scholarly journals The Role of Higher Education Institutions in the Implementation of Circular Economy in Latin America

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (17) ◽  
pp. 9805
Author(s):  
Daniel A. Salas ◽  
Paulina Criollo ◽  
Angel D. Ramirez
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Circular Economy ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Global North ◽  
Latin American Countries

Circular economy (CE) describes a sustainable alternative approach to the current linear economy system. It is a growing topic among scholars, practitioners, and decisionmakers; it encompasses several concepts related to sustainability and requires the synergy of multiple actors for success, including higher education institutions (HEIs) as one of the most relevant ones. Current CE is based mostly on experiences in Global North developed countries, where the concept has gained great attention and has already influenced policies and strategies. However, CE in Latin American countries (LA countries) have not yet received such attention. Thus, some “unique problems” may remain unattended, and efforts to attain a CE are more likely to fail. Likewise, the study shows how the role of HEIs in CE in LA countries has not yet been fully explored, as the literature on this topic is scarce. This paper aims to address the main research question: what is the role of HEIs in the transition to a CE in Latin American countries? For this, a two-fold methodology was performed: (i) a systematic review which allows understanding of the trends of CE research in LA and the extent of the HEIs involvement; and (ii) a narrative review, which provides insights into the state of the art of CE research (gaps, drivers, and barriers) in LA countries and how this relates to HEIs. This approach drew implications for the role of HEIs in the implementation of CE in LA countries. HEIs are key actors in this transition, contributing in several ways to the CE by collaborating with industry, assisting policy makers, building human and intellectual capital, supporting community engagement projects, influencing campus culture, linking with international CE networks, and promoting an inclusive CE discourse. This research contributes to the CE body of knowledge from a Latin-American Global South perspective by discussing the factors that aim to define the role of HEIs in the CE transition in LA countries.

scholarly journals Semi-Systematic Literature Review on Sustainability and Sustainable Development in Higher Education Institutions

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 7683
Author(s):  
Amila Omazic ◽  
Bernd Markus Zunk
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Agenda 2030 ◽  
Research Themes ◽  
Development Goals

Public sector organizations, primarily higher education institutions (HEIs), are facing greater levels of responsibility since adopting and committing to the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development (SD) and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). HEIs are expected to provide guidance for various stakeholders on this matter, but also to implement this agenda and the SDGs in their institutions. Although the role of these organizations has been recognized, the fields and issues that HEIs should address on their path towards sustainability and SD are still unclear. To provide further clarity, a semi-systematic literature review on sustainability and SD in HEIs was conducted to identify both the key concepts and main research themes that represent sustainability and SD in HEIs and to identify research gaps. This review increases our knowledge of this topic and enhances our understanding of sustainability and SD in the context of HEIs.

scholarly journals Higher Education in Latin America: Trends and Explanations

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miguel Székely
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Completion Rates ◽  
Upper Secondary ◽  
Context Variables ◽  
Working Age ◽  
Recent Trends ◽  
Latin American Countries

This paper documents the recent trends in access and completion of higher education (HE) in 18 Latin American countries, and explores the relation with a series of context variables in order to verify different hypothesis about the changes observed. We find that access to HE among individuals in the working age population has risen in the region, while completion rates have fallen. Our cohort-level analysis shows that the recent expansion in HE enrollment has been mostly associated with the increase in Upper Secondary completion rates as opposed to an increase in the fraction of USE graduates who enroll in HE. Other factors associated with this expansion include economic growth and favorable labor market conditions. Nonetheless, the dominant role of “the pipeline” underscores the need to continue increasing USE completion in order to expand HE access. Since “the pipeline” effect will at some point exhaust its role driving HE expansion, our findings also underscore the need for policies that raise the enrollment of USE graduates.

scholarly journals Higher Education Stakeholders’ Views on Learning Analytics Policy Recommendations for Supporting Study Success

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Ifenthaler ◽  
Jane Yin-Kim Yau
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Learning Analytics ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Study Success ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Success In Higher Education ◽  
Education Stakeholders

<p class="0abstract"><span lang="EN-AU">Learning analytics show promise to support study success in higher education. Hence, they are increasingly adopted in higher education institutions. This study examines higher education experts’ views on learning analytics utilisation to support study success. Our main research question was to investigate how ready higher education institutions are to adopt learning analytics. We derived policy recommendations from an international systematic review of the last five years of learning analytics research. Due to the lack of rigorous learning analytics research and adoption in Germany, this study focusses on the German university context and examines how ready German university stakeholders are to adopt learning analytics. In order to validate the policy recommendations, we conducted an interview study from June to August 2018 with 37 German higher education stakeholders. The majority of participants stated that their institutions required further resources in order to adopt learning analytics but were able to identify what these resources were in order for successful implementation.</span></p>

