Understanding the role of dispositional and situational threat sensitivity in our moral judgments

Previous research has identified different moral judgments in liberals and conservatives. While both care about harm/fairness (‘individualizing’ foundations), conservatives emphasize in-group/authority/purity (‘binding’ foundations) more than liberals. Thus, some argue that conservatives have a more complex morality. We suggest an alternative view—that consistent with conservatism as ‘motivated social cognition’, binding foundation activation satisfies psychological needs for social structure/security/certainty. Accordingly, we found that students who were dispositionally threat-sensitive showed stronger binding foundation activation, and that conservatives are more dispositionally threat-sensitive than liberals. We also found that in a heightened threat situation liberals (especially social liberals) showed increased binding foundation activation. These results support the view that the binding foundations function differently in our moral cognition than the individualizing foundations.     

Talented Female Students' Resistance to Science: An exploratory study of post-secondary achievement motivation,persistence, and epistemological characteristics

The purpose of this study was to explore factors underlying the well-documented tendency of female students not to pursue advanced courses and careers in the Sciences, even though they are equally capable as male students in these disciplines. The research focus on female persistence was examined by: (1) defining two elements of persistence in a post-secondary student population (i.e. student interests in Science and student commitment to a Science major); and (2) examining, in relation to these elements, individual and gender differences within two models: Eccles' (Eccles, Adler, Futterman, Goff, Kaczala, Meece & Midgley, 1983; Eccles, 1987) Model of Achievement Motivation, and Schommer's (1990, 1994) Epistemological Beliefs. The study involved 151 post-secondary students and employed a series of MANOVAs and Logistic Regression Analysis to questionnaire data. Eccles' model successfully predicted individual and gender-related differences in undergraduate student interests in, and commitments to, a Science. Schommer's beliefs about knowing and learning were shown to be associated directly with elements of persistence (e.g. committing to a major in Science). Significantly, it was found that there is a general set of changes in epistemology and values experienced by females and not by their male colleagues. Overall these results make a unique contribution to the study of females' persistence in the Sciences.     

Student learning and perceptions of the academic environment

This paper examines the effects of the organisation of curricula, teaching, and assessment on student learning and looks at the different demands which different academic environments make on their students. After a brief review of research into learning contexts in higher education, data from a course perceptions questionnaire are presented. The principal dimensions which students themselves use to characterise academic environments are identified. The perceptions of students in six departments at one British university are compared; it is concluded that students in different subject areas see themselves to be studying in markedly different environments. The results also suggest students' evaluations of the teaching and the courses in each department. Data from the course perceptions questionnaire are supported and amplified by a preliminary analysis of results from semi-structured interviews of students in the six departments. The most important factor to emerge from the item analysis — the degree to which students feel that their teachers provide a facilitant atmosphere for learning — is confirmed. Students' perceptions of their departments and their teachers are shown to exert important influences on their approaches to learning. It is also suggested that a student's perception of a particular learning task influences the level at which he tackles it.     

Relationships between student scientific epistemological beliefs and perceptions of constructivist learning environments

This study was conducted to explore the interplay between students’ scientific epistemological beliefs and their perceptions of constructivist learning environments. Through analysing 1,176 Taiwanese tenth-graders’ (16-year-olds) questionnaire responses, this study found that students tended to perceive that actual learning environments were less constructivist orientated than what they preferred. Students having epistemological beliefs more orientated to constructivist views of science (as opposed to empiricist views about science) tended to have a view that actual learning environments did not provide sufficient opportunities for social negotiations (p < 0.01) and prior knowledge integration (p < 0.01); and moreover, they show significantly stronger preferences to learn in the constructivist learning environments where they could (1) interact and negotiate meanings with others (p < 0.001), (2) integrate their prior knowledge and experiences with newly constructed knowledge (p < 0.001) and (3) meaningfully control their learning activities (p < 0.001). The main thrust of the findings drawn from this study indicates that teachers need to be very aware of students’ epistemological orientation towards scientific knowledge, and to complement these preferences when designing learning experiences, especially to provide constructivist-based lessons to enhance science learning for students who are epistemologically constructivist orientated.     

Student major choices and community college persistence

This article presents the results of an adaptation to a community college of Simpson's (1987) model for tracking student persistence within major and at the institution. The study examines persistence and performance of a cohort of students who first enrolled in the fall of 1984 and whose initial major was in one of the nine curricula with a minimum of 50 new students that term. The article describes software used and provides a discussion of the special issues that arise in looking at persistence within a community college setting. Also provided are benchmark figures showing persistence within selected majors at a two-year college, figures the same institution can use as a basis for investigating changes over time and that other institutions can use for comparative purposes.     

