Tuning Journal for Higher Education

Editorial

Mary Gobbi — 2025-06-30

Introduction

Mary Gobbi — 2025-06-30

Three of the eight papers that comprise this Edition of the Journal, focus on different aspects of intergenerational learning. The remaining five papers address internationalisation strategies in Africa; career paths of local and international doctoral students; peer tutoring programmes, perspectives of science teachers, including mathematics and physics, and models of Higher Education. The papers reflect a varied range of participant countries both in terms of the authors, but perhaps more importantly the study sites including several from Latin America (Africa, Chile, Bulgaria, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Turkey and Uzbekistan). Similarly, the programmes of study range from dental education, geological sciences, teacher education (in various forms), ongoing development of academic staff and the evolution of embryonic Higher Education systems. From these rich and diverse papers, one can see the crucial importance of eliciting, at national level, (1) those factors that are unique to the national context and culture; and (2) those that are like other systems and countries, whether in a historical moment of evolution, or those that resonate with contemporary and parallel contexts. Building the national and international evidence base in Higher Education requires both types of study, if only to satisfy the criterion of generalisablity.

Making the university more international: An exploration of higher education internationalisation strategies in Africa from a continental perspective

Lazarus Nabaho — 2025-06-30

Internationalisation is one of the contemporary issues in the higher education (HE) academic and policy discourses. Since the 1990s, scholarship on the internationalisation of HE has burgeoned. Nevertheless, the internationalisation of HE in Africa is relatively under-researched. Using the African Quality Rating Mechanism (AQRM), an education framework of the African Union, this article explores the approaches to the internationalisation of HE in Africa. A qualitative descriptive design underpinned the study and the data was analysed using content analysis. The findings show that the AQRM comprises five dominant Eurocentric HE internationalisation strategies: student and faculty mobility, academic mobility, international research collaboration, dissemination of research at international conferences, and curriculum internationalisation. However, despite the similarity in the form, the substance of the internationalisation shows that attempts have been made to decolonise the Anglo-Saxon models of internationalisation. It can therefore be concluded that: (a) mobility (of persons and programmes), the elitist version of internationalisation, is integral to most internationalisation practices in the AQRM; (b) the AQRM was designed within the framework of the decolonial lens which repudiates the dominant colonial conception that what qualifies to be “international” must be associated with Europe and North America; and (c) political and academic rationales dominate the internationalisation discourse at the continental level.

Received: 30 November 2023
Accepted: 11 February 2025

Academic and non-academic career paths of international and domestic PhD holders

Laura Diaz Villalba — 2025-06-30

Some countries have strong culturally rooted practices and policies to incentivize their PhD candidates to develop their doctoral studies abroad. Their programs provide cultural and methodological diversity opportunities and globally oriented career prospects. In the last years, many of those countries are increasingly developing their own domestic doctoral programs, which may offer career benefits due to their strong connections to the local research and academic environment. The career paths of 126 PhD holders working in Paraguay, a country in which doctoral studies abroad intersect with national-based doctoral programs, were examined using the ECRID survey. The perceptions of those who completed their doctoral studies domestically and those who studied abroad were compared in terms of the usefulness of the skills provided by their respective PhD programs. The results showed that most PhD holders in Paraguay work full-time in the academic sector. The percentage of PhD holders employed in non-academic roles reflects the diversity of career options available to PhDs holders in the Paraguayan labour market. Furthermore, results indicated how the participants re-signified the skills acquired during the doctoral program to adapt them to various professional settings. This process underscores the emerging demands of the current labour market and the necessity for universities to adjust doctoral training models to better equip graduates for diverse professional paths. This adjustment includes institutional support to reduce cultural shock and subsequent burnout levels. Pioneering results from the Paraguayan context provide empirical evidence to enrich the reflection on the resources and opportunities for PhD holders at both structural and organizational levels.

Received: 4 July 2024
Accepted: 13 January 2025

Understanding of Algebra of secondary school mathematics teachers from different generations: A qualitative comparative analysis of the answers

Aziz İlhan — 2025-06-30

When the challenges faced in the transition period from arithmetic to algebra are considered, it is important to research the differences between secondary school mathematics teachers from Generations X and Y, and their awareness levels. This study aims to compare the algebraic operation skills of mathematics teachers from Generations X and Y and their awareness levels. The content was analyzed in the study that was designed as a case study. The study participants were 118 secondary school mathematics teachers, 53 teachers from Generation X, and 65 teachers from Generation Y. The findings were evaluated under algebraic skills and algebraic awareness topics. The study results revealed that secondary school mathematics teachers from Generation Y had higher mean scores than teachers from Generation X in terms of the difference between the variable and unknown, algebraic operations, quantification, algebra and patterns, quantification, and inequality subjects in the algebra learning field.

Received: 16 January 2023
Accepted: 24 October 2024

Teaching methods through the eyes of Bulgarian students from three generations

Dragomir Iliev — 2025-06-30

This article aims to identify the attitudes of different generations regarding certain aspects of the teaching approaches used during the education of economic disciplines. The analysis primarily draws on a scientific review of previous studies in both international and Bulgarian contexts, focusing on the attitudes of lecturers and the perceptions of students from the three generations involved in the educational process. A descriptive research strategy is employed to support the thesis. A survey was conducted using a questionnaire to implement the descriptive method. With a population size of 37,403 students, the respondents formed a sample size of 662 respondents, achieving a confidence level of 99.056% and a margin of error of 3.78%. The results are presented using two-dimensional distributions in the form of cross-tabulations. The ordinal relationships between the categories of a given variable are represented using ordinal (rank) scales, applying Kendall’s tau-b and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients. The calculations were carried out using IBM SPSS software. The study found no significant correlation between the characteristics of different generations and their preferred teaching methods. At the same time, generational traits did not influence attitudes towards acquiring new knowledge and skills during the educational process.

