50,567 research outputs found
An organization overview of pedagogical practice in work-integrated education
Tertiary curriculum design has increasingly emphasized work-integrated learning (WIL) opportunities. This qualitative study provides an overview of a variety of WIL activities at Massey University, New Zealand. Descriptive comments, provided through interviews with fifteen academic supervisors from disciplines ranging from the applied sciences through social sciences to business, education and creative arts, highlight the following six factors to be considered in the resourcing of WIL programs. Themes related to set-up include placement requirements, support, selection, location, and risk management issues. Student preparation involves pre-requisite theoretical knowledge, general career preparation (CV & interview skills) and readiness for practice. With respect to supervision, an on-campus academic mentor and a work-place supervisor are both important to the student. Competencies linked to team work and professional standards include self-confidence, communication and people skills. The teaching pedagogies used include lectures and labs, oral presentations, scenario-based-learning and project work. Assessment involved a learning contract, reflective journal, oral presentation, and final report
Balancing the books: creating a model of responsible fashion business education
Abstract
The fashion industry has well-documented challenges around sustainability; the predominance of the low-cost-high-turnover business model raises questions about fashionâs ethics (Shaw et al., 2004). Fashionâs engagement with sustainability is most visible in design and production areas and is much less well developed in the area of socially responsible management, although integrating ethical business and sustainability into graduatesâ attributes is increasingly seen as a priority for educators (Sims, Brinkmann, Sims and Nelson, 2011).
The 2007 United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education are an engagement framework for Higher Education Institutions to embed CSR in education, research, and campus practices (unprme.org). This Global Compact initiative developed in response to the global economic crisis, as a framework against which business schools can audit progress towards a societally responsible curriculum and practices. Purpose, the first of the six Principles, challenges educators to develop their studentsâ capabilities âto be future generators of sustainable value for business and society and to work for an inclusive and sustainable global economyâ (unprme.org).
With our position as fashion business researchers and educators we have a responsibility to guide students as they develop their positions on the serious issues the fashion industry faces today. This paper explores a series of curriculum interventions at undergraduate and postgraduate level which introduce fashion business students to the complex practical and ethical challenges for 21st century fashion businesses, using the lens of sustainability to explore every aspect of the fashion industry: production, design and promotion. Through the authorsâ research and teaching, case studies, lectures, seminars and assessment tasks have been designed to engage students with a 360 degree understanding of sustainability and to promote studentsâ development of creative solutions to our industryâs challenges.
One such teaching initiative was a finalist in the 2015 Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges (EAUC) Green Gown Awards. It involved a series of guest lectures from sustainability champions after which students carried out sustainability audits on start-up fashion brands and proposed design and marketing strategies using sustainability as a key source of differentiation and added value (Aaker & McLoughlin, 2010). Learning about issues such as textile waste and opportunities e.g. co-creation and no-waste design, engagement was high and students responded positively:
âThe sustainability part of this project has changed the way in which I look at fashion due to my heightened awareness of the sustainable issues affecting fashionâ (student feedback).
Another initiative based on the authorsâ research into innovative business models, uses their case study on social enterprise as the basis for a Fashion Marketing Strategy unit which uses real fashion industry examples, including our own alumni, to encourage debate about fashionâs difficult questions- the balance between economic, social and environmental sustainability.
In these and other innovative fashion business curriculum examples explored in this paper, our research and teaching aims to find and respond to an increased interest in concepts of shared value (Porter & Kramer, 2011) particularly evident in new generations of students (Jarvis, 2016)
Good collaborations: A case study of the Health Information Technology partnership
The Health Information Technology grant was a collaborative partnership between the Cook Inlet Tribal
Council (CITC), the University of Alaska Community & Technical College (UAA CTC) and the University of
Alaska Southeast (UAS) to establish the infrastructure for a distance-delivered Occupational
Endorsement in Health Information Technology. This document describes a case study research project
that explored the activities of the collaboration, specifically as they pertain to student services and
outcomes.
Student eligibility criteria included: Alaska Native, low-income, GED or high school diploma, and a 10th
grade TABE test score; many of the student participants exhibited demographic characteristics that
placed them at high risk for noncompletion. Ultimately, 10 of 25 (40%) completed the credential, and of
these graduates, five are continuing their postsecondary studies for an associateâs or bachelorâs degree.
These success rates that exceed national averages for community college students prompted the team
to explore the program elements that contributed to student success.
A qualitative case study collected interview data from student completers, program staff, and faculty. It
also reviewed program documents, and included visits to the physical spaces where the program was
delivered.
Tangible or material resources that contributed to the programâs success included stipends for student
tuition and fees plus hourly compensation for time spent in class; the provision of laptops; adequate
technology; staff and services that supported college transitions, social and personal needs, and
academic success; a face-to-face kickoff event; and a cohort model. Qualitative aspects of the program
that fostered success include staff commitment and positive attitude; clear roles for partners with a
distributed workload; alignment of program objectives to each of the partnersâ missions;
communication; and student perseverance.