Student and faculty perceptions of teaching effectiveness

Omnibus measures of teaching effectiveness can be viewed as weighted combinations of more narrowly defined traits describing the teaching process. Our study was designed to determine whether students and faculty weight such traits differently in forming their respective perceptions of effective teaching.Students and faculty within the School of Business and Economics at CSUN were surveyed regarding their assessment of ideal teaching effectiveness in courses where the predominant mode of presentation is lecture. Ten traits depicting various aspects of teaching were selected and each respondent was asked to distribute 100 points across the 10 according to their view of each trait's relative importance in determining effectiveness. The results indicate that there are, indeed, significant differences in student and faculty assessments.Regression analysis of individual trait weighting on demographic variables such as age, sex, field of specialization, etc., produced generally low, insignificant coefficients of determination for both students and faculty. This observed invariance of the respective perceptions of each group across differing combinations of demographic characteristics provides evidence that students and faculty adopt fundamentally different criteria in evaluating teaching effectiveness.     

Students' perceptions on the influence of institutional evaluation on universities

There are many studies about the experiences of higher education students, but few analyse their representations of the governance and the management of their institutions. Our study will describe, analyse and compare students' representations of institutional evaluation at three institutions in Portugal and Brazil. Our results, based on an open questionnaire which sought to collect students' views on institutional evaluation, show that students' views are neither homogeneous nor do they simply reproduce the dominant external perspectives on the subject. A significant amount of students thought that evaluation is a legitimate exercise, resulting from a political decision, which is useful to improve the quality of universities and the relationship between students and academic staff. Some students also recognize that evaluation will lead to institutional comparisons, functioning as a mechanism of control, regulation, monitoring, and possibly of standardization. It is also noted to be ‘an impossibility’, since it can never comprehend the existing diversity of institutional performance.     

Student perceptions of continuous summative assessment

This paper reports the effect of continuous summative assessment on the behaviour and learning environment of students. Assessing the performance of students is considered to be the most important thing a teacher can do for their students and it can have a profound effect on their learning. Continuous summative assessment was introduced as a form of assessment on a module within an undergraduate degree at a UK university. Student perceptions of the process were sought via a questionnaire and interviews. The paper describes the effect the assessment had on student motivation, their approach to learning and the change to their learning environment. The conclusion reached is that while continuous summative assessment may be time‐consuming to administer, the rewards of an enhanced learning environment for students outweigh the additional burden on staff. The results should be of interest to those academics who are concerned with assessment and its impact on behaviour.     

Student perceptions of organizational features in relationship to course ratings

Students' perceptions of the organization and importance of features of a course of instruction may differ from the instructors' and may influence their achievement and attitudinal reactions to the course. Two hundred twenty-nine undergraduates identified and rated the importance of organizational features of their courses, rated the course and instructor, and supplied six items of personal information about themselves. Their final course grades were also secured. A perceptual agreement score between students and instructors on course features and the importance of those features was calculated for each student. Agreement on the presence and importance of course features, along with other personal variables, were significant predictors of student achievement and ratings of courses.     

Student barriers to online learning: A factor analytic study

This article reports on a large‐scale (n?=?1,056), exploratory factor analysis study that determined the underlying constructs that comprise student barriers to online learning. The eight factors found were (a) administrative issues, (b) social interaction, (c) academic skills, (d) technical skills, (e) learner motivation, (f) time and support for studies, (g) cost and access to the Internet, and (h) technical problems. Independent variables that significantly affected student ratings of these barrier factors included: gender, age, ethnicity, type of learning institution, self‐rating of online learning skills, effectiveness of learning online, online learning enjoyment, prejudicial treatment in traditional classes, and the number of online courses completed.     

