Faculty members' provision of instructional accommodations to students with LD

The existing research on the instructional accommodation process of college students with learning disabilities focuses on attitudes and theoretical models without delineating actual practices. To date, the discussion of facilitating factors and barriers to this process has been broad and lacking specificity. Surveys were mailed to 485 faculty members at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who received an instructional accommodation form from the office of Learning Disabilities Support Services in the fall of 1995. The survey focused on faculty members' reported degree of ease or difficulty in implementing instructional accommodations, their perceptions regarding adequacy of support, and their own beliefs and understandings concerning the need for and benefit of providing instructional accommodations. The results indicate that beliefs about the helpfulness of and need for instructional accommodations were associated with the provision of the accommodations. Also, a perception of support from the University influenced the ease of providing instructional accommodations. A significant difference was found between the behavior of tenure-track faculty and non-tenure-track faculty.     

Re-visiting the role of disability coordinators: the changing needs of disabled students and current support strategies from a UK university

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the system designed to support disabled university students from the perspective of disability coordinators. The research on this topic specifically is limited. Disability coordinators from a particular UK university were interviewed to better understand the support system from their own perspective. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was conducted to reveal themes related to supporting students. IPA is a tool to understand participants’ social and emotional world. The final themes were: interest in and internal motivation regarding disability issues; flexibility and disability; personal experiences of disability; good practices; and finally, time and disability. The theme time and disability appeared as a separate theme but also was embedded within the whole analysis. In addition, the results indicated that the support issue is dynamic in nature and that student needs continuously change as new needs emerge. The demographic characteristics of disabled university students have changed over time. Students are also increasingly more competent at using technology. Consequently, disability coordinators should be more active and provide faster solutions to meet higher expectations. The results and policy implications of this study are discussed with reference to the impact of time, change and context.     

Invisible experiences: Understanding the choices and needs of university students with dependent children

This paper analyses the results of a research project on the experiences and learning needs of students with dependent children in a 1960s university. The findings are based on semi‐structured interviews with university services and academic staff, as well as a questionnaire survey among students with dependent children and follow‐up in‐depth interviews with a sample of 18 of these students. The paper shows that, for those surveyed, future employment opportunities and being a role model for their children were the main motivations for entering higher education and that their choice of university was highly spatially restricted by their caring responsibilities. It also discusses the main issues students faced once at university, including time and timing, finance, childcare, confidence, sense of belonging and skills. The paper highlights how gender and other biographical characteristics influence parents' experiences and includes suggestions for lessening the barriers they face while at university.     

女大学生的创业需求及政策支持研究

本文在女大学生就业形势严峻的前提下,分析了女大学生的创业特征和需求,结合当前实际情况提出了支持女大学生创业的意义,并提出了从营造和谐文化氛围、优化政策环境、完善自主创业教育体系等方面入手的政府政策支持,积极促进女大学生的自主创业,也要求我们对女大学生进行有针对性的创业教育帮助女大学生摆脱就业难的困境。     

Commuting,transitions and belonging: the experiences of students living at home in their first year at university

In this study, our cross-case analysis of students’ lives challenges the conventional home–university model of transition and highlights the importance of acknowledging the influence of this complex symbiotic relationship for students who attend university and live at home. We argue that as with stay-at-home holidays, or “staycations”, which are of such crucial importance to the tourism industry, so stay-at-home students or commuter students are vital to higher education and the term utilised here is “stayeducation”. Through the narratives of “stayeducation” students, we see how family and community aspects of students’ lives are far more significant than previously realised, and our study suggests that these heavily influence the development of a student sense of belonging. Drawing upon biographical narrative method, this paper introduces three first-year Business and Economics students enrolled at different universities in London and explores their journeys through their transition through home, school and early university life. Ways in which key themes play out in the transition stories of our students and the challenges and obstacles for the individual are drawn out through the cross-case analysis. Findings support the existing literature around gender, class and identity; however, new insights into the importance, for these students, of family, friendships and community are presented. Our work has implications for academic staff, those writing institutional policies, and argues for the creation of different spaces within which students can integrate into their new environment.     

Expanding horizons for students with dyslexia in the 21st century: universal design and mobile technology

This paper discusses the role of mobile technology in supporting people with dyslexia within the theoretical framework of Universal Design for Learning. The authors discuss how students with dyslexia can use mobile technology to address a diverse range of academic needs (such as reading, composing text, notetaking, metacognition and studying skills). Curriculum issues and teacher training are also examined.     

Personal,career, and learning skills needs of first-year university students

This study investigates the personal, career and learning skills needs of first-year university students. Consenting first-year South African students completed structured questionnaires assessing these needs in 1993 (n=1,817) and 1994 (n=2,209). The need for assistance with personal, career and learning skills concerns was found to be much higher in the South African student samples than for North American students.     

Promoting access, accommodations, and independence for college students with learning disabilities.

This article focuses on the four primary issues that directly affect service delivery to students with learning disabilities in postsecondary settings, including (a) How are high school and post-secondary settings different? (b) How are eligibility and access determined? (c) How are reasonable accommodations determined? and (d) How can the independence level of college students with learning disabilities be fostered? Each of these issues will be discussed within the context of the student's transition from high school, where Public Law 94-142 is in effect, to college, where Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 applies.     

