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This book provides an accessible introduction to the philosophy of educational research. A historical-philosophical journey presents the development of research methods from their origins to the present day. In addition, the book reflects on how research methods have influenced scientific effectiveness. Throughout, the book covers the principal things that need to be known today about the theory and practice of educational research, its epistemological bases, and its development as a discipline within scientific knowledge. The historical events that defined both the methodological evolution and the current situation of contemporary educational research are described to enable its understanding.This book provides an accessible introduction to the philosophy of educational research. A historical-philosophical journey presents the development of research methods from their origins to the present day.. It can also be used as didactic material for classroom discussions on educational research, educational philosophy, and current controversies in education. Its usefulness reaches the social sciences, humanities, and experimental sciences in all areas related to teaching and training. The basis of educational research is exposed, both in its concepts or philosophical visions and methodologies, which ultimately define what education means today.

A PhD is the start of the research careers, and these students are the backbone of Universities and research institutions. It is the opportunity for youthful energy and creativity to make global impact and train the future researchers to make a difference. However, the candidature can also be the period of confusion and regret because of lack of structure and understanding.Research Methods for Successful PhD is written to help the PhD students and other young researchers navigate their path through this phase that will give them a direction and purpose. It is a candid conversation and developed over the experience of supervising 30 research students and publishing 400 papers over 20 years. The book recognizes that every student is different and has unique circumstances. It teases out the fundamental questions that we forget to ask, the method of relating to the supervisor, discusses methods to improve communication skills and explains the how to get the work published.

Since the late 1970s, China has initiated landmark reforms in education resulting in great strides in international rankings.. Unlike many recent books on Chinese educational reform, which examine macroscopic policies, this book examines the universalization of pre-school education, school selection in elementary education, attractiveness of vocational education, the operational mode of university charters, the development of open universities, the credit bank system in building the learning society, and other aspects of education, and only analyzes one specific problem in each of these contexts for the purpose of comparing China's educational reforms to their overseas counterparts through microscopic study.Insights on Education Reform in China is not intended to provide a complete picture of China's educational reform. Rather, it addresses the types of complicated circumstances under which China has made achievements in educational reform, and the conflicts arising in the context of that reform.Topics covered include: Education Reform, Equality, Standardization, Governance, Learning Society

Quality in higher education was not invented in recent decades - universities have always possessed mechanisms for assuring the quality of their work. The rising concern over quality is closely related to the changes in higher education and its social context. Among others, the most conspicuous changes are the massive expansion, diversification and increased cost in higher education, and new mechanisms of accountability initiated by the state. With these changes the traditional internally enacted academic quality-keeping has been given an important external dimension - quality assurance, which requires higher education institutions to continuously demonstrate and improve performance, and which also provides new systems of rewards and sanctions. However, the complex impacts of quality assurance policies have shown a need to further understand the quality issue in higher education.This book is about constructing a more inclusive understanding of quality in higher education through combining the macro, meso and micro levels, i.e. from the perspectives of national policy, higher education institutions as organizations in society, individual teaching staff and students. It covers both theoretical constructions for understanding quality and empirical investigation in the Chinese context. The questions addressed are: How is quality of higher education perceived by the institution, teaching staff and students, respectively? What are the main concerns for the institution, teaching staff and students in their own pursuit of quality? It has been concluded that quality of higher education is not only about educational quality, but also about expanding life chances for the students, prosperity in the administrative system for the teaching staff,and organizational prosperity for the institution. With regard to quality assurance and accountability in higher education special attention should be given to the values pursued and be careful to balance between immediate, single-value efficiency and sustainable development and a wider-range of values that higher education serves.

Quality Assurance is not a new concept in the education sector in general, and higher education in particular, though it is becoming increasingly more relevant and important. Higher education helps to improve an individual's quality of life by enabling them to inflate their knowledge and expertise, to grasp abstract concepts and theories, and to raise their awareness of the world and their community, and as such the assurance of quality is becoming more pivotal in the whole education process.There is no simple definition of the concept of quality in education, though numerous models and theories have been devised. Toward Quality Assurance and Excellence of Higher Education is a new episode of the Quality Assurance perception in higher education, which identifies the quality culture and orientation from the beginning, integrating crucial factors to build a "e;pyramid"e; of higher education excellence. The book compares concepts from the main theories of Quality Assurance, management and control when they are applied to educational systems in higher education. The book also presents a new model of excellence in higher education. Excellence is an architecture of building blocks that comes with process performance, effectiveness, harmony and collaboration which should be incorporated in a quality-oriented concept of a sustainable excellence of higher education. The model integrates four main facets: the Educational System, Quality Assurance Managing and Control, Strategic Planning and Globalization. Also presented are international "e;best-practices"e; in quality assurance in higher education, from Japan and Finland.

