The use of computer-based learning tools for teaching and clinical purposes: Interactive computing strategy for Iraq

Medical universities and teaching hospitals in Iraq are facing a lack of professional staff due to the ongoing violence that forces them to flee the country. The professionals are now distributed outside the country which reduces the chances for the staff and students to be physically in one place to continue the teaching and limits the efficiency of the consultations in hospitals. A survey was done among students and professional staff in Iraq to find the problems in the learning and clinical systems and how Information and Communication Technology could improve it. The survey has shown that 86% of the participants use the Internet as a learning resource and 25% for clinical purposes while less than 11% of them uses it for collaboration between different institutions. A web-based collaborative tool is proposed to improve the teaching and clinical system. The tool helps the users to collaborate remotely to increase the quality of the learning system as well as it can be used for remote medical consultation in hospitals.

Issues in language and development in multilingual settings: a case-study of knowledge exchange and teacher education in South Africa

The quality of a country’s human-resource base can be said to determine its level of success in social and economic development. This study focuses on some␣of the major human-resource development issues that surround the implementation of South Africa’s policy of multilingualism in education. It begins by discussing the relationship between knowledge, language, and human-resource, social and economic development within the global cultural economy. It then considers the situation in South Africa and, in particular, the implications of that country’s colonial and neo-colonial past for attempts to implement the new policy. Drawing on the linguistic-diversity-in-education debate in the United Kingdom of the past three decades, it assesses the first phase of an in-service teacher-education programme that was carried out at the Project for Alternative Education in South Africa (PRAESA) based at the University of Cape Town. The authors identify key short- and long-term issues related to knowledge exchange in education in multilingual societies, especially concerning the use of African languages as mediums for teaching and learning.

The development of the Virtual Construction Simulator 3: an interactive simulation environment for construction management education

This paper discusses the development of the Virtual Construction Simulator (VCS) 3 - a simulation game-based educational tool for teaching construction schedule planning and management. The VCS3 simulation game engages students in learning the concepts of planning and managing construction schedules through goal driven exploration, employed strategies, and immediate feedback. Through the planning and simulation mode, students learn the difference between the as-planned and as-built schedules resulting from varying factors such as resource availability, weather and labor productivity. This paper focuses on the development of the VCS3 and its construction physics model. Challenges inherent in the process of identifying variables and their relationships to reliably represent and simulate the dynamic nature of planning and managing of construction projects are also addressed.

Globalisation and MA TESOL programs in the UK

This article reports the results of a mixed-methods approach to investigating the association between globalisation and MATESOL in UK universities. Qualitative and quantitative data collected from academic staff through eight emails, four interviews and 41 questionnaires indicate that the globalised context of higher education have affected these programmes in a number of ways including an increasing interest in recruiting more international students and a growing awareness about the need for curriculum and content modifications. The analysis of the data suggests that although change has been an inherent characteristic of these MAs over the past decade, it has been implemented gradually and conservatively, often relying on a dialectic relationship between academic staff and universities’ policies. The results imply that factors other than globalisation have also been at work. Many of the participants contend that globalisation has not lowered the quality of these MAs or standards of good practice.

Education and training futures in horticulture and horticultural science

Horticultural knowledge and skills training have been with humankind for some 10,000 to 20,000 years. With permanent settlement and rising wealth and trade, horticulture products and services became a source of fresh food for daily consumption, and a source of plant material in developing a quality environment and lifestyle. The knowledge of horticulture and the skills of its practitioners have been demonstrated through the advancing civilizations in both eastern and western countries. With the rise of the Agricultural Revolutions in Great Britain, and more widely across Continental Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, as well as the move towards colonisation and early migration to the New Worlds, many westernised countries established the early institutions that would provide education and training in agriculture and horticulture. Today many of these colleges and universities provide undergraduate, postgraduate and vocational and technical training that specifically targets horticulture and/or horticultural science with some research and teaching institutions also providing extension and advisory services to industry. The objective of this chapter is to describe the wider pedagogic and educational context in which those concerned with horticulture operate, the institutional structures that target horticulture and horticultural science education and training internationally; examine changing educational formats, especially distance education; and consider strategies for attracting and retaining young people in the delivery of world-class horticultural education. In this chapter we set the context by investigating the horticultural education and training options available, the constraints that prevent young people entering horticulture, and suggest strategies that would attract and retain these students. We suggest that effective strategies and partnerships be put in place by the institution, the government and most importantly the industry to provide for undergraduate and postgraduate education in horticulture and horticultural science; that educational and vocational training institutions, government, and industry need to work more effectively together to improve communication about horticulture and horticultural science in order to attract enrolments of more and talented students; and that the horticulture curriculum be continuously evaluated and revised so that it remains relevant to future challenges facing the industries of horticulture in the production, environmental and social spheres. These strategies can be used as a means to develop successful programs and case studies that would provide better information to high school career counsellors, improve the image of horticulture and encourage greater involvement from alumni and the industries in recruitment, provide opportunities to improve career aspirations, ensure improved levels of remuneration, and promote the social features of the profession and greater awareness and recognition of the profession in the wider community. A successful career in horticulture demands intellectual capacities which are capable of drawing knowledge from a wide field of basic sciences, economics and the humanities and integrating this into academic scholarship and practical technologies.

