COMMUNITY COLLEGE RETENTION: DIFFERENTIATING AMONG STOPOUTS,DROPOUTS, AND OPTOUTS

One fact often overlooked in discussing the retention issue is that not everyone who fails to return to school is a dropout. Some persons return after an absence of a semester or more; they can be called stopouts. Some intended to take only a few classes and stop attending when they accomplish their educational goals; they can be called optouts. The only persons who should be labeled dropouts are those who failed to accomplish their educational goal and have no definite plans to accomplish it later.

During the 1990‐91 school year, Del Mar College (DMC) and the Texas A&M Adult and Extension Education program developed and executed a plan to identify, count, and interview nonreturnees at DMC. The purposes of the study were toprovide DMC with baseline data on its nonreturnees and to test the feasibility of gathering interview information by telephone.

Stopouts far outnumbered dropouts and optouts among respondents, with 303 of 399 nonreturnees identifying themselves as such.

In this article, we define relevant terms, outline the data‐gathering process and describe the findings of the present study, and present recommendations regarding data gathering and the focus of retention efforts.     

‘We had to do intelligent thinking during recent PE’: students’ and teachers’ experiences of assessment for learning in post‐primary physical education

This study arose in response to a perceived need for additional teacher support for assessment in physical education and the limited focus in physical education pedagogy literature on the impact of Assessment for Learning (AfL), in particular the impact of formative assessment on student learning. The study involved the refinement and evaluation of a post‐primary physical education planning framework with assessment instruments for use by teachers. A number of teachers were engaged in the development of assessment and planning materials, the trialling of these in school settings and their subsequent refinement based on the feedback received from the teaching and learning setting. The study was contingent on teachers cultivating a learning culture within their class. Students’ and teachers’ experiences of AfL are reported before highlighting some of the challenges that remain in investigating formative assessment.     

Incorporating radiology into medical gross anatomy: Does the use of cadaver CT scans improve students' academic performance in anatomy?

Radiological images show anatomical structures in multiple planes and may be effective for teaching anatomical spatial relationships, something that students often find difficult to master. This study tests the hypotheses that (1) the use of cadaveric computed tomography (CT) scans in the anatomy laboratory is positively associated with performance in the gross anatomy course and (2) dissection of the CT‐scanned cadaver is positively associated with performance on this course. One hundred and seventy‐nine first‐year medical students enrolled in gross anatomy at Boston University School of Medicine were provided with CT scans of four cadavers, and students were given the opportunity to choose whether or not to use these images. The hypotheses were tested using logistic regression analysis adjusting for student demographic characteristics. Students who used the CT scans were more likely to score greater than 90% as an average practical examination score (odds ratio OR 3.6; 95% CI 1.4, 9.2), final course grade (OR 2.6; 95% CI 1.01, 6.8), and on spatial anatomy examination questions (OR 2.4; 95% CI 1.03, 5.6) than were students who did not use the CT scans. There were no differences in performance between students who dissected the scanned cadavers and those who dissected a different cadaver. These results demonstrate that the use of CT scans in medical gross anatomy is predictive of performance in the course and on questions requiring knowledge of anatomical spatial relationships, but it is not necessary to scan the actual cadaver dissected by each student. Anat Sci Educ 3: 56–63, 2010. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.     

The transfer of social exclusion and inclusion functions through derived stimulus relations

Previous studies have found that social exclusion can cause distress to those excluded. One method used to study social exclusion is through a virtual ball-toss game known as Cyberball. In this game, participants may be excluded from or included in the ball-toss game and typically report lower feelings of self-esteem, control, belonging, and meaningful existence following exclusion. Experiments 1 and 2 sought to explore the transfer of feelings of exclusion and inclusion through stimulus equivalence classes. In both experiments, participants were trained to form two three-member equivalence classes (e.g., A1–B1, B1–C1; A2–B2, B2–C2) and were tested with novel stimulus combinations (A1–C1, C1–A1, A2–C2, C2–A2). Thereafter, participants were exposed to the Cyberball exclusion and inclusion games. In these games, one stimulus (C1) from one equivalence class was assigned as the Cyberball inclusion game name, whereas one stimulus (C2) from the other equivalence class was assigned as the Cyberball exclusion game name. In Experiment 2, participants were only exposed to the Cyberball exclusion game. During a subsequent transfer test, participants were asked to rate how included in or excluded from they thought they would be in other online games, corresponding to members of both equivalence classes. Participant reported that they felt they would be excluded from online games if the games were members of the same equivalence class as C2. In contrast, participants reported that they felt they would be included in online games if the games were members of the same equivalence class as C1. Results indicated the transfer of feelings of inclusion (Experiment 1) and feelings of exclusion (Experiments 1 and 2) through equivalence classes.     

