Catálogo de publicaciones - libros

The growth of student-centered learning as a paradigm in education at the expense of teacher-centered learning, has caused an important shift in research in learning processes: from the investigation of the impact of different instructional regimes, to the research of the influence of student characteristics and learning context on the learning process. An important element in this type of research refers to the interaction of student characteristics and context: different students perceive one and the same learning context in different ways, and develop, on the basis of these perceptions, different approaches to learning. This interaction is the focus of the so-called process stage in Presage-Process-Product or 3P models of learning.

The area of entrepreneurship has been suggested as a key factor for business over the years. Business schools around the world offer courses and even complete degrees emphasizing entrepreneurship. However, the perception of an entrepreneur differs across cultures. The entrepreneurial lifestyle is perceived, rewarded, acknowledged, etc. differently across cultures based upon cultural norms. This paper presents results from a set of data collected over two years in three countries: United States, United Kingdom, and France. The analysis of over 900 questionnaires found support for the basic conjecture that the perception of entrepreneurship differs between countries and in the direction predicted by the Total Entrepreneurship Activity (TEA) report; the US students perceived the entrepreneurship lifestyle better than did students from France or the UK. The final section of the paper highlights the cross-cultural differences that were found and offers some ideas on why they occur.

A Google (http://www.google.com) search for ‘e-learning’; brings up over 4.8 million results. This reflects the increasing view that e-learning somehow presents answers to a number of major problems facing both further and higher education. Specifically, the challenges that are presented by the rise in student numbers, the failure of funding to keep pace with that increase, the emphasis on meeting targets at all levels, and on the quality of the teaching and learning experience faced by the student learner.

The development of a learning society incorporating the concept of lifelong learning has been discussed in the higher education sector for many years now. The need for individuals to continue to develop personal and technical skills, knowledge, and understanding has been a prominent part of thinking within employment and education. Effective lifelong learning can ensure greater diversity in employability and personal fulfillment while meeting the needs of a changing economic environment. Employers benefit through having human resources at their disposal in the numbers and of the quality they require to meet their objectives. This is particularly demonstrated in the workplace through the desire for continuing professional development both from employer and from employee, and, accordingly, higher education must work hard to develop innovative approaches to the provision of relevant knowledge coupled with attractive and appropriate programs and qualifications.

Business schools are under increasing pressure to enhance the learning capability and employability of graduates. Business professional institutes and employer organizations are demanding more than the technical knowledge and skills required to perform discipline/professional specific tasks. They want graduates who can demonstrate capabilities in communication, teamwork, risk taking, decision making, problem solving, critical thinking, analytical reasoning, visioning and innovation, leadership, ethical practices, appreciation of diversity, and a commitment to social justice. Evidence in literature and reports (Karpin, 1995; Kirby, 2000; Commonwealth of Australia, 2002; Nelson, 2002) and in test data (McCowan & Richardson, 1998; Employer Survey, 1998; DETYA, 2000) shows that the employability gap^7 is closed when graduates possess these generic capabilities. What is important, however, is the increasing research showing that the strategies used to develop generic capabilities lead to improved learning, both in university courses and in the workplace.

During the last decennium, many universities have adopted innovative teaching and learning methods, such as problem-based and project learning. Due to these methods, students are developing skills in bridging the gap between theory and practice. They have exceeded the level of knowledge reproduction and entered the level of knowledge application. Critical success factors for these innovative processes include the use of real problems, the necessity to search for knowledge sources, and the possibility to work cooperatively.

Over the past few years, ethical scandals have occurred in all too many companies around the world. Some of the prominent ones gaining extensive media attention include Adelphia, Arthur Andersen, Enron, Tyco, and WorldCom, all headquartered in the United States; Adecco and Parmalat in Europe; and Yukos in Russia. The impact of these and other scandals have been felt around the world. Oppenheimer (2001) describes how U.S. multinational companies, including IBM and Citibank, have contributed to corruption in Latin America. Additionally, Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcya Argentaria has been charged with money laundering, questionable cash transfers, and secret political campaign contributions in its Latin American operations (Dempsey, 2002). Also in Latin America, smaller companies, which represent the majority of businesses there, tend to resist pressures for greater transparency in financial reporting (Dempsey, 2002). Walerius (2004), in a commentary on Middle Eastern nations, observes that businesses are often the source of corruption and sometimes oppose efforts to eliminate corruption. Numerous other examples exist throughout the world   no nation or geographic region seems to be immune to corruption.

The impact of technology in today’s teaching and learning has created an impetus on educators to differentiate between the applications of information versus knowledge (Sims, 2000, and Megarry, 1989). It is no longer sufficient to provide access and retrieval processes in online teaching, but more importantly there is an increasing need to facilitate the opportunities and processes for collaboration and complex thinking tasks such as critical thinking in order to ensure that knowledge is learned (Jonassen, 1997). There is minimal evidence to show support for communication and critical thinking learning processes in the classroom among international students where English is not their first language. Computer mediated communication can provide a social aspect to learning where interaction involves an exchange of information and requires participants to formulate arguments or reorganize material to arrive at new relationships or concepts (Graham & Scarborough, 1999). Electronically enhanced course components increase the capacity for scaffolding to take place, allowing students to experience the learning material in various modes and preserving class times for interaction and discourse (Schwartzman, 2002).

At present, entrepreneurship is of fundamental importance for our society (Thornton, 1999; Bruyat & Julien, 2000). Entrepreneurial companies contribute to economic welfare as they increase the innovative capacity of the economy. These enterprises also lead to more flexible markets and intensified competition. Moreover, through entrepreneurship, new businesses and jobs are created (De Clerck & De Sutter, 2003), an issue of utmost importance in today’s global business environment.

Web-based education is very popular. Research of the American Ministry of Education revealed that 56 percent of American universities offer their education (partly) by means of distance education via the Internet. Students seem to be very enthusiastic about e-learning; at least the number of students applying for online lectures is growing explosively (Tabs, 2003).