This doctoral thesis reports on a longitudinal, mixed methods investigation of the academic, psychological and sociocultural adjustment and adaptation of a multinational sample of international postgraduate students undertaking one-year taught MA degrees in the humanities and social sciences at a single British university (N = 225). Despite a considerable body of empirical research on student sojourner adjustment, longitudinal mixed methods studies are rare (Zhou and Todman, 2009). Thus, this study combined a quantitative questionnaire-based approach with a qualitative interview-based approach. The quantitative element investigated associations over time between a set of contributory factors (English language ability, prior overseas experience, pre-sojourn knowledge about the UK, autonomy in the decision to study abroad, intercultural competence, social contact, and social support) and a range of adjustment outcomes (academic achievement, psychological wellbeing, satisfaction with life, sociocultural adaptation). The qualitative element aimed to monitor students’ academic, psychological and sociocultural adjustment processes over time. A further research interest was in whether and, if so, how an academic sojourn abroad affects student sojourners’ intercultural competence. Data-collection took place over a period of 14 months and comprised three stages: in stage one (October) particpants completed a self-report survey; in stage two (October to June) a sample of 20 student volunteers participated in three waves of one-to-one interviews; in stage three (June) particpants completed a second self-report survey. Additionally, students’ academic grades were obtained from the host university (November). The study revealed a number of associations between ‘pre-sojourn’ factors, social connectedness, and students’ level of adaptation. Moreover, three distinct patterns for academic, psychological and sociocultural adjustment could be teased apart from the data though students experienced the sojourn in distinct and nuanced ways. Finally, the study provides indications for the malleable and dynamic nature of intercultural competence over time. Informed by the empirical findings and in response to the paucity of theoretical models of the international student sojourn, this study proposes a new conceptual model of student sojourner adjustment and adaptation. The suggested model shows some similarities with other models in the wider acculturation literature, but it also refines and extends these models in scope.

No description available.

No description available.

In the context of the Scottish new towns the thesis considers why adult education activities play such a limited role in the national education system, and whether a programme provided after a thorough examination or a community's needs and interests can involve a significantly greater proportion of the local population. After a discussion of the limitations of current practice, an examination of the background to the new towns is carried out. A picture of the new town communities is built up and this is presented in Chapter 3. There follows a consideration of the role of adult education in this setting and an examination of the response of the providing bodies to date. Apart from visits to adult education centres in each new town, in Livingston questionnaires were issued to all students and tutors attending classes in a week selected at random. The main barriers to development are then discussed before an attempt is made to assess the potential for adult education in the new town environment. In a random sample survey, 2,400 questionnaires were distributed amongst the new town population and a response rate of 59% achieved. The results of this survey are considered in Chapter 5. Finally, based on an examination of the barriers to development and the results of the survey, a series of action research projects were undertaken in Livingston to determine whether the interest revealed by the surveys could be translated into participation in adult education activities. These projects - the basis of a one year case study - are considered in Chapter 6. The thesis concludes by demonstrating that a greater degree of involvement can be achieved without the expenditure of significantly greater funds, but by the adoption of an approach which emphasises the importance of community considerations and the promotion of the educational process rather than specific evening class programmes.

In broad outline tho thesis which follows is an attempt to study in relation to tho Sudan the role which art has played there in adult education in the past, its present position and its future prospects, The study is roughly divided into three parts which often blend into each other. Tho first part deals with adult art education relevant to Ancient Nubia and Christian Nubia down to the entry of the Arabs in tho 14th century and the subsequent Arabisation and Islamization of the inhabitants of the country. The second part dealt with the Condominium Period, tho introduction of a Western type of education into the country, tho introduction of art education in schools, and the establishment of the School of Design in 1946, which later became known as the School of Fine and Applied Art and more recently as The College of Fine and Applied Arts. The third part of the study discusses, a) the role played by the various adult education institutions and agencies: which as a part of their educational programme are responsible for the provision of art courses, b) the objectives that these institutions sot themselves, their programme prototypes, the problems which they face and the administrative and organizational procedures they adopt, c) the characteristics of the adult students in terns of age, sex, occupation, education, motivation and problems, and d) the role and effect of the mass media of communication on adult art education.

