Nick Zepke
Biographic Data
| ID | 768968 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Nick Zepke |
| GIVEN NAMES | Nick |
| FAMILY NAME | Zepke |
| SIGNATURE | ZEPKE N |
| AFFILIATIONS | Massey University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-3964-6143 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 41 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2000 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2024 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Mapping student engagement using a theoretical lens
This article explores how an integrated concept map of student engagement could improve its use in higher education (HE). In doing so it addresses three problems: (i) there is no consistently accepted understanding of student engagement; (ii) no meta-theory integrates engagement’s diverse and complex concepts, nor does the literature identify a clear process of what triggers engagement; and (iii) no integrated concept map that addresses these pro…
Transforming a Didactic Lecture into a Student-Centered Active Learning Exercise—Teaching Equine Diarrhea to Fourth-Year Veterinary Students
Problem-solving abilities, creative and critical thinking, communication skills, and teamwork are now recognized as fundamental determinants of professional success, especially in vocational professions, such as veterinary science. Tertiary education is now obliged to provide opportunities for students to become proficient in these qualities. With this in mind, the principal author, an equine science senior lecturer, attempted to increase student…
Student engagement and neoliberalism: Mapping an elective affinity
The purpose of this article is to argue that student engagement, an important area for research about learning and teaching in formal higher education, has an elective affinity with neoliberalism, a hegemonic ideology in many countries of the developed world. The paper first surveys an extensive research literature examining student engagement and its contribution to student learning in higher education. Among research outputs are contributions t…
Purposes, pedagogies and practices in lifewide adult education in New Zealand: A preview
Space and time to engage: Mature-aged distance students learn to fit study into their lives
Student engagement, a student’s emotional, behavioural and cognitive connection to their study, is widely recognized as important for student achievement. Influenced by a wide range of personal, structural and sociocultural factors, engagement is both unique and subjective. One important structural factor shown in past research to be a barrier for distance students is access to quality space and time. This qualitative study followed 19 mature-age…
Lifelong education for subjective well-being: How do engagement and active citizenship contribute
This article addresses the question: how can lifelong education contribute to subjective well-being by engaging learners and fostering active citizenship? The question arises due to the fact that governments in the western world have identified well-being as an important policy driver. Well-being research suggests that subjective well-being, student engagement and active citizenship are interconnected—that engagement and active citizenship contri…
Navigating between Māori particularism and economic universalism in adult literacy provision in Aotearoa New Zealand: The case of a Wānanga
This paper examines tensions between adult literacy policy in Aotearoa New Zealand and the philosophies and mission of one post-school institution, a Wānanga, an institution focused on the education of Māori, Aotearoa New Zealand's indigenous people. It uses policy documents, interview data and complexity thinking to explore the tensions created by a Wānanga's task to navigate between Māori particularism and economic universalism
Non-institutional influences and student perceptions of success
Student success, variously understood as engagement, persistence, completion, graduation and entry to employment, has become a central focus for stakeholders in higher education. Theoretical and empirical research exploring these varied conceptions has mushroomed since the 1980s. Much of this literature focuses on what and how higher education institutions contribute to student success; a substantial amount also reports on the part students play …
Improving student engagement: Ten proposals for action
Since the 1980s an extensive research literature has investigated how to improve student success in higher education focusing on student outcomes such as retention, completion and employability. A parallel research programme has focused on how students engage with their studies and what they, institutions and educators can do to enhance their engagement, and hence success. This article reports on two syntheses of research literature on student en…
Evaluation in distance education and e‐learning: The unfolding model
by V. Ruhe and B. Zumbo, London, Guilford Press, 2008, 276 pp., US$60.00 (hardback), ISBN 978 1 59385 873 5 Evaluation in Distance Education and E‐learning is a very useful book that stakes out a c
A future for adult lifelong education in Aotearoa New Zealand: Neoliberal or cosmopolitan
