Research Interests:
Contract cheating, or students outsourcing their assignments to be completed by others, has emerged as a significant threat to academic integrity in higher education institutions around the world. During the COVID-19, when traditional... more
Contract cheating, or students outsourcing their assignments to be completed by others, has emerged as a significant threat to academic integrity in higher education institutions around the world. During the COVID-19, when traditional face-to-face instruction became unsustainable, the number of contract cheating students increased dramatically. Through focus group interviews, this study sought the perspectives of 25 students enrolled in first year writing in a private higher education institution in Kuwait during the pandemic in 2020–2021, on their attitudes towards contract cheating. MAXQDA 2020 was used to examine the data. The participants believe that the primary motivations for engaging in contract cheating are mainly the opportunities presented by online learning and the psychological and physical challenges they experienced during online learning. Those who did not cheat had some shared traits, such as a competitive spirit, confidence in their talents, and a strong desire to ...
ÖZETAraştırmanın amacı, vakıf üniversitelerinin Türkiye yükseköğretim sistemi üzerindekietkilerini, devlet ve vakıf üniversitelerinde çalışan akademisyen algıları çerçevesindeincelemektir. Vakıf üniversitelerinin etkileri, ekonomik,... more
ÖZETAraştırmanın amacı, vakıf üniversitelerinin Türkiye yükseköğretim sistemi üzerindekietkilerini, devlet ve vakıf üniversitelerinde çalışan akademisyen algıları çerçevesindeincelemektir. Vakıf üniversitelerinin etkileri, ekonomik, eğitim-öğretim, araştırma, toplumsalve yönetsel boyutlarda ele alınmıştır.Çalışmada nicel ve nitel iki ayrı alan araştırması yürütülmüştür. Nicel araştırmada İstanbul,Ankara ve İzmir’deki vakıf ve devlet üniversitelerinde çalışan 328 öğretim elemanına “VakıfÜniversitelerinin Türk Yükseköğretim Sistemi Üzerindeki Etkilerine Dönük AkademisyenGörüşleri” başlıklı anket uygulanmış; nitel araştırmada İstanbul’daki devlet ve vakıfüniversitelerinde çalışan 15 öğretim elemanıyla yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmelergerçekleştirilmiştir.Araştırmanın sonuçlarına göre, akademisyenler vakıf üniversitelerinin istihdam yarattığı,yurtdışına gidecek öğrencileri yurtiçinde tuttuğu ve devlet üniversitelerindeki yığılmayıazaltarak devletin eğitim yükünü hafiflettiğini düşünmekted...
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Research Interests:
This article theorizes the functional relationship between the human components (i.e., scholars) and non-human components (i.e., structural configurations) of academic domains. It is organized around the following question: in what ways... more
This article theorizes the functional relationship between the human components (i.e., scholars) and non-human components (i.e., structural configurations) of academic domains. It is organized around the following question: in what ways have scholars formed and been formed by the structural configurations of their academic domain? The article uses as a case study the academic domain of education and technology to examine this question. Its authorship approach is innovative, with a worldwide collection of academics (99 authors) collaborating to address the proposed question based on their reflections on daily social and academic practices. This collaboration followed a three-round process of contributions via email. Analysis of these scholars’ reflective accounts was carried out, and a theoretical proposition was established from this analysis. The proposition is of a mutual (yet not necessarily balanced) power (and therefore political) relationship between the human and non-human co...
Research Interests: Information Technology, Education, Educational Technology, Higher Education, Educational Research, and 15 moreMobile Technology, ICT in Education, Academia Research, Crowdsourcing, ICT in Teachers Education, Academia, Educational Technologies, organizational Politics, Educación, Library and Information Studies, Academics, E Learning, Maaging Organizational Politics, CrowdAuthoring, and Academic Domain
This study examined the rater severity of instructors using a multi-trait rubric in a freshman composition course offered in a private university in Kuwait. Use of standardized multi-trait rubrics is a recent development in this course... more
This study examined the rater severity of instructors using a multi-trait rubric in a freshman composition course offered in a private university in Kuwait. Use of standardized multi-trait rubrics is a recent development in this course and student feedback and anchor papers provided by instructors for each essay exam necessitated the assessment of rater effects, including severity/leniency and restriction of range in ratings among instructors. Data were collected from three instructors teaching the same course in Summer 2019, who rated the first midterm exam essays of their students and shared the scores with the researcher. Also, two students from each class were randomly selected and a total of six papers were marked by all instructors for anchoring purposes. Many-facet Rasch model (MFRM) was employed for data analysis. The results showed that although the raters used the rubric consistently during scoring across all examinees and tasks, they differed in their degree of leniency a...
