Tuning Journal for Higher Education

Editorial

Mary Gobbi — 2023-05-22

Introduction

Mary Gobbi — 2023-05-22

The papers in this Edition of the Journal comprise nine papers, of which three are related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, the papers address the perceptions and experiences of students and their teachers, demonstrating where the views/conceptual understandings of students and their teachers align, where they do not and where stress factors have had an impact. The papers reflect a varied range of participant countries both in terms of the authors, but perhaps more importantly the study sites (Cuba, The Czech Republic, Germany, India, Mexico, Philippines, Slovakia, Spain, and Turkey). Similarly, the programmes of study included Engineering, Mathematics, Tourism, foreign languages, social sciences, and education.
Consequently, the methodologies and methods are appropriately diverse, ranging from social network theory, mixed methods, qualitative research complex statistical analyses, evaluation scales like COPE, Hedperf, student evaluations of teaching, student engagement, and Sojkin’s instrument to evaluate the influences upon first- and second-generation university students. The authors have also generated some very informative literature reviews outlining the evidence base and the related conceptual and theoretical issues in their respective fields. While some studies had small samples, their findings may have important feedback for local educational service improvement, even if generalizability could not be claimed, readers may find utility in face validity. The papers also remind us that educational research is challenging, whether in the handling of small cohorts, the complexity of the issues under study or the application of sophisticated measuring tools. None the less, evaluation, audit, practitioner research or large scale studies are all necessary activities if we are to improve our understandings of (1) ourselves as educators/researchers; (2) our students with their motivations, interests and capabilities; (3) the system infrastructures that hinder or support the educational endeavours; and of course, (4) the efficacy of the pedagogies for a given cohort, in a specific programme in a cultural context.

Measuring students’ coping with the Brief COPE: An investigation testing different factor structures across two contexts of university education

Fabian Pels — 2023-05-22

Appropriate instruments are required for professionals in the field of educational psychology to measure students’ strategies to cope with stress. As the results of previous studies are inconsistent, the purpose of the present manuscript was to examine the factor structure of the situational version of the Brief COPE as an economic and flexible coping measure to be used in the domain of university education and health psychology. In a sample of 508 university students, three factor structures were compared across two contexts of university education. Results show that a hierarchical two-level factor structure fits the data best, with relatively stable coping dimensions at superordinate levels and a variety of specific strategies and acts at subordinate levels. The findings support the applicability of the situational version of the Brief COPE in research and non-clinical practice.

Received: 11 November 2021
Accepted: 16 January 2023

The assessment of service quality effect in higher education sector on satisfaction, suggestion, and behavioral intention of university students: The case of Turkey

Esen Gürbüz — 2023-05-22

The number of enterprises in the service sector is increasing with the time and the market for service sector is expanding. Universities as higher education institutions were affected by these developments in the service sector and have included providing quality service to their internal and external stakeholders as their top priority. Providing quality service in a university affects the satisfaction of students, who are among the most important stakeholders, their intention to suggest university to potential students and to visit after graduation. Hedperf scale was used to measure the service quality at universities and various institutions in different countries. The construct validity of the Hedperf scale was investigated according to the student perceptions at a university in Turkey and it was found with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) that service quality dimensions were classified into four dimensions - academic, non-academic, reputation, and access. Among these dimensions, the effect of academic, reputation and access dimensions on satisfaction, suggestion, and behavioral intention for visiting after graduation was determined, while the effect of non-academic dimension was not determined. Service quality dimensions explain approximately 31% of the variability in overall satisfaction. Access affects satisfaction at the level of β = .322, which is more than other dimensions. It was determined that the service quality dimensions explained 17% of the behavioral intention to “visit the university after graduation” and the effect of access (β = .264) among these dimensions was higher than the other dimensions. University service quality dimensions explain 23% of the intention for “suggest the university to potential students”, and it was determined that the reputation dimension has the strongest effect (β = .367). The research explores the link between service quality and satisfaction, suggestion, behavioral intention and determines the construct validity of the scale developed in a foreign culture.