This paper sets out to answer two questions ‘Given the policy settings for lifelong learning for adults in Europe and much of the western world, what are the policy settings and experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand?’ and ‘Will the future of adult lifelong education there be neoliberal or cosmopolitan?’ The article first examines some of the roots of post‐compulsory education policy in Aotearoa New Zealand over the last 30 years. In particular it c…
Improving learner outcomes in lifelong education: Formal pedagogies in non‐formal learning contexts
This article explores how far research findings about successful pedagogies in formal post‐school education might be used in non‐formal learning contexts – settings where learning may not lead to formal qualifications. It does this by examining a learner outcomes model adapted from a synthesis of research into retention. The article first introduces the model. It then explores this model to identify pedagogy suitable for formal education. Next it…
Being learner centred: One Way to Improve Student Retention
The research literature on how to retain students until they graduate in post‐compulsory education is voluminous and long‐standing. However, a unified theory of retention remains elusive. Instead a variety of explanations and approaches has been developed. This article uses one theoretical construct to make sense of the findings of a survey of students enrolling for a second time in seven post‐compulsory institutions in New Zealand. The theoretic…
Diversity, adult education and the future: A tentative exploration
Diversity in its many guises is strongly championed in the adult education literature. To conceive a future for adult education that is not diverse and does not try to address the needs of diverse learners seems absurd. Yet, diversity is not a unitary concept, having many definitions and paradoxical effects. Questions arise about its future in a globalizing world. It is not obvious that all facets of diversity in adult education can thrive into t…
Assessment and Empowerment: Some critical questions
Assessment has a central role in formal education. It is the process that determines whether or not learners have succeeded. Traditionally teachers have been all-powerful in assessment processes. They decide what is to be assessed, how it will be assessed and what criteria will be used. They make the judgements about which students have met the standards. This is beginning to change as more people, particularly in adult education, question conven…
Learners' perceptions of assessment: Tensions between philosophy and practice
Assessment plays a key role in formal education. It is a powerful function, controlled by teachers conforming to the expectations of society-at-large, and impacts significantly on learners. In this paper we outline the philosophy which underpins our approach to assessment. We describe a series of case studies to demonstrate the tensions we have experienced between our philosophy and our practice and discuss our efforts to resolve these tensions. …
Non-institutional influences and student perceptions of success
Student success, variously understood as engagement, persistence, completion, graduation and entry to employment, has become a central focus for stakeholders in higher education. Theoretical and empirical research exploring these varied conceptions has mushroomed since the 1980s. Much of this literature focuses on what and how higher education institutions contribute to student success; a substantial amount also reports on the part students play …
A future for adult lifelong education in Aotearoa New Zealand: Neoliberal or cosmopolitan
This paper sets out to answer two questions ‘Given the policy settings for lifelong learning for adults in Europe and much of the western world, what are the policy settings and experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand?’ and ‘Will the future of adult lifelong education there be neoliberal or cosmopolitan?’ The article first examines some of the roots of post‐compulsory education policy in Aotearoa New Zealand over the last 30 years. In particular it c…
Lifelong education for subjective well-being: How do engagement and active citizenship contribute
This article addresses the question: how can lifelong education contribute to subjective well-being by engaging learners and fostering active citizenship? The question arises due to the fact that governments in the western world have identified well-being as an important policy driver. Well-being research suggests that subjective well-being, student engagement and active citizenship are interconnected—that engagement and active citizenship contri…
Student engagement and neoliberalism: Mapping an elective affinity
The purpose of this article is to argue that student engagement, an important area for research about learning and teaching in formal higher education, has an elective affinity with neoliberalism, a hegemonic ideology in many countries of the developed world. The paper first surveys an extensive research literature examining student engagement and its contribution to student learning in higher education. Among research outputs are contributions t…
Diversity, adult education and the future: A tentative exploration
Diversity in its many guises is strongly championed in the adult education literature. To conceive a future for adult education that is not diverse and does not try to address the needs of diverse learners seems absurd. Yet, diversity is not a unitary concept, having many definitions and paradoxical effects. Questions arise about its future in a globalizing world. It is not obvious that all facets of diversity in adult education can thrive into t…
