| 5.1 |
|---|
| Post-Pandemic Scenarios for External Quality Assurance in Higher Education |
Jeanette H. Baird1, Alison E. Baird2 |
| Abstract We review emerging phenomena in the environment of higher education and propose some scenarios for external quality assurance (EQA) agencies over the next 15 years. These scenarios reflect potential changes in the way quality is defined and demonstrated in marketised education systems. We contend that EQA agencies could improve their own and sector-wide risk management by more intentional use of foresighting techniques. The COVID-19 pandemic is a disruptive change that, in higher education, has cleared the way for the widespread acceptance of educational technology and demonstrated how distributed ways of learning and collaborating can be sustained. As higher education institutions and systems emerge into a ‘new’ post-pandemic world, it is timely to explore with fresh eyes the implications for our understandings of ‘quality in higher education’ of trends that are already evident in wider societal and business environments. Changes in EQA are both a response to and marker of changes in global higher education. As a marker, the standards and practices used by EQA agencies reflect the way ‘quality’, as a bundle of desirable attributes, is understood and how quality can be assured, for example, through peer review. The scope of EQA agencies’ work reflects a political consensus on what elements of learning need to be regulated. The list below shows current developments that are influencing ideas of quality higher education. These can each be related to the categories of: attributes of quality; how quality is assessed; and, what is regulated. These various trends will combine in different ways, with differing effects on EQA depending on the nature of national and regional higher education systems. We explore possible effects, for example, increasing or decreasing existing ‘digital divides’. Changes in the ways quality is assessed are moving rapidly, while changes in the meaning of quality and what is regulated will be further down the track. From a consideration of these developments, we identify and describe four plausible scenarios for EQA agencies. |
Author Profile(s) |
| 5.2 |
|---|
| The Right to Disconnect: Prospects in South Asian Higher Education Institutions in the Post-Pandemic Era |
Nashia Ajaz |
| Abstract The debate on the ‘right to disconnect’ emerged in France in 2001, and over time, it appeared in various European and Asian countries through inclusion in their labor laws. In principle, the right to disconnect implies that employees are under no obligation to accept taking work, files, and working tools to home after their work hours. This right also includes that the employees who are not reachable or available on the phone outside their working hours cannot be charged for misconduct. This right not only prevents employees from formal disciplinary actions against them for not being available after work hours but also includes creating a work environment where such workers are not subjected to shame, bullying, or negative biases for day-to-day work or promotions. Although the debate about the ‘right to disconnect’ started and developed in the Global Northern countries, it is evident through literature that the Global Southern countries have also been facing problems associated with the work-life balance due to the expectations of being available at work after hours. Amid the work from home requirements induced by the Corona Virus pandemic, the need for the right to disconnect has become even more worldwide, specifically in the Global Southern world, due to the unavailability of the relevant policy. This paper builds on twelve In-Depth Interviews and 2 Focus Group Discussions with female and male public and private Higher Education Institutions in 4 South Asian countries- Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan. The participants discussed the dire need for the right to disconnect, which has become even more necessary during the Corona Virus Pandemic. The participants also disclosed their experiences of feeling less included and judged for not being available online after work hours, both by their students, colleagues, and higher-ups. The research recommends the inclusion of the right to disconnect in labor policy at state and institutional levels and changing perceptions about and attitudes towards the employees who tend to exercise this human right. |
Author Profile(s) |
| 5.3 |
|---|
| Relationships Have Value, the Impact of Leader Member Exchange on Affective Commitment: Case Study of Vocational Institute Teachers From Pakistan |
Naveed Anwar1, Badar Z. Quershi2 |
| Abstract Teachers commitment towards their profession is key to their performance not only as a "Guru", to impart quality knowledge to students but also an employee of a university. A committed teacher can really add value in students life. This research contributes into further investigating the impact of Leader Member Exchange (LMX) upon work attitude (i.e. affective commitment). A Study of (N=.277) full time teachers from vocational institutes of Pakistan using purposive sampling and self administered survey was conducted. Data Analysis was done using SEM -AMOS. Results showed that quality of LMX has significant positive association with affective commitment (AC) of teachers. These significant results have shown the importance of quality of Leader Member Exchange and its impact in attaining the positive organizational outcomes. Future research directions along with managerial implications have been provided. |
