Unofficial hazing in secondary schools: Prevalence,activities, and attitudes

The aim of our exploratory pilot study was to investigate the unofficial initiation rite of accepting novices in secondary school. We examined the prevalence of unofficial hazing, types and frequency of hazing activities and the attitudes toward hazing of students with different roles in hazing (targets, bystanders, and target‐bystanders) in a sample of 404 first‐year (secondary school) students. We found out that 79% of student‐novices were involved in unofficial hazing (43% of them involuntarily); that activities of subtle hazing prevail (in 72%), but there are activities of harassment and dangerous hazing present in 28%; and that targets and target‐bystanders have more positive feelings and attitudes toward hazing than bystanders do. Implications of the study findings are also discussed.     

The continuity of college students’ autonomous learning motivation and its predictors: A three-year longitudinal study

This study examined change in Chinese students’ autonomous learning motivation in the first three years of college and how this change is accounted for by intra- and inter-individual variables. The sample included 633 (328 female) college freshmen. Results showed that students’ autonomous learning motivation decreased over years in college. Students’ perceived parental autonomy support and peer relatedness demonstrated different change patterns over time, but each variable positively predicted students’ autonomous learning motivation. Students majoring in science showed a more rapid decline in motivation than liberal arts students. Students studying a major of their own choice showed a higher initial level of motivation than students who were studying a major not of their own choice, but no group difference in the declining trend of motivation was observed. The positive effects of students' perceived institutional support on motivation were limited to the freshmen year.     

Being kitties in a preschool classroom: maintaining group harmony and acting proper in a female peer-culture play routine

This study examines how young girls construct emotional themes in their peer-culture play routines and rituals in the daily life of a preschool classroom. This research is part of a larger eight-month ethnographic study of one preschool classroom. The data selected and analysed in this article are taken from a focused six-week theoretical sampling of five female preschool children's play. Micro-level analysis of the data (field notes, videotaping, video revisiting and interviews with teachers and students) revealed how children's peer-culture and emotional themes were socially constructed through a specific play narrative that centred on five females being ‘kitties’. A closer look at one group member named Mary uncovered emotional themes that centred on acting proper and group harmony. Females used their peer-culture and emotional themes to hold group members accountable, resolve conflict and appropriate society's emotional display rules. These data reveal the social–emotional ‘work’ of children and the role of peers in childhood socialisation.     

Hazing in Public Schools: A Liability Challenge for School Leaders

Hazing in public schools is a significant problem that may result in serious physical or emotional harm to students who are victims. According to experts in the field, each year more than 1,500,000 American students become new hazing victims. Hazing also results in legal challenges for school personnel. The courts consider public schools to be safe places where teaching and learning occur in a peaceful environment. Thus, school personnel have a leading responsibility to protect the safety of students under the functional custody of their schools. Hazing activities, if not checked, pose a threat to the health and safety of students. Hazing by its very nature is a private act. Consequently, a significant number of hazing acts goes unreported. Hazing has become so prevalent that it has prompted 44 states to pass legislation banning it. Despite anti-hazing laws, hazing continues to occur among athletes, peer groups, gangs, and other schools clubs and organizations. Hazing creates stress, anxiety, intimidation, and often results in physical and emotional harm to victims. Well-defined policies prohibiting hazing and proper procedures for reporting hazing coupled with vigilance by school personnel in monitoring student activities may greatly reduce hazing incidents and minimize potential liability claims for school personnel.     

Student perceptions of Thai university initiations

Recently there have been several sensational reports of serious consequences of freshmen initiation rites at Thai universities. The purpose of this study was to investigate Thai freshmen students' perceptions of the faculty initiation process. For this study, roughly 1,000 freshmen students took a pre-test during the first week of their initiation and a post-test after the initiations were complete. These tests were administered at 18 universities around Thailand during the first term of the 2007 academic year. The results of the survey suggest that initiations seem to have little effect on student perceptions of themselves, the activities, and their institutions. In conclusion, the university initiation process should be reviewed so that it can better focus on helping students get accustomed to life at the university.     

