Total quality management in higher education: Myths and realities     

Trevor Watkins 《Tertiary Education and Management》1997,3(4):285-291

Summary This paper has addressed a number of issues inherent in the adoption of the principles of TQM by the HE sector. It has not set out to provide all the answers but has intended to stimulate discussion and to suggest possible approaches. Where applicable, it has used South Bank University’s experience as a case study. Issues have been addressed in terms of popular misconceptions in TQM along with suggested approaches thought to be more realistic. The conclusion is that TQM has much to offer HE but that it is not just a case of translating BS5750 from a product-based to a service-based system. Sensible application of TQM principles in HE in order to show a realistic improvement will take time, commitment and considerable investment by top management. In my view the starting point should be a better understanding of customer needs, which can then be addressed through a process of service quality improvement which permeates the organisational structure. The author draws attention to the fact that certain aspects of this paper have changed in the period since it was delivered (August 1994).  相似文献   

Undergraduates Achieve Learning Gains in Plant Genetics through Peer Teaching of Secondary Students     

H. E. Chrispeels  M. L. Klosterman  J. B. Martin  S. R. Lundy  J. M. Watkins  C. L. Gibson  G. K. Muday 《CBE life sciences education》2014,13(4):641-652

This study tests the hypothesis that undergraduates who peer teach genetics will have greater understanding of genetic and molecular biology concepts as a result of their teaching experiences. Undergraduates enrolled in a non–majors biology course participated in a service-learning program in which they led middle school (MS) or high school (HS) students through a case study curriculum to discover the cause of a green tomato variant. The curriculum explored plant reproduction and genetic principles, highlighting variation in heirloom tomato fruits to reinforce the concept of the genetic basis of phenotypic variation. HS students were taught additional activities related to mole­cular biology techniques not included in the MS curriculum. We measured undergraduates’ learning outcomes using pre/postteaching content assessments and the course final exam. Undergraduates showed significant gains in understanding of topics related to the curriculum they taught, compared with other course content, on both types of assessments. Undergraduates who taught HS students scored higher on questions specific to the HS curriculum compared with undergraduates who taught MS students, despite identical lecture content, on both types of assessments. These results indicate the positive effect of service-learning peer-teaching experiences on undergraduates’ content knowledge, even for non–science major students.  相似文献   

Informing context and change in young children's sociobehavioral development – The national Adjustment Scales for Early Transition in Schooling (ASETS)     

Paul A. McDermott  Marley W. Watkins  Michael J. Rovine  Samuel H. Rikoon 《Early childhood research quarterly》2014

This article recounts the design and validity evidence for contextually-specific measures of early childhood social and behavioral adjustment within school using the Adjustment Scales for Early Transition in Schooling (ASETS). Through primary analyses of data from the Head Start Impact Study, a representative nationwide sample (N = 3077) of randomly selected children from low-income families was used to inform developmental-transitional stability and change in adjustment across numerous school contexts. Longitudinal exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded reliable and temporally continuous behavioral dimensions assessing the pervasiveness of Peer, Learning, and Teacher Context Problems. Each context dimension was equated vertically through IRT, with Bayesian scoring across two years spanning prekindergarten through 1st grade. Multilevel modeling provided support for the concurrent validity of ASETS contextual scales and their ability to assess future risk of academic and behavioral problems. ASETS scales are also shown to reveal differential, contextually-based, change trajectories across four years of early school transition.  相似文献   

Gerontology Doctoral Training: The Value of Goals,Program Perceptions,and Prior Experience Among Students     

Heidi H. Ewen  John F. Watkins  Shannon L. Bowles 《Educational gerontology》2013,39(9):757-770

This study concerns the educational experiences and progression through the doctoral programs of two cohorts of students in 5 of the 6 gerontology doctoral programs within the United States. The project goals include assessments of change and/or stability in projected career trajectories, as well as an assessment of students' perceptions of the program-student fit in terms of curriculum, research experience, and faculty involvement. This paper focuses on the perceptions and expectations of students during their first year. Perceptions of the programs are mostly positive, but areas for improvement are identified. Further investigations of data through the subsequent years identify areas of focus for continued modification and potential improvement of doctoral programs.  相似文献   

Participatory Communication with Social Media     

Angelina Russo  Jerry Watkins  Lynda Kelly  Sebastian Chan 《Curator: The Museum Journal》2008,51(1):21-31

