Towards guidelines for curriculum design and development in English language teacher education in Cambodian higher education institutions

In the current Cambodian higher education sector, there is little regulation of standards in curriculum design of undergraduate degrees in English language teacher education. The researcher, in the course of his professional work in the Curriculum and Policy Office at the Department of Higher Education, has seen evidence that most universities tend to copy their curriculum from one source, the curriculum of the Institute of Foreign Languages, the Royal University of Phnom Penh. Their programs fail to impose any entry standards, accepting students who pass the high school exam without any entrance examination. It is possible for a student to enter university with satisfactory scores in all subjects but English. Therefore, not many graduates are able to fulfil the professional requirements of the roles they are supposed to take. Neau (2010) claims that many Cambodian EFL teachers do not reach a high performance standard due to their low English language proficiency and poor background in teacher education. The main purpose of this study is to establish key guidelines for developing curricula for English language teacher education for all the universities across the country. It examines the content of the Bachelor‘s degree of Education in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (B Ed in TEFL) and Bachelor‘s degree of Arts in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (BA in TESOL) curricula adopted in Cambodian universities on the basis of criteria proposed in current curriculum research. It also investigates the perspectives of Cambodian EFL teachers on the areas of knowledge and skill they need in order to perform their English teaching duties in Cambodia today. The areas of knowledge and skill offered in the current curricula at Cambodian higher education institutions (HEIs), the framework of the knowledge base for EFL teacher education and general higher education, and the areas of knowledge and skill Cambodian EFL teachers perceive to be important, are compared so as to identify any gaps in the current English language teacher education curricula in the Cambodian HEIs. The existence of gaps show what domains of knowledge and skill need to be included in the English language teacher education curricula at Cambodian HEIs. These domains are those identified by previous curriculum researchers in both general and English language teacher education at tertiary level. Therefore, the present study provides useful insights into the importance of including appropriate content in English language teacher education curricula. Mixed methods are employed in this study. The course syllabi and the descriptions within the curricula in five Cambodian HEIs are analysed qualitatively based on the framework of knowledge and skills for EFL teachers, which is formed by looking at the knowledge base for second language teachers suggested by the methodologists and curriculum specialists whose work is elaborated on the review of literature. A quantitative method is applied to analyse the perspectives of 120 Cambodian EFL teachers on areas of knowledge and skills they should possess. The fieldwork was conducted between June and August, 2014. The analysis reveals that the following areas are included in the curricula at the five universities: communication skills, general knowledge, knowledge of teaching theories, teaching skills, pedagogical reasoning and decision making skills, subject matter knowledge, contextual knowledge, cognitive abilities, and knowledge of social issues. Additionally, research skills are included in three curricula while society and community involvement is in only one. Further, information and communication technology, which is outlined in the Education Strategies Plan (2006-2010), forms part of four curricula while leadership skills form part of two. This study demonstrates ultimately that most domains that are directly and indirectly related to language teaching competence are not sufficiently represented in the current curricula. On the basis of its findings, the study concludes with a set of guidelines that should inform the design and development of TESOL and TEFL curricula in Cambodia.

Determinações teórico-políticas dos sistemas de avaliação da educação superior: questões da Educação

O presente estudo propôs a identificação das determinações da avaliação da educação superior, com recorte na formação em Educação Física, utilizando-se das categorias do materialismo histórico e dialético. As ideologias do Capital Humano e do Capital Social e seus teóricos serviram como mediadoras dessa análise. Para tanto, utilizamo-nos do fenômeno da globalização e seus conseqüentes reflexos na sociedade brasileira em geral e na educação superior em particular. Os modelos de avaliação foram aqui examinados até a atualidade, bem como seus desdobramentos na formação em Educação Física e seu respectivo campo de trabalho, com algumas experiências ocorridas em nosso território. Tendo como caminho as propostas avaliativas, os aspectos históricos da constituição da Educação Física, os instrumentos de avaliação atuais, as avaliações internas produzidas na UFRJ e UFF e o aprofundamento das ideologias do CH e do CS, acreditamos ter evidenciado o fio condutor do estabelecimento de uma cultura conformadora e justificadora da exploração da população pelo capitalismo que acaba por ser abraçada por parcelas de professores de Educação Física quando se alinham de forma irrefletida aos modelos de avaliação. Apontamos a possibilidade de uma ação contra-hegemônica por um caminho politizador no interior das instituições escolares, em todos os seus níveis e com todos os seus atores, passando pelos movimentos sindicais e chegando principalmente à Universidade

Autoavaliação institucional na dimensão do SINAES comunicação com a sociedade : estudo de múltiplos casos em instituições de ensino superior do Rio Grande do Norte

