Search Results for
"Higher education"

Kazakhstan’s 2025 Water Code aims to institutionalize Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), but its success is threatened by a persistent “implementation gap” between policy requirements and the workforce’s practical competencies. This study provides empirical evidence of a persistent misalignment between water-related higher education and emerging governance demands in Kazakhstan by conceptualizing the implementation gap as a human-capital deficit. We conducted a repeated two-wave survey of students enrolled in “Water Resources” programs (n1 = 39, n2 = 82) to empirically diagnose this gap and examine changes in educational preferences over time. The findings reveal an overwhelming demand for dual education (97.6%), alongside a statistically significant shift (χ2(1) = 33.53, p < 0.001) from theory-oriented learning (56.4% to 4.9%) toward practice-oriented formats (30.8% to 62.2%). Key reported constraints include limited access to modern laboratories (47.6%) and insufficient real-world professional experience (28%). Taken together, these results indicate a structural misalignment between academic training and the competency requirements implied by ongoing water-sector reforms. The study concludes that dual education may function as an institutional mechanism for narrowing the policy-to-competence gap, supporting efforts to operationalize the 2025 Water Code and advance Sustainable Development Goals 4 and 6. © 2026 by the authors.

In this epoch of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), digital advancement, technological initiatives, and advancements, as well as their imperative role, have improved universities’ performance and transformed business models, practices, and processes. This study aimed to systematically review the existing digital transformation discourses as the main axis for the higher education (HE) sector. It elucidates the required skill sets, benefits, barriers, and challenges brought about by digital transformation. The article commences by identifying the relevant literature on digital transformation in general, which is not confined to one methodology. It also includes the case studies that were conducted across the globe, the skills needed to drive the transformation agenda, the benefits, the barriers, and the challenges that impede digital transformation in the HE sector. This article found that the sector has been exploiting digital tools to improve performance, business processes, restructuring systems, structures, and practices. The myriad of digital transformation impacts, benefits, and skills to drive the digital transformation have been overshadowed by diverse barriers and challenges in the HE sector. Constraints such as inadequate funding, employee resistance, limited digital literacy, and insufficient infrastructure stand in opposition to the principles of the connectivity theory, which emphasises access, interaction, and the knowledge flow as prerequisites for effective digital integration. © 2025 by the authors.

Set in the vocational education and training sector in England, this article draws attention to how top-down, centre–periphery approaches to curriculum design and development in vocational education fail for at least three reasons. First, they misconstrue the nature of knowledge. Second, they lead to perfunctory and fragmented approaches to curriculum design, coupled with mechanistic measures of quality and achievement, which often require little more than “one-off” and superficially assessed demonstrations of performance. Finally, they underplay the role and importance of the teacher as researcher and artist in putting the cultural resources of society to work in creative curriculum design and pedagogy. Teacher artistry is pivotal in animating and heightening the vitality of vocational curricula. It is through this artistry that teachers make theories, ideas and concepts in vocational subjects and disciplines accessible and meaningful to all learners in coherent ways in the contexts of their learning and their lives. The consequences of the epistemic faux pas underpinning centre-to-periphery models of curriculum design and development are highlighted in this article in vocational tutors’ accounts of experiences of problems and issues in curriculum design, development and assessment encountered in their practice. Participants in the research teach in a variety of vocational education settings, including Apprenticeships and higher-Level Technical education; English Language at General Certificate of Secondary education (GCSE) level; Health and Social Care; Information and Communications Technology; Construction (Plumbing); Digital Production, Design and Development and High-Tech Precision Engineering. Data are analysed and reported through systematic, thematic analysis This article draws upon qualitative data derived from a study funded by the education and Training Foundation (ETF) in England over a two-year period from 2021 to 2023. The research population consists of a group of eight practitioner–researchers working in three colleges of Further education (FE) and one Industry Training Centre (ITC) in England. All of the teachers of vocational education reported here volunteered to participate in the study. Research methods include semi-structured interviews, analysis of critical incidents and case studies produced by practitioner–researchers from across the FE and Skills sector in England. © 2025 by the author.

