Stimulating the imaginative capacities of agricultural extension students

Purpose: To address the dynamic challenges associated with developing a globally sustainable society, numerous scholars have stressed the need to cultivate the imagination of agricultural students. This study aimed to explore how pictorial representations stimulate the imaginative capacities of agricultural extension students. Design/methodology/approach: We adopted a focus group method that enabled in-depth discussions amongst selected participants. Three focus group discussions were held with 15 student participants in Taiwan. Regarding the pictorial representations, a series of works from three great artists were selected, namely Jean-François Millet, Pablo Picasso and Joan Miró. The works were chosen. Findings: The results indicated that different indicators of imaginative capacities were stimulated by different types or combinations of pictorial representations. For example, realistic visual stimuli were beneficial for cultivating student intuition of problem solving. The atmosphere and colour of visual stimuli affected student sensibilities. The abstract stimuli and remote analogues were beneficial in generating original ideas and breaking design fixations. These stimulations occurred largely according to encountering problems and project needs. Practical implications: These findings can assist agricultural educators in developing imaginative curricula and instructional strategies and might increase students’ creative performance. Originality/value: This research provides intriguing insights into the complexities of human imagination. First, the present study developed a novel approach to assess how pictorial representations stimulate the imaginative-capacity indicators of agricultural extension students. Our results indicated that various indicators were stimulated by various types or combinations of pictorial representations, and how and why these stimulations occurred largely depended on design problems and project needs.     

Assessing the self‐esteem of female undergraduate students: an issue of methodology

For many students, embarking on higher education can pose particular threats and challenges, not only to academic identity, but also to fundamental, personal aspects of the self. This paper reports a methodological study that employed quantitative and qualitative research methods to explore the impact on the sense of self and self‐esteem of a group of female first‐year undergraduates. Results from a Self‐esteem inventory, a variation on Q Methodology, an Ideal‐self inventory and a semi‐structured interview revealed different but complementary aspects of the self and indicated that participants’ self‐esteem increased over the duration of the study, as recorded on all four measures. It is suggested that the most appropriate way of uncovering and understanding mediators of self‐esteem may be through a mixed‐method approach.     

Exploring the motivational trajectories of gifted university students

Through qualitative interviews, the authors examined the experiences of six gifted high‐achieving university students to understand the factors that allowed the students to continue on their paths to success. The participants in this study revealed a number of issues that were central to their motivation upon arriving at the university. These issues included independence from family, fitting into a social network, the desire to overcome challenges in their lives, internal will, and a need to earn recognition. Our findings should help direct the development of special programs by university educators who are dedicated to meeting the needs of gifted college students.     

Characteristics of primary teacher training programmes on inclusion: a literature focus

Background: The implementation of inclusive education creates challenges for classroom teachers who have to meet the learning needs of students with and without special educational needs (SEN). Research has revealed that teachers’ readiness and willingness to accommodate the learning needs of students with SEN was determined by their training. Though much research on teacher training and inclusive education has been conducted over two decades, less is known about the adequacy of such training in terms of components and effectiveness.

Purpose: The purpose of this review is to present a focused analysis of: (1) studies that examined, in detail, the components of teacher training programmes for pre-service or in-service teachers in regular primary schools in terms of content, length, etc., and (2) consideration of the effectiveness of these training programmes.

Design and methods: The literature review was restricted to empirical studies published in international peer-reviewed journals after 1994 (i.e. since the Salamanca statement was signed) by using the electronic browser ‘EBSCO host Complete’. After applying the keywords ‘teacher’ and ‘educator’, they were combined with the following terms: training, disabilities, inclusion, inclusive education, impairment, special educational needs, children with special needs and disorder. The search was deliberately restricted to papers where study participants were pre-service or in-service teachers in regular primary schools, and ultimately yielded a small core of 13 studies for detailed review. The first research question was analysed in terms of the training programme’s structure and content, covering aspects such as type of disability, topic, length, medium of course delivery and learning activities. For the second research question, the effectiveness of the quantitative studies was evaluated based on the Cohen’s d effect size, whereas the qualitative studies were considered as effective based on the calculation of percentage of non-overlapping data (PND).