Student perceptions of the classroom environment: Relations to motivation and achievement in mathematics

This study examined the relationship of 979 middle school students’ perceptions of their mathematics classroom environment to their motivation and achievement. Structural equation modeling indicated that motivational variables (utility, personal achievement goals, efficacy) mediated the influence of perceived teacher expectations, teacher support and use of reform practices on mathematics standardised test scores. Our study provides empirical evidence that students’ perceptions that their teachers believe that they are capable of learning and understanding mathematics positively relate to their Mastery and Performance Goal orientations and mathematics Utility. Further, we found an interaction between students’ perceptions of the frequency of reform practice use in their mathematics classroom and mathematics efficacy. For students with lower mathematics efficacy, their perceptions of more frequent use of reform practices in their mathematics class related to higher standardised test performance. For students with higher mathematics efficacy, perceived use of reform practices did not significantly relate to standardised test performance. These data suggest that frequent exposure to reform practices is especially critical for students who judge themselves as being less capable in mathematics and who are lower performers. This finding differs from prior research that has suggested that reform practice use benefits higher achievers but not lower achievers. An important implication of our study is the need for coordinated, ongoing professional development that highlights reform pedagogy and beliefs while also focusing on student motivation theories and strategies.     

Student perceptions of their autonomy at University

Learner autonomy is a primary learning outcome of Higher Education in many countries. However, empirical evaluation of how student autonomy progresses during undergraduate degrees is limited. We surveyed a total of 636 students’ self-perceived autonomy during a period of two academic years using the Autonomous Learning Scale. Our analysis suggests that students do not perceive themselves as being any more autonomous as they progress through University. Given the relativity of self-perception metrics, we suggest that our results evince a “red queen” effect. In essence, as course expectations increase with each year, each student’s self-perceived autonomy relative to their ideal remains constant; we term this the “moving goalpost” hypothesis. This article corroborates pedagogical literature suggesting that providing students with opportunities to act autonomously and develop confidence is key to developing graduates who have the independence that they need in order to be successful in the workplace.     

Parent perceptions of the integration transition process; overcoming artificial barriers

The parents of 14 students with disabilities participated in interviews to evaluate the support they received during their child's transition to an integrated educational placement, to explore their concerns, and to discuss the effects of integration. Although parents identified areas of concern, they consistently expressed satisfaction regarding the outcomes of integrating their child, including professional and personal support. Responses emphasized the importance of commitment from local school districts and professionals, an individualized approach to parent involvement, and ongoing communication with parents.     

Student perceptions and instructional effectiveness of deaf and hearing teachers

The study examined the views of deaf and hard of hearing secondary-level students when asked about their preferences for deaf vs. hearing teachers. It also compared elementary- and secondary-level students' achievement scores based on the hearing status of their teachers. Deaf and hard of hearing secondary-level students showed greater preference for deaf teachers, with deaf students showing greater preference for deaf teachers than hard of hearing students did. No significant differences were found in the achievement levels of students based on differences in teacher hearing status. The study supports the limited research done in the past.     

Student gender, school size and changing perceptions of science learning environments during the transition from primary to secondary school

This study investigated students’ perceptions of the generalist learning environment of the primary school compared to their perceptions of the specialist science learning environment of secondary school. The role of student gender and change in school size as influencing factors on changes in students’ perceptions across primary to secondary transition were especially considered. The same students’ perceptions of the learning environment were collected in the final stages of primary school and again after their initial term in secondary school. Insights were gained into how students’ perceptions of learning environment changed during their first exposure to specialised science learning environments and teachers, and how these changes in perceptions during transition depended upon school size and student gender. Both school size and student gender were found to be influencing factors for changes in some learning environment dimension perceptions.     

Student perceptions of ePortfolio integration in online courses

This study explored students’ perceptions regarding the integration of electronic portfolios (ePortfolios) in two online graduate‐level courses at a small research university in the western United States. Researchers investigated student perceptions of communication, connectedness, value, and perceived student learning through ePortfolio integration and formative peer review to support a sustained community of learning. Data was collected from 40 students with a Web‐based questionnaire and a threaded discussion forum. Results indicate ePortfolios positively impacted some students’ perception of communication, connectedness, and learning. Most participants also valued ePortfolios. Prior ePortfolio experience and gender were responsible for minor differences in student perceptions, whereas lack of prior reflective experience impacted student perceptions significantly. Researchers conclude that ePortfolios can foster learning communities in online graduate programs.     

Student perceptions of technology and implications for an empowering curriculum

Growing interest in technology education in 1988 led the Curriculum Development Division of the then New Zealand Department of Education to seek a survey of students' perceptions of technology using the internationally trialled Pupils' Attitudes Towards Technology (PATT) questionnaire. Early in 1989 a national sample of 1,469 form 3 students completed the questionnaire and responded to an open question about the nature of technology. Results indicated that students have generally positive attitudes towards technology, but poor concepts of technology. The nature of these attitudes and concepts and related factors have implications for the development of the National Curriculum Statement in Technology. Specializations: science and technology education, gender