Aligning IS programs with industry: linking business analysis curricula design with the professional body

Aligning information systems (IS) solutions with business goals and needs are crucial for IS activities. IS professionals who are able to work closely with both the business and technical staff are key enablers of business and IT alignment. IS programs in higher education (HE) institutions have a long tradition of enabling graduates to develop the appropriate skills needed for their future careers. Yet, organizations are still having difficulty finding graduates who possess both the knowledge and skills that are best suited to their specific requirements. Prior studies suggest that IS curricula are often ill-matched with industry/business needs. This study reports on the business analysis curricula (re) design which was undertaken to align it with a key professional body for the IS industry. This study presents the approaches taken in the (re) design of the module, and provides a discussion of the wider implications for IS curricula design. The results show a positive outcome for the HE and professional body partnership.

Education and Earnings for Poverty Reduction : Short-Term Evidence of Pro-Poor Growth from the Mexican Oportunidades Program

Education, as an indispensable component of human capital, has been acknowledged to play a critical role in economic growth, which is theoretically elaborated by human capital theory and empirically confirmed by evidence from different parts of the world. The educational impact on growth is especially valuable and meaningful when it is for the sake of poverty reduction and pro-poorness of growth. The paper re-explores the precious link between human capital development and poverty reduction by investigating the causal effect of education accumulation on earnings enhancement for anti-poverty and pro-poor growth. The analysis takes the evidence from a well-known conditional cash transfer (CCT) program — Oportunidades in Mexico. Aiming at alleviating poverty and promoting a better future by investing in human capital for children and youth in poverty, this CCT program has been recognized producing significant outcomes. The study investigates a short-term impact of education on earnings of the economically disadvantaged youth, taking the data of both the program’s treated and untreated youth from urban areas in Mexico from 2002 to 2004. Two econometric techniques, i.e. difference-in-differences and difference-in-differences propensity score matching approach are applied for estimation. The empirical analysis first identifies that youth who under the program’s schooling intervention possess an advantage in educational attainment over their non-intervention peers; with this identification of education discrepancy as a prerequisite, further results then present that earnings of the education advantaged youth increase at a higher rate about 20 percent than earnings of their education disadvantaged peers over the two years. This result indicates a confirmation that education accumulation for the economically disadvantaged young has a positive impact on their earnings enhancement and thus inferring a contribution to poverty reduction and pro-poorness of growth.

A study visit to a vitual company

To integrate study visits to different workplaces in higher education implies important benefits for the course quality. The study visit gives the students a better understanding for the real situations they will meet in working life. However for practical and economical reasons is that not always possible. The purpose of this project is to create a virtual company that shall replace the real one for study visits. The goal is to create a realistic picture and that intended use of it can come as close as possible to a real study visit. It is also important to facilitate linking theory and practice. The virtual company is built up by pictures, videos and text. All material is made available on a web page and when entering the students will meet a layout of the company. From that position is it possible to walk around and look at videos from different workstations. Besides that can they also listen to interviews with managers and representatives of staff as well as reading reports concerning productivity and the work environment. The focus of the study visit is work sciences, therefore the material also include some visualized information about work hazards. On the web page there are also a number of tasks for the students to carry out. Until the autumn 2011, 132 students at Dalarna University have visited and produced reports from the virtual company. They were studying in programs for mechanical engineering, production technicians and human resource management. An evaluation among some ten students showed that the study visit to the virtual company is flexible in time and effective, but that students wish to have even more detailed information about the company. Experiences from four years of use in a number of classes show that the concept is worth further development. Furthermore with production of new material the concept is likely to be applicable for other purposes.

Literacy Practices in and out of School in Karagwe : The case of primary school literacy education in rural Tanzania

This study has investigated the question of relation between literacy practices in and out of school in rural Tanzania. By using the perspective of linguistic anthropology, literacy practices in five villages in Karagwe district in the northwest of Tanzania have been analysed. The outcome may be used as a basis for educational planning and literacy programs. The analysis has revealed an intimate relation between language, literacy and power. In Karagwe, traditional élites have drawn on literacy to construct and reconstruct their authority, while new élites, such as individual women and some young people have been able to use literacy as one tool to get access to power. The study has also revealed a high level of bilingualism and a high emphasis on education in the area, which prove a potential for future education in the area. At the same time discontinuity in language use, mainly caused by stigmatisation of what is perceived as local and traditional, such as the mother-tongue of the majority of the children, and the high status accrued to all that is perceived as Western, has turned out to constitute a great obstacle for pupils’ learning. The use of ethnographic perspectives has enabled comparisons between interactional patterns in schools and outside school. This has revealed communicative patterns in school that hinder pupils’ learning, while the same patterns in other discourses reinforce learning. By using ethnography, relations between explicit and implicit language ideologies and their impact in educational contexts may be revealed. This knowledge may then be used to make educational plans and literacy programmes more relevant and efficient, not only in poor post-colonial settings such as Tanzania, but also elsewhere, such as in Western settings.

