Does an Early College Readiness Signal Discourage College Application and Enrollment?

States are currently seeking ways to improve alignment between K–12 and postsecondary education and better prepare students for postsecondary schooling. Some states have begun implementing policies that inform high school students that they are not ready for college-level courses well before they graduate, in order to give both notice and time to prepare. However, if the early information from these tests suggests that a student may require remedial coursework upon entry to college, the student may be discouraged from attending college. This article focuses on one state's effort to increase students’ information about college readiness. Regression discontinuity design is used to determine whether a student receiving a signal that he/she needs remediation lowers the probability of that student applying to or enrolling in participating universities. Results indicate that the policy has had little to no impact on application and no impact on enrollment.     

Student–Mentor Relationships and Students' College Attitudes

Many college and SAT preparation programs are designed to improve the postsecondary success of traditionally marginalized students. In addition to academic preparation, students' social and emotional preparation is important for the transition from high school to college. Mentors can serve as role models and supports to aid students in this development. Using student survey data and hierarchical linear modeling, this study examines the influences of student–mentor relationships within an SAT program setting on students' college attitudes. Results indicate that these relationships can positively influence students' college attitudes, particularly for students who have lower baseline SAT scores. Recommendations for future research and practice are provided.     

Navigating the Path to College: Latino Students’ Social Networks and Access to College

Based on a qualitative study in Indiana, this article examines the college preparation process of Latino high school students. It uses social capital theory to identify the ways families, peers, and school staff members contribute to students’ access to college across the stages of college preparation. Findings suggest that students receive strong support in their development of aspirations from families, but they face multiple challenges in accessing the information and support they need to realize their college goals. It offers implications for families, schools, and higher education institutions on how to more effectively support college access for Latino students.     

College Students’Quest for Lexical Study and Application

What every brick is for grande building,vocabulary is for the foundation laid for the acquisition of one language.It follows that authentic expressions are justified by the mastery of its application in a specific context.Therefore,it is crucial to delve into the process of vocabulary acquisition,that is,the effect of students’input and output.Words’meanings varied in distinct contexts.Starting from the above two aspects,this paper illustrates the understanding of learning words through examples,so as to optimize the word learning method to achieve twice the result with half the effort.     

College Students’ Relationship Between Trauma and Disordered Eating

Among college students, a correlation exists between trauma exposure and eating disorders. Although disordered eating behaviors are more prevalent than eating disorders, the relationship between different types of trauma exposure and disordered eating is unknown. The current study explored this relationship. One hundred two participants completed questionnaires on disordered eating and trauma exposure. Results showed that (a) sexual abuse was a significant predictor of concerns regarding food and weight gain (p < .05) and (b) other form of trauma (e.g., natural disaster) was a significant predictor of difficulties in individuals’ relationship with food (p < .05). Clinical implications, especially those related to trauma assessment and disordered eating behaviors, are discussed. The importance of examining the impact of nonsexual trauma is described, and the clinical utility of breaking eating pathology down into specific abnormal attitudes and behaviors is highlighted.     

First-Year College Students’ Conflict with Religion and Science

This study took place during a First Year Seminar course where 20 incoming college freshmen studied the central topic of the nature of science within the context of biological evolution. The instructor researched students’ understandings in the nature of science as they progressed through the course by examining a variety of qualitative and quantitative data including class writings, pre- and post-test selected items from the VOSTS (Views on Science-Technology-Society), and interviews. The intended outcomes of the course were to reduce the number of student misconceptions in the nature of science and to ease student apprehension when learning about evolution. Data were analyzed to determine whether students were moving toward a more generally accepted idea of the nature of science or toward another type of misconception.     

