Search Results for
"Higher education"

The competency-based assessment has been a significant factor for higher vocational educational institutional performance and this aspect needs researchers’ emphasis. The objectives of the present article are to investigate the impact of staff skills and training and innovation adoption on competencies-based performance assessment (CBPA) of higher vocational educational institutions in China. The study also investigates the moderating role of institutional support among staff skills and training, innovation adoption and CBPA. The study collected the primary data from the students of the higher vocational educational institutions in China using survey questionnaires. The study also employed Smart-PLS to check the data reliability such as convergent and discriminant validity and the relationship among understudy variables. The outcomes revealed that the staff skills and training and innovation adoption have a positive linkage with CBPA. The results also exposed that institutional support significantly moderates staff skills and training, innovation adoption and CBPA. The study guides the regulators in making regulations regarding improving the CBPA using effective staff skills and training and effective innovation adoption. It also provides help to educational institutions in improving CBPA using skilled staff and innovation adoption. © 2025 Conscientia Beam. All Rights Reserved.

Israel suffers from a severe STEM teacher shortage. To mitigate it, two retraining projects were developed: one recruiting academic high-tech professionals and the other–practical engineers. This study evaluated both projects by exploring stakeholders’ perspectives and examining graduates’ retention. Applying a mixed-methods case study design, interviews were conducted with 35 graduates, 21 programme leaders and 6 school principals. Short demographic surveys were answered by 584 academic professionals and 356 practical engineers, and another 57 practical engineers answered a longer evaluation survey. The study found retention rates of 78% for academic professionals and 62% for practical engineers. To improve retention, both cohorts need better preparation in pedagogy, stronger support at school, higher wages and efficient administrative care. To realise their potential contribution, professional autonomy and principal’s support are necessary. © 2024 Association for Teacher education in Europe.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to analyse how gender diversity within corporate boardrooms influences business growth, specifically comparing the contexts of Europe and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. It aims to explore the dynamics of gender representation in leadership roles, evaluate its impact on organizational performance and assess how cultural and socio-economic factors affect gender diversity in these distinct regions. The study seeks to provide insights that can inform policies promoting gender equality in leadership, contributing to improved decision-making and potentially enhancing business outcomes. Design/methodology/approach: Using a quantitative and comparative approach, this study includes responses from 430 business leaders, with 210 from MENA and 220 from Europe. Data were collected through structured surveys and analysed using SPSS to determine the correlation between gender diversity in boardrooms and business growth. Data were collected through structured surveys and analysed using analysis of variance in SPSS to determine the potential gender diversity in boardrooms and business growth. Findings: The analysis reveals a strong male dominance in decision-making roles in both European and MENA businesses, with men holding most power and influence. European boardrooms show slightly more gender diversity than MENA, though this does not consistently correlate with higher business growth. Interestingly, MENA reports stronger growth despite less diversity. Women leaders in both regions are effective and dedicated but remain underrepresented. Research limitations/implications: The findings call for region-specific policies to enhance gender diversity in leadership, with Gender Equality Action Plans tailored to Europe and MENA. Businesses should adopt mentorship and inclusive policies to support growth through diverse leadership. Promoting diversity can drive workplace equality, supported by education. Further research on long-term impacts and stakeholder engagement is recommended to foster change. Originality/value: This research enhances literature by examining women’s representation in gender-balanced boardrooms and addressing the East-West divide. It fills gaps with practical, policy and theoretical recommendations, offering valuable insights for businesses and policymakers promoting gender equality in leadership. © 2025, Emerald Publishing Limited.

A student’s level of digital competence affects aspects of their academic life such as progress and performance or access to degrees. This research is based on a descriptive and inferential quantitative methodology, with a survey design aimed at collecting information on an initial group of 909 participants, from different educational levels, of which the responses of 725 undergraduate students were finally analysed. The results show that women are the group with the highest mean scores, although more than half of the respondents of both genders have a high mean score. No significant differences were found when analysing the different regions of Spain based on gender. Nor were differences found when contrasting degree subject area and gender, or when grouping degrees according to whether they are included in the STEM subject block or not. Differences were appreciated in certain digital competence literacies when gender and average grade are taken into account. These results may represent an indication of a change in the digital divide identified over the past few years by various authors. The findings indicate that, while there is a need to strengthen equity in digital competence training between genders, there may be more factors influencing students' perceptions of their level of competence. © 2025, Ibero-American Association for Distance higher education (AIESAD). All rights reserved.

The convergence of three factors – namely, the global recession, the emergence of the college aspiration fulfilment industry and the urgent need for technological innovation in the field of national strategy – presents considerable obstacles to the advancement of environmental science. In other words, the demand for environmental protection services is declining as a result of the global economic downturn. The advent of the internet has rendered environmental science an unfavorable choice for those pursuing higher education. National strategies that demand innovation have led to the reconstruction of professional curriculum systems. In order to address the aforementioned challenges, a framework for a PBL tutor system based on the triple helix model in environmental science within the School of Metallurgy at Northeastern University is proposed. This approach will be implemented across disciplinary boundaries. Furthermore, the particular issues or projects may be supplied by industry partners, reflecting the pressing necessity for strategic innovation at the national level. It is projected that the introduction of a problem/project-based learning tutoring system will greatly improve students’ ability to oversee projects, especially when it comes to longer-term vocational training. This is consistent with the knowledge production theory of the triple helix model and meets the requirements of undergraduate employment skills. © 2024 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).

Purpose: This study examines how and whether expectancy for success and task values influence students’ persistence in work placement learning tasks (persistence). Also, it examines the mediating role of task values in the expectancy for success and students’ persistence nexus. Design/methodology/approach: This is a two-study finding. In Study 1, we conducted qualitative research using a sample of 21 undergraduate students undertaking work placement learning in seven firms in Nigeria to gain an in-depth understanding of how the two expectancy-value theory’s (ETV) core motivational factors (i.e. expectancy for success and task values) enhance students’ performance or achievement-related behaviour such as persistence. In Study 2, we conducted quantitative research employing structural equation modelling to test our proposed hypotheses. We used a sample of 395 undergraduates undertaking work placement learning in 189 Nigerian firms (public and private) to empirically test the hypothesized model. Findings: The findings show that students who had higher self-confidence that they would succeed in the placement learning tasks and values for the tasks exhibited higher persistence. We found that students with more expectancy for success showed higher task values for their learning tasks. Although not hypothesized, the positive result is necessary and aligns with ETV assumptions. Lastly, the analysis showed that students’ higher persistence was not wholly due to their higher expectancies for success in the placement learning tasks, but rather because they showed higher values for the learning tasks. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Originality/value: Our study progressed the ETV research in the work placement learning context and offers a model of students' persistence in the context of our study. Understanding the important motivational roles of expectancy for success and task values in enhancing students’ persistence is relevant in that it can facilitate quality learning outcomes. From the qualitative and quantitative (our two-study) findings, we made suggestions on how higher education administrators and industries can use our hypothesized model to further improve the work placement learning programme. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.