An exploratory study on the relationship between parents�� career interests and the career interests of young adults

In this study, we attempt to investigate the potential effects of parents’ career interests on young adults’ career interests. Using a sample of 113 freshmen in Hong Kong, results indicated that after controlling for personality, gender, general mental abilities and emotional intelligence, some of the parents’ career interests were still related to the young adults’ respective career interests. For some types of interests, the extent of influences is found to be contingent on the gender of the respondents. Implications are discussed.     

The role of online games in promoting young adults’ civic engagement

In this review, we present an argument for the need to support young adult’s civic engagement and we explore the role of online games in supporting such engagement. In doing so, in the first section of the paper, we offer a definition for civic education and citizenship alongside a discussion for the pedagogical frameworks that better support young adults’ development of related skills. Following that, we synthesize existing research findings on the role of online games in supporting young adults’ civic engagement. Based on the outcomes of this review, in the last section of the paper, we offer a set of game design principles alongside suggestions for pedagogical approaches and organization of learning environments that have the potential to maximize young adults’ civic engagement.     

Exploring predictors of teachers’ self-efficacy for online teaching in the Arab world amid COVID-19

Education and Information Technologies - The rapid development of information and communication technologies (ICT), and the unexpected transition to online teaching due to COVID-19 necessitates...     

What influences Chinese undergraduates’ time management in online groupwork? An empirical investigation

The present investigation examines models of factors influencing time management in online groupwork for Chinese undergraduates. Multilevel findings showed that time management was positively related to five individual-level variables, including online courses taken previously, learning-oriented reasons, arranging the environment, help-seeking and feedback. Furthermore, at the group level, time management was positively correlated with feedback and learning-oriented reasons. Our investigation suggests that results concerning feedback and arranging the environment have the potential to be applicable in cross-cultural settings. It further suggests that time management may be influenced by cultural differences (eg value of education and polychromic time orientation). Finally, our result concerning help seeking lends empirical support to the theoretical claim that seeking help may serve to enhance individuals’ efforts to manage their work, in the context of Chinese undergraduates’ time management in online groupwork.     

Are phonological processes the same or different in low literacy adults and children with or without reading disabilities?

The primary purpose of the study reported here was to examine whether phonological processes are the same or different in low literacy adults and children with or without reading disabilities in a consistent orthography. A sample of 150 subjects was selected and organized into four different groups: 53 low literacy adults, 29 reading disabled children, 27 younger normal readers at the same reading level as those with reading disabilities and low literacy adults, and 41 normal readers matched in age with the reading disabled group. We administered phonological awareness tasks which included items with different complexity of syllable structure. The results showed that the complexity of syllable structure had not a particularly marked effect on low literacy adults. Rather, the deletion task revealed the phonological deficit in low literacy adults across all syllable structures.     

Making the most of “external” group members in blended and online environments

Although the importance of boundary spanning in blended and online learning is widely acknowledged, most educational research has ignored whether and how students learn from others outside their assigned group. One potential approach for understanding cross-boundary knowledge sharing is Social Network Analysis (SNA). In this article, we apply four network metrics to unpack how students developed intra- and inter-group learning links, using two exemplary blended case studies in Spain and the UK. Our results indicate that SNA based upon questionnaires can provide researchers some useful indicators for a more fine-grained analysis how students develop these inter- and intra-group learning links, and which cross-boundary links are particularly important for learning performance. The mixed findings between the two case-studies suggest the relevance of pre-existing conditions and learning design. SNA metrics can provide useful information for qualitative follow-up methods, and future interventions using learning analytics approaches.     

