This study involved 54 peer financial mentors from seven institutions to explore their challenges when working with mentees. Challenges included: mentees presented financial concerns that exceeded the mentors' ability, mentors frequently lacked the financial knowledge to provide highquality peer financial mentoring, and the shift in programming…

The internationalisation of Portuguese higher education implies multicultural challenges arising from the Portuguese language variation. Nevertheless, the perceptions of lecturers about their students are rarely analysed, though influencing learning. This will be the focus of our article, using focus groups. Findings show that lecturers experience…

This study used semi-structured focus group interviews to examine specific literacy beliefs of 21 elementary pre-service teachers (PSTs) from five teacher education programs across the eastern, southern, and central parts of the USA. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed for statements about literacy beliefs. Each belief statement was also…

Teacher preparation programs are being called to comprehensively engage preservice teachers (PSTs) in expansive learning about equity issues beyond one "diversity" course or superficial approach. Our interdisciplinary faculty collaborative within a Midwestern predominantly-white institution met this call by implementing a Critical Social…

Using crowdfunding as a source of research funding is becoming a more and more important part of the landscape of higher education institutions. The relevant literature indicates that the success of the entire initiative mainly depends on the initiator. Despite this, it is not clear what challenges are related to crowdfunding in research and what…

This qualitative study explored the experiential group learning experiences of student teachers (STs) who participated in a two-day experientially based group learning programme, as part of their curriculum at a teacher training institute in Singapore. This programme is designed as a personal growth group with an emphasis on value and character…

Debate about the defining features of 'doctorateness' or what examiners look for in a PhD thesis is on-going, but hardly any attention has been paid in related literature to Postgraduate Researchers' (PGRs) perceptions of the key attributes that make a PhD thesis excellent. In this study we examine the state of play of the former to then go on to…

This paper analyses the language educator's experience of delivering an Institution-Wide Language Programme (IWLP) in an Irish University. It uses a focus group to explore the experiences of six International Language Tutors who delivered modules on a pilot IWLP between 2021 and 2024. The findings indicate that designing and delivering the…

The theoretical literature on the meaning of qualification standards depicts a variety of definitions. Some definitions describe properties of examinees, whilst others rely on cohort-level or system-level characteristics. Different definitions can be compatible or contradictory. In this study, stakeholders' views of the meaning of qualification…

The promotion of cross-racial relationships on college campuses has been arduous in a society that is shaped by a long history of racial inequities and racially segregated educational experiences. In this exploratory investigation of the cross-racial relationships of Black college-aged women, we considered the results of two focus groups composed…

Today, Extended Reality (XR) technologies are exceedingly integrated into Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industries for collaboratively reviewing product design and development tasks. Reported study in this paper aims at integrating XR technologies in undergraduate programmes. This paper provides a descriptive analysis of…

It is known that first-year retention rates are a cause for concern within higher education. One way in which to tackle this is to consider how institutions can best prepare new students for the transition to university. The current paper details a project from the University of the West of Scotland where first year psychology students enrolled on…

In this study, we explore the perceived affordances of simulation-based learning (SBL) among online student teachers in Norway. We investigated how simulations mediate professional learning when coupled with educator-led debriefings and peer-led focus groups. Using an exploratory qualitative design, we examined 21 pre-service teachers'…

Talking circles, also known as sharing circles, have been used in ceremonies for hundreds of years. Rooted in Indigenous values and knowledge systems emphasizing interconnectedness and responsibility to community, participants share power through storytelling, empowering each participant to share what they want in a non-judgmental environment,…

This study used the Community of Inquiry framework to examine how university instructors designed, facilitated, and supported social and cognitive processes in online courses, and how instructors and students experienced these processes. In early 2021, 25 online focus groups were organized with instructors (n = 52) and students (n = 44) from all…