Search

University students need to find a balance between their physical, mental, social, and emotional state to do well in their academics. Student’s well-being should be one of the top priorities for any academic institute. The present study employed a sequential mixed methods approach to provide insights into students’ perceptions of well-being and academic workload. An online survey (n = 385) was conducted in the first phase, followed by collection of qualitative data through course assignments (n = 119) in the second phase for in-depth information. The findings showed that the students are not satisfied with college life, particularly in terms of academic workload as well as basic facilities and services. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that students have issue coping with negative emotions, which is likely to impact their overall well-being and health. Therefore, it is crucial that the college implement strategic interventions to address these issues. Keywords: College student, well-being, academic workload, social life, basic services, personality.

Family values and culture play a crucial role in the sexual behaviour of young adults. Due to lack of research, it is difficult to understand how Bhutanese family values and culture impact the sexual behaviour of young adults. Bhutanese are known for taking pride in their family values and culture and this is vividly brought out in this paper as a context to the study being carried out. This study employed a qualitative approach to understand the perceptions of pre-service student teachers (16 Key Informant & 2 Focus Group Interviews) regarding the influence of family values on their sexual behaviour. The findings indicate a presence of strong influence of family values and culture on the sexual behaviour of young adults. However, the findings tentatively suggest that the age of parents, education of parents, region, and religion do not influence their sexual behaviour. This small-scale study sets a foundation for a more expansive study on the role of family values in shaping the sexual behaviour of college students. This paper also presents the implications of the findings.

Cet article presente la facon dont le Bhoutan, une petite nation bouddhiste connue pour son « bonheur national brut », cherche a inculquer des valeurs fondees sur la philosophie bouddhiste. Le systeme d’apprentissage des valeurs dans la societe bhoutanaise en general, et dans les ecoles en particulier, a ete analyse a l’aide du cadre pour l’evaluation et la conception des valeurs educatives (Educational Values Evaluation and Design framework, EVED) developpe par les auteurs au cours de cinq annees de recherche collaborative sur les valeurs educatives au Bhoutan. L’article met en lumiere certaines difficultes et ruptures manifestes entre le systeme scolaire et les attentes de la societe. Il formule des recommandations de reformes pour une meilleure adequation du systeme educatif, qui soit a la fois inclusif, realiste et perenne pour tous dans la societe bhoutanaise.

Alcohol, tobacco and cannabis use, early sexual debut and suicidality among young people are public health issues. This study sought to explore associations between health-risk behaviours (use of alcohol, tobacco and cannabis, mental health and suicidality) and protective factors among in-school Himalayan secondary students from Bhutan and Nepal. Secondary analyses of WHO Global School Health Survey data obtained from the cross-sectional surveys of in-school Himalayan secondary students from Bhutan (2016, n = 7576) and Nepal (2015, n = 6529). Findings showed a concerning level of suicidality in both countries, early commencement of alcohol use, higher prevalence of current cannabis and alcohol use in Bhutan, and low condom use overall. Preventive health activities that target students at younger ages, males in particular, need strengthening, as do risk reduction efforts to delay onset of substance use and sexual debut and strategies to increase protective factors such as retention and participation in education.

The Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) was formed by an amalgamation of teaching institutions in 2003. RUB policy requires research; however, studies have shown that RUB faculty are variable in their response to the requirement to add research to their workload. While improvements have been made, challenges to research output have been identified. This article sets out recent developments in research at RUB. Data were gathered through an online survey of RUB faculty (n = 206) and semi-structured interviews with the college Presidents (n = 5) and Deans of Research and Industrial Linkages (n = 8). Findings show that improvement continues, but many challenges remain including some that were identified in prior research. Suggestions for ways to improve research processes and some future research projects are presented.

This article argues that it in order to analyse educational values within a complex system, greater attention must be paid towards understanding the utility of education and the contexts, discourses, and narratives surrounding the purpose of schooling in society. An Educational Values Evaluation and Design (EVED) framework is put forward as a means to effectively understand the alignment – or misalignment – of educational values within a complex system. This is particularly relevant for inclusion and diversity in education in that various elements must be in place beyond legal frameworks promoting access in order for inclusion to be meaningful and effective. This article presents the case study of Bhutan to support the EVED framework that was a result of two years of qualitative field research.

Sex and sexual health remain taboo topics in Bhutan. Sexually Transmissible Infections (STIs) are still associated with social stigma, embarrassment and denial, and knowledge of sexual health among...