Objective: To evaluate whether an 8-week curriculum structured by the 7E teaching model is associated with improved emergency obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN) competencies among first-year residents. Methods: We conducted a prospective, single-center, quasiexperimental consecutive-cohort study at the Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University (September 2022–September 2024). Consecutive training-year cohorts were compared: the 2022 cohort received traditional training (control, n = 32), and the 2023 cohort received the 7E-based program (intervention, n = 31; elicit–engage–explore–explain–elaborate–evaluate–extend). Outcomes were mapped to Kirkpatrick’s four-level model (reaction, learning, behavior, and results) and included satisfaction, written examination scores, OSCE performance, Mini-CEX trajectories, and selected patient safety/process indicators. Results: Compared with the control group, residents in the 7E cohort reported higher satisfaction (35.10 ± 1.30 vs. 23.22 ± 1.84, p < 0.001; Cronbach’s α = 0.905), achieved higher written examination scores (71.23 ± 4.25 vs. 63.88 ± 5.71, p < 0.001), and demonstrated a higher OSCE excellence rate (80.65% vs. 15.63%, p < 0.001). Compliance with prespecified “golden-hour” emergency process indicators was higher in the 7E cohort (87.09% vs. 59.38%, p = 0.025). Mini-CEX trajectories showed a significant group × time interaction (β = −1.48 per week, 95% CI −1.75 to −1.21, p < 0.001), indicating faster skill improvement in the 7E cohort. Adherence to “golden-hour” emergency process indicators was higher (87.09% vs. 59.38%, p = 0.025). Severe complications occurred in 1/31 (3.23%) versus 6/32 (18.75%), corresponding to a risk ratio = 0.17 (score-based 95% CI 0.03–1.01; Fisher’s exact p = 0.104). Conclusion: The 7E-structured curriculum was associated with improved satisfaction and performance across multiple competency domains. The 7E model shows promise as a structured paradigm for competency-based emergency OBGYN education, although causal inferences are limited by the nonrandomized design and single-institution context. © © 2026 Ling Yan et al. Emergency Medicine International published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Purpose – This conceptual paper critically explores the role of apprenticeships in the UK as both potential social levellers and mechanisms of social reproduction. Drawing on theories of capital, social justice, and intersectionality, it investigates whether vocational pathways can meaningfully promote inclusion, economic agency, and identity transformation for underrepresented groups particularly within the further education sector. Design/methodology/approach – Adopting a theoretically grounded approach, the paper synthesises key sociological and political frameworks, including Bourdieu’s theory of capital, Fraser’s model of social justice, and Crenshaw’s intersectionality. It engages in critical policy analysis of the Skills for Jobs White Paper and wider vocational education reforms to interrogate how structural inequities, marketisation, and employer-led models shape the apprenticeship landscape. Findings – The paper argues that apprenticeships occupy a paradoxical space: while often positioned as inclusive, work-based alternatives to higher education, they risk reproducing existing inequalities through labour market segmentation, variable quality, and credentialism. However, when embedded in authentic employer partnerships, high-quality provision, and relational pedagogy, apprenticeships can function as transformative sites of social mobility, personal growth, and civic participation. Originality/value – The paper contributes a new conceptual model that frames apprenticeships as potential social justice interventions, rather than solely as economic tools. It also calls for greater investment in FE-based research, the co-design of policy with learners and communities, and a reframing of vocational education as a space of democratic possibility. This reorientation is vital in addressing persistent inequities and realising the full promise of vocational learning in the 21st century. © 2026 Emerald Publishing Limited

Purpose – This study examines how soft skills shape problem-solving capability in work-based learning by integrating Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and the Job Demands–Resources (JD–R) model. It tests whether personal engagement explains how soft skills influence problem-solving and whether these relationships differ by gender. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected via an online survey from 16, 824 participants enrolled in Indonesia's Merdeka Belajar Kampus Merdeka (MBKM) Independent Study Programme (Batch 7, 2024). The model was estimated using PLS-SEM with bootstrapping. Common method bias diagnostics and measurement invariance testing (MICOM) were conducted before gender-based multi-group analysis (permutation MGA). Findings – Soft skills are positively related to personal engagement, and personal engagement is positively related to problem-solving. Bootstrapped mediation results show that engagement partly explains the effect of soft skills on problem-solving, while the direct association between soft skills and problem-solving remains significant. The permutation MGA indicates that gender differences are mainly observed in the relationship between soft skills and engagement, whereas the relationship between engagement and problem-solving, and the direct relationship between soft skills and problem-solving, are broadly similar for male and female participants. As MICOM did not fully support invariance for the soft-skills composite, gender comparisons involving soft skills are interpreted with appropriate caution. Practical implications – higher education institutions and work-based learning providers should embed soft-skills development through experiential learning, mentoring, and reflective practice to strengthen engagement and applied problem-solving. Employers and Human Resources (HR) teams can reinforce these capabilities through structured feedback, engagement-supportive supervision, and equitable opportunities to practise soft skills in collaborative tasks. Policymakers may use these insights to refine employability-oriented programme standards. Originality/value – The study provides an integrated SCT–JD–R explanation of how soft skills translate into problem-solving through engagement, supported by evidence from a large national work-based learning dataset and gender-based analysis. © 2025 Emerald Publishing Limited

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate the adoption and impact of activity-based learning (ABL) in the Information Studies department within Oman’s higher education sector. This study examines students’ perceptions of ABL, its effectiveness in enhancing soft skills, creativity and innovation and the challenges faced in its application, particularly in Social Sciences. Design/methodology/approach – Using qualitative methods, focus group interviews were conducted with third- and fourth-year students at Sultan Qaboos University. Findings – The findings of this study reveal that ABL significantly enhances student engagement, practical knowledge and essential skill development. However, there is widespread dissatisfaction with its current implementation, and students advocate for its broader integration across courses. This study also identifies challenges such as theoretical content, faculty resistance and resource management as barriers to successful ABL implementation. Originality/value – These insights emphasize the importance of ABL in preparing students for the modern workforce and highlight the need for strategic improvements in its integration. © 2026 Emerald Publishing Limited