What's sexy? Adolescent girls discuss confidence,danger, and media influence

Building on qualitative research about sexualisation by media and culture and the impact on girls' development, in this article we present a discourse analysis of three focus groups of teen girls of colour and of diverse ethnicities asked to talk about sexiness. We focus on the ways the girls both support and resist hegemonic discourses about femininity and sexuality as well as on the discursive strategies used by the girls to separate sexiness from lack of respectability and present themselves as both knowing consumers of media and passive responders. The girls constructed sexiness in three ways that we refer to as interpretive repertoires and analyse each for paradoxes, contradictions, and resistance to mainstream conceptualisations of sexiness. These are sexy as confident; disadvantages and advantages to sexy; and sexy as sold to you.     

A very English revolution: the impacts of co-residence at the University of Oxford

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the impacts of co-residence (admitting women to men’s colleges and men to women’s colleges) at the University of Oxford beginning in the 1970s. Co-residence increased the representation of women undergraduates at Oxford to near parity with men; the representation of women in academic positions rose but not as substantially as that of women undergraduates and postgraduates and today women comprise still only a third of academics in the colleges of the university; the fellowships of the former female colleges became genuinely mixed, the fellowships of the former male colleges more slowly; women are less likely to be appointed head of a former men’s college than are men to be appointed head of a former women’s college; the quality of Oxford undergraduates rose with the increased number of female undergraduates; and the quality of undergraduates in the former male colleges rose at the expense of the female colleges.     

The pygmalion effect: What teacher behaviors mediate it

Current literature suggests that a teacher's expectancies for a pupil may in part determine the pupil's subsequent behavior. This review asks how such expectancies affect the teacher's own behavior, with the goal of determining what teacher behaviors mediate the observed effect on the pupil. A model of this process is proposed, using Skinner's analysis of rule-dependent behavior as an organizational framework for recent research from several fields. The model identifies these sets of independent variables which warrant further investigation: (a) variables affecting the process through which a teacher deduces contingency rules from information about a pupil; (b) variables affecting the content of these rules; and (c) variables affecting the teacher's performance of the rule-specified actions.     

Web-based student evaluations of professors: the relations between perceived quality,easiness and sexiness

College students critique their professors' teaching at RateMyProfessors.com, a web page where students anonymously rate their professors on Quality, Easiness, and Sexiness. Using the self-selected data from this public forum, we examine the relations between quality, easiness, and sexiness for 3190 professors at 25 universities. For faculty with at least ten student posts, the correlation between quality and easiness is 0.61, and the correlation between quality and sexiness is 0.30. Using simple linear regression, we find that about half of the variation in quality is a function of easiness and sexiness. When grouped into sexy and non-sexy professors, the data reveal that students give sexy-rated professors higher quality and easiness scores. If these findings reflect the thinking of American college students when they complete in-class student opinion surveys, then universities need to rethink the validity of student opinion surveys as a measure of teaching effectiveness. High student opinion survey scores might well be viewed with suspicion rather than reverence, since they might indicate a lack of rigor, little student learning, and grade inflation.     

Trainees' Expectations for the Supervisory Process: Testing a Developmental Model

Based on Stoltenberg's developmental theory and the literature on supervision as a social influence process, a prediction model of trainees' general expectations for the supervisory process was tested. Beginning and advanced practicum students and interns completed a self-efficacy inventory and indicated their outcome expectancies for supervision with respect to their own and their clients' development. Dependent variables were expectations for supervisors' attributes (expertness, attractiveness, trustworthiness) and role (evaluation, support). All of these process dimensions were significantly predicted from trainees' self-efficacy and outcome expectancies, while level of training was of minimal predictive value. In general, trainees expected supervisors to be significantly more trustworthy than expert, more expert than attractive, and more evaluative than supportive.     

Women Students’ Interactions with Faculty and Exposure to Good Teaching at Colleges and Universities with Varying Histories of Admitting Women

This study considers how institutional histories of admitting women are associated with present college experiences, and uses data from the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education to compare the experiences of women at women’s colleges or former women’s colleges to those of women at former men’s colleges and colleges that have always been coeducational. Results indicate that women attending former men’s colleges and colleges that have always been coeducational seem to experience similar or greater frequency and quality of student–faculty interaction and exposure to good teaching practices, compared to women attending women’s or former women’s colleges. Results also suggest that considering the gender enrollment histories of colleges and universities may provide valuable context for evaluating the experiences of women at women’s colleges and coeducational institutions.     

