Comparative analysis of the impact of traditional versus innovative learning environment on student attitudes and learning outcomes

This study explored the claim that different classroom layouts can affect teaching and learning. At the time of the study, there were few robust evaluative frameworks able to isolate and then measure the impact of different educational layouts. In response, this study employed a quasi-experimental approached facilitated by a Single Subject Research Design (SSRD) to compare two different classroom layouts - a traditional classroom layout and ‘Innovative Learning Environment’ (ILE) in an Australian secondary schooling context. The study compared students’ attitudes to their learning experiences, motivation, engagement and academic outcomes in each layout over a school year. Comparative analyses highlighted how students’ attitudes to their learning experiences and engagement differed in the two designs. A correlation was identified between enhanced student attitudes in an ILE and higher English, Humanities and Mathematics academic achievement when compared with cognitively matched peers who occupied a traditional classroom for the same period. This initial empirical evidence, even though restricted to a single site, was able to discern a measurable link between the occupation of different learning spaces and an impact on student learning experiences, engagement and academic outcomes in secondary schooling context.     

What aspects of schooling are important? School effects on tertiary entrance performance

The purpose of this paper is to identify school effects on student performance for tertiary entrance in Australia, taking into account student-level predictors using longitudinal data from the 2003 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) study. It finds that aspects of schooling, such as positive attitudes to school and disciplinary climate, affect student performance at the student level but not generally at the school level. The socioeconomic context of schools has no effect on student performance when taking into account schools' academic context. Apart from academic context, teacher shortage, academic press, and teacher efficacy were the only school factors that had positive significant effects on student performance. The policy implications are that school-based policies are unlikely to improve performance or promote equity, but, instead, policies should focus more on students falling behind, who are found across the school system, not limited to a small proportion of schools with particular characteristics.     

Student Success and Failure: As a matter of fact or just how they are portrayed?

This paper introduces and analyses three broad discourses of academic achievement and failure, specifically those that speak of students' deficits, disadvantages and differences. It draws on interview data collected from teachers working in Australian primary (elementary) and secondary (high) schools and on academic literature that speaks to the field. The paper argues that 'deficit', 'disadvantage' and 'difference' represent discourses of considerable influence in determining how teachers, students and parents define what constitutes success or failure in schools, which respective approaches educators employ, and the beliefs we hold about students who fail and those who succeed. In this respect, the paper is concerned with matters of inclusion and exclusion in schooling. In particular, we seek to tease out the stories that these discourses tell about student diversity, as a way of unmasking how students are differently represented and how these representations serve to include some and exclude others from the benefits of schooling and society more broadly.     

Does schooling really lead to alienation from village life? Evidence from three pacific island communities

The literature of education and development, including some national development plans, suggests a widespread endorsement of the idea that formal education, especially academic schooling, produces school-leavers who are dissatisfied with rural life, who despise manual labour, who aspire unrealistically to white-collar jobs, and who migrate to urban areas upon completion of their schooling. Little empirical research has been done in Oceania to test these beliefs. Research in Western Samoa, American Samoa and Kiribati suggests that student aspirations and attitudes are more ambivalent, and less decidedly pro-urban/modern sector, than is usually assumed in the literature.     

Exploring Changes in Student Engagement through the RULER Approach: An Examination of Students at Risk of Academic Failure

The present paper examines if developmental pathways for students at risk for academic failure can be improved through social and emotional learning (SEL). Specifically, we test this hypothesis by accounting for shifts in student engagement, a highly studied and malleable construct often inclusive of SEL interventions, as the pathway by which to impact student achievement outcomes. Using longitudinal data from a randomized control trial, we identified students at risk for school failure (n?=?318) within a larger sample of fifth graders (N?=?1,352). Multigroup path model revealed that participation in RULER significantly impacted the relationship between student engagement and conduct behaviors for at risk students: students who experienced RULER demonstrated increased engagement a year later (at sixth grade) and improved conduct the following year (in seventh grade). The potential for and limitations of SEL programs on developmental trajectories for students at risk for school failure are discussed.     

