Search Results for
"Higher education"

This comparative case study analysis explores higher education equity in South Africa and Australia, garnering insights from South Africa to inform the implementation of the Australian Universities Accord. This article identifies challenges and opportunities from South Africa that may assist with implementing the managed growth policy framework and needs-based funding model. Four insights were identified. First, Australia should embrace managed growth but minimise equity students’ tuition fees to reduce, not reproduce, inequality. Second, Australia could consider a nested equity approach to intersectional, compounding disadvantage to enable differential redistribution. Third, needs-based funding will provide the opportunity for a ‘fair chance for success’. Lastly, epistemic access, epistemic success, RPL as an equity tool, university and vocational education and training harmonisation and alternative equity student tuition debt arrangements could be explored. The article promotes an uncommon equity alliance between Australia and South Africa, offering a broader view of equity policy and funding options. © 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This book explores the vocational education programmes of Hong Kong, programmes that are repeatedly noted for their excellence. The book traces the founding and development of the Vocational Training Council of Hong Kong, which was set up in 1982 to offer sub-degree programmes in vocational and professional education and training. It shows how it transformed itself from an institution seen by industry, government and the public alike as not meeting the needs of Hong Kong to one that has spearheaded the development of this form of education in Hong Kong, including offering degree programmes in these areas through its Technological and higher education Institute. Written by a leading scholar of vocational education with extensive experience of devising and implementing vocational education programmes, it offers this as a valuable resource to students and scholars of education, particularly in an Asian context, as well as of vocational and professional education and training. © 2025 David Lim.

Australia’s system of vocational education qualifications, based on competency-based training, has delivered significant benefits to millions of Australians over recent decades. However, the dynamic nature of the economy and the nature of work requires a more agile system, shifting from binary compliance with sometimes rigid Standards for Registered Training Organisations and the qualifications they deliver to a space where training providers can innovate to respond to industry needs and learner requirements. A key recommendation of the Australian Universities Accord Final Report and NSW VET Review is delegating accreditation to select TAFEs and enabling some TAFEs to self-accredit certain higher education courses. These measures aim to streamline accreditation and improve integration between Vocational education and Training and higher education. TAFE NSW is trialling Self-Accrediting Authority in VET operations, mirroring existing higher education governance processes. This article outlines TAFE NSW’s education model for higher Apprenticeships and efforts to respond innovatively to industry. © 2025 Association for Tertiary education Management.

Policies designed to cultivate talent within universities are central to China’s strategy for reforming and improving the quality of its higher education. This study develops a goal-instrument analysis framework for a content analysis of 113 such policies. Within the context of China’s Double First-Class construction, the analysis examines the selection and use of policy instruments for university talent cultivation in Henan Province. Using a value orientation analysis, the study also explores the rationality between policy goals and the selection of policy instruments. There are three main findings: (1) policy instruments for cultivating university talent are comprehensive, but their structural allocation is imbalanced; (2) the utilization of secondary policy instruments has some level of diversification, but there the path dependence is clear; (3) the selection of policy instruments is reasonably aligned with the achievement of policy goals, but there are still noticeable biases. To optimize the policies and improve the quality of cultivated talent, three measures should be taken: scientifically allocate the structure and further strengthen the mutual promotion of various types of policy instruments; break the path dependence and further optimize the collaborative combination of secondary policy instruments; and correct existing biases and further enhance the effectiveness of policies. © The Author(s) 2025.

Introduction: The BOPPPS teaching strategy has gained popularity in medical education in China as a more effective and practical pedagogy. However, its impact on knowledge acquisition and clinical skills in urology education has not been comprehensively evaluated. This study seeks to assess the effectiveness of the BOPPPS strategy in comparison to traditional lecture-based learning (LBL) during clinical internships in Chinese urology education, utilizing meta-analysis for verification. Methods: A cohort of 96 clinical medicine students from Xijing Hospital, engaged in clinical practice at the Department of Urology from September 2022 to June 2023, were stratified into two groups and exposed to identical teaching materials. The experimental group (n=48) was instructed using the BOPPPS model, while the control group (n=48) adhered to traditional instructional methods. Data on student satisfaction and self-assessment of the course were collected through a questionnaire, and end-of-course performance was evaluated through a post-study examination. We used meta-analysis aimed to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the BOPPPS teaching strategy compared to LBL teaching in surgery-related medical education. Results: The experimental group, which received instruction using the BOPPPS teaching model, achieved significantly higher scores in theoretical knowledge assessments and clinical practical skills compared to the control group. Additionally, the experimental group demonstrated greater levels of interaction with both teachers and students, with instructors displaying a higher ability to foster independent thinking among students. Furthermore, the teaching process in the experimental group was found to utilize classroom time more efficiently in comparison to the control group. And we confirmed that the BOPPPS model demonstrated a greater capacity to stimulate student interest in urology and improve their overall proficiency by meta-analysis. Discussion: The BOPPPS model exhibits superior efficacy in clinical teaching of urology, thus warranting consideration for wider adoption and dissemination. © © 2025 Zhang, Gan, Zuo, Han, Shi, Wang, Zhang, Jiang, Wang and Li.

This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of recent trends and emerging topics in the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in vocational education. AI technology holds significant potential to enhance accessibility, inclusivity, and equity in quality education. The research utilizes the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses approach to analyze publications from articles and conference papers published in the Scopus database between 2014 and 2023. The key findings indicate that AI is reshaping vocational education by personalizing learning experiences, improving curriculum development, and enhancing practical training through automation and robotics, particularly in the manufacturing and logistics sectors. Ethical issues, such as privacy and algorithmic bias, are also highlighted as key concerns. The bibliometric analysis reveals that journal articles have a higher citation count than conference papers, reflecting their greater influence in the field. Network visualization demonstrates the interconnection between AI, vocational education, and related concepts, such as e-learning and machine learning. Furthermore, AI contributes to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030, particularly SDG 4 (quality education access), SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth), and SDG 9 (industry, innovation, and infrastructure). The study also identifies challenges that need to be addressed, including data privacy, infrastructure readiness, and teacher training, while providing guidance for future research and educational policy development. © 2025 The Authors