What is higher education all about from the student perspective? Phenomenographic study on student experiences

Higher education has been challenged in various ways in the last three decades. Massification, emergence of new teaching and learning methods, marketization and trade agreements, change in funding schemes, cooperation/competition dynamics all these challenges fundamentally change higher education sector. These changes in education context influence the way the idea of higher education is understood and redefines the role of higher education actors, including students. Moreover, the changes have consequences for higher education policy as a whole. In order to better understand and cope with the changing education context, higher education researchers need to examine closely the higher education processes and the position of the higher education actors. The present research will contribute to this agenda, by focusing on higher education in Finland. The purpose of the research is to discover the variety of conceptions experienced by students - conceptions about the idea of higher education and about the role of students in higher education - in order to better understand student perspective on these matters. The main questions guiding this research are: (1) How do students understand the idea of higher education?; (2) How do students perceive their role in higher education? The research applies qualitative phenomenographic methodology which focuses on personal experiences with different phenomena. Phenomenography is an inductive qualitative research methodology that explores phenomena through different descriptions of ideas, understandings, and conceptions. The research method used is individual, in-depth interview with open-ended questions; interview which often had a form of dialogue. 8 interviews were conducted with 8 participants-students from the University of Tampere in Finland: 4 participants study in the Schools of Social Sciences and Humanities and 4 study in the School of Information Sciences. The research discovered 21 categories of description - 10 related to the idea of higher education and 11 related to the role of students in higher education: (1) Higher education is related to society, (2) Higher education is a network, (3) Higher education is binary, (4) Higher education is related to knowledge, (5) Higher education is related to time, (6) Higher education is personal growth, (7) Higher education is profession provider, (8) Higher education is on the top, (9) Higher education has changed, (10) Higher education is something else than university; (11) Students are members of the wider society, (12) Students are members of the student population, (13) Students are part of higher education system, (14) Students are active, (15) Students are resource, (16) Students are customers, (17) Students are neglected, (18) Students are stressed, (19) Students are transformed, (20) Students are employed, (21) Students are free. The categories of description are analysed in terms of their referential and structural aspects, and illustrated by participants' quotes. The research results, including the relationships between the categories, are visually presented in an outcome space

Construction of Teaching and Learning Cultures in Transnational Pedagogical Development: Discourses Among Palestinian University Instructors

This qualitative study explores teaching and learning cultures in the context of a community-oriented pedagogical development process initiated during Finnish–Palestinian transnational cooperation. Research data include focus group interviews and texts produced during a pedagogical training program with Palestinian university instructors. The study examines teaching and learning cultures as constructed by discourses in and around the Palestinian university. A poststructuralist discourse analysis identified five discourses of teaching and learning: disciplinary differences, traditional and modern education, improving education, sociocultural and religious context, and political and economic circumstances. The study shows that teaching and learning cultures are dynamic and fragmented as they are constructed by the contrasting discourses. The findings suggest that pedagogical development initiatives need to provide spaces for discursive transformation, especially in the transnational context that introduces additional alternative discourses into the institutional cultural meaning-making

Lyme disease in the area of Bjelovarsko-bilogorska County – negligible or neglected disease

Cilj rada je upozoriti na nepotpuno prijavljivanje Lymeske bolesti na području Bjelovarsko-bilogorske županije. U radu su korišteni podaci Zavoda za javno zdravstvo Bjelovarsko-bilogorske županije i podaci Hrvatskog zavoda za javno zdravstvo. Retrospektivno su analizirani evidentirani slučajevi Lymeske bolesti u Bjelovarsko-bilogorskoj županiji. Istraživanje se odnosi na petogodišnje razdoblje (2007. – 2011.). Analizirani su podaci po spolu, dobi, vremenu razbolijevanja i mjestu prebivališta za svakog oboljelog. Uspoređeni su osnovni epidemiološki podaci iz ove Županije s onima iz Hrvatske. Na području Bjelovarsko- bilogorske županije prijavljena su 32 oboljela uz prosječni godišnji pobol od 4,46/100 000, dok je u Hrvatskoj u istom petogodišnjem razdoblju registrirano 2 128 oboljelih uz pobol od 6,51/100 000. Dvije trećine bolesnika bili su muškog spola, za razliku od podataka za Hrvatsku gdje je omjer spolova podjednak. Najviše registriranih bolesnika bilo je u razdoblju od svibnja do kolovoza, dok je u Hrvatskoj to razdoblje produženo do listopada. Obzirom na ekološke osobine Bjelovarsko-bilogorske županije za pretpostaviti je da je stvarni broj oboljelih od Lymeske bolesti znatno veći, ali je moguće da je zanemareno prijavljivanje oboljelih. Lymeska bolest nikako nije zanemariva bolest, pa ne bi trebala biti niti zanemarena.The aim of this article is to warn against incomplete reporting of Lyme disease in the area of Bjelovarsko-bilogorska County. Data obtained from the Institute of Public Health of Bjelovarsko-bilogorska County and the Croatian National Institute of Public Health were used in this paper. All registered cases of Lyme disease in Bjelovarsko-bilogorska County were retrospectively analyzed. This research refers to a five year period (2007–2011). For each person suffering from Lyme disease data regarding sex, age, time of acquiring the disease and place of residence were analyzed. Basic epidemiological data in the area of this County were compared to the ones in the area of the Republic of Croatia. In Bjelovarsko-bilogorska County a total number of 32 cases of people suffering from Lyme disease were reported. The average annual morbidity amounted to 4.46/100,000, while during the same five year period 2,128 cases of people suffering from Lyme disease were registered in Croatia, with the morbidity being 6.51/100,000. Two thirds of patients were males, which differs from data related to the area of Croatia, where the sex ratio is approximately equal. Most patients were registered between May and August, while in Croatia this period is prolonged until October. Considering the ecological characteristics of Bjelovarsko-bilogorska County, it can be assumed that the actual number of people suffering from Lyme disease is significantly higher, but patients failed to consult a physician. Patients were probably also not registered. Due to potential serious consequences in the later stage of the disease, Lyme disease is definitely not a negligible disease. Therefore, neither patients nor medical staff should neglect it

