Sense of coherence and academic achievement of domestic and international students: a comparative analysis

Traditional models of educational outcomes relate academic achievement to university experiences controlling for background characteristics, like former levels of achievement. In these models, most of the variance in the outcome under consideration is explained not by experiences inside the university but by background characteristics, such as prior levels of academic achievement. In many instances the contribution of institutional experiences to outcomes under consideration is small. To date, researchers have not included sense of coherence (SOC) among background characteristics. In the current study traditional models are modified to include SOC as a possible contributor to first year academic achievement among domestic and international students with English and other first languages at four Canadian universities. It is found that a model including SOC better fits data for commuter and residence students than a model in which SOC is omitted. Although the effect of SOC on first year academic achievement is small, it is larger than the effects of some institutional experiences. As a result, SOC should be included in attempts to explain first year academic achievement.     

Adjustment to university and academic performance among disadvantaged students in South Africa

Adjustment to the university environment is regarded as an important factor in predicting university outcomes. This study explores the pathways taken by adjustment and other psychosocial variables (help‐seeking, academic motivation, self‐esteem, perceived stress, and perceived academic overload), in relation to the success of economically and educationally disadvantaged students at university. Participants were 194 first‐year students on need‐based financial aid at a South African university; they completed questionnaires that measured these psychosocial variables, and their final first‐year academic results were obtained via the university’s records office. Path analyses showed that adjustment did not function as a pure mediator on academic performance as the dependent variable. Furthermore, the psychosocial factors explained much (59%) of the variance in the students’ adjustment and 20% of the variance in their academic performance. Hence, the psychosocial variables better explained the students’ adjustment to university than academic performance.     

Enhancing the First Year Student Experience by Facilitating the Development of Peer Networks through a One-day Workshop

Transition to university involves adapting to a new academic and social environment. Recent research on this process indicates that a significant number of students experience at least some difficulties during this transition, but that this may be alleviated by various institutional measures designed to assist students with the transition, e.g. the fostering of peer study groups. From 1996, the Faculty of Science of the University of Sydney has offered a "Transition Workshop" to all incoming first year science students. Follow-up surveys from the 1997 cohort indicated that students who attended the workshop exhibited significantly better adjustment on a range of measures. Compared to equivalent peers not attending the workshop, attendees also recorded higher levels of academic performance (on average) during their first year of study. A qualitative evaluation found that the workshop facilitated the establishment of strong peer relationships, and that these enhanced study, self-motivation and general enjoyment of university life. These findings suggest that such workshops assist in the development of peer networks and are helpful in easing the transition of undergraduate students.     

Student psychological distress and degree dropout or completion: a discrete-time,competing risks survival analysis

Studies of psychological distress (PD) in university students have shown that they have high prevalence rates. These findings have raised concerns that PD may be leading to poorer student outcomes, such as elevated dropout rates. The aim of this study was to examine the association of PD in undergraduate university students with the competing risks of degree dropout or completion. It analysed data from the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. The sample comprised 1265 university students. PD (i.e., probable depression and/or anxiety) was measured with a validated cut-off score of ≤65 on the 5-item Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5) from the Short Form 36 (SF-36). The study used an accelerated longitudinal design with student year of study as the metric of time and estimated dynamic discrete-time, competing risks survival models. Contrary to expectations, the study found that students with PD had lower odds of degree dropout and higher odds of degree completion than students without PD in year 4 of their degrees. This study contributes to the empirical literature on university student mental health by showing that, while PD can be debilitating and negatively affect students’ general educational experience, it is not as harmful to academic progress as might be assumed.     

Predicting High School Graduation and College Enrollment: Comparing Early Warning Indicator Data and Teacher Intuition

Each year, more districts implement early warning systems (EWS). These EWS predict negative student outcomes, such as dropping out, before they occur. Predictions are then used to match at-risk students to appropriate supports and interventions. Research suggests that these systems are useful in ensuring educators respond to student needs early, generating conversation around specific students at risk of dropping out. However, no research considers what new information teachers gain from having a specific prediction for a student. This article bridges this gap by comparing teacher and EWS predictions of whether students will complete high school and enroll in college. Further, it assesses whether accuracy in teacher judgment stems from additional information not in models—especially related to academic tenacity—and biases like self-fulfilling prophecies. Generally, EWS can provide benefits both as organizational tools and by increasing the precision with which students are identified for supports and interventions.     

DELINQUENCY AND THE SCHOOLS

Primary teachers in their first year of teaching, and two groups of students in their final year of university, were surveyed in order to determine the nature of attitude changes during teacher education and in the first teaching year. One group of students was followed into its first year of teaching. The attitudes of the trainee teachers and novices were contrasted with those of experienced teachers and non‐education students over a two‐year period, using a semantic differential instrument.

