Student Engagement at a Large Suburban Community College: Gender and Race Differences

Previous research shows that there are individual differences in academic achievement associated with gender and race. Research also suggests that student engagement is an important determinant of student outcomes/achievement. The present study explored student engagement at an extra-large community college. It specifically investigated possible individual differences in student engagement and explored how it maps on to student achievement. As predicted, the results indicate that there are gender and race differences in student engagement—females show greater engagement than males, and African-American students show greater engagement than students of other races. The results are discussed in the context of student achievement as indicated by students’ self-reported GPAs.     

Baccalaureate Attainment of College Students at 4-Year Institutions as a Function of Student Engagement Behaviors: Social and Academic Student Engagement Behaviors Matter

Vincent Tinto originally asserted, “… it is the individual’s integration into the academic and social systems of the college that most directly related to his continuance in that college” (Tinto, Review of Educational Research 45(10): 89–125, 1975), yet the rates of college degree attainment are still stagnant. Institution-level research on student engagement indicates that both types of engagement contribute to increased student persistence and degree attainment. Research has prompted going beyond institutional-level data and calls for using of nationally representative, longitudinal data to addressing engagement. Using the 2004/09 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:04/09) and logistic regression, this study finds that both academic and social student engagement behaviors significantly impact degree attainment in postsecondary education net of individual and institutional factors. Interaction analysis of the two different types of engagement finds that the impact is not additive but instead is differential and dependent upon the student’s engagement typology as proposed by Coates (Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 32(2): 121–141, 2007).     

工科专业本科生学习性投入的性别差异分析

本研究使用华中地区一所理工科院校的调查数据,分析工科专业本科生在学习性投入和学业收获中存在的性别差异,检验工科专业本科生学习性投入对其学业收获的影响是否因性别而存在不同。研究发现：工科专业女生在学习努力程度、课外拓展学习、学习意义感、学习动力及感知到的学术环境和人际关系等因素上均显著高于男生,但在生师交流互动、专业兴趣上显著低于男生;工科专业女生在校期间学习性投入程度更高,学习成绩更好,但对自我学习收获的评价相对较低;学习性投入各因素对工科专业男女生学业收获的正向促进作用也有所不同。对此,本文提出工程教育改革应重视工科专业女生的专业自信心和归属感的建立,以消除单一的男性主导的工科学习环境对女生学习及发展的潜在影响。     

论中美大学学生学习性投入的差异

大学生学习研究成为当前高等教育研究领域的热点。清华大学、南京大学等引进美国大学生学习调查问卷,开展了一系列中美大学生学习比较研究。本文对"中国大学生学习与发展追踪研究"的中美大学生学习性投入比较研究文献进行梳理,分析中美大学生学习性投入具体指标的差异,指出应从中美高等教育课程来理解中美大学生学习性投入的差异;比较中美高等教育课程的差异,发现中美教育课程的差异是中美大学生学习性投入差异深层次原因。中国高等教育课程需要整体的、系统的改革,中国大学生学习研究测量工具需要不断改进。     

Student Transfer-Out Behavior at Four-Year Institutions

While abundant studies on college student departure exist, few studies focus on student transfer-out behaviors. One may reasonably believe that transfer students leave their institutions at different times for different reasons. Coupled with the national dataset, this study longitudinally investigated transfer students who left their initial 4-year institutions. Results suggest that student characteristics, such as race and family income, had varying effects on the timing of transfer. Social integration was found to have significant effects on reducing the likelihood of transfer.     

Student Engagement and Student Learning: Testing the Linkages*

This study examines (1) the extent to which student engagement is associated with experimental and traditional measures of academic performance, (2) whether the relationships between engagement and academic performance are conditional, and (3) whether institutions differ in terms of their ability to convert student engagement into academic performance. The sample consisted of 1058 students at 14 four-year colleges and universities that completed several instruments during 2002. Many measures of student engagement were linked positively with such desirable learning outcomes as critical thinking and grades, although most of the relationships were weak in strength. The results suggest that the lowest-ability students benefit more from engagement than classmates, first-year students and seniors convert different forms of engagement into academic achievement, and certain institutions more effectively convert student engagement into higher performance on critical thinking tests. *A version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Diego, April 2004.     

