From policy to practice: applying educational change in Israeli schools for students at high academic risk

This short report identifies the academic and environmental experiences that support the reclaiming of students at high academic risk and describes an applicable school‐wide programme emanating from the call for educational change in Israel. The proposed structured academic programme demonstrates how schools can achieve broad student knowledge and set high performance standards while accommodating diverse student needs. As such, the programme provides school practitioners with intervention targets that promote school engagement and higher school performance. In addition, the report provides illustrative examples of the implemented programme within schools for students at high academic risk in Israel. It is argued that a movement towards an adaptive model of schooling as portrayed within the structured academic programme may prove to be effective in academically engaging students at academic risk, thus providing all students with democratic possibilities for learning and knowing.     

Impact of a pre-college outreach programme on the academic achievements of higher education students: a case study of Chile

ABSTRACT

This research evaluated the impact on students’ academic achievements of a pre-college outreach programme implemented by a Chilean higher education institution. This programme benefits students in their last year of secondary education so they can better adapt to post-secondary education. Specifically, we assessed whether freshmen enrolled in 2017 in the institution that implemented this initiative and who attended this programme during 2016 as secondary school students performed better than students at this same institution but who did not take part in this scheme. A quasi-experimental design was applied using the method propensity score matching. The results showed that students who participated in this outreach programme had better average grades and attendance levels than those who did not take part in this initiative. In addition, it was found that this programme does not have a significant impact on student retention rates.     

Not just for poor kids: The impact of universal free school breakfast on meal participation and student outcomes

This paper examines the impact of the implementation of a universal free school breakfast policy on meals program participation, attendance, and academic achievement. In 2003, New York City made school breakfast free for all students regardless of income, while increasing the price of lunch for those ineligible for meal subsidies. Using a difference-in-difference estimation strategy, we derive plausibly causal estimates of the policy's impact by exploiting within and between group variation in school meal pricing before and after the policy change. Our estimates suggest that the policy resulted in small increases in breakfast participation both for students who experienced a decrease in the price of breakfast and for free-lunch eligible students who experienced no price change. The latter suggests that universal provision may alter behavior through mechanisms other than price, highlighting the potential merits of universal provision over targeted services. We find limited evidence of policy impacts on academic outcomes.     

Evaluating postgraduate preparation in the South African context

Little work is being undertaken in South Africa to systematically and intentionally prepare undergraduate students to pursue postgraduate studies. This is concerning given the shortage of postgraduate students and the small scale of postgraduate studies. The few programmes and endeavours that exist to prepare students for postgraduate studies are not necessarily evaluated to assess their achievements and shortcomings. This paper provides an evaluation of an academic year-long postgraduate preparation programme, and is specifically concerned with examining subsequent postgraduate enrolment and improvement of participants’ marks. The study draws on both quantitative and qualitative data. The findings indicate that the majority of programme participants proceeded to subsequently enrol in postgraduate studies immediately after completing the programme and that the programme played a role in the pursuit of postgraduate studies. However, the findings also indicate that overall participants’ marks did not improve after participating in the programme. The study brings to light that, while some achievements are possible, the limits of the programme must also be acknowledged.     

Exploring the heterogeneity of class in higher education: social and cultural differentiation in Danish university programmes

This paper examines the relationship between social background, choice of university programme and academic culture among Danish university students. Statistically and sociologically, university students are often treated as a homogeneous group, but the ever-increasing number of students in higher education demands a closer examination of the hidden heterogeneity in the students’ social origin and educational strategies. Using a mixed-method approach (register data and ethnographic observations and interviews) the paper focuses on the students’ class origins and on different cultural practices in three Danish university programmes. It is shown that the Danish university field is characterized by a significant variation in social selectivity from programme to programme, and it is argued that these different social profiles correspond with distinctively different cultural practices in the programmes. Correspondingly, the students have distinctively different strategies towards education and future work life.     

Introduction to the Special Issue on Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards: New Policy,New Practices,and Persistent Challenges

This introduction to the special issue titled Alternate Assessments Based on Modified Academic Achievement Standards: New Policy, New Practices, and Persistent Challenges addresses the federal policy introducing the new alternate assessment for students with persistent academic difficulties, as well as related implementation issues that will be more thoroughly considered throughout the journal. Three guidelines are identified within the policy for alternate assessments based on modified academic achievement standards (AA-MASs), including that (a) a state's grade-level academic content standards cannot be modified for an AA-MAS, (b) a state's general test can be modified for an AA-MAS, and (c) a state's achievement standards can be modified for an AA-MAS so long as they remain on grade level. This article introduces key issues including identification of students eligible for an AA-MAS, the degree of modification that can be applied to develop an AA-MAS, and the current state of AA-MAS development across the nation. The article concludes with overviews of each contribution in the journal.     

