International Journal of Management in Education (31 papers in press)

Regular Issues

• Factors that influence e-learning adoption by international students in Canada  
  by Amy Wong, Sarvananthan Jeganathan 
  Abstract: In recent years, the global higher education sector is increasingly adopting technology enhanced learning as part of the drive towards innovation in teaching and learning. In order to design and implement a successful e-learning environment, educational providers need to understand students perceptions of e-learning. This pilot study examines the factors that affect students intentions to adopt e-learning, namely individual user differences, perceived ease of use, perceived flexibility of use and student satisfaction. Data was collected from 151 international students studying in a Canadian public college via an online questionnaire. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the best predictor of student satisfaction was perceived ease of use, while the best predictor of intention to adopt was perceived flexibility of use. An examination of individual user differences such as gender, age, education, frequency of use and previous e-learning experience revealed that only frequency of use emerged as a predictor of intention to adopt e-learning. The findings provide important insights for colleges and higher educational institutions that are interested in the design and delivery of e-learning courses that would lead to student satisfaction and higher e-learning adoption rates. Further discussion and implications are provided.
  Keywords: e-learning; higher education; international students; Canada.
  
  
• Cynicism, autonomy and Job satisfaction: Evidence from teaching profession  
  by Navaneethakrishnan Kengatharan 
  Abstract: Integrating the theories of conservation of resources, reasoned action and affective events, the present study examines the relationship between teacher cynicism, teacher autonomy and teacher job satisfaction. Data were garnered with a self-reported questionnaire from 703 teachers working in state schools, Sri Lanka. The data were analysed with AMOS and SmartPLS. The results disclose a positive relationship between cognitive cynicism and affective cynicism, and the study further confirms a mediating relationship between cognitive cynicism and teacher job satisfaction through affective cynicism. The study made another notable finding that the behavioral cynicism, the consequent of cognitive cynicism, mediates the relationship between cognitive cynicism and teacher job satisfaction. In addition, the results reveal a moderating effect of teacher autonomy of the relationship between affective cynicism and teacher job satisfaction. Remarkably, the present study contributes to the frontiers of extant literature and proffers many useful practical implications.
  Keywords: Cynicism; autonomy; teacher job satisfaction; PLS-SEM.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2020.10024256
   
  
• University teachers goal orientation and self-efficacy: Associations with knowledge and use of teaching methods  
  by Emil Lucian Crisan, Cristian Dragos 
  Abstract: Traditionally, teaching practices of university teachers have been investigated in the context of academic disciplines and teaching approaches. Alternatively, our research analyzes teachers motivational beliefs and self-confidence in their teaching practices measured by using ten teaching methods. This study investigates the role of goal orientation and self-efficacy as predictors of knowledge and use of teaching methods of 447 university teachers. The findings demonstrate that mastery goal orientation has a positive effect on both student and teacher-centered methods. Additionally, performance goal orientation is a negative predictor of role-playing knowledge and use, being positively associated with lecturing and demonstration. Self-efficacy has a positive effect on the use and knowledge of almost all ten teaching methods. These results can be employed to improve efforts in increasing teaching quality by developing varied mechanisms which can positively impact teachers motivational beliefs and self-confidence.
  Keywords: Self-efficacy; goal orientation; teaching methods; teaching practices; university teachers; teaching quality.
  
  
• School leadership practices of Portuguese principals: Matching perceptions of principals and teachers.  
  by Ilídia Cabral, Maria Da Conceição Andrade Silva, Rosario Serrão Cunha, José Matias Alves 
  Abstract: This paper presents a study on teachers and principals perceptions of school leadership practices in Portuguese schools. Using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire, perceptions about transformational, transactional and laissez-faire leadership practices and its consequences on leadership outcomes (followers extra-effort, leaders effectiveness and followers satisfaction with leader) were collected from representative samples of Portuguese teachers (N=21082) and principals (N=122). Results point to differences in the perceptions on leadership practices between principals and teachers: (i) teachers tended to rate principals lower than the latter rate themselves in all transformational and transactional dimensions of leadership; (ii) most teachers did not perceive a dominant leadership style in their principals, whereas most principals see themselves as predominantly transformational. Female principals are perceived as building more trust and as being more encouraging and inspirational than male leaders. In both samples, the importance of contextual variables (e.g., age, academic qualifications, schools size) is not very marked when analysing their relation to perceptions about leadership outcomes, but for teachers, leadership practices have a higher impact on leadership outcomes than for principals. These results and their practical implications are discussed in the last sections of the article.
  Keywords: Leadership practices; Leadership outcomes; Followers’ and Leaders’ perceptions; School leadership.
  
