What do graduates think? An analysis of intention to repeat the same studies and university

The present work analyzes the key factors in the university experience that influence graduates' intention to repeat the same studies and the same institution, given the hypothetical option – based on hindsight – of selecting afresh a course and place of study. The work is inspired by the theory of planned behavior [Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior, in action control: From cognition to behavior. New York: J. Kuhl and J. Beckmann; Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179–211]. This analysis is based on the opinion of graduates in relation to a set of variables that together form the intention to repeat, namely quality of education; services and facilities; preparation by the university for employment; fitness-for-purpose of studies for the job market; capacities and skills acquired; the time taken to find work following graduation; current salary; and satisfaction with current employment. Using multiple regression models, the principal components of service quality in a university context are determined. The findings indicate that the quality of the educational process is the most influential aspect both in the intention to repeat the same studies and also in the intention to repeat the same university. Services and facilities have a marked influence on the latter, while the time taken to find employment and current salary are the two aspects with the least impact.     

The intention to both memorise and understand: Another approach to learning?

In distinguishing deep and surface approaches, an important determinant is the intentions to understand and memorise respectively. A student adopting a surface approach does not seek understanding and, therefore, relies upon memorisation. Understanding and memorising are, then, seen as almost mutually exclusive as far as intent is concerned, although those seeking understanding may make some strategic use of memorisation for particular tasks. This paper reviews emerging evidence of an approach which combines memorising and understanding. The research has been conducted in the Asian region, and so provides part of the explanation for the paradox of the Asian student. There has been widespread anecdotal evidence of rote-learning and yet Asian students are often high achievers. Several plausible explanations for the occurrence of the approach are advanced. These include limited ability in the language of study leading to a narrow systematic pattern of study, cultural traditions respecting order and diligent study, and the need for children to learn the language characters.     

An action learning approach to the question: are ambulance response time targets achievable?

In recent years, NHS Ambulance Trusts throughout the UK have consistently failed to achieve their response time targets for both actual and potential life-threatening calls. To avoid a media and public outcry, the NHS response has been to change the basic parameters upon which the response time targets are calculated. An action learning study, which considered patient experience from initial response to outcome, concluded that the ambulance service must move away from the nearest crew response model to one which provides a defined multi-organisational service to specific categories of need. A key issue with the learning sets, which were made up of front-line crews, was understanding the Trust-wide picture and where acceptable new procedures could provide economic benefits to the Trust, benefits to the patients and help achieve the response time targets. A simulation model driven by parameters agreed by the action learning sets provided proof that new procedures would generate the required benefits. The learning sets also identified that the public should adjust their expectations to understanding that an immediate front-line ambulance response would only be despatched in life-threatening cases, but there would be alternative slower responses for all other cases.     

What determines the return to education: An extra year or a hurdle cleared?

The 1973 Raising of the School Leaving Age from 15 to 16 has been used to identify returns to years’ schooling. However, because the first set of “high stakes” exams are taken in the UK at age 16, the reform affected the proportion with qualifications, as well as schooling length. In order to shed light on whether the returns reflect the extra length of schooling or the increase in qualifications, we exploit another institutional rule – the Easter Leaving Rule – which we argue only affected the probability of obtaining qualifications (and not the length of schooling). We find sizeable returns to academic qualifications – increasing the probability of employment by 40% points – and our results suggest that qualifications drive most of the returns to education.     

Why do women more often intend to study abroad than men?

Higher Education - In many Western countries, women are more likely to study abroad than men. At present, there is a lack of theory-guided empirical studies searching explanations for this pattern....     

An approach to the problem of “chest resonance”

RHETORIC IN GRECO‐ROMAN EDUCATION. By Donald Lemen Clark. New York: Columbia University Press, 1957; pp. xiii+ 285. $4.50.

ENGLISH POLITICS IN THE EARLY EIGHTEENTH CENTURY (Harvard Historical Monographs XXVIII). By Robert Walcott, Jr. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1956; pp. viii+291. $3.50.