Student Engagement and Student Learning: Examining the Convergent and Discriminant Validity of the Revised National Survey of Student Engagement

The present study examined the relationships between student engagement, represented by two versions of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and self-reported gains in learning. The study drew on institutional-level data from participating institutions in 2011 and 2013. The objective of the research was to compare evidence of convergence and discrimination for the two versions of NSSE using canonical correlation analysis. Results indicated that both versions of NSSE provided clear evidence of convergence in that student engagement measures were significantly and positively related to perceived gains in learning. However, only the most recent version of NSSE provided strong evidence of discrimination (i.e., differential relationships between engagement measures and self-reported learning outcomes). Thus, the revised NSSE appears to offer substantial advantages for institutions interested in more nuanced understandings of the relationships between student engagement and perceived learning outcomes. Implications for educators, with goals of enhancing student learning, and for researchers, who often compare complex sets of data, are included.     

Student Engagement: A CCSSE Follow-Up Study to Improve Student Engagement in a Community College

This qualitative case study at a two-year community college investigated the reasons behind a persistent gap in the college students’ engagement level in several key areas such as active and collaborative learning and student-faculty interaction as demonstrated in the longitudinal Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) and the Community College Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (CCFSSE) results. Using the maximal variation purposeful sampling method, 63 students participated in the study. Results suggested that students’ own perception and behaviors, faculty’s expectations and characteristics, the course characteristics, and institutional level support all played an important role in engaging students. There was a disparity between students’ high perception of the importance of engagement and low level of effort and a disparity between faculty’s perception of student engagement and students’ own perception of engagement. Community college students welcomed high expectations and high standards from their faculty and also desired more challenging courses despite all the obstacles in their lives. Discussions and recommendations for strategies to close the gap in the two disparities and, thus, improve student engagement level are provided.     

Adding Value: Learning Communities and Student Engagement

This study examines the relationships between participating in learning communities and student engagement in a range of educationally purposeful activities of first-year and senior students from 365 4-year institutions. The findings indicate that participating in a learning community is positively linked to engagement as well as student self-reported outcomes and overall satisfaction with college.     

中美高校学籍管理比较

由于社会制度、价值观念、思维方式等方面存在着差异，中美大学生学籍管理制度也相应地存在着较大差别。在学籍管理这个复杂而又繁琐的过程中，笔者选择了取得学籍和转学两项工作作为思考对象，分析在这两方面中关管理制度的利弊，寻求美国学籍管理工作对我国的借鉴价值，以求改进中国高等教育学籍管理工作，使其更好地适应新时代高等教育的需要。     

校院两级管理下学生学习投入评估的问题与对策

学生学习投入评估已经成为高等教育质量保障的重要内容,然而,常规评估难以满足校院两级管理的现实需求,主要表现在无法准确判断不同二级学院学生入校后学习投入的变化情况和不同二级学院组织结构和内部环境的差异性,绩效考核指标选用与评估理念处于分离状态,难以用于绩效考核对学生学习和发展效果的评估以及二级学院自主开展学生学习投入评估难以全面推进。实施校级层面客观评估、二级学院自我诊断的两段式评估,选择不易受人为控制和外部干扰的客观过程变量的相对值作为绩效考核指标,进而构建多重反馈回路、双向互动耦合发展的评估路径能够满足校院两级管理对学生学习投入评估的要求。     

用“以生为本”的教育理念指导高校学籍管理

新的学籍管理是在新形势下针对高等学校的实际情况制定出来的，它符合我国高等教育的历史发展趋势，体现出“以生为本”的教育理念在学籍管理工作中的重要性，为高等教育学籍管理提供了法制化、科学化、程序化、人性化的重要依据。     

