Reading,Writing, and English Course Pathways when Developmental Education is Optional: Course Enrollment and Success for Underprepared First-time-in-College Students

Academic underpreparedness is an issue for many first-time-in-college students, particularly those entering community colleges. Whereas many underprepared students enroll in developmental education, research has indicated that traditional remediation may not increase students’ chances for success. Therefore, states and colleges have begun to implement new course placement strategies to increase the accuracy of initial course placement and new instructional approaches to better serve their developmental students. Specifically, in 2013, the state of Florida passed Senate Bill 1720 which redesigned developmental coursework and placement policies across the Florida College System. The reform lifted developmental education placement exam testing and course enrollment requirements for certain exempt students, irrespective of prior academic preparation or achievement. The current study focuses on these exempt students—those who had the option to bypass developmental education—who were also underprepared, and their initial course selection and subsequent success in their gateway (introductory college-level) English course. Using statewide student-level data and logistic regression techniques, the results indicated that level of preparation was related to students’ course enrollment and gateway English course success. Students slightly underprepared in reading or writing were more likely than severely underprepared students to enroll in the gateway English class, relative to a developmental reading or writing course. In reading and writing, slightly underprepared students were more likely to pass English, relative to severely underprepared students. The authors consider the findings in light of recent national changes to developmental education and offer recommendations for policy and practice.     

Extra‐credential experiences and social closure: Working‐class students at university

Human capital theorists perceive of educational expansion as beneficial to individuals, corporations and national economies, while social closure theorists have claimed that inflation of credential requirements maintains traditional status inequalities. In this paper I argue that status inequalities are not only maintained by credential inflation, but also the inflation of extra‐credential experiences. As undergraduate degrees become more common, access to employment and further education opportunities increasingly depend on extra‐curricular and ‘enriching’ educational experiences. Using qualitative data from a longitudinal study of working‐class university students in Canada, I will address the mechanisms by which they have gained or were denied access to such experiences. The data suggest that working‐class students’ relative lack of financial resources and social networks are barriers to the development of extra‐credential experiences, which in turn leads to the change of educational and career plans for some.     

The Aftermath of Remedial Math: Investigating the Low Rate of Certificate Completion among Remedial Math Students

Nationally, a majority of community college students require remedial assistance with mathematics, but comparatively few students who begin the remedial math sequence ultimately complete it and achieve college-level math competency. The academic outcomes of students who begin the sequence but do not complete it are disproportionately unfavorable: most students depart from the community college without a credential and without transferring to a four-year institution. Interestingly, however, many of these students continue to attend the community college after they exit the remedial math sequence, sometimes for an extended period. One is led to ask why students who do not complete the sequence generally are not finding their way to an alternative credential objective that does not require college-level math competency, such as a career and technical education certificate, sometimes referred to as a vocational certificate. In this study, I explore three possible answers to this question, including difficulty navigating to the alternative credential, declining participation in the community college, and declining academic performance. I find that all three of these explanations contribute (to varying degrees) to explaining the low rate of certificate completion among remedial math students who do not achieve college-level math competency.     

Referral,enrollment, and completion in developmental education sequences in community colleges

After being assessed, many students entering community colleges are referred to one or more levels of developmental education. While the need to assist students with weak academic skills is well known, little research has examined student progression through multiple levels of developmental education and into entry-level college courses. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the patterns and determinants of student progression through sequences of developmental education starting from initial referral. Our results indicate that fewer than one half of the students who are referred to remediation actually complete the entire sequence to which they are referred. About 30 percent of students referred to developmental education do not enroll in any remedial course, and only about 60 percent of referred students actually enroll in the remedial course to which they were referred. The results also show that more students exit their developmental sequences because they did not enroll in the first or a subsequent course than because they failed or withdrew from a course in which they were enrolled. We also show that men, older students, African American students, part-time students, and students in vocational programs are less likely to progress through their full remedial sequences.     