This study is about the institutional self-evaluation in Dimension 4, "Communication with Society", from the National System of Higher Education Evaluation SINAES, mandatory for all universities in Brazil. A multiple cases study was conducted with three institutions from Rio Grande do Norte, and the goal was to know how this evaluation is made, describing the concept for the evaluation of communication proposed by them, identifying controllers or emancipator aspects, categorizing methodological procedures and discussing the difficulties reported in the communication evaluation process. Coordinators of the institutions Evaluating Committees were interviewed and data categorized by means of qualitative content analysis. It was noted characteristics of the current controller, emancipator and hybrid designs in the three institutions for evaluation of communication, revealing the lack of a theoretical corpus that transits in accordance with the systemic perspective and epistemology of complexity from SINAES. It was found that the most frequently reported difficulties in the evaluation processes of communication are in the preparation stage, especially in the definition of indicators and tools and awareness work. The weakness in planning makes their own activities in the sector of communication become targets of assessment, forming goals poorly related with broader organizational goals. It was also concluded that the technical evaluation cannot override the issues associated with the broader issue of the complexity surrounding the assessment paradigm proposed by SINAES because contradictions and imperfections are part of the evaluation process and several references are current in the literature to support this view. Finally, it is said that objectives such as transparency and behavioral changes can rely on methodologies and techniques for research on the question of the construction of meaning

Egressos na avaliação da qualidade de um curso: o caso da Engenharia de Produção da UFRN

This thesis aims at analyzing the perspective of graduates perceived quality of an undergraduate course in order to contribute to continuous improvement. In order to achieve the proposed objectives, we performed a literature search, seeking together the work surrounding this issue, with the intent to update the concepts discussed today on the subject studied, they are: quality management, quality in higher education institutions and the system national assessment of higher education - Sinaes. The methodology is characterized as a case study, quantitative, and the object of study is composed of students who graduated from Production Engineering, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, which includes students who graduated from 2002 to 2010; data collection was done through the survey instrument, questionnaire, available online through SurveyMonkey interface, data analysis was done by means of descriptive statistics and multivariate analysis, including factor analysis. The proposed survey instrument consists of questions nineteen and twenty statements that address the central theme of this dissertation. The results show the identification of four latent factors (obtained by exploratory factor analysis), through two perspectives, the analysis of perception and importance, the results were similar in terms of the variable factors. The first factor was related to the support given to students, a factor known to support two extra class, the third factor related aspects of the library, and finalizing the evaluation and approached a factor of 4 facilities. Through research it was concluded that this study presents several points to be improved by the management team, and recommended to continue to evaluate the perceptions of graduates, seeking continuous improvement in service delivery by the university

Índice Geral de Cursos (IGC) como indicador de qualidade das instituições de ensino superior

Pós-graduação em Educação Escolar - FCLAR

Políticas de avaliação institucional da educação superior: o caso da Universidade Federal do Pará

Este trabalho de pesquisa, intitulado Políticas de Avaliação Institucional da Educação Superior: o caso da Universidade Federal do Pará, teve como objeto central as políticas de avaliação institucional, em nível nacional, situadas no contexto do desenvolvimento do sistema capitalista, e como objetivo geral investigar como têm elas sido implementadas na educação superior brasileira e, em especial, na Universidade Federal do Pará. O estudo partiu da hipótese de que as políticas avaliativas implementadas, no Brasil, a partir da década de 1990, se fundamentam numa lógica neoliberal marcadamente quantitativa, competitiva, produtivista, fragmentada e distanciada da realidade, são por ela pautadas e seguem as determinações dos organismos multilaterais, como o Banco Mundial, sendo utilizadas como mecanismo de controle do Estado sobre a educação. Como caminho metodológico, optamos pelo estudo de caso, com base na pesquisa quanti-qualitativa. Para coletar dados e informações necessários, realizamos um estudo bibliográfico com vistas a dar sustentação à analise documental, a partir de autores que defendem a concepção da avaliação emancipatória, como Dias Sobrinho, Vasconcelos, Maués, Chaves, entre outros. No processo de construção do estudo, analisamos as políticas avaliativas implementadas, no Brasil, por meio do PAIUB, do Exame Nacional de Cursos (Provão) e do SINAES, e como elas foram materializadas, na UFPA. Em nossas aproximações conclusivas, evidenciamos que as políticas avaliativas implantadas, em nível nacional, são embasadas na concepção de avaliação neoliberal, pois servem ao processo de economização da educação superior, alterando seus princípios de qualidade e autonomia; entre outros valores e finalidades, contribuem para o controle das instituições por parte do Estado; seus resultados influenciam o relacionamento entre as instituições e ressignificam a visão de formação universitária. No caso da avaliação desenvolvida na UFPA, o estudo apontou que os modelos de avaliação, adotados em diferentes momentos, seguem a mesma concepção neoliberal, pois são desenvolvidos como instrumento de regulação e controle; descaracterizam a participação dos segmentos acadêmicos no seu processo de discussão e elaboração, são distanciados da realidade acadêmica e não avaliam a globalidade da instituição, uma vez que são fragmentados e estanques, negando o desenvolvimento autônomo da Universidade.