Conclusions: Analysis indicated that the majority of training programmes focused on attitude, knowledge and skills. The training programmes were also centred on what might be considered short-term practice and supplemented with field experiences. Although the training programmes appeared to have positive effects on teachers’ attitudes, knowledge and skills, follow-up sessions and students’ outcomes measures may increase training effectiveness.     

Influences of developmental contexts and gender differences on school performance of children and adolescents

This study investigated children and adolescents’ school performance over time focusing on two variables that may influence it: developmental context and gender. The sample comprised 627 participants (M_age?=?11.13, SD?=?1.8), 51% of them female, from grade one to eight, living either with family (n?=?474) or in care institutions (n?=?153). Participants answered individually the Teste de Desempenho Escolar (School Performance Test) and the Structured PRONEX Interview. Findings indicated a main effect of time on school performance (i.e., writing, reading and arithmetic). Furthermore this main effect was further qualified by a time and developmental context interaction and by a time and gender interaction. Interactions revealed that the participants from care institutions attained more significant increases in writing and reading than participants living within a family context; and that girls attained more significant increases in writing than boys. Therefore, school performance progress appears as affected by developmental contexts and gender. The findings reveal how school performance needs to be observed as a multidimensional variable, affected by individual characteristics but also by external ones.     

Using peer and teacher-student exemplar dialogues to unpack assessment standards: challenges and possibilities

Dialogic use of exemplars is effective in developing student understanding of assessment standards. However, limited studies have investigated how exemplar dialogues are conducted in the post-secondary context. To fill the gap, this teacher-research explores the characteristics of peer and teacher–student exemplar talk in three post-secondary classrooms and the challenges in the dialogic process. The participants involved 69 first-year post-secondary students, a critical friend and a teacher-researcher. Data analysis on selected dialogue excerpts, an open-ended survey, focus group interviews with the students, critical friend’s commentary and a teacher-researcher reflective journal indicated two major issues: (i) students’ lack of capacities to resolve socio-cognitive conflict in the peer dialogue; (ii) the dilemma of addressing students’ immediate assessment needs and developing their long-term evaluative judgements in the teacher–student dialogue. Recommendations are made to tackle the challenges and to orchestrate productive exemplar dialogues.     

Gender and family influences on Spanish students’ aspirations and values in stem fields

Drawing on expectancy-value theory, this study examines gender and family influences on students’ career aspirations and attached values. 796 secondary Spanish students (M age?=?16 years old, S.D.?=?0.81) participated. 53% were boys. The results show that boys and students with mothers who have completed intermediate level education were more interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) architecture and technology. Girls and students with highly educated mothers born in Spain were more likely to aspire to STEM health and experimental studies. Furthermore, boys and students planning to pursue STEM-technology studies attached higher extrinsic values to these studies. On the contrary, girls and participants with interest in experimental and health studies attached less extrinsic values to these studies. Moreover, students with highly educated mothers and interested in STEM architecture and technology reported higher extrinsic values. Understanding the interaction of gender and family factors shaping adolescents’ career aspirations in STEM fields seems to be crucial to designing significant and effective school and family grounded interventions.     

