To Be or Not to Be an Academic: The Academic Professional Intentions of PhD Students and Influencing Factors

Abstract

Using survey data on academic PhD students, influencing factors for PhD students’ academic career intentions are explained from the perspectives of individual features and the academic labor market. The study found: (1) There is a diversification of PhD employment, with nearly one-third of academic PhDs going to nonacademic organizations; (2) female PhDs tend to favor stable academic professions, and rural and low-income PhD groups are more inclined to choose employment in academic organizations to become academic elites and realize upward social mobility; (3) PhD students who identify with academic majors tend to choose academic professions, but a considerable portion of top quality PhDs go to nonacademic organizations; (4) academic interests and enthusiasm are important influences on choosing an academic profession; (5) worsening job environments in academic institutions and weakening professional attractiveness had a cooling effect on the academic employment intentions of PhDs.     

A Study of Academic and Nonacademic Predictors and Criteria of Success among Scholarship Recipients

This is an investigation of the relationships and differences among selected personality, demographic, and intellective variables in a sample of 267 Morehead Scholars, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, from the classes of 1965 through 1970 to determine the feasibility and practicality of their use as predictors and criteria of academic and nonacademic achievements. Analysis of variance was used to determine the differences among the various groups. Stepwise regression analysis was used to determine the association among the variables and to select the most efficient predictors of academic and nonacademic criteria.

There was a significant relationship between high school nonacademic achievements and (a) Opinion, Attitude, and Interest Survey (OAIS) scores, (b) high school rank in class and (c) Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores. High school nonacademic achievements and selected OAIS scales, when combined with SAT scores and high school rank in class, increase the efficiency of predicting subsequent college grade point average (GPA). The addition of high school nonacademic achievements to SAT scores increased the efficiency of predicting freshman and senior cumulative GPA for all groups. The OAIS scales, freshman GPA, and high school nonacademic achievements can be used to predict college nonacademic achievements.     

Ethnicity and student identity in schools: an analysis of official and unofficial talk in multiethnic classrooms

The present study shows that power relations in classrooms between Dutch and immigrant students radically shift when students move from academic talk to more open, free talk. Whereas in their interactions with immigrant students, Dutch students are able to represent the more powerful role in the official, academic discourse, they lose this position in the unofficial, nonacademic discourse. These shifts show that ethnic relationships are played out differently in different discursive domains. They also show that academic identities do not exist as such but are specific to certain minority–majority relationships. This study builds upon a tradition of studies that have argued that ethnic minorities construct academic identities depending on the social setting. However, this study shows the instability of these constructions while demonstrating their dependency on specific ethnic interactions and discursive modes. The study is based on the analysis of interaction patterns in multiethnic classrooms in the Netherlands focussing on (a)symmetries in knowledge sharing. An ethnographic approach is combined with quantitative analyses to test group differences. The results are interpreted and discussed in the light of a poststructuralist view on how ethnic minority groups construct academic identities and how these are related to minority–majority relationships.     

Reciprocal effects between intrinsic reading motivation and reading competence? A cross‐lagged panel model for academic track and nonacademic track students

Previous research has demonstrated positive relations between intrinsic reading motivation and reading competence. However, the causal direction of these relations and the moderating role of relevant background variables (e.g., students' achievement level) are not well understood. In the present study, a cross‐lagged panel model was applied to academic track and nonacademic track fifth grade students (N = 396) to test whether intrinsic reading motivation and reading competence are reciprocally related depending on the students' achievement level (indicated by school track affiliation). According to expectations, the cross‐lagged effect of intrinsic reading motivation on reading competence was only significant for academic track students. In the nonacademic track group, neither the effect of intrinsic reading motivation on reading competence nor the reverse effect proved to be significant. Thus, the nature of the relation between intrinsic reading motivation and reading competence seems to depend on students' school track affiliation.     

Undergraduate admission policies, practices, and procedures for applicants with learning disabilities.

This study examined (a) the academic and nonacademic criteria used by admission personnel to determine the eligibility of undergraduate applicants with learning disabilities, (b) agreement of criteria used by institutions of varying competitiveness, and (c) the frequency with which admission personnel conduct validity studies on these criteria. A nonrandom sample consisting of 66 state universities and colleges in the Northeast was surveyed. The results suggest that the academic and nonacademic criteria employed are similar to those employed for applicants without learning disabilities, the criteria used by different types of institutions differ significantly, and admission personnel do not conduct validity studies. Further clarification and validation of admission criteria appears warranted.     

