Mobile technologies as a tool to support inclusive learning in higher education institutions

Online education is a significant part of the educational process in Ukraine, particularly with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and, in 2022, a full-scale war, which determines the relevance of research on the regulatory framework to ensure the quality, accessibility and inclusiveness of distance education. The study aims to address and evaluate the legislative regulation of distance learning in higher education institutions. The study analysed regulatory documents and statistical data from education authorities in Ukraine. The study determined that the existing legislation does not fully meet the requirements of the 21st century and needs to be updated and integrated with new provisions that consider the specifics of digital education. The study established that the existing legal norms do not guarantee equal access to educational resources for all students, especially in the context of distance learning. This underscores the need for legislative changes to ensure that all students have equal access to the necessary materials and technology, regardless of their socio-economic status or place of residence. For instance, the Law of Ukraine No. 2145-VIII “On Education” does not contain sufficiently clear provisions that would oblige educational institutions to provide technical support for distance learning. The analysis of the Law of Ukraine No. 2145-VIII “On Education” shows that the regulatory framework does not include quality standards adapted to distance learning. The results of the study highlight the need to develop comprehensive legislation that would cover all aspects of distance and online learning. This includes harmonisation of national regulations with international standards, introducing flexible quality control mechanisms, and supporting equal access to educational technologies. For instance, the experience of Germany, with its regional laws that detail general federal requirements, can serve as an example for the development of such regulations in Ukraine. The practical significance of the study is to develop recommendations for improving the legislative framework for online and distance learning in higher education institutions

mobile technologies have impacted people’s lives by enhancing the way activities are performed in industries in different sectors including the education sector. The use of mobile devices by teachers and students in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have brought up online sharing and exchange of educational materials. This mode of educational communication has influenced (or impacted) the performance of students and teachers specifically in the academic field through innovative teaching and learning. However, in Tanzania little is known on the extent of the use of mobile education tools (METs) for enhancing innovative teaching and learning. This study, therefore, applied the modified technology acceptance model (TAM) to assess the use of METs for innovative teaching and learning in Four HEIs in Tanzania. The study was mainly quantitatively combined with an initial qualitative study whereby nine (9) teachers and twenty-one (21) students were purposefully selected for semi-structured interviews. In total 600 participants from the four HEIs in Dar es Salaam participated in the study. The qualitative data were thematically analyzed and the quantitative data were analyzed using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23 descriptive analysis based on means and standard deviations. Findings revealed that electronic learning (e-learning) systems are generally operative in all of the four HEIs as well as learning management systems which have some educational tools embedded for the improvement of exchange and sharing of educational materials between teachers and students. Apart from e-learning systems, the use of METs is not formal so that teachers can use their own educational tools for teaching purposes.

Quantitative and qualitative statistical indicators play a vital role in assessing the activities of higher education institutions and improving and strengthening the educational system. The research on applying statistical indicators to higher education has been done in many countries and international organisations (like UNESCO, World Bank, OECD and UNICEF). This study is intended to propose a set of quantitative and qualitative statistical indicators for assessing the quality of teaching and learning in higher education institutions. In this paper, five goals, 29 objectives were analysed and 150 performance indicators were proposed for higher education institutions. Instruments were distributed to 77 faculty members in 31 HEIs in the sultanate to assess the importance, variability, clarity of goals and objectives. Seven categories of statistical procedures were used to analyse the surveys. Conclusions and numerical results were then reported.

This study looks into the efficiency of e-learning as a teaching tool in post-secondary settings. It involves connecting contemporary information and communication through technology for teaching and learning in higher education institutions. By analyzing significant contributions made by various academics and institutions on the notion of e-learning, particularly its use in teaching and learning in higher educational institutions, this study evaluates the literature and provides a scholarly backdrop to the study. Through surveys and other observations, it reveals some opinions that individuals and institutions around the world have shared regarding the adoption and integration of e-learning technology in education. It examines various researchers’ views of what e-learning is, what role it plays in higher educational institutions with regard to teaching and learning processes, and the advantages and disadvantages of its adoption and implementation.