The apprenticeship of observation in career contexts: a typology for the role of modeling in teachers’ career paths

This article extends the literature on teachers’ career paths by attending to the experiences of educators when they were students in secondary classrooms. Grounded in the perspective that biography is central to teaching, we investigate undergraduate pre-service teachers’ educational experiences, views on teaching and learning, and professional plans. We draw upon life history interviews with 40 prospective teachers at three institutions across Pennsylvania, USA. We find that past educational experiences are intricately connected with career choice, intended professional path, and pedagogical focus. This paper identifies and discusses three forms of modeling – disciplinary, mentoring, and empowering – which influence pre-service teachers in powerful and enduring ways. These forms of modeling expand our understanding of teachers’ career intentions and apply the apprenticeship of observation to planned career paths.     

Engagement with a teaching career – how a group of Finnish university teachers experience teacher identity and professional growth

The aim of this qualitative study was to identify teachers’ ways of experiencing their identity and development challenges as teachers in the social and professional context of university. Identity and development as a teacher were examined based on interviews and drawings of career paths collected from a group of university teachers representing diverse scientific fields at one research-intensive university in Finland. Based on the findings, a typology of teacher identities and classification of development themes were constructed, illustrating the experiences and drawing on the themes found in the data and comparing them to Huberman’s teachers’ career cycle as well as Åkerlind’s views on university teachers’ changes. The findings showed that those who have reached a goal-reflective and stabilised teacher identity recognise development challenges, especially in the areas of self-development and facilitation of student learning, while those who have a constructive-conflicting or unsolved teacher identity struggle with the many pressures of teaching practice and reaching teacher comfort. The learning trajectories of the studied university teachers were varied and lasted considerably longer than suggested by teachers’ career cycle views.     

Gender differences in the influence of parental class on young adults’ participation in postsecondary education in the US

As with earlier social disparities in educational achievement, re-enrolment in college education can depend on parental social background. We link this finding with gender differences using data from the US National Longitudinal Study of Youth 79 and ask if the decision to re-enrol in college is influenced by parental social class in a gender-specific way. The results show that adding maternal class position to the operationalisation of social origin can be beneficial and result in a better model fit. Moreover, there are gender differences on the part of the child. Working-class men are constantly disadvantaged in their chances to re-enrol in education throughout their lives compared to men with more privileged family backgrounds, while working-class women are only disadvantaged among early re-entrants. This result is reversed in later years and women with working-class parents re-enrol more often.     

Addressing students’ emotional needs during the COVID-19 pandemic: a perspective on text versus video feedback in online environments

This paper reflects on the findings of Borup et al. (Educ Technol Res Dev 63:161–184, 2015) regarding the efficiency and affect of text and video feedback in the context of the rapid shift to online education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on reports of diminished mental wellness, increased depression, and anxiety among learners and instructors, this paper offers ideas on how to apply the findings from Borup et al. (Educ Technol Res Dev 63:161–184, 2015) from a combination of practice, research, design, and inclusion perspectives to ensure emotional support, mental wellness, and social presence during times of crisis, even at the expense of efficiency of instruction.

     

No regrets? Measuring the career benefits of a psychology placement year

We report an analysis of whether a psychology placement provides significant benefit to graduates’ careers. Destination of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey data six months post‐graduation suggested that placement programme graduates across the university are significantly more likely to be (1) in work and (2) in graduate‐level jobs. For psychology, the association between graduates’ placement status and employment status at the same time was not significant overall. However, when analyses were split by degree classification obtained, it was shown that amongst those graduates with 2.1 degrees reporting themselves as working, more placement vs. non‐placement programme graduates had obtained graduate‐level jobs (63% vs. 33%). In 2.2 classified graduates there was no significant association. This pattern persisted in the data from a survey of psychology alumni (from 18 months to six and a half years post‐graduation). Psychology placement programme alumni were also more satisfied with their careers. Although placement graduates earned marginally more, this difference did not reach statistical significance. This study was therefore able to show some measurable and persistent effects of a psychology placement year, although whether the benefits can be claimed to outweigh the costs is inconclusive. Limitations and implications of the study are discussed.     