Toward an understanding of academic and nonacademic tasks procrastinated by students: The use of daily logs

For five consecutive days, at either the beginning or the end of a term, college students (30 women, 7 men) listed daily academic and nonacademic tasks they intended to complete and whether they actually completed them. Students reported nonacademic tasks (e.g., household chores, making telephone calls, exercising, and playing sports) as completed most often regardless of the time within the term. Results from 2 (early vs. later sessions) by 2 (completed vs. not completed tasks) by 2 (academic vs. nonacademic tasks) ANOVAs found that procrastinated tasks early in the term were more effortful and anxiety provoking than any other task during the term. Procrastinated academic tasks (e.g., homework, reading assignments, studying) in the early part of a term were rated as unpleasurable, while students reported later in the term that pleasantness of the task did not affect whether it was procrastinated or completed. These results imply that academic and nonacademic tasks should be challenging, yet fun, to heighten the likelihood that they are completed by students. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Evaluating the Influence of an Urban High School Reform Effort on College Readiness and Access Outcomes: A Quasiexperimental Cohort Study

It is widely accepted that postsecondary education has become a necessity for US youth. College access, however, has been found not to be equal for all. As a result, federally funded college-readiness programs, such as Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), have been established to increase the numbers of economically disadvantaged students with access to college. This quasiexperimental case study compared academic and nonacademic college-readiness indicators between cohorts of GEAR UP students and nonparticipants in 1 urban high school. Overall, cohorts of GEAR UP students outperformed their non-GEAR UP peers on all measures (grade-point average, attendance rate, behavior, graduation rate, and college enrollment) despite a dramatic demographic shift that led to greater proportions of educationally disadvantaged students in the GEAR UP cohorts.     

终生学习视角下电大学历教育与非学历教育接轨的探索与实践——以宁波电大为例

随着高等教育的普及,开放教育受到了越来越严重的挑战;与此同时,在终身教育思想逐步普及下,非学历教育已成为继续教育的重要组成部分。因此,电大要突破传统的学历教育与非学历教育"双轨"机制,实现两者的接轨与融通,从而构建灵活的终身教育体系。宁波电大在此过程中进行了大量的实践并取得了一定的成果,从而实现两者的信息互通、资源共享以及电大可持续发展。     

Integrating service learning and technical communication: Benefits and challenges

Our ethnographic study of a service‐learning class revealed some students benefited in developing civic values, improving academic learning, and accepting responsibility for their own education. Other students struggled to see the connection between technical communication and service learning, felt frustrated with nonacademic writing, and experienced team conflict. We must redefine both technical communication and service learning, help students make the transition to the workplace, and educate community organizations about the role of technical communicators.     

Succeeding in the city: Challenges and best practices on urban commuter campuses

Students who make the daily commute to urban campuses face academic and nonacademic issues not typically experienced by their suburban or rural counterparts. A veteran of multiple types of campus environments offers insight into the lives of these students and suggests strategies for helping college urbanites thrive.     

Relations of Student Perceptions of Teacher Oral Feedback With Teacher Expectancies and Student Self-Concept

In this article, the authors investigated the relations of students’ perceptions of teachers’ oral feedback with teacher expectancies and student self-concept. A sample of 1,598 Taiwanese children in Grades 3 to 6 completed measures of student perceptions of teacher oral feedback and school self-concept. Homeroom teachers identified students for whom they had high or low expectancies. Discriminant analysis indicated student perceptions of positive and negative academic oral feedback were more important than nonacademic feedback in predicting teacher expectancies. A 2-way multivariate analysis of variance showed that boys perceived more negative oral feedback than did girls, and fifth-grade students perceived more negative oral feedback on academic and nonacademic domains than did the third- and fourth-grade students. Furthermore, structural equation modeling results indicated a particularly strong relation between positive academic oral feedback and academic self-concept.     

A Complex Systems Network Approach to Quantifying Peer Effects: Evidence From Ghanaian Preprimary Classrooms

Research on classroom peer effects has focused nearly exclusively on high-income countries and on academic skills. Little is known about peer effects in low-income countries and whether effects differ under different educational environments (e.g., teacher-directed versus child-centered, conditions of concentrated advantage or disadvantage). Based on a data set of Ghanaian preprimary classrooms in the Greater Accra Region collected in the 2015–2016 school year, we use complex system networks with multilevel modeling to study the presence and magnitude of peer effects. Results corroborated small statistically significant effects on academic and nonacademic skills (d = .06–.10). Peer effects on literacy were larger for children in public schools, who are relatively more disadvantaged than their private school counterparts. Teacher-directivity intensity did not moderate peer effects.     

