A Study of Digitalization of Higher Education Institutions in the Caribbean
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/jcihe.v16i2.5704Keywords:
Carribean higher education, digitalization in higher educationAbstract
As technology integration advances, higher education institutions (HEIs) are experiencing varying degrees of digitalization of their systems, processes and services. This qualitative study explores the status of technology integration and the digital infrastructure of five higher education institutions within the Caribbean. It seeks to answer three questions: i) what is the level of digitization in the institutions’ systems? ii) what is the status of technology integration in the teaching-learning processes in the institutions? iii) what types of digital infrastructures are in place to support the institutional functions? The analysis of the data reveals advances in the digitalization of a number of areas including communication processes, administrative processes, the student life cycle processes and in teaching and learning. This study provides important insights into the evolving landscape of digitalization of higher education within the Caribbean, and should serve to inform policy and practice in this important area.
References
Alfred, M. V., Robinson, P. E., & Alfred, M. C. (2011). Adult education and lifelong learning in the Caribbean and Latin America. https://bit.ly/2KliUMW
Beckles, H., & Richards-Kennedy, S. (2021). Accelerating the future into the present: Re-imagining higher education in the Caribbean. The Promise of Higher Education: Essays in Honour of 70 Years of IAU, 363–368.
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67245-4_54
Benavides, L. M. C., Tamayo Arias, J. A., Arango Serna, M. D., Branch Bedoya, J. W., & Burgos, D. (2020). Digital transformation in higher education institutions: A systematic literature review. Sensors, 20(11), 3291. https://doi.org/10.3390/s20113291
Bleeker, A., & Crowder, R. (2022). Selected online learning experiences in the Caribbean during COVID-19. Studies and Perspectives Series-ECLAC, 105. https://hdl.handle.net/11362/47742
Brink, H., Packmohr, S., & Vogelsang, K. (2020). The digitalization of universities from a students’ perspective. 6th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd’20). Universitat Politecnica de Val`encia, Val`encia, http://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd20.2020.11181
Brown, R. A. & Shen, H. (2017). Challenges and solutions of higher education in the Eastern Caribbean States. International Journal of Higher Education, 6(1), 169–179. https://doi.org/10.5430/ijhe.v6n1p169
Frolova, E., & Rogach, O. (2021). Digitalization of higher education: Advantages and disadvantages in student assessments. European Journal of Contemporary Education, 10(3), 616-625.
Gudmundsdottir, G.B., & Hatlevik, O.E. (2017). Newly qualified teachers’ professional digital competence: Implications for teacher education. European Journal of Teacher Education, 41(2), 214–231. https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2017.1416085
Martin, F., & Xie, K., (2022). Digital transformation in higher education: 7 areas for enhancing digital learning digital transformation (Dx) teaching and learning. EDUCAUSE Review. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2022/9/digital-transformation-in-higher-education-7-areas-for-enhancing-digital-learning
Matveeva, S., Akatova, N., Shcherbakov, Y., & Filinova, N. (2020). Digitalization of higher education and professional development of educators: Technologies and new opportunities. Amazonia Investiga, 9(29), 77-86. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2020.29.05.10
Rodríguez, M.L., & Pulido-Montes, C. (2022). Use of digital resources in higher education during COVID-19: A literature review. Educ. Sci. (12), 612. https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci12090612
Shrivastava, S. K., & Shrivastava, C. (2022). The impact of digitalization in higher educational institutions. International Journal of Soft Computing and Engineering (IJSCE), 11(2), 7-11. https://www.doi.org/10.35940/ijsce.B3536.0111222
Telukdarie, A., & Munsamy, M., (2019). Digitization of higher education institutions. IEEE International Conference on Industrial Engineering and Engineering Management (IEEM), Macao, China, 716-721. https://doi.org/10.1109/ieem44572.2019.8978701
Thoring, A., Rudolph, D., & Vogl, R. (2017). Digitalization of higher education from a student’s point of view. European Journal of Higher Education IT, 1. https://www.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-91743-6_23
The World Bank. (2020). Secondary enrollment, tertiary (% gross) – Latin America & Caribbean. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.TER.ENRR?locations=ZJ
Ugur, N.G. (2020). Digitalization in higher education: A qualitative approach. International Journal of Technology in Education and Science (IJTES), 4(1), 18-25.
UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education, (2012). ICT and general administration in educational institutions. IITE Policy Brief. Periodical Issue. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000220241
Yureva, O. V., Burganova, L. A., Kukushkina, O. Y., Syradoev, D. V., & Myagkov, G. P. (2020). Digital transformation and its risks in higher education: Students' and teachers' attitude. Universal Journal of Educational Research, 8(11B), 5965-5971. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2020.082232
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The findings, interpretations, conclusions, and views expressed in Journal of Comparative and International Higher Education (JCIHE) are entirely those of the authors and should not be attributed in any manner to CIES, HESIG, or the sponsoring universities of the Editorial Staff. These works are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License. Readers are free to copy, display, and distribute articles that appear in JCIHE as long as the work is attributed to the author(s) and JCIHE, it is distributed for non-commercial purposes only, and no alteration or transformation is made in the work. All other uses must be approved by the author(s) or JCIHE. By submitting a manuscript, authors agree to transfer without charge the following rights to JCIHE upon acceptance of the manuscript: first worldwide serial publication rights and the right for JCIHE to grant permissions as its editors judge appropriate for the redistribution of the article, its abstract, and metadata associated with the article in professional indexing and reference services.