The development of peer networks and academic performance in learning communities in higher education

In learning communities, students share their knowledge which might contribute to academic performance. This study disentangles peer selection from influence processes in modelling first-year students’ academic performance after the transition to university. Longitudinal peer network data were obtained from 95 bachelor students at two time points in a social sciences study programme with eight learning communities. Using co-evolution modelling in RSiena, we found that students help each other more often when they are already friends and students who help each other academically are more likely to become friends. The higher a student performs, the more often the student is selected as a friend or as an academic helper and the more often this higher-performing student initiates friendship and academic help relationships. Although learning communities are often implemented to enhance academic performance, we did not find evidence that peer relationships in learning communities influence academic performance.     

The effect of work placements on the academic performance of Chinese students in UK higher education

The main controversy as a result of the commercialisation of international education markets is that international students especially those from China are unable to perform as well as UK students in UK universities. So far, research has yet to identify the influence of placements on the academic performance of Chinese students from entry to graduation. Using four cohorts of accounting and finance students in a UK university, this present work is the first to find that Chinese students who undertake placements in the third year are seven times more likely to achieve good degrees (2.1 or 1st) than those who opt out of work placements. It is also found that Chinese students who have a high prior academic achievement and better academic results from years 1 and 2 are likely to undertake placements. Finally, the results show that the academic performance of international students is influenced by domicile.     

Association between schoolwide positive behavioural interventions and supports and academic achievement: a 9-year evaluation

This study evaluated the long-term impact of schoolwide positive behavioural interventions and supports (PBIS) on student academic achievement. In this quasi-experimental study, academic achievement data were collected over 9 years. The 21 elementary, middle, and high schools that achieved moderate to high fidelity to the Save & Civil Schools’ PBIS model were matched with 28 control schools to assess academic gains. There were 5 years of baseline data (no intervention in treatment schools) and 4 years of intervention data, including 1 year of maintenance. Results indicate that implementation of the PBIS programme was significantly associated with increased student academic achievement (p = .001) and that the rate of change for students’ academic achievement in treatment schools was greater than for students in control schools. This study suggests that PBIS programmes, such as Safe & Civil Schools’ Foundations, may complement other efforts to improve academic outcomes.     

First things first: anger management group work in a mainstream high school setting

In an attempt to support the emotional development and behavioural choices of young students in grades 7–10, a six session therapeutic group programme was devised – culminating in a written manual to enable future replication of the programme. This pilot programme was introduced as a once-weekly, morning session aimed at prioritising a student’s need for emotional regulation in an attempt to support academic learning outcomes. Specifically, the group programme provided a five-stage understanding of the cycle of anger, with an additional session allocated for case studies and review. This article seeks to describe the pilot intervention – specifically the therapeutic content – such that it can be replicated elsewhere. Informed by cognitive behavioural therapy, attachment theory and systems theory, the programme sought to respond to the similar needs of multiple students within a time efficient and age-appropriate format.     

Using Interviews to Predict the Success of Teacher‐education Students

In November 1987, the School of Education at the University of Tasmania at Launceston (then the Tasmanian State Institute of Technology) commenced a programme of pre‐entry assessment of BEd applicants with a view to conducting an ongoing research programme aimed at improving the quality of trainee teachers. Pre‐entry data gathering included English and mathematics skills, learning style, Higher School Certificate (HSC) aggregate scores and interview assessments of each applicant by a panel of at least two academic staff of the School. This paper reports findings from the interview data gathered on students who entered the BEd programme in 1989. In particular, the evidence from this cohort of students suggests that interview ratings by academic staff are successful predictors of future practice‐teaching performance, whereas HSC aggregate scores are not at all predictive. In addition to this finding, the data indicate that staff interview assessments are only marginally weaker than HSC aggregate scores as predictors of academic performance on the BEd course.     

