Search Results for
"Higher education"

This study explores the potential of micro-credentials to address the evolving competency needs within administrative sciences. A survey of 258 undergraduate and graduate students revealed a significant gap between the perceived importance of skills such as digital literacy and adaptability, and students’ self-assessed proficiency levels. Respondents demonstrated a clear preference for short-term, targeted training programs, reflecting the increasing relevance of micro-credentials. The findings suggest that micro-credentials can effectively bridge this competency gap, enhance student engagement, and promote lifelong learning. Practical recommendations are offered for higher education institutions to integrate micro-credentials into their curricula, develop partnerships with employers, and provide flexible learning pathways. Academics are encouraged to embrace micro-credentialing by designing engaging, competency-based content, collaborating with sectoral partners, and fostering self-directed learning. Students are similarly urged to seek out relevant micro-credentials proactively to enhance their employability and career prospects. This research contributes to the growing body of literature on micro-credentials, offering specific insights into their application within administrative sciences and highlighting their potential to trans-form education and professional development in this field. © 2025, Babes-Bolyai University. All rights reserved.

In engineering education, fostering problem-solving skills is essential for students to meet industry demands. Project-Based Problem Learning (PBPL) is a promising approach to enhancing these skills. This study aims to investigate the impact of PBPL on the problem-solving skills of engineering education students and explore their perceptions of PBPL. A sequential mixed-method approach combined quantitative pre-and post-test analysis with qualitative insights from interviews and questionnaires. The results indicate a significant improvement in problem-solving skills among students after implementing PBPL. Moreover, students expressed positive perceptions of PBPL, highlighting its benefits in enhancing critical thinking and collaboration. PBPL shows promise in enhancing problem-solving skills among engineering education students and has positive implications for teaching and learning in universities. The findings suggest that integrating PBPL into engineering curricula can effectively enhance students' problem-solving abilities, better preparing them for future challenges in the industry. © The Author(s) 2025.

The need to understand global competence in higher education in Indonesia currently relies on the 7C skills measuring instrument, which originates from Western cultural contexts and may lead to potential biases. This study aims to develop a 7C skills measuring instrument grounded in engagement theory through theoretical studies, expert validation, empirical testing, and construct validity. Adopting an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, the research was conducted in two phases: the qualitative phase followed by the quantitative phase. The qualitative phase aimed to conceptualize the development of the 7C skills measuring instrument based on engagement theory through theoretical studies and expert evaluations. The findings from the qualitative phase revealed that the 7C skills framework consists of seven dimensions: critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity, connectivity, computational thinking, and cross-cultural understanding. The instrument was tested on 385 university students in Indonesia and analyzed for feasibility, factor structure, and construct validity. As a result, the instrument was reduced to 61 items, as certain items did not meet eligibility criteria. These findings demonstrate that the 7C skills measuring instrument, grounded in engagement theory, is valid and applicable for university students in Indonesia. Additionally, this study contributes to both the refinement of engagement theory as the foundation for constructing the 7C skills framework and the advancement of engagement theory by integrating perspectives from motivational theory and environmental fit. The practical implications include the development of a more precise and applicable 7C skills measurement tool for various educational contexts, fostering the enhancement of 21st-century skills. © 2025 Society for Research and Knowledge Management. All rights reserved.

The study aims to establish understanding of graduates' self-assessed employability skills and the skills employers prioritize. A mixed-methods design was employed, involving surveys and interviews with 100 recent graduates and 100 hiring managers/HR professionals in South-West Nigeria. The findings reveal that while graduates feel confident in their education, they often overestimate their readiness in practical skills and workplace adaptability. Employers, on the other hand prioritize soft skills such as leadership, interpersonal, and digital skills over technical skills. The study highlights a significant mismatch between graduates' self-perceptions and employers' expectations, emphasizing the need for curriculum reform, enhanced industry collaboration, and a greater focus on practical skill development. This research contributes to the understanding of employability skills in the Nigerian context and highlights the importance of coordinated efforts among higher education institutions, employers, and policymakers to bridge the skills gap and improve graduate employability. © 2025 by IGI Global Scientific Publishing. All rights reserved.