CONGRESSMAN ABRAHAM LINCOLN. By Donald W. Riddle. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1957; pp. x+280. $4.50.

REVIVALISM AND SOCIAL REFORM IN MID ‐ NINETEENTH ‐ CENTURY AMERICA. By Timothy L. Smith. New York: Abingdon Press, 1957; pp. 253. $4.00.

TREATISES ON PREACHING. By Harry Caplan and Henry H. King.

LITERATURE AND THE IMAGE OF MAN: SOCIOLOGICAL STUDIES OF THE EUROPEAN DRAMA AND NOVEL, 1600–1900. By Leo Lowenthal. Boston: The Beacon Press; 1957; pp. xiv+242. $4.95.

OEDIPUS AT THEBES. By Bernard Knox. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1957; pp. viii+280. $5.00.

PARIS THEATRE AUDIENCES IN THE SEVENTEENTH AND EIGHTEENTH CENTURIES. By John Lough. London: Oxford University Press, 1957; pp. vii+293. $7.20.

ON THE ART OF THE THEATRE. By Edward Gordon Craig. New York: Theatre Arts Books, 1956; pp. xxiii+296; 7 plates. $4.75.

AMERICAN DRAMA SINCE 1918. By Joseph Wood Krutch. (Revised edition.) New York: George Braziller, 1957; pp. xii+344. $5.00.

ON ACTORS AND THE ART OF ACTING. George Henry Lewes. New York: Grove Press, 1957; pp. 237. Paper, $1.45. Hardbound, $3.50.

THEATRE SCENECRAFT. By Vern Adix. Anchorage, Kentucky: The Children's Theatre Press, 1956; pp. xxii+309. $6.50.

A SWINGER OF BIRCHES: A PORTRAIT OF ROBERT FROST. By Sidney Cox. With an introduction by Robert Frost. New York: New York University Press, 1957; pp. xi+177.

THE MAN IN THE NAME: ESSAYS ON THE EXPERIENCE OF POETRY. By Leonard Unger. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1956; pp. xii+249. $4.00.

MACHINE TRANSLATION OF LANGUAGES. Edited by William N. Locke and A. Donald Booth. New York: The Technology Press of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and John Wiley, 1955; pp. xii+243. $6.00.

PROBLEMS AND PRINCIPLES: STUDIES IN THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE. By David Aber‐crombie. London, New York, and Toronto: Longmans, Green, and Company, 1956; pp. v+97. $1.10.

STUDY OF SOUNDS: ARTICLES CONTRIBUTED IN COMMEMORATION OF THE THIRTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF THE PHONETIC SOCIETY OF JAPAN. Compiled by the Phonetic Society of Japan. Tokyo, 1957; pp. 549.

BRITISH BROADCASTING: RADIO AND TELEVISION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM. By Burton Paulu. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1956; pp. xii+457. $6.00.

CERTAIN LANGUAGE SKILLS IN CHILDREN: THEIR DEVELOPMENT AND INTERRELATIONSHIPS. By Mildred C. Templin. Minneapolis: University or Minnesota Press, 1957; pp. xviii+183. $4.00.

YOUR CHILD'S SPEECH. By Flora Rheta Schreiber. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1956; pp. 256. $3.50.

SPEECH DISORDERS, PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES OF THERAPY. By Mildred F. Berry and Jon Eisenson. New York: Apple‐ton‐Century‐Crofts, 1956; pp. 573. $6.75.

SPEECH CORRECTION IN THE SCHOOLS. By Jon Eisenson and Mardel Ogilvie. New York: Macmillan, 1957; pp. 294. I4.25.

BASIC VOICE TRAINING FOR SPEECH. By Elise Hahn, Charles W. Lomas, Donald Hargis, and Daniel Vandraegen. (Second edition.) New York: McGraw‐Hill, 1957; pp. 253. $1.75.

