Exploring Factors That Promote Online Learning Experiences and Academic Self-Concept of Minority High School Students     

Alex Kumi–Yeboah  James Dogbey  Guangji Yuan 《Journal of Research on Technology in Education》2018,50(1):1-17

The rapid growth of online education at the K-12 level in recent years presents the need to explore issues that influence the academic experiences of students choosing this method of learning. In this study, we examined factors that promote/hinder the learning experiences and academic self-concept of minority students attending an online high school. Qualitative interviews were conducted with twenty-four African American, and sixteen Hispanic high school students. The results showed that collaborative learning activities, access to resources, time convenience, student-teacher interactions, student-student interactions, improved academic behavior, and parental support helped to enhance online learning experiences and academic self-concept of the minority students. On the contrary, the lack of social presence, and the lack of cultural inclusion in course content constrain online learning experiences and academic self-concept of the students. The findings revealed some similarities between factors that influence minority students learning experiences online, and in face-to-face setting. The study also highlighted the need for teachers of online courses to understand the cultural backgrounds of minority students, and to use their knowledge to improve the learning experiences and academic self-concept of these students. Implications for teaching minority high school students in an online environment, as well as suggestions for future research are provided. (Keywords: minority students, K-12 online school, factors, online learning, self-concept)  相似文献   

University autonomy and public policies: A system theory perspective   总被引：3，自引：1，他引：3  

Alex M. Clarice  Michael J. Hough  Ron F. Stewart 《Higher Education》1984,13(1):23-48

This article addresses problems facing universities because of external pressures for changes in their teaching, research, and governance and management policies and practices to align them with public policies. The view is put that governments are introducing public policies in times of economic recession to achieve rationalisation of human, physical and financial resources in higher education and to foster initiatives that shape university teaching and research to serve the needs of society and assist in national economic recovery. Examples of these external pressures, which have resulted in intrusions into the autonomy of university governance and management, are provided in the context of general system theory. It is assumed that the pressure of public policies on universities will continue and that each university should have a development plan for its present and future teaching and research activities, which has the endorsement of the government higher education advisory agency so that university management can function on a secure basis. The effectiveness and efficiency of functioning at the various levels of the university system should be assessed by periodic evaluative reviews. The quality of management by academic leaders should be fostered by the establishment of national centres for the study of higher education management and policy. The relationship between government higher education advisory agencies and universities should be renegotiated so that, as interdependent and interrelated parts of the higher education system, they work in joint co-operation to ensure the most effective and appropriate development of each institution. Nevertheless, a state of equilibrium between the university system and the supra (social) system within which it exists will never fully be achieved. The fundamental role and functions of a university require that it be concerned with teaching and researching both ageless and current phenomena. Hence, a perfect equilibrium state cannot exist if external social pressures are for the main weight of university activities to be shifted to providing service for the current needs of society.  相似文献   

An investigation of the approach to learning of Nepalese tertiary students   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

David Watkins  Murari Regmi 《Higher Education》1990,20(4):459-469

This investigation with 342 Nepalese tertiary students indicates that current conceptions of approaches to learning are relevant to these students. Factor analysis of the Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) also suggests that the structure of learning processes is similar for Nepalese, Australian, and Filipino students. Internal locus of control also seems to be a factor in the adoption of deep and achieving approaches to learning in each of these cultures. Evidence of differences in secondary and tertiary student approaches to learning within Nepal and comparisons between Nepalese and Australian tertiary students' approaches to learning are also presented.  相似文献   

Is the Whole Worth More than the Sum of the Parts? Studies of Examiners' Grading of Individual Papers and Candidates' Whole A-level Examination Performances     