Why do East Asian children perform so well in PISA? An investigation of Western-born children of East Asian descent

A small group of high-performing East Asian economies dominate the top of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) rankings. This has caught the attention of Western policymakers, who want to know why East Asian children obtain such high PISA scores, and what can be done to replicate their success. In this paper I investigate whether children of East Asian descent, who were born and raised in a Western country (Australia), also score highly on the PISA test. I then explore whether their superior performance (relative to children of Australian heritage) can be explained by reasons often given for East Asian students’ extraordinary educational achievements. My results suggest that second-generation East Asian immigrants outperform their native Australian peers by approximately 100 test points. Moreover, the magnitude of this achievement gap has increased substantially over the last ten years. Yet there is no ‘silver bullet’ that can explain why East Asian children obtain such high levels of academic achievement. Rather a combination of factors, each making their own independent contribution, seem to be at play. Consequently, I warn Western policymakers that it may only be possible to catch the leading East Asian economies in the PISA rankings with widespread cultural change.     

大学生道德教育要关注情感

道德教育要想培养出行道德之事的道德高尚之人,就必须促使学生由知到行的转变,而这个转变的核心就是情感的推动作用,这也就决定了道德教育也是一种情感教育。大学生作为年轻的群居的特殊群体,情感性特征尤为突出。因此,大学生的道德教育更应该关注情感。     

Pourquoi entrer a l'Universite? L'Exemple d'une universite de lettres et sciences humaines

The large number of secondary school graduates entering higher education is transforming the nature of universities, particularly in literature and the humanities, by changing the relative numbers of students enrolled in different academic years. At the same time this influx is accompanied by a significant failure rate in the first academic year, calling into question the efficacy of the university system. A national issue with local repercussions, the struggle against failure in the first year is leading to much heart-searching among the universities, whose staff are trying hard to understand why certain students abandon their studies. The enquiry described in this article reveals the co-existence of two student populations: those who enter university as an active choice and those who do so by default. In the case of the first group, entry to university represents an investment for the future which must be carefully managed. In the second case it is a matter of going into higher education as a faute de mieux solution in an economic context in which work is scarce.     

Curriculum crisis: The challenge of the '80s

Developmental remediation programs designed to raise achievement levels of underprepared students have proliferated in the past decade. Despite the fact that these programs employ a variety of teaching strategies, a substantial subgroup of developmental students are unsuccessful in current remediation programs. They need a different curricular approach. As the number of applicants declines and the demand for generating credit hours continues, the question is shifting from “Should less capable students be allowed to attend college?” to “What curriculum should be provided for these students?” The challenge for the '80s is to expand developmental education to include vocational education and post-secondary specialized education.     

Voluntary Remediation in Florida: Will It Blaze a New Trail or Stop Student Pathways?

The primary purpose of the study was to explore the potential impact of voluntary remediation on success in gateway credit courses (ENC1101 and MAT1033) and on minority and low-income students in Florida. Mean grades and proportions of successful students were compared based on remediation policies and students’ voluntary completion of a developmental course before taking the credit course. The study compared grades and success of 19,347 students in three Florida colleges. Students were enrolled in the credit courses in 2014 and 2015 (voluntary remediation policy, N = 10,703), or in 2012 and 2013 (mandatory remediation policy, N = 8,644). Additionally, 285 students who voluntarily remediated were compared to 1,527 students who bypassed remediation; all 1,812 students had tested below the credit threshold on a voluntarily taken placement test. The study was framed by Astin and Astin’s 1992 Input–Environment–Outcome Model and employed demographic and academic variables. Results suggest that the voluntary remediation policy in Florida that was intended to improve college completion rates in the state may bring the unintended, but not surprising, consequences of lower grades and proportions of successful students. Overall, statistically significant results (α = .05) showed fewer proportions of students earned a grade of C or higher in both courses once remediation became voluntary (12.8% decrease for English; 19.3% decrease in math). Results also showed a statistically significant relationship between remediation grades and success in the credit courses. Study effect sizes were small to moderate in these tests.     

