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The paper examines how new age pedagogies and neoliberal policies consciously work towards "naturalizing" English language's hegemony in institutions of Higher Education (IHE) in India. An ethnographic study the paper foregrounds the precarious positioning of non-English Indian languages "vis-à-vis" the pervading discourses of internationalization and education as job/skill oriented. Hegemony of English in the present is coupled with a restructuring of language departments as well as fleeting market demands for human capital. The paper also brings into question the role of the Internet and related technologies in reorganizing the linguistic dynamics of HE. Instead of democratizing, the Internet produces new monopolies in knowledge production, controls knowledge traffic from global North to South and further legitimizes the language hegemony. The paper argues that, in the last two decades, the neoliberal rupture has been leading HE institutions to a death of vernaculars within their physical, cultural and academic spaces.

In this paper, we present a system for automatic evaluation of the quality of a question paper. Question paper plays a major role in educational assessment. The quality of a question paper is crucial to fulfilling the purpose of the assessment. In many education sectors, question papers are prepared manually. A prior analysis of a question paper might help in finding the errors in the question paper, and better achieving the goals of the assessment. In this experiment, we focus on higher education in the technical domain. First, we conducted a student survey to identify the key factors that affect the quality of a question paper. The top factors we identified are question relevance, question difficulty, and time requirement. We explored the strategies to handle these factors and implemented them. We employ various concepts and techniques for the implementation. The system finally assigns a numerical quality score against these factors. The system is evaluated using a set of question papers collected from various sources. The experimental results show that the proposed system is quite promising.

Despite having one of the largest and fastest-growing post-secondary sectors in the world, there has been increasing protest against the lack of academic freedom within HEIs in India in the past decade. This research study carries out a comparative analysis of academic freedom within HEIs in India and the U.S., with a specific focus on how the notion is formulated within key policy documents and the provisions to safeguard it. Preliminary data from the systematic review revealed that while policy documents within both the countries frame the notion along similar lines, various sections within the Indian Penal Code are used to criminalize useful dissent and freedom of expression within HEIs. The study recommends that in order to safeguard academic freedom in India, certain specific sections within the Indian Penal Code (Section 124A, Section-153A, Section-292, Section-295A) should be either repealed or reformulated so that they are not amenable to misuse by the government.

It is generally perceived that a substantial number of engineering faculty are still unaware of alternative educational methods, and many who are aware of them choose not to incorporate them into their approach to teaching. There are several likely reasons for this inertia, aside from the inevitable human resistance to change. The primary focus of imparting information is restricted to fulfilling the course requirements and, the upcoming term end examination. It is imperative to adopt a change from teaching to learning paradigm engaging the students in Higher Order Thinking Skills. Knowledge and technological advancements are changing the role of engineering and engineering faculty in the society. Engineering Education reforms need to focus on inductive teaching and stimulated learning. Students should be taught critical thinking skills and creative thinking skills to keep pace with the rapidly changing engineering profession. This paper reports the study done to test and explore the faculty awareness of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives in the cognitive domain and Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) and to evaluate question papers set by engineering faculty with respect to HOTS as proposed by Bloom's Taxonomy. Various active learning strategies to enhance critical thinking skills and creative thinking skills of the students are recommended for use by the faculty in their interactions with the students.

The technology-supported education systems seamlessly integrated throughout the globe in response to the demands of post COVID-19 pandemic. The swift developments of the digital tools with Artificial Intelligence (AI) support are also readily diffused among the educational communities. This research paper investigates the synergistic impact of digital literacy, the incorporation of AI tools, and Peer Supported Collaborative Learning (PSCL) on the learning perceptions of university students. The research aims to discern the implications of these technological and social facets on students' attitudes towards AI assisted learning process. Structured questionnaire-based survey among the University students were done for this descriptive research. 409 responses collected were analysed with SPSS, Excel and Process Macro. It is found that the students' Digital Literacy, Use of AI tools and PSCL on AI assisted learning were positively correlated. The partial mediatory path through the PSCL and AI tool usage has a significant positive influence on students learning process. The insights gathered from this study can inform educators, policymakers, and institutions on optimizing the amalgamation of digital literacy, AI tools and PSCL to enhance the contemporary learning environment. As universities navigate the digital age, this research provides a nuanced understanding of the dynamics shaping students' perceptions, offering valuable insights into the multifaceted aspects of AI influencing the educational landscape.