Literacy as a pathway between schooling and health-related communication skills: a study of Venezuelan mothers

This article addresses the mechanisms by which women's schooling might affect the survival and health of their children. A theoretical model is proposed in which academic literacy skills serve as a pathway between formal schooling and maternal health-related behaviors. The model is tested through multivariate analyses of interview and literacy data from 161 mothers in a poor, urban community in Venezuela. Results show that the academic literacy skills women learned in school and retained into adulthood, predict their health-related communication skills above and beyond the amount of schooling they received. The importance of female schooling in developing countries is discussed.     

Schools,teachers and community: cultivating the conditions for engaged student learning

This paper reveals the nature of the actions, discussions and relationships which characterised teachers’ and associated school personnel’s efforts to engage poor and refugee students through a community garden located in a school in a low socio-economic urban area in south-east Queensland, Australia. These actions, discussions and relationships are described as both revealing and producing particular ‘practice architectures’ which help constitute conditions for practice—in this case, conditions for beneficial student learning. The paper draws upon interview data with teachers, other school staff and community members working in the school to reveal the interrelating actions, discussions and relationships involved in developing and using the garden for academic and non-academic purposes. By better understanding such interrelationships as practice architectures, the paper reveals how teachers and those in schooling settings learn to facilitate student learning practices that likely to assist some of the most marginalised students in schooling settings.     

The Changing Student Culture:

A review of the literature on the values, behaviors, and attitudes which college students bring to institutions of higher education, focusing particularly on how these have changed across generations of students. Changes in career, social and political values are discussed, as well as the personal behaviors which have been investigated in studies of academic honesty, alcohol and other drug use, suicide, and eating disorders. Attitudes and behaviors about sexuality, interpersonal violence and multicultural differences are also reviewed. Some implications which the current student culture creates for counselors and student personnel administrators are identified and discussed.     

美国大学生学术欺骗行为及其对策研究

大学生的学术欺骗行为可分为考试欺骗和书面作业欺骗。美国大学生的学术欺骗行为比较普遍,但建立荣誉准则制度的高校发生学术欺骗的百分比明显偏低。学生们认为,对于不同的欺骗行为应给予不同程度的惩罚。影响美国大学生的学术欺骗行为的因素可以分为学生个体特征因素、态度/信仰因素、行为因素和外部因素等。高校可以采用建立荣誉准则制度、重视学生的参与等对策来减少大学生的学术欺骗行为。     

Teachers' explicit expectations and implicit prejudiced attitudes to educational achievement: Relations with student achievement and the ethnic achievement gap

In this paper, we consider whether teachers' explicit and implicit prejudiced attitudes underlie the ethnic achievement gap. To date, most research on teacher expectation effects has relied on explicit expectation measures that are prone to social desirability biases. In contrast, we examine the effects of teachers' (a) explicit ethnicity-based expectations for academic achievement and (b) implicit prejudiced attitudes about academic achievement on students' actual academic success over time. A total of 38 teachers completed both a traditional teacher expectation measure and a modified Implicit Association Task designed to assess ethnic stereotypes associated with academic achievement and failure. A multi-level analytic framework showed that students in classrooms of teachers with high expectations performed better in reading at the end of the year and that these effects were found across all ethnic groups. In contrast, whereas students' mathematics achievement scores were largely unrelated to teachers' explicit expectations, teachers' implicit prejudiced attitudes predicted student performance. Specifically, students benefited most academically when their teachers' implicit biases favored the ethnic group to which the student belonged. Findings are discussed in relation to differences in the salience of teachers' expectations and implicit prejudiced attitude in the classroom, and the ethnic achievement gap.     

Determinants of predisposition to transfer among community college students: A structural model

Employing aspects of Tinto's (1975, 1987) theoretical framework, the purpose of this study was to test a model of student transfer behaviors and attitudes with a community college student population. More specifically, this study examined the structural relationships among five constructs: (1) student background factors, (2) initial commitments, (3) social integration, (4) academic integration, and (5) predisposition to transfer. Student background factors were examined to determine their direct and indirect effects on community college students' initial commitments, social integration, and academic integration on three multiple indicators of the dependent variable, predisposition to transfer: (1) number of four-year institutions students planned to apply for transfer, (2) transfer behavior, and (3) transfer perceptions. The study supported utilization of factors identified in the retention literature that are based on Tinto's model to examine transfer attitudes and behaviors among community college students. Students with high levels of social and academic integration tended to have high levels of predisposition to transfer. Ethnic background was found to have no relationship to predisposition to transfer.     

