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AbstractThe paper examines the impact of class size on postgraduate (PG) grades using administrative data from one of the largest Schools of a Russell Group University in the UK. As well as estimating fixed effects models on the population of PG candidates in the School, we exploit a policy change aimed at reducing class size to implement a regression discontinuity design. We find that class size does impact overall grades adversely; and the policy aimed at reducing class size impacts grades favourably. Our findings are robust to alternative specifications as well as being supported by the validity tests we conducted.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present a pedagogical approach for designing a coursework curriculum that aims to meet the growing need for skilled professionals that have competencies in both business and sustainability, and that understand the nexus between the two.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses a pedagogical approach discussed in the education for sustainability literature to analyse the CESM program. The pedagogical approach focuses on developing students' knowledge, skills and attitudes (behaviours) in sustainability.FindingsThe Knowledge‐Skills‐Attitudes (KSA) framework is a suitable pedagogical approach to guide the design of sustainability management education programs that prepare students for systemic organizational change. A KSA approach to designing sustainability management education curricula can also address the criticisms of current business management curricula by other scholars.Originality/valueThe discussion of the MCESM program in this article provides guidance to faculty on one approach to creating sustainability‐centric business curricula and may provide a catalyst for sharing learning experiences in integrating sustainability into existing business curricula. It may also provide some ideas for developing new programs that address the business and sustainability nexus.

Postgraduate education in Ukraine is a specialized improvement of education and professional training of a person through deepening, expansion and renovation his professional knowledge, skills and abilities or getting another specialty based on previously acquired educational qualification and practical experience. Postgraduate education is carried out by higher educational establishment or by structural subdivisions of higher educational establishment with appropriate accreditation level in the form of training programs or internship. This article devoted to the formal expansion of skills within the resulting profile or retraining. Formation and polishing of the person's individual style of business communication occurs throughout adult life. Language communicative competence is complex education system, which requires constant improvement. Speaking more than one language involves the formation of a foreign language communicative competence. This problem requires a review of government and universities policy on planning and forming of language communicative competence among students of advanced training courses.

The process of development, theoretical substantiation and implementation of distance education system organization model into teacher postgraduate education has been considered in the paper. Postgraduate pedagogical study with wide-area distance study is greatly distinguished from present system by level of study quality, number of users, focus on personality, democracy, variance, application of modern information-communication technologies and telecommunication networks in study. The platform of distance education has to be applied for supplement and expansion of traditional process of institution study and communication in the teacher postgraduate education institutes. Implementation of distance education in the teacher postgraduate education system creates the educational system of retraining and professional development for teachers on-the-job, and improvement of educational services, proposed by educational institution.

In the European Union, by 2025, it is planned to create a single European educational space. It means that knowledge of English is of vital importance for representatives of all professions and for teachers in particular. According to the research, teachers' English language proficiency is on a rather low level. Digital technologies can help to improve the situation. Today, there are many opportunities on the Internet to learn a foreign language using Youtube, blogs, podcasts, where many content has already been generated. The Blended Learning Concept of Foreign Languages is being developed using the online platform "Lingva Skills" for language training specialists at universities. Thanks to digital technologies, knowledge and content become public, helping to align hierarchies previously based on knowledge and focus instead on skills and intelligence. For deep and comprehensive learning, it is worth using digital technologies that promote more intensive and better assimilation of foreign languages.

The development and growth of the Royal College of General Practitioners in Britain against a background of escalating need for postgraduate courses within their society is outlined. The structuring of postgraduate medical education under government sponsorship with the inception of the National Health Service is described; and its evolution over the past 20 years.

Purpose
– The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors which influence Taiwanese students' destination choice for their overseas postgraduate studies. Constructs elicited from the literature were overall perception of education quality, available information, country characteristics and accrual of potential benefits.


Design/methodology/approach
– The paper takes the form of a literature review, from which the authors identified four constructs: quality of available information; overseas country characteristics; potential benefits; and perceptions of overall education quality. The data required for this research were collected by means of a consumer-type survey. A questionnaire was developed with 40 items adapted from previously validated scales. A non-probabilistic sampling procedure, i.e. convenience sampling, was adopted owing to the unavailability of a satisfactory sampling frame. Final-year undergraduate students from four universities in Taiwan were targeted. There was upfront a screening question which eliminated students who were not knowledgeable about overseas postgraduate education from continuing the survey. A total of 312 survey questionnaires were administered by trained interviewers, during a two-week period, and 301 completed questionnaires were collected.


Findings
– The research findings revealed that the overall perception of education quality in host country influences the choice of the destination country. Path analysis has shown the catalytic need for intermediation by potential benefits accrued. Postgraduate Taiwanese students, having a better appreciation of western acculturation and potential migration and job prospects, together with the constructs of quality of information and country characteristics, have a better overall perception of education quality of destination country.


Research limitations/implications
– Universities targeting Taiwanese postgraduate students need to highlight aspects of potential benefits in their marketing literature and promotional materials. The results of this study will certainly benefit overseas educational institutions and their marketing departments.


Originality/value
– This is one of the very few studies which uses partial least squares to address a complex situation associated with the hierarchy of determinants in the selection of a foreign university.

AbstractThis paper discusses the theory of Systemic Action Research and its use in postgraduate research education, in the context of agriculture and rural development. The paper discusses what systems thinking is and introduces the concepts of Systemic Development. This is followed by an argument for a paradigm shift in how agriculture is viewed, and an associated shift in education from teaching to learning. The core ideas of action research are then described and illustrated by two case studies drawn from PhD research projects supervised by the authors. Introducing the ideas of technical, practical, and emancipatory action research, the paper further expands upon these concepts of action research, illuminated by two additional PhD projects. Overall the paper demonstrates the usefulness of Systemic Action Research as the basis for postgraduate research to deal with real contextual issues in their true complexity, and in a holistic way. In this process, genuine participation and the encouragement of diversity are seen as rights rather than as means to greater research efficiency, thus giving power to people to act through the generation of knowledge by critical reflection. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.