Books in the River Publishers Series in Innovation and Change in Education series

This book provides an accessible introduction to the philosophy of educational research. A historical-philosophical journey presents the development of research methods from their origins to the present day. In addition, the book reflects on how research methods have influenced scientific effectiveness. Throughout, the book covers the principal things that need to be known today about the theory and practice of educational research, its epistemological bases, and its development as a discipline within scientific knowledge. The historical events that defined both the methodological evolution and the current situation of contemporary educational research are described to enable its understanding.This book provides an accessible introduction to the philosophy of educational research. A historical-philosophical journey presents the development of research methods from their origins to the present day.. It can also be used as didactic material for classroom discussions on educational research, educational philosophy, and current controversies in education. Its usefulness reaches the social sciences, humanities, and experimental sciences in all areas related to teaching and training. The basis of educational research is exposed, both in its concepts or philosophical visions and methodologies, which ultimately define what education means today.

A PhD is the start of the research careers, and these students are the backbone of Universities and research institutions. It is the opportunity for youthful energy and creativity to make global impact and train the future researchers to make a difference. However, the candidature can also be the period of confusion and regret because of lack of structure and understanding.Research Methods for Successful PhD is written to help the PhD students and other young researchers navigate their path through this phase that will give them a direction and purpose. It is a candid conversation and developed over the experience of supervising 30 research students and publishing 400 papers over 20 years. The book recognizes that every student is different and has unique circumstances. It teases out the fundamental questions that we forget to ask, the method of relating to the supervisor, discusses methods to improve communication skills and explains the how to get the work published.

Since the late 1970s, China has initiated landmark reforms in education resulting in great strides in international rankings.. Unlike many recent books on Chinese educational reform, which examine macroscopic policies, this book examines the universalization of pre-school education, school selection in elementary education, attractiveness of vocational education, the operational mode of university charters, the development of open universities, the credit bank system in building the learning society, and other aspects of education, and only analyzes one specific problem in each of these contexts for the purpose of comparing China's educational reforms to their overseas counterparts through microscopic study.Insights on Education Reform in China is not intended to provide a complete picture of China's educational reform. Rather, it addresses the types of complicated circumstances under which China has made achievements in educational reform, and the conflicts arising in the context of that reform.Topics covered include: Education Reform, Equality, Standardization, Governance, Learning Society

Quality Assurance is not a new concept in the education sector in general, and higher education in particular, though it is becoming increasingly more relevant and important. Higher education helps to improve an individual's quality of life by enabling them to inflate their knowledge and expertise, to grasp abstract concepts and theories, and to raise their awareness of the world and their community, and as such the assurance of quality is becoming more pivotal in the whole education process.There is no simple definition of the concept of quality in education, though numerous models and theories have been devised. Toward Quality Assurance and Excellence of Higher Education is a new episode of the Quality Assurance perception in higher education, which identifies the quality culture and orientation from the beginning, integrating crucial factors to build a "e;pyramid"e; of higher education excellence. The book compares concepts from the main theories of Quality Assurance, management and control when they are applied to educational systems in higher education. The book also presents a new model of excellence in higher education. Excellence is an architecture of building blocks that comes with process performance, effectiveness, harmony and collaboration which should be incorporated in a quality-oriented concept of a sustainable excellence of higher education. The model integrates four main facets: the Educational System, Quality Assurance Managing and Control, Strategic Planning and Globalization. Also presented are international "e;best-practices"e; in quality assurance in higher education, from Japan and Finland.

Style is a distinctive manner of expression, in writing or speech. The wordevolved from Latin stilus, an instrument for writing, marking, or incising,such as something used by the ancients in writing on clay or waxed tablets.It is the way in which something is said or done, as distinguished fromits substance. Style is also a convention with respect to spelling, punctuation,capitalization, and typographic arrangement and display followed in writingor printing.Scientific Style in English aims to help students with the reading and writing of scientific and technical texts in English, with a particular focus on style, grammar and math. It can be used by students and professionals with basic or intermediate understanding of theEnglish language.Technical topics discussed in the book include: i Scientific Style in Englishi Mathematical Style in Englishi Technical Stylei Stylistic Problems in Englishi How to write Theses and Dissertations

Presents recent developments in university-industry-collaborations, using case studies from Japan, and showing the mutual needs from both universities and enterprises in the knowledge-based society. Technical topics discussed include development of university-industry collaboration (UIC); development of UIC in Japan; case studies of UIC in Japan; and the global contribution of UIC from Japan.

Investigates arts-based encounters in educational settings in response to a global need for studies that connect the cultural, inter-cultural, cross-cultural, and global elements of arts-based methods in education. In this extraordinary collection, contributions bring together diverse cultural and educational perspectives and include a large variety of artistic genres and research methodologies.

Presents the latest research theories and current examples of MOOC courses practices in Higher Education. The book presents an extensive assortment of interpretations and practices examples of MOOC courses, across areas as varied as teaching methodologies, instructional innovations, and educational technology.

Presents the latest research theories and modern-day examples of design research in higher education. The chapters provide interpretations and examples of how today's new design researchers conceptualize this growing methodology across areas as varied as classroom teaching methodologies, instructional innovations, educational technology, equality studies, and environmental education.

INTUITEL is a research project that was co-financed by the European Commission with the aim to advance state-of-the-art e-learning systems via addition of guidance and feedback for learners. Through a combination of pedagogical knowledge, measured learning progress and a broad range of environmental and background data, INTUITEL systems will provide guidance towards an optimal learning pathway.