The role of selection based on academic criteria in the recruitment process at an Indonesian government university

The purpose of this study is to examine the process of the recruitment of students into a high-status Indonesian university, and to examine its effect upon the social composition of the student group, the utilization of talent, and its association with the incidence of disappointment for unsuccessful candidates.It is suggested that the activity of selection, by which candidates available for recruitment are differentiated, may serve to discriminate between candidates on non-academic as well as academic criteria, to underutilize available talent, and to give rise to feelings of disappointment which could become focused on the institution. The suggestion is examined by comparison of successful and unsuccessful candidates.The steps of the recruitment process which precede selection, are found to favor candidates who are unrepresentative of the society in several respects. The selection process itself is found not to differentiate between successful and unsuccessful candidates on cultural characteristics, but to differentiate on age, sex, and schooling backgrounds. The selection system is based on limited access as circumscribed by prior schooling, and provides for an inefficient utilization of talented candidates. Some of the consequences of the application of the quota system for the selection of faculty enrollments accord with national manpower priorities but others do not. Though a high level of incidence of disppointment ensues from selection, most candidates attribute lack of success to qualities of the candidate, and unsuccessful candidates tend less, rather than more, to explain their failure by reference to the institution.     

Faculty Emphases on Alternative Course-Specific Learning Outcomes in Holland’s Model Environments: The Role of Environmental Consistency

This study examines variability in the extent to which faculty members in the disciplinary-based academic environments of Holland’s theory emphasize different student learning outcomes in their classes and whether such differences are comparable for those in “consistent” versus “inconsistent” environments. The findings show wide variation in the extent to which faculty members in four of the academic environments of Holland’s theory emphasize the alternative student learning outcomes and that such differences vary based on the level of consistency or inconsistency in the environmental profiles of the environments. The implications of these findings for future research using Holland’s theory to understand longitudinal patterns of change and stability in the attitudes, interests, and abilities of college students as well as variability in the patterns of professional attitudes and behaviors of college faculty are discussed. Attention is also devoted to the policy development and practical implications of these findings for academic advisors, career counselors, and other college and university leaders.     

Marine environmental protection knowledge,attitudes, behaviors,and curricular involvement of Taiwanese primary school students in senior grades

In recent years, rapid changes in the Earth's climate and environment have influenced our lives greatly. The ocean occupies 70% of the Earth's surface and is intimately related to the regulation of climate, fostering of life, and also to social economy, as well as sports and leisure. Students in the senior years of primary education are in a phase of developing value systems. Concurrently, these students are also constantly using the Earth's resources. More importantly, they will play leading roles in the next generation. From the perspective of education, the learning status of student's cognition, attitudes, and behaviors regarding protection of the marine environment must be understood more clearly to avoid future mismanagement of marine environmental problems on the part of these students. Hence, this study uses correlative, regressive, and path statistical analysis to examine data collected from questionnaires. Results show that student knowledge of and attitudes toward marine environmental protection do not have significant influences on behaviors; however, student's marine environmental protection knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors are all within the medium to high range. Because of relatively low student curricular involvement, and because involvement has no correlation with knowledge performance, this study infers that school curricula are not the main sources of student information and attitudes regarding marine environmental protection. Rather, building student attitudes toward marine environmental protection by increasing their involvement in field trips indirectly influences behaviors that are protective of the marine environment. Such an approach is comparatively more effective and can serve as a reference for modifying the implementation methods of marine protection curricula.     

Parental involvement in schooling, classroom environment and student outcomes

We investigated relationships between students’ perceptions of parental involvement in schooling, their Spanish classroom environment and student outcomes (attitudes and achievement). Modified Spanish versions of the What Is Happening In this Class?, Test of Spanish-Related Attitudes-L₁, a parental involvement questionnaire and a Spanish achievement test were administered to 223 Hispanic Grade 4–6 students in South Florida. The factor structure and internal consistency reliability of the questionnaires was supported. Strong associations were found for parental involvement with students’ learning environment perceptions and student outcomes, and for Spanish classroom environment with student outcomes. When the unique and common variances in student outcomes explained by the classroom environment and the home environment were examined, the home environment was more influential than the classroom environment in terms of students’ attitudes, but the classroom environment was more influential than the home environment in terms of achievement.     