A SCOPING REVIEW OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ENTREPRENEURSHIP EDUCATION, ENTREPRENEURIAL CULTURE AND ENTREPRENEURIAL INTENTION AT HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 792-810
Author(s):  
Essam Hussain Al-Lawati ◽  
Umar Haiyat Abdul Kohar ◽  
Ebi Shahrin Suleiman
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Entrepreneurship Education ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intention ◽  
Entrepreneurial Intentions ◽  
Entrepreneurial Culture ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose: The aim of this study to highlight the role of entrepreneurial culture in the relationship between entrepreneurship education and entrepreneurial intentions at higher education institutions as study variables. This study could play a vital role in guiding students to choose entrepreneurship as a career by encouraging them. Methodology: A scoping review method was used to identify critical evidence in the reviewed relationships between the three above mentioned variables, which are: entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial culture, and entrepreneurial intention. By using the scoping review method, the authors analyzed articles from Scopus and Web of Science databases published from the year 2003 to 2019, in which 52 relevant articles out of 105 related published articles were identified using Mendeley software to filter these articles.  Main Findings: The results show that there was a significant positive relationship between entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurial culture, and entrepreneurial intention when the entrepreneurial culture was inculcated in entrepreneurship education activities at higher education institutions. This study shows that the most used theory is the Theory of Planned Behavior, in which most studies were done on the level of universities, and a significant volume of reviews have been carried out in developed countries. Application of This study: The cultivation of entrepreneurial competencies is heavily influenced by the prevailing culture, which is usually strengthened through education and directed by individual entrepreneurial intention along with the role of entrepreneurial culture. Hence, this could be useful for developing and economies in transition countries that might face high unemployment rates to focus on these variables in comparison to developed countries. Novelty: This study highlights and further proposes the mediation role of entrepreneurial culture in entrepreneurship education - entrepreneurial intention relationship based on the outcomes of the scoping review. Indeed, this relationship was just mentioned by words and not validated or measured comprehensively by the scholars. Hence, there is a chance for further studies in this body of knowledge.

scholarly journals Integrating Social Innovation into the Curriculum of Higher Education Institutions in Latin America: Insights from the Students4Change Project

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 5378
Author(s):  
Alfonso Unceta ◽  
Igone Guerra ◽  
Xabier Barandiaran
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Social Entrepreneurship ◽  
Social Innovation ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
American Universities ◽  
Support Strategies ◽  
Social Innovations ◽  
Latin American Universities

In the last two decades, social innovation (SI) and social entrepreneurship (SE) have gained relevance and interest within the framework of academia at international level. Higher education institutions (HEIs) are key players in promoting innovation and social entrepreneurship initiatives that respond to multifaceted challenges. They support strategies on the basis of the strengthening of participation, collaboration, and cooperation with society and its local communities. However, the approach of Latin American universities to SI and SE has been very uneven in the way they have understood them, integrated them into academic programmes, and transferred knowledge to society. On the basis of the experience of the Students4Change project, we sought to understand the role of Latin American HEIs in promoting social innovations by analysing the experiences of 10 participating universities to formalise a pedagogical programme on SI and SE in their institutions. The results suggest that there is still a need to formalise an academic syllabus that is specifically designed to promote social innovations and to train universities in this endeavour. This paper contributes to the identification of the main levers of change, strengths, and challenges that Latin American universities face to institutionalise SI and SE in their contexts.

scholarly journals COED SPORTS AS AN ‘INTEGRATION TOOL’ IN HELLENIC MILITARY HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Kefi-Chatzichamperi ◽  
I. Kamberidou ◽  
N. Patsantaras
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Armed Forces ◽  
Naval Academy ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Gender Integration ◽  
Main Research ◽  
The Military ◽  
Mixed Gender

<p>This study focuses on women’s integration in the military through sports, and particularly coed sports in the Hellenic Military Higher Education Institutions: 1) the Hellenic Army Academy, 2) the Hellenic Military Academy of Corps Officers, 3) the Hellenic Military Nursing Academy, 4) the Hellenic Naval Academy, and 5) the Hellenic Air Force Academy. We argue that coed sports (mixed-gender teams) can be used as an integration tool in military institutions, although research on this topic is scarce. Our study begins with a literature review on gender, the military, and sport combining a qualitative and quantitative approach to facilitate a better understanding of how women and men navigate and perceive the meaning of their mixed-gender military sport experience in the Hellenic Military Higher Education Institutions. Initially, twelve Greek women, active officers in the Armed Forces, took part in a series of semi-structured interviews. The twelve women, all high-ranking military officers today—between the ages of 25 to 49—were randomly chosen. Subsequently, a total of 120 active officers of both genders responded to the Greek version of the "Group Environment Questionnaire" (Angelonidis, 1995). From a total of 18 questions, nine were selected to examine gender integration through sport. The main research question is whether sport in the five military higher education academies/schools in Greece contributes to gender integration as perceived and understood by the 120 participants (female and male officers). The findings showed that integration is a process involving non-isolation, meaning acceptance of the gender subject (the officer cadet/military student) regardless of his/her gender into the team, as opposed to his/her exclusion, and as a result the union-unity-acceptance in a sport team of all the subjects (officer cadets of both genders). According to the results of the analysis, there is a statistically significant interaction between the variables 'joint participation of men and women in sports' and the 'integration of women' in the five Hellenic Military Higher Education Institutions. The results of this study indicate that mixed-gender military sport programs serve as a means for gender integration, unity, and cohesion. Other than strengthening physical capacity, fitness and performance, the findings confirm that coed military sport activities could prevent sexism; eliminate or reduce gender harassment, discrimination, and stereotypes; strengthen interpersonal communication/relationships and teamwork; reinforce team and social cohesion, unity, and cooperation skills.</p><p> </p><p>&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Article visualizations:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0765/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;</p>

scholarly journals Contribution of International Development Activities to Comprehensive Internationalization of U.S. Public Universities

