Independent higher education educators in England: Tutors behavioural characteristics preferred by mature students on business management courses

Uddin, Nazim; Hasan, Rahaman; Ramachandran, R.; Papé, Nick R.; Alam, Maksim Ul

doi:10.47974/JSMS-1145

Open Access Research Article

Independent higher education educators in England: Tutors behavioural characteristics preferred by mature students on business management courses

Nazim Uddinn.uddin@lcc.ac.ukBoard of GovernanceSchool of BusinessLondon Churchill CollegeLondon, E7 8JQ, United Kingdom0000-0002-0257-0491View full profile → , Rahaman Hasanr.hasan@lcc.ac.ukAcademic Quality Assurance and ComplianceLondon Churchill CollegeLondon, United Kingdom0000-0003-1690-2458View full profile → , ^*R. RamachandranCorresponding authorprofram1968@gmail.comDepartment of CommerceAnnamalai UniversityTamil Naidu, India0000-0001- 8297-1128View full profile → , Nick R. Papénick.pape@lcc.ac.ukDepartment of Board of GovernanceSchool of BusinessLondon Churchill CollegeLondon, E7 8JQ, United Kingdom0000-0003-1395-3751View full profile → , Maksim Ul Alamm.alam@lcc.ac.ukDepartment of Quality AssuranceSchool of BusinessLondon Churchill CollegeLondon, E7 8JQ, United Kingdom0009-0003-4629-5967View full profile →

* Corresponding author · click or hover a name for details

pp. 1777–1801Vol. 26Issue 7October 2023DOI: 10.47974/JSMS-1145XML

Published Online:: 27 Nov 2023
Article type:: Research Article
Language:: EN
Article no.:: JSMS-1145
Pages:: 1777–1801

Abstract

This research study focuses on identifying the behavioral characteristics desired by mature students from their educators/lecturers/tutors in an Independent Higher Education provider within the UK. The study utilises a mixed-method approach, employing a non-experimental and sequential explanatory design consisting of two phases. The first phase involves a questionnaire survey, while the second phase comprises semi-structured interviews with the students, aiming to gather both detailed and general insights into the students’ perspectives on the expected behavioral characteristics of their educators. The findings of this study reveal both commonalities and differences in the attributes of lecturers as identified in the quantitative and qualitative findings. In both sets of findings, it is evident that students prefer personalised learning experiences, with an emphasis on lecturers recognising their unique strengths, valuing individuality and providing positive feedback. Additionally, the qualitative findings highlight the significance of patience, empathy, and problem-centered teaching as highly valued traits of a lecturer according to the students. This research contributes to the existing body of knowledge by addressing the complexities involved in educating mature students within the UK Higher Education sector. It emphasises the importance for Higher Education practitioners to comprehend the expected behavioral characteristics of these mature students from their educators. The study also highlights the scarcity of research in this area, as existing literature on adult education and andragogy is often generic and independent of specific contexts.

Keywords

Independent higher education Mature students Behavioral characteristics Educators Personalised learning Problem-centered teaching