Meaning of parental involvement among Korean immigrant parents: A mixed-methods approach

The authors' goal was to identify ways in which Korean immigrant parents define the concept of parental involvement and to examine the statistical significances of interrelationships among these meanings. Seventy-seven parents responded to an open-ended question that asked them to define the meaning of parental involvement; 141 responses were analyzed. Qualitative analysis resulted in four distinct categories: (a) support at home (68.8%), (b) home–school connection (17.7%), (c) participation in school (5.0%), and (d) duty (8.5%). The category of support at home was divided into three subcategories: Support of nonacademic development (31.9%), support of emotional psychological development (29.1%), and support of academic success (7.8%). A correlational analysis indicated that support of emotional psychological development was negatively correlated with home–school connection and support of academic success. The parents who considered parental involvement to be their duty did not perceive their roles as participating in home–school connections and supporting nonacademic development activities.     

‘They want more of everything’: what university middle managers’ attitudes reveal about support for off-campus doctoral students

Advances in technology and a shifting demographic of post-graduate students have resulted in a larger than ever number of off-campus PhD students. These students tend to be less satisfied than their on-campus counterparts with their candidature experience. Improving the current situation requires effort from multiple university stakeholders, including academic middle managers, who play a role in allocating resources and setting research training agenda. However, with the intensification of academic workload, academic managers might not view the support of off-campus PhD students as a high priority. This study investigates the attitudes of middle managers in a large Australian university concerning the provision of training and support to off-campus PhD students. The findings reveal that a complex interplay of discourses hinder the provision of support to off-campus PhD students. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Collective bargaining goals of university faculty

This paper examines the collective bargaining goals of 1,800 faculty members at eight Canadian universities. A particular focus of the study was the relationship between bargaining goals and traditional academic governance. The results of the analysis showed that faculty distinguish firmly between academic and nonacademic issues and deliberately choose to restrict the scope of bargaining to a relatively narrow range of issues involving money, job security, and grievance procedures. A major factor influencing this restricted bargaining scope was the confidence with and perceived influence of the traditional system of academic governance. The way in which the governance system functions helps determine whether academic and policy issues reach the bargaining table, suggesting that strong governance structures are not threatened by the advent of collective bargaining.     

In Their Own Words: A Text Analytics Investigation of College Course Attrition

Excessive course attrition is costly to both the student and the institution. While most institutions have systems to quantify and report the numbers, far less attention is typically paid to each student’s reason(s) for withdrawal. In this case study, text analytics was used to analyze a large set of open-ended written comments in which students explained their reason(s) for course withdrawal in their own words. The text for all comments was extracted verbatim from the course withdrawals database of Florida State College at Jacksonville, a large, diverse, multicampus institution located in northeast Florida. An initial set of 616 comment records from the beginning of the fall 2010 term was used to develop a preliminary text analytics model. This model revealed 11 major category nodes and successfully classified 96.1% of all withdrawal records into one or more categories. The model was retained and further tested using a second set of 679 records from the spring 2011 term and found to successfully classify 98.7% of the spring records. At the broadest level, withdrawal explanations were found to include both academic and nonacademic student rationales. Leading academic rationales involve course scheduling adjustments, delivery method preference changes (e.g., classroom vs. online), and faculty related reasons. Leading nonacademic rationales include personal issues especially involving job/work, family, financial, and health matters. The limitations of the study along with implications for practice, administrative decision making, and future directions for the expanded use of text analytics in institutional research are discussed.     

Developing and implementing a process for the review of nonacademic units

Review of academic departments is routine in most institutions of higher education. Few colleges and universities regularly review nonacademic units. A major research university has recently developed a process for the systematic review of nonacademic units. This paper outlines the steps taken in the development and implementation of the process: (1) a review of the literature on organizational effectiveness, (2) a survey of peer institutions, (3) the development of guidelines for the review of nonacademic units, and (4) the implementation of the process in several campus units.Presented at the Twenty-Eighth Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research, Phoenix, Ariz., May 1988.     

Influences on students' internal locus of attribution for academic success in the first year of college

This study sought to determine the extent to which students' development of internal locus of attribution for academic success during the first year of college was influenced by institutional characteristics, students' academic experiences, and their social/nonacademic experiences. The sample was 2,392 first-year students attending 23 diverse two- and four-year institutions Iocated in 16 states throughout the country. Controlling for precollege internal attribution, academic ability, and other potentially confounding influences, a number of variables had significant, net, positive associations with end-of-first-year internal attribution. These included attending a two-year (versus a four-year) college, level of exposure to postsecondary education, work responsibilities, the extent of course organization, instructional clarity, and instructor support in the teaching received, and participation in intercollegiate athletics. Additional analyses indicated that many of the associations with internal attribution were conditional rather than general, differing in magnitude for different kinds of students.