Origins of the Gender Gap: Pre-College and College Influences on Differences Between Men and Women

This study examines differences between women and men on 19 outcomes of college and assesses the extent to which those differences are attributable to gender gaps that existed prior to college or to men’s and women’s differential college experiences. The data are drawn from a national longitudinal sample of students (N = 17,637) attending 204 four-year colleges and universities who were surveyed upon entry to college in 1994 and four years later in 1998. Among the 19 outcomes, 5 revealed gender differences that could be accounted for by pre-college variables alone, 2 demonstrated gender differences that were attributable to a combination of pre-college and college variables, and 12 produced gender gaps that were significant despite all control variables. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Institutional Research, San Diego, CA, May 2005.     

Assessing the gender climate of an evangelical student subculture in the United States

This study explored the gendered experiences of students belonging to an evangelical Christian religious community on a university campus in the United States. As some religious traditions harbour distinctive views on gender differences and roles, the study focused on community characteristics that pertained to beliefs about gender and the behaviours that emanated from those beliefs. The findings revealed that the community was defined by masculine norms, the endorsement of essential gender differences and separate roles for men and women with respect to leadership, modesty and dating/marriage. Suggestions for improving the conditions for women in religious groups and the broader college campus are discussed.     

The Patterns of Religious Struggle Among Undergraduates Attending Evangelical Institutions

Of the 900 religiously affiliated colleges and universities in the United States, a sizable portion (approximately 118) are members of the Council for Christian Colleges &; Universities (CCCU). As members of the CCCU, these institutions have a shared commitment to the academic and spiritual development of their students. However, relatively few studies have included data sets with multi-institutional types and longitudinal data. The purpose of this two-part study was to examine the patterns and predictors of religious struggle among traditional undergraduate students attending evangelical institutions compared to those at three other types of institutions. This article addresses the following question: How does the level of religious struggle change between the freshmen and junior years among college students attending evangelical institutions? A quantitative design using the 2004 and 2007 College Student Beliefs and Values Survey (CSBV)—which was last administered in 2007—with responses from 14,527 students attending evangelical, Catholic, other religious, and nonsectarian institutions was employed. Results indicate that significant differences in the levels and patterns of religious struggle exist between evangelical institutions and other types of institutions. Longitudinal measures revealed that students from evangelical institutions experience higher levels of religious struggle compared to their peers at other types of institutions at the end of their junior year. This article is the first in a two-part series and focuses on the patterns of religious struggle among students attending evangelical institutions.     

Predicting women's college experiences from life history data: A four-year study

The present study was conducted over a four-year period to determine if life history or biographical information could be used to predict various college experiences of women. At the beginning of their freshman year, 897 women were administered a comprehensive life history questionnaire. During the last quarter of their senior year, 327 women (who received the life history questionnaire four years earlier) completed an inventory which assessed major dimensions of college experiences. Results indicated that life history data could be used to make longitudinal predictions of women's college experiences. The results were discussed in terms of their implications for counseling students in higher education.     

ARE STUDENTS' LEARNING STYLES DISCIPLINE SPECIFIC?

In the study reported in this article, we examine the extent to which community college students' learning style preferences vary as a function of discipline. We were interested in knowing whether gender and academic performance play a role in student learning style preferences. The learning style preferences of 105 community college students (47 males and 58 females) were measured in four disciplines (i.e., English, mathematics, science, and social studies) using a modified version of the Kolb Learning Style Inventory IIa (Kolb, 1995), which was aimed at determining learning mode orientations: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. The results revealed significant differences in students' learning styles preferences across disciplines, but not for gender. In addition, student learning style preferences varied by academic performance as measured by GPA. These findings have important implications for community college teaching and research.     

The Relationship Between Academic Major and Environmentalism Among College Students: Is it Mediated by the Effects of Gender,Political Ideology and Financial Security?

Several studies have found a relationship between college students’ academic majors and their environmental attitudes and behaviors. Results from this study of incoming first-year students at a medium-sized public university suggest that students majoring in different programs of study were likely to have different environmental attitudes and behaviors. There were also differences in the proportions of women, political liberals, and financially secure students in each of the different majors. When controlling for the effects of gender, political ideology, and financial security, incoming business majors scored lower on two of the four measures of environmentalism than incoming students in the other majors. The findings in this study suggest that incoming students choose majors that are consistent with their worldviews.     

College Men and Masculinity: Implications for Diversity Education

The balance of empirical research on college men is a portrait of their maladaptive and antisocial attitudes and behaviors. Studies have demonstrated the correlation between college men's problematic behavior and adherence to gender role traditionalism. Educators have few composites of men's prosocial behavior nor the masculine ideology that accompanies it.