An examination of the role of values in working‐class students' career decision‐making

The literature suggests that members of the working class value informal (‘hot’) information rather than formal (‘cold’) information. They are also said to lack a future orientation; have a fatalistic (and pessimistic) attitude to life; and have low aspirations. These values should influence the way students from working‐class backgrounds approach career decision‐making. Thirty in‐depth interviews with full‐time undergraduates in their final year of study were carried out to find out if this was the case. The research found that students from working‐class backgrounds did not possess many of the values indicated in the literature. They did, however, show a reluctance to make use of formal sources of information from places like the university careers service. Their failure to utilise such sources appears to be a key factor contributing to significant gaps in the students' knowledge and understanding of the graduate labour market. It also means they are inadequately prepared for making the transition into graduate employment. The article concludes by suggesting that the provision of better careers information is not enough. There is a need to make university careers services more welcoming so that they become a source of ‘hot’ information. The article also suggests that students should be encouraged to reflect critically on how they undertake career decision‐making and planning. By getting students to engage in activities that challenge their taken‐for‐granted assumptions and biases, they are more likely to develop alternative approaches to career decision‐making.     

Facebook: An online environment for learning of English in institutions of higher education?

Facebook (FB) is currently considered as the most popular platform for online social networking among university students. The purpose of this study is to investigate if university students consider FB as a useful and meaningful learning environment that could support, enhance and/or strengthen their learning of the English language. A survey was carried out with 300 undergraduate students at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Penang. It was found that the students believed FB could be utilized as an online environment to facilitate the learning of English. Nevertheless, teachers or language instructors have to integrate FB as an educational project with pre-determined learning objectives and outcomes for the learning experience to be meaningful. It is suggested that future research should focus on the meaningfulness of FB to students' language learning experiences.     

The evolution of work values during the school-to-work transition: the case of young adults in the “missing middle”

Adopting a mixed method design, this paper explores the configuration and evolution of work values of 64 young adults in transition from education to employment. Qualitative analyses point out the existence of four categories of work values: interesting tasks, good relationships, self-fulfillment, and attractive work conditions. Quantitative analyses show that work values are questioned during the school-to-work transition, refined according to the experience of labor market integration, and partially different according to gender, education type, and the quality of the integration process. Consequently, career counseling should integrate a deeper understanding of what clients consider as important in their work lives.     

Creative leadership: a new category or more of the same?

New categories of leadership are continually being invented. Because the ways we think are productive of the ways in which we act, it is important to hold these rhetorical innovations to account. This paper focuses on the latest of these categories – creative leadership. Mobilising a Foucauldian notion of ‘discourse’ I deconstruct the notion of creative leadership as it has recently been represented in five published texts. I suggest that the interpretation on offer has a determinist view of the future, ignores the history of debates about creativity, offers creativity as a generic skill and underestimates what it is that teachers and leaders might need to do in order to work creatively. I show that the notion of creative leadership on offer is strongly connected with that of creative learning, and put the ‘recipe’ offered by one set of texts into conversation with a body of empirical evidence about what is happening in schools that aim to promote creative learning. I argue that what is evident from the dialogue between the texts and the empirical studies is that it is pedagogical leadership that is absent but is actually most required, embedded in leadership/management principles and practices that promote social justice.     

Turning points in a qualitatively different social space: young adults’ reflections of alternative provision

There is a wealth of evidence suggesting that after being marginalised and excluded from school young people who attend Alternative Provision settings report positive relationships and experiences of learning. There is however very little research which explores the longer term outcomes of attending this sort of provision. Retrospective life history interviews were undertaken with 18 young adults in their early to mid-20s who had attended Alternative Provision in England. Interviews focused on schooling, exclusion, attending Alternative Provision and the impact of this on what they had done since leaving school up to their present situation. Analysis showed that the experience of attending Alternative Provision frequently constituted a turning point in a young person’s life story. This was due to the qualitatively different kind of social space experienced there.