Assessing quality in higher education by examining the effects of university experiences on learning outcomes and student development

The thesis is about quality in higher education; what it means, how it is measured, and how it can be improved. It attempts to analyse ways of thinking about higher education and quality, consider their relevance to the measurement of performance of universities, and explore their implications for the selection of criteria, approaches and methods for the assessment of quality in higher education. Forming the basis for the empirical investigation of the thesis is the approach of assessing quality of university education using data collected from individual students about their subjective experiences during the university years and their perceptions of the value of the educational experience. The intention is to investigate the numerous aspects of the student experience in higher education to contribute to the knowledge of quality learning and the necessary conditions in institutions that are required to promote quality learning in students. The setting for the thesis was Lingnan University in Hong Kong, a small, government-funded liberal arts university. Data were collected from two samples of students on two occasions with eight months apart. Data collection was by way of a questionnaire for a wide range of variables about the students' background, university experience and learning outcomes. Findings of the research identified that the change reported by students was related to their educational experience and the effect of different university environments on students' growth and development. Results were reported with implications to provide university administrators, teachers, and students with feedback on how well they have been performing and what conditions are conducive to quality learning and teaching in university. Further, implications were drawn for quality assessment of higher education in Hong Kong by presenting an alternative approach that takes into account the effects of the university experience and students' involvement in it as indicators of university success

Conditions limiting effective teaching in a sample of part-time teachers in continuing education: implications for college management

published_or_final_versionEducationMasterMaster of Educatio

Issues in teaching and learning for older adults in Hong Kong and Australia

There has not been ample recent research on teaching older adults. However, as described below, there is mounting research in how and why older adults want to learn. This brief discussion is derived from work undertaken for a workshop in Hong Kong on issues in teaching older adults. It combines recent research on learning and teaching in higher education as it applies to older adults. The paper addresses: learning and ageing, learning choices, an information processing view of learning, deep and surface learning, teaching and learning approaches, formal, non-formal and informal learning, teaching roles, evaluation, and technology. Some sections are exemplified with information from teaching older adults in Australia and Hong Kon

Similarities and differences in views of ageing and learning in Hong Kong and Australia

This paper is an overview and summary of the findings from a General Research Fund project funded (2012 – 2014) by the Research Grants Council of the University Grants Committee of Hong Kong to investigate cross cultural understanding of ageing and learning by seniors in Hong Kong and Australia. Results have been published separately in Boulton-Lewis, & Buys (2015), Boulton-Lewis, Aird, & Buys (2016), Boulton-Lewis, Tam, Buys, & Chui (2016), Tam (2016), Tam & Chui (2016) and Tam, Aird, Boulton-Lewis & Buys (2016). These papers have dealt separately and variously with either a qualitative or quantitative analysis of learning choices in Australia, structural barriers to learning in Australia, a comparison of views of and ageing and learning in both cultures, Chinese views of later life learning, the meaning of ageing and learning to Chinese elders and an analysis and comparison of results in both places. The focus of this paper is a summative discussion based mainly on the quantitative and qualitative analyses of the main themes of ageing and learning. It intends to provide an overview of the findings in some of the publications above. Other details can be found in the publications listed

Ageing, Loss and learning: Hong Kong and Australian seniors

The discussion of loss and its relationship to learning in this paper is based on the analysis of interview data from 39 older adults in Hong Kong and 40 in Australia. The focus of the research was on ageing and learning. The phenomenon of life changes, specifically losses, and their relationship to learning was frequently mentioned and this theme is described here. Three different kinds of loss were identified in the data as motivators for organized or non-organized learning or for negatively affecting learning. These included loss of aspects of health, of job or of partner. The results are potentially useful to policy makers and learning providers, to encourage older adults to engage in learning as one way of coping with loss

Hong Kong and Australian seniors: Views of aging and learning

This paper reports on the findings of qualitative, semi-structured interviews conducted with 40 older Australian participants and 39 participants in Hong Kong who either did or did not engage in organized learning in the last six months. Phenomenology was used to guide the interviews and analysis to explore the experiences and perspectives of these older people. The meaning older people attribute to aging and learning and their possible relationship in their lives in both societies is described and compared