Balancing software engineering education and industrial needs

In the world of information and communications technologies the demand for professionals with software engineering skills grows at an exponential rate. On this ground, we have conducted a study to help both academia and the software industry form a picture of the relationship between the competences of recent graduates of undergraduate and graduate software engineering programmes and the tasks that these professionals are to perform as part of their jobs in industry. Thanks to this study, academia will be able to observe which skills demanded by industry the software engineering curricula do or do not cater for, and industry will be able to ascertain which tasks a recent software engineering programme graduate is well qualified to perform. The study focuses on the software engineering knowledge guidelines provided in SE2004 and GSwE2009, and the job profiles identified by Career Space

Competency maturing: a substantive theory of how senior information systems undergraduates develop their existing competencies and acquire additional competencies within an organic learning environment

There is a high demand for competent Information Systems (IS) / Information Technology (IT) graduates in a globalised knowledge-driven economy with rapidly evolving Information and Communication Technology (ICT). However, becoming a competent IS/IT graduate is not a once-off event because rapid technological changes require that IS/IT graduates continually strive to be up-to-date and relevant. Continuous updating of knowledge, keeping up-to-date, acquiring a diverse set of IS/IT/ICT competencies, and being competent is a problematic task globally, and requires building competencies comprising knowledge, skills, abilities and values. This thesis employs Classic Grounded Theory Methodology (CGTM) with a single case to identify the main concern of senior IS undergraduates during their learning process, and how they resolve the concern. Data were obtained from two diverse groups of senior IS undergraduate classes using multiple data collection methods, embedded in constant comparative analyses. Understanding what was going on in the substantive research area and explaining how the senior IS undergraduates' main concern was resolved was the focus of the data collection and conceptualisation. Through the single case exploratory CGTM study, the senior IS undergraduates' main concern emerged as a perceived lack of IS Competency, and the main concern was explored. A substantive theory of Competency Maturing conceptualises and explains how these students attempt to resolve their perceived lack of IS Competency. A substantive theory of Competency Maturing is a Basic Social Process (BSP) which involves engaging in learning by doing, and spontaneous learning within an organic learning environment. Three phases of the BSP of Competency Maturing are student engagement, self-awareness of competency, and self-development. This thesis recommends a Framework for a South African senior IS undergraduates' programme and offers a set of conceptual propositions developed from empirical data. The thesis makes theoretical and practical contributions to the IS education body of knowledge of student engagement, learning environment, senior IS undergraduates' curriculum development and competency development. A substantive theory of Competency Maturing is relevant to IS educators who wish to break away from traditional, teacher-centred approaches in higher education, and are willing to create learning environments where senior IS undergraduates are motivated to learn in rich, relevant and real-world contexts. The thesis contributes to IS educators who seek to understand how the learning environment and IS educational content influence and support student engagement and Competency Maturing. This thesis also offers IS educational practitioners an understanding of the educational content and a delivery style that can provide senior IS undergraduates with strong theoretical and practical foundations. The thesis's findings suggest that creating an organic learning environment can be a useful approach to developing more competent IS graduates

Educating graduates for marketing in SMEs: an update for the traditional marketing curriculum

Purpose – Despite rising graduate unemployment in the UK, there are insufficient numbers of graduates employed in small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The literature suggests that a teaching emphasis on large organisational business models in Higher Education Institutions (HEI), particularly in the teaching of marketing theory, renders the SME sector unattractive to graduate employment and conversely, it is perceived that graduates lack additional ‘soft skills’ vital for SME development and growth. The aim of this study is to provide an analysis of how SMEs define marketing and to compare student perspective on marketing within a SME context. This paper also examines the need to improve the conventional marketing curriculum with additional teaching solutions that consider the reality of UK SME ownership and student employment prospects. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative research approach was adopted using in-depth interviews amongst ten SME owners and twenty undergraduate marketing students of a UK University. Findings – Findings revealed that the marketing practices used in SMEs were not present in the marketing curriculum in the case University. The employment of marketing graduates was not positively perceived by SME owners and equally, marketing undergraduates did not view SMEs as the career organisation of choice. Research limitations/implications – The findings suggest that Universities need to adapt their marketing curriculum to inform students of the realities of SME marketing practice and better prepare them for future employment in this sector, which contributes significantly to the overall economy and job creation in the UK. Originality/value – Our study re-evaluates the HE marketing curriculum and suggests an update of the curriculum in order to move the university-industry-government relationship away from the traditional knowledge transfer perspective