Higher education (HE) in India has seen an exponential growth phase over the last two decades. Challenges of meeting expansion demands along with goals of equity and quality have underpinned discussions on educational reforms as well. The dynamics of market-supported increased access have compromised on goals of equity, whereas the role of technology in assisting growth has been fraught with similar and greater social challenges. A new normal seems to have emerged into the HE landscape across the world in the form of legitimising and rationalising 'digital' as an equal alternative to the face to face. In the context of a developing postcolonial economy like India, this development has further highlighted the contradictory pulls within the emerging aims/purposes of HE. The digital divide even as it impacts or reflects the existing asymmetries in access to resources, also engenders a dilemma with respect to the desired aims of higher education. There appears to be a contingent shift in approach appropriating the discourse of democratisation of knowledge/educational institutions and materially undermining prospects for enhancing social capital of graduates essential for a critical participation in the social, political and economic realm. In this context, the paper aims to problematize the idea of inclusion of the marginalised through digitalisation of education with focus on the pedagogic space and the possibilities for a participatory, mediated, empathetic and empowering pedagogy. The paper begins by contextualising the digital emphasis in the neo-liberal imagination of higher education in India.

As universities shifted to online education with the onset of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, both pedagogy and assessment patterns across disciplines underwent a change, with a shift towards collaborative digital assessments. In this context, using qualitative and quantitative methods for data collection from an assessment conducted for 55 students who worked in groups to create YouTube videos on pre-selected modules, our analysis reveals that this assessment tool had a significant impact on peer learning, motivation and group dynamics. Students were more motivated to learn and share their learning, and they could also successfully engage in recognising and addressing group dynamics, thereby cultivating more than just subject knowledge. This finding aligns with existing scholarship and the paper adds to research about pedagogy and assessment via digital education in the Indian context, which is still upcoming.

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 of India reframed the present structure of higher education such as syllabi, examinations, and assessments. Due to the pandemic, many educational and research institutions are building a knowledge and skill-based curriculum and designing new credit-based courses, while encouraging students to attend online courses as a way to meet the recommendations of NEP. Any e-learning platform or online course has four basic components: Videos, Activities, Additional Reading Material, and Discussions, with Additional Reading Material being a more important component. Online courses that are open to everyone (MOOCs) can be adopted irrespective of the students' specialization or area. The instructor provides the reading material to the learners as a fixed, recommended list irrespective of the learner's interest or specialization. Instructors are finding it difficult to cater to the diversity of learners' interests and learning styles. In this paper, I have focused and analyzed the additional reading material and digital reading patterns of learners in various MOOC platforms by conducting online surveys. I concluded that there is a need to use learning eXtension Trajectories (LxT) in the learner-centric MOOC model where an instructor can identify various supportive domains and provide a shortened list of resources comprising various media to the learners.

This paper presents a comprehensive review of existing literature concerning the domains of accreditation and quality assurance in various sectors. Accreditation and quality assurance play vital roles in ensuring the credibility, transparency, and effectiveness of educational institutions, healthcare facilities, industries, and other domains. This paper synthesizes the findings of numerous studies, focusing on the conceptual frameworks, methodologies, and outcomes associated with accreditation and quality assurance processes. The review encompasses a wide range of perspectives, including historical context, best practices, challenges, and advancements in accreditation and quality assurance. Through a systematic analysis of these scholarly works, this paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of the evolving landscape of accreditation and quality assurance across diverse sectors and shed light on potential future research directions.

Alphabet-based languages are more often researched in literacy acquisition and education than akshara languages. Languages that use alphasyllabaries including symbols, called aksharas, represent a large portion of the world's languages, including the languages of the second most populous country, India. This conceptual research paper addresses teacher education in literacy related to the akshara languages. Using the theory and research base of existing letter and akshara acquisition, with teacher education standards for literacy in alphabet-based languages, this paper presents a model for teacher education in literacy for akshara languages. This framework provides teacher education standards and other considerations, such as evaluation of teacher education curriculum and performance, to enable data-based decision making in literacy instruction. The premise of this paper is to approach the problem of dismal literacy rates by drawing into the robust research in alphabetic language literacy education by using a systematic approach to target the source -- pre-service teacher education. While this paper addresses examples of languages in India, other transparent orthographies that use symbols or aksharas can draw from this to inform their teacher education in literacy.