Teachers’ social representation of students with Asperger diagnosis

While progress has been made for including students with disability into mainstream schools, trends point to problems for students with Asperger syndrome (AS) diagnosis who have a propensity to dropping out of school. Teachers’ perceptions and understanding of AS will affect expectations and the attainment of educational targets. Thus, to avoid barriers to students’ learning and participation, there is a need to shed light on teachers’ perceptions and beliefs that bear on teachers educational provision for students with AS. The aim of the study was therefore to elucidate mainstream teachers’ representations of students with AS by using the theoretical framework of Social Representation Theory and particularly looking at the effects of the sex of the teacher, grade level being taught and when the teachers received training themselves. Teachers in mainstream schools in Sweden were invited to complete a web-based questionnaire (N?=?170). Data were collected through an association task where the participants were asked to produce up to five words or phrases for the stimulus phrase ‘student with Asperger diagnosis’. The data were analysed through categorisation. We found that two-thirds of the macro-categories of mentions relate to ‘disabling aspects’, ‘individual needs’ and ‘individual characteristics’, while a third of the elements were tied to the environment and educational provision. Our results suggest that a medical approach dominates especially earlier trained teachers; however, there is a tendency to view the school environment as increasingly important. Representations about the disabling aspects decreased with the increase in the grades being taught, whereas the educational aspects increase with the increase in grades. Male teachers are more prone to relate to environmental aspects and educational provision while female teachers more often relate to needs and disability. We conclude that teachers tend to view AS from a medical approach but that the school environment is seen as increasingly important.     

Exploring pre-service science teachers’ pedagogical capacity for formative assessment through analyses of student answers

Background: There has been an increasing emphasis on empowering pre-service and in-service science teachers to attend student reasoning and use formative assessments to guide student learning in recent years. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore pre-service science teachers’ pedagogical capacity for formative assessment. Sample: This study took place in Turkey. The participants include 53 pre-service science teachers in their final year of schooling. All but two of the participants are female. Design and methods: We used a mixed-methods methodology in pursing this inquiry. Participants analyzed 28 responses to seven two-tiered questions given by four students of different ability levels. We explored their ability to identify the strengths and weaknesses in students’ answers. We paid particular attention to the things that the pre-service science teachers noticed in students’ explanations, the types of inferences they made about students’ conceptual understanding, and the affordances of pedagogical decisions they made. Results: The results show that the majority of participants made an evaluative judgment (i.e. the answer is correct or incorrect) in their analyses of students’ answers. Similarly, the majority of the participants recognized the type of mistake that the students made. However, they failed to successfully elaborate on fallacies, limitations, or strengths in student reasoning. We also asked the participants to make pedagogical decisions related to what needs to be done next in order to help the students to achieve academic objectives. Results show that 8% of the recommended instructional strategies were of no affordance, 64% of low-affordance, and 28% were of high affordance in terms of helping students achieve the academic objectives. Conclusion: If our goal is to improve pre-service science teachers’ noticing skills, and the affordance of feedback that they provide, engaging them in activities that asks them to attend to students’ ideas and reasoning may be useful.     

Vectors of identity development during the first year: black first-generation students’ reflections

In this study, black South African first-generation students’ experiences related to identity development during their first year at a higher education institution were explored. Chickering and Reisser’s [1993. Education and Identity. 2nd ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass] seven-vector identity development theory served as overarching framework. The focus group discussions and individual interviews of ten black first-generation students were analysed thematically. Participants experienced their first year as a time of instability, mostly due to inadequate preparation for the psychological, social, and especially academic challenges of higher education. Black first-generation students’ ability to remain connected to their family while forming new social connections on campus enabled them to feel safe in their exploration of new worldviews, relationships, and occupational considerations. Black first-generation students’ unique progression in vector attainment confirms the importance of research on the application of Chickering’s theory in a more diverse higher education environment.     

Are Greek school students flourishing?

ABSTRACT

Schools have a key role in promoting student social and emotional development and are encouraged to serve as a primary source of support, especially for those learners in need of special attention for addressing their needs. Young people’s subjective emotional-social well-being is a general indicator of their mental health status. In this article, we present an assessment of the emotional, psychological and social well-being of Greek adolescent students, determine whether they are flourishing or languishing and investigate whether well-being varies by gender, age and year level. Analysis of data from over 500 Greek adolescent students (year levels 6–10) who completed the Mental Health Continuum (MHC) scale indicated that over half of the participants were flourishing, while only a small proportion were languishing and the remainder had moderate mental health. Gender differences were identified with female students reporting more challenges to their well-being than their male peers. Additionally, younger students were more likely to be flourishing than older students.     