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This chapter carried out a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the Writing Lab at Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) in Kuwait. The Writing Lab at GUST (WILL) was established in 2011 as part... more
This chapter carried out a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis of the Writing Lab at Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) in Kuwait. The Writing Lab at GUST (WILL) was established in 2011 as part of GUST’s commitment to a holistic learning environment, and since its inception, it has helped thousands of students in their academic writing endeavours, but has not been able to gain recognition among students and failed to employ the required number of tutors and peer tutors. Therefore, an action plan seems necessary to promote the centre’s mission, function and activities throughout the university.
Research Interests:
Contract cheating has gone rampant in higher education recently. When institutions switched to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, the percentage of contract cheating students climbed to unprecedented levels. Essay mills saw the... more
Contract cheating has gone rampant in higher education recently. When institutions switched to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, the percentage of contract cheating students climbed to unprecedented levels. Essay mills saw the lack of face-to-face interaction and proctoring on campus as an opportunity and used aggressive marketing methods to attract students. This study asked the opinions of 20 faculty members working in the English departments of private higher education institutions in Kuwait regarding contract cheating through interviews. The data was analyzed with MAXQDA 2020. The findings show that all faculty members can recognize contract cheating easily. Most of them see contract cheating as a serious problem in the higher education system, a threat to the reliability of language assessment, triggered by laziness, the social pressure to graduate with a high GPA, and exacerbated by the cheating opportunities in online education. Academics have developed certain in...
This study examined the effects of foundation universities on the higher education system of Tur- key through perceptions of academic staff in state and foundation universities. In this qualitative research, 15 members of academic staff... more
This study examined the effects of foundation universities on the higher education system of Tur- key through perceptions of academic staff in state and foundation universities. In this qualitative research, 15 members of academic staff were interviewed for their perceptions regarding a variety of issues about foundation universities. Analysis of academic staff perceptions could be summa- rized as follows: staff tend to agree that foundation universities create employment opportunities; keep the students, who may otherwise have chosen to study abroad, in the country; and that they ease the financial burden of the state by providing higher education for students who may have been neglected by state universities. Increasing the number of graduates, raising quality thro- ugh competition, and reversing the brain drain are also regarded as additional positive effects of foundation universities. In spite of the positive effects, academic staff also mentioned some negative aspects which co...
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This study sets out to explore the faculty members’ perceptions of a specific web-based instruction tool (Achieve3000) in a private higher education institute in Kuwait. The online tool provides highly differentiated instruction, which is... more
This study sets out to explore the faculty members’ perceptions of a specific web-based instruction tool (Achieve3000) in a private higher education institute in Kuwait. The online tool provides highly differentiated instruction, which is initiated with a level set at the beginning of the term. The program is used in two consecutive courses as part of the coursework, with the main focus on Academic English skills. For that purpose, 8 faculty members, 6 of which have used it for the first time, have been interviewed. The questions have been designed to seek responses about faculty members’ perceptions of using the branded program in EAP practice, perceptions related to the strengths and weaknesses of the program, opinions about the contribution to student learning, and student attitudes towards web-based instruction. The analysis of the data reveal that participants have positive views towards differentiated instruction and seem to think this is one of the major strengths of the ICT ...
