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"Universities and colleges Arab countries"
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Student satisfaction and academic efficacy during online learning with the mediating effect of student engagement: A multi-country study
The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented changes to educational institutions, forcing their closure and a subsequent shift to online education to cater to student learning requirements. However, successful online learning depends on several factors and may also vary between countries. As such, this cross-sectional study sought to investigate how engagement of university students, a major driver of online learning, was influenced by course content, online interaction, student acceptance, and satisfaction with online learning, as well as self-efficacy across nine countries (China, India, Iran, Italy, Malaysia, Portugal, Serbia, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a questionnaire-based approach, data collected from 6,489 university students showed that student engagement was strongly linked to perception of the quality of the course content and online interactions (p < .001). The current study also indicated that online interactions are a major determinant of academic efficacy but only if mediated by engagement within the online learning context. A negative correlation between student engagement and satisfaction with online learning was found, demonstrating the importance of students being engaged behaviorally, emotionally, and cognitively to feel satisfied with learning. Academic efficacy and student satisfaction were explained by course content, online interaction, and online learning acceptance, being mediated by student engagement. Student satisfaction and, to a lesser degree academic efficacy, were also associated with online learning acceptance. Overall, the structural equation model was a good fit for the data collected from all nine countries (CFI = .947, TLI = .943; RMSEA = .068; SRMR = .048), despite differences in the percentage variations explained by each factor (no invariance), likely due to differences in levels of technology use, learning management systems, and the preparedness of teachers to migrate to full online instruction. Despite limitations, the results of this study highlight the most important factors affecting online learning, providing insight into potential approaches for improving student experiences in online learning environments.
Journal Article
Missions impossible : higher education and policymaking in the Arab world
None of the momentous challenges Arab universities face is unique either in kind or degree. Other societies exhibit some of the same pathologies-insufficient resources, high drop-out rates, feeble contributions to research and development, inappropriate skill formation for existing job markets, weak research incentive structures, weak institutional autonomy, and co-optation into the political order. But, it may be that the concentration of these pathologies and their depth is what sets the Arab world apart.0Missions Impossible seeks to explain the process of policymaking in higher education in the Arab world, a process that is shaped by the region's politics of autocratic rule. Higher education in the Arab world is directly linked to crises in economic growth, social inequality and, as a result, regime survival. If unsuccessful, higher education could be the catalyst to regime collapse. If successful, it could be the catalyst to sustained growth and innovation-but that, too, could unleash forces that the region's autocrats are unable to control. Leaders are risk-averse and therefore implement policies that tame the universities politically but in the process sap their capabilities for innovation and knowledge creation.
Book
The status of education for sustainable development and sustainability knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of UAE University students
Purpose
This study aims to investigate United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) students’ knowledge, attitudes and behaviors toward education for sustainable development (ESD) and the environment. Several independent variables (i.e. students’ gender, nationality, college, academic level and grade point average [GPA]) were also considered.
Design/methodology/approach
This study was descriptive in nature, and the data were obtained using a cross-sectional survey. A total of 823 participants responded to an e-education for sustainable development survey. Several data analysis procedures were used, including descriptive analyses, analyses of variance and t-tests.
Findings
The study revealed that the UAEU students showed a high level of understanding, very strong positive attitudes and moderate positive behavior toward ESD and the environment. Findings associated with students’ gender, nationality, college, academic level and GPA were also reported and discussed.
Research limitations/implications
First, the participating students came from one public university. Although this university is a major university in the nation, further studies should include samples from other public and private institutions. Second, this study did not examine the correlation among the three main components: knowledge, attitude and behavior. Thus, similar to other previous studies, the correlations among these three components should be investigated. Third, this study used previous research findings in the areas of ESD, SD and environmental education (EE) because they all relate to each other and ESD is currently the active trend in the field.
Originality value
No previous ESD studies have been conducted in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), although the country is working hard to support ESD and SD. Therefore, this study explored the current education levels with regard to SD and sustainability knowledge, attitudes and behavior of tertiary students in the UAE. In addition, previous studies have clearly recommended investigating the status of EE and ESD in younger generations, especially those with higher education levels, because they are the agents of change, and they will be affected by the environmental problems that are being created by present human activities.
Journal Article
Expatriate academic staff in the United Arab Emirates: the nature of their work experiences in higher education institutions
As many countries expand their higher education systems, they must attract, support, and retain qualified academic staff. This paper focuses on the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a case study of a nation drawing on large numbers of mostly expatriate faculty working in short-term academic appointments. The paper begins by considering the national context within which expatriate faculty work in the UAE. Then, using a published conceptual framework highlighting key elements of academic work, the paper examines defining aspects of the work experience of expatriate faculty in the UAE, including work expectations (teaching, research, and service); equity (compensation, incentives, and benefits); autonomy, academic freedom, and flexibility; collegiality and institutional involvement; and professional growth. The discussion considers the implications of these elements of academic work for the satisfaction, motivation, and institutional commitment of the expatriate faculty members. The sample of 29 expatriate faculty studied is drawn from the population of full-time instructors at three public and three semi-public institutions in the UAE who teach in education or media, humanities and social sciences, science or engineering, and business or economics. The discussion of findings highlights satisfactions and concerns, as well as the relationship of work experiences with organizational commitment. The nature of academic work in many countries is shifting toward temporary and short-term contract-based appointments. Thus, analysis of the experiences of expatriate academic staff working within the UAE, where the majority of faculty members are in short-term positions, raises issues relevant to those in other countries where the nonpermanent academic workforce is increasing. Additionally, issues considered are of interest to those who study the academic career and the factors shaping it.