Attitudes and Knowledge of Future Teachers to Identify Struggling Readers

Indiana recently passed legislation requiring teacher preparation programs to educate future teachers on how to identify and refer struggling readers, including students with learning needs related to dyslexia. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a university course that covers content in response to legislation was effective in improving preservice teachers’ knowledge about the topic of dyslexia. Participants included 62 undergraduate students enrolled in general education teacher preparation programs. One group of 23 participants had taken a required course with content regarding reading challenges and targeted instruction; the remaining 39 participants had not yet taken the required course. Preservice teachers who took the course had more accurate knowledge about dyslexia than those who had not taken the course. There were no differences between groups for confidence in ability to help students struggling with dyslexia. Additional implications regarding legislation and teacher preparation will be included in the discussion.     

Supporting Middle School Students Whose Parents Are Deployed: Challenges and Strategies for Schools

Middle school students from military families face unique challenges, especially when their parents are deployed. Among the challenges they experience are frequent relocations; issues that affect academic achievement; uncertainty; and changes in roles, responsibilities, and relationships at home. Reunification involves issues of the returning parent's reintegration into the family, reacquainting with children, and recuperation. This article highlights the need for educators to recognize the unique matters surrounding military students, particularly those whose parents are deployed. It focuses on students’ needs, challenges faced by families and schools, and support mechanisms in place. Implications for practice and strategies for schools to use are provided.     

Exploring the relationship between doctoral students’ experiences and research community positioning

Despite the growing number of studies exploring PhD students’ experiences and their social relationships with other researchers, there is a lack of research on the interaction between the type of experiences and the social agents involved, especially in relation to not only problems and challenges, but also to positive emotions and experiences. In this study, we addressed this gap exploring the relationship between four ecology doctoral students’ most significant experiences and their perceived position in the research community. Additionally, we aimed at exploring the utility of a methodological device with two instruments, Journey Plot and Community Plot. Results showed, in one hand, that both positive and negative experiences were significant in students’ trajectories, but the proportion varied greatly across participants. Supervisors were related to negative experiences, whereas the broader community was mostly source of positive experiences. Research writing and communication experiences were significant in relation to all the social agents, while other contents of experience were restricted to the smallest social layers (e.g. research motives were confined to the individual layer, and research organization to the individual and supervisor layers). Relationships between the type of experiences and participants’ position in the community were found and implications for doctoral education discussed.     

Walk-In Triage Systems in University Counseling Centers

To meet the complex mental health needs of students, some university counseling centers (UCCs) have implemented walk-in triage intake systems, which have not yet been empirically investigated. This study compared client and clinician differences (N = 5564) between a traditional scheduled intake system (Year 1) and a walk-in triage system (Year 2) at a large, southeastern UCC. Results showed a significant increase in clients’ attendance rates and clinicians’ caseloads, a significant decrease in no-show rates, and no change in students’ symptom severity at intake between Years 1 and 2. Clinicians’ number of scheduled appointments were unchanged, indicating that clinicians were already at maximum capacity for appointments in Year 1. Results are discussed in terms of the benefits and challenges that walk-in triage systems present to students, universities, and UCCs.     

The writing center and international students in a Japanese university: a language management perspective

ABSTRACT

One of the institutional challenges of taking in large numbers of international graduate students is supporting their academic literacy skills. To accommodate a large population of international students, Japanese universities offer various services to support their academic studies and life-related issues, such as hiring international student advisors, offering Japanese language courses, and implementing peer-support programs. As a type of academic support for writing for international students, writing centers have caught the attention of universities in the last decade. To examine the institutional role of the writing center at a Japanese university, this study employs a language management lens to compare the beliefs and interests among administrators, tutors, and international students in improving international students’ Japanese writing. Interviews with the three groups of participants displayed incongruences between the administrators’ interests aligned with institutional goals, the educational philosophy of the writing center, and international students’ language learning needs. The findings point to the tutors' crucial role as language specialists who inform organized language management, and the necessity for collaboration between academic support units and faculty members in providing sufficient academic socialization environments for international students.     

