Competency and constraints of higher education and research institutions for rural transformation in the <i>Amhara</i>region, Ethiopia

Ethiopia is an agrarian country and agriculture is the backbone of its economy. Consequently, the government of Ethiopia has devised Agricultural Development Led Industrialization (ADLI) as the country’s overall economic development policy. For the last 15 years, public investment towards the expansion of higher education, research and extension in agriculture has been so enormous. In reality, however, these higher education and research institutions were not sufficiently responsive to rural transformation. Thus, to evaluate the role of higher education and research institutions in stimulating rural transformation and to identify main training constraints accountable for their poor performances in institutional learning and rural transformation is of paramount importance. To this effect focus group discussions and key informant interviews were conducted. Stratified and purposive sampling technique was dominantly employed during the survey studies. The result of the study has shown that higher education and research institutions were less responsive to address the actual problems of small-scale farmers and they were limited by a number of constraints/challenges to address the actual problems of farmers. The major constraints were, to list some, limited involvement in research and extension works by the university staff, students limited practical attachments of the training programmes with farming communities, limited infrastructures and facilities and limited availability of contextualized learning resources. In addressing the aforesaid constraints/challenges, the university staff should proportionally allocate time in the research and extension activities on top of practical teaching supported by local research results and experience;involving students on practical attachments both in their academic and vacation time;giving emphasis on basic training preparation like fulfilling libraries, laboratories, demonstration fields and transportation facilities;and lastly to revise the existing curriculum in to the direction of solving the real problems of the Amhara region then the country Ethiopia.

Digital Transformation of Higher Education:History and Consensus,Trends and Experiences,Issues and Challenges

The rapid development of new-generation information technology has triggered the evolution of education and teaching towards digitalization,accelerating the digital transformation of higher education and bringing an important opportunity for the high-quality development of higher education.Firstly,we give an overview of the digital development of higher education and discuss how information technology is reshaping the teaching and learning of higher education.Secondly,we explain the consensus on the digital development of higher education,and focus on summarizing the digital achievements of higher education in China and analyzing the successful experience through the introduction of the digital development trend of higher education in the world.Finally,we point out the current problems and challenges and make a preliminary discussion.Digital empowerment has arrived,and in the era of digitization,the transformation and development of higher education will lead to systemic changes in universities.This is an inevitable stage in the process of higher education development.Digital transformation will drive higher education to be more competitive,inclusive,and accessible,enabling universities to unleash their digital vitality in various service functions and contribute to the construction of a digital China.

A Historical Review of the Development of Women’s Higher Education in China (1908-2020): Stages, Explanations, and Trends

The development of women’s higher education in China can be divided into four stages:emergence(1908-1948);foundation(1949-1976);accelerating development(1977-2008);and the qualitative leap(2009-2020).This work considers the principal institutional mechanisms that contributed to this development.First,flexibly planned parenthood gradually promoted gender equality and openness in society facilitated by systematic“awards,grants,and loans”initiatives to support women’s higher education economically.Second,compulsory education ensured that left-out and migrant children had access to higher education.Third,effective connectivity across different education types bridged education gaps between those with different levels of education.Fourth,China made great efforts to invite and integrate international experiences that promoted the development of women’s higher education.Looking beyond these achievements,we also discuss the future trends of women’s higher education in China.

Can University Be a Transformative Environment？ Fostering Critical Reflection Through Art in Higher Education＊

The uncertainty of postmodern world is a common belief. This uncertainty influences citizens in all aspects of their lives （personal, professional, social, etc.）. The question arises intensively： How can people be prepared for this continuous changing？ One of the suggestions presented in current literature is the development of critical reflection Educational environment can play a major role in this domain. The need for the development of critical reflection is especially noted in the higher education framework. Universities can become a ＂holding＂ environment for transformation. This study underlines the importance of preparing young students as future professionals and citizens, by developing their critical reflection. A practical method is discussed and concerns the use and benefits of the aesthetic experience in a transformative learning procedure. The research presented here is based on the application of this method and aims to the reinforcement of specific dimensions of adulthood in a university environment. The application was carried out on students of the department of educational studies at a Greek regional university. One of the topics analyzed through art was the notion of ＂useful knowledge＂ and was part of a wider range of applications that concern the process of learning

An Analysis of Teacher's Professional Development of Higher Vocational Education

Teachers are the backbones of any educational institutions. They not only play vital roles in students' development;they also directly affect the stature of their respective scholastic organizations. Highly qualified instructors produce competent and well-rounded students— learners who are more than ready to face the quirks and challenges of the labor force. This paper primarily discusses the following questions: What is teacher's professional development? What is higher vocational teacher's professional development? And how can scholastic institutions promote it? The conclusion states that the characteristics of higher vocational education directly influence the higher vocational teacher's professional development; therefore, it must be nurtured and promoted for the development of all the stakeholders of learning institutions – students, teachers, management staff,the learning institution itself, and the nation as a whole.