Style is a distinctive manner of expression, in writing or speech. The wordevolved from Latin stilus, an instrument for writing, marking, or incising,such as something used by the ancients in writing on clay or waxed tablets.It is the way in which something is said or done, as distinguished fromits substance. Style is also a convention with respect to spelling, punctuation,capitalization, and typographic arrangement and display followed in writingor printing.Scientific Style in English aims to help students with the reading and writing of scientific and technical texts in English, with a particular focus on style, grammar and math. It can be used by students and professionals with basic or intermediate understanding of theEnglish language.Technical topics discussed in the book include: i Scientific Style in Englishi Mathematical Style in Englishi Technical Stylei Stylistic Problems in Englishi How to write Theses and Dissertations

School culture is playing an increasingly important role in school performance and educational development. Within the national campaign in China for the innovative and sustainable development of education, local governments in Beijing Municipality have encouraged and facilitated educational innovation toward better school culture. In recent years various initiatives have been undertaken by a select group of schools to develop strategies and further action toward innovation and change. This book documents an investigation of how teachers and principals perceive school culture development in China. A survey was conducted among 1,992 informants from 37 schools (located in four different districts) in Beijing Municipality. The results of this study indicated that the respondents had overall positive perceptions of school culture construction and development in the educational change process. In general, they showed a positive attitude toward the school culture improvement initiatives, reported satisfaction about their current school culture and held confidence in the direction their school culture is heading. The study demonstrated that certain factors, such as school geographical location and respondents' job duty, job title, and gender, make a difference in how participants perceive their school's culture. Teachers and principals from a less economically developed district had less awareness of, involvement in, and understanding of school culture development in all its aspects. A notable gap between teachers and principals was identified in their perception of the core values and norms of the school and of communication between teachers and principals. This study suggests that for educational development to be further carried forward successfully, there is an urgent need for better distribution of educational resources (both financial and leadership), common understanding, agreed-upon goals, and efficient communication between principals and teachers. KeywordsEducational philosophy, Ethics, Chinese context, Gender, Learning

Presents recent developments in university-industry-collaborations, using case studies from Japan, and showing the mutual needs from both universities and enterprises in the knowledge-based society. Technical topics discussed include development of university-industry collaboration (UIC); development of UIC in Japan; case studies of UIC in Japan; and the global contribution of UIC from Japan.

Beijing Institute for the Learning Society (BILS) was established in 2011 through the efforts of Beijing Leading Group Office for Construction of Learning City and Beijing Normal University. The Institute is building a platform that integrates intellectual resources of universities in Beijing to serve the learning city's construction. This book summarizes the goals set by BILS.

Explores the design and implementation of e-collaboration technology in a workplace setting. Featuring extensive coverage of a range of topics relating to the benefits and challenges of these tools, this book is an essential reference source for students, researchers, and practitioners seeking relevant research on the use of digital spaces within organisational contexts.

Investigates arts-based encounters in educational settings in response to a global need for studies that connect the cultural, inter-cultural, cross-cultural, and global elements of arts-based methods in education. In this extraordinary collection, contributions bring together diverse cultural and educational perspectives and include a large variety of artistic genres and research methodologies.

Presents the latest research theories and current examples of MOOC courses practices in Higher Education. The book presents an extensive assortment of interpretations and practices examples of MOOC courses, across areas as varied as teaching methodologies, instructional innovations, and educational technology.

Owing to the revolution in information technology, the face of the contemporary workplace has changed and systems have been made more effective by introducing new IT techniques. This book focuses on HRM and how modern technology is helping to ensure the effectiveness of HR functions.

Documents an investigation of attitudes from teaching staff to reforms and changes in Chinese healthcare. Nearly 1800 teaching staff from 23 medical universities participated in this investigation. The results suggest that sustainable educational change demands not only supports from policy-makers and leaderships, but also active participation from teaching staff.

The modern workforce is closer to gender-equal than it has ever been, and many efforts are in place to support further progress. The Internet of Women provides an exciting look at personal narratives and case studies of female leaders and cultural shifts around the globe that illustrate this promising trend.

Presents the latest research theories and modern-day examples of design research in higher education. The chapters provide interpretations and examples of how today's new design researchers conceptualize this growing methodology across areas as varied as classroom teaching methodologies, instructional innovations, educational technology, equality studies, and environmental education.

INTUITEL is a research project that was co-financed by the European Commission with the aim to advance state-of-the-art e-learning systems via addition of guidance and feedback for learners. Through a combination of pedagogical knowledge, measured learning progress and a broad range of environmental and background data, INTUITEL systems will provide guidance towards an optimal learning pathway.

Over the past 35 years, a comprehensive gifted education system called the Beijing Model of Gifted Education and Talent Development (BMGETD) has gradually been developed in China. This book presents a summary of the educational practices used in, and the research done on the BMGETD over these decades.