Medical students’ help-seeking recommendations for a person with Alzheimer’s disease: relationships with knowledge and stigmatic beliefs

ABSTRACT

Primary care physicians play a central role in the process of providing a timely diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Recent reviews reported that their lack of knowledge and stigmatic beliefs about the disease are important barriers to providing an adequate diagnosis and even affect physicians’ referral recommendations for help-seeking (HS). This topic however, has not been examined among medical students. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine Israeli medical students’ HS recommendations for a person with AD, and their associations with knowledge about the disease and stigmatic beliefs, including agism and AD stigma. A convenience sample of 142 six-year medical students completed a structured questionnaire (60% female; mean age = 25.8). Overall, regarding nonprofessional sources, the vast majority of the participants stated they would recommend seeking help from close family members and friends. Regarding medical sources, almost all the participants recommended seeking help from family physicians and neurologists. Results showed that AD stigma mediated the relationship between knowledge about AD and HS recommendations. Our results stress the importance of investing efforts during the training and socialization phases of future clinicians in order to improve the timely diagnosis of AD, placing special attention on AD stigma.     

Skills assessment,PIAAC and the adult literacy agenda

This study seeks to investigate the importance of life course capital on the educational aspirations of 40 social work undergraduates who were predominantly visible ethnic minority, immigrant descendants or non-traditional students in the mainstream US. Applying the resource perspective in this context, minority students’ academic successes hinge on their ability to acquire valuable resources needed for academic success over their life course (e.g. economic capital such as parental financial investment, scholarship and financial aids; cultural capital such as educational aspirations and values; and social capital such as parents’ involvement and social networks). Overall, minority social work students in this study face a multifaceted array of challenges associated with family financial strain, poor quality of early education, work obligations and economic constraints. Despite the fact that the participants exhibited a remarkable range of educational resilience, the diversities in their journeys to social work were influenced by a number of life course resources and varied systematically by personal experience as well as age cohort.     

Assessing and Enhancing Pre-service Science Teachers’ Self-Efficacy to Teach Science Through Argumentation: Challenges and Possible Solutions

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of an intervention on pre-service science teachers’ self-efficacy to teach science through argumentation and explore the challenges they experienced while implementing argumentation. Forty pre-service science teachers in their final semester of schooling participated in an intervention that lasted for 11 weeks. Intervention focused on participants’ understanding of argumentation as a scientific practice and as a pedagogical tool. The participants engaged in argument construction, evaluation, and critique, taught three argumentation lessons, engaged in peer observation of teaching, and reflection on their teaching skills. Data were collected through Argumentation Self-Efficacy Scale and an open-ended questionnaire. The results show that the intervention had a significantly positive effect on pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy. Despite this reported self-efficacy, participants experienced significant challenges in guiding their students to construct scientific arguments and assessing the arguments developed by their students. Discussion focuses on implications for professional development of pre-service and in-service science teachers.     

Conceptualizing and Contextualizing the Concept of Refugee in Education: A Phenomenological Study of Teachers’ and Students’ Perceptions in a Conflict-Affected Society

The aim of this study was to investigate Greek-Cypriot primary school teachers’ and students’ perceptions of the concept of refugee using a phenomenological-interpretive framework. The value of a phenomenological study was to gain a deeper understanding of the roots of participants’ perceptions of refugeehood as well as how those perceptions were connected to participants’ feelings about refugees. Data collection involved a total of 40 interviews—20 interviews with teachers and 20 interviews with students. Against legal definitions of refugee and internally displaced people, it is shown that participants’ understandings were rooted in their lived experiences of uprootedness, of loss of home, and of lack of belonging. The study makes a contribution in understanding the complexities and tensions between legal definitions and the situatedness of the concept of refugee in lived experiences. Contextualizing the concept of refugee can create pedagogical spaces for the affective dimension in teacher professional development, which is critical to understanding the lived experience of refugees in more complex and nuanced ways, especially within conflict-affected settings.