THE ART OF PERSUASION. By Wayne C. Minnick. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1957; pp. viii+293. $4.00.

FUNDAMENTALS OF COMMUNICATION: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH. By Wayne N. Thompson. New York: McGraw‐Hill, 1957; pp. x+582. $5.00.

MANAGEMENT‐EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATION IN ACTION. By Harold P. Zelko and Harold J. O'Brien. Cleveland: Howard Allen, Inc., 1957; pp. xv+177. $3.50.

LEADERSHIP AND ROLE EXPECTATIONS. By Ralph M. Stogdill, Ellis L. Scott, and William E. Jaynes. Columbus, Ohio: The Bureau of Business Research, College of Commerce and Administration, Ohio State University, 1956; pp. 168. $2.00.

THE MAN BEHIND THE MESSAGE: A STUDY OF SOME PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF PROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATORS. By Dayton E. Heckraan, Franklin H. Knower, and Paul H. Wagner. Columbus, Ohio: Ohio State University, 1956; pp. 132. $1.00.

SPEECH AT WORK. By Audrey M. Bullard and E. Dulce Lindsay. Melbourne: Longmans, Green and Co., 1956; pp. 180. $2.50.

THE ART OF SPEECH. By H. W. Traynor. Melbourne: Whitcombe and Tombs, 1956; pp. go. $0.50.

TELEVISION AND RADIO. By Giraud Chester and Garnet R. Garrison. (Second edition.) New York: Appleton‐Century‐Crofts, 1956; pp. xv+652. $6.50.     

Does study abroad affect student academic achievement?

The numbers of UK students choosing to study abroad for a period has increased steadily over the years, with many students citing academic, professional, linguistic and cultural reasons as their key motivations. However, while there is an abundance of literature on the advantage of study abroad (SA) for linguistic learning, there is less known about the academic impact of studying abroad. In addition, because SA is largely a process of self-selection, this makes it difficult to derive unbiased estimates of its impact on academic achievement. Using data on students from a London-based Russell Group university, and categorising SA students as those who participated in credit-seeking SA programmes through Erasmus or bilateral/multilateral agreements with partner universities, this paper uses individual fixed effects to compare the post-SA grades for students who sojourned with their expected grades had they not sojourned, as well as with their non-SA counterparts. The results are quite robust across subgroups and indicate that grades in year 3 are less than expected for the SA group, given their pre-sojourn grades. To tackle the problem of self-selection, outcomes for SA students were compared to the group who applied but did not eventually study abroad, and to the outcomes for students who did not apply.     

What is the Teacher Doing? What are the Students Doing? An Application of the Draw-a-Science-Teacher-Test

This study documents the use of the Draw-a-Science-Teacher-Test as diagnostic tool for both preservice teacher beliefs about science teaching and science methods course effectiveness. Direct comparison of pre-course to post-course images from 50 preservice elementary teachers was undertaken using McNemar’s test. Results indicated statistically significant shifts in participants’ mental models of science teaching and learning. Post-course more students portrayed student-centered reform minded practices. The limitations of this analytical approach, the practical significance of this work, and ideas for future research in this arena are discussed.     

An assessment‐led approach to processes in the science curriculum

General conditions which should be met in the development of the idea of science processes and the potential benefits which would result are suggested. An approach to the definition of science processes based on variables and variable handling is outlined. It is argued that this should occur specifically in the context of educational practice. The processes should be elucidated within a taxonomy of tasks, the ultimate components of which should be interpretable and transferable skills. The development and utilization of such a taxonomy can most obviously occur in the context of assessment. The techniques of item banking and domain definition in domain‐referenced tests are then discussed in relation to the above issues. Multi‐dimensional labelling of an item bank is considered to be appropriate, and suggestive of a research programme for investigating the requirements of transferability and interpretability.

