ABSTRACT
The Scandinavian states have international reputations for promoting social democratic ideals, which have long been manifest in Nordic universities, e.g. legal protection for academic freedom and university studies free of charge. However, Nordic governments have made new h.e. laws, thereby changing university autonomy and management structures, leading to greater involvement by external personnel in university governance, and reduced academic freedom for academic staff. Utilizing legal data, and a survey of+5,000 academics from the EU states, this paper compares the protection for academic freedom in Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. The de jure analysis shows that a single Nordic grouping is not apparent, but that there are two distinct Scandinavian cohorts. The de facto analysis reveals differences between the Nordic nations and other EU states but does neither confirm the Nordic model nor substantiate two regional cohorts identified in previous research and in the de jure analysis.
ABSTRACT
Higher education has an important role in rebuilding a nation through its significant contribution in overall development of the human resources. However, Indian scenario is not at all encouraging in terms of gross enrolment ratio, research output or employability of university graduates. Some of the recent reforms in higher education sector ignites a little hope about enhancing the effectiveness of higher education institutions in the country. In this article, the authors have tried to look at the emerging issues plaguing the quality of higher education and provide a fresh perspective on reducing the lag.
ABSTRACT
Faced with the Covid-19 contingency, many public and private universities worldwide had to suspend all face-to-face activities and develop academic continuity plans with the objective of assuring the permanence of university formation. It is in this sense that this paper submits the results of a comparative study regarding the academic continuity plans developed by private institutions of higher learning originating from the Covid-19 pandemic. A qualitative design was used in a series of semi-structured online interviews of university professors from the University of Monterrey (Mexico) and the Francisco de Vitoria University (Spain). The analysis was carried out from a comparative point of view to determine convergences and divergences in four categories: access, availability, use and shaping of Information and Communication Technologies;academic activities;teaching-learning processes;face-to-face academic continuity. The results revealed that there are convergences in the four categories analyzed in both university contexts. It is evident that the academic continuity plans of the University of Monterrey and the Francisco de Vitoria universities share equivalent characteristics and strategies. Similarly, it is shown that both private universities developed actions within the administration departments in order to offer prompt and pertinent answers in coordination with other departments. Likewise, it became evident that both universities had continuous improvement projects prior to the contingency that allowed them an immediate response for the continuance of academic activities. Finally, this paper seeks to contribute to the literature on the effectiveness of private sector university academic continuity plans. Alternate abstract:Ante la contingencia del COVID-19, las diversas universidades públicas y privadas tuvieron que suspender todas las actividades presenciales y desarrollar planes de continuidad académica de forma diferente, con el objetivo de asegurar la permanencia de la formación universitaria. En este sentido, este trabajo presenta los resultados de un estudio comparado en relación con los planes de continuidad académica desarrollados por instituciones de educación superior privadas, a partir de la pandemia del COVID-19. Se utilizó un diseño cualitativo, a través de la aplicación de entrevistas semiestructuradas online a profesores universitarios de la Universidad de Monterrey (México) y de la Universidad de Francisco de Vitoria (España). El análisis se realizó desde una perspectiva comparada para establecer convergencias y divergencias, a partir de cuatro categorías de análisis: acceso, disponibilidad, uso y formación de las Tecnologías de Información y Comunicación;actividades académicas;proceso de enseñanza-aprendizaje;continuidad académica presencial. Los resultados revelaron que existen convergencias en las cuatro categorías analizadas en ambos contextos universitarios. Lo anterior permite evidenciar que los planes de continuidad académica en la Universidad de Monterrey y la Universidad Francisco de Vitoria tienen características y estrategias similares. De igual forma, se demuestra que ambas instituciones privadas desarrollaron acciones en el interior de su administración para dar respuestas de forma rápida, pertinente y en coordinación con los diferentes departamentos de la institución. Asimismo, se evidencia que en el caso de las dos universidades se tenían implementados proyectos de mejora continua antes de la contingencia, lo que permitió una respuesta de forma inmediata a la continuidad de las actividades académicas. Finalmente, este estudio pretende contribuir a la literatura, en relación con la efectividad de los planes de continuidad académica en universidades privadas durante la contingencia.
ABSTRACT
In this direction, it is interesting to be able to identify the educational practices that are carried out in our context to define guidelines that regulate academic activities. The objective pursued in this work is to document and describe university educational practices in scientific and technological careers during the virtualization process, as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, in the area of General and Inorganic Chemistry for the follow-up of cohorts of the Faculty of Biochemistry and Cs. [...]a new stage is proposed, the hybrid education between presence and virtuality. Luego, se dio una socialización dentro del DQGI de diferentes estrategias y se desarrollaron materiales adaptados a la virtualización, apoyándose en el Entorno Virtual de la asignatura (https://evirtual.unl.edu.ar/course/view.php?id=3299), que pasó de ser un repositorio de archivos a una plataforma virtual de enseñanza y aprendizaje con múltiples recursos y materiales para el desarrollo de todas las actividades propuestas. * Teorías: Las clases de desarrollo teórico (de tipo expositivo) fueron presentadas a los estudiantes de manera asincrónica (Figura 1) a través de un link al canal de YouTube del Departamento (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCe4hS RIn2t a w88yMtC2A).
ABSTRACT
Aim/Purpose This paper examines how senior academic staff from a large sample of teacher education colleges regard the integration of digital games into teacher instruction. These colleges serve general or religious populations, and we examine what, in practice, their policy and vision were in this regard in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Background The sudden adoption of online teaching-learning due to the pandemic has been termed disruptive in that it drastically disturbed higher education in Israel and worldwide. The senior academic staff of Israel's colleges of education was responsible for leading policy decision-making during this period. The use of digital games for pedagogic purposes may be direct when used for knowledge acquisition and reinforcement and student development or indirect. Methodology Using semi-structured interviews, the current study applied an interpretive-constructivist approach to examine how senior academic staff from several teacher education colleges perceived the integration of digital games into teacher instruction and elicit their policy and vision in this regard, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Contribution The findings suggest that discussions surrounding technology-related vision and policy and their translation into practice should relate to the specific cultural needs and academic preparedness of the population(s) served by the college. Findings Half the participants expressed a desire to integrate digital games into teaching and learning but acknowledged that in practice this was uncommon. Only a small minority considered themselves to have achieved successful integration in practice, with doubt and skepticism expressed by some of the religious colleges. Most colleges had policies to encourage the integration of technology in general into teaching, with these, in turn, supported by ongoing funding. Although a considerable gap between policy and implementation remained, the COVID-19 pandemic was viewed as having considerably accelerated the integration of digital games into preservice teacher instruction. Recommendations for Practitioners Discussions pertaining to technology-related vision and policy and their translation into practice should relate to the specific cultural needs and academic preparedness of the population(s) served by the college. Recommendations for Researchers The findings reflect the spectrum of challenges faced by the different populations the colleges employ and serve and the outcomes of the colleges' ongoing attempts to negotiate and reconcile different concerns. Impact on Society The findings have implications wherever colleges serve other socially and culturally conservative populations that are interested in or compelled to adopt techno-pedagogies. Future Research We call for further research into whether continued pandemic-related restrictions have increased the practical integration of techno-pedagogical tools such as into the curricula of teacher education