Can Explicit Instruction in Social and Emotional Learning Skills Benefit the Social-Emotional Development, Well-being, and Academic Achievement of Young Children?

This study investigated the effect of a social and emotional learning skills curriculum, the You Can Do It! Early Childhood Education Program (YCDI), on the social-emotional development, well-being, and academic achievement of 99 preparatory and grade 1 students attending a Catholic school in Melbourne, Australia. One preparatory and one grade 1 class were randomly chosen to receive structured lessons in YCDI, delivered by their classroom teachers over a period of 10 weeks, while the remaining preparatory and grade 1 class served as the control group. The lessons were designed to teach young children confidence, persistence, organisation and emotional resilience. The educational program consisted of explicit, direct instruction lessons drawn from the YCDI Early Childhood Curriculum taught three times a week, supported by a variety of additional social and emotional teaching practices. The results indicated that YCDI had a statistically significant positive effect on levels of social-emotional competence and well-being for the preparatory and grade 1 students, a reduction in problem behaviours (externalising, internalising, and hyperactivity problems) for the grade 1 students, and an increase in reading achievement (decoding text) for the lower achieving grade 1 students. These findings are discussed with regard to issues concerning the role of explicit instruction in social and emotional learning for the early years.     

Information management and learning in computer conferences: Coping with irrelevant and unconnected messages

The present study examines how learnersinteract with one another within the context ofa computer conference for the purposes ofpassing a test. In a faked computer conferencewith predetermined messages, both the number ofmessages irrelevant to the topic, and theexplicit threading of messages were varied in a2 × 2 design (n = 54). Subjects participated in anasynchronous fashion over a course of fourlog-in sessions. In general, learners indicateda fairly consistent pattern of reception. Theyopened virtually all messages, grouped them ina non-chronological order, and processed themaccording to their topic relevance. Thispattern was also mediated by the conferencecharacteristics. Explicit threading led tosequences of message readings that were morecontent oriented. Similarly, fewer irrelevantmessages lead to prolonged reading times ofrelevant messages. Whereas learning success wasnot affected by conference characteristics,explicitly threaded messages decreased theperceived cognitive demands.     

Voice,identity, and the organizing of student experience: managing pedagogical dilemmas in critical classroom discussions

The current paper explores the discursive complexities of teaching and learning in inclusive, critically oriented classrooms. It argues that to accomplish the ontological goals of higher learning, we need to focus on the construction of student voice, or the ability to be considered in and have influence on teaching and learning. The paper further explores the relationship between having voice and the interactional negotiation of identities and relationships among students and teachers. It is suggested that teaching and learning through inclusive, critically oriented classroom discussions is bound in the organizing of complex social experiences, and requires teachers to navigate at least three inherent pedagogical dilemmas lesson management, emotion labor, and structure.     

Statewide low-stakes tests and a teaching to the test effect? An analysis of teacher survey data from two German states

Governments worldwide are changing their educational policies to improve student performance. Some of these reforms involve the introduction of high-stakes testing, which often creates negative effects such as ‘teaching to the test’. This article deals with the use of low-stakes testing in the German states of Hesse and Bremen, and analyses whether statewide low-stakes testing produces comparable results to the use of high-stakes tests from the perspective of teachers. Moreover, it seeks to identify the factors responsible for the observable teaching to the test effect, above and beyond the use of statewide exams. The data come from surveys carried out in the framework of a longitudinal study funded by the German Research Foundation. Hesse and Bremen introduced statewide exit exams in several subjects in 2007 and 2008 as low-stakes tests. Our quasi-experimental study has been evaluating these implementations since 2007.     

From Loving Grandma to Working with Older Adults: Promoting Positive Attitudes Towards Aging

The steady increase of population aging requires not only more people working within the field of aging but also the creation of new services. However, current students from areas such as medicine, nursing, psychology, and social work frequently have low interest in working with older adults. The low interest relates to this task's lack of challenge, absence of social status, and lower incomes. Different variables explain pervasive negative attitudes and lack of interest to work with older cohorts. Change of direction in this trend involves the inclusion of age related topics in university curriculum as well as promoting direct contact with older adults.     

Efficacy of a Self-Monitoring Tool for Improving the Quality of the Language Environment in the Preschool Classroom

Research Findings: This study evaluated the impact of a self-monitoring intervention on preschool teachers’ use of language and on children’s language growth. Nineteen classrooms from Santiago de Chile participated (10 intervention, 9 control). Twice a week, intervention teachers filled out a checklist to monitor the language stimulation they offered children. Research personnel used the checklists to elaborate a monthly summary of the language opportunities offered to each child in that month and discussed this information with teachers. Results revealed a significant advantage for intervention teachers in frequency of book readings and word discussions but not on children’s language growth. Dosage analyses showed that children identified by the self-monitoring device as receiving more language-learning opportunities improved significantly more from beginning to end of the school year in receptive vocabulary. Practice or Policy: Contextual barriers such as large numbers of children and unawareness of the impact of some language interactions can prevent teachers from engaging in important practices. Reminding teachers of the importance of those practices and helping them monitor their frequency may be a low-cost way of improving language opportunities for children in contexts where more intensive professional development is not possible.     

Rethinking academic literacies. A conceptual development based on teaching practice

Academic Literacies, the most influential conceptual framework for writing practitioners at UK universities, is closely related to widening participation. At the same time, writing support is often justified with the argument that written communication is among the most important employability skills for graduates. While these concepts are often used simultaneously, their underlying premises are not necessarily congruent. This paper reflects on a writing intervention that highlighted the difficulties that can arise from a seeming ‘pick and mix’ use of these two frameworks, Academic Literacies and writing as an Employability Skill. Based on this analysis of the practice of teaching writing at a post-92 university, it establishes the need for an expanded, theoretical framework for writing support.     

Can higher education stimulate entrepreneurial intentions among engineering and business students?

This paper approaches the issue of higher entrepreneurship education in motivating young people to start their own business as a viable alternative to the successful integration of university graduates on the labour market. The fundamental question of this research is if, currently, entrepreneurship education influences students’ entrepreneurial intentions and to what extent. The research results, based on the statistical analysis of data collected through a questionnaire distributed to Romanian business and engineering bachelor students in the final year, highlight that business students assessed the effectiveness of higher entrepreneurship education and its positive influence on entrepreneurial intentions to a greater extent than the engineering students. Furthermore, entrepreneurial intentions of engineering students are influenced positively much more by entrepreneurial family background than by entrepreneurship education. The findings provide important highlights for future research, in order to identify the most effective ways of approaching, modernising and expanding entrepreneurship education, aiming to increase entrepreneurial intentions among students, regardless of the graduated field of study.     

Conversations about sexuality on a public university campus: perspectives from campus ministry students and leaders

Little is known about university campus religious organisations’ influence on students’ sexuality-related attitudes and behaviours. This study sought to better understand sexuality-related communication within the context of campus ministries by exploring students’ and campus ministry leaders’ conversational experiences at a public university in the south-east USA. Data sources included an online survey of undergraduates participating in student religious organisations (n = 57), focus groups with campus ministry students (n = 36), and individual interviews with campus ministry leaders (n = 19). Findings indicated student satisfaction with the focus and frequency of conversations about romantic relationships and sexual health within the context of campus ministries. However, both campus ministry students and leaders indicated discomfort in discussions of sexuality. Leaders acknowledged their need for better strategies to engage students; students focused on how to integrate religious messages about sexuality with messages from other sources. These findings suggest campus ministry leaders may benefit from focused training and support to communicate more effectively with college students about sexuality.