A AUTOAVALIAÇÃO INSTITUCIONAL NO ENSINO SUPERIOR: A PERSPECTIVA E ESTRATÉGIA DISCENTES

O Sistema Nacional de Avaliação da Educação Superior (SINAES) inclui, como um de seus indicadores, a Autoavaliação Institucional, de responsabilidade das próprias Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES) e promovida, em seu âmbito, pelas Comissões Permanentes de Avalição (CPA). Essas avaliações devem gerar ações internas nas IES com o intuito de qualificar seus serviços, instalações e profissionais. A avaliação cumpre funções que envolvem relações de poder e estratégias desenvolvidas por seus usuários para atingir seus objetivos. É relevante, portanto, identificar esses mecanismos que influenciam diretamente o preenchimento das ferramentas de avaliação e que impactam os resultados auferidos e as ações decorrentes desse processo. Com este trabalho, pretendemos verificar quais são os mecanismos, as estratégias e as relações de poder envolvidos na realização da avaliação institucional a partir das representações dos respondentes, incluindo professores e alunos. O objetivo é analisar, por meio de uma pesquisa qualitativa, a autoavaliação institucional no ensino superior e os mecanismos presentes em sua realização, buscando identificar as relações de poder e as estratégias desenvolvidas decorrentes de depoimentos de uma amostra composta por alunos e professores participantes do processo.

Autoavaliação institucional na dimensão do SINAES comunicação com a sociedade : estudo de múltiplos casos em instituições de ensino superior do Rio Grande do Norte

This study is about the institutional self-evaluation in Dimension 4, "Communication with Society", from the National System of Higher Education Evaluation SINAES, mandatory for all universities in Brazil. A multiple cases study was conducted with three institutions from Rio Grande do Norte, and the goal was to know how this evaluation is made, describing the concept for the evaluation of communication proposed by them, identifying controllers or emancipator aspects, categorizing methodological procedures and discussing the difficulties reported in the communication evaluation process. Coordinators of the institutions Evaluating Committees were interviewed and data categorized by means of qualitative content analysis. It was noted characteristics of the current controller, emancipator and hybrid designs in the three institutions for evaluation of communication, revealing the lack of a theoretical corpus that transits in accordance with the systemic perspective and epistemology of complexity from SINAES. It was found that the most frequently reported difficulties in the evaluation processes of communication are in the preparation stage, especially in the definition of indicators and tools and awareness work. The weakness in planning makes their own activities in the sector of communication become targets of assessment, forming goals poorly related with broader organizational goals. It was also concluded that the technical evaluation cannot override the issues associated with the broader issue of the complexity surrounding the assessment paradigm proposed by SINAES because contradictions and imperfections are part of the evaluation process and several references are current in the literature to support this view. Finally, it is said that objectives such as transparency and behavioral changes can rely on methodologies and techniques for research on the question of the construction of meaning

Autoavaliação institucional na dimensão do SINAES comunicação com a sociedade : estudo de múltiplos casos em instituições de ensino superior do Rio Grande do Norte

This study is about the institutional self-evaluation in Dimension 4, "Communication with Society", from the National System of Higher Education Evaluation SINAES, mandatory for all universities in Brazil. A multiple cases study was conducted with three institutions from Rio Grande do Norte, and the goal was to know how this evaluation is made, describing the concept for the evaluation of communication proposed by them, identifying controllers or emancipator aspects, categorizing methodological procedures and discussing the difficulties reported in the communication evaluation process. Coordinators of the institutions Evaluating Committees were interviewed and data categorized by means of qualitative content analysis. It was noted characteristics of the current controller, emancipator and hybrid designs in the three institutions for evaluation of communication, revealing the lack of a theoretical corpus that transits in accordance with the systemic perspective and epistemology of complexity from SINAES. It was found that the most frequently reported difficulties in the evaluation processes of communication are in the preparation stage, especially in the definition of indicators and tools and awareness work. The weakness in planning makes their own activities in the sector of communication become targets of assessment, forming goals poorly related with broader organizational goals. It was also concluded that the technical evaluation cannot override the issues associated with the broader issue of the complexity surrounding the assessment paradigm proposed by SINAES because contradictions and imperfections are part of the evaluation process and several references are current in the literature to support this view. Finally, it is said that objectives such as transparency and behavioral changes can rely on methodologies and techniques for research on the question of the construction of meaning

