JOURNAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION CURRICULUM
Year:2016 | Volume:7 | Issue:13 |Papers Count:7

The examination of the issues facing higher education shows that universities are confronting serious challenges in the third millennium. The present study was conducted with the aim of identifying the challenges of the curriculum higher education in the recent decades and the potential strategies and solutions. This study was conducted within a qualitative framework and through research synthesis. The inclusion criteria for this study was relevance with the purpose of research and the publication of the research in the recent decades (2004 to 2015).To provide the required information, the worksheet form was used and Cohen's kappa coefficient was used in order to ensure the reliability, and open and axial coding methods from Software Nvivo-8 was employed for the data analysis phase. The results showed that the curriculum development in higher education system was faced with 13 major challenges in the recent decades, including: internationalization of the curriculum, curriculum-based learning community, evaluation of curricula, neglecting ethnic and multicultural policies, quality of teaching, curriculum validation, globalization, curriculum decentralized, growth types of thinking, learning how to learn and teaching-learning strategies challenges content, interdisciplinary curriculum, and using information technology in the curriculum. The potential solutions and strategies to address these challenges are discussed.

The goal of this study is attainment of the framework of higher education curriculum based on life-long education approach. This study is qualitative and its method is qualitative collective case study. Analytical approach in codification of the framework is on the basis of restructuring (reconstruction) approach. Potential participants of the study included eight faculty members of academic groups of humanities, applied science, agriculture and animal husbandry, technical and engineering, and art and architecture in Shiraz University that at least once as a member of university curriculum council have participated in this council and five other individuals, were curriculum specialists (curriculum experts) who were selected by judgment sampling method in type of-criterion‖. In order to analyze the qualitative data, content analysis method (basis, organizer and meaning of learner) using N-Vivo software was applied. The results of study are indicative of existence of 112 base contents, 9 first-level organizer contents according to nine elements of curriculum of Klein (goal, content, learner activity, educational aids (educational materials), teaching-learning strategies, teaching time, teaching space, grouping of learners, and evaluation) and 18 second-level organizer contents. Finally, the network of contents of life-long curriculum in higher education system was designed and its validation was done through validity and reliability techniques and using terangolation.

This study aimed to evaluate the curriculum in Teachers Training University, in the field of training teacher as a researcher. The method was evaluation and model was Malcolm Provus. In the course of investigation, the desirable situation of implemented curriculum in Teacher University, purposive and chain sampling were used for selecting subject specialists; available sampling method was used for student population and purposive sampling was used for teacher population as well. In order to assess the implemented curriculum, necessary standards were identified for each stage and component of assessment. In the next step and after identifying the collection tools and techniques through questionnaires, observation inventory, interview, and written documents, actual performance of Teacher Training University was obtained in each stage of assessment and components. The findings showed that the university programs were moving towards research-centeredness in recent years. However, implemented curriculum of Teacher Training University still has shortcomings and deficiencies, including lack of space, facilities, equipment and physical infrastructure, and qualified and motivated forces.

This study was conducted with the purpose of investigating the relationship between academic attitude and achievement motivation with students' perception of the quality of curriculum in the elementary education courses. This study was conducted through correlation and the statistical population for this study was 93 students. Due to the limited number of statistical population, the entire population was selected through convenience sampling. The data were collected through Achievement Motivation in Learning Questionnaire designed by RezaBakhsh (1994), Academic Attitude Questionnaire designed by Akbari (2004), and a researcher-made questionnaire that was used to evaluate the Students' Perceptions of the Quality of Curriculum. The reliability of the questionnaires were calculated for the research tools through Cronbach’s alpha and the results is as follows:.74 for Achievement Motivation in Learning Questionnaire, .82 for Academic attitude questionnaire, and.86 for quality of the curriculum questionnaire. The validity was confirmed according to the experts' views. The Pearson correlation test, regression analysis and independent t-test were used to analyze the data. The results showed that there is a significant relationship between academic attitudes and achievement motivation in learning with perception of students form the quality of curriculum among the students studying elementary education. There was no significant difference between academic attitudes and achievement motivation in learning and students' perceptions of the quality of the curriculum in the field of elementary education. The students' perception of the quality of the curriculum could be explained through the academic attitude and achievement motivation of the students.

Curriculum in higher education is a broad academic experience for students. One of the most important areas of research in the field of higher education, especially in the field of higher education curricula, is supervision of graduate students. Writing a thesis by students constitutes an important part of curriculum in universities. However stands to reason that choosing a good qualified supervisor and getting to benefit from his/her instructions is more important than just writing a thesis. Therefore the aim of this study was to identify the qualities of a good supervisor as MA students pointed out. This study used a qualitative approach and the research method was phenomenological. The study population consisted of all postgraduate students of Kharazami University and the sample consisted of 37 postgraduate students who were chosen through purposeful sampling method. To analyze the data obtained from the study, content analysis and open, axial and selective coding methods were used. The results showed that a good supervisor has six basic characteristics: 1) behavioral indicators of supervisor, 2) the supervisory relationship of the supervisor and student, 3) interactive relationship of the supervisor and student, 4) professional ethics of supervisor, 5) behavioral characteristics and 6) area of expertise of supervisor. It is suggested that supervisors in conducting theses considering these qualities take an important step toward the future researches.

One of the most important communications in universities that will lead to achieving the goals of higher education is the interaction between professors and students. The purpose of this research is to address professors‟ behavioral differences in dealing with two groups of students, including special reception teachers students and daily admissions and the second time at the faculty psychology and educational, university of Tehran. The present study is a qualitative research that has been conducted through auto-ethnographic method. The data were gathered by observation and unstructured interviews with students and professors. The researchers used connoisseurship and criticism of Eisner for assessment of this research. The results of this research showed that the two groups indicated differences regarding the behavior of professors in classroom management, interaction with students (sayings and acts), students‟ assignments and evaluation. These findings show oversimplification and negligence in the behavior of professors towards special reception teachers student, that is due to negative labeling among the professors attitude and faculty toward special reception teachers students.

The present study aims to investigate the pathology of establishment process of new academic disciplines in Iran. This study was conducted through mixed exploratory method (qualitative- quantitative). In order to collect the data, 15 experts and policy makers were interviewed through semi structure interviews. The interviews were then categorized and analyzed. In the next phase, a questioner was designed on the bases of the data obtained in the qualitative phase. The validity of the questionnaire was 95.2 which was confirmed by the experts in the field. The results indicated nine major weaknesses in the establishment process of disciplines. The results obtained from the quantitative phase showed that weaknesses in the curriculum development with an average of 6.29 and weaknesses in decision making with an average of 3.47 were in the highest and lowest rank, respectively.