Tijdschrift voor Hoger Onderwijs

Dutch institutes for advanced professional education (hbo) are insufficiently equipped for doing scientific research. Thus the large scale introduction of research in their curricula, where lecturers who are ignorant as it comes to research give courses in doing research, is not justified. The complexity of practice-oriented research is greatly underestimated, and it is insufficiently clear which aspects as well as which levels of mastering of practice-oriented research are aimed at. What is needed is the appointment of research methodologists, who introduce extended courses for lecturers, and who study the methodology of practice-oriented research, as the latter is still in its infancy.

This study focuses on gender differences in students leaving college. The research questions were answered by analyzing Dutch census data and conducting a survey. Results show that gender differences in retention rates and the reasons for leaving are related to the relative numbers of women and men in course programs.

This article discusses the differences between higher education students who drop out and students who continue their study after the first year from the perspective of academic and social integration. One of the reasons for analyzing these differences is the fact that results in a survey have shown that 68% of the dropouts have the opinion that their institution could not have influenced their decision to stop (Warps e.a., 2010). Despite this opinion many higher education institutions invest lots of time and money to limit the amount of dropouts. The Hague University has launched a study success program in 2009 which focuses on strengthening the academic and social integration between the students and the learning environment based on the ideas of the Student Integration Model of Attrition of Vincent Tinto (1975, 1997). Analysis of the situation in The Hague University shows that students who drop out in the first year are significantly less academically integrated than students who continue their study after the first year. The learning environment fails to challenge and inspire the students. Also it appears that the learning environment fails to address the most important question during the first year: Did I make the right choice? The process of making a study choice does not end during the first year. The author thinks the study success program needs more focus on these aspects of the academic integration. The lecturers do have a responsibility in this process. They must act more as ‘inspiring superiors’. This is one of the conclusions of a longitudinal research in the Netherlands into different generations. The generation (1971-1985) is called the pragmatic generation and is more focused on the present than on future growth. The research also shows that these youngsters need more overview and guidance. It is the opinion of the author that the concept of integration isn’t well thought. Therefore the concept of academic and social integration has to be redefined in the context of the questions and needs of this current generation.

Effective ICT integration for pre-service teachers is an important challenge for teacher training institutions. They need to help pre-service teachers understand how to integrate ICT in meaningful ways in the classroom. The general aim of this study was to explore the ways in which ICT is acquired by student teachers in order to prepare them to integrate ICT in classroom practice. Specifically, a case study was conducted in three teacher education institutions in Flanders to examine ICT integration through the lens of pre-service teachers, teacher educators, ICT coordinators and the heads of the department. The results indicate that the three institutions are in transition: they are moving from ICT as a separate ‘stand-alone’ course towards a more integrated approach of imbedding ICT within the courses. The discussion will focus on the challenges and opportunities inherent in understanding how to prepare student teachers in the field of educational ICT-use.