The labelling scheme resulting from an attempt to identify the significant dimensions of the age 15 Assessment of Performance Unit (APU) science item bank is reported. The paper indicates the effectiveness of the scheme and discusses the value of labelling those items within the assessment programme which draw heavily on the conceptual framework of taught science. A discussion of how the labelling scheme/item bank can be used in an attempt to identify the skills required in undertaking tasks based on science processes, and thus to develop tests of such identifiable skills for diagnostic and placement purposes in schools, concludes this paper.     

What leads people to keep on e-learning? An empirical analysis of users' experiences and their effects on continuance intention

User retention is a major goal for higher education institutions running their teaching and learning programmes online. This is the first investigation into how the senses of presence and flow, together with perceptions about two central elements of the virtual education environment (didactic resource quality and instructor attitude), facilitate the user's intention to continue e-learning. We use data collected from a large sample survey of current users in a pure e-learning environment along with objective data about their performance. The results provide support to the theoretical model. The paper further offers practical suggestions for institutions and instructors who aim to provide effective e-learning experiences.     

Reading Comprehension:What Will the Snakehead Bring to the Potomac River?

The toothy A sian fish—snakeheads arefar from the river’s only invaders. O ver tim ethe Potom ac has been altered by hum an.There are A sian clam s and thickets of grassoriginally from Southeast A sia. Largem outhbass(黑鲈) and channel catfish(鲶 鱼), trans鄄planted from other parts of the U nited States,share the Potom ac w ith carp(鲤 鱼) native toA sia.Feral goldfish have been spotted—biggerand brow ner than usual after being liberatedfrom their fishbowls. A nd scientists estim ateth…     

What Is the Queer——An Introduction to Queer Theory

Queer theory,as a field of post-structuralist critical theory that emerged in the early 1990s out of the fields of queer studies and Women’ s studies,is now receiving more and more academic attentions.This paper gives an introduction to its definition,theorists,basic premises as well as its literary applications,aiming to shed some light on this seemingly "queer" theory.     

Calibration: What is it and why it matters? An introduction to the special issue on calibrating calibration

The burgeoning literatures on students' metacognitive judgments, self-regulation, self-efficacy beliefs, strategic processing, and conceptual change have focused new attention on the nature and measurement of calibration. Calibration, the distance between perceived and demonstrated levels of understanding, capability, competence, or preparedness, is foundational to these critical areas of inquiry. Yet, not enough is known about the nature of calibration or about the best means of gauging the distance between what students' believe and what they show in their cognitive actions and performance. It is the goal of this special issue on “Calibrating Calibration” to provide educational researchers with critical theoretical and methodological information on this pivotal topic.     

Who are the young children for whom best practices in reading are ineffective? An experimental and longitudinal study

The primary purpose of this study was to identify student characteristics that reliably predict responsiveness and nonresponsiveness to generally effective early literacy interventions. Participants were 104 children, including 7 with special needs and Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), who were tested in kindergarten and first grade. Responsiveness/nonresponsiveness status was determined after 2 years during which children participated in best practice instruction (a) in kindergarten and first grade, (b) in kindergarten only, (c) in first grade only, or (d) in neither year. This facilitated the study of three groups. Always responsive students met responsiveness criteria in both years. Sometimes responsive students met the criteria in only one year. Nonresponsive students did not meet the criteria in either year. Multivariate analysis of variance and discriminant function analysis indicated that the three groups were reliably different from one another on measures of problem behavior, verbal memory, sentence imitation, syntactic awareness, vocabulary, naming speed, and segmentation. A combination of naming speed, vocabulary, sentence imitation, problem behavior, and amount of intervention correctly predicted 82.1% of nonresponsive students, 30.0% of sometimes responsive students, and 84.1% of always responsive students. Fifty students from kindergarten and first grade were tested again at the end of what should have been their third-grade year. All but 1 of the nonresponsive students who received intervention had been identified as requiring special education and had an IEP with reading goals.