Fear Appeals and College Students’ Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions Toward Global Warming

This study used Witte's extended parallel process model to examine the relationships between the use of fear appeals and college students’ attitudes and behavioral intentions toward global warming. A pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was adopted. Three hundred forty-one college students from six communication courses at two universities were recruited for this experiment. The results show that when in a high-threat condition, both high- and low-efficacy messages resulted in positive attitudes and behavioral changes, while in a low-threat condition, low-efficacy messages led to negative changes in attitudes and behavioral intentions. This study suggests that when attempting to promote low carbon-emitting behaviors among college students, messages should contain both threat and efficacy information, but messages that contain low-threat and low-efficacy information should be avoided.     

Language Transfer and Cultural Transfer in College Students’ Writings

Culture and language are the two notions relating closely with each other.One certain language may show the existence of one unique culture,and vice versa.The consequences are that language learning must involve the acquisition of one’s culture.This paper focuses on the role of language transfer in college students’ writing from the cultural perspective,expecting that the studying results could benefit both teachers and students in the process of foreign language learning.     

College students’ perceptions of studying abroad and their readiness

This study aims to determine what college students believe is essential on studying abroad and investigates which programs they prefer for outbound study. The trend of globalization and expansion of higher education have resulted in changes for studying abroad programs in numerous Asian countries. In particular, the overprovided undergraduate and graduate education system in Taiwan raises questions on how college students perceive such outbound study. This paper collected survey data from 219 college students at 2 universities in Taiwan to analyze their opinions and levels of readiness on studying abroad programs. This study applied fuzzy methods to transform the data and interpret the results, and the findings showed that gender and college major influence student perceptions on the importance of studying abroad, as well as their readiness to study abroad. Typically, women exhibit more preparedness for studying abroad than their male counterparts. Following the expansion of higher education in Taiwan, more students are considering studying abroad programs for short-term stay in foreign countries. According to the patterns of perception, this study built fuzzy models to explain the consistency of importance and levels of readiness on studying abroad. The results reveal that fuzzy statistics can be used for proper interpretation of the factors influencing students to study abroad and their readiness.     

Community College Students’ Experiences with Homelessness and Housing Insecurity

The goal of this study is to understand how students experiencing homelessness experience community college. In particular, the authors focus on the multifaceted traumas that negatively impact their educational engagement and persistence. The authors conducted a life history with one student experiencing homelessness on a community college campus. Based upon the emerging themes, interviews lasting approximately 60 minutes were conducted with an additional six students experiencing homelessness at the same college. Homelessness creates significant barriers for students. Residential insecurity often forces students to prioritize meeting basic needs over educational engagement. The participants consistently lived on the brink of residential crisis, which took an emotional toll. However, the stories emerging from this study demonstrate how important the participants felt postsecondary education was. They clearly connected their long-term stability to completing community college and transferring to a four-year institution. Unfortunately, their residential situations negatively impacted their ability to persist. Based upon the student experiences, the authors recommend more integrated services on community college campuses. The student narratives illustrate several important themes that have the potential to inform both research and practice. The participants viewed postsecondary education as a pathway to future stability. However, they experienced multifaceted and enduring trauma. The chaos of their residential insecurity resulted in constantly living at the brink of crisis. These students illustrate the need for integrated services at community colleges to support students experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity.     

College Students＇ Misunderstanding about Happiness and Its Educational Methods

大学生幸福观是一个值得探究的重要人生问题。当前大学生幸福观存在着注重物质、个人、结果、虚无幸福,忽视精神、社会、过程、现实幸福的误区,主要由社会环境复杂化、学校教育异己化、家庭关怀淡漠化、个人感知弱化等因素所致。引导大学生形成健康的幸福观,可以通过价值融入、预警导航、文化渗透、情感体验等多种路径实现。     

Turkish College Students’ Subjective Wellbeing in Regard to Psychological Strengths and Demographic Variables: Implications for College Counseling