The overall finding was that Lortie's contention that the attitudes of American teachers are based on their own early experiences as pupils in school holds for Australian teachers also. While there was some change in student attitudes during the final university year, towards the ‘progressive’ orientations of the university course, this orientation did not persist far into the first year of teaching.     

Relationships Among Self-Concealment,Mindfulness and Negative Psychological Outcomes in Asian American and European American College Students

Research on Asian Americans and their psychological adjustment is limited. Consisting of two cross-sectional studies, the present investigation examined the relationships among self-concealment, mindfulness, emotional distress in stressful interpersonal situations, and general psychological ill-health in Asian American college students, and in comparison with European American counterparts. In the Asian Americans, self-concealment was found to be positively related to general psychological ill-health and negatively related to mindfulness. In both ethnic groups, mindfulness was found to be negatively related to general psychological ill-health. Findings suggest that, as seen with European American counterparts, both self-concealment and mindfulness may be important concepts in understanding the psychological adjustments of Asian American college students.     

Are effective teachers like good parents? Teaching styles and student adjustment in early adolescence

This study examined the utility of parent socialization models for understanding teachers' influence on student adjustment in middle school. Teachers were assessed with respect to their modeling of motivation and to Baumrind's parenting dimensions of control, maturity demands, democratic communication, and nurturance. Student adjustment was defined in terms of their social and academic goals and interest in class, classroom behavior, and academic performance. Based on information from 452 sixth graders from two suburban middle schools, results of multiple regressions indicated that the five teaching dimensions explained significant amounts of variance in student motivation, social behavior, and achievement. High expectations (maturity demands) was a consistent positive predictor of students' goals and interests, and negative feedback (lack of nurturance) was the most consistent negative predictor of academic performance and social behavior. The role of motivation in mediating relations between teaching dimensions and social behavior and academic achievement also was examined; evidence for mediation was not found. Relations of teaching dimensions to student outcomes were the same for African American and European American students, and for boys and girls. The implications of parent socialization models for understanding effective teaching are discussed.     

Effects of a Developmentally Based Intervention With Teachers on Native American and White Early Adolescents’ Schooling Adjustment in Rural Settings

This study reports the effectiveness of a developmentally based, teacher professional development intervention aimed at improving early adolescent school adjustment. Teachers in rural schools in a Northern Plains state took part in professional development activities across a year. Following a randomized control trial design, Native American and White students’ (N = 165) social, behavioral, and academic adjustment was assessed in intervention compared with control schools. Regression analyses, controlling for baseline and demographic variables, indicated that students in intervention schools improved in achievement, and improved or sustained beginning-of-year schooling dispositions, and perceptions of the school social/affective context, in comparison with evident declines for students in control schools. Native American students more so than White students evidenced particular gains in achievement and perceptions of the school social/affective context.     

Teenagers with Down Syndrome in a Time of Changing Policies and Practices: Progress of Students who were Born Between 1971 and 1978

Since the early 1970s, significant changes have occurred in New South Wales in the educational services provided for students with Down syndrome which should have resulted in improved educational outcomes for the students. Information is reported, here, on the schooling, employment, life experiences, and general skills of sixty‐six 13‐ to 20‐year‐old students with Down syndrome who were born over the period 1971 to 1978. These results are compared with data on achievement levels reported in earlier British and American studies of students with Down syndrome. Overall, the personal and leisure skills of the two groups of students appeared to be similar, with some difficulties associated with social isolation. However, when compared with the other groups, the New South Wales students appeared to have received more of their education in integrated settings, attained higher levels in academic areas (reading and money skills), were more independent, required less supervision, and had more optimistic futures in terms of integrated employment and accommodation options. Clearly, the changes in services begun in the 1970s did result in improvements in outcomes for some students with Down syndrome, though it is also evident that changes in policy do not always lead to the implementation of more effective services for all students.     

Do Relational Risks and Protective Factors Moderate the Linkages between Childhood Aggression and Early Psychological and School Adjustment?

This investigation addressed the question of how relational stressors and supports interface with a known behavioral risk (aggression) to influence early emerging adjustment trajectories. Children's risk for aggression, as well as multiple relational risk and protective factors (i.e., stressful and supportive features of peer and teacher relationships), were assessed in a sample of 396 children and used to predict changes in psychological functioning and school adjustment from the fall of their kindergarten year to the spring of their first-grade year. Results were largely consistent with additive risk-maladjustment models; with few exceptions, relational experiences predicted adjustment beyond children's aggressive risk status. For some adjustment criteria, however, there was evidence to suggest that relational stressors or supports exacerbated or compensated for dysfunctions that were linked with aggressive behavior. Moreover, compared with early onset, the chronicity of children's aggressive risk status and relational stressors and supports bore a stronger association with changes in maladjustment. Analyses conducted by ethnic groups suggested that African American children, who were typically a minority among their European American classmates, were more likely to experience particular stressors (e.g., chronic peer rejection), and were less likely to be afforded some form of support (e.g., stable teacher-child closeness). However, the nature of the predictive linkages found between the relational risk and protective factors and later maladjustment did not differ substantially by SES or ethnicity. The importance of investigating behavioral risks in conjunction with the relational features of children's interpersonal environments is discussed.     