Preparing university teachers for times of uncertainty : the role of a transnational pedagogical-development training in Palestinian higher education

Purpose The aim of this study is to explore the extent to which a transnational pedagogical training affected university teachers' approaches to teaching, as well as their efficacy beliefs and cultural perceptions, and to examine how such training could stimulate teachers' pedagogical-development processes beyond the specific context. Design/methodology/approach An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was adopted for the study. Quantitative data were collected through an online self-reported questionnaire from two-independent samples, both before (n = 119) and after (n = 110) the training. Qualitative data were collected after the training through episodic narrative interviews with five teachers. Findings The quantitative and qualitative findings indicate contradictory aspects of the teaching approach and perceived culture. While the questionnaire responses highlighted the dominance of teacher-centred teaching approaches and an individualistic culture, a thematic analysis of the interview data showed that teachers experienced pedagogical development as (1) increasing student engagement, (2) improving their own teaching practices, (3) a community activity and (4) an institutionalised process. Research limitations/implications The design of the current research may have limited the authors’ potential to deeply investigate the effect of the transnational pedagogical training, as only snapshots of the teachers' perceptions were elicited. Future studies might consider a within-subject longitudinal design to thoroughly follow teachers' trajectories in learning and development over time. Practical implications The research findings suggest that transnational pedagogical training initiatives are to be promoted amidst these uncertain times. Even though the focus of the study was not to explore the teachers' perceptions of teaching development during the pandemic, the current results imply that the mentioned training helped teachers in tailoring their pedagogical practices to suit the unexpected online teaching settings. Originality/value The study adds to the relatively new literature on the perceived effect of transnational pedagogical training initiatives. This study’s findings contribute to the body of knowledge related to pedagogical development in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

The changing idea of higher education

Questions concerning the purpose and the nature of higher education are often referred to as “the idea of higher education”. The article illustrates that the idea of higher education is contextual and changeable, thus contested over time. The aim of the article is to present and analyse some of the most prominent changes in the idea of higher education last three decades by reviewing relevant literature. The analysis focuses on three major influences that redefine the idea of higher education in Europe – massification, globalisation and internationalisation, and neoliberal ideas. The recognised changes transform the way higher education is understood and conceptualised which in turn affects the way higher education is organised and developed in practice.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

What is higher education all about from the student perspective? Phenomenographic study on student experiences