  
• Implementation of virtual reality in technical education an innovative view  
  by Ahm Shamsuzzoha, Mahmood Al-Kindi, Timo Kankaanpaa 
  Abstract: Advancement of virtual reality (VR) is creating many opportunities to efficiently managing educational system in the present days. The application of VR in educational sector can contribute towards to cope up with todays digitalized educational management system. To keep such objective in mind, this research study investigated the possibility to apply VR in education, especially in technical education and analyzed its potential outcomes. The inherent benefits of VR in technical education are elaborated within the scope of this research study with the aim to meet the expectation of todays up-to-date student generation. A case study on the application of VR is conducted to demonstrate how the innovative technology can be employed to produce creative training and learning engineering curriculum. Overall outcomes from this case example are presented along with the various works done by the researchers and practitioners on virtual reality are reviewed and highlighted as well.
  Keywords: Virtual reality; 3D visualization; management of education; technical education; innovation; case study.
  
  
• Charter Schools and the Quality of Education in California: Do They Yield the Best Form of Competition?  
  by Soyoung Park 
  Abstract: As the number of charter schools has increased rapidly in the United States, many studies have continued to examine the effects of charter schools on student achievement. However, there is still conflicting evidence on the effectiveness of charter schools relative to student achievement. Regarding these findings, previous studies have focused on the values of test scores to measure student achievement exclusively by unitary measurement. Thus, this study investigates the results of increases in the number of charter schools in the public school system in California and uses the values of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) to measure equality focused performance. The results indicate that charter schools increase competition between public and charter schools and lead to better performance, while increased competition aggravates the stratification of student performance, which in turn makes good student better.
  Keywords: charter school; student achievement; competition; stratification; educational quality.
  
  
• Leading sustainable schools in the Era of Education 4.0: Identifying school leadership competencies in Malaysian secondary schools  
  by Tai Mei Kin, Omar Abdull Kareeem, Khalip Musa, Ghouri Arsalan Mujahid, Naveed R. Khan 
  Abstract: The purpose of the study was to develop an empirical School Leadership Competency Model for the era of Education 4.0 (SLCMEduc4.0) to identify school leadership competencies that facilitate and maximize effectiveness in leading sustainable schools in Malaysia. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was employed to identify the underlying factors whereas Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was applied to test the measurement models using Structural Equation Modelling. A total of 444 and 931 respondents completed the survey with usable data for EFA and CFA respectively. The results suggested that the SLCMEdu4.0 can be explained by eight factors namely; Leading for Learning, Emotional Intelligence, Critical Thinking, Communication and Ethics, Collaboration, Decision Making and Problem Solving, Digital Dexterity and Entrepreneurial with good fit statistics; normed x2=2.628, TLI=.950, CFI=.954 and RMSEA=.042. With a total of 40 items, the model also features good convergent and discriminant validity and construct reliability. The SLCMEduc4.0 is a coherent premier model that provides useful feedback for practitioners in planning, designing and evaluating future professional development programmes for school leaders. The study encourages a fresh look at educational leadership development locally and globally specifically in enhancing the leadership development of Malaysian school leaders towards productive change in the era of Education 4.0.
  Keywords: Fourth Industrial Revolution; Education 4.0; leading for learning; emotional intelligence; critical thinking; communication and accountability; collaboration; decision making and problem solving; digital dexterity and entrepreneurial.
  