An empirical study into gender differences in the relationships among academic,social and psychological adjustments of university support

There are three dimensions through which to measure university support for students’ transition to university life: academic adjustment, social adjustment and psychological adjustment. Previous research studies show that there are relationships among those adjustments. However, less is known about gender differences in these relationships. The purpose of this study is to examine the perceived gender differences in perception of the relationships among these adjustments during the first year undergraduate transition period. The study is based on a survey of 114 first year undergraduate students from a Hong Kong local university. The findings show that (1) female students perceive social adjustment to have more influence on academic adjustment than male students, (2) female students perceive psychological adjustment to have more influence on academic adjustment than male students, and (3) there is no significant difference in the relationship between social and academic adjustments for female and male students.     

The interrupted learner: How distractions during live and video lectures influence learning outcomes

New instructional technologies have been increasingly incorporated into the medical school learning environment, including lecture video recordings as a substitute for live lecture attendance. The literature presents varying conclusions regarding how this alternative experience impacts students' academic success. Previously, a multi‐year study of the first‐year medical histology component at the University of Michigan found that live lecture attendance was positively correlated with learning success, while lecture video use was negatively correlated. Here, three cohorts of first‐year medical students (N = 439 respondents, 86.6% response rate) were surveyed in greater detail regarding lecture attendance and video usage, focusing on study behaviors that may influence histology learning outcomes. Students who reported always attending lectures or viewing lecture videos had higher average histology scores than students who employed an inconsistent strategy (i.e., mixing live attendance and video lectures). Several behaviors were negatively associated with histology performance. Students who engaged in “non‐lecture activities” (e.g., social media use), students who reported being interrupted while watching the lecture video, or feeling sleepy/losing focus had lower scores than their counterparts not engaging in these behaviors. This study suggests that interruptions and distractions during medical learning activities—whether live or recorded—can have an important impact on learning outcomes. Anat Sci Educ 11: 366–376. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Identifying students likely to benefit from language support in first‐year Law

As writing skills have a significant impact on a Law student’s ability to successfully complete assessment tasks, it is important to identify early, and refer to appropriate programs, students likely to benefit from language and writing skills support. This article describes in‐class exercises developed in the Law School at the University of Melbourne to identify students with writing ‘difficulties’. Analysis of students’ first semester results confirmed that the exercises were effective in identifying a group of students who may underachieve. Importantly, in both 2005 and 2006 almost half the first‐year Law students referred to support through the exercises were domestic students. Thus, we caution that English language testing of international students is not sufficient to identify all students likely to need or benefit from support programs. We recommend measures such as the exercises described in this paper as a quick and effective means of screening the entire commencing cohort.     

Evaluation of the effectiveness of 3D vascular stereoscopic models in anatomy instruction for first year medical students

The head and neck region is one of the most complex areas featured in the medical gross anatomy curriculum. The effectiveness of using three‐dimensional (3D) models to teach anatomy is a topic of much discussion in medical education research. However, the use of 3D stereoscopic models of the head and neck circulation in anatomy education has not been previously studied in detail. This study investigated whether 3D stereoscopic models created from computed tomographic angiography (CTA) data were efficacious teaching tools for the head and neck vascular anatomy. The test subjects were first year medical students at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The assessment tools included: anatomy knowledge tests (prelearning session knowledge test and postlearning session knowledge test), mental rotation tests (spatial ability; presession MRT and postsession MRT), and a satisfaction survey. Results were analyzed using a Wilcoxon rank‐sum test and linear regression analysis. A total of 39 first year medical students participated in the study. The results indicated that all students who were exposed to the stereoscopic 3D vascular models in 3D learning sessions increased their ability to correctly identify the head and neck vascular anatomy. Most importantly, for students with low‐spatial ability, 3D learning sessions improved postsession knowledge scores to a level comparable to that demonstrated by students with high‐spatial ability indicating that the use of 3D stereoscopic models may be particularly valuable to these students with low‐spatial ability. Anat Sci Educ 10: 34–45. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.     