浅论大学体育教学中的因材施教

随着社会的进步和教育的普及化,大学体育在大学生们的认识里逐渐占据到越来越重要的位置。体育教师们如何把自己的体育思想和技术传授给学生们,是摆在每个体育教师面前的深刻命题。而因材施教这种教学方法,在很大程度上能够帮助老师改善教学效果,因此在大学体育教学里应该普遍推广和使用因材施教的教学方式。     

The validity and comparability of entrance examination scores after accommodations are made for students with LD

Every year, thousands of college and university applicants with learning disabilities (LD) present scores from standardized examinations as part of the admissions process for postsecondary education. Many of these scores are from tests administered with nonstandard procedures due to the examinees' learning disabilities. Using a sample of college students with LD and a control sample, this study investigated the criterion validity and comparability of scores on the Miller Analogies Test when accommodations for the examinees with LD were in place. Scores for examinees with LD from test administrations with accommodations were similar to those of examinees without LD on standard administrations, but less well associated with grade point averages. The results of this study provide evidence that although scores for examinees with LD from nonstandard test administrations are comparable to scores for examinees without LD, they have less criterion validity and are less meaningful for their intended purpose.     

Economic independence among former students with special educational needs: changes and continuities from their late twenties to their mid-thirties

Abundant research exists on the transition from school to work of youth with disabilities. However, few studies investigate their subsequent long-term participation in working life. This study, drawing on a life course approach, aimed to examine how former students with special educational needs succeeded in finding full-time employment with sufficient pay to make them economically independent. The extent of economic independence was investigated in their late twenties and their mid-thirties. The sample (N?=?216) originates from a Norwegian longitudinal research project that commenced in the mid-1990s when the study participants just had started upper secondary school. Their special needs provision and their physical, psychological and/or social difficulties were recorded at the same time. After their teens, they were interviewed every fifth year. At both age phases close to 50% of the study participants were economically independent, men to a much greater degree than women. By logistic regression analyses, it was revealed that the independent variables influenced economic independence differently among men and women, for example, that educational attainment was important for women, but not for men. However, possession of a driving licence was crucial for men, but was relatively unimportant for women, at least in the first age phase. There was also a differential impact of parenthood. Having children increased the likelihood of being economically independent for men, whereas the impact was opposite for women, especially when they were approaching their mid-thirties. Processes of cumulative advantages and disadvantages were also observed, indicating that previous negative life course experiences dramatically reduce the chances of obtaining economic independence.     

高校学生电子照片采集系统的设计与实现

电子照片采集和管理是高等学校实现信息化管理的重要方面,各高校每学期都有对学生电子照片的大量应用需求,设计高效的电子照片采集方法是学校数字化发展的必然要求。在分析电子照片采集的一般方法及其优缺点的基础上,提出将多设备集成,实现照片采集、加工、存储的新方法。系统采用高清数码照相机进行联机照像,集成身份证阅读器实现信息自动录入,实时检测图像并自动化处理,结合数据库技术进行规范管理,实现了电子照片采集的流水化作业。     

Academic boredom and the perceived course experiences of final year Education Studies students at university

This work explores the relationships between academic boredom and the perceived course experiences of 179 final-year Education Studies students attending a single university in England. Adopting a mixed-methods design, with data collection employing a combination of questionnaires and individual research interviews, findings suggest that all participants exhibited some measurable disposition towards academic boredom, with traditional lectures and work leading to the completion of assignments the main sites and triggers for the actual onset of academic boredom itself. Amid overwhelmingly encouraging responses from course expectations to course demands, reflecting the successful promotion of deep ways of working, as well as a clear sense of satisfaction with their teaching and learning environment overall, cluster analysis reveals the presence of five structurally related groups of students with profiles which help identify those typically more engaged and effective learners from others. Path analysis reveals a series of complex inter-connections, with academic boredom emerging as a strong predictor of surface approaches and organised effort as well as contributing indirectly towards degree outcome as a whole. The implications for boredom mitigation are considered.     

Learning together,living apart: the experiences of university students in Northern Ireland

Elementary (primary) and high (secondary) school education in Northern Ireland (NI) is essentially segregated along religious lines. The vast majority of young people from the Protestant/Unionist/British community attend state “Controlled” schools while Catholics/ Nationalists/Irish attend schools in the Catholic Church‐based “Maintained” sector. Going to university represents for many the first opportunity to share a significant educational experience with someone from a different politico‐religious group and cultural background. This paper presents the results of a focus‐group based study designed to illuminate students' experiences of intergroup relations at a NI university. Through focus‐group discussions information was generated on cross‐community contact, the influence of group difference, prevalence, and identity, on attitudes and intergroup communication. The university environment as a factor in potential relational development, the role which student bodies and academic staff may play, and policies and practices on accepting diversity are discussed. Recommendations and considerations are highlighted for other pedagogical institutes where complex and difficult intergroup dynamics exist.     

Social acceptance of students with Down syndrome and students without disability

We investigated the influence of teacher feedback on the social acceptance of peers with intellectual disabilities and peers without disabilities. A computer task was administered to 601 students in grades 3 and 4. Twenty-six per cent of the students attend an inclusive school; the others are in regular schools without students with special educational needs. Participants are introduced to ‘new’ virtual classmates, one student with Down syndrome (DS), and one control student with no obvious disability. Additionally, teacher feedback and feedback about fun playing with the new classmates is given. Social acceptance is evaluated by asking if one would like to sit next to him/her. Both feedbacks showed a strong effect. The child with DS was less socially accepted than the child without disability. No difference regarding the social acceptance of the students with DS was found between students from inclusive and regular classes. Students from regular classes rate the social acceptance of the student without disabilities significantly higher than students from inclusive classrooms.     

The communication patterns of Chinese students with their lecturers in an Australian university

Chinese students are now the largest group of international students in the Australian higher education sector. The patterns of Chinese communication and education affect the ways that Chinese students engage with their lecturers and manage their learning relationships. A case study of these patterns provides a small window through which to observe the progress of higher education internationalisation in Australia. In this study, the experiences of seven Chinese students in a multicultural educational context are explored, with a focus on their communication practices and relationships with their lecturers in Australia. This paper contributes to understandings of how student–teacher communication practices affect learning experiences for Chinese students in Australian or other international universities.