  
• Mediating Effect of Student Perceived Value on Student Satisfaction in the Indonesian Private Higher Education Institutions  
  by Halimatussakdiah ., M. Shabri Abd Majid, Nasir Azis 
  Abstract: Motivated by a recent global trend of increasingly competitive and commercial-oriented tertiary education institutions, this study adopts potentially adjacent but distinct concepts to the product marketing perspective to measure the satisfaction of students on the service good provided by the university and its determinants. Within an atmosphere that now recognizes university as a major services producer and students as the customers, the study also attempts to explore the mediating effect of student perceived value on the influences of student perceived orientation and higher education image on student satisfaction in the private higher education in Aceh, Indonesia. Of 53,065 students at the 109 private higher education institutions, 300 students from the selected private higher education institutions were chosen as the respondents of the study using the purposive sampling technique. The data were gathered by distributing questionnaires to the students and analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The study documented that the student perceived orientation and higher education image have significant effects both on student perceived value and student satisfaction. The student perceived value was also found to mediate the effects of the student's perceived orientation and higher education image on student satisfaction. These findings implied that to further providing greater student satisfaction, the private higher education institutions should enhance the student perceived orientation and higher education image as well as the student perceived value.
  Keywords: Student perceived orientation; image; perceived value; satisfaction; public university.
  
  
• Perception of the Acquisition of Competences for University Professors in a Context of Problem-Based Learning Methodology  
  by Francisco Jareño, Raquel Álamo, M. Gabriela Lagos, Juan J. Jiménez 
  Abstract: This research studies the impact of a training course for University professors based on active methodologies, such as Problem-Based Learning (PBL), on their perception of the acquisition of some relevant specific and generic competences. To that end, we prepare a survey about competences and compare the perception for the teaching staff before and after carrying out the PBL activity, by analysing if there are statistically significant differences in mean (ANOVA-F test), median (Kruskal-Wallis test) and variance (Levene test). Our results may confirm that the perception would improve in competences related to the appropriate use of ICTs and problem-solving skills, among others, showing statistically significant differences. Finally, university professors would positively evaluate the practical use of the training course (4.5 out of 5), remarking the need to apply active methodologies such as PBL in the training of teachers.
  Keywords: Problem-based learning (PBL); Higher education; Interdisciplinary approach; University professor;.
  
  
• Facing a shrinking population: Is Government Control an Effective Strategy for Higher Education?  
  by Juseuk Kim, Lynn Ilon 
  Abstract: Facing a shrinking population, the Ministry of Education in Korea introduced a higher education evaluation system aimed at shrinking institutional size or closing some institutions while emphasizing quality and regional relevance. The question is, has this evaluation process been successful in achieving its stated and implied goals? This analysis reveals that there may be unintended consequences. Focusing on the evaluation process itself, results show that it tends to bias metropolitan universities. The expenditure of resources required to prepare the evaluation report draws away resources that might otherwise be directed toward quality improvements. A policy analysis exposes the explicit and implicit goals of the government policy for higher education downsizing. A case study cost analysis shows the resource cost of the evaluation process for small and larger higher education institutions.
  Keywords: Higher Education Policy; Government Control; Cost Analysis; Performance Based Funding; Korea Higher Education.
  
  
• Academics Life Satisfaction: The Role of Perceived Stress, Organizational Justice and Self-Efficacy  
  by Ahmed Obobanyi, Awanis Ku Ishak, Bidayatul Akmal Mustafa Kamil 
  Abstract: Employees of organizations globally can perform better if they perceive that their life satisfaction is up to expectations. Life satisfaction has become a crucial issue for organizations capability to attract, retain and manage valuable talents. Drawing upon the assumptions of both job demands-resources (JDR) and Adams equity theories, this paper assesses the effect of perceived stress (PS), organizational justice (OJ), and self-efficacy (SE) as a mediating variable on the life satisfaction among academic staff of public universities. In accomplishing this objective, a cross-sectional design with cluster sampling procedure was used. A total of 293 academics of public universities found in the North-Western Nigeria participated in the research survey. A Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) method was used to ascertain the reliability and validity of the measurement model and test the formulated hypotheses. Results from analyses supported the hypothesized direct associations between PS and life satisfaction; between OJ and life satisfaction; and between self-efficacy and life satisfaction of academics respectively. Furthermore, findings from analyses confirmed that self-efficacy intervened the relationship between PS and life satisfaction of academic members; and likewise, mediated the relationship between OJ and life satisfaction of academic staff in public universities. Thus, to enhance an optimally life satisfaction of academic staff of public universities, the authorities of the institutions should give eminent consideration to the promotion of self-efficacy of academic staff. Finally, theoretical and practical contributions as well as future research focus were elucidated.
  Keywords: Perceived Stress; Organizational Justice; Self-Efficacy; Life Satisfaction; Academic staff; public universities; Nigeria.
  
