific values in students' professional profiles, ultimately leading to more effective educational strategies. © 2025 Common Ground Research Networks. All rights reserved.

Innovations in teaching and collaboration between businesses and universities can lead to improved learning outcomes and various benefits in international business (IB) practice. The Triple Helix Model (THM), incorporating government involvement, serves as a fundamental framework for this collaboration. This research, grounded in the THM and employing Challenge-Based Learning (CBL) as an innovative educational approach, aims to conceptualize the key drivers of successful university-business collaboration, by emphasizing students’ engagement. Focused on students enrolled in the Export Management undergraduate specialization at a Lithuanian higher education institution, this study employs a qualitative approach, involving in-depth interviews with students, teachers, social partners, managers, and representatives from government institutions. The study concludes that student engagement is the primary driver of successful collaboration in IB education between universities and businesses. This engagement is influenced by a wide range of second-tier factors, including assignment organization and delivery, as well as the motivations, expectations, and perceived benefits of students and other stakeholders involved. The conclusions of the study highlight the implications for educational practice and policy, emphasizing the need for effective student engagement strategies. This article also illustrates the application of the CBL approach within a business and entrepreneurship curriculum, with a particular emphasis on its integration into IB education. © 2025 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Recent technological advancements have further fuelled the ever-evolving dynamics of future employability. This enhanced the avenue of graduate employability to the forefront of university education across the globe. Universities are striving to provide and equip graduates with capital that complements their sense of employability. This is more particular in a struggling economy like Pakistan, where half a million graduates enter the workforce annually. This study was designed to investigate how psychological capital (PsyCap) and study crafting influence business students’ quality of university life (QoUL) and perceived employability. The study utilised an adapted instrument across a sample of 638 business undergraduates and employed structural equation modelling (SEM) for estimating measurement and path models. The results revealed that higher PsyCap directly improves QoUL. Critically, students who actively crafted their tasks experienced an even stronger positive impact of PsyCap on their university experience. These findings highlight the importance of fostering both psychological capital and study crafting skills within universities to enhance QoUL and perceived employability in the face of increasing academic demands. The findings of the study offer actionable insights for higher education institutions seeking to improve students’ experiences, particularly in a thriving economy and populous hub like Pakistan. The model offers avenues for further research on imperative predictors of students’ perceived employability. © 2025 UCU.

Purpose: The aim of this study is to examine the characteristics of firms that influence their hiring decisions regarding the share of newly hired apprentices with Abitur and maximum lower secondary certificates. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses 2,004 training firms of the BIBB Qualification Panel data from 2013 to 2018 to estimate fixed-effects regressions analysing the effect of firms’ qualification structures and recruitment problems on the share of newly hired apprentices with Abitur (highest German secondary school-leaving certificate) and maximum lower secondary certificates (in German maximal Hauptschulabschluss). Findings: The results indicate that firms with a higher qualification structure hire a higher share of apprentices with Abitur. However, the effect gets insignificant once controlling for the share of applicants with Abitur. Further, the study suggests that firms reduce their requirements on the school-leaving certificate of VET applicants when they suffer from unfilled training positions. Moreover, the share of applicants with Abitur and maximum lower secondary certificate has high explanatory power for the share of newly hired apprentices with these certificates. Originality/value: The study highlights the role of firms in facilitating the transition of young people entering dual VET in Germany, whereas most studies so far have focused on the individual level. Further, the study contributes to the understanding of firms’ hiring processes of apprentices beyond the question of whether a firm provides VET at all and could be used for designing labour market policy programs for youth. © 2025, Anett Friedrich.

This study investigates the self-efficacy of pre-service teachers (PSTs) during their school internship programs in Indonesia, with a focus on exploring and validating the Pre-service Teachers Self-Efficacy during School Internship (PreTESESI) questionnaire. The primary aim of the study is to assess the psychometric properties of this new instrument and to explore how various dimensions of self-efficacy are reflected in PSTs' experiences during internships. Using Rasch analysis, this study evaluates the reliability and validity of the PreTESESI instrument, examining its ability to measure self-efficacy across multiple domains. A total of 478 PSTs from three provinces in Indonesia participated in the study. The findings confirm strong internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and acceptable item and person reliability with acceptable validity based on Rasch measurement. Findings also reveal that the Instructional Self-Efficacy (ISE) domain showed the highest self-efficacy scores, while the Efficacy in Creating a Positive School Atmosphere (ECPSA) domain recorded the lowest. Additionally, Differential Item Functioning (DIF) analysis revealed negligible gender bias for most items, with one item (ECPSA5) demonstrating moderate to large DIF. The study highlights the critical role of structured internships, mentorship, and reflective practices in enhancing PSTs' self-efficacy. This research not only provides relevant tool for assessing PSTs' self-efficacy during school internships but also provides valuable insights into their confidence and capabilities in the Indonesian context. © 2025 The Authors

