Antecedents and consequences of service quality in a higher education context : A qualitative research approach

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to report on the perception of students in regard to critical antecedents, dimensions and consequences of service quality with an aim to develop a theoretical model in the context of a university in Australia.

Design/methodology/approach – This research used focus group discussions with 19 students who had been studying in undergraduate and postgraduate level programs at an Australian university.

Findings – The findings show that the critical antecedents to perceived service quality are information and past experience. There are three aspects of perceived service quality, namely, academic, administrative and facilities. Student satisfaction and student trust are found to have direct and positive relationships with perceived service quality as consequences; and brand performance and behavioural intention are found to have indirect relationships with perceived service quality mediated through satisfaction and trust.

Originality/value – This paper found three separate themes and their relationships with service quality in the context of a university. These themes are: information, past experience and brand performance. Perceived service quality was found playing an important role in this theoretical model. The model provides a good explanation of university brand performance and students' behavioural intentions.

Bridging formal and informal learning : a mobile learning attitude scale for higher education

Problem Statement: Over the past decade there has been an increasing global demand towards the integration of mobile technologies for teaching and learning. There has emerged a need for a survey instrument that can form a solid foundation for objective judgment of leaner perspectives as they begin using mobile applications for learning. The Mobile Learning Scale, a seven-item, Likert-type survey instrument, was developed by the authors in response to this need. Items were drawn from the key points developed for a 2011 paper by the authors on mobile learning prospects for informal learning in higher education [13], with many of these points initially developed during group discussions at the 2011 International Summit on ICT in Education hosted at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France. Approach: In order to access the performance of the instrument, data were gathered from 81 undergraduate and graduate university students during August and September of 2011. Follow-up data were also gathered from 19 undergraduates in February, 2012. Results: Initial indications are the instrument has good reliability (Alpha = .80 - .85) as well as acceptable content, construct, and criterion-related validity when used with its intended audience. Conclusions/Recommendations: The authors conclude that the Mobile Learning Scale v1.0 performs well as a unidimensional scale that is capable of assessing pre-post gains resulting from a mobile learning intervention within a university course. The authors propose that this new instrument should be useful for helping guide educators in the process of meaningful integration of Mobile Applications (Apps) into teaching and learning, inside and outside the classroom.

Marking time: leading and managing the development of assessment in higher education

This book highlights the University of New South Wales (UNSW) Assessment as Learning Project, a three year process of assessment change in faculty. The UNSW Vice-Chancellor, Professor Frederick Hilmer charged faculties with a learning and teaching agenda to investigate ways to make quality assessment practices more effective and efficient for both staff and students. The examples provided in this edited collection demonstrate exemplary case studies and theoretical perspectives on learning, teaching, and assessment. This book presents leading research in assessment as learning with a focus on changing practices as well as discipline specific practices.

Introducing a mobile learning attitude scale for higher education

The Mobile Learning Scale v1 .0 consists of seven Likert items drawn from the key points developed for a paper on mobile learning prospects for informal learning in higher education (Khaddage & Knezek, 2011 ). Many of these points had been initially developed during the 2011 International Summit on ICT in Education (UNESCO, Paris, 2011 ), where the first author was Rapporteur for the working group Co-Chaired by the second author. In order to assess the performance of the instrument, data were gathered from 81 undergraduate and graduate university students during August and September of 2011. Data were assessed for strength of agreement on individual items and for internal consistency reliability of the seven item-scale. Initial indications are that the instrument has good reliability for university students (Alpha = .85) and can be useful for assessing attitudes toward mobile learning technologies and applications within the intended audience of higher education learners. Potential uses and plans for future research are discussed.

A participatory action research project at the nexus of health promotion and sustainability in higher education

Like many educational institutions, Deakin University has embraced the challenge of developing curricula to ensure that graduates are environmentally literate and competent to address sustainability in professional practice. Despite an abundance of literature pertaining to the link between human health and environmental degradation, the development of health-related education for sustainability curriculum has been slow. Health promotion, an integral aspect of health professional training in Australia, is considered an area of practice well suited to the action of sustainability. This article highlights the findings of a pilot project that explored which graduate-level health promotion competencies and principles for practice can be transferred to action on sustainability. Methodologically, this study offers a participatory action research process enhanced with case study design principles. Findings from the four case studies highlight that health promotion competencies are compatible with action on sustainability. The article also illuminates the themes in the literature about the value of mutually reinforcing pedagogies associated with education for sustainability and work-integrated learning. The article contributes to discussion in an emerging area of health curriculum, namely, health-related education for sustainability. It posits that health promotion is an area of the health curriculum that can support the development of competencies at the nexus between health and sustainability.

To aspire: a systematic reflection on understanding aspirations in higher education

Aspirations for higher education by people from low socioeconomic status backgrounds are now a focus of government policy in many OECD nations. This is part of a global trend emphasizing the perceived benefits of ‘raising’ aspirations among under-represented groups as a social inclusion strategy to widen university participation, but also ultimately as a strategy to increase national competitiveness in the global knowledge economy. Yet despite its importance, aspiration tends to carry simplistic meanings in much higher education policy and practice. This paper attempts to craft a more nuanced account of the term, informed by four concept-clusters derived from sociological and philosophical literatures and research, and with a more mutual relation of public and private interests. It complements this ‘intellectual craftsmanship’ or ‘systematic reflection’ (Mills in The sociological imagination, 1959) with data drawn from a future-focused survey of secondary school students from low and low-mid socioeconomic status backgrounds in regional Australia. Results from the survey provide illustrations that help expand understandings of student aspirations for higher education, from a group presumed to be deficit in aspirations.