Received: 22 March 2022
Accepted: 16 January 2023

Major increases in teachers’ performance evaluations: Evidence from student evaluation of teaching surveys

Jaime Prieto — 2023-05-22

Purpose: This exploratory study examined major increases in teachers’ performance evaluations and their immediate impact on next year’s score for those instructors that taught the same subject for at least two years in a row. The purpose was twofold. Firstly, to identify those Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET) survey items associated with major increases in teacher evaluations. Secondly, to examine if there is evidence of the use of these SET results by instructors to improve their teaching.
Design: The sample comprised SET survey ratings from one university over a five consecutive year period, for a total sample of 13,052 teacher evaluations and 3,893 teachers-subject observations under analysis. Frequency tables and Student’s t-test were used for analysis.
Findings: The results highlighted the three SET survey items captured by the dimension of teaching methodology as those most closely related to major increases in teacher evaluations. Regarding the second objective, the results show no generalised response from teachers who experience major increases in SET ratings. This suggests that the use of SET results is either limited or does not have an immediate measurable effect on student satisfaction.
Originality/Value: To the best of our knowledge, this was the first study to specifically examine major increases in teachers’ performance evaluations and their immediate impact on next year’s score based on evidence from SET surveys.

Received: 22 December 2021
Accepted: 26 February 2023

Tourism and hospitality management faculty satisfaction towards flexible learning: A cross-sectional survey from higher educational institutions in Central Luzon, Philippines

John Paul Miranda — 2023-05-22

The present study aimed to assess faculty satisfaction on the delivery of tourism and hospitality management programs in the flexible learning mode at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. It employed a purposive sampling design where 85 Tourism and Hospitality Management (THM) faculty members, across 27 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the Central Luzon, Philippines, participated. While findings indicate that the faculty members are generally satisfied with the conduct of flexible learning in their institutions, they generally agree on items relating to having higher workloads, longer preparation time for a course, lack of human interaction by not seeing students face-to-face, lower participation of students, technical and connectivity problems, and the need to employ creativity and resourcefulness in the development of learning aids. As the better normal ushers in, flexible learning will still be implemented with the addition of limited face-to-face delivery. As such, faculty members play a vital role in the success of program delivery. That is, when they are satisfied with their conditions, students perform better which leads to better learning and outcome. Effective institutional support services are thus key to ensuring quality flexible learning environments. For continuous improvement, recommended actions should constantly be reviewed, modified, and enhanced to respond to uncertainties and the changing times. HEIs need to recalibrate their curriculum grounded on a deeper understanding of flexible learning to address these challenges; capacitate the faculty with innovations available to enhance student engagement; upgrade infrastructure designed to provide timely feedback and to ease out connectivity issues; and lastly, review policies on faculty workload and number of preparations to consider longer preparation time.

Received: 29 December 2021
Accepted: 8 March 2023

Exploring the impact of generational differences on university study decisions in Slovakia

Nikola Šabíková — 2023-05-22

Students whose parents did not study at a university (first-generation students) exhibit differences in how they decide whether and what to study, compared to students whose parents attended university. In our study, we looked for possible similarities and differences between these two groups of students. The participants were Slovak students aged from 18 to 22 (N = 357). The data were collected using an online questionnaire. The results showed that it was significantly more important for second-generation students, whose parents had university degree experience, to continue the family tradition when deciding to study than for first-generation students. The results also revealed that the internet is the most important source of information for students when choosing the subject of their studies. At present, higher education institutions strongly compete for students and, consequently, we recommend that universities pay attention to different target groups of students and develop intervention programs aimed at retaining them. It is equally important that universities keep up with the times and provide relevant information on their websites in today’s digital world.

