The marketization of higher education and focus on graduate employability and earnings data has raised questions about how students perceive their roles and responsibilities while studying for their degree. Of particular concern is the extent to which students identify themselves as consumers of their higher education, for example, whether they…

The undergraduate dissertation is characterized by a conflict between autonomy and support, in which the role of the supervisor is outlined; however, this role is not consistently defined either in the literature or in practice. As a result, a mismatch may arise between the dedication of the supervisor and the dedication expected from the student,…

Teachers, especially their teaching behaviours, play an important role in students' learning and students with a high interest in learning show deeper understanding in the classroom. This study intends to explore how far the teacher's charisma--knowledge, character traits, teaching techniques and humour--contribute to students' interest in…

Working in collaborative groups has been shown to have beneficial outcomes; however, these benefits are linked to the quality of group member interactions. "Heedful interrelating," which entails interacting with sensitivity to the task at hand while paying attention to how one's actions affect overall team functioning, is theorized to be…

Learning effectiveness requires an understanding of the relationship among extracurricular activities, learning approach and academic performance and, it is argued, this helps educators develop techniques designed to enrich learning effectiveness. Biggs' Presage-Process-Product model on student learning has identified the relationship among…

The study described in this article aims to investigate the use of out-of-class communication between students and instructors using Facebook as a means of interaction for learning. How often/how much students use such an online social network and the clarification as to the reasons for online communication are the two exogenous variables used to…

Students choose to go to university for many reasons. They include those with disabilities and those without. The reasons why students with disabilities go to university and how these reasons impact university experience, including coping (academic resourcefulness), adapting, academic ability beliefs (academic self-efficacy), and grades, are…

There is variation in the university student experience of learning. Prior research has shown that factors that shape this include student characteristics, the learning context, student perceptions of that context and approaches to learning and their learning outcomes. In blended contexts, there is a need to identify variables which can explain…

Employability of graduates has taken more prominence in recent years due to the bleak economic situation, the impact of student debt, and an increasingly competitive global labor market. Given the substantial individual and public investment made in higher education, it is particularly important that graduates are employable upon graduation. The…

A substantial proportion of students doubt whether they should continue their studies, and are consequently more likely to withdraw. In the study described in this article, undergraduates who reported they doubted gave their reasons why they did, outlined support they received and stated why they ultimately decided to continue with their studies.…

It is well established that active learning helps students engage in high-level thinking strategies and develop improved cognitive skills. Motivation and self-regulated learning research, however, illustrates that cognitive engagement is an effortful process that is related to students' valuing of the learning tasks, adoption of internalized goal…

The use of screencasts as an instructional technology is increasing rapidly in higher education. While there appears to be a consensus around students' satisfaction with the provision of technology-enhanced tools, there is limited evidence revolving around their impact in terms of knowledge acquisition. Moreover, the reasons why students choose to…

Assessment of oral presentation skills is an underexplored area. The study described here focuses on the agreement between professional assessment and self- and peer assessment of oral presentation skills and explores student perceptions about peer assessment. The study has the merit of paying attention to the inter-rater reliability of the…