Gender peer effects in university: Evidence from a randomized experiment

Recent studies for primary and secondary education find positive effects of the share of females in the classroom on achievement of males and females. This study examines whether these results can be extrapolated to higher education. We conduct an experiment in which the shares of females in workgroups for first year students in economics and business are manipulated and students are randomly assigned to these groups. Males tend to postpone, but not abandon, their dropout decision when surrounded by more females and perform worse on courses with high math content. There is also a modest reduction in absenteeism early in the year. Overall, however, we find no substantial gender peer effects on achievement. This in spite of the fact that according to students’ perceptions, both their own, and their peers’ behavior are influenced by the share of females.     

Peer effects in higher education: A look at heterogeneous impacts

This paper uses data on roommates from two different selective institutions to investigate the effect of peers on first-year performance, with a specific focus on the underlying mechanism. We compare measures of academic ability across student sub-groups by race, income, and gender, and across institutions. Male, minority, and aided students are affected most strongly by their peers. The size and presence of peer effects are dependent on the ability measure used as well as the setting. Standardized estimates suggest ability measured by high school grades have roughly twice the effect of ability measured by SATs. We also test the use of a standardized measure of first-year performance and find more consistent evidence of peer effects across both schools. Our results provide an explanation for the mixed findings in the literature and suggest that the driving force behind peer effects lies in the transfer of general academic know-how rather than in the teaching of specific knowledge or social proximity.     

Peer assessment effects on the self-assessment process of first-year undergraduates

Peers carry potential in enhancing students’ self-assessment development, but few studies have explored how peer scaffolding is enacted in the process. This qualitative study explores peer assessment effects on the self-assessment process of 11 first-year undergraduates and the factors limiting peer influence. Drawing on the data from students’ journals, follow-up interviews, observations of in-class formative peer assessment activities and teacher interviews, we ascertained that peers could aid the self-assessment process by enriching student understanding of quality, refining subjective judgement and deepening self-reflection. Yet, peer influence could be reduced by distrust, tensions in feedback communication, competition and lack of readiness for peer learning. Implications for effective use of peers in supporting self-assessment development are discussed.     

Schooling effects on intelligence development: evidence based on national samples from urban and rural China

The current research investigated the variability of school effects on intelligence development in considering two economically and socially distinct groups of children. The data came from a nationally representative sample of primary school children from urban and rural areas of China. Two standardised reasoning tests were used to assess fluid intelligence. The between-grade regression discontinuity approach was applied to disentangle the schooling effect from the age effect. Results showed that the combined effects of schooling and age were 5.09 intelligence points per year, in which the schooling effect (4.37 points) was larger than the age effect (.72 points). The patterns of schooling and age effects were different in urban and rural subsamples. For the urban subsample, the schooling effect was smaller than the age effect for children from grade 1 to 3, but the schooling effect became larger than the age effect from grade 4 to 6. For the rural subsample, however, the schooling effect was always larger than the age effect. The effect of one year of schooling for rural children (5.59 points) was larger than that for urban children (3.15 points). These results suggest that schooling effects are closely related to the context where children are growing up.     

本科生科研能力培养模式初探——香港大学的实践和启示

高校本科生科研能力的培养不仅有利于提高学生的创新能力和实践能力,促进学生的全面发展,而且是建设创新型国家的需要,是高等教育的重要培养目标。基于在香港大学近5年的访学经历,介绍了香港大学在本科生科研能力培养方面所实行的各种有效措施,包括课程设置、教学和考核方法、国际化交流、硬件支持和校园文化等,希望能为内地研究型高校本科生科研能力的培养模式的探索提供一定的参考和启示。     

普通高校民族学生体育能力的培养

高校体育是学生接受学校体育教育的最后阶段 ,应当把培养学生的体育能力放在重要位置上。使学生特别是对民族学生乐于和善于掌握科学锻炼身体的理论知识和运动技能 ,使其毕业后能根据所处的地理环境、民族地区习俗等选择适宜自己的锻炼内容和方法 ,以便更好地服务于社会     

