Slut-shaming and victim-blaming: a qualitative investigation of undergraduate students’ perceptions of sexual violence

Sexual violence is a significant public health issue on US college campuses. This qualitative study aimed to better understand college student perceptions of sexual violence and bystander intervention. Gendered group and individual interviews were conducted with male (n = 3) and female (n = 12) undergraduates. Eight major themes emerged which included slut shaming; victim blaming; the preventive power of social networks; the importance of family influence and early education; ambiguous definitions of sexual behaviour and assault; perpetrator typology; and gendered actions. Sexual behaviour is simultaneously a topic of confusion and importance to college students. Future prevention efforts may be more relevant and efficacious by addressing the university experience and campus climate as perceived by the students.     

Adult education and the fostering of asylum seekers as “full” citizens

International Review of Education - The role of adult education in the shaping and fostering of democratic citizens is prevalent in current transnational and national policy discussions; a...     

Parental role in shaping immigrant children’s subject choices and career pathway decisions in Australia

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - This study draws upon Vygotskian mediation and internalisation constructs to investigate how parental beliefs, values, expectations...     

Authentic science experiences as a vehicle to change students’ orientations toward science and scientific career choices: Learning from the path followed by Brad

Bringing a greater number of students into science is one of, if not the most fundamental goals of science education for all, especially for heretofore-neglected groups of society such as women and Aboriginal students. Providing students with opportunities to experience how science really is enacted—i.e., authentic science—has been advocated as an important means to allow students to know and learn about science. The purpose of this paper is to problematize how “authentic” science experiences may mediate students’ orientations towards science and scientific career choices. Based on a larger ethnographic study, we present the case of an Aboriginal student who engaged in a scientific internship program. We draw on cultural–historical activity theory to understand the intersection between science as practice and the mundane practices in which students participate as part of their daily lives. Following Brad, we articulate our understanding of the ways in which he hybridized the various mundane and scientific practices that intersected in and through his participation and by which he realized his cultural identity as an Aboriginal. Mediated by this hybridization, we observe changes in his orientation towards science and his career choices. We use this case study to revisit methodological implications for understanding the role of “authentic science experiences” in science education.

Science Lives: School choices and ‘natural tendencies’

An analysis of 12 semi-structured interviews with university-based scientists and non-scientists illustrates their life journeys towards, or away from, science and the strengths and impact of life occurrences leading them to choose science or non-science professions. We have adopted narrative approaches and used Mezirow's transformative learning theory framework. The areas of discussion from the result have stressed on three main categories that include ‘smooth transition’, ‘incremental wavering transition' and ‘transformative transition’. The article concludes by discussing the key influences that shaped initial attitudes and direction in these people through natural inclination, environmental inspirations and perceptions of science.     

Becoming a secondary school teacher in England and France: contextualising career ‘choice’

This article explores the circumstances in which individuals become secondary school teachers in England and France. Using a social constructivist theoretical framework, it specifically considers how national contexts play out in this decision. The findings presented in this paper draw on a corpus of 60 interviews with a sample of teachers based in English and French secondary schools. They show that national frameworks remain relevant to an exploration of teachers’ identities and cultures, as French and English interviewees draw on distinctive reasons to explain why they became secondary school teachers. While becoming a teacher is often thought of as a ‘vocation’ or as the result of ‘intrinsic’ factors, this paper highlights the role of national contexts, as well as of gender and social class, in this process.     

Conceptualizing students’ academic hardiness dimensions: a qualitative study

Academic hardiness is a personality characteristic that may differentiate students who avoid challenging academic course work from others who are willing to pursue these types of challenges. Research findings have demonstrated the need to understand and examine the construct in different life stages and cultural settings, and there are additional aspects of the construct that have yet to be identified. The purpose of this study was to explore the possible dimensions of academic hardiness and its components (commitment, control, and challenge) using qualitative methodology. In-depth interviews were conducted with 21 primary school children (aged 10–12 years old). They were asked to narrate and reflect on their experience about school failure and low grade in a test in a school lesson. The findings demonstrate that students differ as to the way they face the negative experience, as results showed that a variety of factors were related with students’ academic hardiness. The findings are discussed in relation to the recent literature.     

Developing a ‘leading identity’: the relationship between students’ mathematical identities and their career and higher education aspirations

The construct of identity has been used widely in mathematics education in order to understand how students (and teachers) relate to and engage with the subject (Kaasila, 2007; Sfard & Prusak, 2005; Boaler, 2002). Drawing on cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), this paper adopts Leont’ev’s notion of leading activity in order to explore the key ‘significant’ activities that are implicated in the development of students’ reflexive understanding of self and how this may offer differing relations with mathematics. According to Leont’ev (1981), leading activities are those which are significant to the development of the individual’s psyche through the emergence of new motives for engagement. We suggest that alongside new motives for engagement comes a new understanding of self—a leading identity—which reflects a hierarchy of our motives. Narrative analysis of interviews with two students (aged 16–17 years old) in post-compulsory education, Mary and Lee, are presented. Mary holds a stable ‘vocational’ leading identity throughout her narrative and, thus, her motive for studying mathematics is defined by its ‘use value’ in terms of pursuing this vocation. In contrast, Lee develops a leading identity which is focused on the activity of studying and becoming a university student. As such, his motive for study is framed in terms of the exchange value of the qualifications he hopes to obtain. We argue that this empirical grounding of leading activity and leading identity offers new insights into students’ identity development.     