  
• The intention of using Facebook by postgraduate students for knowledge sharing: An empirical study  
  by Ushamalar Selvarajah, Nor'ashikin Ali 
  Abstract: This study aims to develop a conceptual model that explains the factors that influence the use of Facebook by postgraduate students in Malaysia for knowledge sharing. This study adopted quantitative approach using survey as the data collection method. The data were collected from 206 postgraduate students from the public and private universities in Malaysia. The data were tested using Partial Least Square (PLS) approach for the measurement and structural composition of the research model. The findings indicate that social interaction ties, perceived enjoyment, and trust have a significant relationship with the behavioural intention of postgraduate students to share knowledge via Facebook while perceived similarities do not affect their behavioural intention to share knowledge via Facebook. The findings extend the scope of the theory and contribute to the body of knowledge for the scope of postgraduate students and existing literature regarding social media adoption, specifically in the Malaysian context. Finally, this study provides suggestions for research and practical implications.
  Keywords: Social media; informal learning; formal education; science teaching;.
  
  
• Relationships between work-related hazards and occupational burnout among academics are active coping strategies important?  
  by Iwona Werner, Agnieszka Springer 
  Abstract: Many studies indicate that modern-day universities constitute stressful work environments, due to such factors as the increasing pressure to obtain external funding, the publication pressure or substantial growth in students numbers. The objectives of the study included the analysis of the relationship between work-related risks and occupational burnout as well as answering the question of whether active coping strategies can alleviate the negative effects of such risks. The hypotheses were verified based on the survey conducted among a random sample of employees of various universities in Poland (N=340). For the sake of verification, the Psychosocial Risk Scale (SRP) and the Polish version of OLBI (Oldenburg Burnout Inventory) were used in the survey. The results showed a significant correlation between psychosocial hazards perceived by academics and the components of burnout. The academics who perceive more content-related hazards and at the same time use active coping strategies more often are less likely to suffer from exhaustion.
  Keywords: work-related hazards; job content; job context; professional burnout; academics; stress; coping strategies; personal resources; job demands; job resources; disengagement; exhaustion; high education.
  
  
• Measuring Valuable Antecedents of Instructional Leadership in Educational Organization  
  by Wildansyah Lubis, Syaiful Sagala, Abdul Hasan Saragih, Gaffar Hafiz Sagala 
  Abstract: In contrary to business organization, several researchers argue that instructional leadership is the most appropriate style for educational organizations. This study aims to investigate: 1) the effect of resource capacity, quality management, and communication on trust; and 2) the influence of trust on instructional leadership. This study was conducted by the survey method to the high school teachers in North Sumatra, Indonesia. With purposive sampling techniques, researchers collected 352 responses which then analyzed using SEM-PLS. From three antecedents, communication found as the most significant antecedent to explain trust between staff. Furthermore, trust has a substantial impact on Instructional Leadership.
  Keywords: Leadership; Education; Instructional; Effective School; Organizational Culture.
  
  
• Perceived leadership style and job satisfaction of teachers in Public and Private Schools  
  by Sophia Anastasiou, Vasiliki Garametsi 
  Abstract: During a prolonged period of financial crisis in Greece, public administration has exhibited signs of deteriorating work conditions, erratic funding and low staff morale, creating unfavourable working conditions. The present work investigated the perceived leadership style and job satisfaction of teachers in public and private schools in the capital city of the region of Epirus in NW Greece. Job satisfaction was measured with the use of Warr-Cook-Wall job satisfaction scale. The MLQ 5X-Short was used to assess teachers perceptions of leadership style. Compared to public schools, private school teachers exhibited higher level of job satisfaction. In both public and private schools, a transformational model of leadership prevailed followed by a transactional model of leadership with a significant higher score of transformational leadership prevailing in private schools. The results indicate that compared to public schools, the higher level of job satisfaction of private school teachers stems at least partially from differences in environmental factors such as work conditions and motivation by the school principal.
  Keywords: education; job satisfaction; leadership; teachers; schools; Greece.
  