Received: 27 October 2023
Accepted: 3 April 2025

Determinants of the successful graduation of undergraduate students from a Peruvian university dental school over six years

Esther Noemi Quevedo Fernández — 2025-06-30

Terminal efficiency is an indicator that evaluates the productivity of a higher education institution and reflects a crucial aspect of the quality of its offered programmes. This study aimed to determine the successful graduation of undergraduate students from a dental school at a Peruvian university over six years, using the terminal efficiency indicator. The database was created using information from the institutional repository of the Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia; graduates from 2017 to 2022 were selected, their data was downloaded, and statistical analyses were performed. Considering the graduates with documents to qualify for degrees and titles published in the institutional repository (n=291), 70.10% (n=204) of the graduates demonstrated a categorised terminal efficiency as “Up to 1 year”, with a mean terminal efficiency of 1.23 years (SD=0.78). The analysis revealed a statistically significant association between the categorised terminal efficiency and the graduation year (p<0.001). Furthermore, a statistically significant difference was observed when examining the mean terminal efficiency across different graduation years (p<0.001). This study reveals a positive trend in the successful graduation of undergraduate students from a Peruvian university dental school, with a notable improvement in recent years.

Received: 21 May 2024
Accepted: 28 February 2025

Different university model approach in the field of earth sciences: ‘University of Geological Sciences’ in Uzbekistan

Yurdaer Babuçcuoğlu — 2025-06-30

The intellectual potential of a nation is a critical determinant of its human resource capabilities, with higher education serving as the foundation for cultivating such potential. Traditionally regarded as a public service, higher education has evolved in recent decades to incorporate diverse models that blend public and private sector roles. These models, including state-centered, research-oriented, and market-driven approaches, highlight the multifaceted nature of modern education systems. This study examines the University of Geological Sciences (UGS) in Uzbekistan, established in 2020, as a unique case within this framework. UGS was founded to address the country’s need for specialized expertise in geology and mining, sectors deemed pivotal for Uzbekistan’s economic growth and geopolitical positioning. By analyzing the university’s structure, objectives, and operational strategies, this paper evaluates how UGS aligns with global higher education trends while maintaining its state-centered foundations. The research explores the institution’s integration of theoretical and practical education, the role of research oriented initiatives, and its gradual engagement with market-driven imperatives. Furthermore, the study emphasizes UGS’s adaptability to global trends, including technological advancements, demographic changes, and international collaboration. These efforts position UGS as a potential global leader in earth sciences education. Ultimately, the paper underscores the importance of developing a hybrid educational model that balances state priorities with global competitiveness, ensuring that UGS fulfills its mission of advancing geological education and research in Uzbekistan and beyond.

Received: 21 May 2024
Accepted: 28 February 2025

Peer tutoring programmes: Comprehensive training and generic competences from the experience of tutors in a Chilean university

Camila Véliz — 2025-06-30

Like other countries, higher education in Chile still has important socio-economic gaps to be addressed. As part of the strategies to attend this challenge, peer tutoring programmes have developed considerably in recent years. Much of the research on peer tutoring in higher education has focused primarily on the impact on the students being tutored, and only a small part of that research has focused on the benefits or contributions to the student-tutors themselves. Based on a case study of peer tutoring programmes in a Chilean university, the experience of tutor participation and its relationship to comprehensive training competences is collected from interviews. The information was analysed based on the following categories: understanding of comprehensive training, perceptions of their role, motivation and learning from their experience. The main results aim to highlight the relationship between generic interpersonal, instrumental and systemic competences and their link to comprehensive training. It is concluded that interpersonal competences amount to the main benefit self-perceived by the tutors, where self motivation, learning orientation, planning strategies and strengthening their autonomy and identity emerged as the main competences developed. While both students and tutors benefit from peer tutoring, tutors are a key participant in the integral formation, strengthening their social commitment.

Received: 28 February 2024
Accepted: 28 February 2025

What ideas about climate change do future science teachers possess and how do they integrate them when arguing about greenhouse effect? A case study

Marina Martínez-Carmona — 2025-06-30

Climate change is one of the socio-environmental problems with the greatest complexity and media impact in the world. However, difficulties have been observed in its understanding. In this study, we worked on this social problem in the classroom through argumentation, from the evaluation of different statements made about the causes and consequences of climate change, considering the evidence provided. The study was carried out with a group of 18 future physics and chemistry teachers to encourage argumentation. They had to write an essay expressing their opinion about a statement extracted from a news item, considering whether the big corporations that manage hydrocarbon reserves are really responsible for denialism, containing arguments that supported and refuted the theory. The data collected and analysed were their essays and their answers to the question: How do you think gases can affect the increase in temperature? The analysis is framed in qualitative content analysis. The results show that justifications based on evidence from reliable sources were scarce, being mostly opinions. Future teachers have difficulty in both assessing the reliability of data and integrating evidence in their justifications. They positively valued the activity and expressed their intention to put it into practice in their professional future. We consider it essential that initial teacher training includes how to teach the same activities that it would be desirable for teachers to put into practice.

Received: 23 April 2024
Accepted: 21 January 2025

Editors’ Acknowledgments

Mary Gobbi — 2025-06-30