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The American University of Kuwait and the Gulf University for Science and Technology are two private Kuwaiti universities that have fully functioning writing centres (WCs). The WC activities align with their school’s mission and with the... more
The American University of Kuwait and the Gulf University for Science and Technology are two private Kuwaiti universities that have fully functioning writing centres (WCs). The WC activities align with their school’s mission and with the country’s vision for developing human capital. This chapter takes a closer look at these WCs in attempts to discover some of their strategies. Our chosen methodology is document analysis which examines publicly available information. We concluded that both WCs are important and further research is needed to better understand the best practices found within each WC for other Kuwaiti universities to implement.
This study examined the rater severity of instructors using a multi-trait rubric in a freshman composition course offered in a private university in Kuwait. Use of standardized multi-trait rubrics is a recent development in this course... more
This study examined the rater severity of instructors using a multi-trait rubric in a freshman composition course offered in a private university in Kuwait. Use of standardized multi-trait rubrics is a recent development in this course and student feedback and anchor papers provided by instructors for each essay exam necessitated the assessment of rater effects, including severity/leniency and restriction of range in ratings among instructors. Data were collected from three instructors teaching the same course in Summer 2019, who rated the first midterm exam essays of their students and shared the scores with the researcher. Also, two students from each class were randomly selected and a total of six papers were marked by all instructors for anchoring purposes. Many-facet Rasch model (MFRM) was employed for data analysis. The results showed that although the raters used the rubric consistently during scoring across all examinees and tasks, they differed in their degree of leniency and severity, and tended to assign scores of 70 and 80 more frequently than the other scores. The study shows that composition instructors may differ in their rating behavior and this may cause dissatisfaction, creating a sense of unfairness among the students of severe instructors. The findings of this study are expected to help writing departments to monitor their inter-rater reliability and consistency in their ratings. The most practical way to achieve this is by organizing rater training workshops.
Research Interests:
This paper analyses Kuwaiti undergraduate students' attitudes towards extensive and intensive reading, and the strategies instructors employ to motivate their students to do the required reading. Reading is the principal method of... more
This paper analyses Kuwaiti undergraduate students' attitudes towards extensive and intensive reading, and the strategies instructors employ to motivate their students to do the required reading. Reading is the principal method of acquiring knowledge which enables students to learn about themselves and the world around them. Unfortunately literature and teachers' accounts illustrate a lack of habitual reading in Gulf Arab society (Shannon, 2003). The study used qualitative research methods to assess students' and instructors' perspectives; the student participants completed questionnaires and the instructors were interviewed. Findings of this research suggest that college students in Kuwait do intensive reading when reading is a compulsory component of the course, but not necessarily enjoy doing it. Instructors all agree that Kuwaiti students read less than an average college student and have almost no interest in reading for pleasure. The study is expected to help practitioners to have a better understanding of their students' strengths and weaknesses in reading and make the necessary changes in the curriculum to create more opportunities and instil a greater interest in reading.
Research Interests:
Al Lily, A., Seferoglu, S. S., Foland, J., Stoloff, D., Gogus, A., Erguvan, I., Awshar, M., Tondeur, J., Hammond, M., Venter, I., Jerry, P., Vlachopoulos, D., Oni, A., Liu, Y., Badosek, R., López de la Madrid, M., Mazzoni, E., Lee, H.,... more
Al Lily, A., Seferoglu, S. S., Foland, J., Stoloff, D., Gogus, A., Erguvan, I., Awshar, M., Tondeur, J., Hammond, M., Venter, I., Jerry, P., Vlachopoulos, D., Oni, A., Liu, Y., Badosek, R., López de la Madrid, M., Mazzoni, E., Lee, H., Kinley, K., Kalz, M., Sambuu, U., Bushnaq, T., Pinkwart, N., Adedokun-Shittu, N., Zander, P., Oliver, K., Pombo, L., Sali, J., Gregory, S., Tobgay, S., Joy, M., Elen, J., Jwaifell, M., Said, M., Al-Saggaf, Y., Naaji, A., White, J., Jordan, K., Gerstein, J., Yapici, İ., Sanga, C., Nleya, P., Sbihi, B., Lucas, M., Mbarika, V., Reiners, T., Schön, S., Sujo-Montes, L., Santally, M., Häkkinen, P., Al Saif, A., Gegenfurtner, A., Schatz, S., Vigil, V., Tannahill, C., Partida, S., Zhang, Z., Charalambous, K., Moreira, A., Coto, M., Laxman, K., Farley, H., Gumbo, M., Simsek, A., Ramganesh, E., Birzina, R., Player-Koro, C., Dumbraveanu, R., Ziphorah, M., Mohamudally, N., Thomas, S., Romero, M., Nirmala, M., Cifuentes, L., Osaily, R., Omoogun, A., Elçi, A., Edyburn, D., Moudgalya, K., Ebner, M., Bottino , R., Khoo, E., Pedro, L., Buarki, H., Román-Odio, C., Qureshi, I., Khan, M., Thornthwaite, C., Kerimkulova, S., Downes, T., Malmi, L., Bardakci, S., Itmazi, J., Rogers, J., Rughooputh, S., Akour, M., Henderson, J., de Freitas, S., & Schrader, P. (2016). Academic domains as political battlegrounds: A global enquiry by 99 academics in the fields of education and technology. Information Development. doi:10.1177/0266666916646415.