Purpose: Inclusive growth in the education sector is still a major challenge in some countries because of limited access to technologies and internet connectivity, among other reasons. However, as a technology, augmented reality (AR) is expected to be widely used in the field of education in the future. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the use of AR for inclusive growth in education as well as identify the challenges, particularly in countries like India and Tanzania. Design/methodology/approach: This paper applies a systematic literature review by analysing and synthesising relevant documents, mainly journal articles, books and conference papers. Descriptive statistics and cross-tabulation were used for the analysis. Content analysis was used to evaluate the contents of the reviewed literature. Findings: For the use of AR, it is important to have adequate digital infrastructure, access to universal internet or broadband facilities and the digital empowerment of citizens. Major challenges to inclusive growth in education include the lack of trained teacher educators and students' preference for practical or project-based curriculum. Practical implications: Practitioners in both countries may consider the use of AR for inclusive growth in education. Originality/value: This paper specifically examines the use of AR in higher education and the related challenges based on a review of two countries, namely India and Tanzania.

Purpose: This research aimed to capture undergraduate students' experiences in the transition from face-to-face (F2F) learning to online learning. This study explored their perceptions regarding the effectiveness of online learning in their academic lives, challenges encountered and suggestions for enhancing online learning in the post-COVID-19 era. Design/methodology/approach: This study employed a concurrent mixed-methods research design and selected 118 undergraduate students using a multistage random sampling technique from four colleges in Assam. Standardized questionnaires and open-ended interview schedules were used. Findings: Undergraduate students reported a positive attitude and satisfaction with online learning, valuing its adaptability to their schedules, its role as a motivating factor for self-learning, its effect on making them more technically proficient and enhancing their communication skills to articulate their thoughts. However, the challenges identified by the students have the potential to overshadow the promises of online learning. This research provided more constructive suggestions under the themes of "content delivery", "systemic and infrastructural issues", "pedagogy" and "capacity building" to enhance their experiences with online learning. Practical implications: Our research findings would assist educational institutions in adopting innovative approaches for simpler and more efficient online learning experiences post-COVID-19 pandemic. Institutions should prepare themselves and design dual-mode courses for F2F and online learning. Originality/value: The paper addressed a relevant topic in this era of online learning by examining undergraduate students' viewpoints that added complementary information to the current body of literature on online learning in rural India. The insights gleaned from their experiences would be beneficial for the development of best practices for online learning in the coming decades.

Intercultural Perspectives on Information Literacy and Metaliteracy (IPILM) is a discourseoriented learning environment that engages students from diverse cultural backgrounds to participate in collaborative knowledge construction. The objective is to evolve a thematic approach to course design that includes elements of open pedagogy, information literacy, and metaliteracy. IPILM invites participation from educators and learners from around the world and has witnessed an increase in participating countries. This paper describes the concept of IPILM and demonstrates the implementation of this approach in practice. The initiative was well received by students and is both feasible and sustainable as an intercultural learning endeavor. IPILM is an ongoing project and a work in progress that is an adaptable model which may be transferred to disparate fields of teaching and learning or adopted by international communities of instructors.

Concept maps help detect misconceptions and provide revision exercises to assess comprehension once a topic has been introduced. A concept map is a schematic drawing used to show the connection among the concepts in propositional form. A concept map is a helpful tool for illustrating the relationships between main concepts and sub-concepts. The main objective of the study was to identify misconceptions about the human digestive system among higher secondary students using concept maps. The data was collected from higher secondary students XI class students) (N = 388) with the help of students' preliminary concept maps and researcher-made concept map tools. Findings of the study showed that secondary school students hold misconceptions related to the human digestive system, i.e. few (22.68%) students have misconceptions such as 'Human Digestive System is the process by which hard food is converted into simple diffusible assimilable nutrients', few (19.32%) students have misconceptions such as 'Alimentary Canal starts with the throat," etc. The present paper will help use concept maps for the identification and remediation of students' misconceptions.