US 2012 Live: when the classroom becomes a newsroom

In November 2012, 300 students came together in the Media School at Bournemouth University in the UK to report the US Presidential Election. Over the course of 10 days, students published 176 articles on a rolling news website, garnering more than 20,000 hits. On election night itself, students produced 10 h of live coverage on both TV and radio, airing 30 pre-recorded video packages and 35 pre-recorded radio packages. This experiential project adopted a so-called ‘live case’ methodology that encapsulated a high degree of application and a certain level of structure, which allowed for the ‘variety and uncertainty’ or reality to intervene. It also empowered and enabled students to reflect on and evaluate their individual experiences in light of their own learning styles. This paper will discuss the challenges and successes experienced during this experiential project, and will provide a nine-step guide on how others could replicate a similar project.     

The need for a General Comment for Article 19 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child: Toward enlightenment and progress for child protection

ObjectiveTo present the need and plan for development of a General Comment for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child Article 19 which has the potential to transform and advance child protection through the infusion of a child rights approach.MethodsThe Committee on the Rights of the Child (Committee) authorized ISPCAN and IICRD to draft a General Comment for CRC Article 19 (GC19) and to introduce implementation supports. An international working group (GC19WG), Expert Advisory Panel (EAP), and GC19 Focal Group of Committee members (GC19 CRC FG) have been organized to help guide and carry out the program of development. Analyses of relevant histories and knowledge, including effective and promising child protection strategies, are being applied to guide formulation of the GC and high priority implementation components. Consultations on the draft and supportive products will be conducted in cooperation with UNICEF, WHO, the NGO Group for the CRC, and other NGOs.Advice is to be solicited from interested parties and organizations in person and through distance communication throughout the world.ResultsIn addition to the GC19, numerous implementation supports will be planned and some will be produced and piloted during the program of development. Under consideration are an implementation guide and resources; commentary; accountability models, indicators, measures and evaluation systems; a clearing house and resource website; a child-appropriate version of GC19; and education/training curricula and programs.Practice implicationsGC19 has the potential to transform child protection by fostering a paradigm shift in its conceptualization, theory, research, and practice. Article 19 encourages an interpretation and application beyond narrow child protection conceptualizations and practices which have been found seriously inadequate. The General Comment can advance effective prevention of maltreatment and protection of personal security by promoting the child's rights, well-being, health, and development in all aspects of child protection. GC19 will provide support to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in its monitoring and guiding functions, and to States Parties, professionals, and civil society agents concerned with the protection and well-being of children.     

A Two-Year Longitudinal Study of Stressful Life Events, Social Support, and Social Problem-Solving Skills: Contributions to Children''s Behavioral and Academic Adjustment

We investigated the contributions of stressful life events and resources (social support and social problem-solving skills) to predicting changes in children's adjustment. At Time 1, 361 third through fifth graders completed measures of social support and social problem-solving skills. Their parents completed a stressful life events scale and a child behavior rating measure. The children's teachers provided ratings of behavioral and academic adjustment. 2-year follow-up data (Time 2) were obtained for approximately half of the sample on the same measures. Time 1 stressful life events and resources showed some significant but modest zero-order correlations with the Time 2 adjustment indices. Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed prospective effects for Time 1 social support on later teacher-rated competencies and grade-point average. In addition, increases over time in social support and social problem-solving skills (a composite score) were significantly related to improvement in behavioral and academic adjustment, whereas stressful life events were not predictive of adjustment.     

Family Context and Gender Role Socialization in Middle Childhood: Comparing Girls to Boys and Sisters to Brothers

We studied the extent of sex-typing across different areas of child functioning (personality, interests, activities) in middle childhood as a function of the traditionality of parents' gender role attitudes and the sex composition of the sibling dyad. Participants included 200 firstborn children ( mean = 10.4 years old), their secondborn siblings ( mean = 7.7 years old) and their mothers and fathers. Family members were interviewed in their homes about their attitudes and personal characteristics and completed a series of seven evening telephone interviews about their daily activities. We measured children's attitudes, personality characteristics, and interests in sex-typed leisure activities (e.g., sports, handicrafts) as well as time spent in sex-typed leisure activities and household tasks (e.g., washing dishes, home repairs) and with same and opposite sex companions (i.e., parents, peers). Analyses revealed that sex-typing was most evident in children's interests and activities. Further, comparisons of girls versus boys and sisters versus brothers revealed that differences in children's sex-typing as a function of fathers' attitudes and sibling sex constellation were most apparent for children's activities. A notable exception was sex-typed peer involvement; time spent with same versus opposite sex peers was impervious to context effects. Analyses focused on children's sex-typing as a function of mothers' attitudes generally were nonsignificant.