Journal Article
Palestinian students in an Israeli-Hebrew University: obstacles and challenges
This study examines the status and integration of Palestinians from East Jerusalem studying at the Hebrew University. The research question focuses on how these students feel within the university walls and how they perceive attitudes towards them by lecturers, administrative staff, and fellow students. The study is based on qualitative research methodology conducted through in-depth interviews.The findings reflect a dire reality in which Palestinian students experience feelings of isolation and even alienation. They experience their period of study as being difficult and unpleasant, one that they must simply endure if they wish to obtain their desired degree. The students’ initial experience is one of a culture shock, entering into an unfamiliar space, and struggling with a foreign language. In addition to this initial shock, the dominant experience that they describe is one of exclusion and being ignored. This experience is particularly difficult during their first year of studies, with the language barrier being the most difficult obstacle. On the other hand, the participants also describe the campus as being a place of shelter, as opposed to the hostile and threatening outside world. While this may sound paradoxical, it reflects their complex reality. The students report that once they enter the campus, they feel protected, unlike other spaces in the public sphere where they are subject to harassment by the police and Jewish extremists.
Journal Article
The positioning and competitive strategies of higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to discover how higher education institutions may segment the market in a competitive higher education hub and to assess the usefulness of strategic group analysis as an analytical technique for market and competitor analysis. As a case example of a competitive higher education market, this research investigates how higher education institutions in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) position themselves and compete with one another.
Design/methodology/approach
The research relied mainly on secondary data, which were obtained from the websites of institutions and regulatory bodies. Then, hierarchical cluster analysis was used to identify strategic groups and institutional competitive strategies in the UAE higher education market. A panel of experts helped interpret and explain the cluster results.
Findings
Eight distinct institutional clusters were identified, which include public- and privately-owned institutions, as well as elite and specialist institutions. Institution and programme accreditation were found to be particularly important in the UAE market. The institutions in each group appear to operate in a particular market segment, targeting students who have similar needs and wants, and who often share similar demographic features.
Practical implications
It is concluded that strategic group analysis may help institutions to evaluate potential markets, select target segments and develop competitive strategies. In the UAE market context, the results demonstrate how institutions may position themselves to create strong and distinctive identities. The results of the research may be of interest to higher education institutions that operate in competitive markets, and particularly those that want to evaluate foreign markets.
Originality/value
This is believed to be the first study to use a strategic group approach for analysing competitors in a higher education hub.
Journal Article
Elusive decolonisation of IR in the Arab world
Arab social science scholarship, and IR in particular, has been systematically underfunded and sidelined by governments across the region. As such, IR scholars in the Arab world have struggled to produce scholarship in hostile and authoritarian environments, let alone address efforts to decolonise. Of the few initiatives of indigenising social science that exist in the Arab world, the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies (DI) and its founding institution, the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies (ACRPS), are the main examples. In this intervention, I will review the attempts to indigenise and decolonise IR within these institutions. I focus on how the DI is implementing three main approaches: increasing access to the discipline, rethinking how we teach IR, and facilitating theory production from the region. I demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of the three abovementioned approaches by drawing attention to performative measures on the part of regional scholars, and pretending localism on the part of scholars in the Global North, which together help to perpetuate neomarginalisation. The shortcomings discussed permeate and distort attempts to decolonise the discipline within the Arab world.
Journal Article
Assessing student satisfaction in transnational higher education
Purpose - Given that there exists in the literature relatively little research into student experiences in transnational higher education, the purpose of this paper is to identify the determinants of student satisfaction at international branch campuses in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).Design methodology approach - This quantitative study involved 247 undergraduate and postgraduate students at branch campuses in the UAE who completed a questionnaire using either hard copies or an online version.Findings - It was found that levels of student satisfaction at UAE branch campuses were generally high. The factors that were most influential in determining whether or not a student at a UAE branch campus was satisfied overall with their institution were quality of lecturers, quality and availability of resources, and effective use of technology.Research limitations implications - Given that cultures, customs, traditions and social contexts vary considerably in different locations, the findings of this study are not generalisable across all international branch campuses globally.Practical implications - The findings indicate that there remains scope for UAE branch campuses to further increase levels of student satisfaction. Managers might use the findings to review their own institution's performance, so that areas for improvement can be identified.Originality value - Given that the logit model developed had an 87.4 per cent success rate in predicting whether or not a student at a UAE branch campus was satisfied overall with their institution, this research has demonstrated the potential usefulness of logistic regression as a predictive and explanatory tool in education management.
Journal Article
The direct and indirect impacts of job characteristics on faculty organizational citizenship behavior in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
We examine the relationships between job characteristics (job autonomy, skill variety, role conflict), work-related attitudes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, trust in the employer), and organizational citizenship behaviors (civic virtue and altruism) among faculty at UAE-based universities. Data were obtained from 249 participants at 26 universities. Path analysis revealed, as predicted, that job autonomy, skill variety, and role conflict impact faculty job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and trust. Also, when job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and trust were examined simultaneously as mediators of the job characteristics-citizenship relationship, only organizational commitment was significant. Job autonomy had both direct and indirect effects on civic virtue, but only an indirect effect on altruism. Skill variety had direct and indirect effects on both civic virtue and altruism; whereas, role conflict had only indirect effects on these outcomes. The practical and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed and directions for future research are offered.
Journal Article