The present paper studied the various issues and challenges of student's assessment that has been faced by college teachers and students of Kashmir division during COVID-19 Pandemic. Assessment is the major aspect of the education system. The student assessment is the act of evaluating student's abilities and achievements. It is ongoing process and integral part of the teaching and learning process. The teacher makes judgments about the students learning or to determine student's interest through assessment. It helps the teacher to reflect on each student's level of achievement as well as to customize their teaching plans accordingly. After COVID-19 Pandemic the student assessment has been shifted more to the online assessment. The teachers have faced lot of issues due to lack of access of internet and technology. In every sphere of education there is a great impact of technology on the students learning that has been done after COVID-19. The present study was descriptive- survey based study. Both primary and secondary sources of data were collected. For the secondary sources of data the investigator had reviewed various national and international papers related with the present study. The sample comprised of 400 college students and 400 teachers from various degree colleges of Kashmir Division. Self- developed interview schedule and self-constructed were used for the data collection. The investigator has conducted a group interview of 10 college's students and 10 teachers separately that constituted of 80 interviews. On the bases of these 80 group interviews the researcher developed themes of all interviews and analyzed all these into specific themes. The investigator suggested some recommendations for improving the better assessment of students through remote learning. The study indicated that there are major six challenges in the context of online assessment i.e., lack of internet connection, language problem, parental attitude, mental disturbance, heavy work load and inaccessibility of smarts phones.

The study aims to understand the foremost challenges in the transition to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study adopts the PRISMA approach to screening the selection of journal articles and review papers according to the research aims and the inclusion criteria. The journal articles and review papers were extracted and stored in Microsoft Excel and Google Scholar, Academic. Microsoft, Semantic Scholar, Elsevier, and Emerald Insight databases searched relevant documents using formulated keywords. A statistical technique was applied using the M.S. Excel analysis tool (PivotTable and an independent t-Test) to analyze data and determine the differences between teachers and students. The review revealed the evidence that the majority of the studies were primarily focused on the individual developing countries and results from other developing countries were not considered. In addition, the foremost challenges in the transition to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic were inadequate skills and training, inadequate Internet/Infrastructure, lack of supporting resources and lack of online student engagement and feedback. Finally, the independent t-test reveals there is no statistically significant difference in challenges in the transition to online teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both teachers and students encounter similar challenges. The systematic review raised concerns that higher learning needs to effectively implement long term strategies and support teachers and students in getting into online teaching and learning.

The higher education efficiency evaluation model using the data envelopment analysis method has interested many researchers. This paper uses bibliometric analysis on publications extracted from the Scopus database to provide a comprehensive overview of research publications on the measurement of higher education efficiency based on data envelopment analysis: its growth rate, major collaboration networks, the most important and popular research topic. A total of 169 related publications were collected and analyzed from 1988 to 2021. The analysis results show that: Publications published every year have increased sharply in the last six years; The quality of publications is relatively high as publications tend to be published in journals with high-ranking indexes; Countries with the most influence in studies on this topic are: Italy, China, Spain, the USA, and the United Kingdom; Authors with the most influence in this research direction are Agasisti T., Abbott M., Doucouliagos C., Avkiran N.K., and Johnes J.; The research cooperation among countries and among affiliations is not strong. Finally, the paper has provided recommendations for future studies based on the findings.

The International Virtual Exchange Project (IVEProject) has been connecting students across multiple countries through asynchronous forums on a large scale since 2015. However, considering the variety of virtual exchange methods and the advantages they bring to the field of foreign language learning, there is an increased need to explore the pedagogical possibilities of combining asynchronous and synchronous modalities, particularly across multiple institutions and countries. This short article reports on a pedagogical innovation which involved adding synchronous sessions conducted over Zoom to the asynchronous IVEProject forums. The authors arranged eight weekly Zoom meetings in which students from China, India, Japan, Jordan, Palestine, Türkiye and Syria participated in May-July, 2021. After the final session, a survey was administered to participating students and their teachers to explore their experiences. The results show that the majority of students appreciated and benefitted from the opportunity to communicate synchronously with peers from other countries. The paper also reflects on the benefits and challenges of combining synchronous sessions alongside the asynchronous IVEProject forums, aiming to derive lessons learned from this project in the hope that this will aid future EFL instructors in creating engaging virtual exchange projects which involve participants from multiple cultures and countries.