In a world where technical, social and environmental challenges demand highly trained and proactive professionals, higher education training must prioritize the development of skills that transcend technical knowledge. This study analyzes the relationship between proactivity and professional skills in Aquaculture Engineering students at the State Technical University of Quevedo in Ecuador, in order to understand how these skills contribute to their comprehensive training. A descriptive-correlational methodology was used with a sample of 221 students, where surveys were applied to measure proactivity and professional skills. The results show a significant positive correlation between proactivity and professional skills, indicating that more proactive students have a greater development of skills. Specifically, student initiative is positively related to quality conservation skills. In addition, it is highlighted that approximately 92.3% of the variability in professional skills can be explained by student proactivity. In conclusion, these findings underline the importance of promoting proactivity in academic training, not only to improve professional performance, but also to face the global challenges of the aquaculture sector, such as food security and sustainable development. © (2025), (Universidad del Zulia). All rights reserved.

Automotive Electrical Electronics courses require effective learning models that can develop both technical knowledge and 21st-century skills. E-learning approaches offer potential solutions to enhance educational outcomes in this field. This study examined the effectiveness of the Rifdarmon-Based E-Learning Model in improving learning outcomes and 4C skills (creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and communication) in an Automotive Electrical Electronics course at Universitas Negeri Padang’s Automotive Engineering Department. The research employed an experimental design comparing an experimental group using the Rifdarmon-Based E-Learning Model with a control group using conventional learning methods. Pre-tests and post-tests were conducted to measure learning outcomes, while specialized assessments evaluated 4C skills development. The experimental group showed significant improvements in learning outcomes, with pre-test scores increasing from 69,1 to 87,2 in post-test, compared to the control group’s increase from 64,9 to 84,4. The 4C skills assessment revealed higher scores in the experimental group (86,6) versus the control group (74,95). Statistical analyses confirmed the model’s effectiveness with a large effect size (point estimate-2,511) and significant multivariate test results (F=29,356, p<0,001). The Rifdarmon-Based E-Learning Model proved effective in enhancing both learning outcomes and 4C skills development in Automotive Electrical Electronics education. The integration of e-learning with the Rifdarmon model demonstrated significant improvements in students’ academic performance and complex skill development compared to conventional learning methods. © 2025; Los autores.

Scientific labour market mobility is important for stability in tertiary education worldwide. The systematic research evaluates academic career progression challenges and trends through analysis of 792 Web of Science and Scopus papers spanning from 1990 to 2025. A bibliometric study identified research trends and nodes. and Scopus papers spanning from 1990 to 2025. Gender equality problems combine with limited funding alongside restrictive institutional barriers to create barriers for women in educational development. Limited professional development, international cooperation, and adoption of educational technology remain major challenges. Conversely, growth opportunities include enhanced leadership training, interdisciplinary collaboration, and digital transformation, all of which foster innovation and equity. This study reinforces equality, employability, and leadership as the main elements shaping academic career mobility. More importantly, this study suggests future paths of research that include the support of multicultural and multidisciplinary scholarships, and the expansion of engagement in higher education. The bibliometric analysis revealed a growing trend in research in providing equity for academic opportunities to minority ethnic and socioeconomic background groups. © This is an open access, peer reviewed article published under the Creative Commons License (CC BY 3.0).

This research aims to understand the effect of algorithm instruction with artificial intelligence-based chatbots on students’ Computational Thinking (CT) skills. A quasi-experimental approach was employed, involving two groups: an experimental group where some students used conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) bots as learning assistants and a control group where students used no such technology. The proposed research tools were the pre and post-tests and the questionnaires, which targeted users’ rating of the chatbot’s usefulness, user interface, and its influence on learning motivation. Analysis of the collected data was done using independent t-tests to compare the results between groups as well as correlation analysis to find the connection between AI chatbot utilization and students’ computational thinking skills. This study shows a positive increase in the overall CT skills of the experimental group compared to the control group. Instead, a positive relationship was found between the degree of the use of the chatbots and the students’ computational thinking performance. Accordingly, this research points to the inclusion of AI-based chatbots into algorithm instruction as a valuable approach to raising computational thinking disposition, learning motivation, and learning outcome. Therefore, the application of the value of AI technology indicates the possibility of transforming the implementation and teaching of an algorithm in higher education. © 2025 by the authors.