Addressing racial inequalities in higher education: equity,inclusion and social justice

Inequalities in higher education continue to exist in access to certain types of universities and in degree attainment. Despite significant changes in policy making and the student body such inequalities remain pervasive. In this essay, I explore how inequalities in access to elite universities continue to exist for those from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, in both the UK and the USA. I suggest that gaining a place at an elite university is related to access to social and cultural capital. In order to address these inequalities, we must question and challenge a system that values class and status which continues to serve the needs of the few rather than the many.     

Perspective: Teaching evolution in higher education

Abstract.— In the past decade, the academic community has increased considerably its activity concerning the teaching and learning of evolution. Despite such beneficial activity, the state of public understanding of evolution is considered woefully lacking by most researchers and educators. This lack of understanding affects evolution/science literacy, research, and academia in general. Not only does the general public lack an understanding of evolution but so does a considerable proportion of college graduates. However, it is not just evolutionary concepts that students do not retain. In general, college students retain little of what they supposedly have learned. Worse yet, it is not just students who have avoided science and math who fail to retain fundamental science concepts. Students who have had extensive secondary-level and college courses in science have similar deficits. We examine these issues and explore what distinguishes effective pedagogy from ineffective pedagogy in higher education in general and evolution education in particular. The fundamental problem of students' prior conceptions is considered and why prior conceptions often underpin students' misunderstanding of the evolutionary concepts being taught. These conceptions can often be discovered and addressed. We also attend to concerns about coverage of course content and the influence of religious beliefs, and provide helpful strategies to improve college-level teaching of evolution.     

Teaching life cycle assessment in higher education

The International Journal of Life Cycle Assessment - Scientific Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) literature provides some examples of LCA teaching in higher education, but not a structured overview of...     

高师植物学实验教学改革与实践

植物学实验是植物学教学的重要环节,针对实际情况,对高师植物学实验教学内容、实验材料、教学方法与技术等进行了大胆改革,取得了较佳的实践效果。研究结果也表明,只有结合实际进行实验教学,充分发挥教师的主导作用和学生的主体作用,勇于创新、才能真正体现出实验教学的意义。     

The demand for higher education in the 1990s

The decline in the number of births in the U.K. during the 1970s means that there will be fewer young people leaving school each year during the 1990s than there have been during the last 20 years. It does not necessarily follow, however, that the demand for places in institutions of higher education will fall, since many factors other than the numbers involved affect this demand. This paper discusses recent projections of the demand for higher education during the 1990s, highlighting the differences between them and stressing the uncertainties involved in any projection exercise. It concludes with a discussion of which other groups in the population might be targeted by universities and polytechnics anxious to maintain or increase their student intake.     

A proposed higher education institution-based Three Rs advisory service

The University of Oxford's Ethical Review Process (ERP) is promoting a pilot scheme for a collaborative UK higher education institution-based Three Rs advisory service. It is believed that there is scope for UK academia to make a significant contribution, through the spread of its science base and the availability of high-quality library and IT services. A collaborative approach based on the concept of the critically appraised topic is envisaged, to minimise duplication and to ensure that limited resources are used to good effect. The initial objective is to identify, research, and validate refinement and replacement alternatives, drawing on both the skills of the information professional and the analogy of evidence-based health care. The results would be disseminated among member institutions by way of web-based systems, which could also offer on-line training in search strategies. The service would provide assistance to university-based project licence applicants, and would contribute to achieving the aims of the ERP, as an initiative "leading to the widest possible application of the Three Rs". It is hoped to develop the scheme in partnership with research council initiatives now under way, as the councils play a key role as funders, not only of research, but also of research student training. Universities are uniquely positioned, as centres of scientific education and, through continuing education, of continuing professional development, to provide a base for training in good practice. A successful pilot project could provide a foundation for a similar approach to reduction strategies and experimental design.     

动物学CAI课件制作及其在教学中的应用

介绍了动物学CAI(Computer-Assisted Instruction)课件的制作和使用特点。阐述了CAI课件在动物学课堂教学中的意义和地位,探讨了其在高校动物学课堂教学中实施素质教育和使用双语教学新模式的应用特点,并讨论了动物学CAI课件在未来的发展趋势。