Student Involvement in University Life — Beyond Political Activism and University Governance: a view from Central and Eastern Europe

Abstract

Since the 1980s and early 1990s, much attention has focused on the position of students as stakeholders in the process of higher education. The importance of student evaluation is now widely recognised; in many countries, the move toward fee-based funding has increased the power of students as 'consumers' of their education. At the same time, it is often asserted that students are reluctant to participate in university life, concerned primarily (sometimes exclusively) with obtaining their formal qualification and less with wider aspects of higher education. The views and attitudes prevalent in the student population and within institutions themselves on such issues vary widely. This debate is an international one, but is especially relevant in the rapidly changing higher education systems of Central and Eastern Europe.

Self-efficacy and strategies to influence the study environment

“…Due to the heavy demands of engineering programmes, students need to be active in structuring their learning environment, which can be achieved by effectively communicating with their teachers and peers (Bateson and Taylor 2004). Furthermore, learning processes in higher education go further than interaction between students and teachers in the classrooms and lecture theatres (Kuh, Laird, and Umbach 2004;Pascarella and Terenizini 2005).…”

Student Satisfaction, Needs, and Learning Outcomes

“…They also suggested that being involved in social aspects as well as the academic realm retains students and an institution must recognize "that the social dimension in learning activities is critical" (Machado et al, 2011, p. 420). Bateson and Taylor (2004) agreed with this point, suggesting that "the learning process in the university goes beyond classroom interactions between student and professors, reading, writing, and taking examinations" (p. 479) and there must be further effort to address this. Osfield (2008) recognized that there is a "blurring of boundaries" between academics and support in higher education that requires more focus on the co-curriculum and, in turn, develops a need to better understand how and where learning occurs and how it is assessed.…”

“…Although there has been some effort to assess student satisfaction at European universities, Bateson and Taylor (2004) found that university decision makers only receive sporadic student feedback although it is critical to planning the appropriate implementation of programs. A more systematic and comprehensive effort of assessing student life is prepared every 3 years by the Social and Economic Conditions of Student Life in Europe report, which analyzes the changing trends in European higher education (Orr, Gwoce, & Netz, 2011).…”

“…Machado et al (2011) also reported on student satisfaction, indicating that meeting student needs to retain them is a challenge worldwide. Bateson and Taylor (2004) suggested that the countries of Central and Eastern Europe should look to the United States and the emphasis on student involvement theories as a "starting point in our understanding of our contemporary students' behavior" (p. 478). Traditional European universities tend to maintain the idea that higher education is for research and inside the classroom learning, but Ping (1999) concluded that "what the contemporary campus requires are patterns and structures that allow people to live together, to learn together, and to educate one another" (p. 14).…”

A reflection on adaptability, achievement motivation and success of Central and Eastern European students in one English university

“…There were no induction courses, no personal tutoring and any communication was restricted to notes posted on notice boards. Bateson and Taylor (2004) judge such an approach as leaving students to their own devices, without showing any care or providing support, therefore throwing students into liminal space (Meyer and Land 2006), where traversing the zone of proximal development (Vygotsky 1987), which can be understood as 'the distance between the actual developmental level [. .…”