Changing Cultures In Higher Education

More and more educational scenarios and learning landscapes are developed using blogs, wikis, podcasts and e-portfolios. Web 2.0 tools give learners more control, by allowing them to easily create, share or reuse their own learning materials, and these tools also enable social learning networks that bridge the border between formal and informal learning. However, practices of strategic innovation of universities, faculty development, assessment, evaluation and quality assurance have not fully accommodated these changes in technology and teaching. Ehlers and Schneckenberg present strategic approaches for innovation in universities. The contributions explore new models for developing and engaging faculty in technology-enhanced education, and they detail underlying reasons for why quality assessment and evaluation in new – and often informal – learning scenarios have to change. Their book is a practical guide for educators, aimed at answering these questions. It describes what E-learning 2.0 is, which basic elements of Web 2.0 it builds on, and how E-learning 2.0 differs from Learning 1.0. The book also details a number of quality methods and examples, such as self-assessment, peer-review, social recommendation, and peer-learning, using illustrative cases and giving practical recommendations. Overall, it offers a step-by-step guide for educators so that they can choose their own quality assurance or assessment methods, or develop their own evaluation methodology for specific learning scenarios. The book addresses everyone involved in higher education – university leaders, chief information officers, change and quality assurance managers, and faculty developers. Pedagogical advisers and consultants will find new insights and practices for the integration and management of novel learning technologies in higher education. The volume fosters in lecturers and teachers a sound understanding of the need and strategy for change, and it provides them with practical recommendations on competence and quality methodologies.

More and more educational scenarios and learning landscapes are developed using blogs, wikis, podcasts and e-portfolios. Web 2.0 tools give learners more control, by allowing them to easily create, share or reuse their own learning materials, and these tools also enable social learning networks that bridge the border between formal and informal learning. However, practices of strategic innovation of universities, faculty development, assessment, evaluation and quality assurance have not fully accommodated these changes in technology and teaching. Ehlers and Schneckenberg present strategic approaches for innovation in universities. The contributions explore new models for developing and engaging faculty in technology-enhanced education, and they detail underlying reasons for why quality assessment and evaluation in new – and often informal – learning scenarios have to change. Their book is a practical guide for educators, aimed at answering these questions. It describes what E-learning 2.0 is, which basic elements of Web 2.0 it builds on, and how E-learning 2.0 differs from Learning 1.0. The book also details a number of quality methods and examples, such as self-assessment, peer-review, social recommendation, and peer-learning, using illustrative cases and giving practical recommendations. Overall, it offers a step-by-step guide for educators so that they can choose their own quality assurance or assessment methods, or develop their own evaluation methodology for specific learning scenarios. The book addresses everyone involved in higher education – university leaders, chief information officers, change and quality assurance managers, and faculty developers. Pedagogical advisers and consultants will find new insights and practices for the integration and management of novel learning technologies in higher education. The volume fosters in lecturers and teachers a sound understanding of the need and strategy for change, and it provides them with practical recommendations on competence and quality methodologies.

This book analyses higher education from cultural perspectives and reflects on the uses of intellectual devices developed in the cultural studies of higher education over the last decades. It presents fresh perspectives to integrate cultural studies in higher education with wider societal processes and studies the internal life of higher education. The book uses cultural perspectives developed in previous studies to understand a variety of processes and reforms taking place.

Describes approaches to understanding cultures in higher education, paying particular attention to cultures and cultural construction at departmental level. Implications of cultural characteristics for issues around change initiatives, including the enhancement of teaching, learning and assessment are a key focus of this book.

