Search Results for
"Higher education"

In this article, we analyse changes in the language use to describe the content of higher education in Denmark between 2014 and 2021. Based on text analysis of course descriptions of every university course in Denmark, we show steady growth in the use of applied, practical and vocationally oriented terminology. This trend is not only driven by a transformation towards more applied fields within higher education, but also directly affects courses offered within the arts and humanities, for example, which have been under strong political pressure to adapt to market needs during the period in question. Within the humanities, languages have largely followed this path, while fields such as philosophy and theology have resisted the trend and only implemented minor changes. Overall, our findings demonstrate a shift towards highlighting the application of knowledge and competences within Danish higher education. This is in line with the broader international discourse in recent years, including conclusions of several qualitative studies and theoretical contributions. © 2025 The Author(s). higher education Quarterly published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The transition from school to university and subsequently into the workforce is increasingly non-linear, shaped by diverse socio-economic realities and interrupted learning pathways. This study examines the effectiveness of Readiness Programs in preparing students for higher education and explores the potential of integrating the African Ubuntu philosophy to enhance these programs. Using a quantitative research design, a structured survey was administered to 1132 participants enrolled in the University of Namibia’s 2024 Readiness Program. Descriptive statistics and ordered logistic regression were employed to analyse key predictors of readiness, including program structure, delivery, academic skills, and resilience to challenges. The findings indicate that program delivery, improved academic skills, and academic performance significantly influence students’ readiness to pursue university studies, while resilience to personal challenges shows a weaker correlation. The results suggest that structured interventions play a more pivotal role than individual perseverance in ensuring academic preparedness. The study concludes that integrating Ubuntu principles, such as communal support, ethical leadership, and collaborative learning into readiness programs can strengthen student engagement and institutional inclusivity. This integration aligns with decolonial imperatives in African higher education and contributes to more contextually relevant, supportive, and transformative readiness initiatives. © 2025 by the authors.

The rapid spread of artificial intelligence (AI) in education means that students need to master both AI literacy and personal agency. This study situates a sample of 425 Slovenian secondary technical students within a three-tier framework that maps psychological empowerment onto AI literacy outcomes within a cultural–historical activity system. The agency competence assessments yielded four profiles of student agency, ranging from fully empowered to largely disempowered. The cluster membership explained significant additional variance in AI literacy scores, supporting the additive empowerment model in an AI-rich vocational education and training context. The predictive modeling revealed that while self-efficacy, mastery-oriented motivations, and metacognitive self-regulation contributed uniquely—though small—to improving AI literacy, an unexpectedly negative relationship was identified for internal locus of control and for behavioral self-regulation focused narrowly on routines, with no significant impact observed for grit-like perseverance. These findings underscore the importance of fostering reflective, mastery-based, and self-evaluative learning dispositions over inflexible or solely routine-driven strategies in the development of AI literacy. Addressing these nuanced determinants may also be vital in narrowing AI literacy gaps observed between diverse disciplinary cohorts, as supported by recent multi-dimensional literacy frameworks and disciplinary pathway analyses. Embedding autonomy-supportive, mastery-oriented, student-centered projects and explicit metacognitive training into AI curricula could shift control inward and benefit students with low skills, helping to forge an agency-driven pathway to higher levels of AI literacy among high school students. The most striking and unexpected finding of this study is that students with a strong sense of competence—manifested as high self-efficacy—can achieve foundational AI literacy levels equivalent to those possessing broader, more holistic agentic profiles, suggesting that competence alone may be sufficient for acquiring essential AI knowledge. This challenges prevailing models that emphasize a multidimensional approach to agency and has significant implications for designing targeted interventions and curricula to rapidly build AI literacy in diverse learner populations. © 2025 by the authors.

We introduce a model to gauge the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the course syllabuses of university degree programmes. The model, comprising four category systems, is designed to analyse curricula that are still at an early stage of this process. The model is tested in Spanish public universities that offer master’s degrees in Advanced Studies in Art History. A conventional content analysis is performed on 762 competencies across 82 subjects in five institutions. The results show that (a) 0.92% of competency codes were aligned with the SDGs, while 13.25% were merely related to them; (b) 48.02% were affected by repetitions of supposedly different competencies; (c) there was a mean value of 9.29 competencies per subject, and modal values of 1 and 4 subjects in which each competency was addressed; and (d) only 26.12% of the competencies were associated with high-level cognitive processes. In conclusion, a thorough reconceptualisation and reorganisation of curriculum maps is needed to adapt them for the SDG framework. The first steps are to promote high-level cognitive processes associated with competencies, eliminate repetition, reduce the number of competencies, increase the number of subjects addressing each competency, and organise the competencies into different performance levels. © 2025 by the authors.