大学生学习投入的影响因素及其作用机制

采用追踪研究设计,对南京邮电大学2008级学生进行了四次追踪调查。根据相关理论并结合问卷已有的变量,提出影响学习投入的因素(预测变量)主要是:学生人口学变量(性别、来源城乡、社会经济地位、来源高中、学科),学生的认知变量(向学/厌学),学生的感知变量(归宿感、满意度)。利用多层线性模型分析技术构建了学习投入的非线性发展模型进行追踪数据分析。依次构建了无条件非线性发展模型、仅含有人口学预测变量的非线性发展模型和含有全部预测变量的非线性发展全模型,进行预测变量效应的模型检验。结果表明:第一,人口学变量中,性别、学科、城乡、高中类型以及社会经济地位五个预测变量对学习投入的影响各不相同。性别和城乡因素较学科、高中类型和社会经济地位对学习投入的影响大,只有性别、城乡和学科分别对教育经验丰富度、学业挑战度和主动合作学习的变化有影响。第二,学生认知变量(向学/厌学)和学生感知变量(归属感和满意度)对学习投入的水平和大学期间的变化均有正向促进作用。向学/厌学对学习投入的影响最大,归属感影响次之,满意度影响最小;满意度对学习投入的一次增长具有正向促进作用,归属感对学习投入的一次增长具有负向反作用,向学/厌学对学习投入不同维度的一次增长作用不同。第三,模型检验结果提示,还存在影响学习投入水平及变化的其他因素。第四,针对三类变量对学习投入水平及变化的影响机制,提出:人口学特征是认识学生学习投入的基础;学生的认知是学生学习投入的关键;学生的感知是学生学习投入的催化剂;充分利用学习投入作用机制的特点,是学校认识学习投入背后的原因,促进学生学习投入的教育策略与需要把握的原则。     

A Comprehensive Faculty,Staff, and Student Training Program Enhances Student Perceptions of a Course-Based Research Experience at a Two-Year Institution

Early research experiences must be made available to all undergraduate students, including those at 2-yr institutions who account for nearly half of America''s college students. We report on barriers unique to 2-yr institutions that preclude the success of an early course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE). Using a randomized study design, we evaluated a CURE in equivalent introductory biology courses at a 4-yr institution and a 2-yr institution within the same geographic region. We found that these student populations developed dramatically different impressions of the experience. Students at the 4-yr institution enjoyed the CURE significantly more than the traditional labs. However, students at the 2-yr institution enjoyed the traditional labs significantly more, even though the CURE successfully produced targeted learning gains. On the basis of course evaluations, we enhanced instructor, student, and support staff training and reevaluated this CURE at a different campus of the same 2-yr institution. This time, the students reported that they enjoyed the research experience significantly more than the traditional labs. We conclude that early research experiences can succeed at 2-yr institutions, provided that a comprehensive implementation strategy targeting instructor, student, and support staff training is in place.     

Institutional Level Student Engagement and Organisational Cultures

Driven by the growing presence of market forces within higher education worldwide, universities are changing the way they engage with students. This article explores how a university's internal culture relates to engagement with students and their views. It builds on wider research into student engagement and organisational cultures. The organisational cultures of two universities are mapped against a typology developed by McNay, which was extended by the author to include aspects of institutional engagement with students. It appears that corporate and bureaucratic institutional cultures that may respond well to external pressures on institutions (regulation, performance indicators, audits and policy pressure) are not conducive to engagement with student opinion. The stronger preference of students remains a collegial, partnership‐based approach for enhancement of the student experience. This study will be of interest to institutional managers, student (union) leaders, academics and practitioners who seek to improve the student experience through effective engagement with student views.     

Assessment of Student Engagement: An analysis of trends

Quality is a multi-dimensional concept and embraces all functions and activities of higher education (academic programs, research, and community services) in all their features and components. Traditionally quality was a measure of resources and reputation. In recent years there has been a shift in emphasis to institutional best practices such as setting high expectations, providing involving settings, inclusive learning environments and forms of pedagogy that enhance student learning and development. The concept of student engagement is thus receiving increased attention globally as it is viewed as an important element in assessing and improving institutional effectiveness. Trend and longitudinal analyses, as employed in this study, allow an institution to monitor change or stability in performance over time. They assist in determining whether a certain policy or initiative prompted desirable change and in assessing the impact of improvement initiatives such as accreditation.