Higher education has been challenged in various ways in the last three decades. Massification, emergence of new teaching and learning methods, marketization and trade agreements, change in funding schemes, cooperation/competition dynamics all these challenges fundamentally change higher education sector. These changes in education context influence the way the idea of higher education is understood and redefines the role of higher education actors, including students. Moreover, the changes have consequences for higher education policy as a whole. In order to better understand and cope with the changing education context, higher education researchers need to examine closely the higher education processes and the position of the higher education actors. The present research will contribute to this agenda, by focusing on higher education in Finland. The purpose of the research is to discover the variety of conceptions experienced by students - conceptions about the idea of higher education and about the role of students in higher education - in order to better understand student perspective on these matters. The main questions guiding this research are: (1) How do students understand the idea of higher education?; (2) How do students perceive their role in higher education? The research applies qualitative phenomenographic methodology which focuses on personal experiences with different phenomena. Phenomenography is an inductive qualitative research methodology that explores phenomena through different descriptions of ideas, understandings, and conceptions. The research method used is individual, in-depth interview with open-ended questions; interview which often had a form of dialogue. 8 interviews were conducted with 8 participants-students from the University of Tampere in Finland: 4 participants study in the Schools of Social Sciences and Humanities and 4 study in the School of Information Sciences. The research discovered 21 categories of description - 10 related to the idea of higher education and 11 related to the role of students in higher education: (1) Higher education is related to society, (2) Higher education is a network, (3) Higher education is binary, (4) Higher education is related to knowledge, (5) Higher education is related to time, (6) Higher education is personal growth, (7) Higher education is profession provider, (8) Higher education is on the top, (9) Higher education has changed, (10) Higher education is something else than university; (11) Students are members of the wider society, (12) Students are members of the student population, (13) Students are part of higher education system, (14) Students are active, (15) Students are resource, (16) Students are customers, (17) Students are neglected, (18) Students are stressed, (19) Students are transformed, (20) Students are employed, (21) Students are free. The categories of description are analysed in terms of their referential and structural aspects, and illustrated by participants' quotes. The research results, including the relationships between the categories, are visually presented in an outcome space

Construction of Teaching and Learning Cultures in Transnational Pedagogical Development : Discourses Among Palestinian University Instructors

This qualitative study explores teaching and learning cultures in the context of a community-oriented pedagogical development process initiated during Finnish-Palestinian transnational cooperation. Research data include focus group interviews and texts produced during a pedagogical training program with Palestinian university instructors. The study examines teaching and learning cultures as constructed by discourses in and around the Palestinian university. A poststructuralist discourse analysis identified five discourses of teaching and learning: disciplinary differences, traditional and modern education, improving education, sociocultural and religious context, and political and economic circumstances. The study shows that teaching and learning cultures are dynamic and fragmented as they are constructed by the contrasting discourses. The findings suggest that pedagogical development initiatives need to provide spaces for discursive transformation, especially in the transnational context that introduces additional alternative discourses into the institutional cultural meaning-making.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

تقييم طرق التدريس وثقافة التعليم الأكاديمي ومعتقدات الكفاءة الذاتية لمدرسي جامعة فلسطينية

Only a few studies have examined work cultures, teaching approaches and self-efficacy beliefs of academic teachers outside Europe, North America, and Asia. This mixed-method study investigated the following research questions: 1) What kinds of approaches to teaching and self-efficacy beliefs can be identified among academics in the selected Palestinian university?, 2) Are there disciplinary or career-stage differences in the teachers’ approaches to teaching or concerning their self-efficacy beliefs?, 3) What features of academic and teaching culture can be identified among these academics? and 4), Which factors affect teaching and learning in this institution. Quantitative data were collected from 119 teaching staff through an online, self-reported questionnaire. Qualitative data consisted of four focus group interviews with 18 teaching staff. The results showed that teaching staff reported high self-efficacy beliefs, whereas the teacher-centered approach was slightly more dominant than the student-centered approach. In qualitative data, the social and religious mission of teaching was highlighted; universities should primarily educate ethically conscious people who would serve their communities and society. The academic culture encompassed many features of contrived collegiality in which collaboration relies mainly on formal practices and is based less on informal, voluntary collaboration among teachersThis article is an outcome of The eTraining FinPal project, funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland through its Higher Education Institutions Institutional Cooperation Instrument (HEI ICI), Finland.حاولت الدراسة الإجابة عن أسئلة البحث التالية: 1) ما هي أنواع طرق التعليم ومعتقدات الكفاءة الذاتية التي يمكن التعرف عليها بين الأكاديميين في الجامعة الفلسطينية المختارة ؟، 2) هل يوجد اختلافات بين المدرسين في طرق تدريسهم أو فيما يتعلق بكفاءتهم الذاتية ومعتقداتهم التربوية؟، 3) ما هي سمات الثقافة الأكاديمية والتدريسية التي يمكن تحديدها بين الأكاديميين؟ 4) ما هي العوامل التي تؤثر على التدريس والتعلم في هذه المؤسسة. فقد تم جمع معلومات من 119 من أعضاء هيئة التدريس من خلال استبيان عبر الإنترنت و بيانات من خلال أربع مقابلات لمجموعات بؤرية مكونة من 18 من أعضاء هيئة التدريس. وقد أظهرت النتائج أن معظم أعضاء هيئة التدريس لديهم معتقدات عالية الكفاءة الذاتية ، بينما كان النهج المتمحور حول المعلم قليلاً و النهج المتمحور حول الطالب هو النهج السائد. و قد أوصد الدراسة بتسليط الضوء على مهمة التدريس الجامعي الفعال و تطبيق ممارسات تعليم جامعي متميز