This study aims to conduct a comparative analysis of Arabic language learning in higher education institutions in Malaysia and Indonesia, focusing on aspects such as curriculum, methods, technology, materials, and learning duration. The study employs a library research method with a qualitative descriptive approach to review various relevant literature sources. The analysis reveals that Arabic language learning in Malaysia is more structured, with adequate technological support and the use of Arabic as the primary medium of instruction, yet it places less emphasis on speaking skills. In contrast, learning in Indonesia focuses more on productive abilities such as speaking and writing but is less evenly distributed in terms of technology and curriculum standards. This research identifies the main challenge for Malaysia as the lack of educators proficient in teaching productive skills, while Indonesia faces challenges related to infrastructure and curriculum standardization.

The integration of ICT has transformed conventional teaching methods in universities; however, obstacles such as the digital divide hinder its usage. This study employs a survey method to examine the challenges of incorporating ICT into teaching and learning in higher educational institutions in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Teachers from various universities across Kurdistan participated in a survey divided into three segments: the impact of ICT on students, difficulties in using ICT tools in teaching, and positive experiences of educators using ICT. The study utilizes machine learning modules to identify relationships between the challenges and ICT tools. The results demonstrate that the use of ICT tools has a positive impact on students, but challenges such as a lack of facilities and training hinder their use. Ultimately, the study concludes that integrating ICT into teaching and learning in higher educational institutions in Iraqi Kurdistan is vital, and emphasizes the need for additional training and resources to support the process.
 Abstrak
 Integrasi TIK telah mengubah metode pengajaran konvensional di perguruan tinggi; namun, hambatan seperti kesenjangan digital menghambat penggunaannya. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode survei untuk mengkaji tantangan pengintegrasian TIK dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran di lembaga pendidikan tinggi di Wilayah Kurdistan, Irak. Guru-guru dari berbagai perguruan tinggi di Kurdistan berpartisipasi dalam survei yang terbagi menjadi tiga segmen: dampak TIK pada mahasiswa, kesulitan penggunaan alat TIK dalam pengajaran, dan pengalaman positif pendidik dalam menggunakan TIK. Penelitian ini menggunakan modul pembelajaran mesin untuk mengidentifikasi hubungan antara tantangan dan alat TIK. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa penggunaan alat TIK memiliki dampak positif pada mahasiswa, tetapi tantangan seperti kurangnya fasilitas dan pelatihan menghambat penggunaannya. Pada akhirnya, penelitian ini menyimpulkan bahwa integrasi TIK dalam pengajaran dan pembelajaran di lembaga pendidikan tinggi di Kurdistan Irak sangat penting, dan menekankan perlunya pelatihan dan sumber daya tambahan untuk mendukung proses tersebut.

