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Purpose: With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, online assessment has become the dominant mode of examination in higher education institutions. However, there are contradictory findings on how students perceive online assessment and its impact on their academic performance. Thus, the purpose of this study is to evaluate the potential impact of online assessment on students' academic performance. Design/methodology/approach: This study proposes a research model based on the task–technology fit theory and empirically validates the model using a survey from students in the UK. In addition, the study conducted four experiments based on paper-based and online assessments and analysed the data using paired sample t test and structural equation modelling. Findings: The findings show that the use of online assessment has a positive impact on students' academic performance. Similarly, the results from the experiment also indicate that students perform better using online assessments than paper-based assessments. Practical implications: The findings provide crucial evidence needed to shape policy towards institutionalising online assessment. In addition, the findings provide assurance to students, academics, administrators and policymakers that carefully designed online assessments can improve students' academic performance. Moreover, the study also provides important insights for curriculum redesign towards transitioning to online assessment in higher education institutions. Originality/value: This study advances research by offering a more nuanced understanding of online assessment on students' academic performance since the majority of previous studies have offered contradictory findings. In addition, the study moves beyond existing research by complementing assessment results with the views of students in evaluating the impact of online assessment on their academic performance. Second, the study develops and validates a research model that explains how the fits between technology and assessment tasks influence students' academic performance. Lastly, the study provides evidence to support the wide use of online assessment in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Significant funding has been made available in the UK for social, behavioural and design research that aims to improve health and wellbeing for older adults. The growing importance and use of participatory and co-creative approaches in this field not only reflects a general turn in social research but also seeks to redress power imbalances between researchers and researched. This paper aims to use Miranda Fricker's concept of "epistemic injustice" as a lens to describe the author's experience with one such project, and highlight the cautions and considerations that must be made when navigating, handling and amalgamating "other people's knowledge". Design/methodology/approach: Personal and theoretical reflection. Primary data for this paper consists of first-hand insider observations on how different forms of knowledge were treated in an interdisciplinary, intersectoral participatory research context. Findings: Some participatory studies are hampered by insufficient consideration for a range of ways of thinking, including between researchers and participants, younger and older adults, different academic disciplines or academia and industry. This can harm project integrity and outcomes, potentially eroding trust in academic research. Originality/value: By reflecting on a recent participatory study in healthy ageing, this paper outlines a theoretical basis to increase the benefits of working with different stakeholders across health and care, design, business and academia. It concludes by suggesting ways that researchers might address epistemic injustice, and so recognise and properly value the range of knowledge types encountered in participatory research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This paper aims to serve as a commentary on the paper titled "Implementation of an Adapted Handwriting Without Tears® Programme for Children with Developmental Disabilities in a Special Education Setting." Design/methodology/approach: It provides an overview of educational strategies that can be used in school settings to support professionals in acquiring skills relevant to their practice and promoting the acquisition of new abilities for their students. Findings: It explores three critical aspects of education: measuring academic progress, using evidence-based methods and enhancing educator training. Originality/value: This work represents the personal perspective of a professional working in the service delivery field for children with developmental disabilities in schools and rehabilitative centres. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Drawing on a framework of conservation of resources theory, the purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between self-perceived academic performance and individual entrepreneurial intention and consider the potential moderating role of (1) participation in serious leisure, (2) perceived stress and/or (3) gender. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 405 UK-based undergraduates completed the questionnaire, with a representative gender split of 57% women and 43% men. Findings: The positive relationship between self-perceived academic performance and individual entrepreneurial intention was moderated by serious leisure (stronger when participation in serious leisure increased) and by perceived stress (stronger when levels of perceived stress were lower). However, contrary to our expectations, gender had no statistically significant moderating role. Practical implications: The practical contribution comes from informing policy for universities and national governments to increase individual entrepreneurial intention in undergraduates. Originality/value: The theoretical contribution comes from advancing conservation of resources theory, specifically the interaction of personal resources, resource caravans and resource passageways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: First, to analyze the relationships between school effectiveness, as expressed in the improvement gained in academic achievements, and school structure; and second, to analyze the relationships between school effectiveness and school features (e.g. ethnicity, SES, rural vs. central location, class size, prior achievements, and per-student allocation) and to measure their contribution to the explained variation in school effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach: Research on school effectiveness emphasizes the examination of school characteristics that have been found to contribute more to promoting school outcomes. Therefore, by using regression models the purpose of the research is twofold. Findings: The research findings reveal positive significant relationships between school effectiveness, and students' prior achievements, and SES. However, school effectiveness is less related to school structure. Research limitations/implications: Future research in the field of school effectiveness should extend beyond solely focusing on academic achievements and include the evaluation of broader aspects of students' development, such as values and self-esteem. Recognizing the multifaceted nature of schools, it is crucial to incorporate additional variables into ongoing research efforts to provide a more comprehensive understanding of overall school effectiveness. Moreover, considering the diverse stakeholders involved in the educational process, including parents, teachers, principals, and the community, future studies should strive to examine the collective impact of these factors on