The competency-based undergraduate medical curriculum in the preclinical years requires clinical topics to be taught using a linker clinical case for students to appreciate the clinical application of basic sciences. The objective of this study was to evaluate student and faculty satisfaction regarding the construct and delivery of an aligned and integrated curriculum that involved the use of linker clinical cases. We aimed at evaluating the perceptions and performance of students when paper cases were supplemented with a simulated patient (SP) video. This interventional study was conducted by inviting 250 medical students from the first professional phase from the 2020-2021 batch. Integrated modules were prepared for two clinical conditions: myocardial infarction (MI) and nephrotic syndrome (NS). The topic NS was taught with a paper-based case while the topic MI was supplemented with an SP video. Feedback from students and faculty was collected using a newly developed and validated questionnaire and focused group discussions. The students performed significantly better in the assessment conducted after the topic MI compared to NS. The majority of the students (80%) expressed a preference for the video to understand the clinical relevance when compared to the paper case. Overall, the students (83-87%) expressed satisfaction with integrated teaching sessions using clinical cases. Using linker clinical cases in an aligned and integrated preclinical curriculum allowed students to interrelate the subjects and apply them to clinical contexts. The SP videos prepared from an authentic setting facilitated learner engagement with a better understanding of the clinical relevance of the basic sciences.

The COVID-19 pandemic is redefining the practices of higher education in an unprecedented way. E-learning can guarantee the right to higher education during the pandemic to the students of higher education and hence its adoption in teaching learning is now inevitable. The readiness of higher education faculty members towards E-learning is explored in this paper. The paper also presents about the impact of demographic factors (Age, Gender and Discipline) as predictors variables and the influence of their interaction on the criterion variable i.e., E-learning readiness. A self-developed inventory was used to collect the data about E-learning readiness of faculty members. Seven research hypotheses were framed and tested using 4 X 2 X 3 Factorial Design ANOVA. The findings revealed that there is a need to improve the E-learning readiness of faculty members of higher education. Also, it was discovered that there is no significant difference in the mean scores of E-learning readiness of faculty members with respect to their Age, Gender and Discipline to which they belong. Further it is also observed that the second order interaction effect among the Age, Gender and Discipline has a significant influence on E-learning readiness of faculty members of higher education.

In the Indian higher education (HE) setting, what 'academic freedom' of students and faculty members constitutes has not been discussed in detail. As a result, many faculty members and students have discerned 'academic freedom' as freedom from external control and influence. It is noticed that faculty members and students are often misinterpreting and misconstruing the concept of 'academic freedom' as 'legal freedom' and confused it with 'civil and political rights'. This creates a hurdle to achieve the aims and objectives of Indian HE institutions. Against this backdrop, the paper discusses the concept of 'academic freedom' and its importance in the higher education setting. It examines the relationship between 'academic freedom' and 'university autonomy' in the Indian context. It discusses the HE institution's social responsibilities concerning the notion of 'academic freedom'. It delineates faculty member's and student's academic freedom in the Indian higher education setting. It submits that 'academic freedom' is not to be treated as 'legal freedom'. But it is an essential requisite for quality teaching-learning activities, productive and rewarding research works in higher education. The paper adopts a qualitative methodology that subsumes descriptive, evaluative, and interpretative approaches to derive its conclusion.

This paper explores learners' awareness of and satisfaction with the e-services that an open university provides its learners through its Website. The paper further highlights the influence of age, gender, and education levels on learners' awareness and satisfaction levels. A case-study approach was adopted and an online survey was used to collect data from learners in various programs of study at Uttarakhand Open University, India. The questionnaire measured the awareness levels of learners regarding 15 frequently used e-services and their satisfaction levels with the 12 most frequently used e-services that the university offers. Results show that gender, age, and education level have a significant influence on the awareness and satisfaction level of the participants. When maturity level and education level of the participants increased, they are more aware of the e-services provided by the University. In some cases, up to 58% of users were unaware of the university's e-services, and a large number of respondents were either dissatisfied with or undecided regarding the university's e-services. Results indicate that infrastructure is required for learners' optimal use of information and communication technology and the e-services that the university offers, including the provision of Internet connectivity at all of the university's learning support centers.