大学新生自我评价、人际关系与幸福感关系研究

随着社会的进步,大学生的心理问题日益受到重视。大一新生是大学生中的特殊群体,他们当中存在着地区差别、专业差别和已有的心理状况差别。针对不同专业、不同地区的大一新生进行问卷调查,着重考察其自我评价、人际关系和幸福感的关系,结果发现:不同专业和不同地区的学生,其幸福感没有显著地差异;学生的自我评价和人际关系与个体的幸福感呈正相关关系,对于幸福感有着重要的影响作用。     

Using the assessment process to overcome Imposter Syndrome in mature students

This research draws on the experience of a group of mature students’ studies during their first year at university. All experienced varying degrees of Imposter Syndrome, feelings of fraudulence and a lack of confidence in their ability. The process of ‘becoming’ a mature student is one of identity change and risk. Gaining a sense of belonging to the institution and academia is an important part of the transition year, but the assimilation into the culture of university life can be problematic. The first assessment for all students can be seen as a ‘rite of passage’ on the journey of ‘belonging’. So for mature students who may have had a substantial gap in their education, this can be a critical moment in their progression through the transition year. Negotiation through the culture and language of academia can lead to misunderstanding and self-doubt, and the process of assessment can be an emotional journey for some students. In this article the students describe their experiences of the assessment process and their need for feedback. Facing the judgement of their peer group and the academic staff was a particular fear of most of the students, as was the difficulty in both ‘getting started’ on and ‘letting go’ of their written work. The article concludes with a discussion of the role of assessment in relation to confidence building and to overcoming Imposter Syndrome.     

A Science-Mythology Relationship Among Indian Children

Abstract

The study examines the effects of cross age tutoring in school on the tutors’ empathy, altruism, and self-esteem. The sample consists of 73 high school freshmen, who participated in a year-long program of tutor-training, and a comparison group of 98 other freshmen. Controlling the effects of initial attribute scores, students’ sex, and socioeconomic status, it was found that program participation significantly increased the tutors’ empathy, altruism, and self-esteem. The findings, interpreted according to role-taking theory, suggest that school programs of cross-age tutoring may have some psychological benefits in addition to their already established influence on students’ academic achievements. Since no interactions were found between the effects of program participation and students’ social background on the increases in attribute scores, such programs may perhaps be used for the integration of students from different social-cultural backgrounds.     

Accidental achievers? International higher education,class reproduction and privilege in the experiences of UK students overseas

To date, scholarship on international students has generally focused on flows from non‐western economies to the main English‐speaking destination countries (such as the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia). In contrast, we draw on a qualitative study of 85 UK students who have either completed or are considering undertaking a degree programme overseas. We found that, in opposition to a common image of ‘international students’, UK students are not overtly motivated by ‘strategic’ concerns. Instead, they are seeking ‘excitement’ and ‘adventure’ from overseas study and often use the opportunity to delay the onset of a career and prolong a relatively carefree student lifestyle. Despite these ostensibly ‘disinterested’ objectives, however, UK students remain a highly privileged group and their experiences serve only to facilitate the reproduction of their privilege. The paper calls for a more critical analysis of the spatially uneven and socially exclusive nature of international higher education.     

Bringing creativity back into primary education

Much of what happens in primary classrooms reflects a number of rituals and routines that have largely become an unconscious part of teachers’ repertoires. While these ‘rituals of practice’ provide a framework or structure to learning in classrooms, they are often left unexamined. These taken-for-granted ways of teaching require close examination in order to ascertain their merit or otherwise for children's learning. This paper outlines some rituals of practice in primary classrooms in the Arts (dance, drama, music and visual art). It outlines the nature of these rituals and discusses how some were disrupted by teachers-as-researchers in collaboration with their university colleagues in a joint research project. The findings suggest that research partnerships of this nature provide a supportive environment for questioning assumptions and enacting alternatives that promote learning.     