This article is based, in part, on a study where I explored college men's prosocial behaviors through their engagement in an educationally purposeful activity that has been operationally defined in the literature: diversity education (DE). DE was defined as opportunities to engage meaningfully with diversity through coursework or purposeful cross-culture interactions in pursuit of educational outcomes.

Using a basic interpretive qualitative methodology, I addressed the following research question: How do college men who have been engaged in diversity education understand and perform masculinity? Themes derived using the constant comparative method included (a) the persistence of hegemonic masculine ideology and (b) experiences of gender socialization. Findings confirmed other studies that demonstrated the influence of hegemonic masculine ideology on college men (Davis, 2002; Edwards, 2007; Harris, 2006). This study adds to the literature by ascertaining how hegemonic masculine ideology may permeate the diversity classroom or workshop, creating dynamics that social justice educators must consider when designing effective learning environments.     

The impact of communication apprehension on college student retention and success

Communication apprehension is conceptualized as a causal agent in student success. It is implicated in both academic and interpersonal success, two factors identified by prior resesarch as primary predictors of persistence. A four year longitudinal study of the impact of communication apprehension on grade point average and persistence at the university level was conducted. Results indicated high CA students were significantly more likely to drop out and attain lower grade point averages compared to low CA students. The impact of CA was strongest during the first two years. A replication of the study confirmed the impact of CA on student persistence. It is concluded the impact of CA on the probablity of high CA students’ survival in college is substantial and this impact adds to the case favoring the provision of training programs to assist such students overcome their apprehension about communication.     

A Longitudinal Approach to Assessing Attrition Behavior Among First-Generation Students: Time-Varying Effects of Pre-College Characteristics

Although going to college may be viewed as a rite of passage for many students, some groups of students often face unique challenges in their pursuit of a college degree. One group of students that we are trying to gain a better understanding of is first-generation students, those whose parents did not graduate from college. This article presents the results of a study that investigated longitudinal effects of being a first-generation student on attrition. Results indicated that first-generation students were more likely to depart than their counterparts over time. After controlling for factors such as race, gender, high school grade point average (GPA), and family income, the risk of attrition in the first year among first-generation students was 71% higher than that of students with two college-educated parents.     

Systemizing and the gender gap: examining academic achievement and perseverance in STEM

For years, a popular explanation for women choosing to abandon studies in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) has been their lack of aptitude. This study challenged that notion by integrating theories of cognitive style, academic emotion, self-efficacy, and motivation to explain students’ academic achievement and perseverance in STEM when transitioning to college. A sample of 1597 high school and junior college students participated. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were first conducted to validate a reduced version of the cognitive style questionnaire. Structural equation modeling revealed that the cognitive style known as systemizing indirectly predicted STEM achievement and persistence by way of intrinsic motivation, learning anxiety, and self-efficacy, providing a new perspective for re-examining the gender gap in STEM.

     

大学生党员思想道德现状、成因及对策——湖南省五所高校大学生党员思想道德状况调查

当前大学生党员的思想道德状况总体是健康的、积极向上的。但也存在着深层次的、负面的问题。主要表现为政治上趋于成熟与理想信念缺失、道德观念和价值取向日趋稳定与道德行为的困惑迷茫、人生价值观积极健康与价值取向多元化并存。产生这些问题有体制转轨的影响、社会历史根源、道德教育的失误及自身存在的不足等多种原因。应加强理论武装,坚定大学生党员理想信念;强化道德自律意识,提高大学生党员道德修养;完善党员培养管理机制,充分发挥高校党组织的作用;丰富校园文化,营造良好道德建设环境。     

Effects of college experiences on male and female student leadership capacity in Taiwan

This study examined how college experiences affect student leadership capacity in the general college population, as well as in male versus female populations. The data were drawn from a longitudinal sample of students across 156 colleges in Taiwan. Results of this study indicated that student leadership capacity increased after college entry. After controlling for pre-college experiences and structural characteristics, various college experiences of curricular learning, cocurricular learning, and interpersonal interaction persisted as significant factors affecting student leadership capacity across genders. College experiences of class skipping and campus residence demonstrated different effects than those found in the Western literature. Comparative results of male and female students in various contexts detected using a statistical method and criteria demonstrated that, in the case of Taiwanese college students, both genders were similarly affected by their college experiences as far as leadership capacity is concerned.     

BOOK REVIEW

This investigation addressed the effects of teaching styles, student cognitive styles, matched and mismatched conditions, student age, and student gender in relation to course grades in community college education. The Gregorc Style Delineator was used to determine the dominant cognitive styles of 16 teachers and 207 students on two campuses of a comprehensive community college. Data were analyzed according to two analysis of variance models. The findings indicated that concrete sequential teachers assigned significantly lower grades to students than did teachers dominant in any other style and that students 25 years of age and older received significantly higher grades than younger students, except when matched with concrete random teachers. Although many authors have suggested that students whose cognitive styles match those of their teachers tend to attain higher grades, findings in this study contradicted the literature and indicated that mismatched students performed better academically.     