Critical thinking and collaboration are essential skills for university students facing rapidly evolving academic and professional landscapes. This qualitative exploratory study investigates several factors that contribute significantly to critical thinking and collaboration skills through interactive teaching. Ten students and five lecturers from urban, middle-class backgrounds participated in four sessions of semi-structured interviews and focus group discussions. Data were validated by triangulation and analyzed thematically. Three primary factors emerged: (1) interactive modalities Socratic questioning, peer education, structured project-based tasks, and digital simulations which enhance active engagement, cognitive exploration, and peer interaction; (2) inclusive, psychologically safe classroom climates that encourage open communication, risk-taking, and mutual respect; and (3) lecturers’ facilitative roles, including guided discourse, timely constructive feedback, and promotion of independent inquiry. Limitations involve variability from individual differences and institutional contexts. The findings underscore the importance of integrating interactive pedagogies with supportive environments and facilitator-led guidance to cultivate higher-order thinking and collaborative competencies. Practical implications for educators and policymakers include designing holistic, context-sensitive instructional strategies to prepare students for complex challenges, and the need to align course design with Bloom’s Taxonomy and social constructivist principles. Future research should assess the scalability and adaptability of these practices across diverse settings such as high schools, vocational training, and online platforms, and evaluate their long-term impact on student outcomes. © 2025, Iquz Galaxy Publisher. All rights reserved.

This study explored culturally and historically grounded pedagogical approaches in teaching technical and livelihood subjects within the Bachelor of Technical-Vocational Teacher education (BTVTEd) and Bachelor of Technology and Livelihood education (BTLEd) programs in selected Philippine higher education Institutions (HEIs). It examined how teachers contextualize their lessons, utilize innovative strategies, and perceive the advantages and limitations of various instructional methods. Using a qualitative multiple-case study design, the research drew data from twelve teachers across four state universities: Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University (DMMMSU), Pangasinan State University (PSU), Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), and Cagayan State University (CSU). Data collection involved semi-structured interviews, classroom observations, and document analysis. Thematic analysis revealed that teachers incorporated cultural and historical content by aligning lessons with students lived experiences, employing project-based learning anchored in heritage, and integrating community-based knowledge. Innovative strategies included culturally responsive modules, the use of local languages, and the inclusion of oral histories and traditional practices. These approaches fostered student engagement, strengthened cultural identity, and enhanced community relevance. However, challenges included student disinterest, limited institutional support, and difficulties aligning with national curriculum standards. Despite these barriers, the study highlights meaningful efforts by educators to promote inclusive education. Findings underscore the need for systemic changes in policy, curriculum development, and institutional backing to sustain culturally sensitive teaching. This research contributes to the advocacy for culturally responsive pedagogy in technical and vocational education in the Philippines. © 2025 by the authors.

This study explores the transformative impact of authentic assessments on student engagement, empowerment, and inclusivity in higher education. Traditional assessment methods often fail to adequately assess diverse skill sets and prepare students for real-world professional demands. In contrast, authentic assessments allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in meaningful, context-rich tasks that mirror professional challenges. Through the perspectives of six experienced academics, this mixed-methods study explores how authentic and flexible assessments promote student agency, inclusivity, and engagement. The findings highlight the importance of aligning assessments with clear learning objectives, offering students choices, and embedding real-world relevance to foster deeper learning and equitable opportunities. However, the study also reveals tensions between the inclusivity offered in academic settings and the less flexible demands of the professional world, suggesting a need for ongoing reflection in assessment design. Ultimately, the study calls for reimagined assessment practices that empower students and better prepare them for future success. © 2025 James Nicholas Publishers.