Evaluation of Technical Education by Using a Modern Structured MOODLE Laboratory Course, in Relation to Recent Data

E-learning platforms support education systems worldwide, transferring theoretical knowledge as well as soft skills. In the present study high-school pupils’, and adult students’ opinions were evaluated through a modern structured MOODLE interactive course, designed for the needs of the laboratory course “Automotive Systems”. The study concerns Greek secondary vocational education pupils aged 18 and vocational training adult students aged 20 to 50 years. The multistage, equal size simple random cluster sample was used as a sampling method. Pupils and adult students of each cluster completed structured 10-question questionnaires both before and after attending the course. A total of 120 questionnaires were collected. In general, our findings disclosed that the majority of pupils and adult students had significantly improved their knowledge and skills from using MOODLE. They reported strengthening conventional teaching, using the new MOODLE technology. The satisfaction indices improved quite, with the differences in their mean values being statistically significant.

A Multiphase Mixed Methods Approach to the Internationalization of Higher Education in South Africa:Outline of a Discursive Research Framework

Higher education internationalization(HEI)has become an important priority for global decision makers and education providers.Persuaded by globalization,HEI is a political strategy and economic prospect for countries,governments,and universities to position themselves in global markets.The purpose of this paper is to provide a methodological pathway to develop a dynamic,reformed South African HEI framework based on the transformative drive(i.e.,adjustment of change,learning,shared knowledge,internationalization,globalization an institutionalized memory)of HEI in China.The interpretivist paradigm constitutes the basic research approach.Quantitative and qualitative data will be collected,analyzed,and integrated using a multiphase mixed methods approach.This approach consists of three phases including content analysis(Phase I),in-depth interviews(Phase II),and surveys(Phase III),which answers the focal research question.The significance of this research includes creating a better understanding of South African higher education(HE)policy issues from a transformational perspective,contributing to theory on how internationalization affects HE’s position in economic and social development and broadening knowledge and understanding of the unique circumstances and challenges of HEI in developing countries,particularly in countries seeking to position themselves in the globalized knowledge economy.

The Changing Landscape of Higher Education in Libya

The development of Higher Education has expanded greatly across the Arab world and this is certainly evident in Libya, where 24 new universities have been established in a four-year period. By 2025, there will be half a million university students, double the current numbers. To cope with this rapid expansion, a huge building programme has been implemented, resulting in modern, purpose-built structures dominating the sky line and bringing a new dimension to the traditional environment. Interviews with students, staff, and management from two universities show that, apart from the impact this expansion has had on the physical landscape, there have also been cultural and political changes. Libyan university staff have been sent on scholarships to English speaking countries to improve their language skills as all teaching is carried out through the medium of English. There has consequently been an acute shortage of teaching staff resulting in foreign workers being recruited from Asia and the Middle East. The curriculum has been modified and traditional Libyan society is resistant to new methodology. None of this has been helped by political changes and developments. Possible solutions for the future of quality Higher Education provision in Libya include continuing professional development programmes for staff, quality assurance, improvement of resources, training in modern technology and an approach to education to help break down the barriers between generations

Accreditation System of Distance Higher Education in the U.S. and Its Implications for China

Distance higher education is an important component of the Chinese higher education.How to enhance the quality of distance higher education is one of the key issues to be addressed in the research areas of distance education and higher education.As a crucial step to quality improvement,the constitution of accreditation system in distance higher education balances the benefits of all parties involved.This paper explores the American accreditation system of higher education and distance education and concludes with suggestions for the constitution of the Chinese quality assurance system:1)establishing third-party institutions to share part of the government roles;2)constituting the accreditation system;3)setting up appropriate standards;4)publicizing results of quality assurance work;and 5)building internal quality assurance mechanism.This paper is aimed to provide some reference to the constitution of accreditation system of distance higher education in China,facilitate the solution of quality problems in distance education,and promote the continuous improvement and development of distance education in China.

