Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to advance a classification of satisfactory and unsatisfactory critical incidents of student-university relationships at German universities. Design/methodology/approach: Using the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), this paper reports the results of an exploratory study of 15 tertiary education students at…

In discussions of work-based learning in anglophone countries, a relatively new question concerns different learning opportunities for differentially positioned novices in the workplace. Basil Bernstein relates learners' positioning with respect to knowledge and within a community of knowers to variations in a discourse underlying and regulating…

Modularisation of vocational training courses is a major issue across many European countries. Germany has been slow to implement modularisation in its VET system: the prevailing view of modular concepts in the country is one of great scepticism, but there is very little empirical data to inform the debate. This exploratory study focuses on the…

Creativity is one of the important skills of the twenty-first century and central to higher education (HE). When we look closer into research on creativity in HE, however, it is not clear how university teachers conceptualise student creativity. How do teachers grasp, observe and express student creativity? Different methods such as interviews and…

Global learning aims to change behaviour and attitudes. Changes in these areas are not easy to assess. This article discusses the documentary method, which belongs to the group of qualitative reconstructive research methods. The authors argue that this method allows reflection on collective orientations and tacit knowledge. The different steps of…

Preconceptions are a crucial factor in the educational learning process. Hence, the investigation of preconceptions is important for learning and teaching in the field of geography. This study examines the preconceptions of 12- and 13-year-old students, regarding the major environmental problem of "desertification." The students'…

The pedagogical documentation of educational processes in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) centres is an important concern of early childhood education. Its purpose is to make learning visible and to stimulate discussion between educators and parents. In the academic discourse, however, pedagogical documentation is subject to differing…

Teachers worldwide are adapting to meet educational needs caused by increased immigration. Germany has many immigrant students and ranks high in international education. This case study investigated experiences of English-speaking native-born German educators in Germany's public primary schools when responding to refugee and immigrant students.…

The Bologna Process and German higher education reforms over the past decade have created significant waves of change at German universities. This case study focuses on the enduring impact of both the Bologna Process and German higher education reforms on how professors experience their work and define their roles during the winter term 2011-12 at…

A strong VET system is increasingly seen as essential to overcoming the current economic crisis in Europe. VET is seen as a powerful tool to assist in balancing labour market inefficiencies, increasing youth employment possibilities, and reducing skills mismatch. Its inherent flexibility and closeness to the labour market place VET in a good…

The ranking of higher education institutions is a growing phenomenon around the globe, with ranking systems in place in more than 40 countries and the emergence of international ranking systems that compare institutions across national lines. With this proliferation of rankings come questions about the goals, uses, and outcomes of these systems.…

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…