Improving online communication for students in higher education contexts

The study reported here sought to identify Higher Education students’ preferred modes of online communication whilst studying a wholly online research subject at University. The teacher education student participants from an Australian university were required to collaboratively conduct inquiry research projects in groups whilst relying upon computer-mediated communication. How do students communicate as a collaborative research group whilst only meeting online? The data were collected via the use of online pre-test and post-test surveys conducted ‘prior to’ and ‘post’ involvement in the unit of study and descriptive statistical analysis was applied. The findings revealed that important influences affecting students’ choice of communication mode included their own views on the capacity of online communication, their prior experience and the availability and accessibility of the modes. Furthermore, it was found that when given a choice, students preferred the use of asynchronous forms of digital communication to synchronous forms. Recommendations for improving online teaching, learning and research contexts in Universities are provided and the importance of considering blended mode delivery for wholly online units is argued.

Autoethnography: introducing 'I' into medical education research

Context: Autoethnography is a methodology that allows clinician-educators to research their own cultures, sharing insights about their own teaching and learning journeys in ways that will resonate with others. There are few examples of autoethnographic research in medical education, and many areas would benefit from this methodology to help improve understanding of, for example, teacher-learner interactions, transitions and interprofessional development. Objectives: We wish to share this methodology so that others may consider it in their own education environments as a viable qualitative research approach to gain new insights and understandings. Methods: This paper introduces autoethnography, discusses important considerations in terms of data collection and analysis, explores ethical aspects of writing about others and considers the benefits and limitations of conducting research that includes self. Results: Autoethnography allows medical educators to increasingly engage in self-reflective narration while analysing their own cultural biographies. It moves beyond simple autobiography through the inclusion of other voices and the analytical examination of the relationships between self and others. Autoethnography has achieved its goal if it results in new insights and improvements in personal teaching practices, and if it promotes broader reflection amongst readers about their own teaching and learning environments. Conclusions: Researchers should consider autoethnography as an important methodology to help advance our understanding of the culture and practices of medical education. Discuss ideas arising from the article at www.mededuc.com discuss. © 2015 John Wiley

Composing, performing, and reflecting: teaching and learning in higher education

This case study adds to a growing body of literature that focuses on preparing generalist teachers in music education for the primary classroom. As part of my wider research on “Pre-service teacher attitudes and understandings of Music Education,” this paper situates itself within the Bachelor of Education (Primary) teacher education course at a university in Melbourne (Australia). Drawing on student questionnaire data, observation notes, and anecdotal feedback gathered in May 2015, I discuss student understandings and perceptions of music teaching and learning in a core unit (Primary Arts Education: Music Focused Study). This paper highlights the opportunity and challenges of music composition and performance as a group assessment task. The findings show that student confidence and competence improved through the creative music process. It can be argued that music teaching and learning in a pre-service teacher context is most effective when composition, performance, listening, and reflection are interconnected. Follow up research need to be undertaken in relation to how students use songs and group work to foster creativity in their future classrooms. Limitations of the study are acknowledged and generalizations cannot be made to other pre-service teacher courses in Australia

Learners' perceptions about the relationship between music education and generic skills development : a case study within the Australian higher education sector

A major issue emerging from the research and debate concerning quality in higher education has been an emphasis on the value of the acquisition of generic skills by undergraduate students, as indicators of quality in education. Music educators have long recognised the contribution music makes to the general education of learners. Learning in and through music can present varied and complex means for the acquisition of generic life skills such as: problem solving, decision-making, critical thinking, oral and written communication and teamwork. This paper documents one particular course of action that was implemented within a university undergraduate primary teacher education program, to systematically gauge learner perceptions about generic skill development/enhancement before and after participation in the music component of the core arts education subject.

Online versus postal data collection methods: an examination of issues and a comparison of results

New communications technologies often allow new ways of conducting market research. Determining the advantages of a new data collection method over established alternatives is difficult without thorough comparative testing. Computer-mediated marketing research is one such example of a new technology that has been enthusiastically embraced by marketing organisations and those servicing them. While researchers using the Internet (Net) and World Wide Web (Web) in its early years reported benefits such as high response levels, there is little in the way of comparative evidence to support any claimed advantages. This paper reports on the outcomes of three separate studies in which members (subscribers) of various organisations have been surveyed using both postal and online (email invitation and HTML Web form) data collection methods. The conclusion here is that it would be unwise to assume that one method can be directly substituted for another and obtain the same response. Differences in both the response pattern and demographic profile of respondents between the groups are consistently noticed, such as to warrant further examination of the methods used in online marketing research, and to suggest the need for further study.

Towards the mature ePortfolio : some implications for higher education

Electronic portfolios [ePortfolios] are a recent addition to the language of higher education. Commencing with a summary of their role from EDUCAUSE, whose mission is to advance higher education by promoting the intelligent use of information technology, the distinctive characteristics of ePortfolios are outlined and salient differences from conventional portfolios in terms of process and outcomes are explored. Having considered the attributes of a mature ePortfolio, the paper focuses on pedagogical and technological issues for students and staff to move to mature ePortfolios. While accepting the valuable role ePortfolios can play in higher education, and that students increasingly come to the tertiary sector with expectations and experience that appear to warrant this approach, the paper concludes that decision making in this area is not yet adequately supported by research. Educators need to be open to the promise ePortfolios offer their students and staff but be aware of the implications for their adoption.

Performance appraisals in higher education: an Australian perspective

This paper considers performance appraisals in Australian universities. It examines some of the theory underpinning performance appraisals and applies it to the world of academia. It then considers the nature of universities and the changes which have taken place in Australian universities since the late 1980s and the implications of these changes on the performance appraisal of academics. It concludes by identifying questions for further research.