A qualitative investigation of prospective teachers’ hopes,their sources,and motivational forces

This grounded theory study examined prospective teachers’ (PTs) dispositional hopes, teaching-specific hopes, their sources, and motivational force of teaching-specific hopes. A total of 41 PTs enrolled on different teacher education programmes voluntarily participated in the semi-structured interviews. Findings showed that PTs’ dispositional hopes revolved around an active/passive axis, and originated from internal, external, and combined sources. Teaching-specific hopes were explained through five categories: relationships with others, teaching, student achievement, student motivation, and student development. Regardless of axis or source, teaching-specific hopes had a substantial motivational force on PTs’ preparation toward their future careers. The current study urges teacher educators and policy-makers to consider PTs’ teaching-specific hopes together with their motivational roles in preparing them for their future careers.     

Tomorrow’s a mystery: constructions of the future and ‘un/becoming’ amongst ‘early’ and ‘late’ career academics

Abstract

Constructing a secure sense of a professional future has become increasingly difficult for early career researchers, whilst concerns about present and future job in/security have also been expressed in relation to already-established academics. In this paper, we draw on qualitative data from a U.K. study to explore everyday conceptualisations of the future for both ‘early career’ and ‘late career’ academics, in the context of increased fears and actualities of occupational precarity. We utilise theories of the social construction of time, as well as a conception of precarity and ‘precarization’ utilised by Butler (2009a, 2009b) and Lorey (2015), relating to ‘politically induced’ forms of insecurity that are a direct product of neoliberalism. The research reveals a variety of forms and levels of concern and anxiety by both groups for their own futures, and for the future of the academy as a whole.     

Mr Shaw and a Young Man

Mr Shaw wrote a lot of nice novels(小说) and all the world knew him. He didn't like the arrogant(傲慢的) rich men and often laughed at them, so most people liked him.Mr Shaw was often asked to all kinds of parties. A lot of important men hoped to know him. One day a famous singer asked him to her party. When Mr Shaw came in, all the people stood up except a young man. The singer hurried to meet him and asked him to sit down next to the young man. The young man's father was one of the riches…     

Redefining ‘early career’ in academia: a collective narrative approach

‘Early career’ in academia is typically defined in terms of research capability in the five years following PhD completion, with career progression from post-doctoral appointment to tenure, promotion and beyond. This ideal path assumes steady employment and continuous research development. With academic work increasingly casualised, experiences of ‘early career’ are changing and definitions in use by institutions and research bodies do not reflect the lived experiences of early career academics (ECAs). This paper presents five collective narratives and a thematic analysis of survey data from 522 ECAs in three Australian universities. The results offer insights into the diverse experiences of the early stages of academic careers and provide an opportunity to reconsider current definitions. We argue that the employment context in higher education makes it crucial to consider scholars’ self-definitions alongside existing objective indicators to redefine early career in academia.     

Shadows: Young Taiwanese children’s views and understanding

The purpose of this study was to examine young children’s views about shadows. Young children hear references to or are involved in many scientific experiences in their everyday lives, and shadows are a part of children’s everyday experiences. Young children may have constructed their knowledge about shadows through their daily experiences. Therefore, a total of 32 children, of which one‐half were four years old and one‐half were five years old, were individually interviewed twice to elicit their views and understanding of shadows. Data were collected by a mixture of picture‐pointing, verbal explanation, and manipulation, and were analysed both quantitatively and qualitatively. We focused on five facets of children’s ideas about shadows: ideas about the source of light, shadow orientation, shadow shape, shadow size, and shadow intensity. The five year olds performed significantly better on production of shadows, production of shadow shape, and production of shadow size, and also gave more reasonable explanations for their choices than did the four year olds, showing a better understanding of the concept of shadows. Another significant finding of the study was that young children have a much more sophisticated understanding of shadows than Piaget originally suggested and than their verbal explanations imply.     

Mentoring as a tool to engage Aboriginal youth in remote Australian communities: a qualitative investigation of community members,mentees, teachers,and mentors’ perspectives

Sport-based mentoring programs have been used across many contexts to engage young people in education. In this research, we explored the influence that an Aboriginal controlled organisation’s youth mentoring program has on three remote Aboriginal communities in Northern Territory, Australia. We used a composite set of culturally sensitive methods by including artefacts from the community members and mentees, informal interviews with community, and semi-structured conversations with mentors and schoolteachers. The findings demonstrate the positive feelings, many benefits, and relationships that had been established between mentors and mentees, the organisation and community over time. However, participants also suggested that it would be beneficial to engage mentors in activities with students not in the school system, and adults in the broader community. Despite some identified challenges, the mentoring program was perceived to be successful in engaging remote Aboriginal children in school and developing future career aspirations.     

