Higher Education最新文献

Artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots trained on large language models are an example of generative AI which brings promises and threats to the higher education sector. In this study, we examine the emerging research area of AI chatbots in higher education (HE), focusing specifically on empirical studies conducted since the release of ChatGPT. Our review includes 23 research articles published between December 2022 and December 2023 exploring the use of AI chatbots in HE settings. We take a three-pronged approach to the empirical data. We first examine the state of the emerging field of AI chatbots in HE. Second, we identify the theories of learning used in the empirical studies on AI chatbots in HE. Third, we scrutinise the discourses of AI in HE framing the latest empirical work on AI chatbots. Our findings contribute to a better understanding of the eclectic state of the nascent research area of AI chatbots in HE, the lack of common conceptual groundings about human learning, and the presence of both dystopian and utopian discourses about the future role of AI chatbots in HE.

In this paper, we explore how members of the scientific community leave academic science and how attrition (defined as ceasing to publish) differs across genders, academic disciplines, and over time. Our approach is cohort-based and longitudinal: We track individual male and female scientists over time and quantify the phenomenon traditionally referred to as “leaving science.” Using publication metadata from Scopus—a global bibliometric database of publications and citations—we follow the details of the publishing careers of scientists from 38 OECD countries who started publishing in 2000 (N = 142,776) and 2010 (N = 232,843). Our study is restricted to 16 STEMM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine), and we track the individual scholarly output of the two cohorts until 2022. We use survival analysis to compare attrition of men and women scientists. With more women in science and more women within cohorts, attrition is becoming ever less gendered. In addition to the combined aggregated changes at the level of all STEMM disciplines, widely nuanced changes were found to occur at the discipline level and over time. Attrition in science means different things for men versus women depending on the discipline; moreover, it means different things for scientists from different cohorts entering the scientific workforce. Finally, global bibliometric datasets were tested in the current study, opening new opportunities to explore gender and disciplinary differences in attrition.

Gypsies, Roma and Travellers are under-represented as students in higher education in England and Wales. Moreover, the communities rarely feature in equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategies and practices including race equality initiatives. Drawing upon the reflections and experiences of 14 equality, diversity and inclusion staff across 11 universities (7 post-1992 and 4 pre-1992) in England and Wales, we explore the technologies through which Gypsies, Roma and Travellers are made (in)visible in university EDI discursive spaces. Interview participants included Gypsy, Roma and Traveller academics; subject librarians; Deans of EDI; Widening Participation Managers; Inclusion and Equality Advisors and Managers; and Researchers and Leads on Race Equality Charters and Decolonising the Curriculum. Through inductively analysing our findings, we suggest that the normalisation of neoliberalism across the higher education academy in England and Wales has resulted in Gypsies, Roma and Travellers being constructed as ‘irregular’ in higher education EDI discourse. We demonstrate how neoliberal-informed discursive rules, acting as ‘systems of exclusion’, control what is seen as a legitimate concern and support higher education institutions to intentionally ‘look through’ inequality issues affecting the communities. Informational difficulties, institutional focus on ‘value for money’ and numbers of students which prioritise the market-driven ‘business case’ over social justice, act as technologies of invisibilisation, positioning these diverse communities as not being ‘within the true’ in relation to institutional neoliberal discourses and ‘regimes of truth’. This culminates in ‘institutional inertia’ and neglect towards EDI issues, further contributing to the under-representation of Gypsies, Roma and Travellers in higher education.

Although higher education students have been identified as one of the social groups most affected by the impact of COVID-19, higher education literature appears to focus more on documenting implications for teaching and learning, curriculum and institutions, than student wellbeing. This has resulted in gaps to our understanding and approaches to intervene positively in, student wellbeing within the higher education space ‘post-COVID-19’. Drawing on a novel survey data set administered in November 2021, of the 6877 higher education (University and TVET College) students in South Africa, this paper aims to contribute through cross-sectional data that allows analysis of student experience of COVID-19 and its relationship to student wellbeing. As expected, our findings confirm COVID-19 experience as a significant predictor of student wellbeing. We also identify satisfaction with interventions from higher education stakeholders in response to COVID-19 as the strongest, and the extent to which students felt impacted by changes to their routine behaviours as the weakest, predictors of wellbeing. The paper adds to existing international literature, the South African context with a large sample. Secondly, the analysis provides a more comprehensive view of the link between COVID-19 and higher education student wellbeing, as TVET College students are included. The composite measurement of COVID-19 experience is a further contribution. Finally, the findings add to the literature on COVID-19 and higher education student wellbeing, the experience of disadvantaged students. The findings underscore the emotional health of students as a critical area for higher education policy and intervention during times of uncertainty or disruption.

The concept of common good(s) is crucial in understanding higher education and its contributions. However, measuring global common goods in higher education has been largely overlooked. This paper proposes a framework to measure global common goods in higher education that contains five core dimensions (i.e., knowledge creation, people mobility, research collaboration, human well-being, and cultural contribution). The framework is based on mostly objectively quantifiable indicators that have broad applicability worldwide. This attempt would facilitate the understanding of higher education’s quantitative contributions to global common goods and potentially help efforts to increase them.

