Peer‐assisted Student Support at the University of Glamorgan: innovating the learning process?

This article analyses the overall performance of the Peer‐Assisted Student Support (PASS) Scheme in the Business School at the University of Glamorgan. Observations were made over a seven‐week period to measure the effectiveness of the scheme in terms of enhancing the student learning process. Weekly attendance was measured to establish patterns of demand in terms of age, gender and mentored subject area. Further quantitative and qualitative research was undertaken to provide an insight into the perceived benefits of the scheme in relation to student social development and academic performance. The empirical findings of this article show that PASS attendance is female dominated. Moreover, the research suggests that contrary to previous research, the majority of benefactors reside in the under‐21 age group. The findings also highlight that academic and laboratory‐based subjects are a considerable strain on PASS resources and more significantly superior academic performance is positively correlated with regular PASS attendance.     

Library return on investment: Defending the contingent valuation method for public benefits estimation

Many library return on investment (ROI) studies have been conducted in the United States. Most rely on “cost savings” approaches to determine the marginal benefits of library services. These methods fail to logically have a meaningful relationship to theoretical benefits estimation. Adaptations of the contingent valuation method (CVM) to this application are discussed in reference to the well-known National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration panel guidelines and recent literature. A CVM technique is used to estimate median annual household benefits for Minnesota public library services. Results indicate that CVM likely leads to more conservative estimates than “cost savings” approaches, which is probably due to the realities of available substitutes and low patron marginal benefits from additional transactions. Evidence is provided to limit the usual concerns of the utilized methodology. Focusing on programs for low income and education households may create higher returns more directly attributable to these services.     

Who talks how to their kids about TV: A clarification of demographic correlates of parental mediation patterns

A random telephone survey (N = 255) of Washington state parents of children between the ages of 2 and 17 assesses parents’ reported patterns of interaction with their children regarding television, along with parental viewing habits and perceptions of television content. Demographic differences in mediation and coviewing patterns, as well as parental attitudes toward television, are explored, and explanations for these differences are considered. It is concluded that education is a weak predictor of mediation levels, single parents do not differ from dual parents in attitudes about television, and that the negative relationship of income to positive mediation and use of television as a babysitter is related more to overall viewing patterns and environmental constraints, rather than to attitudinal differences. It is suggested that demographics hold little value jar explaining why and how parents hold particular attitudes or engage in particular behaviors relevant to television and parenting.     

A critical analysis of the conceptualisation of ‘coaching philosophy’

The aim of this paper was to critically review existing literature relating to, and critically analyse current conceptualisations of, ‘coaching philosophy’. The review reveals a bewildering approach to definitions, terms and frameworks that have limited explanation and reveal a lack of conceptual clarity. It is argued that rather than provide clarification and understanding the existing literature conflates coaching rhetoric and ideology with coaching philosophy and serves to reproduce existing coaching discourse rather than explain coaching practice. The paper problematises the unquestioned assumptions currently underpinning ‘coaching philosophy’; namely the overemphasis of coaches' agency and reflexivity, the downplaying of the significance of social structure on coaches' dispositions and the acceptance that coaching practice is an entirely conscious activity. The paper argues for an alternative philosophy of coaching that uses philosophic thinking to help coaches question existing ideology, and critically evaluate the assumptions and beliefs underpinning their practice.     

Developing professional skills in chemistry — An initial study

Conclusions The limited data gathered in this pilot study suggests there may be a considerable mismatch between those professional qualities desired by industrial employers and those they generally find in new chemistry graduates. The issues raised seem sufficiently important to warrant a wider investigation. It is intended to use the data found in this initial study to design a more detailed survey in a second phase of this project.     

College Students’ Time Management: a Self-Regulated Learning Perspective

Educational Psychology Review - Despite its recognized importance for academic success, much of the research investigating time management has proceeded without regard to a comprehensive...     

Action research and reflective practice: towards a holistic view

Two concepts that have captured the imagination of the educational community in the last 60 years have been those of ‘reflective practice’ and ‘action research’. Both, in their various forms, are considered to be critical dimensions of the professional development of teachers. However, whilst both were receiving academic attention during the 1930s and 1940s (Lewin, 1934, cited in Adelman, 1993; Lewin, 1946; Dewey, 1933), it was not until Stenhouse's (1975) notion of the teacher-as-researcher that the two came most compellingly into relationship and educational action research as a process, which held at its centre different kinds of reflection, began to be reformulated in Britain (Carr, 1993). This article considers the important part played in teachers' development by different kinds of action research. Its central thesis is that, although action research has a critical role to play not least as a means of building the capacity of teachers as researchers of their own practice, there has been insufficient attention given to both the nature of reflection in the action research process, and its relationship to the purposes, processes and outcomes. The article challenges the rational, cognitive models of reflection that are implicit in much of the action research literature. It suggests that more attention needs to be given to the importance of the role of emotion in understanding and developing the capacities for reflection which facilitates personal, professional and ultimately system change     

Evaluating online learning communities

This article reviews recent evaluation studies of online learning communities to provide a systematic understanding of how such communities are evaluated. Forty-two representative studies were selected and categorized into a newly developed taxonomy of online learning community evaluations. This taxonomy is divided into four components: evaluation purpose, evaluation approach, measures for evaluation, and evaluation techniques. The findings suggest that it is inappropriate to conceptualize evaluation of such communities as a one-size-fits-all, generalizable measure of “good” or “bad.” Instead, we recommend a comprehensive, on-going, diagnostic approach to measuring clusters of indicators, or syndromes, of a particular OLC and examining the causal relation assumed by the evaluators between what is measured and the success of OLC as an imputed outcome.