Understanding academic performance of international students: the role of ethnicity,academic and social integration     

Bart Rienties  Simon Beausaert  Therese Grohnert  Susan Niemantsverdriet  Piet Kommers 《Higher Education》2012,63(6):685-700

More than 3 million students study outside their home country, primarily at a Western university. A common belief among educators is that international students are insufficiently adjusted to higher education in their host country, both academically and socially. Furthermore, several groups of international students experience considerable amounts of stress while adapting to the culture of the host-institute. Several researchers argue that studies on adaptation of international students should widen its focus to the underlying mechanisms that leads towards this “misalignment”. In a cross-institutional comparison among 958 students at five business schools in the Netherlands, differences in academic performance between local and international students were identified by focussing on their levels of academic and social integration. Students’ academic integration was measured with the Students’ Adaptation to College Questionnaire (SACQ), while students’ social integration was measured with a newly developed and validated questionnaire. The results indicate that the degree of academic success of international students is multi-faceted. International students with a (mixed) western ethnic background perform well on both academic and social integration, and also attained higher study-performance in comparison to domestic students. In contrast, international students with a non-Western background are less integrated compared to other international students. Nevertheless, they have a similar study-performance. Finally, academic adjustment is the main predictor of study-performance for Dutch, Western and Mixed-Western students. Social adjustment was negatively related to study-performance. The lack of fit for predicting long-term study success of non-Western students indicates that their academic and social integration processes are more complex and non-linear.  相似文献   

Learning and motivation in multiple contexts: the development of a heuristic framework     

Marold Wosnitza  Susan Beltman 《European Journal of Psychology of Education - EJPE》2012,27(2):177-193

This paper presents the development of a heuristic framework that integrates three aspects of context (perspective, content and level) from a number of established theoretical approaches. In this framework, context is viewed from different perspectives (subjective and objective), it comprises different contents (physical, social and formal) and it is conceptualised as being multi-level (micro-, meso-, exo- and macrolevel). The resulting graphical representation has 24 individual elements. Examples of empirical studies are used to illustrate how the different elements in the framework may be operationalised to examine learning and motivation. A number of studies by the authors and other researchers are provided that exemplify different combinations of the perspectives, contents and levels of context. The empirical research used reflects a variety of quantitative and qualitative methods including questionnaires, interviews and graphical representations. Examples are drawn not only from academic learning settings but also from domains such as sport and music. Unifying diverse perspectives and incorporating research from multiple settings can deepen our understanding of learning and motivation. The heuristic framework represents a useful way of organising multiple aspects of context. It enables researchers to locate current studies and to generate further empirical work. Conceptual and methodological issues associated with operationalising the framework are briefly discussed, and the complexity of representing multiple, dynamic contexts is highlighted, with some directions for future research noted.  相似文献   

Psychological maltreatment in relation to substance use problem severity among youth     

Rosenkranz SE  Muller RT  Henderson JL 《Child abuse & neglect》2012,36(5):438-448

  相似文献   

Informality,power and relationships in postgraduate supervision: supervising PhD candidates over coffee     

Susan R. Hemer 《高等教育研究与发展》2012,31(6):827-839

A great deal of literature in recent years has focused on the supervisory relationship, yet very little has been written about the nature or content of supervisory meetings, beyond commenting on the frequency and length of meetings. Through semi-structured interviews, informal discussions with colleagues and students, a critical review of literature and personal reflection, this paper explores the salience of coffee for postgraduate supervision. This paper locates supervisions over coffee in reference to contemporary debates about the supervisory relationship (models, styles, tasks and dimensions). Using the concept of ‘third places’ and Misztal's theorisation of informality, it is argued that supervision over coffee conveys a particular supervisory relationship to postgraduate students: one that is incompatible with expert-disciple models or styles of supervision. Instead, supervision over coffee is on neutral territory and on a more informal footing. Finally the paper concludes with discussion about finding a balance between formality and informality in supervision and the development of personal and institutional trust.  相似文献   

“It makes more sense to educate a boy”: Girls ‘against the odds’ in Kajiado, Kenya     

Molly Warrington  Susan Kiragu 《International Journal of Educational Development》2012,32(2):301-309

Within a conceptual framework of Sen's capability approach, the paper explores aspects of girls’ retention in Kajiado schools, Kenya. Drawing on a qualitative study involving in-depth interviews with 24 girls in four schools, the paper discusses the ‘unfreedoms’ the girls experience in relation to environmental, infrastructural and economic constraints, as well as the personal unfreedoms they experience in relation to their gender. The study found that despite these constraints, girls’ retention was linked to their zeal for education and to the part played by key people, supporting and encouraging them and sometimes acting as catalysts for change.  相似文献   