Contributing to Sustainable Development——The Mission and Value of Higher Education

Some notes on sustainable development and scientific outlook on development were given. It is addressed that the mission of higher education to contribute to sustainable development should be reinforced and further expanded. The present situation of China's higher education and the improvements required were analyzed. Two modes of thinking (reductionism and holism) and the relationship between the mode of thinking and the mode of development were discussed. The change in the mode of thinking is the key point for Chinese higher education, and more intensive reform of teaching affairs is necessary. A proposal of the revision of China's Higher Education Act and University Constitutions was put forward.

REFORMING CHINA'S HIGHER ENGINEERING EDUCATION

This article expounds that China’s higher engineering education is facing both challenges and opportunities. Some special difficulties and problems rise in the course of economic transition, and exhort us that it has been of great urgency to carry out a reform of higher engineering education. Here are put forward six measures: to explore training patterns of such an education suited to China’s national conditions; to improve university system: to transform educational ideology, and reform educational contents and methods; to establish a system of cooperation of engineering universities and colleges with industries; to strengthen construction of teacher contingent in engineering universities and colleges; and to carry out testing work of continuing engineering education and training education.

From Mutual Creation to Mutual Benefit:China’s National Teacher Training Program between Higher Teacher Education and K-12 Teachers

Sustainable Development Goal(SDG 4)lays solid theoretical foundation for the development of higher teacher education in improving the quality of teaching faculty nationwide.Sustainable teacher training paves a way for teacher professional development in the long run.China’s“National Teacher Training Program”serves a connection between higher teacher education and K-12 teachers in multiple perspectives when exploring K-12 teachers’improvement of the essence by upgrading the initiative of the program with the assistance of educational technology and modern educational philosophy from mutual creation to mutual benefit.Direction orientation strategic design based on demand for teaching faculty,curriculum setting in modules,and characteristics creation have been carried out to upgrade the training of teacher colleges and National Teacher Training Program in the future for achieving a win-win situation between higher teacher education and K-12 education.

Contribution of Development of China's Higher Education to Human Rights Undertaking

Human rights are the rights and freedoms of humans in their nature, and represent the basic conditions for the free and complete development of the humankind. The educational develop- ment level is an important mark of the level of realization of human rights. China＇s higher education realized the historic development in the 1998- 2007 period, and the number of the enrolled students at common colleges and universities across the nation had exploded from 3.4 million to 18.85 million, the number one in the world.

技术何以赋能未来高等教育教学:趋势、实践和场景——《2024年EDUCAUSE地平线报告(教学版)》要点与启示

美国高等教育信息化协会(EDUCAUSE)最近发布的《2024年地平线报告(教学版)》,已成为各国政府预测和研判未来高等教育教学高质量发展的重要参考,分析报告内容有助于为我国高等教育数字化转型和高质量发展制定前瞻性战略规划。报告首先采用改进的德尔菲法和“STEEP趋势框架”,从社会趋势、技术趋势、经济趋势、环境趋势、政治趋势和人工智能趋势等六个方面,描述了影响未来高等教育教学的20种宏观趋势;其次,报告详述了影响未来高等教育教学的6项关键技术实践;最后,报告预测了劳动力技能需求驱动的高等教育增长场景、数据收集限制的高等教育约束场景、政治浪潮影响的高等教育崩溃场景、个性化教育赋能的高等教育转型场景等4种未来发展场景。报告主要为我国高等教育教学未来创新发展提供了四个方面的启示:建立健全教育数据安全相关制度和标准,持续推动高等教育数字化转型;重塑人工智能赋能教学和学习的新形态,深化高等教育创新变革与发展;完善技术赋能高等教育保障和服务新体系,促进高等教育可持续性发展;持续加强高等教育师生专业发展培训,助力数智技术赋能新质人才培养。

The 21^(st) century system reform and development mode of construction management education (CME) in China

With China’s entry into WTO and the development of the economic globalization, market competition in the construction field is more and more featured by the competition of talents, the core of which is the cultivation mechanism innovation of higher construction management talents. The approach to meet the requirement of this situation is to adopt innovation ideas, improve the supply-demand structure of CME, reform the education system to relate theory to practice, pay attention to the needs of the educated, enhance global communication and cooperation, and improve the knowledge structure of teachers.