Improving learner outcomes in lifelong education: Formal pedagogies in non‐formal learning contexts
This article explores how far research findings about successful pedagogies in formal post‐school education might be used in non‐formal learning contexts – settings where learning may not lead to formal qualifications. It does this by examining a learner outcomes model adapted from a synthesis of research into retention. The article first introduces the model. It then explores this model to identify pedagogy suitable for formal education. Next it…
Being learner centred: One Way to Improve Student Retention
The research literature on how to retain students until they graduate in post‐compulsory education is voluminous and long‐standing. However, a unified theory of retention remains elusive. Instead a variety of explanations and approaches has been developed. This article uses one theoretical construct to make sense of the findings of a survey of students enrolling for a second time in seven post‐compulsory institutions in New Zealand. The theoretic…
Space and time to engage: Mature-aged distance students learn to fit study into their lives
Student engagement, a student’s emotional, behavioural and cognitive connection to their study, is widely recognized as important for student achievement. Influenced by a wide range of personal, structural and sociocultural factors, engagement is both unique and subjective. One important structural factor shown in past research to be a barrier for distance students is access to quality space and time. This qualitative study followed 19 mature-age…
Navigating between Māori particularism and economic universalism in adult literacy provision in Aotearoa New Zealand: The case of a Wānanga
This paper examines tensions between adult literacy policy in Aotearoa New Zealand and the philosophies and mission of one post-school institution, a Wānanga, an institution focused on the education of Māori, Aotearoa New Zealand's indigenous people. It uses policy documents, interview data and complexity thinking to explore the tensions created by a Wānanga's task to navigate between Māori particularism and economic universalism
Purposes, pedagogies and practices in lifewide adult education in New Zealand: A preview
Learners' perceptions of assessment: Tensions between philosophy and practice
Assessment plays a key role in formal education. It is a powerful function, controlled by teachers conforming to the expectations of society-at-large, and impacts significantly on learners. In this paper we outline the philosophy which underpins our approach to assessment. We describe a series of case studies to demonstrate the tensions we have experienced between our philosophy and our practice and discuss our efforts to resolve these tensions. …
Learners' perceptions of assessment: Tensions between philosophy and practice
Assessment plays a key role in formal education. It is a powerful function, controlled by teachers conforming to the expectations of society-at-large, and impacts significantly on learners. In this paper we outline the philosophy which underpins our approach to assessment. We describe a series of case studies to demonstrate the tensions we have experienced between our philosophy and our practice and discuss our efforts to resolve these tensions. …
Assessment and Empowerment: Some critical questions
Assessment has a central role in formal education. It is the process that determines whether or not learners have succeeded. Traditionally teachers have been all-powerful in assessment processes. They decide what is to be assessed, how it will be assessed and what criteria will be used. They make the judgements about which students have met the standards. This is beginning to change as more people, particularly in adult education, question conven…
Diversity, adult education and the future: A tentative exploration
Diversity in its many guises is strongly championed in the adult education literature. To conceive a future for adult education that is not diverse and does not try to address the needs of diverse learners seems absurd. Yet, diversity is not a unitary concept, having many definitions and paradoxical effects. Questions arise about its future in a globalizing world. It is not obvious that all facets of diversity in adult education can thrive into t…
Improving learner outcomes in lifelong education: Formal pedagogies in non‐formal learning contexts
This article explores how far research findings about successful pedagogies in formal post‐school education might be used in non‐formal learning contexts – settings where learning may not lead to formal qualifications. It does this by examining a learner outcomes model adapted from a synthesis of research into retention. The article first introduces the model. It then explores this model to identify pedagogy suitable for formal education. Next it…
Being learner centred: One Way to Improve Student Retention
The research literature on how to retain students until they graduate in post‐compulsory education is voluminous and long‐standing. However, a unified theory of retention remains elusive. Instead a variety of explanations and approaches has been developed. This article uses one theoretical construct to make sense of the findings of a survey of students enrolling for a second time in seven post‐compulsory institutions in New Zealand. The theoretic…