Evaluation of a BSW Research Experience: Improving Student Research Competency     

Ellen E. Whipple  Anne Hughes  Susan Bowden 《Journal of Teaching in Social Work》2013,33(4):397-409

This article examines the experience of 24 BSW students in a faculty-mentored undergraduate research experience (URE) over the course of 1 academic year. In particular, we sought to better understand students’ self-perceived sense of competency across 15 specific research skills. In addition, we examined the URE’s impact on students’ knowledge about and attitudes toward research, as well as anxiety levels about research. A cross-sectional pre- and posttest design utilized both quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus group) methodologies. All of the students’ ratings of their 15 research skills improved over time; 3 were statistically significant. Students demonstrated the most gain in evidence-based practice, ability to use statistical software, and data entry and analysis. Both knowledge about and attitude toward research improved significantly. Anxiety levels were surprisingly low. The importance of faculty mentoring is discussed, and suggestions for future research are provided.  相似文献   

Administrators' Roles in Helping Teachers Use Formative Assessment Information     

Connie M. Moss  Susan M. Brookhart  Beverly A. Long 《教育实用测度》2013,26(3):205-218

Research on formative classroom assessment practices and professional development is richer at the classroom/teacher level than at the building/administrator level. Yet administrator leadership is known to be critical for school reforms, including a change to more formative, learning-oriented assessment practices. The researchers conducted an exploratory study using two years of data from a large, rural school district to describe administrators' learning as they participated in a professional development project designed to increase their knowledge and leadership of formative assessment. Teachers skilled at formative assessment, in the view of their administrators, shared learning targets with students in multiple ways and before, during, and after the lesson. The leadership of administrators was critical to the implementation of formative classroom assessment in their buildings. Administrators who became the leading learner focused their observations in classrooms more intently than before on what the students (not just the teachers) were doing. They understood formative assessment themselves, and their schools were the ones that made progress implementing formative assessment.  相似文献   

Predicting introductory programming performance: A multi-institutional multivariate study   总被引：1，自引：1，他引：0  

Susan Bergin  Ronan Reilly 《Computer Science Education》2013,23(4):303-323

A model for predicting student performance on introductory programming modules is presented. The model uses attributes identified in a study carried out at four third-level institutions in the Republic of Ireland. Four instruments were used to collect the data and over 25 attributes were examined. A data reduction technique was applied and a logistic regression model using 10-fold stratified cross validation was developed. The model used three attributes: Leaving Certificate Mathematics result (final mathematics examination at second level), number of hours playing computer games while taking the module and programming self-esteem. Prediction success was significant with 80% of students correctly classified. The model also works well on a per-institution level. A discussion on the implications of the model is provided and future work is outlined.  相似文献   

An Expanded Taxonomy of Sorting Algorithms     

Susan M. Merritt 《Computer Science Education》2013,23(1):103-110

I present an expanded taxonomy of sorting algorithms that is based upon Merritt's inverted taxonomy [1] and Lau's logic‐based derivations [2, 3]. The inverted taxonomy was based on a higher level, more abstract, and conceptually simple top‐down approach to sorting than the traditional taxonomy such as that given by Knuth [4], Work done in automatic program synthesis suggested the approach. Sorts were divided into two categories, hardsplit/easyjoin and easysplit/hardjoin, of which quicksort and mergesort are the canonical examples, respectively. Lau's [2, 3] logic‐based derivations strengthen the inverted taxonomy by deriving comparison‐based sorting algorithms that fall into the two categories of hardsplit/easyjoin and easysplit/hardjoin. Moreover, they expand the taxonomy by deriving distributive algorithms in a symmetric way.  相似文献   

Services and Supports for Students with Traumatic Brain Injury: Survey of State Educational Agencies     

Ann Glang  Deborah Ettel  Bonnie Todis  Wayne A. Gordon  Jennifer M. Oswald  Susan L. Vaughn 《Exceptionality》2013,21(4):211-224

Long-term follow-up studies conducted during the K–12 school years suggest that challenges related to childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) tend to persist or worsen over time. A 1999 survey of State Directors of Special Education revealed that most states had emerging initiatives for children with TBI and were expanding their capacity to serve this growing population. To determine whether significant changes in patterns of identification and service delivery had occurred, State Directors and brain injury consumer organizations were surveyed. Survey results show some improvement, but significant gaps remain. Most state education administrators perceive a gap between incidence of childhood TBI and identification of students with TBI to receive special education services. Recommendations for policy changes and research are provided.  相似文献