Non-Perturbative Guiding Center and Stochastic Gyrocenter Transformations:Gyro-Phase Is the Kaluza-Klein 5^(th) Dimension also for Reconciling General Relativity with Quantum Mechanics

The non perturbative guiding center transformation is extended to the relativistic regime and takes into account electromagnetic fluctuations. The main solutions are obtained in covariant form: the gyrating particle and the guiding particle solutions, both in gyro-kinetic as in MHD orderings. Moreover, the presence of a gravitational field is also considered. The way to introduce the gravitational field is original and based on the Einstein conjecture on the feasibility to extend the general relativity theory to include electromagnetism by geometry, if applied to the extended phase space. In gyro-kinetic theory, some interesting novelties appear in a natural way, such as the exactness of the conservation of a magnetic moment, or the fact that the gyro-phase is treated as the non observable fifth dimension of the Kaluza-Klein model. Electrodynamics becomes non local, without the inconsistency of self-energy. Finally, the gyrocenter transformation is considered in the presence of stochastic e.m. fluctuations for explaining quantum behaviors via Nelson’s approach. The gyrocenter law of motion is the Schr&ouml;dinger equation.

数字化转型助推未来高等教育教学:宏观趋势、技术实践和未来场景——《2023年EDUCAUSE地平线报告(教学版)》要点与思考

最近,美国高等教育信息化协会(EDUCAUSE)发布了《2023年地平线报告(教学版)》。报告采用德尔菲法,从社会趋势、技术趋势、经济趋势和环境趋势四方面,描述了影响未来高等教育教学的宏观趋势,详述了影响未来高等教育教学的6项关键技术和实践,并预测了未来高等教育教学的4种未来发展场景,为各国政府预测未来高等教育教学高质量发展提供了重要参考。文章基于非工具性分析视角,深度解读《2023年地平线报告(教学版)》,提出我国高等教育数字化转型未来创新发展的路径:夯实智能技术赋能的人机协同育人体系,赋能高等教育数字化转型教育服务模式变革;推动人工智能与高等教育教学深度融合,助推高等教育数字化转型的劳动力转型;建立以高质量为导向的微证书保证机制,推动微认证体系持续赋能高等教育教学;构建基于人本教育理念的人才培养模式,筑牢高等教育数字化转型的人文基座。

教育数字化转型助推未来高等教育教学:宏观趋势、技术实践和未来场景——《2022年EDUCAUSE地平线报告(教学版)》要点与思考

美国高等教育信息化协会(EDUCAUSE)最近发布的《2022年EDUCAUSE地平线报告(教学版)》已成为各国政府预测未来高等教育教学高质量发展的重要参考.分析报告内容有助于探知教育数字化转型时期未来高等教育教学的宏观发展趋势、关键技术实践和未来发展场景,在借鉴经验的同时省察警示,从而有益于为中国高等教育数字化转型和高质量发展制定前瞻性战略规划.文章基于非工具性分析视角,提出了中国高等教育未来发展的创新路径,包括:优化人工智能驱动的教育数字化转型服务生态,完善高等教育数字化韧性生态系统,助推高等教育拔尖人才培养;重构智能技术赋能高等教育的价值取向,构建教师专业发展与技术动态演进的共生关系,助推高校教师混合教学专业发展;建立微认证项目准入机制,构建高质量教育微认证生态体系,实现微认证持续赋能高等教育教学;优化混合学习空间和混合教学模式,实现双线融合教学模式常态化,推动高等教育教学创新融合发展.

Digital Transformation in Higher Education:Key Areas,Content Structures,and Practice Paths

In education,digitalization has become a pivotal force to promote educational reform in the new era,featuring demand-driven development of digital transformation in education.Digital transformation in higher education aims to reshape its new capabilities based on next-generation digital technologies concerning the quality of development of higher education.As per the scope of services and composition of responsible subjects like personnel,digital transformation in higher education should focus on three key areas:talent development,scientific research,as well as management and services.In addition,digital transformation should be structured based on several types of content:essential data,environments,operational functions,organizational structure,and systems.Moreover,paths of guarantee,action,and operation should be taken concurrently to facilitate digital transformation in higher education.