Scaffolding Mathematics Remediation for Academically At-Risk Students Following Developmental Education Reform in Florida

The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand how educational scaffolding may explain changing patterns of student success in mathematics in the era of developmental education (DE or remediation) reform in Florida College System (FCS) institutions. Specifically, we apply the concept of scaffolding to underprepared FCS students who are at risk of dropping out or failing gateway courses (the first credit-bearing college-level class in a course sequence) because they lack the academic skills necessary to succeed in college-level coursework, particularly in mathematics. We present data from focus groups conducted at 10 FCS institutions, suggesting that a reduction of scaffolding in math remediation occurred in the areas of course sequencing, instruction, and coordination with academic support services following state-level policy changes. In light of these findings, we offer a discussion of practical recommendations for college administrators related to academic advising, instructional strategies in DE courses, coordination between developmental and college-level instructors, student success courses, and the integration of DE instruction with academic support. We also suggest directions for continued research on the effects of policy changes in the FCS and DE reform efforts across the country.     

The influence of body discourses on adolescents’ (non)participation in physical activity

Drawing on semi-structured interviews with older adolescents, this article examines how healthism, ideal body discourses and performative body discourses influence their (non)participation in physical activity (PA) and their identity construction concerning exercise, sport and physical education. We illustrate that body transformation through PA, and related slim body desire and the fear of masculinised female bodies, affect adolescents’ decisions to engage in or drop out of sport. Also, a non-hegemonic body shape combined with a display of low physical competence triggers classmate and teachers’ rejection and marginalisation, affecting adolescents’ construction of embodied identities and preventing them from being active. Finally, adolescents who are competent in sport are less influenced by ideal body discourses than by performative body discourses. We highlight the health promotion effects of these hegemonic discourses and suggest strategies to challenge them.     

Using Activity Theory to explore the management of General Certificate of Education (GCSE) access arrangements

Access arrangements are the way in which awarding bodies for public examinations in England, such as the General Certificate of Secondary Education, make reasonable adjustments for students with special educational needs and disabilities. SENCos have expressed concerns about the onerous nature of managing requirements for access arrangements, both administratively and practically, but there has been little explanation of why an apparently straightforward process proves so challenging. In this study, the development of a whole-school system to improve the administrative and practical management of access arrangements is used to seek to understand how the requirements set (and re-set) annually interact with school systems and processes to render the administration of access arrangements potentially complex, time-consuming and unpredictable. Scotland's flexible, school-led framework of requirements for the management of public examination assessment arrangements is highlighted as potentially more fit-for-purpose for the organisation of statutory reasonable adjustments for educational assessment.     

Self-regulatory and demographic predictors of grades in online and face-to-face university cohorts: A multi-group path analysis

Predictors of academic success at university are of great interest to educators, researchers and policymakers. With more students studying online, it is important to understand whether traditional predictors of academic outcomes in face-to-face settings are relevant to online learning. This study modelled self-regulatory and demographic predictors of subject grades in 84 online and 80 face-to-face undergraduate students. Predictors were effort regulation, grade goal, academic self-efficacy, performance self-efficacy, age, sex, socio-economic status (SES) and first-in-family status. A multi-group path analysis indicated that the models were significantly different across learning modalities. For face-to-face students, none of the model variables significantly predicted grades. For online students, only performance self-efficacy significantly predicted grades (small effect). Findings suggest that learner characteristics may not function in the same way across learning modes. Further factor analytic and hierarchical research is needed to determine whether self-regulatory predictors of academic success continue to be relevant to modern student cohorts.

Practitioner Notes

What is already known about this topic

• Self-regulatory and demographic variables are important predictors of university outcomes like grades.
• It is unclear whether the relationships between predictor variables and outcomes are the same across learning modalities, as research findings are mixed.

What this paper adds

• Models predicting university students' grades by demographic and self-regulatory predictors differed significantly between face-to-face and online learning modalities.
• Performance self-efficacy significantly predicted grades for online students.
• No self-regulatory variables significantly predicted grades for face-to-face students, and no demographic variables significantly predicted grades in either cohort.
• Overall, traditional predictors of grades showed no/small unique effects in both cohorts.

Implications for practice and/or policy

• The learner characteristics that predict success may not be the same across learning modalities.
• Approaches to enhancing success in face-to-face settings are not automatically applicable to online settings.
• Self-regulatory variables may not predict university outcomes as strongly as previously believed, and more research is needed.