The emotive discourses on the subject of university rankings are directly linked to the effect of such rankings on the performance of universities throughout the world. It has been observed that the top-ranked universities attract major financial commitments from the industry, the best students, quality researchers, and a wide range of other quality endowments such as equipment, libraries, and laboratories. It is not surprising that the ranking of universities has gained popularity and become a significant factor shaping not only the reputation of universities but also the performance of said institutions around the world, including the developing countries. Impact of Global University Ranking Systems on Developing Countries presents a collection of perspectives from scholars and other stakeholders on the impact of the global ranking systems on developing countries. The book is an additional resource for discussion and discourse as far as the global university ranking systems are concerned and opens new frontiers for further research. Covering key topics such as assessment, ethics, and academic freedom, this premier reference source is ideal for administrators, policymakers, researchers, scholars, academicians, practitioners, instructors, and students.

All over the world children are faced with social, physical and emotional turmoil that stems from varying degrees of violence. Abuse, neglect, abandonment and bereavement often affects these children and their education. This book highlights the plight of children and explores multi-sectoral approaches in providing sustainable psychosocial support. Quality education for vulnerable children is a top priority and an important discussion is to be had on how to support these types of students and children. This book is ideal for researchers, students, teachers, school administrators, public and private agencies, and anyone else interested in support and education for neglected, abused, and vulnerable children.

With new standards emphasizing higher-order thinking skills, students will have to demonstrate their ability to do far more than simply remember facts and procedures. But what's the best way for teachers to ensure that students have such skills? In this highly accessible guide, author Susan M. Brookhart shows how to do just that, by providing specific guidelines for designing targeted questions and tasks that align with standards and assess students' ability to think at higher levels. Aided by dozens of examples across grade levels and subject areas, readers will learn how to: Take a student perspective and view assessment questions and tasks as ""problems to solve."" Design multiple-choice questions that require higher-order thinking. Understand the difference between ""open"" and ""closed"" questions and how to use open questions effectively. Vary and control the features of performance assessment tasks, including cognitive level and difficulty, to target different thinking skills. Manage the assessment of higher-order thinking within the larger context of teaching and learning. Brookhart also provides an ""idea bank"" that teachers can use to jump-start their own thinking as they create assessments. Timely and practical, How to Design Questions and Tasks to Assess Student Thinking is essential reading for 21st century teachers who want their students to excel in the classroom and beyond.

The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated change in the higher education sector across the globe and has required huge efforts and commitments on the political, institutional and individual level. During this period higher education was considered, maybe more than ever, as an essential sector. Providing critical information and, contributing to the delivery of scientifically based solutions to help societies overcome this global crisis, universities also simultaneously maintained core educational activities to secure the academic future of the next student generation. This required a high level of innovation, adaptivity and creativity. The book is centred on three main themes linked to transformation and change in higher education: digitalisation, quality and trust. The transformative power of the pandemic has raised concerns and questions of each of them. Contributors are: Stephanie Albrecht, Tony Armstrong, Victoria Birmingham, Victor Borden, Bruno Broucker, Uwe Cantner, Helge Dauchert, Harry de Boer, Caterina Fox, Amanda French, Katharina Hoelzle, Gunnar Grepperud, Seonmi Jin, Ben Jongbloed, Alex Kendall, Cindy Konen, Rene Krempkow, Anne-Kristin Langner, Theodor Leiber, Oddlaug Marie Lindgaard, Silke Masson, Clare Milsom, Jessica Nooij, Mark O'Hara, Matt O'Leary, Pascale Stephanie Petri, Rosalind Pritchard, Christopher Stolz, Elisabeth Suzen, Sara-I. Tager, Daniel Thiemann, Lieke van Berlo, Lotte J. van Dijk, Katy Vigurs, Tilo Wendler, and Tamara Zajontz.

The world of academic credentials is going through a rapid change that has seen the emergence of alternate digital credentials. Among these are micro-certificates, digital diplomas, and open digital badges, which provide a digital record of learning and have the possibility of not only altering the landscape of academic credentials but also transforming the relationship between institutions of higher education, their learners, and society. As institutions turn their attention to alternate digital credentials, it is important to learn from what others have experienced. Innovations in the Design and Application of Alternative Digital Credentials identifies innovative examples of the use of alternate digital credentials to validate specific skills within an existing academic program or on their own. Alternate digital credentials may be how specific skills (hard or soft) are validated with an emphasis on their relationship to enhance employability and recognition within an industry. Covering a wide range of topics such as micro-credentials, badge-driven learning, and traditional credentials, this handbook is ideal for researchers, students, academicians, and administrative decision makers, as well as those who support and finance learning systems and theories and those already involved in the design and application of alternate digital credentials at the post-secondary level.