Towards Democratic Policing in Taiwan: A Longitudinal Study of the Effects of Police Education on Human Rights, Moral Reasoning, Prejudice and Receptivity to Evidence-Based Policing

This thesis investigates how police socialisation, and in particular police education, influences police recruits in terms of several democratic policing indicators (DPI) and their receptivity to evidence-based policing (EBP). The DPI used here are derived from prior research and theory, namely: 1) human rights endorsement, 2) advanced moral reasoning, and 3) lack of prejudice. To observe temporal changes in DPI and receptivity to EBP, this thesis applies a multiple-group longitudinal design that includes both police recruits and university undergraduates (as a comparison group). This sample takes advantage of the centralised police education system in Taiwan – Central Police University (CPU) – and the fact that there is only one criminology department in Taiwan – National Chung Cheng University (NCCU). The sample used here comprises five cohorts: 1) police officers on in-service programs, 2) graduate recruits in police academy training, 3) new and 4) senior recruits on cadre programs at CPU, and 5) first-year undergraduates at NCCU. To determine the potential influence of different stages of police socialisation, this thesis conceptualises police socialisation from three perspectives: 1) recruit predisposition, 2) police education and training and 3) police work/culture. All participating cohorts are surveyed on three occasions (primarily September 2016, 2017 and 2018) in order to test the applicability of these perspectives. The sample covers the whole population of each cohort and was subject to little attrition across the three periods of data collection. Five research instruments were used here: 1) Attitude towards Human Rights (ATHR), 2) Defining Issues Test–2 (DIT-2), 3) Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA), 4) Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) and 5) Evidence-based Policing Receptivity scale (EBPR). This thesis has five principal findings. First, the conceptualisation of democratic policing used here passes the construct validity test, implying that the concept is sufficiently captured by the three indicators used in this study: adherence to human rights, advanced moral reasoning and the absence of prejudice. Second, among the three stages of police socialisation considered here, police education and training is found to exert a negative influence on all outcome variables. There is little effect observed in both the predisposition and police work/culture perspectives on these outcome variables. Third, graduate recruits are shown to exhibit no reliable differences on all outcome variables when compared to police recruits without degrees. Fourth, sworn officers do not change significantly during in-service education. Finally, the observed negative influence of police education and training is mainly attributed to the paramilitary management at CPU. The implications of the findings for police practice, police education and further research are discussed

What\u27s Wrong With American Secondary Schools: Can State and Federal Governments Fix it?

[Excerpt] The poor performance of American students is sometimes blamed on the nation\u27s diversity . Many affluent parents apparently believe that their children are doing acceptably by international standards. This is not the case. In Stevenson, Lee and Stigler\u27s (1986) study of 5th grade math achievement, the best of the 20 classrooms sampled in Minneapolis was outstripped by every single classroom studied in Sendai, Japan and by 19 of the 20 classrooms studied in Taipeh, Taiwan. The nation\u27s top high school students rank far behind much less elite samples of students in other countries. In mathematics the gap between Japanese and Finnish high school seniors and their white American counterparts is about twice the size of the two to three grade level equivalent gap between blacks and whites in the US (NAEP 1988b; IAEEA 1987). The learning deficit is pervasive

Preparing students for future employment? An exploratory study of English language education in vocational high schools in Taiwan

This study explores aspects of how English language education in vocational high schools (VHSs) in Taiwan prepares students for their intended employment. It looks at the English language curriculum in VHSs and examines the ways in which it aims to equip students with the English necessary for their intended employment. It also looks at teachers’ and students’ experiences of English language teaching and learning in VHSs, particularly in terms of their perspectives on the extent to which English language education at VHSs prepares students for their intended employment, and the extent to which it provides students with the English language skills necessary to compete in a global job market. The central question that this study seeks to address is: How does English language education at VHSs prepare students for their intended employment? The above question is shaped through answering the following two sub-questions: 1. What are the ways in which the English language curriculum in VHSs in Taiwan aims to equip students with the English necessary for their intended employment? 2. What are teachers’ and students’ perspectives on English language education, and on the extent to which English language education at VHSs prepares students for future employment, particularly in terms of providing them with the English skills necessary to compete in a global job market? A mixed-methods research design, involving questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, is used in an attempt to make best use of each approach to explain and answer research questions. The thesis concludes by proposing a model in light of the findings, outlining some of the implications of the research findings, and presenting some recommendations for further research