This paper aims to analyze the effect of motivation in the development of English speaking skills on second language acquisition. There are so many excellent teaching methods that vary in effectiveness. Motivation is the driving force for learning another language, and integration of that language into the person's identity. Motivation is the practical reason for learning a second language. Data collection was done from two Indian universities named: Patna University and Patliputra University, from each university 50 students were randomly selected. Speaking English is one of the best needs of individual in both the students' academic and a professional field. The second language students should be encouraged not only in the classroom but also outside to speak in English. In achieving this goal, motivation can be used as magical catalyst in learning L[subscript 2]. With this viewpoint, this research focuses on 3 main motivational factors to analyze the role of motivation in developing speaking skills: identifying the motivation function in promoting speaking skills; researches on motivational factors for English as second language; suggesting impact and strategies in stimulating learners in developing speaking skills. close-ended questionnaires using relevant types of questions are chosen to conduct data collection. For the research, descriptive statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. The mean value was used to represent the analysis results. Within this paper, the researcher identified several factors that affect students' motivation to learn second language. Motivation is surely, of great importance in this phenomenon, and is often critical in its development.

This paper carried out a contextual analysis of different models of performance appraisals in both developed and developing countries on Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). First, it conducted a thorough examination of the contextual implications of performance appraisal models in developed and developing countries. Secondly, to better understand the various performance appraisal models for HEIs in both developed and developing countries, a review of the theoretical and conceptual framework of several performances appraisal models were conducted. The third phase of the review focused on performance appraisal in educational institutions in selected countries, as well as a review of Eric Alan Hanushek article on the role of human capital in economic growth in developing countries. Finally, the paper presented the findings and the research gaps identified in the review. In carrying out the first phase of this paper, the emphasis was placed on the importance of the context, which involves the interplay between the extrinsic (such as societal norms, economic and political situation of the country) and the inherent (institutional culture and leadership style) factors within which the HEI operates. Intrinsic and Extrinsic factors affecting the performance assessment of HEIs in Iraq, Kurdistan, have been reviewed. A similar review was carried out in HEIs in the United Kingdom and the United States of America to determine the extent to which organizational culture and social norms influence the formulation of performance appraisal models.

COVID-19 has transformed higher education learning and teaching practices globally. Tertiary students, internationally face both opportunities and challenges in learning and adapting to this paradigm shift in the delivery of education. It remains unclear how students in international contexts are responding to these changes in digital learning during and post-COVID-19. This paper aims to compare student perceptions of digital competence, confidence, and resilience in present times using data from surveys of tertiary students from Australia, Cambodia, China, India, and Malaysia. There are disparities not only in the teaching and learning pedagogies amongst these countries but also in the levels of technological advancement, infrastructure support, and pace of digital innovation in the delivery of courses. These differences have put in focus students' both digital competencies and resilience as they pursue higher education on various digital learning platforms. Resilience includes the ability to bounce back or adapt from stress (Smith et al., 2008). Digital resilience is students' tech-savviness and preparedness to adapt to different digital environments as they pursue higher education. This paper examines the perceptions of tertiary undergraduate students from these countries in this emerging new digital learning norm. A total of 687 tertiary students from the aforementioned countries participated in a survey to questions related to digital competence, confidence in using and/or adapting to digital innovation, and resilience. Statistically significant attributes are identified to help better understand the challenges these culturally diverse students perceive in digital learning environments. This study will reveal barriers that impact the digital transformation of undergraduate students which can be used to recommend necessary teaching and learning support frameworks to enhance their digital competence and resilience. This will help tertiary institutions better equip all stakeholders in adapting to the new normal of higher education in the future.