Democratization of secondary education in Malaysia: attitudes towards schooling and educational aspirations

As a consequence of the democratization of secondary education in Malaysia beginning in the 1990s, many students who do not have academic credentials are allowed to progress to upper secondary education. This study examines the attitudes of these students towards two important aspects of schooling – namely, learning and examinations, as well as their educational aspirations – to assess the extent to which they have fulfilled the aims of the democratization of secondary education, among which is to produce more highly trained and well-educated manpower. A questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews were conducted in five sampled schools to explore the issues from various perspectives. The attitudes of the students towards learning and examinations as well as their levels of educational aspirations were generally found to be wanting regardless of their background. This study has revealed the internal contradiction of the democratization of secondary education in Malaysia. The democratization of secondary education within the ambit of a highly academic and examination-oriented education system has not served the needs of academically weak students. This study has also revealed the lack of alternative educational opportunities available to these students. The lack of resolve among teachers to handle these students and enough counsellors to guide them through the schooling process further complicate their problems.     

Self-Determination and Cultural Empowerment: Reader Histories Reveal Learning and Adaptation Strategies

This article explores the issues of cultural transmission and discontinuity, as well as the implications of culturally based assumptions and attitudes and their potential influence in schools. Through interviews based upon questions specifically related to literacy and literacy acquisition conducted with five seventh-grade students and one eighth-grade student who were perceived to have achieved various levels of success or failure in school-related tasks, insights about student learning and adaptation strategies are revealed which may have pedagogical implications for educators. Arguments are made that adjustments in culturally based assumptions and attitudes by members of the community and the school may influence the academic success or failure of our children.     

Demystifying the Millennial student: a reassessment in measures of character and engagement in professional education

The characteristic profile of Millennial Generation students, driving many educational reforms, can be challenged by research in a number of fields including cognition, learning style, neurology, and psychology. This evidence suggests that the current aggregate view of the Millennial student may be less than accurate. Statistics show that Millennial students are considerably diverse in backgrounds, personalities, and learning styles. Data are presented regarding technological predilection, multitasking, reading, critical thinking, professional behaviors, and learning styles, which indicate that students in the Millennial Generation may not be as homogenous in fundamental learning strategies and attitudes as is regularly proposed. Although their common character traits have implications for instruction, no available evidence demonstrates that these traits impact their fundamental process of learning. Many curricular strategies have been implemented to address alleged changes in the manner by which Millennial students learn. None has clearly shown superior outcomes in academic accomplishments or developing expertise for graduating students and concerns persist related to the successful engagement of Millennial students in the process of learning. Four factors for consideration in general curricular design are proposed to address student engagement and optimal knowledge acquisition for 21st century learners.     

Secondary teachers’ conceptions of student engagement: Engagement in learning or in schooling?

Teacher actions can influence how students engage at school, making it relevant to understand their conceptions of student engagement and how to facilitate it. Reviews of existing literature suggested that a distinction between engagement in schooling and engagement in learning might help differentiate between social and academic outcomes.Data from a phenomenographic study of 20 Australian teachers were analysed to show how teacher thinking related to this distinction. While some teachers held complex conceptions centred on promoting cognitive engagement and student learning, others aligned with engagement in schooling, focusing on generating participation and emphasising positive student affective experiences.     

Faculty and Academic Integrity: The Influence of Current Honor Codes and Past Honor Code Experiences

This survey of faculty at honor code and non-honor code institutions investigated the influence of honor codes on faculty attitudes and behaviors. As hypothesized, we found that honor code faculty have more positive attitudes toward their schools' academic integrity policies and are more willing to allow the system to take care of monitoring and disciplinary activities. Faculty in noncode institutions have less positive attitudes and are more likely to take personal actions designed to both catch and deal with cheaters. We also investigated the potential influence of a student honor code experience on faculty attitudes. We found that, in noncode environments, faculty who had an honor code experience as a student were more likely to believe that students should be held responsible for peer monitoring and to say that they deal personally with cheating. Implications for higher education institutions are discussed.