Role of headmasters, teachers and supervisors in knowledge transfer about occupational health and safety to pupils in vocational education

Background Young people are at an increased risk for illness in working life. The authorities stipulate certain goals for training in occupational health and safety (OHS) in vocational schools. A previous study concluded that pupils in vocational education had limited knowledge in the prevention of health risks at work. The aim of the current study, therefore, was to study how OHS training is organized in school and in workplace-based learning (WPL).   Method The study design featured a qualitative approach, which included interviews with 12 headmasters, 20 teachers, and 20 supervisors at companies in which the pupils had their WPL. The study was conducted at 10 upper secondary schools, located in Central Sweden, that were graduating pupils in four vocational programs.   Result The interviews with headmasters, teachers, and supervisors indicate a staggered picture of how pupils are prepared for safe work. The headmasters generally give teachers the responsibility for how goals should be reached. Teaching is very much based on risk factors that are present in the workshops and on teachers’ own experiences and knowledge. The teaching during WPL also lacks the systematic training in OHS as well as in the traditional classroom environment.   Conclusion Teachers and supervisors did not plan the training in OHS in accordance with the provisions of systematic work environment management. Instead, the teachers based the training on their own experiences. Most of the supervisors did not get information from the schools as to what should be included when introducing OHS issues in WPL.

Degree projects improving co-operation between the teacher education program and schools : - Swedish experiences

In 1977, when teacher education inSwedenwas incorporated into the university system, the main reason was to transform it into an academic tradition. Now, nearly 30 years later, there is still tension between the academic and the vocational tradition; they show up as different and separated elements in a program that is meant to prepare students for a career as a teacher and for a possible future career as a researcher in this field. This tension gives rise to a risk of allowing parallel “tracks” to develop and of isolating the degree thesis work from other courses. On the teacher-training program in which we are involved, close co-operation with partner-schools, where the practical part of the program takes place, has been established. Here, the students´ degree theses are an important factor in making this co-operation work on a concrete level. Accordingly, the purpose of the degree thesis is both to reflect problems in schools and contribute to better teaching in the individual school, but also to offer relevant educational subject matter to the students, which may be adapted as an element in the university’s research environments. From these points of view, the degree thesis is an important part of teacher education and rather more than just a single course. The degree thesis should be an element that gives the students an opportunity to show that they have reached central goals in the teacher education program. It should also be an integral part in the development of critical and scholarly thinking, deepening pedagogical and didactic knowledge and giving the students an opportunity to apply research methods. We will here use two minor case studies: one that compares teacher education programs in five Swedish universities and one minor study at one of those universities, in order to elaborate on the questions: - What purpose has a degree thesis and what role does it play in teacher education? - What criteria are relevant to assessing a degree thesis and what qualities do the degree theses have? - Is it possible to assess a degree thesis fairly and what happens to students who do not pass? - How could the degree thesis be used to improve the contact between the teacher education program and its partner schools in order to contribute to the development of the individual school?

How initial vocational education and training (IVET) teachers in Sweden perceive their prospects of being able to prepare upper secondary school pupils for a future occupation

Vocational teachers in Swedish upper secondary schools are a heterogeneous category of teachers, connected to different types of trade. These teachers represent a broad set of trade skills varying in content and character. In their teacher role, they continue to wear the clothes, speak the language, share the culture and remain mentally in their former professions. Still, it is central that they keep up this contact to be able to school the pupils into the environment of the trade in question, but also to help them to understand what skills a profession demands. However, the individual teacher also has to distance himself from the negative elements in the culture of the profession: patterns and habits that, for various reasons, have to be broken or changed. This paper draws attention to the ways in which a group of vocational teachers, who were participants in a project that aimed to train unauthorized vocational teachers, expressed their ambitions to prepare the pupils for a future professional career. When collecting information, we used the degree dissertations they produced and discussed in seminars, and informal dialogues. The result shows that it is important that the instruction location resembles a real working site as far as possible. These places are more or less realistic copies of a garage, a restaurant kitchen, a hairdressing salon, and so on, in order to give the pupils a realistic setting for instruction. However, the fact that these simulated workplaces lack the necessary support functions that exist in a company creates problems, problems which make a lot of extra work for the teachers. Vocational teachers also have to instruct the pupil in the experienced practitioner’s professional skills and working situation, but the pupil herself/himself must learn the job by doing it in practice. Some vocational upper secondary programs lack relevant course literature and the businesses give little support. This also makes extra work for the teachers. Moreover, the distance between the vocational programs and the trainee jobs was experienced as being difficult to overcome. One reason seems to be differences between businesses and differing preconditions between small and big companies’ abilities to take care of these pupils. The upper secondary school vocational programs also play a role in cementing existing gender roles, as well as perpetuating class-related patterns on the labour market.