  
• Interaction between Institutional and Professional Dimensions of Schools Experiencing an Administrative Reform Process  
  by Kamil YILDIRIM 
  Abstract: Abstract: This study investigated the interaction between institutional and personal professional dimensions in schools in a centralized education system that experienced a major reform initiative. Assuming the influence of both dimensions on teachers\' behaviours, we tested an integrated causal model. By conducting a predictive-correlational-survey design, the study collected and analysed the data belonged to 346 teachers from primary, lower secondary and upper-secondary schools. The model confirmed the significant prediction of personal professional dimension. The key variable was being cooperative-orientation. The study concluded that succeeding any reform initiative on schools depends on improving teachers personal professional characteristics.
  Keywords: Keywords: Interaction; institution; individual; professional; school; reform.
  
  
• Block Mode Delivery in an Andragogic Environment: Challenges and Strategies  
  by Shalini Ajayan, Sreejith Balasubramanian 
  Abstract: Block mode of delivery, a distinct form of accelerated/intensive course offering, has witnessed significant growth in recent years in higher education. However, despite the increase in popularity, academic enquiry into block mode delivery is scarce. Consequently, institutions, especially in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have limited understanding on the key challenges as well as effective strategies associated with the design and delivery of courses in block mode format. This formed the motivation of this study where a comprehensive understanding on the challenges and strategies for improving block mode teaching is developed based on multiple interviews with academics involved in block mode delivery in the UAE. The study found ten key challenges (four institutional and six academic) impacting block mode delivery and nine strategies (four institutional and five academic) to minimize/eliminate these challenges. A one-to-one mapping framework between strategies and challenges is also provided that can be used by practitioners to prioritize strategies to address specific challenges. The findings are expected to provide academics, policymakers and institutions in the UAE higher education sector, and in general, key insights into the effective design, delivery, and management of courses in block mode. An investigation on block-mode teaching in the UAE higher education has not been previously attempted and constitutes the novelty of this work.
  Keywords: Block mode learning; Accelerated learning; Higher education; Adult education; United Arab Emirates.
  
  
• Experiencing work-integrated learning and training program: critical success factors for vocational educations management  
  by Kongkiti Phusavat, Thanapan Kongtong, Jukka Majava, Achmad Nizar Hidayanto, Zbigniew Pastuszak 
  Abstract: Vocational education has direct impacts on preparing and developing qualified workforce. During the past decade, vocational education has undergone many fundamental changes, especially the so-called work-integrated learning and training program. The study focuses on identifying the critical success factors to overcome the programs weakness. Nominal Group Technique is applied during this investigation with the students who have completed their first year at one vocational college. Altogether five factors are identified; i.e., instructor skills, student evaluation, responsiveness to student needs, communication, and student psychology, which have to be part of improved vocational educations management. These factors are generally consistent with the previous findings as more sharing of information and collaboration among a vocational school, a private firm, and a student is needed. Interestingly, the unexpected consequence from this study is increased motivation and more positive attitude towards the studys program. This can be explained by the open-loop learning concept.
  Keywords: Vocational Education Management; Nominal Group Technique; and Work-integrated Learning and Training; and Single-loop Learning.
  
  
• Understanding Students Perceptions on Factors Involved in Higher Education Curriculum Development: An Analytical Hierarchy Process Approach  
  by Shikha N. Khera, Himanshu Pawar 
  Abstract: Curriculum in higher education should be developed with keeping students at its center where all surrounding stakeholders play an instrumental role in its developmental process. Consequently, it gets imperative for the curriculum development team to deduce the perception of their prime stakeholder (students) about the structure, design and utility etc. of their curriculum. Thus, for the study conducted at the B-school of a public sector university offering MBA programme, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used as a decision making tool for ranking the perceived relative importance of factors involved in the curriculum development process. The results provide for deeper insights in apprehending the students perception of factors crucial in developing an effective more student centered and outcome based curriculum.
  Keywords: Higher education; Curriculum development; student perception; AHP; Analytical Hierarchy Process; Policy making; multi-criteria decision making; MCDM; Curriculum evaluation; Curriculum design.
  
