Benefits, mechanisms and challenges of international accreditation for teacher education: ASEAN academics' perspectives

PurposeThis study aims to explore some benefits and challenges of establishing an international accreditation for teacher education institutions (TEIs) by AsTEN Quality Assurance Agency. This specific accreditation agency is expected to improve the quality of teaching, learning and research at TEIs in ASEAN region. Design/methodology/approachThe qualitative study generates data from questionnaires and online semi-structured interviews among ASEAN academics. They work as teacher educators in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia. FindingsAs findings show, participating academics from Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Brunei Darussalam believe that it is necessary to have a specific international accreditation agency that can properly accommodate particular standards of teacher education. This accommodation is expected to increase the governance of quality teaching, learning and researching to prepare more competent and professional future teachers. Participating academics also acknowledge some potential challenges this specific accreditation agency may have, including local acceptance by national governments in ASEAN region and global acknowledgement from international accrediting agencies, mostly based in Global North countries. Research limitations/implicationsThe study only involves academics in five ASEAN countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines so that it may have less international acceptance. Practical/social implicationsThe study also identifies aspects and mechanisms of blended online-onsite international accreditation application for TEIs, which grows its significance because of technological advancement, efficiency and prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/valueThe study provides a digital accreditation system for TEIs, particularly in ASEAN region. This originality is important in this era of Internet of Things.

COVID-19 VACCINATION, GOVERNMENT STRICT POLICY AND CAPITAL MARKET VOLATILITY: EVIDENCE FROM ASEAN COUNTRIES

The COVID-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the volatility of the stock market in the ASEAN region. Mass vaccination and strictness policies are government efforts to tackle stock market losses. Hence, this study aims to examine the effect of the COVID-19 vaccination and the stringent government policies on the volatility of stock markets in ASEAN countries. We collected the daily index prices, the number of vaccines, and the stringency index from 13 January 2020 to 31 August 2021. Using the GJR-GARCH model (1, 1) and Generalized Least Square regression, this study found that the mass vaccination had a negative effect on stock market volatility, whereas the government's stringent policies had a positive effect. Mass vaccination tends to increase the confidence of economic actors, impacting investors' confidence in the stability of the stock market. Meanwhile, the government's strict policies have caused uncertainty among economic actors and investors regarding the economic prospects during the pandemic, leading to high levels of volatility. Therefore, governments must promote more aggressive vaccination policies, thereby reducing stringent policies for economic agents. © 2023, Bulgarska Akademiya na Naukite. All rights reserved.

Using the theory of planned behaviour to investigate Indonesian accounting educators' pedagogical strategies in online delivery

This study uses the theory of planned behaviour to investigate how Indonesian Accounting educators responded to a shift to on-line learning during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. The study looks specifically at the degree to which educators used this as an opportunity to implement pedagogies that move beyond a content orientation, providing an impetus for increased attention to adaptive/soft-skills elements the literature refers to as ‘21st century learning'. The findings indicate that attitudes toward adoption, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control all played a significant role in determining Accounting educators' intentions to adopt twenty-first century learning pedagogical principles in Accounting online learning. Additionally, intention acts as a significant mediator of the indirect effect of these three variables on the adoption of twenty-first century learning in Accounting online learning. The concluding section lists limitations, practical implications, and suggestions for additional research. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.