Teachers’ and school administrators’ attitudes and beliefs of teacher evaluation: a preliminary investigation of high poverty school districts

This study examined attitudes and beliefs regarding teacher evaluation of teachers and their school administrators in the state of New Jersey, USA. The sample included 33 school administrators and 583 Pre-K through 12th grade teachers from four high-poverty urban school districts (22 schools). Participant attitudes and beliefs were assessed using the Teacher Evaluation Experience Scale (TEES; Reddy et al. in Educational Assessment, 21(2), 120–134, 2016). TEES is a multi-informant assessment designed to measure teachers’ and school administrators’ experiences with teacher evaluation through five scales (i.e., total and subscales of system, feedback, process, and motivation to change) and six open-ended questions. Based on the qualitative analyses, teachers identified collaborative communication and evaluation feedback as the most helpful aspects of their evaluation process. Based on the quantitative analyses, however, their average ratings did not exceed neutral on any of the four subscales. Overall findings suggest that school administrators’ experiences with teacher evaluation are more favorable than teachers’ experiences. Moderate correlations are found between participant characteristics and TEES scales. Implications for teacher evaluation are presented.     

Relations between students’ perceptions of the teaching-learning environment and teachers’ approaches to teaching: a qualitative study

ABSTRACT

In recent decades, a constructivist view of learning has triggered a change in teaching-learning environments (TLEs). Teacher-centred TLEs have been replaced by student-centred ones where the teachers’ approaches to teaching are more learning- than content-focused. Previous research exploring the relationship between student-centred TLEs and the quality of learning has shown contradictory results. Previous studies also indicate that various elements of TLEs may influence students’ learning. This study explored course-level types of elements, enhancing or hindering, related to TLEs, which the course students described. The TLEs of the courses varied because the teachers adopted different types of approaches to teaching. The data for this study were collected through semi-structured interviews with undergraduate students (N = 33) from three compulsory courses. The interviews were designed so that students could describe their perceptions of the course as well as their learning experiences and processes. The data were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results revealed that when the teacher employed a consonant learning-focused approach to teaching, the students perceived almost all elements of the TLE as enhancing. When the teacher’s approach to teaching was identified as dissonant, the students perceived several elements of the TLE as hindering. This study revealed that inclusion of student-activating teaching-learning activities is important when designing TLEs, but that it is also crucial to design elements which guide and structure students’ learning.

Abbreviation: TLE: teaching-learning environment     

Biology students’ utilization of tutors’ formative feedback: a qualitative interview study

Ramaprasad (1983 Ramaprasad, A. (1983). On the definition of feedback. Behavioural Sciences, 28: 4–13. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]) defined feedback as information about the gap between actual performance level and the reference level, which is subsequently used to alter that gap. Feedback, therefore, needs to be meaningful, understood and correctly acted upon. Tutors not only have to give feedback; they should really evaluate how effective their feedback has been. This study reports the findings of semi‐structured interviews with third year biology students on their utilization of tutor feedback. We show that students use feedback in six ways. Four specific uses were (a) to enhance motivation; (b) to enhance learning; (c) to encourage reflection; and (d) to clarify understanding. Two further forms of usage were, firstly, to enrich their learning environment and, secondly, to engage in mechanistic enquiries into their study. The findings are discussed in the context of current literature and specific recommendations are given as to how the impact of tutors’ feedback could be enhanced.     

Bullying and empathy: a short‐term longitudinal investigation

The aim of this study was to test the direction of effect in the relationship between bullying and empathy. The participants were 205 sixth‐grade students, randomly selected from urban and rural schools in Cyprus. A six‐month, two‐time‐point longitudinal design was used in which the participants completed the bullying subscale of the Revised Bullying and Victimisation Questionnaire (BVQ‐R) and the Basic Empathy Scale. The results of this study showed that bullying at Time 1 negatively predicted the affective component of empathy at Time 2. Moreover, children’s affective empathy at Time 1 negatively predicted bullying at Time 2. The results of this study indicate towards a reciprocal model of understanding the relationship between bullying and empathy.     

“There’s got to be a better way to do this”: a qualitative investigation of informal learning among instructional designers

This study employed a qualitative research design to investigate informal learning among practicing instructional designers. Prior research has examined how instructional designers spend their time, make decisions, use theory, solve problems, and so on, but no published research has explored the nature and role of informal learning in instructional design work. Based on intensive interviews of practitioners in the field, this study produced eight themes organized according to two metathemes: (a) the nature of informal learning in instructional design practice and (b) instructional design as informal learning. Specific themes concerned what instructional designers learn through informal practical experience, how they learn it, and the meaning of this kind of learning for various aspects of their work. Overall, these results suggest that informal learning is a vital part of instructional design practice and that design itself can be thought of as a specialized type of informal learning. Other conclusions regarding informal learning in design are discussed and future directions for research are offered.