This dissertation examines and contrasts two dissimilar investigative paradigms which may be applied to the systematic evaluation of instructional sequences for social workers. The primary orientation toward evaluation aimed at generating improvements in instruction, systematic evaluation is seen to be a necessary process in rational decision-making. Such investigations are always guided by a research paradigm of some sort. The choice of paradigms, conscious or not, largely determines the sorts of information produced. An overview of the evaluation of instructional programs includes: definitional elements, distinctions, and issues; purposes and foci associated with such activity; information sources and media of data generation; and aspects of instrument and information quality. Review of the relevant literature discovers a dearth of published evaluation studies in social work education. It further indicates that one orientation to evaluation research has dominated the scene. The two paradigms under study are described and contrasted in theoretical terms. Critical comments and arguments between paradigmic proponents are documented. The "classico-experimental" orientation is seen to stress assessments of effectiveness achieved through operational definition of instructional objectives and application of experimental or quasi-experimental procedures. Typically, the resulting information is quantified. Emphasis is on measurement and prediction. In contrast, the "socio-anthropological" approach is perceived to be more concerned with exploration, description, and interpretation of the instructional service as a whole. Quantification is not necessarily prized and a wide variety of data gathering media are used to progressively focus on significant phenomena which emerge during the course of the study. Emphasis is on tailoring investigative activity to information requirements and characteristics of the milieu examined. These paradigms are applied in evaluating two very similar short courses for social workers, and reports are presented. Attending to experience in those studies, the application and the paradigms are further contrasted. Observations on differential reliability, validity, generalizability, and utility are noted. A cursory exploration of student rating scales, as evaluation devices, is also included. Tentative conclusions with regard to paradigmic strengths, weaknesses, and appropriate applications are drawn. Suggested practice principles are itemized and the feasibility of paradigmic synergy is examined. It is concluded that, while a true amalgamation is not feasible, comprehensive evaluation studies should draw upon the strengths of both paradigms. Some implications for instructional planning and a new approach to curriculum revision in social work education are explored. A number of major requirements for further research are outlined. Though selective, the Bibliography documents numerous sources.

This thesis focuses on time and the relationships between the temporal characteristics or landscapes of an educational project located in a university business school, and the individual experiences of the project members. The specific focus of the research is the EMPATHY Net-Works project which supported women into employment through a taught module and e-mentoring. Using Giddens's structuration theory, I explore the temporal landscapes of the EMPATHY Net-Works project and the ways in which it was influenced by its context and project members, and also the ways in which the temporal landscapes influenced the experiences of project members. I use an interpretivist approach and develop an ethnographic case study in which my role is participant-as-oberserver. My data came from project documentation, online discussion group messages and interviews. I use two approaches to data analysis: a classification framework based on contemporary temporal research; and also temporal metaphors. My interpretation of the data indicates that the temporal landscape of the project is complex and there are many commonalities and some differences between the temporal landscapes of the Business School, the EMPATHY NetWorks project and the taught module. The mentoring process appears to have a distinct temporal landscape. My study explores the subjective experiences of project members and their temporal personality or timescape. I demonstrate that within the project team we reproduced a traditional academic temporal framework. This framework facilitated the students' learning experiences. I also explore the importance of temporal frameworks in supporting the mentoring process. I reflect on both the impact of my temporal personality and perspectives on this research and also my temporal experiences during my work on this thesis. Finally, I identify my contributions to knowledge, areas for future research, and the implications of my findings for facilitators and managers of e-learning and e-mentoring projects.

No description available.

This illuminative evaluation utilises a mixed-method design to explore the first assessment experience of first year student nurses and consider how aspects of this experience impact on their self-beliefs regarding academic ability. The study investigates the experience of a cohort of student nurses as they go through their first summative assessment of theory on their Nursing diploma course at a post-1992 University in the West Midlands of the United Kingdom. It aims to elicit, from their perspective, aspects of the assessment process that enhance their confidence and self-belief about ability, and those that serve to undermine it. The study considers whether the assessment experience differs for students with different levels of pre-entry academic qualifications, age, or history of family experience of higher education, and will examine students' conceptualisations of intelligence to ascertain if these beliefs relate to their learning behaviours or achievement. Most students believed that their intelligence could be improved with effort, utilised tutorial and peer support and believed that learning and understanding were more important than assessment. Following this assessment experience, however, there was a shift in these beliefs, with more students seeing the assessment as most important. The assessment grade received by students, peer support and tutorial support had the greatest positive, and negative, impact on student self-beliefs, with formative feedback having less impact. This cohort of students experienced a good level of achievement and a significant improvement in confidence to undergo their next assessment. Achievement was not related to pre-course academic qualifications, or to family experience of higher education, but mature students achieved better grades when compared with younger peers. This finding supports the inclusion of mature students with weaker academic backgrounds, raising questions about how to continue to include them in the nursing profession as it progresses to all graduate registration. This study highlights the need to create a learning milieu that has learning and understanding at its core, fosters effective peer support and includes students far more in the assessment process, supporting development of the positive self-beliefs, confidence and self· reliance essential to their academic and professional development.

The thesis is an interpretive account and analysis ofthe influence of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on higher education policy in Ireland. Documentary sources associated with two OECD reviews are used to explore the roots of policy changes in Ireland's higher education system The first, a report on technician training in 1964, became the catalyst for the creation of a binary higher education system The second, a 2004 report on the financing and governance of higher education, has become the source document of contemporary policy changes in the system The OECD's higher education agenda has itself evolved over the decades. The study examines different phases of that evolution and how they impacted on both the content and the transmission of its influence on national policies. Moreover, a convergence between OECD policies and its peer review system with those of the European Union has greatly strengthened the agenda setting capacity of the OECD in Ireland. Hence the thesis is a study of the politics of policy formation in one sector during two separate episodes of change. The study looks at the often -tortuous routes taken to design reform programmes in tune with OECD recommendations and the long-term results of the measures adopted. What emerges is a case study of an important trend in contemporary policy development. While issues are locally defined, the space for an exclusively national competence in education matters has eroded so that policy initiatives have taken on a supranational dimension in which the OECD is the pre-eminent player.