  
• Technological Disruptions Reshaping Management Education: A Qualitative Study of Stakeholder Perspectives  
  by Jaya Gupta, Baishali Mitra, Kapil Garg 
  Abstract: The technological revolution has disrupted the business ecosystem. This calls for a paradigm shift in the essential skill-set of managers. Management education, therefore needs to transform itself to remain pertinent to the changing context. It is important to identify the management skills required of future managers and systematic reforms needed to imbibe them. In the present phenomenological qualitative study, management students, faculty, recruiters, and practicing managers, the key stakeholders, recommend the most desirable skills of business management graduates, five years into the future and also propose changes in pedagogy, course content and assessment in line with these. The data is gathered using semi-structured interviews with open-ended questions designed to answer the research questions. The results suggest that the pedagogical practices and curricula of Business Schools needs to be redesigned. The conceptual model proposed portrays the contemporary management education system comprising of a set of re-imagined curricula, pedagogy, and evaluation method, which are relevant for the futuristic industry.
  Keywords: Fourth Industrial Revolution; Management Education; Managerial Skills; Pedagogy; Qualitative Study.
  
  
• Authentic leadership practices in the university setting: the theory of tomorrow  
  by Mahmoud K. Al-Jaradat, Samer Khasawneh, Jamal Abu-Alruz, Omar T. Bataineh 
  Abstract: The study is an assessment of the level of authentic leadership among a random sample of 124 faculty members from one state university in Jordan. The instrument of the study is the Authentic Leadership Inventory (ALI), a valid measure with four components. The results of the study showed that authentic leadership is highly practiced in the university setting based on the perceptions of faculty members. Two components (self-awareness and relational transparency) exhibited high levels of practice while internalised moral perspective and balanced processing exhibited moderate level of practice. Further, results indicated that gender and experience had no impact on the level of authentic leadership, faculty members from science colleges had higher levels of relational transparency, and professors had higher levels of internal moral standards than did associate professors. The study provided a number of recommendations for theory and practice.
  Keywords: authentic leadership; leadership development; university setting; Jordan.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2020.10026531
   
  
• Self-regulated learning in higher education: the need to thrive  
  by Jamal Abu-Alruz, Samer Khasawneh, Abdelghafour Al-Zawahreh, Omar T. Bataineh 
  Abstract: The intention of the present research was to assess the level of self-regulated learning among information technology employees from two state universities in Jordan. The study surveyed 133 employees, by completing the self-regulated learning at work questionnaire (SRLWQ), which was developed by Fontana et al. (2015). Results of the study indicated strong levels for all stages of self-regulated learning. Results also showed no significant differences in self-regulated learning based on gender. However, significant differences were found for experience, where employees with more years of experience exhibited higher levels of self-regulated learning than those with fewer years of experience. The study provided recommendations both for theory and practice.
  Keywords: self-regulated learning; university system; information technology; Jordan.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2020.10026558
   
  
• The relationship between the amount and the stability of educational expenditures on educational performance: evidence from US states  
  by Soyoung Park, Sungchan Kim 
  Abstract: Educational expenditures account for the largest proportion of state expenditures and are primarily justified through the academic performance of the student. Even though previous studies have examined the effects of expenditure levels on academic achievement, there is little empirical research regarding the effects of specific educational expenditure conditions or patterns on educational outcomes (i.e., stability of educational expenditures). Thus, this study investigates the relationship between conditions of educational expenditures and student academic achievement. In this research, we find that levels of expenditures per student are positively related to student achievement, in support of previous extant literature, while the volatility of expenditures is not related to student achievement. Moreover, the higher level of expenditures with more volatility in educational expenditures results in lower academic achievement. This indicates that resource stability in educational services is more beneficial to academic achievement offered through an on-going educational program.
  Keywords: educational expenditures; academic achievement; resource volatility.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2020.10026559
   