Author Profile(s) |
| 5.4 |
|---|
| Self-Assessment of Higher Education Institutional Blended Learning Practice in Mongolia |
Batdulam Sukhbaatar1, Oyunchimeg Battumur1, Yanjmaa Ochirbat2, Soyolmaa Bavuudorj3 |
| Abstract Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Mongolia, a face-to-face mode of teaching and learning in classrooms had stopped since November in 2020, but the Ministry of Education and Science order (A/151) stated that higher education institutions should provide students online teaching and learning. Technology advancement plays a crucial role in providing quality and continuous online learning and teaching during the pandemic. Despite the sudden conditions, higher education institutions followed the order and provided online teaching and learning. However, online teaching and learning practice tended to vary in terms of the quality, continuity and access due to infrastructure and technological readiness of higher education institutions. In Mongolia, the pandemic restrictions have been lifted gradually and since September 14 this year higher education institutions have started in person learning in classrooms that exist every other week switching with online learning in the other week. This combination of online and face-to-face modes of teaching and learning is often referred to as blended learning (Lim, Wang & Graham, 2019). The current study, therefore, aimed at investigating how Mongolian higher education institutions self-assess their blended learning practice. We applied a framework and self-assessment tool proposed by Lim and Wang (2017) for the study’s purpose. The framework consists of eight strategic dimensions and they are: a) vision and philosophy, b) curriculum, c) professional development, d) learning support, e) infrastructure, facilities, resources and support, f) policy and institutions structure, g) partnerships, and h) research and evaluation. We invited 73 higher education institutions to self-assess their blended learning practice, but 49 of them provided their self-assessment results. Among them 16 are state-owned and 33 are private higher education institutions. The participants self-assessed their blended learning practice considering the eight strategic dimensions and using four levels of institutional strategies supporting blended learning practices. The four levels are as follows: a) 0-under consideration, b) 1-applying/emerging, c) 2-infusing, and d) 3-transforming. The data were collected between September and October this year. We conducted a descriptive analysis using SPSS 23.0 and Excel. The results provided a general understanding of blended learning strategies and practices of the participating higher education institutions. The findings show that the existing blended learning strategies of the institutions within each dimension are situated at level 2 (infusing) except for one dimension. Partnership is the one which situated at level 1 (applying/emerging). The self-assessment results will help higher education institutions reflect on their blended learning strategies and practice within each dimension and revise their existing strategies in order to improve the lacking areas. The growth to higher levels of institutional strategies will support good practices of blended learning and furthermore, ensure the quality teaching and learning. |
Author Profile(s) Oyunchimeg Battumur is an expert for accreditation at Mongolian National Council for Education Accreditation. Her research interest is quality assurance of higher education. Dr. Yanjmaa Ochirbat is a Vice-chairperson and Director of Secretariat office at Mongolian National Council for Education Accreditation. Her research interest is quality assurance of higher education . Soyolmaa Bavuudorj is an advisor for internal monitoring and internal quality assurance. |
| 5.5 |
|---|
| Education or Edutainment? Crisis and Opportunity in a Post-Pandemic World of Educational Technology |
Adrian J. Davis |
| Abstract As the electronic age continues to dominate all fields of human endeavor, the challenge we face in the field of education is that the interface between teachers and students is being increasingly mediated by advanced computer systems, information technology and the Internet, constituting both a threat to in-depth learning as well as an ideal opportunity for new and innovative methods of instruction. This crisis is underpinned by two theoretical considerations. First, based upon McLuhan’s famous phrase “the medium is the message”, the actual physical form and hardware of any new scientific invention involves an inherent constraint upon material content which, in the case of educational technology, restricts the scope and efficacy of teaching and learning. In practice, this means that the traditional method of knowledge delivery of lectures, with all their pedagogical deficiencies, could simply be replaced by a digital interface. Second, given the increasing influence of technology on education, lectures should be reassessed as to their suitability and relevance. This exploratory paper will investigate the ramifications of these challenges for teaching and learning in the post-pandemic era by first contextualizing the whole debate according to the aims of higher education and subsequent graduate outcomes. The results of this investigation will highlight the arising of creative opportunities of educational technology in the wake of the pandemic crisis while also pointing out potential risks to the acquisition of knowledge and understanding. |
Author Profile(s) |