Subject Classifications

97B10: Educational research and planning97B40: Higher education

References

[1] Allport G.W., Personality: a Psychological Interpretation. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston (1937).
[2] Altman, I., Conceptualizing “Rapport.” Psychological Inquiry, 1(4), 294–297 (1990).
[3] Androutsopoulou, A., The Self-Characterization as a Narrative Tool: Applications in Therapy with Individuals and Families, Journal of Family Process, 40(1), pp. 79-94 (2001).
[4] Barnes, B. D., Locke, G., The Attributes of Effective Lecturers of English as a Foreign Language as Perceived by Students in a Korean University. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 35 (1), pp. 239- 152 (2010).
[5] Bates, R., Learning Theories Simplified. Sage Publication. London (2019).
[6] Berk, M. S and Andersen S. M., The Impact of Past Relationships on Interpersonal Behaviour: Behavioral Confirmation in the Social-Cognitive Process of Transference, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 79(4), 546-562 (2000).
[7] Billington, D., Seven Characteristics of Highly Effective Adult Learning Programs. New Horizons for Learning, Seattle (200).
[8] Charmaz, K., Constructing Grounded Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA, USA: Sage (2006).
[9] Chireshe, R., Effective and Ineffective Lecturers: University Students’ Perspective in Zimbabwe. Anthropologist, 13(4), pp. 265-269 (2011).
[10] Cohen, S. & Wills, T. A. Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 310-357 (1985).
[11] Colton, D. and Covert. R. W. Designing and Constructing Instruments for Social Research and Evaluation. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass (2007).
[12] Corbin J. & Strauss A., Basics of qualitative research: techniques and procedures for developing grounded theory. 3rd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE (2008).
[13] Creswell, J. W., Educational Research: Pearson New International Edition: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research. 4th Edition. Pearson Education Ltd. London (2014).
[14] DeBacker, L., Van Keer, H. & Valcke, M., Socially shared metacognitive regulation during reciprocal peer tutoring: identifying its relationship with students’ content processing and transactive discussions. Instructional Science, 43(3), 323–344 (2015).
[15] Efiritha, C., Daniel, M., Cosmas, M. and Joyce, Z., How do Lecturers Teach: Students’ Assessment of Lecturers’ Attributes in a Selected University in Zimbabwe. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 5(7), pp. 307–316 (2014).
[16] Faranda, W.T. and Clarke, I., Student Observations of Outstanding Teaching: Implications for Marketing Educators. Journal of Marketing Education, 23(2), pp. 271-281 (2004).
[17] Granitz, N.A., Koerning, S.K., Harich, K.R., Now its Personal: Antecedents and Outcomes of Rapport Between Business Faculty and their Students. Journal of Marketing Education, 31(1), pp. 52-65 (2009).
[18] Greimel-Fuhrmann, B., Geyer, A., Students’ Evaluation of Teachers and Instructional Quality- Analysis of Relevant Factors Based on Empirical Evaluation research. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 28(3), pp. 229-238 (2003).
[19] Harkin, J., ‘Constructs used by vocational students in England to evaluate their teachers’, Journal of Vocational Education & Training, 50:3, 339-353 (1998).
[20] Hativa, N., Barak, R., & Simhi, E., Exemplary University Teachers: Knowledge and Beliefs Regarding Effective Teaching Dimensions and Strategies. The Journal of Higher Education, 72(6), 699–729 (2001).
[21] Kankkunen, M, How to Acquire “The Habit of Changing Habits”: The Marriage of Charles Peirce’s Semiotic Paradigm and Concept Mapping, Concept Maps: Theory, Methodology, Technology, First International Conference on Concept Mapping, Pamplona, Spain (2004).
[22] Kankkunen, M., Concept Mapping and Peirce’s Semiotic Paradigm Meet in the Classroom Environment, Learning Environments Research 4: pp. 287–324 (2001).
[23] Knowles, M., Andragogy: Adult Learning Theory in Perspective. Community College Review, 5(3), 9–20 (1978).
[24] Knowles, M., The modern practice of adult education: From pedagogy to andragogy. 2nd edn. New York: Cambridge Books. Pp 44-45 (1980).
[25] Knowles, M., The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species. 3rd edn. Houston: Gulf (1984).
[26] Knowles, M., The Adult Learner: A Neglected Species. Houston, TX: Gulf Publishing Co. (1990).
[27] Knowles, M.S., Holton, E. F. and Swanson, R. A., The Adult Learner: The Definitive Classic In Adult Education And Human Resource Development. Eights Edition, Taylor and Francis. London (2015). [Kindle Edition]
[28] Lang, M., Classroom Transparency. The Chronicle of Higher Education. [Online] Available at: <http://chronicle.com/article/classroomtransparency/46461> [Accessed 03 December 2021] (2007).
[29] MacDonald, K., A review of the literature: The needs of nontraditional students in postsecondary education. Strategic Enrollment Management Quarterly, 5(4), 159-164 (2018).
[30] Merriam, S. B and Bierema, L. L., Adult Learning: linking theory and practice. First edition. John Wiley & Sons. Published by Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. P30 (2014).
[31] Merriam, S. B., Adult learning theory: Evolution and future directions. In Knud Illeris (Ed.), Contemporary Theories of Learning. Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition. (p86) (2018).
[32] Olry-Louis, I., Effects of different forms of tutor action in a conditional reasoning task: An experimental approach to the tutorial dialogue. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 24(2), 169–180 (2009).
[33] Onwuegbuzie, A.J., Bustamante, R.M. and Nelson, J.A., Mixed research as a tool for developing quantitative instruments. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 4, 56-78 (2010).
[34] Papé, N., Uddin, N., Hasan, R., Ul Alam, M. and Haque, M., Motivation of Mature Students in undertaking Higher Education at a UK Independent Provider: the role of financial benefits, (Submitted for publication October 2022) (2022).
[35] Polkinghorne, D. E., Explorations of Narrative Identity. Psychological Inquiry, 7(4), 363–367 (1996).
[36] Ramsden, P., Learning to Teach in Higher Education, Abingdon: Routledge Falmer (2003).
[37] Roscoe, R. D., & Chi, M. T. H., Understanding Tutor Learning: Knowledge-Building and Knowledge-Telling in Peer Tutors’ Explanations and Questions. Review of Educational Research, 77(4), 534–574 (2007).
[38] Sahasrabudhe, S., Shaikh, N. and Kasat, K., Internationalisation of higher education - Necessity to adapt to new forms of engagement for ensuring sustainability?, Journal of Statistics and Management Systems, 23:2, 431-444 (2020).
[39] Strauss, A., & Corbin, J., Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc (1998).
[40] Tan, J., Grounded theory in practice: Issues and discussion for new qualitative researchers. Journal of Documentation, 66(1), 93-112 (2010).
[41] Tough, A., The adult’s learning projects: A fresh approach to theory and practice in adult Learning. Toronto: Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (1971).
[42] Tsamadias, C., The social rates of return on investment in tertiary technological education by faculty as a guide for educational planning: the case of Greece, Journal of Statistics and Management Systems, 7:1, 1-23 (2013).
[43] Uddin, N. (2022), The Nelson College Experience: A Handbook of Learning and Teaching for Widening Access Mature Students, Kindle Publication. ASIN: B09TWTBVYM. ISBN- 978-1-7397160-1-1
[44] Uddin, N., Life experience of mature students and its relevance to leaders in making good strategic choices in Higher Education. In D. Baker, L. Ellis, C. Williams, & C. Wragg (Eds.), Benchmarking Library, Information and Education Services New Strategic Choices in Challenging Times (1st ed.). Chandos Publishing: Elsevier (2023).
[45] Xerri, M. J., Radford, K., & Shacklock, K., Student engagement in academic activities: a social support perspective. Higher Education, 75(4), 589–605 (2018).
[46] Young, S., & Shaw, D. G., Profiles of Effective College and University Teachers. The Journal of Higher Education, 70(6), 670–686 (1999).

Views: 302Downloads: 30Citations: 2