school effectiveness. However, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of our study. Our research is constrained by a specific sample size, which may limit the generalizability of our findings. We assert that future studies with larger and more diverse sample sizes would strengthen the validity and significance of our results, allowing for broader implications and insights into enhancing school effectiveness. Originality/value: This research holds significant importance in understanding the relationships between school effectiveness, school structure, and various school features in the context of Israeli primary schools. By examining the impact of school structure on academic achievements and exploring the contributions of other school-related factors, this study provides insights into the dynamics of educational effectiveness for educational stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of educational service quality (ESQ) on student academic performance via the mediating role of student satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach: To serve the study's purpose, the study adopted a quantitative research approach. Three public universities representing 30% of the ten public universities located in the Southern part of Ethiopia participated in the study. Questionnaires were the main tools for gathering data. The adapted questionnaire, consisting of 116 items was administered to 400 randomly selected regular undergraduate graduating class students. The quantitative data collected via questionnaire were analyzed using descriptive and advanced inferential statistics. Findings: The quantitative findings revealed that there is a statistically positive association between overall education service quality and students' satisfaction (r = 0.712). The findings proved that the facets of education service quality accounted for 71.2% of the variations in students' satisfaction in the universities. The quantitative findings further showed that the education service quality has a statistically indirect effect on students' academic performance via the mediating role of students' satisfaction (test statistic = 31.5311573, std. error = 0.00122536 and p-value = 0). The findings further confirmed that the overall education service quality accounted for 12.7% of the variations in students' academic performance via student satisfaction in the universities. Research limitations/implications: The present study was conducted in public universities located in the Southern part of Ethiopia. The findings and conclusions of the study may not be generalizable to all Ethiopian public universities. Future researchers and scholars should conduct their study in all Ethiopian public universities by taking a representative sample from the Ethiopian public universities. Practical implications: The present finding suggests that an improvement in ESQ leads to students' satisfaction and that could contribute to boosting their academic performance. The findings of the present may help the practitioners who measure higher education service quality by providing how the provision of ESQ indirectly influences the student's academic performance in the universities. Social implications: The findings of this study confirmed that the facets of ESQ are associated with students' satisfaction and this, in turn, indirectly influences their academic performance. Student academic performance is one of the key indicators of quality education, and it has its influences on the social, political and economic development of a country. The findings of the present research provide valuable insights to higher education management bodies, higher quality assurance agencies and the Federal Ministry of Education to learn the indirect effect of ESQ on students' academic performance and take necessary measures to improve the Ethiopian higher education quality. Originality/value: The contributions of ESQ in the higher education sector are enormous. However, the existing service quality literature in higher education mainly focuses on the interrelation among service quality, student satisfaction, loyalty and behavioral intentions. Little is known about the indirect influence of ESQ on student academic performance (one of the key indicators of quality education), principally in Ethiopian higher education, the place of current research. The present study showed the indirect impact of ESQ on student academic performance in Ethiopian public universities. The study, therefore, suggests that university management bodies should actively monitor the quality of their services and commit themselves to boosting students' learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The study examined the relationship between e-learning usage, creativity, e-learning utility and academic performance among undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) students at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), India. Design/methodology/approach: The data from 480 students were collected using a cross-sectional survey design. Pearson correlation analysis was performed in order to investigate the association between the variables. Findings: The results revealed a significant positive correlation between time of use and academic performance (r = 0.294, p < 0.01). However, there was no significant correlation between time of use and the usability of e-learning in the attainment of learning outcomes. Furthermore, there was a negative correlation between time of use and creativity (r = −0.170, p < 0.01). Practical implications: The results indicate that educators ought to promote consistent utilization of e-learning platforms to enhance scholarly achievements. However, learners should exercise prudence in their usage, as an over-reliance on these platforms may impede their creativity. Originality/value: This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge regarding the impacts of e-learning on students' academic performance and creativity. Additionally, it offers instructing professionals and students who make use of e-learning platforms information that might be helpful to them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine the importance of libraries in higher education institutes located in Azerbaijan, mainly in the capital city of Baku. Various university libraries have been examined in terms of information services, physical environments and technical equipment support issues. Design/methodology/approach: Questionnaires were completed by students and staff at several universities in Azerbaijan to examine how libraries affect people's academic achievement. The results of this study were comparatively described using multiple tables and graphs. Findings: University library usage is positively associated with academic achievement. Studies have shown that students who use libraries are more likely to succeed academically, as measured by their responses. The role of libraries in academic achievement is not limited to traditional academic tasks such as research and writing. Research limitations/implications: The results of this study suggest that there is a positive relationship between library usage and academic achievement in some universities in Azerbaijan, and it is necessary to continue the topic in further studies in a wide range to develop relationships between academic library services and success in higher education, either personal or student. Originality/value: This study is the first to examine the significance of academic libraries in higher education in Azerbaijan, providing a general overview and analysis of the separate correlations among these variables. Researchers interested in Azerbaijani education and libraries may find this to be practical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]