Introduction to “reflections”: An attempt to make our research reporting more personal

This study evaluated the effectiveness of students' self-recording of their teachers' daily expectancies, as measured by percentage of expectancies met. Two male and two female middle school students participated in the study, three of whom had learning disabilities. The fourth student received services for behavioral disorders. Students were given a schedule with headings for three of their general education classes, one special education class, and designated locker times. Listed under each heading were the expected behaviors for that class or locker visit, which were derived via consultation with the teachers. A multiple baseline across participants design was utilized to evaluate the effects of (a) carrying schedules without self-recording, and (b) self-recording whether the expectancies were or were not met. Self-recording was effective across students in increasing the percentage of teachers' expectancies exhibited, whereas carrying the schedule without self-recording had no discernable effect. Maintenance was evidenced across students. Subsequent exploratory mani- pulations were made, including an abbreviated schedule on which key words replaced each expectancy. The results of the study are discussed with respect to their applied implications, reactivity, stimulus control, and generalization. Directions for future research are discussed.     

The independent contributions of gender stereotypes and gender identification in predicting primary school pupils’ expectancies of success in STEM fields

On the basis of the expectancy‐value theory of achievement, this paper aims to examine the relative contributions of gender‐stereotype endorsement and gender identification on expectancies for success in STEM fields. In a sample of 880 Croatian primary school pupils of approximately 12 years of age, stereotyped beliefs about gender‐appropriateness of STEM‐related professions (stereotype endorsement) and self‐perception as a typical representative of one's gender (gender identification) were first assessed. Participants also reported their expectations for success in each of the STEM‐related professions previously used for establishing stereotype endorsement. Stereotype endorsement and gender identification separately interacted with gender to predict expectancies for success in STEM‐related professions. Higher levels of stereotype endorsement and gender identification fostered stereotype‐consistent expectancies for success in STEM fields (higher expectancies for boys than for girls). Implications are discussed in terms of strategies to encourage girls to engage in STEM‐related careers.     

College student drug usage in a state system as a function of type of institution

Over 4,500 students from 28 universities, colleges, and junior colleges constituting a state system of higher education were compared on extent of drug use. At least two of the three pairs of groups differed on reported usage of six of the substances, with the largest differences being between universities and junior colleges on alcohol and marihuana. A discriminant analysis showed that the nine items formed two differentiating dimensions—Alcohol Usage and Hallucinogen/LSD Usage—in separating the groups. Despite the statistical significance, the differences in terms of actual numbers of users were small. Inferences of the results are discussed.     

Gender,reputation and regret: the ontological politics of Australian drug education

This study explores the role of gender in the constitution youth alcohol and other drug consumption in Australian drug education curriculum. Drawn from an analysis of contemporary classroom drug education documents, it is argued that current drug education reproduces unethical and harmful accounts of femininity and masculinity. These enactments of gender primarily arise in three ways. First, drug education currently positions young women's consumption practices as intrinsically more problematic than those of young men. Second, drug education works to position young women's consumption practices as a problem of spoiled reputation and regret. Third, drug education works to responsibilise young women for potential danger and harm they experience while intoxicated without any consideration of the illegal actions of young men. Working with Annemarie Mol's notion of ontological politics, this article argues that Australian drug education enacts gendered realities of youth consumption that work to reproduce, rather than reduce, a range of social harms, ‘drug-related’ or otherwise.     

The Role of Career and Technical Education in Iowa Community Colleges

ABSTRACT

This scholarly paper describes and analyzes the role of career and technical education (CTE) in Iowa community colleges. Iowa's community colleges are doing a good job of responding to the changing workforce needs of the state and providing smooth career pathways. However, changes in the population and economy of the state will call for further changes in CTE programs. The distinctive characteristics of CTE in Iowa community colleges, the impact of community college CTE programs on the state's economy, the role of accountability, and the future implications for CTE in the state are discussed. Recommendations based on the results of the study include improving articulation agreements, increasing retention among at-risk students, and increasing collaboration among Iowa's 15 community colleges.     

文艺复兴时期意大利人的性爱观

文艺复兴时期意大利人对性感的追求体现了一种对个人、个体、身体的空前重视，他们认为美的完美定义和潜在暗示就是性感。当时意大利人过分放纵的肉欲生活．给社会带来了负面的但也有正面的影响。     

Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Compliance at Michigan Community Colleges

In 1989, Congress passed the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act Amendments to address illegal alcohol and drug abuse on college campuses. To receive federal funding, each college must comply by implementing an alcohol and drug prevention program, but the federal government and some colleges have paid little attention to this policy. Recently, the Department of Education vowed to intensify its scrutiny of colleges and has begun issuing fines for noncompliance. There have been no studies on this topic in over 20 years, leaving community college administrators, in particular, without guidance on how to implement the required programs. In this study, I analyzed public reports from Michigan community colleges to evaluate compliance with the Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act and to examine their alcohol and drug programs. I found that 21 of Michigan’s 28 community colleges partially complied with the Act, only two implemented all the required mandates, and five were noncompliant. Most notably, colleges failed to collect substantive programmatic outcomes data, and few offered evidence-based alcohol and drug prevention programs to students. I provide rationale for why colleges should invest in improving compliance and the quality of alcohol and drug programs, and I offer seven recommendations to community college administrators on how to do so.     