Pourquoi entrer a l'Universite? L'Exemple d'une universite de lettres et sciences humaines

The large number of secondary school graduates entering higher education is transforming the nature of universities, particularly in literature and the humanities, by changing the relative numbers of students enrolled in different academic years. At the same time this influx is accompanied by a significant failure rate in the first academic year, calling into question the efficacy of the university system. A national issue with local repercussions, the struggle against failure in the first year is leading to much heart-searching among the universities, whose staff are trying hard to understand why certain students abandon their studies. The enquiry described in this article reveals the co-existence of two student populations: those who enter university as an active choice and those who do so by default. In the case of the first group, entry to university represents an investment for the future which must be carefully managed. In the second case it is a matter of going into higher education as a faute de mieux solution in an economic context in which work is scarce.     

Constructions of civic education: Hong Kong teachers’ perceptions of moral,civic and national education*

Various terms have been used to define civic education (CE) in Hong Kong since the colonial era. This has been particularly true since 2011, when CE has been given many names, causing confusion among educators. Mixed methods were employed to examine teachers’ perceptions of different conceptions of CE expressed as moral, civic and national education. The findings indicate that some teachers might not be able to differentiate among moral education, CE and national education. Most teachers contended that national education should be included in CE, while others believed the opposite. Teachers perceived that moral and civic education was more successful than moral and national education in cultivating students to become ‘good citizens’. Teachers’ comprehension of these terms has policy and pedagogical implications. While the study is set within the context of Hong Kong, the findings are valuable to policymakers and educators in other countries seeking to improve CE.     

What does evidence‐based practice in education mean?

Abstract

Teaching has suffered both as a profession in search of community respect, and as a force for improving the social capital of Australia because of its failure to adopt the results of empirical research as the major determinant of its practice. There are a number of reasons why this has occurred, among them a science‐aversive culture endemic among education policymakers and teacher education faculties. There are signs that change may be afoot. The National Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy has pointed to, and urged us to follow, a direction similar to that taken recently in Great Britain and the USA towards evidence‐based practice. Acknowledging the importance of teacher education, the National Institute for Quality Teaching and School Leadership began a process for establishing national accreditation of pre‐service teacher education. Two problems do require attention. The generally low quality of much educational research in the past has made the process of evaluating the evidence difficult, particularly for those teachers who have not the training to discriminate sound from unsound research designs. Fortunately, there are a number of august bodies that have performed the sifting process to simplify judging the value of research on important educational issues.     

FROM DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION TO GRADUATION: A COMMUNITY COLLEGE EXPERIENCE

Using an ex post facto analysis of outcomes data, this paper tracks the academic performances of developmental and non-developmental students and examines the effects that developmental courses have on subsequent academic progress leading up to graduation. Three-year data on developmental students and graduates were analyzed to discern the characteristics of students graduating from the College, and to compare and contrast the characteristics of developmental and non-developmental students who graduated. The College graduates were categorized into four groups with respect to their academic preparation as suggested by their placement scores. During the three-year period considered, over 61% of the College's graduates took one or more developmental courses. This study shows that there is a positive link between the number of developmental courses taken and time to graduation. Consistent with prior studies, it is remarkable that developmental students perform equally well in college level courses as non-developmental students, depending on the number of pre-college level courses taken. As higher education institutions are facing increasing demands for accountability and performance requirements, accurate assessment and placement of students needing interventions become more imperative. However, accountability measures linked to retention, graduation rates, and federal student financial aid may disadvantage community colleges, especially because roughly two-thirds of community college students attend part-time and require remediation.     