农民工在职技能培训的决定因素——来自雇主和雇员匹配调查的证据

基于2016年广东省佛山市南海区“雇主-雇员”匹配调查数据,以在职培训识别工会教育职能对工会工资效应的影响及机制,发现：工会与在职培训均存在工资增益效应,以二者交互项衡量的工会教育职能还能进一步放大工会工资效应。进一步检验工会教育职能的存在性与净效应,通过机制分析发现：工会教育职能的正向工资效应源于企业业绩的提高。异质性分析表明,工会对不同技能水平的员工均具有工资溢价效应,而其教育职能则主要作用于低技能员工群体。对于其他福利而言,工会能够促进员工参与社保、获得劳保用品,同时降低员工工作时长;在职培训对员工参保情况无显著影响,但能提高员工获得劳保用品的相对概率,缩短员工工作时间;而工会教育职能则无上述作用。教育职能是我国工会兼顾劳资双方利益、实现互利共赢的手段之一。     

Schooling effects on degree performance: A comparison of the predictive validity of aptitude testing and secondary school grades at Oxford University

This article examines the cause of school type effects upon gaining a first class degree at Oxford University, whereby for a given level of secondary school performance, private school students perform less well at degree level. We compare the predictive power of an aptitude test and secondary school grades (GCSEs) for final examination performance, using data from the Oxford Admissions Study. Both metrics are predictive of final degree performance but the school effects are only statistically robust for arts students. Private school students perform less well in final examinations relative to their GCSE results when compared with state school students, but they do not under perform relative to their aptitude test scores or in gross terms. It is therefore argued that teaching effects, associated with private school students, distort secondary school grades as an indicator of academic potential in higher education when compared to state school students.     

The impact of peer achievement and peer heterogeneity on own achievement growth: Evidence from school transitions

This paper estimates ability peer effects on achievement growth in reading and math. It exploits variation in peer characteristics generated at the transition from primary to secondary school in a sample of Berlin fifth-graders. As will be discussed in detail, this variation is exogenous in large parts. Results are similar for both achievement measures: pupils benefit from abler peers, but high-achievers do so to a smaller extent. The variance in peer skills has no impact on achievement growth – the corresponding estimates are negative, but insignificant.     

高校图书馆与知识管理关系的初步解析

从知识管理的内涵着手，分析了在高校图书馆引入知识管理的必然性，初步探讨了施行知识管理的有效措施。     

The size,stability, and consistency of school effects: evidence from Victoria

The bulk of public debate on education focuses on schools and school differences. Ideally, the characteristics of schools that add value to student performance can be identified and implemented for other schools. However, such scenarios assume that school effects are sizable, stable across cohorts, and consistent across subject areas. This study tests these assumptions by analysing school effects in both primary and secondary schools in 5 achievement domains with administrative data from almost all government school students in Victoria, Australia. Gross school effects are reasonably large but show only moderate stability. However, in net progress models which control for prior achievement, school effects are substantially smaller, display only low levels of stability across cohorts, and are not consistent across achievement domains. Therefore, it is difficult to identify schools that consistently increase (or decrease) student performance across subject areas beyond that expected by students’ intake characteristics, most notably prior student performance. Other policy goals are recommended.     

Determinants of undergraduate GPAs: SAT scores, high-school GPA and high-school rank

The primary purpose of the study is to assess the degree to which SAT scores, high-school GPA (HSGPA) and class rank predict success in college. Data collected from students enrolled in several sections of Principles of Economics at the University of South Carolina in 2000 and 2001 are used to study the relation between college GPA (the dependent variable) and high-school rank, HSGPA, and SAT scores (the key independent variables). We also investigate whether there are race–sex differences in the likelihood of success in college. Further, we study the degree to which students with varying backgrounds are likely to be eligible for statewide scholarships and to retain them after enrollment.     