Reducing unintentional plagiarism amongst international students in the biological sciences: An embedded academic writing development programme

There is general agreement in the literature that international students are more likely to plagiarise compared to their native speaker peers and, in many instances, plagiarism is unintentional. In this article we describe the effectiveness of an academic writing development programme embedded into a Biological Sciences Taught Masters course designed to reduce unintentional plagiarism amongst international students in the cohort. We compared plagiarism rates in the years before and after the implementation of the writing intervention. In addition, we analysed data from a high response rate questionnaire (87.8%: class of 90 students) designed to evaluate students’ perceptions of the usefulness of the writing development programme and to elicit information about their prior educational experiences which might relate to plagiarism. Our combined quantitative and qualitative data show that an early pedagogical response reduced plagiarism levels amongst international students. However, the UK and international students in the same cohort reported markedly different responses to the writing programme. We therefore suggest that, if international students are provided with an initial opportunity to practise academic writing and receive feedback, they are more likely to be successful when writing coursework assignments later on. However, any initial writing development programme should be adapted to accommodate the differing needs of the UK and international students within the cohort.     

Teaching and learning across disciplines: student and staff experiences in a newly modularised system

Within modular degrees it is sometimes possible for students to broaden their education by taking modules from outside their main programme of study. This is one significant aspect of modular degrees which has not been studied. In an effort to better understand this issue, the research reported in this paper explored the experiences: (1) of students taking modules from outside their programme of study and; (2) of staff teaching modules with significant numbers of students from other programmes. In total, 820 undergraduate students responded to an on-line survey; 12 academic staff members participated in interviews. The survey focused on students’ reasons for choosing the module, their experiences of assessment and their perceptions of workload. Interviews with academic staff focused on the influence of non-programme students on teaching and assessment practices. The discussion addresses the implications of student choice and classroom diversity for teaching and assessment in modular systems.     

The construction of parents and teachers as agents for the improvement of municipal schools in Chile

This article examines how teachers and parents in 10 municipal schools serving students growing up under conditions of social vulnerability represented themselves, and others, as valid agents for charting school improvement. In four schools parents and teachers saw each other as trustworthy and collaborating to provide an education that could transform students’ life chances. In the other six schools, social relations were marked by distrust, staff constructed students as lacking the resources necessary to benefit from a rigorous academic programme, and parents in leadership positions shared with teachers the belief that school failure could largely be attributed to uncommitted parents. These results suggest that the impact of quality assurance policies tends to be associated with the social capital of municipal schools, thus educational policy needs to consider developing and strengthening social capital within schools.     

Reducing test anxiety among school-aged adolescents: a field experiment

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of a multimodal and information technology (IT)-delivered intervention for test anxiety. Participants were randomly allocated to an intervention or waiting list group. Test anxiety was measured pre- and post-intervention and academic buoyancy, a construct that refers to students’ capacity to withstand academic challenge and pressure, as a covariate. In the intervention group, 13.7% of participants completed the full intervention programme comprising six sessions; 25.5% partially completed the programme (one or more sessions); and 60.8% of participants chose not to complete any sessions. Results showed that, after completing the intervention and when controlling for academic buoyancy, highly test anxious students showed a reduction in the worry and tension components of test anxiety, relative to those who did not complete the intervention. The findings suggest that the intervention may offer highly test anxious students a means of reducing their anxiety that does not rely on face-to-face delivery.     

Determinants of timely completion: the impact of Bachelor's degree programme characteristics and student motivation on study progress

Timely completion of university degree programmes is a topic of growing concern to higher education institutions and their students. This paper reports on a study about the impact of degree programme characteristics and student motivation on study progress. The setting for the study is a Dutch law school. Data on degree programme characteristics, student ability, motivation, academic performance and academic pressure were collected from 168 first-year students six months after the start of their studies. Analysis of the effects of degree programme characteristics and students' initial motivation on study progress shows that study progress mainly depends on ability, timely completion goals and transparency of assessments. The study also shows that transparency of assessment procedures considerably lowers fear of failure and academic pressure.     

Why students leave engineering and built environment programmes when they are academically eligible to continue

The retention of students to graduation is a concern for most higher education institutions. This article seeks to understand why engineering and built environment students fail to continue their degree programmes despite being academically eligible to do so. The sample comprised 275 students registered between 2006 and 2011 in a faculty of engineering and the built environment, who were academically eligible to continue, but failed to register for their studies the following academic year. The sociological notions of structure and agency were used to make sense of the data. The findings suggest that some students had control over their decision to leave and some students’ decisions were dominated by various structural factors. The outcome of the study is helpful in terms of suggesting what actions can be taken in order reduce the number of students leaving in good academic standing.