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…

Behavior-change theories reliably explain behavior, but they often lack messaging recommendations to modify behavior. The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) could benefit from clear, replicable messaging strategies to target its constructs of attitudes, social norms, and perceived behavioral control (PBC) about a behavior (Ajzen, 1991). Habit Theory…

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…

Study abroad participation has become an increasingly important part of the college experience. UC International Programs, the study abroad office at the University of Cincinnati, has organized an experientially based, international professional development program for advising staff, with the goal of equipping them with the tools to encourage…

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…

While data on enrollment, performance, persistence, and completion can offer directional information about access and success for different student groups, they do not provide the "why" behind these measures. Asking students directly about their experiences at the institution can help with a more comprehensive understanding of how to…

This case study describes the design and implementation of scenario-based focus groups run by a collaborative research team consisting of eight individuals spread across eight institutions within the United States. Originally intended to be face-to-face, the research team pivoted mid-study to adapt the scenario design for the fully online…

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…