  
• The vocational skills gap in accounting education curricula: empirical evidence from the UK  
  by Ibrahem Alshbili, Ahmed A. Elamer 
  Abstract: This paper aims to investigate the relative importance of a set of vocational skills and the extent to which accounting educators in the UK incorporate these skills into their accounting education curricula so that students can run a successful accounting career upon their graduation. Using a questionnaire method, the data were collected from two major stakeholders; namely accounting educators and final-year accounting students. The findings indicate that there is a degree of overall agreement between the two groups opinions' that vocational skills required by accounting employers encompass not only technical and cognitive skills but also transferable skills such as communication, self-reflection, teamwork and organisational skills. The results of this paper should be of interest to accounting educators, curriculum designers and faculty who are responsible for reviewing and updating accounting curricula.
  Keywords: vocational skills; accounting education curricula; accounting educators; accounting students; UK.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2020.10026560
   
  
• Teacher leadership in South African schools  
  by Tsediso Michael Makoelle, Thabo Makhalemele 
  Abstract: The purpose of this study was to explore the role of teacher leadership in the transformation of schools since the advent of the new political dispensation in South Africa. This qualitative study using structuration theory as a lens employed unstructured interviews with 44 teachers (including heads of department, deputy principals and principals) selected from previously advantaged and previously disadvantaged schools. Data were analysed using inductive qualitative data analysis. Among the findings of the study, teacher leadership is conceptualised differently among teachers with a privileged background and those from less privileged backgrounds. The study has shown that teacher leadership is a phenomenon that has political and professional implications and that it was influenced by past struggles of teachers in the previous education dispensation during the apartheid era. While the study has found that political teacher leadership was dominant, it recommends more training of teachers to enhance professional teacher leadership.
  Keywords: education reform; teacher agency; teacher leadership; transformation; structuration.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2020.10026566
   
  
• The impact of employee type, professional experience and academic discipline on the psychological contract of academics  
  by Lawal O. Yesufu 
  Abstract: The objective of this paper was to examine the effect of employee type, professional experience and academic discipline on the psychological contract of higher education academics. The study combines two existing tools: psychological contract inventory and the HR Practice Scale. The study was a quantitative study that applied multiple regression analysis to determine what portion of the psychological contract types are predicted by the employee characteristics. The findings indicate that the part-time academics and academics with short-term professional experience have a significant and inverse impact on the relational psychological contract. Hence, their employment status (part-time and short-term) adversely affects the commitment and loyalty academics have to their employers. This strengthens the findings that academics have balanced perceptions; this indicates that academics are committed to both their employers and external factors such as a commitment to knowledge and societal development. The academic discipline of an academic has no impact on their perceptions. The study contributes to the literature on the psychological contract, by investigating the contract from a balanced perspective and by investigating the effects of employee characteristics.
  Keywords: organisational psychology; balanced psychological contract; hybrid psychological contract; full-time; part-time; academic discipline; short-term; medium-term; long-term; higher education institutions; human resource practices; management in education; higher education management.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2020.10026567
   
  
• Comparison of students' perception about curriculum design versus employability in Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand  
  by Filzah Md. Isa, Shaista Noor, Muhd Afiq Syazwan Ahmdon, Cut Irna Setiawati, Warangkana Tantasuntisakul 
  Abstract: Globalisation and technological developments demand employees be highly skilled. The graduates of Higher Education Institutions are facing problems in getting jobs due to lack of employability skills. Curriculum designing plays an essential role in preparing the student to meet the challenges of employment. The purpose of this paper is to understand the perception of students regarding the followed scheme of studies explicitly focused on perceived quality and applicability of the curriculum for employment. This study is conducted in universities across three countries (Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand). Focus group discussion held which comprises of 20 Master's Program participants from each country. The findings revealed that universities curriculum under Master's Program needs revision by addition of modules related to skills development, practical work, fieldwork and industrial interaction in the form of internships. A model has been designed to explain the curriculum design effectiveness and employability of the students in the three countries.
  Keywords: curriculum design; curriculum effectiveness; employability; student's perception; HEIs; GTC.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2020.10028165
   