Student outcomes associated with use of asynchronous online discussion forums in gross anatomy teaching

Asynchronous online discussion forums are increasingly common in blended learning environments but the relationship to student learning outcomes has not been reported for anatomy teaching. Forums were monitored in two multicampus anatomy courses; an introductory first year course and a second year physiotherapy‐specific course. The forums are structured with a separate site for each course module and moderated weekly by staff. Students are encouraged to post to new threads (initial post) and answer queries in threads started by others (reply post). Analysis of forums was conducted separately for each course and included overall activity (posts and views) for a full semester and a detailed analysis for one week in the middle of semester. Students were classified as zero, moderate, or high contributors to the forums based on the number of posts. Final mark for the course was related to level of forum contribution using nonparametric tests. Forum threads were characterized as task‐focused, administrative, or other. A higher proportion of second year (36%) than first‐year (17%) students posted on the forums and the postings were more likely to be task‐focused and student initiated. Second‐year students that posted frequently to the forum gained a higher final mark for the course than those that did not post or only posted a moderate number of times (P < 0.01). This relationship was not evident for first‐year students who had a much higher proportion of administrative threads. Forums in anatomy courses can be powerful learning tools encouraging deeper learning and improved learning outcomes. Anat Sci Educ 6: 101–106. © 2012 American Association of Anatomists.     

Using color and grayscale images to teach histology to color‐deficient medical students

Examination of histologic and histopathologic microscopic sections relies upon differential colors provided by staining techniques, such as hematoxylin and eosin, to delineate normal tissue components and to identify pathologic alterations in these components. Given the prevalence of color deficiency (commonly called “color blindness”) in the general population, it is likely that this reliance upon color differentiation poses a significant obstacle for several medical students beginning a course of study that includes examination of histologic slides. In the past, first‐year medical students at Michigan State University who identified themselves as color deficient were encouraged to use color transparency overlays or tinted contact lenses to filter out problematic colors. Recently, however, we have offered such students a computer monitor adjusted to grayscale for in‐lab work, as well as grayscale copies of color photomicrographs for examination purposes. Grayscale images emphasize the texture of tissues and the contrasts between tissues as the students learn histologic architecture. Using this approach, color‐deficient students have quickly learned to compensate for their deficiency by focusing on cell and tissue structure rather than on color variation. Based upon our experience with color‐deficient students, we believe that grayscale photomicrographs may also prove instructional for students with normal (trichromatic) color vision, by encouraging them to consider structural characteristics of cells and tissues that may otherwise be overshadowed by stain colors. Anat Sci Ed 2:84–88, 2009. © 2009 American Association of Anatomists.     

Impact and educational outcomes of a small group self‐directed teaching strategy in a clinical neuroscience curriculum

The complexity of the material being taught in clinical neuroscience within the medical school curriculum requires creative pedagogies to teach medical students effectively. Many clinical teaching strategies have been developed and are well described to address these challenges. However, only a few have been evaluated to determine their impact on the performance of students studying clinical neuroscience. Interactive, 2‐hour, self‐directed small‐group interactive clinical case‐based learning sessions were conducted weekly for 4 weeks to integrate concepts learned in the corresponding didactic lectures. Students in the small groups analyzed cases of patients suffering from neurological disease that were based on eight learning objectives that allowed them to evaluate neuroanatomical data and clinical findings before presenting their case analysis to the larger group. Students’ performances on the formative quizzes and summative tests were compared to those of first‐year medical students in the previous year for whom the self‐directed, small‐group interactive clinical sessions were not available. There was a significant improvement in the summative performance of first‐year medical students with self‐directed clinical case learning in the second year (Y2) of teaching clinical neuroscience (P < 0.05) when compared with first‐year students in the first year (Y1) for whom the self‐directed learning approach was not available. Student performance in the formative assessments between Y1 and Y2 was not significantly different (P = 0.803). A target of ≥70% student scoring above 80% in the final summative examination was met. The current study revealed evidence for the impact and educational outcomes of a self‐directed, clinical teaching strategy in a clinical neuroscience curriculum for first‐year medical students. Anat Sci Educ 11: 478–487. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.     

Chronic Absenteeism and Its Effects on Students’ Academic and Socioemotional Outcomes

Recent policy dialogue suggests that chronic absenteeism is not only underdocumented, but is also detrimental to the success of students as early as kindergarten. That said, almost no empirical research has examined the effects of chronic absenteeism on student outcomes. This study addresses this underresearched issue in more depth. Using a nationally representative dataset of kindergarten students from the 2010–2011 school year, this study evaluates the effect of chronic absenteeism on both achievement and socioemotional outcomes. The findings suggest that chronic absenteeism reduces math and reading achievement outcomes, reduces educational engagement, and decreases social engagement. Hence, this study offers new evidence on how an undermeasured aspect of missing school impedes students’ attainment. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.