The role of culture in international students' image formation: the emergence of expected and perceived university image

Tämän tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli selvittää, vaikuttaako kansainvälisen opiskelijan kulttuuritausta opiskelijan odotetun ja koetun yliopistoimagon muodostumiseen. Jotta kulttuurin vaikutuksia yliopistoimagoon voitiin tutkia, tutkimuksessa tunnistettiin yliopistoimagon muodostumiseen oleellisesti vaikuttavat tekijät. Kulttuurin roolia organisaation imagon muodostumisessa ei ole tutkittu aiemmissa tieteellisissä julkaisuissa. Näin ollen tämän tutkimuksen voidaan katsoa edistäneen nykyistä imagotutkimusta. Tutkimuksen kohdeyliopistona oli Lappeenrannan teknillinen yliopisto (LTY). Tutkimuksen empiirinen osa toteutettiin kvantitatiivisena Internet - pohjaisena kyselytutkimuksena tilastollisen analyysin menetelmin. Otos (N=179) koostui kaikista Lappeenrannan teknillisessä yliopistossa lukuvuonna 2005-2006 opiskelleista kansainvälisistä opiskelijoista. Kyselyyn vastasi 68,7 % opiskelijoista. Johtopäätöksenä voidaan todeta, että kulttuurilla ei ole merkittävää vaikutusta yliopistoimagon muodostumiseen. Tutkimuksessa saatiin selville, että yliopiston Internet-sivujen laatu vaikuttaa positiivisesti odotetun yliopistoimagon muodostumiseen, kun taas koettuun yliopistoimagoon vaikuttavat positiivisesti odotettu yliopistoimago, pedagoginen laatu sekä opetusympäristö. Markkinoinnin näkökulmasta tulokset voidaan vetää yhteen toteamalla, että yliopistojen ei tarvitsisi räätälöidä tutkimuksessa tunnistettuja imagoon vaikuttavia tekijöitä eri kulttuureistatulevia opiskelijoita varten.

Integrating environmental education in primary school education in Tanzania : teachers’ perceptions and teaching practices

The study focuses on primary school teachers’ perceptions of environmental education, its integration into primary school education and teachers’ teaching practices in Tanzania. The thesis is based on empirical research. The theoretical underpinnings of the study are based on Palmer’s (1998) model of environmental education. According to the model, meaningful environmental education should include education about, in or through and for the environment. The study is supported by national and international literature from research done on environmental education and education for sustainable development and policy statements. The study is qualitative in nature, adopting phenomenography and phenomenology as points of departure. The empirical data was collected from four primary schools in Morogoro region in Tanzania. The study sample consisted of 31 primary school teachers. Data was collected through interviews and lesson observations. According to the results of the study, primary school teachers expressed variations in their perceptions of environmental education and education for sustainable development. Most of the teachers focused on the aspect of knowledge acquisition. According to Tanzanian education and training policy, environmental education has to be integrated into all subjects. Although there is environmental education in the primary school curriculum, it is not integrated on an equal footing in all subjects. Some subjects like science, social studies and geography have more environmental content than other subjects. Teachers claim that the approach used to integrate environmental education into the school curriculum was not favoured because many claimed that what is to be taught as environmental education in the various subjects is not shown clearly. As a result, many teachers suggested that to ensure that it is taught properly it should be included in the curriculum as an independent subject or as specific topics. The study revealed that teachers’ teaching practices in integrating environmental education varied from one subject to another. Although most of the teachers said that they used participatory methods, lesson observations showed that they limited themselves to question and answer and group discussion. However, the teachers faced a number of barriers in the teaching of environmental education, some of which include lack of teaching and learning resources, time and large class size. The role of teachers in the implementation of environmental education in developing an environmentally literate citizenry is of great significance. The responsibility of the government in developing a curriculum with clear goals and content, developing teachers’ capacity in the teaching of environmental education and provision of teaching and learning materials needs to be taken seriously by the government in educational plans and programs.