The COVID‐19 pandemic has forced higher education institutions to implement online learning activities based on virtual platforms, allowing little time to prepare and train faculty members to familiarize students with digital technologies. While previous studies have looked at how students engaged with digital technologies in their learning activities, the characteristics of the student engagement in online learning remain underexplored. Therefore, a systematic review of the literature on student engagement in online learning in higher education is much needed. This article synthesizes the findings on student engagement in Latin American higher education institutions during the COVID‐19 pandemic. After reviewing the studies on online learning activities, this review examines student engagement from behavioural, cognitive and affective dimensions and identifies the main characteristics of student engagement from these tripartite dimensions. The implications of the findings for online learning in Latin American higher education are as follows: (a) to transform higher education, (b) to provide adequate professional training, (c) to improve Internet connectivity, (d) to ensure quality online learning in higher education and (e) to provide emotional support. These findings will provide valuable guidance for teachers, educational authorities and policy makers and help them make informed decisions to use effective strategies to support online learning in higher education institutions. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic The COVID‐19 pandemic has disrupted the normal operation of higher education institutions across Latin America, impelling a shift from face‐to‐face instruction to online teaching and learning.Research on online learning in Latin American higher education has been conducted, but the findings and their implications are yet to be widely disseminated among researchers, practitioners and decision‐makers. What this paper adds Providing a systematic review of research on student engagement in online learning in Latin American higher education institutions.Analyzing the construct of student engagement in online learning from tripartite dimensions—behavioral, cognitive and affective—in the Latin American higher education context.Identifying the characteristics associated to each dimension of student engagement in online learning. Implications for practice and/or policy The need to transform the higher education system in Latin America and beyond, at two levels: to improve Internet connectivity at the technological level and to ensure the quality of online education at the pedagogical level.The urgency to offer an adequate professional training regarding the use of new technologies in online learning environments.The significance for higher education institutions to provide emotional support for students during the COVID‐10 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has elevated the need for ‘building resilience’ to be a core part of the planning and management of future education systems. Resilience primarily implies the capacity to adapt and adjust to new environmental conditions subject to retaining the basic tenets and identity of the educational system. While the pandemic has caused severe disruption across the higher education sector, it also changed the complete outlook on teaching and learning in higher educational institutions. In general, adoption of E-learning platforms surged during this crisis period and MOOCs, in particular, were increasingly encouraged and offered by institutions for continuing education. Studies have shown that learners enrolled in MOOC courses for many different reasons (Crues et al, 2018). One such indicated that self-regulation was seen as the most significant predictor of MOOC adoption and female learners showed a high inclination to adopt them (Ma & Lee, 2019). Among Indian students, building skill-sets was seen as one of the key factors of intention to adopt MOOCs (Mohan et al, 2020). However, it is significant to study why learners adopted MOOCs, especially during the pandemic since this can serve as an ideal case for studying and gaining insights on resilience built against an emergency situation. This paper has been visualized against this background to investigate and compare how MOOCs were adopted by higher education learners, prior to and during the pandemic period. The case study is based on a selected MOOC wherein an attempt would be made to study learner orientations and adoptions to MOOCs in normal and pandemic settings and to assess if there has been any difference in their access, with a special focus on girls and marginalized communities. It is important to understand the learner characteristics, reasons why they enrolled and learner practices from the two selected situations. The parameters chosen to examine the learners are; demographic profile; MOOC experience, access to the course, perceived usefulness, self-learning strategies, learning preferences, purpose and motivation. Empirical analysis of both qualitative and quantitative data would be adopted to interpret the data. The study findings would have implications while investing and building disaster resilience in higher educational institutions and creating a robust and quality infrastructural governance for MOOCs.

This article highlights the relevance and necessity of recognizing prior learning outcomes in academic mobility, personal development (in particular – professional development), and employment. The article's main aim is to explore the current situation in Ukraine and develop recommendations for improving existing practices and enhancing the quality of recognition processes, thereby expanding educational opportunities for learners. An analysis of survey results gained from management and academic staff of higher education institutions revealed problematic areas in the evaluation of learning outcomes, particularly in assessing skills and competencies acquired in the workplace. It was found that there is a significant interest in recognition in Ukraine, leading to the necessity for the Ukrainian higher education system to develop effective mechanisms for recognizing prior learning outcomes. This, in turn, plays an important role in improving the quality of educational services and expanding educational prospects for learners. For the first time in the Ukrainian context, a comprehensive analysis of the problems associated with the recognition of prior learning has been conducted, including the legal regulation and the practice of the academic activities of Ukrainian higher education institutions. Based on this analysis, the main barriers and challenges faced by higher education institutions in recognizing prior learning outcomes obtained through non-formal education and informal learning, have been identified. The holistic view of recognition processes in Ukrainian higher education institutions formulated by the authors allowed for the development of recommendations to improve existing practices and enhance the quality of recognition processes

