The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic gave rise to swift and unprecedented changes in practice in pre-service teacher preparation programmes. Providers of pre-service education have made pragmatic adaptations to course provision, including adopting the practice of 'remote' visits to schools to assess pre-service teachers during practicum and to meet…

In a super-saturated world of academia, the real power has slowly moved from academics' ownership of their own means of production to a more managerial ethos, with all the accompanying control systems, surveillance, bureaucracy, performance audits and judgements that that entails. Student evaluation of teaching (SET) has become a significant…

This study explored academics' and institutional leaders' perception of the empowerment of various actors in Ethiopian higher education institutions. Little is known about university autonomy in Ethiopian higher education in the context of the Bologna Process. Three public universities were selected from the 31 public universities using a…

Autonomy has been considered both as a precondition and a crucial learning outcome of higher education. Recent research has been focusing on measuring university students' autonomy or its development. However, whether and how students' autonomy can be measured quantitatively is still debatable. Although autonomy is known as a changing process and…

Research has demonstrated a correlation between lecture attendance and students' academic achievement. However, students may not attend lectures for a variety of reasons. The provision of lecture recordings online can also negatively impact lecture attendance and student achievement. These facts implore us to be courageous and explore new…

When Louis Pasteur remarked that chance favours the prepared mind, he was commenting on the important role played by serendipity in scientific discovery. That role is well known (most know of the story of Fleming's accidental discovery of penicillin) but much of the literature focuses on the STEM disciplines, on 'big' science, and concentrates on…

Perceptions of social support contribute to positive adjustment even more than the actual provision of support. The goals of this study were to identify factors that may promote positive perceptions of the provision of on-campus support, especially in stressful times. The present study aimed to examine the predictive role of interpersonal…

This article reviews available research literature in the field of lecturer self-efficacy beliefs produced between 1988 and 2020. Given the growing interest in lecturer self-efficacy beliefs in recent years, and the global challenges the Higher Education sector will face following the current COVID-19 pandemic, the time to conduct such a review…

Teaching-learning approaches of university faculty increasingly include supporting their own wellbeing, as well as that of their students. Engaging in mindful practices has the potential to increase faculty capacity for reflexivity and compassion, which they can incorporate into their teaching-learning. However, few faculty have knowledge and…

Assessment and feedback have been intensively studied to promote effective learning. However, less attention is given on its role in self-directed learning (SDL) context. Despite being recognised as a powerful educational tool, critical examination of SDL and assessment and feedback literature reveals that these bodies of literature rarely…

This article draws on findings from a qualitative case study of a first-year online unit (subject) offered by a large public university through Open Universities Australia. It includes the student voice, taken from formal evaluation surveys, and the voice of casual academic tutors, provided through first-hand interviews and questionnaires. What…

The emergence of the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, has had a major impact on higher education; however, little attention has been paid to how the virus and lockdown measures instituted to stop its spread have affected the health of faculty and staff. This study employed survey methodology to assess the impact of the coronavirus and ensuing…

In modern society, academic success is closely associated with achievement. In order to help students realise their potential, it is essential to understand the factors that promote academic success. The research literature indicates several factors that are associated with academic success, including learning strategies, self-direction, and…

For a large number of Higher Education institutions in the UK, the recruitment of international students remains vital for economic, political, cultural and educational benefits. Increasing competition within the international student market has encouraged many Higher Education institutions to pay closer attention to the quality of their…

Despite continuously growing literature that emphasises the significant role of students' agency in classroom activities, the construct of agentic engagement has received scant attention in recent empirical research. Drawing from the self-determination theory, the present study aims to determine the relationship between teacher autonomy support…