Patterns of alcohol use: a two-year college and four-year university comparison case study

With more than 12 million students enrolled in over 1,150 two-year institutions, enrollment at these institutions constitutes approximately 44% of all undergraduates in the United States. Despite this, research and prevention efforts related to drinking behaviors among college students attending two-year institutions are limited, with similar information regarding students at traditional four-year institutions readily available. This study sought to examine alcohol use patterns among students at a two-year college compared to a four-year institution. It was conducted at a large (20,000+ students), public, four-year institution and a medium (8,000+), public, two-year institution located in the same community. The Core Alcohol and Drug Survey, a 39-item instrument used by colleges and universities for assessing the nature, scope, and consequences of high risk drinking behaviors in college students, was administered to students at both a two-year (n = 581) and a four-year institution (n = 928) (Cremeens & Chaney, 2012).

The prevalence estimates of current alcohol use among students at the two-year institution in this study are comparable to national estimates for students attending four-year institutions (67.5% and 69.0%, respectively). Estimates of high-risk alcohol use at the four-year institution in this study were higher than national prevalence estimates for similar colleges. Current drinkers and binge drinkers at both institutions experienced the same negative consequences. While the study results provide insight into the need for alcohol prevention efforts at community colleges, there are important factors and practical considerations related to these efforts presented here for community colleges and administrators to contemplate.     

THE PEOPLE'S COLLEGES: MISSISSIPPI'S SYSTEM OF COMMUNITY AND JUNIOR COLLEGES

Mississippi's system of public community and junior colleges developed as a response to changing educational needs in the state. The need to provide secondary education to rural areas of the state led to the agricultural high school movement in 1908. Time diminished the need for these schools, so the state's educational leadership proposed using the facilities to offer college‐level coursework. In 1928, Mississippi counties were authorized to join together in forming junior college districts. The colleges began as agencies of local government and continue so to the present. A state‐level office with coordinating responsibilities was established at the State Department of Education. The state's system of 2‐year colleges began just 1 year before the national economic depression. Easy access and low costs made the junior colleges attractive to Mississippians then and now. The junior college mission was to offer university transfer programs to students. After World War II, the junior colleges expanded their missions to include vocational and technical training. This was in response to the demands of business and industry as well as the needs of veterans returning to the workforce. Postwar industrial development in the state gave the junior colleges a greater role in workforce training. Mississippi's two‐year colleges have experienced demographic and technology changes that reflect national trends. In contrast to most other states, Mississippi's community and junior college leadership continues to identify university parallel programs as their primary mission.     

Our Creed (December 1926)

Chairman Mao's great directive on following the road of the Shanghai Machine Tool Plant in training technological personnel from among the workers has pointed out the major direction for educational revolution in the universities. As to how science and engineering colleges and liberal arts colleges should be run, there are many specific problems that must be solved. Herewith are printed the articles written by the Workers' and Liberation Army's Mao Tse-tung Thought Propaganda Teams of several universities. It is hoped that the broad worker, peasant, and soldier masses, revolutionary intellectuals, and revolutionary cadres will fully express their views and hold extensive discussions.     

The Eastern Legacy: The Early History of Physical Education for Women

The women's colleges in eastern America from their inception required calisthenics and later gymnastics as part of the curriculum. The teachers for these programs came from the schools of Dio Lewis, Dudley Sargent, and Amy Morris Homans. The Eastern Legacy is the early history of physical education for women filled with remarkable people, both women and men. Their philosophy was reflected in the type of programs established at each institution. By the early 1900s, the Eastern Legacy passed to other sections of the country as graduates of the professional schools in Boston left the area. Furthermore, professional curriculums were being established in other institutions, and consequently, new philosophies and programs emerged. From Mary Lyon to Amy Morris Homans, change and progress took place. Programs developed from calisthenics to the new gymnastics of Dio Lewis to the Sargent system and Swedish gymnastics to sports and games. Facilities expanded from small halls to magnificent gymnasiums and even dress changed from full bulky outfits to more scanty, freeflowing costumes. The groundwork had been established and over the years, many changes occurred in physical education. The leaders who followed built on the foundation of programs established at the early women's colleges and the early professional schools.