Jo-Anne Baird  Alex Scharaschkin 《Educational studies》2002,28(2):143-162

Typically, students are assessed on elements of their performance, and it is assumed that the sum of marks for these elements will be just as impressive as the students' whole performances. Examiners might expect more for a particular grade if they only see parts of the students' work separately. Two experiments were carried out comparing examiners' judgements of the grade-worthiness of candidates' A-level examination work at question paper level and at subject level. The results of both studies suggested that examiners may have compensated to some extent for the different aspects of the subject tested in different question papers when they made holistic judgements, but did not make this compensation when they made question paper judgements. Tunnel vision effects are likely to be greater in the AS/A2 examinations than those found here, because the examinations will be broken into smaller parts.  相似文献   

Soviet higher education: an alternative construct to the western university paradigm     

Alex Kuraev 《Higher Education》2016,71(2):181-193

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The conceptual change approach to improving teaching and learning: An evaluation of a Hong Kong staff development programme   总被引：2，自引：0，他引：2  

Angela Ho  David Watkins  Mavis Kelly 《Higher Education》2001,42(2):143-169

This paper reports a study ofthe effectiveness of an innovative approach tostaff development, the conceptual changeapproach, which attempts to change teachers'frameworks for conceptualising teaching andlearning. The evaluation investigated theprogramme at three levels: the impact on theconceptions of teaching of the participants,the resultant impact on teaching practices, andthe consequential effect on student learning.Encouraging results were obtained. Theprogramme brought about detectable conceptualchange or conceptual development in two-thirdsof the sample group. Subsequently, all the`changed' teachers received better ratings ontheir teaching practices from their students inthe following academic year while none of thosewho did not change their conceptions showedsimilar gains in student rating scores. Aresultant positive impact on their students'studying approaches was observed for half ofthe teachers who changed their conceptions.  相似文献   

Income and Social Rank Influence UK Children's Behavioral Problems: A Longitudinal Analysis          下载免费PDF全文

Elisabeth A. Garratt  Tarani Chandola  Kingsley Purdam  Alex M. Wood 《Child development》2017,88(4):1302-1320

Children living in low‐income households face elevated risks of behavioral problems, but the impact of absolute and relative income to this risk remains unexplored. Using the U.K. Millennium Cohort Study data, longitudinal associations between Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire scores and absolute household income, distance from the regional median and mean income, and regional income rank were examined in 3‐ to 12‐year‐olds (n = 16,532). Higher absolute household incomes were associated with lower behavioral problems, while higher income rank was associated with lower behavioral problems only at the highest absolute incomes. Higher absolute household incomes were associated with lower behavioral problems among children in working households, indicating compounding effects of income and socioeconomic advantages. Both absolute and relative incomes therefore appear to influence behavioral problems.  相似文献   

Performance improvement: More than just bettering the here‐and‐now     

Ryan Watkins  Doug Leigh 《Performance Improvement》2001,40(8):10-15

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The Changing Corporate Mind: Organizations,Vision, Missions,Purposes, and Indicators on the Move Toward Societal Payoffs     

Roger Kaufman  Ryan Watkins  Melvin Stith  Don Triner 《Performance Improvement Quarterly》1998,11(3):32-44

Where are the world's organizations headed? What do they see as their primary destination and contribution? What do they commit to deliver and to whom? How rigorous are they in defining their destinations? What label do they use to describe statements of their intended future? To find the answers to these and other questions, we examined 26 of the leading organizations internationally as well as 60 leading organizations in the United States. Based on this sample of world organizations, we found indications that many organizations see some aspect of societal good as basic to their future, while many others regard their own organization's well-being as what is most important. We find no clear favorite for what organizations label their statements of purpose: most use “mission” while some use “vision,” and some use “values” or “philosophy.” Few of the organizations in our sample state their intended destination in measurable performance terms. From these data, we discuss the implications in terms of an increasing emphasis in the literature on organizations having to deliver outputs that contribute to external clients and society. We also note that purpose statements must be accompanied by appropriate actions to achieve those intentions. In addition, we discuss how this move toward socially-responsive organizations is impacting the role of the performance technologist.  相似文献   

Discriminant and predictive validity of the WISC-III ACID profile among children with learning disabilities     

Marley W. Watkins  Joseph C. Kush  Joseph J. Glutting 《Psychology in the schools》1997,34(4):309-319

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