Gendered transitions,career identities and possible selves: the case of engineering graduates

This article, drawing upon the Paired Peers project, a longitudinal qualitative study (n = 90), examines how seven UK engineering graduates, four women and three men, construct their career identities during the transitionary period from university to work. It explores how gender and the occupational cultures that reside within the sector, and the wider sociocultural context, affect women’s careers identities, choices and trajectories. The longitudinal design, characteristics of the cohort and the theoretical framework of possible selves contribute to the originality of this empirical research. In this paper, we show how female graduates gradually adapted their occupational aspirations and career identities to fit with socio-cultural expectations and how they struggled to construct viable ‘engineering’ selves in the vital career identity development phase of their first years of employment when most female STEM graduates change careers.     

Undergraduate students’ motivation and engagement in China: an exploratory study

Viewing student engagement as a multidimensional construct, this study explored the motivation and engagement of undergraduate students in China. A sample of 1131 students from 10 full-time universities in Beijing participated in a survey. The results showed that the Motivation and Engagement Scale for university/college students is a promising and valid instrument for assessing student engagement in Chinese universities. Chinese undergraduates simultaneously performed well in both adaptive and maladaptive motivation and engagement, indicating some influence from the cultural context of China. Four categories of learners were generated according to their motivation and engagement characteristics. Some consistent patterns of individual differences related to gender, grade level, discipline and institution type were revealed. The results have implications for enhancing student engagement.     

Can Lottery Incentives Boost Web Survey Response Rates? Findings from Four Experiments

Institutions of higher education rely on student surveys for a number of purposes, including planning, assessment, and research. Web surveys are especially prevalent given their ease of use and low-cost; yet, obtaining a high response rate is a challenge. Although researchers have investigated the use of incentives in traditional mail surveys, studies investigating the impact of lottery incentives on web survey response rates are limited. In this study, four separate web survey experiments were conducted to measure the effectiveness of lottery-based incentives in a college student population in the United States. Findings reveal that the lottery incentives not only positively impacted response rates but also exerted differential effects by gender. The results have practical implications for higher education researchers who conduct web surveys of college students.     

谈新形势下高校辅导员工作

新时期国际国内形势的深刻变化给高校辅导员工作带来了许多新问题,辅导员工作是高校工作的重要组成部分,对此高校辅导员应提高认识,潜心研究工作规律,教育、管理、服务学生,不断提高综合能力,从而做好大学生的思想政治教育工作。     

Career Outcomes of STEM and Non-STEM College Graduates: Persistence in Majored-Field and Influential Factors in Career Choices

Using data from a nationally representative, longitudinal survey of college graduates, this study examines student transition from college to their chosen career paths and identifies factors influencing college graduates’ choosing an occupation related to ones’ undergraduate major. Within the context of expanded econometric framework a wide range of variables are considered, including monetary and nonmonetary costs and benefits as well as cultural and social capital measures. Using multinomial logit regression analyses, the results suggest positive career outcomes associated with individuals who have an occupation closely related to their college major, such as a better income profile and greater job satisfaction. Major-based differences are also examined between STEM and non-STEM graduates, and patterns of changes are documented for 10 years after graduation. An important perspective offered by this study is to consider career outcome as an extended definition of institutional effectiveness and student success. Based on the empirical findings, policy implications are discussed with the hope of bringing attention and improvement to the relationship between the higher educational system and the labor market.     

新中国60年大学生思想道德素质发展轨迹及其启示

大学生思想道德素质是大学生素质的灵魂与核心.本文参考思想政治教育史的历史分期,以历史事实为根据,对不同时期大学生思想道德素质的特点进行归纳概述,勾勒大学生思想道德素质发展轨迹,展示新中国60年岁月在大学生思想道德素质发展中打下的深刻印记;分析大学生思想道德素质的变化发展过程中,经济基础的决定作用,思想政治教育工作的主导作用,以及传统文化和外来文化的渗透作用.     

Occupational values and employment: A follow-up study of graduate men and women

Undergraduate job values have been reported as reflecting both the sex and social origins of the student. The present study assesses whether such differences are of any occupational significance. Ratings on 30 job attributes were collected from 310 final year undergraduates at universities and colleges throughout Britain. The four factors extracted from these ratings were then related to the job held at 26 years. Although the proportions of men and women differed between jobs, this difference was adequately explained by the job values reported by the students before graduation. There was no evidence that women had different values (at college) than men who were, at 26, to do a similar type of job. The origins of sex and social class differences in students' values are explored and it is concluded that there is a need for a new approach to careers education for the highly intelligent student of limited aspiration.