Outcomes in higher education (HE) are influenced by the learning conditions created for students. The traditional model of HE, where students attend content-focused lectures over 12–15-week semesters, may not provide the conditions that best meet the learning needs of increasingly diverse HE cohorts. This study assessed the extent to which an immersive block model, a non-traditional form of HE delivery that employs active learning pedagogy and engages students in shorter, more focused periods of study, might enable higher student achievement and satisfaction compared to a traditional semester model. The study examined achievement (N = 27,528) and satisfaction (N = 7924) data from a public Australian university that has moved all coursework units into a 6-week immersive block model. Inferential statistical tests were used to compare results between the traditional semester and immersive block delivery over a 3-year period, as well as with results from control groups that stayed in the traditional model. Results demonstrate that immersive block learning underpinned by an active learning pedagogy has had a statistically significant positive impact on the academic success of various cohorts of undergraduate learners. Stronger improvements in student success were observed in first-year units compared to second and third-year units, suggesting that the immersive block model may be particularly beneficial for students transitioning into HE. Satisfaction was statistically lower relative to the traditional model, particularly in science and engineering, suggesting a need for further investigation into causes of lower satisfaction in these disciplines.

Widening participation and improving outcomes for under-represented and disadvantaged groups in higher education are part of the strategic agenda of governments across the globe. A critical aspect of this challenge is enhancing the experience of students from such backgrounds. However, there is relatively limited evidence on the effects of student background, including social and geographical disadvantage and secondary education preparation, on self-reported student experience. This study addressed this topic in the Australian context using data from the annual Student Experience Survey (2016–2020 waves) with linkage to administrative records for 24,292 students from seven higher education institutions. This included data on secondary schools’ administration, resourcing, and socio-economic status from the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. Binary logistic regression models were estimated on eight measures of self-reported student satisfaction, and a measure of dropout risk. Students from equity groups, particularly those with a disability or from non-English speaking backgrounds, were found to have lower levels of student satisfaction in aspects of their higher education experience and higher risk of dropout. Those from non-government schools (privately funded) reported higher levels of student satisfaction. Off-campus study was associated with poorer satisfaction but lower risk of dropout, while being engaged in some online study was associated with better satisfaction. The findings indicate the need for better university support for equity group students and signal potential responses through university study design, such as incorporating online study options, and addressing issues faced by students studying off-campus, to improve student outcomes.

Universities are striving to become data-driven organisations, benefitting from data collection, analysis, and various data products, such as business intelligence, learning analytics, personalised recommendations, behavioural nudging, and automation. However, datafication of universities is not an easy process. We empirically explore the struggles and challenges of UK universities in making digital and personal data useful and valuable. We structure our analysis along seven dimensions: the aspirational dimension explores university datafication aims and the challenges of achieving them; the technological dimension explores struggles with digital infrastructure supporting datafication and data quality; the legal dimension includes data privacy, security, vendor management, and new legal complexities that datafication brings; the commercial dimension tackles proprietary data products developed using university data and relations between universities and EdTech companies; the organisational dimension discusses data governance and institutional management relevant to datafication; the ideological dimension explores ideas about data value and the paradoxes that emerge between these ideas and university practices; and the existential dimension considers how datafication changes the core functioning of universities as social institutions.

The study explores how academic institutions navigate national conflict within the multicultural classroom. Due to its complex ethnic and religious diversity, Israel is used as a case study. The Arab–Jewish conflict, intertwined with historical, territorial, and identity issues, poses challenges for educators. Twenty-two faculty members in Israel, who teach in a culturally diverse higher education setting that includes both Jewish and Palestinian (Arab) Israeli students, were interviewed for this qualitative study. The results identified three main themes: (1) the balance between maintaining apolitical academia and upholding academic freedom of speech, (2) strategies employed by educators to manage conflict within the classroom setting, and (3) fostering multicultural education amidst national tensions. The study also applied intersectionality theory to examine additional layers of influence on educators. An inclusive model is proposed, integrating national conflict, intersectionality, and academic freedom. The unique contribution lies in incorporating the national conflict element into the model, acknowledging how intertwined identities of students and educators lead to challenges and conflicts. The application of intersectionality theory enhances comprehension of classroom dynamics. Given the volatility that has rocked the region in recent months, these results bring with them an even greater sense of urgency; this study offers practical implications and conflict management tools for educators in similar contexts, both in war-torn regions and politically turbulent settings.

Phenomenographic research has had a substantial impact on approaches to higher education teaching and learning and academic development. However, prevalent misunderstandings of phenomenography have led to misinterpretations by higher education scholars of findings published in the literature. All scholars need to be able to read and evaluate research literature outside their own methodological areas. But pre-existing assumptions and misinterpretations of phenomenography can limit and distort scholars’ understandings of research findings, and the implications of those findings. To investigate this further, an empirical study of variation in what educational researchers understand phenomenography to be was undertaken. The aim is to improve non-phenomenographic scholars’ ability to interpret and make use of phenomenographic findings in the literature, without having to read specialised methodological articles about the approach. The study highlights five dimensions of phenomenography that higher education scholars need to be aware of in order to maximise the value they will gain from reading phenomenographic studies: (a) the distinctiveness of the method; (b) the focus on variation in understandings of a phenomenon; (c) the focus on structural relationships between the different understandings; (d) the pedagogical utility of the findings; and (e) the implications for everyday thinking. Using the example of postgraduate programs in higher education teaching and learning, the discussion of findings explains the implications of awareness of these different dimensions of phenomenography for the interpretation of research outcomes and their implications for pedagogy.