Advertising has always played an important role in creating visibility for educational institutions. In today's time, digital marketing is the sought-after mode as there has been a significant shift from offline to online advertising. With the evolving times, flexibility and convenience take significant importance and it is critical for educational institutions to shift gears and adapt to the new formats. In order to stay relevant and have a competitive advantage, digital advertising helps higher educational institutions go that extra mile in engaging with their potential customers. It also helps in building awareness and attract good quality of students. In the world of digital advertising, 'Google Advertisement' is an online advertising platform developed by Google, where advertisers bid to display brief advertisements, service offerings, product listings, or videos to web users. It can place advertisements both in the results of search engines like Google Search and on non-search websites, mobile apps, and videos. Google AdWords offers the most pragmatic solutions and tools to all strategic issues of digital advertising. Click Through Ratio (CTR) stands out as the most significant index of reflecting its influence and impact. Amongst the array of choices, the right strategy requires an academic and strategic backing. The objective of this paper is to assess on the impact of Google Adwords is used in digital advertising campaigns promoting business schools in specific. This research concentrates on CTR as a measure of the campaign's effectiveness. This paper try's to understand CTR in the context related to the type of content embedded in these digital advertisements; the structure of this content; and hence identify and suggest new strategies. This paper identifies and proposes the right online advertising strategy that can be used by a Business School (B School). Purposive/non-probabilistic sampling was carried out to choose the specific of Business Schools (B-schools) for this study. The business schools selected were based on the National Institution Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2018 of the Indian Human Resource Development. The data was analyzed using to the Social Sciences Statistical Suite (SPSS). There was only access to publicly available and publicly displayed advertisement with no access to user profile data. CTR was utilized to measure total and proportional engagement. The advertisements were then categorized based on their content and analyzed through a one-way ANOVA test. For the purpose of an operationalizing, CTR was utilized as defined by Pak et. al. (2018): "A ratio showing how often people who see your advertisement end up clicking it." The main components analyzed are the characteristics of an effective advertisement appearing on the digital platform measured through its Click Through Ratio. One-way ANOVA has been conducted to assess the Click Through Ratio of advertisement segregated in twenty categories based on their format, content and time of appearance. The analysis reflects that Click Through Ratio differs for different format of advertisements, the information that they contain and for the time and day that they appear. Strategies based on these findings are suggested along with discussion, limitations and further scope of research.

Purpose: The quality of vocational education and training (VET) processes plays an important role in international education policies and research. In India, issues of quality came into focus in recent years due to an increased demand for skilled workers, and continuing challenges in the area of quality of VET. Existing quality assurance mechanisms of VET in India are characterised by a lack of comprehensiveness and uniform standards. This paper addresses the contextualised development of an Indian-specific approach for quality measurement. It centres on following research question: Which quality areas, criteria and related indicators are of relevance for measuring quality comprehensively? Approach: Design-based research substantiates the research objective, which is to develop a model that is theoretically and technically sound, as well as adapted to the national context. The question of how to create "cultural-fit" was essential for the research process illustrated in this paper. Starting point for the development of the approach was to build a structured review, and following analysis, with reference to existing models and approaches to quality management. The initial search examined national and international academic sources for quality management in business and education, as well as governmental sources for quality management strategies in VET. A significant number of models were selected, based on inclusion criteria, and these models were aggregated to provide a source for a first own conception of an approach. Results: Quality dimensions and criteria were collected and identified with reference to distribution across models. In total, seven major quality areas are identified, namely Institutional Sphere and Context; Personnel; Educational Planning, Provision and Assessment; Learning and Teaching; Leadership and School Management; Industry Linkage and Learner Achievements. In addition, 40 quality criteria are determined under these major quality fields, and relevant quantitative and qualitative sub-indicators for measurement are derived. Conclusion: The actual results will be a basis for the following pilot-based implementation in India. The model can provide meaningful feedback and data-based recommendations for continuous improvement of the Indian VET system and may furthermore provide for a reflected and contextually adapted implementation in other countries.

This article offers a global overview of the burgeoning field of micro-credentials and their relationship to lifelong learning, employability and new models of digital education. Although there is no globally accepted definition of micro-credentials, the term indicates smaller units of study, which are usually shorter than traditional forms of accredited learning and courses leading to conventional qualifications such as degrees. The paper aims to provide educators with a helicopter view of the rapidly evolving global micro-credential landscape, with particular relevance to higher education leaders, industry stakeholders and government policy-makers. It addresses five questions: (i) What are micro-credentials? (ii) Why micro-credentials? (iii) Who are the key stakeholders? (iv) What is happening globally? and (v) What are some of the key takeaways? Drawing on a European-wide perspective and recent developments in The Republic of Ireland, the paper concludes that micro-credentials are likely to become a more established and mature feature of the 21st-century credential ecology over the next five years. While the global micro-credential landscape is currently disconnected across national boundaries, more clarity and coherence will emerge as governments around the world increasingly align new credentialing developments with existing national qualification frameworks. The micro-credentialing movement also provides opportunities for governments and higher education institutions in partnership with industry to harness new digital learning models beyond the pandemic.