New schools and new classmates: The disruption and peer group effects of school reassignment

Policy makers periodically consider using student assignment policies to improve educational outcomes by altering the socio-economic and academic skill composition of schools. We exploit the quasi-random reassignment of students across schools in the Wake County Public School System to estimate the academic and behavioral effects of being reassigned to a different school and, separately, of shifts in peer characteristics. We rule out all but substantively small effects of transitioning to a different school as a result of reassignment on test scores, course grades and chronic absenteeism. In contrast, increasing the achievement levels of students’ peers improves students’ math and ELA test scores but harms their ELA course grades. Test score benefits accrue primarily to students from higher-income families, though students with lower family income or lower prior performance still benefit. Our results suggest that student assignment policies that relocate students to avoid the over-concentration of lower-achieving students or those from lower-income families can accomplish equity goals (despite important caveats), although these reassignments may reduce achievement for students from higher-income backgrounds.     

大学班额效应研究

班额效应指学校教学班额对教育质量作用的机理。大学班额效应一直是国外高等教育政策和教学研究的重点之一,我国相关研究十分有限。本文就大学班额效应的四大基本问题进行探索性研究:班额效应是否存在?班额效应的强度如何?班额效应的影响因素为何?不同研究方法对班额效应结论的控制如何?研究结果显示:班额是影响我国大学教育教学质量的重要变量;应结合扩招背景和教育经费约束,找到我国大学班额强度效应的支点;并根据学科大类、课程学习层次及教学辅助条件,科学制定我国大学班额参考意见。     

Differential effects of learning games on mathematics proficiency

This study examined the effects of a learning game, [The Math App] on the mathematics proficiency of middle school students. For the study, researchers recruited 306 students, Grades 6–8, from two schools in rural southwest Virginia. Over a nine-week period, [The Math App] was deployed as an intervention for investigation. Students were assigned to game intervention treatment, and paper-and-pencil control conditions. For the game intervention condition, students learned fractions concepts by playing [The Math App]. In the analysis, students’ mathematical proficiency levels prior to the intervention were taken into account. Results indicate that students in the game intervention group showed higher mathematics proficiency than those in the paper-and-pencil group. Particularly, the significantly higher performances of intervention groups were noted among 7th graders and inclusion groups. The empirically derived results of the reported study could contribute to the field of educational video game research, which has not reached a consensus on the effects of games on students’ mathematics performance in classroom settings.     

不同的视角 不同的声音——教师和学生对大学本科课程的看法

本研究对北京大学本科课题进行了调查 ,调查结果表明 :教师和学生对大学本科课程的现状、问题、培养效果、公共选修课以及学生缺乏的课程领域等问题的看法存在较大差异。因此 ,大学本科课程改革不仅要注意自上而下的意见 ,还要倾听自下而上的声音     

外汇注资:化解高校扩张财政风险的新思路

高校是我国公益性的投资部门,但存在一定的发展边界,盲目扩张会产生边界风险。目前,由于我国对高校实行廉价的制度供给,在银行信用的推动下,高校存在边界风险,并将引发财政风险。解决的新路径是利用外汇储备给高校注资,实现外汇储备向能力储备转化。     

网络媒介条件下英语写作教师评价与同伴互评对比研究

近年来,写作评价在ESl和EFL领域里引起广泛的关注并得到不尽相同的研究结果。本研究通过问卷调查、t检验和访谈,对比研究网络媒介条件下英语写作教师评价与同伴互评对学生英语写作的影响。结果发现：（1）网络媒介条件下教师评价与同伴互评可行、有效;（2）在中国文化价值影响和EFL语境下,学生更加重视网络媒介条件下的教师评价,因此,教师在教学中应该根据学生的需求把两种评价方式融合一起使用。     

浅析美国密歇根州立大学ECE系本科课程设置

介绍了美国密歇根州立大学电气与计算机工程系的本科课程设置,从强化实践环节与引导,从做中学、实施混合学制与鼓励自我负责、开设导论类课程与加速学术转换等方面,分析了其课程设置的特点。在此基础上,阐述了本科生科研项目、顶峰设计课程对培养学生创新能力的重要作用,以及对我国高校课程改革的启示。     

惠州学院特色办学的若干构思

特色办学是一种主动构建的思维方式和行动纲领。正确的行动计划源于对特色办学内涵的深刻理解,成于对其形成机制要素的科学把握。惠州学院作为一所应用型地方本科高校,应在学科专业、人才培养目标模式、国际化合作交流和服务区域经济文化建设四个方面苦心经营奋创特色。