Purpose: Employability is an established research theme in Western literature; however, in developing economies, the concept remains unclear and underresearched. This study addresses this lacuna by exploring how Sri Lankan higher education (HE) administrators conceptualise employability and which capitals they perceive as needing development to achieve employability. Design/methodology/approach: The research utilised semi-structured interviews with an expert panel responsible for leading the development of the employment agenda within Sri Lankan HE. The purposive sample included four Sri Lankan vice chancellors (VCs), representing leadership at 27% of the country’s publicly funded universities and the HE funding commission. The qualitative data collected were thematically analysed to identify how employability was conceptualised and the perceived employability skills and capitals required. Findings: The findings demonstrated that employability was conceptualised as requiring transferable skills and job-specific occupational skills. This view of employability represents a narrow definition with an emphasis on skill development rather than longer-term capability building. The results show the applicability of Bourdieu’s (1986) capitals in the Sri Lankan HE context, with cultural and social capital and proficiency in the English language critical to meeting employability objectives. Originality/value: This research addresses the shortage of research about the concept and requirements of employability in developing countries. Most employability studies have drawn on samples from students, lecturers and employers, whilst this study considers the phenomenon from the perspectives of strategic administrators in HE who guide the employability agenda in practice. These insights are important in informing policymakers to calibrate a more balanced approach by incorporating employability into the Sri Lankan HE curriculum and sector strategy. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Purpose: The research explores how these volunteering experiences in Chinese art museums influence students’ future teaching careers and employability. Design/methodology/approach: Our study delves into the educational value of art museum volunteering for higher education students, focussing particularly on those majoring in elementary education. Utilising a triangulation methodology that includes questionnaires, in-depth interviews, and observations, we collected data from 30 art museums across 17 provinces in China. Our research aims to understand how these volunteering experiences influence students’ future teaching careers and employability. Findings: The study examines the types of educational activities offered, the art education experiences gained and the impact on students’ skills. The findings suggest that volunteering enhances students’ practical skills in art education, creativity, critical thinking, cultural understanding and employability, contributing positively to their future educator roles. The findings highlight the importance of partnerships between museums and higher education institutions to improve the quality of art education and the professional preparation of future educators. Research limitations/implications: We identified some limitations. Because the period of investigation for this study was limited to a recent year, the unique strategies and techniques for conducting educational practices varied from museum to museum, resulting in different barriers and opportunities for improvement for volunteers. This study did not conduct a detailed analysis of gender- and region-specific differences, nor did it include interviews with museum educators and educational program spokespersons or an analysis of their opinions. Originality/value: Our research fills a notable gap in the existing literature by focussing on the Asian context and underscores the importance of collaborative efforts between museums and higher education institutions. © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited.

The ongoing evolution of technology in education has highlighted the need for modernized instructional methods. This study explores the development of the Go Electronic game, designed to enhance teaching and learning in digital electronics through gamification. Students often face difficulties in understanding digital electronics, a complex subject that is difficult to learn through traditional teaching methods. This gap highlights the need for teaching aids that simplify concepts and maintain student focus through interactive learning approaches. Using the Waterfall model, a systematic development methodology that progresses through sequential phases: requirements analysis, system design, implementation, integration, testing, and maintenance. This approach ensures that each stage is thoroughly completed before moving to the next, allowing for a structured and efficient development process. Go Electronic was developed to address the confusion often faced by university students in this subject area. The research focuses on the integration of new media resources to make the learning process more interactive and engaging. Data collected from interviews with educators at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) confirmed the tool’s effectiveness, emphasizing its potential to improve student focus and engagement. The research findings indicate that the Go Electronic game, developed using this model, effectively enhances student engagement and focus on digital electronics topics. Feedback from educators highlights that the gamified approach not only captures student interest but also supports a more interactive and productive learning experience. The study suggests that expanding the game’s question bank could further improve students’ comprehension, thus advancing the integration of gamification in higher education course delivery. © 2025 by the authors of this article.

A Practical Research Process for Developing a Sustainable Built Environment in Emerging Economies aims to fill the dearth of practical research guidance and reference material with specific focus on the built environment in developing countries. Global policy agendas such as Agenda 2030 (the SDGs) are highlighting the importance and growth of research and knowledge from emerging nations who are increasingly contributing to research that is critical for development and advancement. The role of built environment practitioners will continue to evolve by building on the sound foundations laid down by the professions and by exploiting to the full the new technologies available to us through conducting innovative research, but more guidance on the research process is necessary to ensure the integrity and quality of the output. This book has been structured so that each chapter is largely free-standing, allowing the reader (undergraduate, postgraduate, or practitioner) to reference the material with ease. It aims to provide practical guidance on conducting research and on writing a dissertation or report and begins by considering the general research background in a built environment context. It then covers research ethics, before moving on to discuss the importance of selecting the right research topic and title and writing a clear abstract. The chapters then cover introducing a research project and the authors include a section on the problem statement, research questions, aims and objectives, research gap(s), and motivations for the study. The book goes on to cover the literature review section, theoretical and conceptual frameworks, the various types of methodological approach and when to apply them. The findings section, discussion of the results, and the study's implications are then discussed, before the final chapters cover the conclusion and recommendations. The book provides a useful reference for higher education students, graduates, postgraduates, and practitioners engaged in all aspects of construction and built environment research. © 2025 Andrew Ebekozien, Clinton Ohis Aigbavboa, and Wellington Didibhuku Thwala. All rights reserved.

By determining the elements that impact VR technology adoption, teachers can create plans to raise student engagement and improve learning outcomes. The purpose of this study is to determine the elements that contribute to the effective use of virtual reality (VR) technology by vocational education students, allowing them to acquire information and skills relevant to the sector and become workforce ready. The research data was collected utilizing a quantitative surveybased methodology with a questionnaire. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) is used in this study from the perspective of students pursuing vocational higher education. Data for this study was gathered in June 2023 using an online questionnaire involving 100 vocational students from the Faculty of Engineering from reputable universities in the Province of West Sumatra, Indonesia. The research data was analyzed using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). This study found that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived enjoyment had a significant and positive indirect effect (through intervening variables) on the vocational students' behavior and intention to use VR in learning process. These factors can be considered when determining the appropriate virtual reality to be implemented in the learning process and ensuring its use at the appropriate time and environment. © 2025 American Institute of Physics Inc.. All rights reserved.