Global learning: Definition, assessment, and approaches |
Author : Jiangyuan Zhou |
Abstract | Full Text |
Abstract :Global learning has become a fundamental aspect of international education. Yet, a clear understanding of global learning and how to develop it remain unclear. Using the dynamic systems approach, this paper analyzed the reasons, methods, and knowledge, skills, and attitudes(KSA) of global learning in higher education. Global learning is the higher education institutions’ critical response to globalization. It is the essential learning outcome of comprehensive internationalization of curriculum requiring students to develop KSA about the external world and their internal selves in their daily lives across local and global communities. With survey results from 142 undergraduate students in one U.S. university and a global learning rubric and publication, this paper demonstrated how global learning is interpreted and approached differently at various levels and further proposed pedagogical approaches to enhance global learning in higher education. |
|
Refugee-background students in New Zealand and the United States: Roots and results of educational policies and practices |
Author : Jody L. McBrien, Maria Hayward |
Abstract | Full Text |
Abstract :Both the United States (US) and New Zealand (NZ) have been resettling refugees since the Second World War. As such, and because of several international treaties signed by both countries, they must concern themselves with the education of resettled refugee students in their nations. In this study, the researchers examine the international agreements and national resettlement policies that shape these nations’ refugee education policies. Second, educational practices for refugee students in the US and NZ using phenomenological qualitative research based on observations, interviews, and focus groups with teachers and refugee students are examined. The researchers conclude that the more systematic methods of resettlement and educational tools available to teachers in NZ through consistent national policies provide better opportunities for success than policies and practices that vary widely from state to state and even within states in the US. |
|
Encountering American higher education: First-year academic transition of international undergraduate students in the United States |
Author : Masha Krsmanovic |
Abstract | Full Text |
Abstract :This study explored how international undergraduate students perceive their academic transition into American higher education. Schlossberg’s (1984) 4S Transition Theory served as the framework for exploring what academic challenges, if any, international students experience during their first year of undergraduate studies in a new cultural and educational setting. The findings revealed that students’ academic transition into the U.S. higher education was characterized by difficulties in understanding the academic system of their new environment; overcoming educational, instructional and pedagogical differences; building social relationships with domestic students; and receiving the support necessary from the appropriate institutional services. |
|
Immigrant students and global education |
Author : Felipe A. Filomeno, Christopher Brown |
Abstract | Full Text |
Abstract :Research on immigrant students in higher education often articulates a deficit narrative emphasizing the challenges immigrant students face in comparison to their native-born peers. In education for global competence, however, immigrant students’ life experiences give them a potential advantage. This study investigated whether project-based learning designed to take advantage of immigrant students’ intercultural life experiences could contribute to the development of global competence among undergraduate students. Developing and teaching a collaborative, project-based course where undergraduate students researched the intercultural experiences of their immigrant peers, researchers measured specific learning outcomes using quantitative and thematic analysis of student research papers and reflective essays. The study concluded that project-based assignments designed to take advantage of immigrant students’ intercultural experiences could yield significant contributions to the global education of immigrant and non-immigrant students alike. |
|
Determinants of e-learning acceptance amongst Iranian postgraduate students |
Author : Fatima Baji, Fereydoun Azadeh, Zivar Sabaghinejad, Amir Zalpour |
Abstract | Full Text |
Abstract :E-learning can address some of the unmet needs of learners and educational communities; however, not all learners and educators accept e-learning as a delivery modality. This research endeavored to study the factors which affect e-learning acceptance among Iranian post-graduate students using the Davis Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and to identify the changes which would facilitate their improved acceptance and subsequent wider use of e-learning. This descriptive-correlation study was conducted by surveying 320 Iranian postgraduate students using a self-reporting questionnaire. Structural equation modeling was used for data analysis through LISREL software. Results revealed sufficient validity and reliability of the TAM among Iranian postgraduate medical students. Perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness of e-learning, students’ attitudes toward e-learning, and the intention to use e-learning positively affected e-learning’s acceptance (p < 0.05) among Iranian postgraduate students. According to the results, attitudes toward e-learning have more predictive power than other TAM constructs. Therefore, emphasis on students’ favorable attitudes toward e-learning can be effective in accelerating its acceptance and will progress students’ learning outcomes. |
|
The impact of grade inflation on teachers’ evaluation: A quantitative study conducted in the context of five Lebanese universities |
Author : Bassem E. Maamari, Hiba S. Naccache |
Abstract | Full Text |
Abstract :Asking students to evaluate teaching faculty by every ending semester in modern education is an established trend. In the higher education circles, it is validated based on a large body of research showing a relationship between these evaluations and students’ achievement. The arising problem is whether this relation is positively associated or not, and the presence of a growing debate pertaining to the many factors influencing this correlation. Most of the cited research shows a link between the attitude of students and their achievement. This research studies the effect of students’ grade point average (GPA), together with the type of university as public or private, and students’ major, on their attitude towards faculty teaching evaluations. The results of the multiple regression show a strong relationship between GPA and students’ attitude towards faculty evaluations, suggesting an ethical duality affecting grade inflation. |
|
How does children’s literature portray global perspectives? |
Author : Bogum Yoon |
Abstract | Full Text |
Abstract :The need for global education is increasing in this global era, and children’s literature becomes an essential resource to address this need. However, there is little research on how global perspectives are depicted in children’s literature. The current study fills the gap in our understanding by examining contemporary children’s picture books that were published in the United States from 2010 to 2016. Findings show that the picture books reflect several important elements of global education. However, there is an imbalance among the topics and genres. Although global awareness through environmental issues was emphasized through informational texts, transnational story lines on how individuals as world citizens connect to the other people around the world were lacking. The findings provide future directions for more diverse topics to support critical global education in this interconnected world. |
|