South Korea implemented many-pronged educational reforms, notably to transition from heavy reliance on a high-stakes standardised test to more diversified assessment for university admissions. Nonetheless, this effort created another arena of competition towards meritocratic credentials--such as academic publications. The South Korean government,…

This dissertation comprises three cross-disciplinary essays on information systems, marketing, and financial outcomes research for nonprofit service organizations. In our first essay, we explore service quality impacts on the constructs of positive and negative word of mouth, developing and validating a new measurement scale, testing it…

Our study uses a qualitative comparative analysis method in order to assess the impact of national accreditation schemes and also other relevant features of the higher education systems of 20 OECD countries on quality of the higher education sector measured by world rankings of national higher education systems. The analysis shows that higher…

This article investigates whether the level of academics' societal engagement (ASE) is higher or lower at universities with leading research university (LRU) status compared with institutions at lower status levels within vertically stratified systems. In a theory-based purposeful sampling, we studied the correlation of LRU-status and ASE in…

Purpose: This paper is derived from a thorough and systematic study, contributing to further understanding of the perception of authentic leadership in the context of Cyprus, by involving school principals' both espoused values and values in action coupled with their leadership styles. Design/methodology/approach: Data were drawn from a…

This article highlights the capacity of both neoliberal discourse and Teach for America (TFA) in shaping how emergent TFA teachers frame teaching with regard to occupational esteem, occupational status, and occupational prestige. Relevant literature explores the evolution of teaching and teacher preparation in light of neoliberalism, and the…

This essay explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the position of British universities in league tables. We argue that the pandemic has increased the inequalities between them. Through the analysis of the three core functions of universities -- internationalization, research, and teaching, we predict that the gap between top-tier and…

This article explores and discusses one of the main findings of the author's recent dissertation, namely that parents' and pupils' choice of language of instruction in formal schooling depends on its social prestige. The author first reviews the latest research on language in education in sub-Saharan Africa, and asks why indigenous languages are…

Driven by a shifting landscape and increased competition for students, institutions of higher education (IHE) are working to differentiate themselves to consumers in order to attract new students. These differentiation efforts have increasingly focused on the adult, non-traditional student demographic. As IHEs strive to include claims of quality…

Purpose: In recent years, though a growing body of research has emerged on world-class universities (WCUs), studies in this field remain limited. The purpose of this study is to identify and describe the research gap and provide a future direction for WCU research. This paper highlights the key theoretical approaches, methods, journals, unit…

The study investigates the process of creating evaluative homogeneity within a performance-based research funding system. It does so in reference to the experience of creating a national journal ranking in Poland in 2019. It refers to the cases of two disciplines: biology and history. The use of this case is justified by its unique character, that…

In this era of communication technology, educational benefits and many ethical problems associated with using mobile technology devices have emerged in the education sector. This study explored the reasons for teachers' indulgence in the unprofessional use of mobile phones and its repercussions on education in Tanzania. The study was conducted…

Doctoral employment outside universities has been increasing, as universities cannot employ all doctorate holders. Nevertheless, it has been argued that the shift from doctoral programs to the non-academic labour market has been limited. In this qualitative study, more than 800 verbal answers given by doctorate holders to a pair of open-ended…

Universities in the USA must navigate a complex set of organizational goals when communicating about international students. On one hand, international students signal that the university has a global reach and diverse student body; on the other hand, international students have been viewed as edging out domestic students for access to scarce…

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate how global university rankings interact with quality and quality assurance in higher education along the two lines of investigation, that is, from the perspective of their relationship with the concept of quality (assurance) and the development of quality assurance policies in higher education, with…