The immense aim of education is not knowledge but action. Any education system should offer an opportunity to the student to adapt what she or he has learnt in practice and develop professionally. When the learning happens by implementing, the knowledge that is used becomes inerasable in the mind. In this context this paper discusses how a project- based learning approach adopted in Microcontroller course enhances the programming skill of a student and also how effectively this skill can be infused with CDIO standards. Courses like Microprocessor and Microcontroller involves both theoretical and practical classes. However, Reports and feedback say students were not successful in implementing big projects in companies using higher end processors with some hands-on exercises during their course learning. This work addresses this issue by introducing Project-based learning (PBL) enables students to gain critical competencies that support professional education and equip them for employment in the future. A project is a special undertaking that has uncertainties that must be effectively handled during execution. Instead of the usual essay- and exam-based traditional classroom learning, project-based learning is better able to tackle the challenges of training students to solve real-world problems. The students were insisted to do their own project which brings the applicability of PBL to implementation phase of CDIO standard. Through well-defined learning objectives of PBL, programming skill, debugging skill, readiness to adopt and implement by acquiring overall confidence in the course, were undoubtedly improved beyond the regular theory and laboratory classes. Also, the assessment methodology was changed on the basis of project implemented by the students. In the proposed method, PBL guarantees numerous opportunities for learning outside of the classroom. © 2025, Rajarambapu Institute Of Technology. All rights reserved.

This study investigates the impact of artificial intelligence (AI)-supported education in higher education, specifically examining its integration into a digital photography course and its effects on both students and instructors. A qualitative research methodology was employed, and participants were selected through purposive sampling. The study involved one instructor and 38 students, with data collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using content analysis within a qualitative case study design. The findings indicate that AI enhances educational processes by facilitating individualized learning, improving instructional effectiveness, supporting digital content development, and advancing academic language proficiency. Students demonstrated improvements in critical evaluation and technological adaptability. Additionally, the study revealed that AI-supported tools contributed to the development of students’ technical skills and promoted active engagement in learning processes. The immediate feedback provided by AI tools aided students’ understanding of fundamental photography principles. However, some students expressed concerns about potential risks associated with AI, including decreased engagement, learner passivity, and exposure to misinformation or contradictory content. The study highlights the importance of integrating AI within a sound pedagogical framework to ensure its effective application in educational contexts. Drawing on the experiences of both students and the instructor, the findings suggest that AI-supported educational models can enhance learning efficiency, while also emphasizing the need to bolster information reliability and foster critical thinking skills. © 2025 by authors; licensee CEDTECH by Bastas.

Objective To explore the effect of project-based learning on the training of sharp injury prevention skills in the pre-job training for nursing interns and its impact on the incidence of sharp injuries during internship. Methods Two classes ( class A and B), majoring in nursing at Medical College of Nanchang Institute of Technology in March 2023 were selected as the research subjects by convenience sampling method. Coin flipping method was used to designate class A as the routine group and class B as the intervention group. The routine group received routine pre-job training which mainly focused on retrospective intensive training on nursing operation skills. On this basis- the intervention group integrated project-based learning as compensation education on sharp injury prevention skills. Kirkpatrick's four level training evaluation model was adopted to comprehensively evaluate the educational effectiveness at the four progressive levels of "reaction, learning-behavior, and outcome" at corresponding stages. Results 56 nursing interns were included in the class A routine group and class B intervention group, respectively. The course evaluation score (128.67 ± 4.39 vs 117.28 ± 6.55), needlestick protection knowledge cognition score (109.11 ± 4.38 vs 96.44 ± 6.72), safe injection behavior score (38.45 ± 4.91 vs 32.30 ± 5.62), occupational identity score (58.02 ± 8.55 vs 51.77 ± 15.86), and job competency score (82.59 ± 13.35 vs 75.61 ± 15.09) of nursing interns in the intervention group were all higher than those in the routine group-differences were all statistically sig-nificant (all P<0.05). The incidence of sharp injuries ( 19.64% vs 57.14%) and the average frequency of occurrence (1.45 vs 2.13) in nursing interns in the intervention group were both lower than those in the control group. The case intervention rate (87.50% vs 45.59%) and case reporting rate (93.75% vs 32.35%) after sharp injury were both higher than those in the routine group, and the differences were both statistically significant (both P<0.05). Conclusion Introducing project-based learning in pre-job training for nursing interns can effectively improve their mastery of protection skills, reduce the incidence of sharp injuries during internships, and have important practical value in cultivating their occupational protection abilities. © 2025 Hunan Xiangya Medical Periodical Press Co.Ltd. All rights reserved.