Program elements that need to be revised, expanded, or improved prior to a second iteration include
course sequencing, recruitment, technology, class times, and additional stipends. Opportunities for
additional programming include industry involvement, career exploration, options for students who
âchange majorsâ or decide that the HIT field is not a good fit for their interests, job seeking and career
planning support, additional attention to college readiness and soft skills, and incorporation of Alaska
Native culture.
A review of program elements that worked and need improvement identified opportunities to better
align theory and philosophy, and to strengthen communication between staff and faculty who have
complementary responsibilities to one another and to students. These discussions are recommended in
order to develop more intentional and focused recruiting, to strengthen communication, and to develop
a more culturally responsive curriculum.
Though the program does not yet present itself as a best practice model, the program strengths and
lessons learned were used to develop considerations for other programs and partnerships wishing to
develop similar delivery methods.Office of Vocational and Adult Education
Community &Technical College, University of Alaska AnchorageIntroduction / Health Information Technology / The credential / Employment landscape / Partners / Structure / Timeline & Schedule / Student Cohort / Outcomes / Method, participation, and analysis / Findings / What worked: The tangibles / What worked: the intangibles / What didn't work / Opportunities / Discussion / Philosophical -Student success / Theoretical: frameworks / Recommendations / Recruitment / Communication / Curriculum / Replication / Conclusion / References / Appendix: Considerations for replicatio
Leading careers education information advice and guidance (CEIAG) in secondary schools
This report summarises the findings of a set of six case studies, undertaken during November 2010, which explored the effective leadership of careers education information advice and guidance (CEIAG) in a small sample of secondary schools in England.
The findings indicate that effective CEIAG is an extremely important component of school provision as it impacts upon studentsâ aspirations, achievement and therefore potentially their life chances and social mobility. The report describes different curriculum models, with the integration of CEIAG across the curriculum as the preferred approach allied to a strong emphasis on partnership working. The leadership and management of CEIAG follow a distributed model with staff operating at a variety of levels to secure its development and implementation. There is significant evidence of this model combining the skills of both teaching and non-teaching staff. The importance of strategic vision, continuing professional development and monitoring and evaluation is highlighted as substantial. The report concludes with a set of key message for both school leaders and policymakers
A Proposal for Supply Chain Management Research That Matters: Sixteen High Priority Research Projects for the Future
On May 4th, 2016 in Milton, Ontario, the World Class Supply Chain 2016 Summit was held in partnership between CN Rail and Wilfrid Laurier Universityâs Lazaridis School of Business & Economics to realize an ambitious goal: raise knowledge of contemporary supply chain management (SCM) issues through genuine peer-Ââto-Ââpeer dialogue among practitioners and scholars. A principal element of that knowledge is an answer to the question: to gain valid and reliable insights for attaining SCM excellence, what issues must be researched further? This White Paperâwhich is the second of the summitâs two White Papersâaddresses the question by proposing a research agenda comprising 16 research projects. This research agenda covers the following: The current state of research knowledge on issues that are of the highest priority to todayâs SCM professionals Important gaps in current research knowledge and, consequently, the major questions that should be answered in sixteen future research projects aimed at addressing those gaps Ways in which the research projects can be incorporated into student training and be supported by Canadaâs major research funding agencies
That content comes from using the summitâs deliberations to guide systematic reviews of both the SCM research literature and Canadian institutional mechanisms that are geared towards building knowledge through research. The major conclusions from those reviews can be summarized as follows: While the research literature to date has yielded useful insights to inform the pursuit of SCM excellence, several research questions of immense practical importance remain unanswered or, at best, inadequately answered The body of research required to answer those questions will have to focus on what the summitâs first White Paper presented as four highly impactful levers that SCM executives must expertly handle to attain excellence: collaboration; information; technology; and talent The proposed research agenda can be pursued in ways that achieve the two inter-Âârelated goals of creating new actionable knowledge and building the capacity of todayâs students to become tomorrowâs practitioners and contributors to ongoing knowledge growth in the SCM field
This White Paperâs details underlying these conclusions build on the information presented in the summitâs first White Paper. That is, while the first White Paper (White Paper 1) identified general SCM themes for which the research needs are most urgent, this White Paper goes further along the path of industry-academia knowledge co-creation. It does so by examining and articulating those needs against the backdrop of available research findings, translating the needs into specific research projects that should be pursued, and providing guidelines for how those projects can be carried out
Baseline study of employability related activities in Scottish colleges
In October 2004, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC)'s predecessor bodies, theSFEFC and the SHEFC, publishedLearning to Work(SFC 2004), a discussion paperabout how Scotland's colleges and universities can help to enhance learners'employability. In subsequent dialogue with stakeholders, there was agreement thatemployability should be a specific focus for quality enhancement in the college sectorfrom 2006-07. As a basis for further development, the SFC commissioned this studyto provide information on the range of current activities and practices in Scotland'scolleges which contribute to enhancing employability
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