In the present study, we aimed to specify the key competence domains perceived to be critical for the teaching profession and depict them as a comprehensive teacher competence model. An expert panel that included representatives from seven units providing university-based initial teacher education in Finland carried out this process. To produce an…

Nowadays, with increasing competitiveness in every field, securing a good job may be difficult. In this connection, students aiming to get into the best educational institution (EI) would give them their best chance of quality education and good job opportunities. Institutional evaluation and selection are complex tasks that must simultaneously…

Purpose: The current student selection process for short-term mobility actions under the Erasmus + program (i.e. intensive programs and blended intensive programs) is based exclusively on the students' order of enrolment and their grades. This study offers an alternative approach using the analytic hierarchy process based on a four-layer model…

Paradigm shift is a significant modification of the core assumptions and methods of experimentation in a scientific discipline. The field of education, at all levels, has undergone tremendous change recently, precipitated by extraordinary demand for high quality and meaningful sustainable education at all levels across the globe. The national…

This paper explores how fairness was conceptualised by those responsible for admission to highly selective undergraduate courses at 17 universities in England. Fairness was conceptualised principally with reference to the traditional "meritocratic equality of opportunity" paradigm, which holds that university places should go to the most…

In recent decades, policymakers around the globe have adopted market mechanisms such as consumer-style choice, provider autonomy and competition. Such policies may improve educational equity since families can choose options outside of their assigned local school. Yet research from multiple countries is finding a link between greater use of such…

In the absence of any one single internationally accepted definition of giftedness, New Zealand has officially opted to advise schools to develop their own definitions. How wise is this for a policy? Can we come closer to a definition that is sound in terms of research and that also reflects what is uniquely and essentially New Zealand? This paper…

Denmark has persistent challenges with an unacceptably large 'residual group' of young people with no upper secondary education. Vocational education and training programs continue to suffer low enrollment and high dropout rates. Far too many ethnic minority boys drop out of school and educational system in Denmark. At the same time, there is a…

The present investigation examined instructor immediacy behaviors, students' perceptions of those behaviors, and student math anxiety in Chinese classrooms. Consistent with the American college classroom, a simple causal chain was anticipated in which instructor immediacy behaviors positively induced a psychological response to immediacy, which…

In Europe, doctoral education systems have been systematically reformed. These reforms are aimed at improving the quality of research and the competitiveness of European countries. In Finland, the reform project of doctoral education started vigorously in the mid-1990s which has contributed significantly to the emergence of more structured…

This paper examines the relative merits of early and delayed offer schemes in attracting under-represented students to university. Following the introduction of a demand-driven system and the establishment of national growth and equity targets, Australian universities have increased the number of offers made to students before the release of…

Purpose: Aspects of intellectual competence would not be sufficient for quality teaching that requires a mix of intellectual and personal qualities. The purpose of this paper was to elicit personal attributes of teachers' college applicants. Design/methodology/approach: This qualitative case study consisted of 99 participants aged 20-24 years of…

The Foundation Programme of the Centre for Science Access at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa provides access to tertiary science studies to educationally disadvantaged students who do not meet formal faculty entrance requirements. The low number of students proceeding from the programme into mainstream is of concern, particularly…

No issue in American higher education is more contentious than that of race-based affirmative action. In light of the ongoing debate around the topic and recent Supreme Court rulings, affirmative action policy may be facing further changes. As an alternative to race-based affirmative action, some analysts suggest affirmative action policies based…

The emergence of transnational joint venture universities provides a new model of education internationalization where the stakes are high and where the opportunities to study the under-researched field of student intercultural engagement are multidimensional and compelling. Since their institutional mission statements often involve language about…