Using Moodle to provide added value in the teaching of a software development course

The rate of adoption and use of learning management systems to support teaching and learning processes in academic institutions is growing rapidly. Universities are acquiring systems with functionalities that can match with their specific needs and requirements. Moodle is one of the most popular and widely deployed learning management systems in academic institutions today. However, apart from the system, universities tend to maintain other applications for the purpose of supplementing their teaching and learning processes. This situation is similar to Lappeenranta University of Technology (LUT), which is our case study in this project. Apart from Moodle, the university also maintains other systems such as Oodi, Noppa and Uni portal for the purpose of supporting its educational activities. This thesis has two main goals. The first goal is to understand the specific role of Moodle at LUT. This information is fundamental in assessing whether Moodle is needed in the university’s current teaching and learning environment. The second aim is to provide insights to teachers and other departmental stakeholders on how Moodle can provide added value in the teaching of a software development course. In response to this, a Moodle module for a software development course is created and the underlying features are tested. Results of the constructive work proposed some improvements through (i) the use of Moodle for in-class surveys, (ii) transfer of grades from Moodle to Oodi, (iii) use of Moodle in self-study courses and MOOCs, (iv) online examinations, and (v) Moodle integrations with third party applications. The proposed items were then evaluated for their utility through interviews of five expert interviews. The final results of this work are considered useful to LUT administration and management specifically on ways that Moodle can bring changes to the university at managerial, economical and technical level. It also poses some challenges on platform innovations and research.

Building the ‘Digital’ Library: Routes to Managing our Institutional Digital Learning, Teaching and Research Assets Together

Presentation at Open Repositories 2014, Helsinki, Finland, June 9-13, 2014

Exploring Relationship between Pakistani Teachers’ Pedagogical Beliefs and ICT Use for Teaching and Learning

Background: The aim of present study is to investigate relationship between Pakistani teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and ICT use for teaching and learning. Previous studies found close relationship between pedagogical beliefs and teaching practices including use of ICT. However, variation in results is also reported and attributed to cultural and contextual differences. Methodology: Quantitative approach was used to study a sample of 231 Pakistani basic education teachers from middle and upper-middle range private schools, mostly from large urban centres. Results: This study confirmed previously study results that constructivist-compatible pedagogical beliefs are significantly related to both traditional and constructivist use of ICT. However, it is also found that traditional-transmission pedagogical beliefs are significantly related to traditional use of ICT – a finding not reported in previous studies. Some amounts of ICT training for pedagogical purpose exhibit significant impact on ICT use, in particular constructivist use of ICT. Similarly age also play a role as younger teachers are more likely to use ICT, however, no significant difference of pedagogical beliefs and ICT use was found between male and female teachers. Recommendation for practice and further investigation are made in chapter 5.

Translation – The fifth language skill? A comparison of the role of translation in Finnish lukio and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

This study attempts to answer the question “Should translation be considered a fifth language skill?” by examining and comparing the use of translation as a language learning and assessment method in the national Finnish lukio curriculum and the curriculum of the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). Furthermore, the students’ ability to translate and their opinions on the usefulness of translation in language learning will be examined. The students’ opinions were gathered through a questionnaire that was given to 156 students studying in either lukio or the IBDP in Turku and Rovaniemi. I present and compare the role of translation in selected language teaching and learning methods and approaches, and discuss the effectiveness of translation as a language learning method and an assessment method. The theoretical discussion provides the basis for examining the role of translation as a language learning method and an assessment method in the curricula and final examinations of both education programs. The analysis of the two curricula indicated that there is a significant difference in the use of translation, as translation is used as a language learning method and as an assessment method in lukio, but is not used in either form in the IB. The data obtained through the questionnaire indicated that there is a difference in the level of language competence between the lukio and IB students and suggested that the curriculum in which the student studies has some effect on his/her cognitive use of translation, ability to translate and opinions concerning the usefulness of translation in language learning. The results indicated that both groups of students used translation, along with their mother tongue, as a cognitive language learning method, and, contrary to the expectations set by the analysis of the two curricula, the IB students performed better in the translation exercises than lukio students. Both groups of students agreed that translation is a useful language learning method, and indicated that the most common dictionaries they use are bilingual Internet dictionaries. The results suggest that translation is a specific skill that requires teaching and practice, and that perhaps the translation exercises used in lukio should be developed from translating individual words and phrases to translating cultural elements. In addition, the results suggest that perhaps the IB curriculum should include the use of translation exercises (e.g., communicative translation exercises) in order to help students learn to mediate between languages and cultures rather than learn languages in isolation from each other.