Higher education is experiencing phenomenal changes due to the advancement and use of information communication technology (ICT). Blended teaching and learning are an outcome of an advanced technology-based learning system. The traction of the blended teaching, and learning approach lies in the adaptation of technology-aided learning methods in addition to the existing traditional-based learning. Blended teaching and learning combine face-to-face and online delivery methods that influence students' perceptions of the learning environment and their study experiences, learning outcomes, and ultimately, academic achievement. The study’s objective was to explore the experiences of lecturers and students regarding blended teaching, and learning, in higher education institutions in Zimbabwe. A qualitative study was conducted using in-depth interviews with lecturers and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) with students from selected universities. The study employed snowball sampling to select respondents from lecturers and convenience sampling to select respondents from students. Both In-depth interviews and FGDs were conducted online through WhatsApp, telephone, and Zoom platforms. The study included five public universities in Zimbabwe. The data was analysed using thematic analysis and Nvivo Version 11 software. Findings revealed that poor technology infrastructure including poor internet connectivity, unavailability of computers, and poor technical skills to execute interactive online teaching as the major challenges facing lecturers. The study further noted that students continue to face challenges in accessing personal computers to facilitate blended learning. Despite these barriers, blended learning and teaching are the future of higher education hence the need to ensure that universities have sufficient resources to support the transition. The study recommends the need to align blended teaching and learning with overall institutional goals and priorities.

In the context of sustained growth and diversification of Higher Education Systems, civil society is increasingly concerned about the quality of programmers offered to students. As a result, there is an increase in public assessments and international comparisons of Higher Education Institutions, not only within the higher education sector but in the general media (OECD, 2008). However, evaluation methods tend to overemphasize research and the use of research performance as a yardstick of an institution’s value. Although this is very paramount in academia, it has got insignificant contribution to the quality of graduates who precede from such breeding grounds. There is need to appreciate the fact that the quality of graduates is largely determined by the way they are taught thus calling for a rationalized intended approach to the evaluation of the quality of teaching and learning in higher education institutions (Kaneko, 2008). The current study investigated the quality of teaching in Bishop Stuart University in Uganda with the aim of encouraging practices that could enhance the quality of teaching and thereby checking the quality of graduates. The study adopted a cross sectional comparative study design using both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. This study was conducted at Bishop Stuart University (BSU), Mbarara in the Faculty of Education where a comparison of the teaching and learning process of students in two programme sessions of study (recess or distance learning and regular sessions) was carried out. Randomized samples of 362 out of a population of 1501 and 78 out of a population of 201 students were obtained from both the regular and recess sessions respectively for the quantitative data. An evaluation was done of the teaching and learning process in the two programme sessions in the classes taught by the same lecturers using the same instrument which had 9 items related to lecturers’ punctuality, attendance, mastery of subject content, teaching methods, enthusiasm and commitment, lecturers’ being dependable and approachable, respect and meaningful feedback. The findings thereof were mutually exclusive; it was found that the lecturers from students of the regular programme had very good scores whereas from students of recess or distance learning programme, the same lecturers had low scores. This finding compelled the researchers to find out why this was so. They thus conducted a Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and three Key Informants’ Interviews (KIIs) which revealed that the programme session conditions and terms of work affected the teaching and learning processes. It was concluded that under a given outlay of conditions, the same lecturers performed differently. It was thus recommended that using both qualitative and quantitative data approaches, there should be continuous student evaluations in ensuring effective teaching and learning, particularly for students in higher institutions of learning.Keywords: Higher education institutions, student evaluation, teaching and learning.