论发展公安学历教育的必要性

目前公安学历教育尽管存在各种缺陷,但仍然有地方大学学历教育所无法替代的优势:一是警察的职业化特征需要发展公安学历教育;二是公安专业知识的积累和知识创新需要发展公安学历教育。     

“因材施教”原则下关于高中文理分科的思考

对于高中文理分科,高校教师与理论工作者大多主张不分,而高中教师、学生与家长们大多主张分。改革必须正视适龄人口与当今教育的现实。与解放初期相比,我国人口增长了2．3倍,大学招生人数却增长了35．7倍,招生规模的激增扩大了考生的入学机会。普通高中空前发展,学生之间的竞争加剧,负担也随之加重。文理分科问题由于与学生学业负担密切相关也备受关注。要解决这一问题,必须遵循“因材施教”原则,对能适应“精英教育”的学生实施不分科教学,而对进入一般大学的大部分学生还得实施分科教学。     

A tenuous relationship: The African university and development policymaking in the 1980s

This paper examines some reasons why research findings generated by African university-based researchers seldom are taken into serious consideration by development policymakers in anglophone Africa. It begins with a brief review of the introduction of British models of higher education and scientific research into Africa, using Nigeria as an illustrative case. It then considers the current research environment of the African university and the changing role of the university in the late 1980s. The paper posits a number of reasons why research carried out at African universities rarely is used as input by policymakers in their development planning processes: (1) there is a clear dichotomy between the university and government, with relations that can best be described as mutually suspicious; (2) there is a dichotomy between university-based researchers working on national development problems and the rural populations who usually are intended as the recipients or beneficiaries of the research findings; and (3) research is seriously underfunded in virtually all African universities, with the result that researchers seldom have sufficient means to carry out effective dissemination of their research findings. The paper ends with some suggestions as to how the impact of these problems might be minimized.The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of the International Development Research Centre.     

Associations among community college students’ technology apprehension and achievement emotions in developmental education courses

The saturation of technology in learning environments can create feelings of apprehension in students who are not technologically savvy, especially for community college students who may meet basic expectations for technology use. Despite the infusion of communication technology into higher education, the effects of incorporating this technology in community college classrooms, particularly developmental education courses, remain to be thoroughly studied. Developmental education students enrolled at a multi-campus community college in the southeast of the United States completed a survey containing measures of technology apprehension and achievement emotions. Positive associations among students’ technology apprehension and negative achievement emotions were detected. No significant associations were detected between technology apprehension and the positive achievement emotions of enjoyment, hope and pride. This implies that technology may not play as significant a role in course satisfaction as popular opinion might assume. Data from open-ended questions offered insight into the ways developmental education students view technology and the challenges they face when using technology in their academic pursuits, including concerns related to technology access (i.e. the digital divide). Community college students expect technology in the classroom; however, more research is needed to determine exactly how much and what kind of technology they expect in a specific learning setting.     

高职院校学生反思内涵研究评述

在当前职业教育一直关注于高职学生的岗位实践能力、适应能力与可持续发展能力培养的情况下,反思理论无疑为此项工作开展开辟了新思路。反思的意义在于它是有效连接学校理论与工作实践的桥梁;反思的发展特征说明它是可以不断进步和发展的;反思过程的阶段性特征表明它是一种动态的认知建构过程,遵循4个阶段的循环过程而不断往复前进;反思实践共同体则提出借助团体的思考与判断来反思自己的工作行为,将自我内部对话转变为社会性实践。高职院校应当在学校中贯彻反思教育,促进学生职业素质的持续发展。     

Informing Institutional Management: institutional strategies and student retention

European universities are facing demands for better student retention, especially in countries where state funding is no longer based on the number of students, but on the number of graduates. An extensive literature on retention focuses on the characteristics of students who leave higher education without a degree. Much less is known about the measures taken by higher education institutions to encourage study progress. This article examines whether retention strategies are incorporated into the institutions’ overall strategies and the policies and activities developed by universities to foster study progress and enhance retention rates. The results suggest that the universities’ overall strategies and retention activities are loosely coupled and that the universities tend to use blanket measures addressing retention, regardless of why students are leaving.