Collaboration on procurement of e-content between the National Health Service and higher education in the UK

Urquhart, C. J., Cox, A. M.& Spink, S. (2007). Collaboration on procurement of e-content between the National Health Service and higher education in the UK. Interlending & Document Supply, 35(3), 164-170. Sponsorship: JISC, LKDN

The social work & human services workforce : report from a national study of education, training and workforce needs

This report analyses the national curriculum and workforce needs of the social work and human services workforce. Australia’s community and health services are among the fastest growing sectors of employment in the nation but the sustainability of an appropriately qualified workforce is threatened. Yet there is little integration of education and workforce planning for the community services sector. This contrasts markedly with the health services sector, where key stakeholders are collaboratively addressing workforce challenges. Our research confirmed rapid growth in the social work and human services workforce and it also identified: • an undersupply of professionally qualified social work and human service practitioners to meet workforce demand; • the rapid ageing of the workforce with many workers approaching retirement; • limited career and salary structures creating disincentives to retention; • a highly diverse qualification base across the workforce. This diversity is inconsistent with the specialist knowledge and skills required of practitioners in many domains of community service provision. Our study revealed a lack of co-ordination across VET and higher education to meet the educational needs of the social work and human services workforce. Our analysis identified: • strong representation of equity groups in social work and related human service programs, although further participation of these groups is still needed; • the absence of clear articulation pathways between VET and higher education programs due the absence of co-ordination and planning between these sectors; • substantial variation in the content of the diverse range of social work and human service programs, with accredited programs conforming to national standards and some others in social and behavioural sciences lacking any external validation; • financial obstacles and disincentives to social work and human service practitioners in achieving postgraduate level qualifications. We recommend that: • DEEWR identify accredited social work and human services courses as a national education priority (similar to education and nursing). This will help ensure the supply of professional workers to this sector; • VET and higher education providers are encouraged to collaboratively develop clear and accessible educational pathways across the educational sectors; • DEEWR undertake a national workforce analysis and planning processes in collaboration with CSDMAC, and all social and community services stakeholders, to ensure workforce sustainability; and • COAG develop a national regulation framework for the social and community services workforce. This would provide sound accountability systems, and rigorous practice and educational standards necessary for quality service provision. It will also ensure much needed public confidence in this workforce.

Procurement of electronic content across the UK National Health Service and Higher Education sectors. Report to JISC executive and LKDN executive.

Spink, S., Urquhart, C., Cox, A. & Higher Education Academy - Information and Computer Sciences Subject Centre. (2007). Procurement of electronic content across the UK National Health Service and Higher Education sectors. Report to JISC executive and LKDN executive. Sponsorship: JISC/LKDN

Revenue diversification in higher education: the case of Portugal

Socio-economic changes, alterations in societal expectations and new public policies have put pressures on higher education public funding, bringing the issue of funding diversification to the forefront. Income diversification, namely, generation of funds from private, as well as from competitive public sources, has become increasingly important in European higher education due to a complex financial environment and perceived deficit of innovation transfer. Although there are numerous studies about changes in national funding systems and allocation mechanisms, few have focused on diversification of funding sources, especially in the European context, making Portugal no exception. Thus, this study aims at exploring income diversification at the institutional level and its influence on the internal organisational structures. For this purpose two Portuguese public universities were chosen as case studies. The empirical material was collected through semi-structured interviews with top management and middle management of each university and through documentary analysis. Data analysis demonstrated that both universities are in the process of institutionalizing and formalising practices of income diversification, notably by getting more professional in how they are dealing with external stakeholders, such as businesses, local community, and students. However, the study also revealed that there is no formal, organised strategy to deal with income diversification. In general, the universities are reacting to external demands rather than pro-actively exploring opportunities. In this respect, the analysis determined several factors that promote or inhibit income diversification activities. Quality and favourable organizational culture were named by the interviewees as the most relevant factors for successful income diversification. External factors such as legal arrangements and funding conditions were cited as major constraints. This research has also revealed that revenue diversification activities tend to develop along the continuum towards higher sophistication and systematisation of activities that are supported by a powerful infrastructure. Together with efforts at the institutional level, the role of government policies proves to be crucial in providing tools and incentives to higher education institutions and creating a harmonious higher education system.

Financing higher education in the 21st century : a summary of seminars and a national symposium /

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