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (Spring) ◽  
pp. 15-26
Author(s):  
Ielyzaveta Shchepetylnykova ◽  
Samantha Alvis
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
International Development ◽  
Public Universities ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
Public Higher Education ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Comprehensive Internationalization

Globalization creates increasing interdependence between countries’ economic, political, and social processes leading to rise of global challenges and opportunities. Developed countries became important players in tackling the world's biggest issues. Governments traditionally turn to higher education institutions for their teaching, discovery, and outreach expertise to address global challanges. U.S. universities engage in a variety of international activities. However, role of international development activities of U.S. colleges and universities in their comprehensive internationalization has been lacking sufficient attention of scholars. This article investigated contribution of international development activities to comprehensive internationalization of U.S. public higher education institutions through analysis of qualitative data. The findings of the study demonstrate the contribution of international development activities to comprehensive internationalization efforts of public universities through advancement of their education, research, and service missions. 

scholarly journals Does project focus influence challenges and opportunities of open online education? A sub-group analysis of group-concept mapping data

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martine Schophuizen ◽  
Karel Kreijns ◽  
Slavi Stoyanov ◽  
Scott Rosas ◽  
Marco Kalz
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Online Education ◽  
Higher Education Institutions ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Group Analysis ◽  
Open Educational Resources ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Organizational Challenges ◽  
Challenges And Opportunities ◽  
Group Concept

Abstract Openness in education is not a consistent term or value since “open” is used to describe various things and often means different things to different individuals. In a research context, it is important to identify the many interpretation(s) and perspectives of openness being investigated, especially since the underlying ideas behind these different interpretations and contexts can yield different results. Not much empirical research on the implementation aspects of open education exists, especially comparing open educational resources (OER) and open online education (OOE). This empirical study addresses this gap, exploring identification and prioritization of organizational challenges and opportunities of two subgroups of projects (i.e. OER focused or OOE focused) within various higher education institutions in The Netherlands. The main research question in this study is: Does the project character (OER focus vs. OOE focus) of innovation projects lead to perceived differences by actors involved in their implementation? Findings indicate that there are differences in conceptual as well as practical representation between the two groups. These findings imply that higher education institutions need to internally adapt to the needs of various manifestations of “openness” to be able to fully benefit from opportunities and overcome challenges.

Latin America between OAS and CELAC

2015 ◽  
pp. 90-100
Author(s):  
V. Kheifets ◽  
L. Khadorich
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Western Hemisphere ◽  
Political Will ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Functional Differences ◽  
Complementary Function ◽  
New Type

The paper presents an analysis of the major trends of regional development in Latin America in the context of integration processes that occur in the Western Hemisphere at the subregional and regional levels. The main research question is: what would be the role of the oldest regional organization – the OAS – in the emerging regional architecture? Today, the OAS faces another crisis related mainly to the expansion of a post-liberal regionalism, which formed the basis of the recently emerged CELAC. Identifying the main prerequisites for the development of a new type regionalism in Latin America, comparing the OAS and CELAC, the authors attempted to determine the characteristics of both groups, their potential and prospects. As a result, it was concluded that the unconditional opposition of the OAS to CELAC is rather fallacious, because the two associations have substantive structural and functional differences; moreover, their image among officials differs significantly. Thus, there is no doubt that CELAC, as well as other Latin American groups, performs a complementary function when it comes to solving problems within Americas in general, while the OAS, as well as any other intergovernmental group, is greatly dependable on the political will of its member states.

scholarly journals La evaluación externa: Un mecanismo para garantizar la calidad de la educación superior en Costa Rica

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
María Isabel Torres-Salas ◽  
Andrea García-Rojas ◽  
Andrea Alvarado-Arguedas
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Costa Rica ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Institutional Culture ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Self Assessments ◽  
Quality In Higher Education ◽  
Latin American Countries

This study aims to show that the accreditation involves a dynamic and complex process. The accreditation allows the improvement of higher education because it ensures and promotes quality in all the aspects that compose this educational level. This bibliographic review article considered a range of criteria concerning the standards accrediting bodies use to have self-assessments made. These criteria are associated with different experiences carried out both in Costa Rica and in other Latin American countries. In addition, this article proposes a reflection on the different mechanisms used to evaluate the quality in higher education institutions, as well as an analysis on the role of accreditation in these public universities versus the quality systems and the ways to promote the development of an institutional culture that leads to quality processes in Costa Rica. Among the main findings, the study showed that these processes put in evidence the strengths and weaknesses of the careers or institutions that undergo the accreditation, which allows the implementation of improvement plans leading to a continuously improving process that is subject to external verification following established criteria and standards.

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