The following papers from a conference dealing with the interaction of adult learning, educational practice, and cultural context are presented: "Radical Adult Education: Back to Basics" (Allman, Wallis); "Teaching To Be Competent" (Armstrong); "Universities and Adult Education: A New Relationship?" (Boud, McDonald); "Theories-in-Use, Reflective Practice and the Teaching of Adults: Professional Culture in Practice" (Bright); "Changing Culture of Medical Education: Teaching What We Know" (Crandall); "And Finally: Changing Cultures of Educational Institutions and Practices" (Duke); "Culture Change/Changing Culture: 'Multi-skilling' the Practitioner in Post-Compulsory Education and Training" (Edwards); "Situating Access to Higher Education in Its Political Culture" (Fieldhouse, Benn); "A Culture of Change? Perspectives on Adult Education in the Workplace" (Hamilton); "Changes in Adult Education Policy and the Impact on 'Client Groups' with Specific Reference to Gender" (Hester, Florence); "The Culture of Difference: Women's Education Re-Examined" (Malcolm); "Adult Learning and Cultural Change in an M.Ed Course: The Case of the Examiners" (Miller, Fletcher); "Adult Education and the Changing Research Context" (Murphy); "Lessons in Citizenship: University Adult Education and Modernity" (Steele); "Employers and the Continuing Education of Employees with Particular Reference to Employee Development Programmes" (Taylor); "New Cultural Contexts for University Adult Education: The Potential of Partnerships with Non-Traditional Agencies" (Thomson); "Nine Facets of Continuing Education for the Professions" (Watson); "Cultures and Double Beings: Linking Adult Learners and Their Environments" (Zeldin); and "Cultural Conflicts: Adult and Further Education Teacher Training in Higher Education" (Zukas). (MN)

Paul Trowler take a close look inside one British university to explore how academic staff at the ground level respond to changes in higher education. During the period of this study there was a remarkably rapid expansion in student numbers and, at the same time, a shrinking unit of resource. Meanwhile new systems and structures were being put in place, particularly those associated with the 'credit framework': the constellation of features associated with the assignment of credit value to assessed learning, including modularity, franchising and the accreditation of prior learning. The book explores the nature and effects of academics' responses to these changes and develops a framework for explaining these responses. It offers a valuable insight into change in higher education and highlights some of the processes which lead to policy outcomes being rather different from the intentions of policy-makers.

CHOICE 2015 Outstanding Academic TitleWhat do women academics classify as challenging, inequitable, or “hostile” work environments and experiences? How do these vary by women’s race/ethnicity, rank, sexual orientation, or other social locations?How do academic cultures and organizational structures work independently and in tandem to foster or challenge such work climates?What actions can institutions and individuals–independently and collectively–take toward equity in the academy?Despite tremendous progress toward gender equality and equity in institutions of higher education, deep patterns of discrimination against women in the academy persist. From the “chilly climate” to the “old boys’ club,” women academics must navigate structures and cultures that continue to marginalize, penalize, and undermine their success.This book is a “tool kit” for advancing greater gender equality and equity in higher education. It presents the latest research on issues of concern to them, and to anyone interested in a more equitable academy. It documents the challenging, sometimes hostile experiences of women academics through feminist analysis of qualitative and quantitative data, including narratives from women of different races and ethnicities across disciplines, ranks, and university types. The contributors’ research draws upon the experiences of women academics including those with under-examined identities such as lesbian, feminist, married or unmarried, and contingent faculty. And, it offers new perspectives on persistent issues such as family policies, pay and promotion inequalities, and disproportionate service burdens. The editors provide case studies of women who have encountered antagonistic workplaces, and offer action steps, best practices, and more than 100 online resources for individuals navigating similar situations. Beyond women in academe, this book is for their allies and for administrators interested in changing the climates, cultures, and policies that allow gender inequality to exist on their campuses, and to researchers/scholars investigating these phenomena. It aims to disrupt complacency amongst those who claim that things are “better” or “good enough” and to provide readers with strategies and resources to counter barriers created by culture, climate, or institutional structures.

Addressing the contemporary issues relating to the delivery of education, Culture, Change and Community in Higher Education explores the challenges of creating effective learning communities. Focusing on the creation and implementation of strategies which permeate and influence culture and enable staff to innovate, this book: considers the balance between a focus on people, places, pedagogy and technology encourages the reader to explore the steps that can be taken to inspire creativity, collaboration and connectivity through the provision of learning environments which are both accessible and engaging employs case studies and examples to consider ways to support the creation of an effective and inclusive learning community offers both strategic and operational perspectives into creating learning spaces and evoking effective change Culture, Change and Community in Higher Education offers insight into a topic that is becoming ever more important with the implementation of the Teaching Excellence Framework. It is a must-read for Higher Education managers looking to implement effective and inclusive learning environments within their university.