Purpose: This study explores the BioRegio Betriebsnetz (BRB) in Bavaria, a unique policy-initiated, farmer-based knowledge provider network that disseminates knowledge on organic farming and complements agricultural advisory services (AAS). This study aims to identify the characteristics and attributes critical to the successful implementation of…

Recent research and reform efforts in science education have consistently stressed the importance of coherent science instruction, in which learning opportunities are connected and contextualized by meaningful phenomena, focus on a small set of core ideas over time, and generate a need-to-know about new ideas through a set of connected lessons.…

Internationalization impacts universities and changes their core missions. Consequently, many western universities adopted a business model approach to deal with opportunities and challenges internationalization poses to their missions. Resulting from increased scrutiny from the public and policy makers on the ability of universities to…

We present a teaching methodology to answer the question 'How can we link teaching with research in our engineering courses?' Due to the combination of hybrid Problem Based Learning with Research Tutored/Oriented Teaching, the methodology enables the students to acquire the skills of 'problem solving', 'working in teams', 'analytic', 'written…

Summer enrichment and residential programs can provide gifted students with positive social interactions and challenging curricula. However, little research has focused on gifted students' perceptions of the learning environment in such programs. This research project evaluated the psychometric properties and practical applications of the…

The working environment of future university graduates is characterized by highly dynamic and complex product development processes. In addition to disciplinary competence, it is essential to build up methodical and social competence as well as to foster the elaboration and creativity potential of students. In order to meet industrial requirements…

This article proposes a study design developed to disentangle the objective characteristics of a learning situation from individuals' subjective perceptions of that situation. The term objective characteristics refers to the agreement across students, whereas subjective perceptions refers to inter-individual heterogeneity. We describe a novel…

This paper, based on data collected from questionnaires distributed among German students and from interviews with university professors and contacts in cooperating companies in both Germany and China, evaluates dual studies in Germany and their applicability to China. The study finds that most students are satisfied with the theory phase and the…

Extended education flourishes all over the world. Within different cultures and sociopolitical backgrounds, it takes different terms, forms, and developments across nations. Without identifying the common concepts of extended education, we may not expect further developments in extended education research. This study examined the terms that are…

The article presents the results obtained from a comparative analysis of the introduction of dual education in Germany and Ukraine. The European tendency towards transforming dual learning from vocational education to higher education is described. It is found that the conceptual basis for the introduction of dual learning is the cooperation…

Almost unnoticed by the e-learning community, the underlying technology of the WWW is undergoing massive technological changes on all levels these days. In this paper we draw the attention to the emerging game changer and discuss the consequences for online learning. In our e-learning project "Work & Study", funded by the German…

Funding is an important mechanism for exercising influence over ever more parts of academic systems. In order to do so, funding agencies attempt to export their functional and normative prerequisites for financing to new fields. One essential requirement for fundees is then to construct research processes in the form of a project beforehand, one…

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of universities and other institutions in successful entrepreneurship. Insights are obtained following a literature review approach. Case studies from the United States (New York startup), Spain (Mondragon), and Germany provide strong evidence that universities are very instrumental in the creation,…

This study investigates the relationships between professional knowledge, self-concept, and interest of pre-service physics teachers. In order to support student learning and interest development alike, teachers need a profound professional knowledge and respective motivational orientations. Developing both professional knowledge and motivational…

This paper deals with borrowing the German dual vocational training model in Kazakhstan. The aim of the paper is to identify the key issues and challenges of the transfer process. The analysis is based on the model proposed by Phillips and Ochs (2003, 2004) which outlines four stages of policy borrowing: (1) impulses, (2) decision, (3)…