http://idv.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/05/03/0266666916646415.full.pdf?ijkey=QtsF7QaLOhMzxrt&keytype=finite
https://www.academia.edu/25056969/Academic_domains_as_political_battlegrounds_A_global_enquiry_by_99_academics_in_the_fields_of_education_and_technology
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Abstract
This article theorizes the functional relationship between the human components (i.e., scholars) and nonhuman components (i.e., structural configurations) of academic domains. It is organized around the following question: in what ways have scholars formed and been formed by the structural configurations of their academic domain? The article uses as a case study the academic domain of education and technology to examine this question. Its authorship approach is innovative, with a worldwide collection of academics (99 authors) collaborating to address the proposed question based on their reflections on daily social and academic practices. This collaboration followed a three-round process of contributions via email. Analysis of these scholars’ reflective accounts was carried out, and a theoretical proposition was established from this analysis. The proposition is of a mutual (yet not necessarily balanced) power (and therefore political) relationship between the human and non-human constituents of an academic realm, with the two shaping one another. One implication of this proposition is that these non-human elements exist as political ‘actors’, just like their human counterparts, having ‘agency’ – which they exercise over humans. This turns academic domains into political (functional or dysfunctional) ‘battlefields’ wherein both humans and non-humans engage in political activities and actions that form the identity of the academic domain.
For more information about the authorship approach, please see Al Lily AEA (2015) A crowd-authoring project on the scholarship of educational technology. Information Development. doi: 10.1177/0266666915622044.
Keywords: education, technology, academia, power, organizational politics, academic domain, crowd-authoring
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http://idv.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/05/03/0266666916646415.full.pdf?ijkey=QtsF7QaLOhMzxrt&keytype=finite
https://www.academia.edu/25056969/Academic_domains_as_political_battlegrounds_A_global_enquiry_by_99_academics_in_the_fields_of_education_and_technology
---------------------------------------------------------
Abstract
This article theorizes the functional relationship between the human components (i.e., scholars) and nonhuman components (i.e., structural configurations) of academic domains. It is organized around the following question: in what ways have scholars formed and been formed by the structural configurations of their academic domain? The article uses as a case study the academic domain of education and technology to examine this question. Its authorship approach is innovative, with a worldwide collection of academics (99 authors) collaborating to address the proposed question based on their reflections on daily social and academic practices. This collaboration followed a three-round process of contributions via email. Analysis of these scholars’ reflective accounts was carried out, and a theoretical proposition was established from this analysis. The proposition is of a mutual (yet not necessarily balanced) power (and therefore political) relationship between the human and non-human constituents of an academic realm, with the two shaping one another. One implication of this proposition is that these non-human elements exist as political ‘actors’, just like their human counterparts, having ‘agency’ – which they exercise over humans. This turns academic domains into political (functional or dysfunctional) ‘battlefields’ wherein both humans and non-humans engage in political activities and actions that form the identity of the academic domain.
