The interactions between the higher education sector and society and industry have been attracting increased attention in terms of ways to develop social innovation solutions to societal problems. Despite calls from politicians and the existence of some guidelines, we know little about how higher education could incorporate social innovation activities into its structure and missions. This study examines some practice experiences in two southern European public universities in Portugal and Spain. We show that the third mission of universities, which includes social innovation, is both linked to the first two missions of teaching and research, depending on the university’s historical and social context. The high dependence of higher education institutions on economic returns increases the importance of political action to drive the development of social innovation activities. This conditioning factor seems to be intrinsic to some of the barriers that have been identified, such as lack of legitimization and recognition of social innovation practices at the formal governmental level.
Education programmes are designed to equip young populations with the qualifications required to assume responsible roles in specific professions and in society generally. In this paper, the focus of the analysis is on the significance of a number of higher education programme characteristics in allocating Belarusian young higher education graduates across the labour market and how these graduates perform in their jobs. Graduate performance is analysed in terms of the match between graduates' qualifications and employment requirements in Belarus. The findings provide relevant information for supporting the educational reform of Belarusian universities and increasing the employability of its graduates.
The aim of this paper is to provide insights into the appropriateness of teaching-learning and evaluation processes using rubrics, for student self-assessments. We studied students enrolled on the Master’s in Secondary Education Teaching—Music Specialism course. In the Spanish secondary education system, music is seen as increasing equity and improving student performance in line with the Agenda 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The training of new teachers and the ongoing professional development of the current teaching force are critical for improving the quality of education. We adopted an action-research approach and obtained feedback from the Masters’ students via questionnaires administered at the start and end of the process (pre- and post-test). Our results show that using rubrics as formative and shared assessment tools has a positive influence on students’ perceptions of their acquisition of both transversal and specific competencies, as well as demonstrating the utility of rubrics for their future professional practice. However, rubrics on their own are not sufficient to increase the facility for learning and awareness among students.
PurposeThis paper analyses teachers' perceptions of how teaching-learning approaches affect the development of higher education (HE) graduates' learning outcomes based on competencies development. The authors focus the analysis on Belarus, a post-Soviet country which transitioned from a centrally planned to a market economy and needs reforms to the HE sector there. In particular, Belarus requires HE graduates equipped with competencies that match the needs of a market economy.Design/methodology/approachThe authors use Fostering Competencies Development in Belarusian Higher Education (FOSTERC) data to study how teachers contribute to the development of HE graduates' competencies, employing factor analysis to categorize 24 competencies and group the graduates into two groups: entrepreneurial or transversal. The authors also consider variables such as teachers' educational background and experience, predominant teaching field of study and university location – using regional dummies.FindingsThe results point to a lack of attention to entrepreneurial and transversal competencies and suggest a disconnect between HE and society needs in Belarus.Originality/valueAlthough Belarus has introduced some changes to the HE system following the adoption of the Bologna process, Belarus, especially Belarus' national HE system are still influenced by the country's Soviet past, where universities prepare the students for participation on one job and one career, instead of offering more attractive and constructive curricula that would allow future graduates to operate in a changing world.
In the post-COVID-19 era, where innovation and entrepreneurship as an engine for economic development is a top priority for each country, acquiring various skills through innovation and entrepreneurship education is a trend for higher education students. We focus our analysis on two public universities in China and Spain with some similarities in the implementation of innovation and entrepreneurship education. To obtain our information, we conducted interviews with multiple experts in both universities. The study shows that both countries provide funding and policies to promote innovation and entrepreneurship education as innovation and entrepreneurship education is seen as making the university more visible, both at the national and international levels, and as providing society with employment opportunities. We conclude that although innovation and entrepreneurship education design and definition in both universities are different, their development characteristics and trends are the same. Moreover, both universities face common difficulties, namely financial support, management support, and integration with different disciplines. Finally, innovation and entrepreneurship education promote also internationalization and regional development, which requires both countries to strengthen foreign language education and the provision of more entrepreneurial support services.
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