This study investigated Turkish college students’ subjective wellbeing in regard to psychological strength and demographic variables. A sample of Turkish college students (N?=?1,052) aged 17–32 (mean age = 21, SD = 1.79) was administered various psychological strength instruments—the Gratitude Scale, the Rosenberg Self Esteem Inventory, the Generalized Self Efficacy Scale, the Life Orientation Test, the Positive/Negative Affect Scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Participants also responded to a demographic data sheet. Non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis and Mann–Whitney U tests, Pearson correlation coefficients and Spearman row coefficients were used in data analysis. Results revealed that there was a strong association between psychological strengths and subjective wellbeing, with gratitude, satisfaction with life, self-esteem and positive affectivity having the most significant correlations, respectively. Demographic variables of gender, academic achievement, social involvement, type of residence, academic major, and financial and health status were also found to be associated with college students’ subjective wellbeing. Implications for college counseling are discussed.     

College Students’ Identity Self-awareness and Shaping in English Classroom Teaching

The paper is to find out whether the college students have the appropriate culture awareness, which helps intercultural communication and promote the transformation of cultural identity.     

Warming-up Activities and Their Application in Teaching Listening for College Students

Listening teaching is the weakest part of English teaching in vocational colleges.College students feel the sense of uncertainties derived from language,content,presentation and visual aids,resulting in anxiety and frustration rather than sense of fulfillment.Against the above-mentioned negative uncertainties,this article proposes four warming-up activities in pre-listening stage,aiming to stimulate the students' motivation and improving their listening competence.     

College Students’Identity Self-awareness and Shaping in English Class-room Teaching

The paper is to find out whether the college students have the appropriate culture awareness, which helps intercultural communication and promote the transformation of cultural identity.     

Community College and Community Leader Expectations of the “Village”

A level of consistency between community college leaders and community leaders is necessary to demonstrate behaviors, actions, and beliefs that shape, represent, and support expected community values. Likewise, communities, which are collectives of suborganizations, play an important role in aiding individual development, especially related to educational attainment. This study sought to understand ways in which community college leaders and community leaders demonstrate behaviors, actions, and beliefs that shape, represent, and support community values, particularly the influence on an individual's acceptance of formalized education and continued education beyond compulsory schooling. Data were collected from 113 mayors and community college presidents/deans around the United States. Analysis of the data indicated five types of actions consistent among the two groups including the promotion of civic involvement, community growth and development, economic development, well-being of citizens, and value of education.     

The Effects of Gratitude Journaling on Turkish First Year College Students’ College Adjustment,Life Satisfaction and Positive Affect

This study examined the effects of gratitude journaling on first-year college students’ adjustment, life satisfaction, and positive affect. Students who scored high (i.e., scores between 35 and 56) on the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al. in Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 385–396, 1983) and low (i.e., scores between 48 and 144) on the University Life Scale (Alada? et al. in Türk Psikolojik Dan??ma ve Rehberlik Dergisi, 2(20), 41–47, 2003) were invited to participate in the study. Among the 24 students who met the criteria, 21 volunteered to participate. Students in the experimental group (11) kept a gratitude journal for 3 weeks, whilst those in the control group (10) were not involved in any gratitude-related activity. Results indicated that students in the experimental group had significantly higher post-test scores on gratitude, adjustment to university life, life satisfaction, and positive affect. Results related to gratitude interventions, positive emotions and college student adjustment are discussed.     

Differences in Household Registration and College Student Employment—An Empirical Study Based on an Employment Survey of College Graduates

Abstract

This article uses 2011 sampling survey data on the nationwide state of employment of college graduates to investigate differences in the following three areas: starting salary, industry entry, and entry to state-owned work units between college students with urban and rural household registrations. The study finds that college students with rural registrations have differing degrees of disadvantages in the three aforementioned aspects, and the disadvantage for industry entry is the most prominent. Among the factors studied, family background and differences in social relationships during the employment search are the most important factors leading to employment inequalities among urban and rural college students. Choice of major can explain some of the disadvantages of rural students in starting salary and entrance to high-income industries, and school performance of college students was not a major cause of employment differences for urban and rural college students.