A future for adult lifelong education in Aotearoa New Zealand: Neoliberal or cosmopolitan
This paper sets out to answer two questions ‘Given the policy settings for lifelong learning for adults in Europe and much of the western world, what are the policy settings and experiences in Aotearoa New Zealand?’ and ‘Will the future of adult lifelong education there be neoliberal or cosmopolitan?’ The article first examines some of the roots of post‐compulsory education policy in Aotearoa New Zealand over the last 30 years. In particular it c…
Improving student engagement: Ten proposals for action
Since the 1980s an extensive research literature has investigated how to improve student success in higher education focusing on student outcomes such as retention, completion and employability. A parallel research programme has focused on how students engage with their studies and what they, institutions and educators can do to enhance their engagement, and hence success. This article reports on two syntheses of research literature on student en…
Evaluation in distance education and e‐learning: The unfolding model
by V. Ruhe and B. Zumbo, London, Guilford Press, 2008, 276 pp., US$60.00 (hardback), ISBN 978 1 59385 873 5 Evaluation in Distance Education and E‐learning is a very useful book that stakes out a c
Navigating between Māori particularism and economic universalism in adult literacy provision in Aotearoa New Zealand: The case of a Wānanga
This paper examines tensions between adult literacy policy in Aotearoa New Zealand and the philosophies and mission of one post-school institution, a Wānanga, an institution focused on the education of Māori, Aotearoa New Zealand's indigenous people. It uses policy documents, interview data and complexity thinking to explore the tensions created by a Wānanga's task to navigate between Māori particularism and economic universalism
Non-institutional influences and student perceptions of success
Student success, variously understood as engagement, persistence, completion, graduation and entry to employment, has become a central focus for stakeholders in higher education. Theoretical and empirical research exploring these varied conceptions has mushroomed since the 1980s. Much of this literature focuses on what and how higher education institutions contribute to student success; a substantial amount also reports on the part students play …
Lifelong education for subjective well-being: How do engagement and active citizenship contribute
This article addresses the question: how can lifelong education contribute to subjective well-being by engaging learners and fostering active citizenship? The question arises due to the fact that governments in the western world have identified well-being as an important policy driver. Well-being research suggests that subjective well-being, student engagement and active citizenship are interconnected—that engagement and active citizenship contri…
Space and time to engage: Mature-aged distance students learn to fit study into their lives
Student engagement, a student’s emotional, behavioural and cognitive connection to their study, is widely recognized as important for student achievement. Influenced by a wide range of personal, structural and sociocultural factors, engagement is both unique and subjective. One important structural factor shown in past research to be a barrier for distance students is access to quality space and time. This qualitative study followed 19 mature-age…
Student engagement and neoliberalism: Mapping an elective affinity
The purpose of this article is to argue that student engagement, an important area for research about learning and teaching in formal higher education, has an elective affinity with neoliberalism, a hegemonic ideology in many countries of the developed world. The paper first surveys an extensive research literature examining student engagement and its contribution to student learning in higher education. Among research outputs are contributions t…
Purposes, pedagogies and practices in lifewide adult education in New Zealand: A preview
Transforming a Didactic Lecture into a Student-Centered Active Learning Exercise—Teaching Equine Diarrhea to Fourth-Year Veterinary Students
Problem-solving abilities, creative and critical thinking, communication skills, and teamwork are now recognized as fundamental determinants of professional success, especially in vocational professions, such as veterinary science. Tertiary education is now obliged to provide opportunities for students to become proficient in these qualities. With this in mind, the principal author, an equine science senior lecturer, attempted to increase student…
Mapping student engagement using a theoretical lens
This article explores how an integrated concept map of student engagement could improve its use in higher education (HE). In doing so it addresses three problems: (i) there is no consistently accepted understanding of student engagement; (ii) no meta-theory integrates engagement’s diverse and complex concepts, nor does the literature identify a clear process of what triggers engagement; and (iii) no integrated concept map that addresses these pro…
Pedagogy (15 works) · Sociology (13 works) · Political science (11 works) · Psychology (11 works) · Mathematics education (9 works) · Higher Education Research Studies (7 works) · Computer Science (6 works) · Adult education (5 works) · Global Educational Policies and Reforms (5 works) · Higher education (5 works)