航空发动机冲击动力学新生研讨课实验教学改革研究

在航空发动机结构冲击动力学新生研讨课中设计了冰撞击和外物损伤模拟实验教学环节,通过设备技术安全改造、实验方案优化、实验大纲编写、分组实验观察等教学手段,将课堂理论教学与实践教学有机结合,加深学生对结构冲击学问题的认识。通过对学生进行问卷调查,对实验教学在新生研讨课中的教学效果进行了总结与分析。结果表明,在新生研讨课中开展实验教学,有助于学生快速深入地掌握课堂教学理论知识,调动学生参与教学活动的积极性,提高学生动手能力,推动学生理解航空特色,对学生规划未来专业方向起到了较好的辅助作用。     

高校新生入学教育实施效果影响因素分析

以549份高校新生入学教育满意度调查问卷数据为依据,运用有序Probit模型,探究影响新生入学教育实施效果的关键因素。结果表明：新生个人特征变量中的所学专业与报考专业是否一致、生源地、上大学之前是否了解新生入学教育以及新生入学教育的内容、老师讲授的方式、入学教育的时间安排、对学生管理制度的认识状况和新生入学教育能否满足学生的需要对新生入学教育实施效果具有显著影响。而性别差异、专业差异、对所学专业的认识程度以及对自身职业生涯规划认识程度对新生入学教育实施效果的影响不显著。     

Good Practice in Science Teaching: What Research has to Say (2nd edn)

The scientific competencies advocated by the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) focus on the abilities needed in students' adult lives. This study investigated how such scientific competencies could be improved by using online argumentation. One hundred and thirty-eight 8th grade high school students took part in the study, with 69 in the experimental group and 69 in the control group. A quasi-experimental design was adopted and qualitative and quantitative analyses were used. An online argumentation system served as an aid for argumentation instruction and activities among experimental group students during the experiment. The results showed that using online argumentation could improve the students' scores for the PISA scientific competencies. The experimental group students outperformed their counterparts in terms of overall mean scores for the scientific competencies. On the one hand, the individual competencies of ‘using scientific evidence’ and ‘identifying scientific issues’ of the experimental group were higher than those of the control group. On the other hand, the experimental group students did not outperform their counterparts in terms of competency in ‘explaining phenomena scientifically’. Using an online environment to complement argumentation instruction and organizing argumentation activities focused on related topics may be a potential direction to consider for improving students’ PISA scientific competencies.     

The effect of time‐on‐task on student grades and grade expectations

The effects of students’ attitudes on time devoted to a course (i.e. time‐on‐task), and the subsequent effects of this time‐on‐task on their performance in the course and their overall grade point average (GPA) were studied. Over a three‐year period, engineering students (N = 231) were surveyed in weeks one, three, seven (after midterms) and 10 (before finals) of a 10‐week quarter in six sophomore and junior engineering classes (eight different sections). Results of this study show that most students are optimistic about their future performance in a new course, regardless of their previous overall GPA. All students appear to devote a relatively high and equal amount of time‐on‐task during the first week of the term. The students who earned grades between ‘B+’ and ‘A’ appear to optimise this time by the third week. Students who earned a final grade of ‘B’ study similar to ‘A’ students before midterms but significantly increase their efforts after midterms while the ‘C’ students decrease their time devoted to the course. This study finds that ‘A’ students know they will earn an ‘A’ as long as they do the work. In contrast, ‘C’ students are resigned to the fact that they will earn a ‘C’ and, thus, devote far less time to a course. The ‘B’ students want better grades and will devote the most effort towards achieving these grades.     

