It is widely recognised that tertiary education does not provide all of the knowledge and skills required to succeed in modern societies. Personal and interpersonal skills--so-called "soft skills"--are also needed to complement professional skills and expertise, and become an essential part of an individual's personality. One way of…

The aim of this paper is to provide a comparative analysis of higher education and the graduate labour markets in selected European countries (France, Germany, Spain and United Kingdom) in the context of the expectations of graduates and prospective employers, and respective recruitment and selection practices. Expectations of graduating students…

This chapter reports on the design, implementation and evaluation of an English for Specific Purposes (ESP) course for dental students at the University of Bordeaux. We give an overview of the "English for Dental Studies" courses taught from second year through to fifth year before focussing on the fifth year course in which the…

Research student internships in physics is one way that students can gain a broad range of research experience in a variety of research environments, and develop international contacts. We explore international physics research internships, focusing on the academic learning experiences, by interviewing four international research interns in a…

The ECO European Project funded by the European Commission is dedicated to bringing MOOCs to a new dimension by taking advantage of the new possibilities offered by the Social Web (O'Reilly, 2005). This paper focuses on the intercreative aspects of MOOCs. It takes a look at the characteristics of the new ECO MOOCs to see if they are designed and…

When students look at their classmates in the classroom, consciously or unconsciously, they see competitors both for academic recognition and social success. How do they fit in relation to others and how do they succeed in achieving both? Traditional views on the drive to succeed and the fear of failure are well known as motivators for achieving…

The European Students' Union (ESU), in partnership with the Romanian Agency for Quality Assurance in Higher Education (ARACIS), the National Unions of Students Scotland--student participation in quality Scotland (NUS, Sparqs) and freier zussamenschluss von studentInnenschaften (fzs), and with support of the European Commission (DG EAC), launched…

The underlying aim of the work related in this article, was to define Design Patterns for recording and analyzing usage in learning systems. The implied "bottom-up" approach when defining a Design Pattern brought us to examine data collected in our learning system through different lights: (1) the data type, (2) the human roles involved…

This article presents the results of an experiment that was set up to determine the effectiveness of a self-directed learning method in English for Special Purposes at the "Ecole des Mines" in France. A group of students devoted two of their allotted three-and-one-half hours per week to semi-autonomous work. Through a questionnaire, the…

Examines how children, ages four to ten years old, construct conventional time by using different tools to locate events in time. Explains that the children underwent an interview task and a card arrangement task. Finds that younger children use relative locations while older children utilize absolute locations. (CMK)

Describes studies conducted at a French university to evaluate microcomputer software used in computer assisted instruction. Results of questionnaires completed by a sample of 150 students in beginning computing courses are analyzed to determine how such courseware can be improved, and evaluation versus validation is discussed. (LRW)

Examines, through two studies, the tendency of French students of different academic levels to use the prototype-matching strategy (a decision-making strategy where self-concept guides one's choices). Results suggest that not only high achieving students use the prototype-matching strategy. (CMK)

Presents the findings of a study that traces the relationship among national educational values, teacher beliefs, classroom practices, and student perspectives on learning and schooling in the educational systems of England, France, and Denmark. Focuses on children's perceptions of their schooling and teachers. (CMK)

Presents a study in which 505 fourth- and fifth-grade students completed questionnaires that measured anxiety and self-efficacy and the effect on performance at two levels: (1) dispositional, or trait-like variables; and (2) situational, or state variables. Discusses the results. (CMK)

Explores the views of 120 student teachers, from two higher education institutions in England and France, on their initial teacher training programs. Provides information on the reforms of initial teacher training programs in England and France. Discusses the results. (CMK)