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Instructional labs: Improving traditions and new directions.] We present the pedagogical design and implementation of "ESSENCe": Experimental problem solving using Staging, Scaffolding, Embedded information sources, iNstruments, and Collaboration. Research in experimental physics requires problem-solving skills that include designing investigations, developing instrumentation techniques, troubleshooting, planning data analysis, and evaluating experimental outcomes. Most of these skills can be taught at the undergraduate level but are unfortunately skipped in traditional cookbook-recipe style labs. Since many physics experiments require electronics, the ESSENCe pedagogy presented here has been developed in the context of undergraduate electronics laboratory courses. The goals of ESSENCe labs are to help students apply their theoretical knowledge of electronics to hands-on open-ended experiments, understand properties of physical systems and limitations of measurements, and to learn how to work with sophisticated instruments used in experimental research. ESSENCe emphasizes collaboration with peers and teaching assistants. This paper presents the results of ESSENCe implementation in a sophomore undergraduate analog electronics lab of 45--60 students over multiple years in a top-ranked technological university in India. A mixed methods study was conducted to analyze students' development of experimental problem-solving skills through repeated measures of performance on experimental tests and video analysis of students working on the experiments. We found statistically significant improvement in students' experimental problem-solving skills over the course of a semester. The study also analyzed students' perceptions about the benefits and challenges of the open-ended collaborative lab.

Purpose: This paper presents the features and relevance of open distance learning in the context of the socio-economic conditions of people living in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in India. Although the primary purpose of the present study was to ascertain the effectiveness of the learner support services (LSSs) and different facilities offered by the open distance learning (ODL) institutions in that specific region. On the basis of these findings, few suggestions are made for the improvement in the support services, in order to make the ODL system more responsive to the area-specific needs of the learners, especially those residing in inaccessible areas such as J&K. Design/methodology/approach: A survey-based descriptive methodology was applied to conduct this study. The data extracted from primary and secondary sources were analysed to reach certain conclusions. In total, 1,200 distance learners constituted the sample of the research. A semi-structured questionnaire was designed and distributed amongst learners and academics in the region to obtain their feedback and opinion on different aspects of support services and facilities offered to ODL learners. Findings: Results of the study revealed that overall, the LSSs were satisfactory on different parameters, although they slightly varied from institution to institution. However, there was still scope for improvement in certain areas, where institutions further need to make serious efforts to address the identified gaps for improving the LSS and make teaching-learning more learner-centric in view of their specific requirements and local circumstances of J&K. Research limitations/implications: The present study focusses on presenting an overview of the only major components of LSS offered by ODL institutions and covers six distance education institutions (DEIs) located in different geographical locations within the limited jurisdiction of J&K. There is still scope to make focused (institution-wise) studies in a more specific situation and context to ascertain the problems in a more realistic way. Practical implications: Although the study has been conducted in a specific territory of J&K, the findings reported in the paper may be equally useful for the other ODL institutions with similar characteristics or located in similar geographical locations, as support services are essential common components of institutions offering distance education programmes or courses. Originality/value: The study is original research work conducted in the specific context of J&K, and its findings are based on the primary and secondary data collected from learners and other stakeholders of the selected ODL institutions. This work may be significant for the DEIs of J&K to get familiar with the essential components of LSS and develop a mechanism to further improve the academic and administrative support services for distance learners.

Purpose: The study aims to validate a mobile learning readiness scale through the technology readiness and acceptance model (TRAM), thereby assessing students' readiness to adopt m-learning in teaching and learning, including its acceptance. Design/methodology/approach: A structured questionnaire was administered to open and distance learning (ODL) students in Odisha, India, to assess their readiness and acceptance of m-learning. 665 valid responses were collected, and collected data was analysed using statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS) and SmartPLS. Findings: The findings of the study reveal that optimism contributes positively to perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived usefulness (PU) of m-learning ([beta] = 7.921, p < 0.001; [beta] = 2.123, p < 0.05), whereas innovativeness positively contributes to PEOU of m-learning ([beta] = 2.227, p < 0.05), but not PU of m-learning. ODL student's optimism improves his/her PEOU and PU of m-learning, but innovativeness improves only his/her PEOU. Further, the impact of innovativeness is higher than that of optimism in the TRAM and innovativeness is the strong predictor to adopt m-learning. It also shows that the PU of m-learning positively influences behavioural intention to use m-learning ([beta] = 4.757, p < 0.001). Integrating technology readiness (TR) with technology acceptance model (TAM) to predict students' acceptance of m-learning is very useful. Practical implications: The paper will help decision-makers to adopt and use m-learning in higher educational institutions. Originality/value: This paper is the first to explore the readiness and acceptance of m-learning in higher education in India.