中医院校低年级学生对英语学习网络化的态度和对策研究——以北京中医药大学为例

为了提出促进中医院校学生适应英语学习和考试网络化的对策,以北京中医药大学为例,研究中医院校低年级学生对英语学习网络化的态度,通过问卷调查的方法了解一、二年级学生的计算机使用背景以及对于四级机考和英语网络教学的态度。结果显示,大学一、二年级学生的共性包括:计算机和网络使用情况一般,普遍不习惯使用计算机学习英语;担心四级由笔试改为机考,欢迎课上进行机考练习;赞成教师偶尔使用网络教授英语。大学一、二年级学生的差异包括:大二学生的计算机能力、使用计算机学习英语的频率、对四级笔试的了解程度和对机考的担心都普遍高于大一学生,大一学生比大二学生希望有更多的时间用于英语网络学习。从而得出结论,促进中医院校学生适应英语学习和考试网络化的对策是,改善中医院校网络学习环境、设计贴近机考题型的多媒体教学课件和采取针对机考的互补型教学模式。     

团体心理咨询——大学生心理健康教育的有效途径

大学生的心理健康教育是素质教育的重点,团体心理咨询作为一种新的心理健康教育形式,是当今素质教育、新时期大学生思想政治教育工作和心理健康教育工作本身的需要。团体心理咨询有助于新生入学适应、深化认识自我、学习人际交往原则和技巧、合理进行情绪调节、保持心理健康水平等各方面。团体心理咨询是高校开展心理健康教育、保持大学生心理健康、培养学生健康人格的有效途径。     

Family background and university dropouts during the crisis: the case of Italy

The Italian university system has long been characterised by high non-completion rates, though aggregate data show a slight reduction of dropouts in recent years. The most straightforward theoretical explanation for this lies in the lowering opportunity cost of studying due to the financial and economic crisis. Nonetheless, this interpretation is likely to be partly misleading. Indeed, when the crisis hit Italy, enrolment rates had been declining for years and the sample of freshmen has become increasingly selected according to family ‘social class’, family cultural background, type of high school diploma and individual ability. Since a good family background, as well as other individual characteristics, significantly increases students’ probability of succeeding, the recent decline in dropout rates could partly depend on sample selection. By applying probit selection models and decomposition techniques to a sample of Italian university students enrolled in different periods of time, I find that changes in students’ background and students’ characteristics play a major role in the recent reduction of the aggregate dropout rate.     

Multilingualism as legitimate shared repertoires in school communities of practice: students’ and teachers’ discursive constructions of languages in two schools in England

This paper reports on the findings of a 12-month project within a broader research programme that looks at a group of East European students with English as an Additional Language (EAL) in England. The data are derived from interviews with the students and teachers in two schools. The findings show that EAL students had a keen interest in English. This attitude contrasted with their reluctance to use and talk about their home language, as a result of language loss and fear of being bullied. Teachers’ attitudes towards languages were also mixed, ranging from support for ‘free use of languages’, to ‘restricted use of home language’, and to ‘use of English only’. The paper further argues that multilingualism can be theorised as legitimate shared repertoires of school communities of practice. Practical implications are drawn which suggest that students’ and teachers’ voices should be acted upon and translated into school language policies.     

An exploration of student teachers’ perspectives at the start of a post-graduate master's programme on inclusive and special education

In this article we explore the perspectives of a group of teaching professionals starting a post-graduate master's programme on inclusive and special education. Set in the current context of growing interest over the preparation of teachers for inclusive education worldwide, this exploration is part of research that looks more broadly at the impact of the programme on students. In this paper we set the context of the study and present results focusing on students’ pre-understanding of the concepts ‘inclusive’ and ‘special education’, as well as their reasons for choosing the programme and expected learning outcomes. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected with a questionnaire administered to students at the beginning of the programme. Findings reveal that students saw the programme as a factor contributing to their ability to implement inclusive education in practice. However, it emerged that they had somewhat different understandings of what ‘inclusive education’ actually means. Implications for providers of inclusive education programmes for teachers are discussed.