Abstract Major museums worldwide are starting to use social media such as blogs, podcasts and content shares to engage users via participatory communication. This marks a shift in how museums publicly communicate their role as custodians of cultural content and so presents debate around an institution's attitude towards cultural authority. It also signifies a new possible direction for museum learning. This article reports on a range of initiatives that demonstrate how participatory communication via social media can be integrated into museum practices. It argues that the social media space presents an ideal opportunity for museums to build online communities of interest around authentic cultural information, and concludes with some recent findings on and recommendations for social media implementation.  相似文献   

Understanding television: An exploratory inquiry into the reconstruction of narrative content     

Kathy A. Krendl  Bruce Watkins 《Educational technology research and development : ETR & D》1983,31(4):201-212

This article examines the claim that television is a “passive” medium, one that does not actively involve the viewer cognitively in ways usually associated with mature information processing. Evidence is reported that suggests active and differential processing of television information by viewers and an increase in the level of sophistication in understanding the medium.  相似文献   

A role for research in informing approaches to assessment for year 10 students in the northern territory     

Richard Watkins  Clifford F. Fowler 《The Australian Educational Researcher》1989,16(4):49-68

This paper reports on a recently completed study into assessment, reporting and certification for students completing Year 10 in Northern Territory schools. The study involved gathering quantitative and qualitative data from major stakeholders in the outcomes of Year 10 assessment, reporting and certification — students, parents, employers, senior school-based educators and senior TAFE/tertiary educators. The study itself followed from considerable local and national debate about student assessment, and sought to survey stakeholder perceptions of the main and subsidiary issues involved, so that these perceptions might act to inform the political decisions which eventually determine educational policies. The study involved the administration of a detailed questionnaire to individuals within each of the groups noted earlier, and follow-up interviews with sub-sets of each group to gain additional information and clarify a number of areas. Questionnaire items were analysed and within group responses checked for statistical significance. Recommendations arising from the original study were used to frame Government policy in respect of changes to Year 10 assessment for all Northern Territory students completing Year 10 from 1989 onwards.  相似文献   

ADHD and achievement: meta-analysis of the child, adolescent, and adult literatures and a concomitant study with college students     

Frazier TW  Youngstrom EA  Glutting JJ  Watkins MW 《Journal of learning disabilities》2007,40(1):49-65

This article presents results from two interrelated studies. The first study conducted a meta-analysis of the published literature since 1990 to determine the magnitude of achievement problems associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Effect sizes were significantly different between participants with and without ADHD (sample weighted r = .32, sample weighted d = . 71; p = .001). Effects were also examined according to the moderators of age, gender, achievement domain (reading, math, spelling), measurement method (standardized tests vs. grades, parent/teacher ratings, etc.), sample type (clinical vs. nonclinical), and system used to identify ADHD (DSM-III-R vs. DSM-IV). Significant differences emerged from the moderator comparisons. The second study, using averaged effect sizes from the first study as a baseline for comparison, investigated achievement levels for an understudied age group with ADHD, namely, college students. Unlike previous studies at the college level, the sample incorporated both student and parent ratings (N = 380 dyads). The results were comparable to outcomes from the meta-analysis for college students and adults. Analyses demonstrated modest (R = .21) but meaningful predictive validity across 1 year to end-of-first-year grades. However, unlike earlier studies with children and adolescents, student ratings were as predictive as parent ratings. Findings are discussed in terms of the impact of moderator variables on ADHD and achievement.  相似文献   

雌激素的恐慌     

DennisWatkins丁坤善  曾少立 《科学中国》2003,(12):11-12

绝经后的妇女补充雌激素，真的会带来严重的后果吗?  相似文献   

The Erasure of Habit: Tracing the pedagogic body     

Megan Watkins 《Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education》2005,26(2):167-181

While education involves much more than a set of habits, their formation is integral to learning. Within many Western countries, however, habit formation is no longer considered a pedagogic goal. Students may still acquire certain habits of learning as a function of schooling, but the process whereby teachers utilize a form of instruction designed to encourage the habituation of particular knowledge and skills in students now seems something of an anachronism. This article focuses on the erasure of habit in the teaching of writing within the New South Wales education system in Australia. A genealogy of the pedagogic body is undertaken through an examination of primary school syllabus documents. In tracing the body it is revealed that while habit formation was once a central pedagogic tenet, its influence has now waned. With a resultant change in pedagogy, the body has been reformed with new postures of learning framed by the progressivist disciplinarity of teaching.  相似文献