Today, in the economic crisis and the transformation of the Covid/SARS-19 pandemic, as well as the aggression of the Russian on the territory of Ukraine, the waging of a full-scale war, the issues of the development and functioning of distance student learning in higher education institutions in wartime are becoming urgent. Therefore, the war dealt a devastating blow to the economy of higher education institutions of Ukraine, they suffered in the most serious infrastructural and financial way. The insufficient level of ensuring the conduct of research, the imperfection of the organizational structure and organization of the management of scientific and scientific and technical activities in institutions of higher education determine the need to review and improve the existing system of management of scientific projects in institutions of higher education with specific conditions of training, naval, military, etc. The author of the study substantiated the method of distribution of scientific projects among the scientific teams of the educational institution, which takes into account not only the personnel support and workload of the executors, but also has a mechanism for evaluating the successful implementation of the project in the general portfolio of scientific projects of the higher educational institution. A method of assessing the scientific potential of scientific and pedagogical units of the institution was developed, which, in addition to the trivial emphasis on the personnel component, takes into account the level of security of the given project. It is possible to assess both the static and dynamic components of the scientific potential of higher education institutions as an indicator of the stability and development of the organization, taking into account the personal achievements of employees of higher education institutions. An economic method of distributing the premium fund of employees based on the results of the implementation of scientific projects in educational institutions of higher education, as an additional motivational lever of influence on a specific project. As an additional motivational tool, the author has defined a method of distributing the premium fund based on the results of the implementation of scientific projects in higher education institutions, which allows taking into account the personal contribution of the performers, the project team, and the necessary resources in conditions of uncertainty. The mechanism of stimulation under conditions of specific restrictions allows to improve the system of awarding educational personnel, and to differentiate scientific personnel with the use of means and tools of project management.

This critical review and perspective of the literature features the current landscape of online learning in higher education institutions (HEIs). The review starts by exploring the changing nature of student needs and staff and institutional roles in the face of online learning, and how digital transformation is shaping the culture and ways of learning. The aim is to better understand the challenges faced by higher education leaders to adopt online offerings and the factors affecting their decision-making. Emergence and fast evolution of third-party online programme management providers (OPMs) and forces which encourage or oppose their partnership with HEIs are critically discussed. The review also highlights the impact of COVID-19 emergency online learning on institutional practices and future adoption of online offerings.

The article analyzes the trends in teacher education development with the aim to improve the system of education in Ukraine. The need to improve professional training of future teachers taking into account metacognitive learning strategies is emphasized. The main way of enhancing efficiency of professional knowledge acquisition is defined to be metacognitive processes. The study of psychopedagogical literature shows variety and diversity of scientific approaches to undestanding the essence of metacognitions. It is indicated that the implementation of metacognitive approach is impossible, unless the student possesses the knowledge of learning strategies. When the lecturer aims to develop them in the students, learning becomes more personality-oriented and the level of learner autonomy is increased and thinking is amplified. This, in turn, is one of the most important ways to develop self-study skills. Foreign educational science singles out three groups of learning strategies such as cognitive, socially affective and metacognitive (being the main element of educational actions). The methods of metacognitive learning in higher education institutions in France are analyzed. The metacognitive learning pattern of note-taking is defined as to be most practice-oriented. It consists of such stages as contextualization, decontextualization and recontextualization. The analysis of training programmes for future teachers proves that the implementation of metacognitive programmes into practice of higher teacher education in France is based on the following two processes: either their full assimilation with the already existing syllabi, or the expansion of syllabi with the specialized course of study in metacognitive learning. Therefore, these programmes urge lecturers to realize that under modern conditions it is necessary to switch to metalearning. Students are assisted in creating a list of competences and knowledge and are aware of the need to enhance them in the future. The analysis of metacognitive programmes for professional training of future teachers in France concludes that lecturers aim to develop future teachers’ ability to self-analyze and self-assess learning activities.

In spite of a prominent discussion in the literature about the relationship between theory and practice in teacher education there is a lack of empirical research examining the effects on teachers’ development of professional knowledge after graduating from higher education into teaching practice. This study uses a database of 191 German and Austrian teachers whose general pedagogical knowledge (GPK) was tested at four time points to cover their teaching career from entering into initial teacher education through graduation until entering the teaching profession. In both country contexts, teachers acquire knowledge during their initial teacher education, indicating the impact of formal opportunities to learn (OTL) during higher education. However, the knowledge growth discontinues at the transition from academic learning in higher education institutions into teaching practice at school. Teachers with high school grade point average (GPA) are significantly less affected, which reflects the relevance of future teachers’ cognitive entrance characteristics to higher education.