For more information about the authorship approach, please see Al Lily AEA (2015) A crowd-authoring project on the scholarship of educational technology. Information Development. doi: 10.1177/0266666915622044.
Keywords: education, technology, academia, power, organizational politics, academic domain, crowd-authoring
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Research Interests:
The purpose of this study is to analyse and compare the faculty members’ and students’ perceptions of a specific web-based instruction tool in a private higher education institute in Kuwait. 10 faculty members were interviewed and 66... more
The purpose of this study is to analyse and compare the faculty members’ and students’ perceptions of a specific
web-based instruction tool in a private higher education institute in Kuwait. 10 faculty members were interviewed
and 66 undergraduate students filled in a survey regarding their opinions about the program. The questions posed to
the faculty members and students aimed at seeking responses about faculty members’ perceptions related to the
strengths and weaknesses of the program, and opinions about the contribution to student learning. The analyses of
the data reveal that participants, both faculty members and students have positive views towards the CALL
experience. Instructors think CALL motivates students, adds variety to class, however, it also makes them question
their role in the classroom, and also aggravates the already existing plagiarism problem among students. The
analyses also show that most students enjoy using the program. Some disadvantages expressed by students are the
workload, difficult questions and long, boring articles. Overall, students think the online program has contributed to
their English skills.
web-based instruction tool in a private higher education institute in Kuwait. 10 faculty members were interviewed
and 66 undergraduate students filled in a survey regarding their opinions about the program. The questions posed to
the faculty members and students aimed at seeking responses about faculty members’ perceptions related to the
strengths and weaknesses of the program, and opinions about the contribution to student learning. The analyses of
the data reveal that participants, both faculty members and students have positive views towards the CALL
experience. Instructors think CALL motivates students, adds variety to class, however, it also makes them question
their role in the classroom, and also aggravates the already existing plagiarism problem among students. The
analyses also show that most students enjoy using the program. Some disadvantages expressed by students are the
workload, difficult questions and long, boring articles. Overall, students think the online program has contributed to
their English skills.
Research Interests: Education, Instructional Design, Educational Technology, Teaching English as a Second Language, Special Education, and 10 moreTeacher Education, E-learning, Distance Education, Science Education, Higher Education, Critical Pedagogy, Academic Writing, CALL, Perceptions, and ICT in teaching and learning English language
The objective of this study is to glance at the status of transnational education in Turkey and analyze the country’s level of preparedness for TNE. To this end, some demographic data, financial indicators, Higher Education Council (YÖK)... more
The objective of this study is to glance at the status of transnational education in Turkey and analyze the country’s level of
preparedness for TNE. To this end, some demographic data, financial indicators, Higher Education Council (YÖK) facts and
statistics and government discourse on the subject have been studied, transnationalization attempts of foundation and state
universities have been analysed and academics and specialists have been consulted. As a result of this study, the findings
could be summarized as Turkey is a young country with a growing appetite for university education, with around 2 million
people taking the university entrance exam every year. Despite the growing demand, supply is still limited though rising. The
Turkish government has a keen interest in internationalising the higher education sector and is actively seeking and promoting
partnerships with foreign governments and institutions. The number of foreign students has substantially increased within the
last few years and is expected to continue in the medium and long term. Although there has been a spike in interest from
transnational education providers, it is still a virgin market with plenty of opportunities for early entrance of western universities.
preparedness for TNE. To this end, some demographic data, financial indicators, Higher Education Council (YÖK) facts and
statistics and government discourse on the subject have been studied, transnationalization attempts of foundation and state
universities have been analysed and academics and specialists have been consulted. As a result of this study, the findings
could be summarized as Turkey is a young country with a growing appetite for university education, with around 2 million
people taking the university entrance exam every year. Despite the growing demand, supply is still limited though rising. The
Turkish government has a keen interest in internationalising the higher education sector and is actively seeking and promoting
partnerships with foreign governments and institutions. The number of foreign students has substantially increased within the
last few years and is expected to continue in the medium and long term. Although there has been a spike in interest from
transnational education providers, it is still a virgin market with plenty of opportunities for early entrance of western universities.