Received: 8 March 2022
Accepted: 16 April 2023

Cooperative learning and social cohesion: Study in the 4th year classes of tourism degree of Cuba and Mexico

Félix Díaz-Pompa — 2023-05-22

The comprehensive training of future professionals is a fundamental objective of Higher Education. In this sense, cooperative learning, while contributing to learning, also favors the development of social competences that promote the social cohesion of the group or class. The objective of this research is to compare two class groups of Bachelor’s degree courses in Tourism from universities in Cuba and Mexico, taking into account the social cohesion achieved from the cooperative learning experience. The Social Network Analysis method is used to obtain those indicators that show the social cohesion achieved by these class groups subject to cooperative learning practices. The results show that the Cuban class group exhibits better results with respect to Mexico. On the other hand, some elements that should continue to be worked on from this experience for the development of social competencies and to achieve greater social cohesion are evidenced.

Received: 8 April 2022
Accepted: 16 April 2023

Understanding critical thinking: A comparative analysis between university students’ and teachers’ conception

María José Bezanilla — 2023-05-22

Critical thinking is a key competence in higher education. However, little is known about the conception that students have of this competence. This study aims to analyze what university students understand by critical thinking and if these conceptions agree with those of university teachers analyzed in a previous study. A total of 263 participants took part in the study. The findings reveal that students tend to consider critical thinking as a competence related to reasoning/arguing and questioning/asking oneself. Also, that students’ conception about critical thinking differs from that of teachers. Whereas students tend to consider critical thinking as related to reasoning/arguing, questioning/asking oneself and, to a lesser extent, to acting/compromising. Teachers, on the other hand, tend to consider critical thinking as related to analyzing/organizing and evaluating. No significant differences were found regarding students’ gender and academic year. These results highlight the importance of considering students’ views when designing the curricula and the learning activities to develop students’ critical thinking.

Received: 30 June 2022
Accepted: 6 March 2023

The attitude of students and teachers towards MOOC usage for their academic and professional development: A comparative study of two case study sites

Suman Kalyan Panja — 2023-05-22

The massive open online course (MOOC) and online learning concepts have received a lot of attention from educational stakeholders all around the world as a result of COVID-19. Initial studies demonstrated that people may use MOOCs as a tool for academic and professional advancement. This micro-study was conducted at two adjacent national higher educational institutions (HEIs) in India as case study sites (CSS) to learn more about the attitude of the students and faculties there. The research strategy used for the study was a mixed-method approach. To collect data, a tool that was created by the researchers was used. There was a type of atypical relationship between the institutions and the professionals. Comparing CSS2 students and CSS1 teachers to their peers from other institutions, it was discovered that they both displayed more optimistic attitude. The attitude of all four groups were discovered to be favorable. The study served as an example of some educational ramifications in the neighborhoods.

Received: 9 June 2022
Accepted: 15 April 2023

The influence of remote learning environment and use of technology on university students’ behavioural engagement in contingency online learning

Katerina Dvorakova — 2023-05-22

The shift of instruction imposed on higher education institutions by the pandemic-related restrictions bolstered the interest in students’ online class participation. This study investigates university students’ engagement in remote foreign language classes during the COVID-19 lockdown. While engagement is a multi-faceted construct, we only aim to explore its behavioural dimension. The authors felt compelled to acknowledge and comprehend their students’ behaviour in contingency online learning (COL). Through a qualitatively oriented exploratory case study, we sought to answer two research questions related to the extent the use of technical equipment and remote physical environment influenced students’ engagement. The study was conducted with students enrolled in regular, in-person Bachelor’s or Master’s degree courses to qualify as teachers of English at primary or lower-secondary schools. The results indicate that the use of technology did not prove to be a significant obstacle to online learning engagement. Concerning the remote physical environment, the learning process was compromised most significantly by the intimate character of the home-working space. We believe that our findings will help educators to rationalise their expectations and formulate best practice recommendations.

Received: 7 January 2022
Accepted: 16 January 2023

Editors’ Acknowledgments

Mary Gobbi — 2023-05-22