This paper is based on the online survey that was initially conducted to explore and understand the personal and professional needs related to technological, pedagogical and subject content knowledge (TPACK) of some 700 teacher educators in Asia (8 universities) and Europe (4 universities) as a part of the Erasmus+ project on Blended Learning. A total of 80 Bhutanese teacher educators from the two teacher training colleges responded to this survey. Given the importance of the TPACK to all the university faculty irrespective of the type of college/discipline they teach at, the same questionnaire (paper-based) was administered to the Royal University of Bhutan faculty (n=189) from four other colleges (one engineering, one business, one liberal arts, and one language and cultural studies). The findings generally showed that almost all the respondents (99.4%) use Internet every day at the work place (85.2%) and home (70.9%). Using text editors, social networking, shopping, searching information, reading news, power point presentation, instant messenger and gamming topped the list of reasons for using Internet. However, integrating ICT into the curriculum, lack of pedagogical knowledge on how to use ICT in teaching and learning and Internet connectivity being too slow and expensive were identified as major problems. Findings also indicated an overwhelming need for PD on blended learning and other related ICT skills. This paper also presents insights into the seven-factor TPACK model and its implications. Given its transformative potential, it is imperative that higher education institutions in Bhutan provide strategic leadership in improving the overall ICT skills and facilities and incorporating blended learning into teaching and learning to facilitate higher learning experience.

The initial technological pedagogical and content knowledge (TPACK) model was theorised on seven clearly identified factors. However, many studies have failed to empirically identify these seven factors, and elements influencing TPACK level, such as national context, gender, and age, remain unclear. The study is focused on teacher educators’ TPACK as one of the most important elements in schoolteacher training. The main goals were to test the validity of the initial TPACK seven-factor model in a cross-national analysis context and to identify factors influencing the TPACK perception. The sample was composed of 574 teacher educators coming from a total of eight schools of educational institutions from six countries. A 26-item questionnaire, based on a four-point Likert scale, investigated the seven factors of the TPACK model as independent scales. It was administered online and anonymously. A confirmatory factor analysis using the robust maximum likelihood method and Kruskal–Wallis chi-squared tests were performed. The study showed four major results: 1) a relative stability of the seven-factor model structure across countries; 2) the relative differences of university teachers’ TPACK perceptions across six countries in Europe and Asia; 3) the dependence of age and TPACK factors; and 4) an independence of gender/academic level and TPACK.

Once isolated, Bhutan has become exposed to lifestyles and values from other countries with the rapid expansion of social media access and tourism. This has created tensions with traditional culture and values, especially concerns about substance use, sexual behaviour and mental health of young people. This study employed a self-administered survey in eight university college campuses across Bhutan (n = 2471) of substance use, mental health and sexual behaviour among the students and is the first of its kind in Bhutan. Potentially risky sexual behaviour was reported by over 50% of sexually active students. In light of the findings, relevant stakeholders, especially education, nursing and allied health, might review and revitalise tertiary curricula and on campus health promotion activities as their graduates will become valued and trusted frontline workers and role models. National sexual and reproductive health policies might also require review, including those relevant to health promotion and easy access to youth friendly health services.

Bullying in schools and colleges/universities has significant negative impacts on individuals and learning environments. Much of the evidence comes from school studies. This study, the first of its kind in Bhutan, explores the experience of bullying among college students. The study employed a self-administered survey to a representative sample of 2471 (male = 1242 and female = 1191) college students with mean age 21.5 years, from eight of the 11 college campuses across Bhutan. The findings indicate that bullying is not an uncommon experience amongst the college students; both as victims and victimizers. Implications for relevant stakeholders in Bhutan, and elsewhere, and recommendations to address the issues are presented, especially as they relate to teacher formation (teacher training programs). Although teacher formation is largely dependent on a pre-service teacher’s beliefs and prior learning experiences, teacher preparation programs play a vital role. Recommendations for further research are also provided.

One of the fundamental debates in education is on what schools should teach, and in the balance between academic content and the role of the school to teach non-cognitive skills and traits. This ar...

The focus on Educating for Gross National Happiness in schools is both on pedagogy and curriculum as well as extra-curricular programmes. Pre-service teacher training has been the focus of the Ministry of Education and the Royal University of Bhutan for many years now, but only recently has there been a major push to integrate pedagogical practices with the values and principles of Gross National Happiness (GNH) – the Educating for Gross National Happiness (EGNH) initiative. There is a greater awareness that both teacher-centred and curriculum-centred pedagogical practices may not be conducive to both the principles of GNH, nor to the future economic activity of the country. However, the implementation of EGNH ideas has been problematic, especially in translating them into classroom practices. Both pre- and in-service education has a big job ahead of them. This chapter explores the challenges in fully realising the potential of the EGNH initiative and plots a way forward. The authors argue that the teachers need to undergo fundamental changes to their basic assumptions, beliefs, and actions about the EGNH initiative if it is to be successfully implemented.