  
• The efficiency of public vocational institutions by DEA: case of VTACs of Batna province, Algeria  
  by Adel Achi 
  Abstract: Vocational Training and Apprenticeship Centres (VTACs) are public institutions using considerable public resources and contributing to economy development. The purpose of this paper is to measure and explain efficiency scores for a sample of Algerian VTACs that are located in Batna province. Based on data obtained from the Direction of Professional Training of Batna province, in the first stage, data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to measure efficiency scores of 17 VTACs in the second stage, Tobit regression model was employed to explain the effect of environmental factors. The DEA results show that the efficiency scores, using CCR model, reveal that out of all the above 17 VTACs, only seven VTACs are efficient. The remaining ten VTACs are inefficient. The average efficiency is 0.776. The efficiency scores, based on ARI-CCR model, reveal that out of all the above 17 VTACs, only two VTACs are efficient. The average efficiency of all VTACs, in the case of ARI-CCR model, is 0.731. The results from the Tobit regression indicate that the efficiency scores are affected positively by experience and location, and negatively by private sector.
  Keywords: efficiency; vocational training and apprenticeship centre; data envelopment analysis; weight restrictions; Tobit regression.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2020.10028169
   
  
• Taking charge through shared leadership: a case of higher educational institutions  
  by Tehreem Fatima, Ahmad Raza Bilal, Muhammad Kashif Imran 
  Abstract: This investigation showcased shared leadership as a precursor of taking charge through underlying mechanism of job control, building on the complexity theory. The data were analysed by employing multiple mediation analysis, using 202 valid responses faculty members working in public sector higher educational institutions through cluster sampling. Our result indicates important contributory role of job control between shared leadership and taking charge behaviours. The findings offer implications for higher educational institutions on individual, group and organisation-wide level to improve the quality of services and combat with the prevalent challenges. Theoretically this study suggests new insights into the contextual antecedents and mediating mechanisms of taking charge behaviours.
  Keywords: change oriented extra-role behaviours; shared leadership; taking charge; job control.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2020.10028170
   
  
• Ambidexterity and competitiveness in Brazilian higher education institutions  
  by Juliano Lima Soares, Dálcio Roberto Dos Reis 
  Abstract: The research goal was to analyse the relationship between the degrees of ambidexterity and competitiveness of private Higher Education Institutions (HEI) owned by a Brazilian educational group. The theoretical framework addressed two constructs, the first one used the premises of Resource-Based Theory, especially the VRIO Model, the second one used assumptions of Organisational Ambidexterity. The methodological approach was quantitative, using primary data from 79 institutions. The main contributions of the research were: (a) the creation and validation of the scale to measure the degree of competitiveness in private HEI; and (b) with SEM, the proposed theoretical model was validated, verifying the existence of a strong and positive relationship between the degrees of ambidexterity and competitiveness of the investigated HEI (r = 0.70; p value < 0.05).
  Keywords: ambidextrous organisations; innovation management; resource-based theory; competitiveness; higher education institutions.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2020.10028173
   
  
• Implementing professional learning community in rural Malaysian primary schools: exploring teacher feedback  
  by Lokman Mohd. Tahir, Mohammed Borhandden Musah 
  Abstract: This study investigates whether teachers in rural primary schools are satisfied with the implementation of professional learning community (PLC) and with its practicality and suitability in the rural settings. Using a pragmatic mixed-method, we obtained the viewpoints of 338 rural primary teachers on the effectiveness of PLC implementation within their schools. Furthermore, eight rural primary teachers were interviewed to explore the benefits and challenges of PLC in the sampled schools. The findings reveal that rural primary teachers feel contented with the PLC implementation within their schools. They note the benefits of the program as part of their effective professional development. Other benefits, such as the establishment of teachers' teamwork culture and the ability of the program to support teachers' learning process, were also addressed. PLC was also described as an effective knowledge-sharing platform. The findings also disclose some challenges such as lack of time, negative attitudes of teachers and financial constraints that impeded the effective execution of PLC at rural primary schools. The findings suggest improvements to the practices of rural primary schools.
  Keywords: professional learning communities; rural primary schools; Malaysia; teacher feedback; mixed-method.
  DOI: 10.1504/IJMIE.2020.10028176