Margarida M. Pinheiro

The characteristics of Portuguese management academics and their fit with teaching accreditation standards

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the debate on the quality and accreditation of management education by examining the fit between the characteristics of current management academics in Portugal and recognised accreditation standards. For purposes of comparison, the authors use both general Portuguese teaching accreditation standards and specific international standards for management education. Design/methodology/approach – The authors analyse indicators of staff career positioning, tenure status, full time vs part-time, age, degree qualifications, field of training, level of academic inbreeding, internationalisation, research activity, professional activity, and the number of hours taught per week. The authors also examine the relationship between them, in light of accreditation standards, for all academic staff teaching in management degrees submitted for compulsory accreditation by the Portuguese accreditation agency. Findings – The reality found in this study shows gaps between ...

Handbook of Research on Engaging Digital Natives in Higher Education Settings

This study presents the results obtained from a literature review on Web-based instructional design models in order to form a basis for Web-based course design practices. The pioneering studies in literature mainly focused on the components of Web-based instruction and how to direct learning processes in an interactive environment. The studies that proposed design models for Web-based courses were generally based on literature, so they did not sufficiently reflect how the components of a model would be implemented in design practices. In the relevant literature, studies based on authentic design cases are limited. These studies, in which design efforts and processes are described in narrative form, did not go beyond specific contexts and could not be regarded as models. Consequently, there is a need for more studies that provide guidance on how design instructions should be implemented so as to address and resolve the problems that may be encountered in this process.

Ethical perceptions of accounting students in a Portuguese university: the influence of individual factors and personal traits

ABSTRACT Our purpose is to empirically examine whether gender, age, work experience, and attendance of a course on ethics affect the ethical perceptions of Portuguese accounting students and analyze the influence of some individual factors that may affect their ethical decision-making. Additionally, we consider the degree of importance assigned to a list of personal traits and their relationship with those factors. We concluded that gender influenced the degree of importance attributed by students to initiative/entrepreneurship, obedience, and responsibility; age influenced the degree of importance attributed by students to integrity; work experience influenced the degree of importance attributed by students to obedience; and attendance of a course on ethics influenced the degree of importance attributed to independence. For each of these factors, the influence did not prove to be statistically significant in decision-making. Similarly, the study identified some reservations regarding attitudes the students’ peers might have, and when asked about this, they had negative opinions, believing their colleagues would have lower ethical standards. Our results add to the literature, especially because, in Portugal, little has been done to understand which factors may affect students’ ethical decision-making processes. We expect to bring added value to stakeholders, teachers, and scholars engaged with these matters.

Insights into the expectations of mobility students: the impact of Erasmus in their future professional careers

This work is financially supported by National Funds through FCT – Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, I.P., under the project UID/CED/00194/2013.