Validity and use of an instrument for assessing classroom psychosocial environment in higher education

A strong tradition in research in primary and secondary schools has involved student and teacher perceptions of psychological characteristics of actual or preferred classroom environment. This paper provides a foundation for the extension of this tradition to the higher education level by describing the development, validation, and use of a new instrument, the College and University Classroom Environment Inventory (CUCEI), suitable for small higher education classes often referred to as seminars. The CUCEI assesses students' or instructors' perceptions of the following seven psychosocial dimensions of actual or preferred classroom environment: personalization, involvement, student cohesiveness, satisfaction, task orientation, innovation, and individualization. Administration of the CUCEI to 372 students in 34 classes and to 20 instructors attested to the internal consistency reliability and discriminant validity of the actual and preferred forms with either the individual or the class mean as the unit of analysis, and supported the ability of the actual form to differentiate between the perceptions of students in different classrooms. A research application of the CUCEI involving associations between student outcomes and classroom environment tentatively suggested that the nature of the classroom environment affects outcomes. Another research application suggested that both students and instructors preferred a more favorable classroom environment than the one actually present, and that instructors viewed classroom environments more positively than did their students in the same classrooms. Desirable future applications of the CUCEI for research purposes and in improving teaching in higher education are considered.The first main aim of this paper is to describe the development and validation of a new instrument to assess perceptions of classroom psychosocial environment in university and college classrooms. The second major purpose is to report the first two research uses of this instrument in, respectively, a study of associations between student outcomes and classroom environment and an investigation of differences between students and instructors in their perceptions of actual and preferred classroom environment. As well, desirable future research directions involving the new instrument are suggested. Before describing the development and use of the new instrument for the higher education level, important background information about analogous work at the primary and secondary school levels is briefly reviewed in an attempt to place the new work into context.     

Experiential learning in doctoral training programmes: fostering personal epistemology through collaboration

There has been increasing recognition for the need to reform doctoral training practices to foster students’ personal epistemology. This study describes the design and evaluation of a learning experience designed to help students understand the scholarly publication process. Firstly, this study discusses the design of the learning experience, describing the collaborative process of writing an interdisciplinary publication using both online and face-to-face learning. Secondly, this study evaluates the effectiveness of the learning experience by examining students’ reflections. We show that participation in the learning experience helped students to develop their academic writing proficiency, collaboration and teamwork, intercultural competence, and ability to engage in reflective practice. Importantly, we show that each student also created more individualised knowledge, gaining insight into how they and others think. This study, therefore, demonstrates that personal epistemology can be fostered through collaboration in a doctoral writing group context.     

Studienförderung für Auslandsstudien

In der Entscheidung Morgan und Bucher hat der Europäische Gerichtshof zwei Regelungen des deutschen Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetzes zur Ausbildungsförderung für Auslandsstudien als gegen die Freizügigkeit der Unionsbürger nach Art 18 EGV verstoßend und somit gemeinschaftsrechtswidrig angesehen. Das Urteil unterstreicht die Bedeutung, die der Gerichtshof der Freizügigkeit und der Gleichbehandlung von Unionsbürgern im Bildungsbereich zuerkennt. Dies wird von Österreich auch bei Klärung der Hochschulzugangsproblematik zu berücksichtigen sein. Das durch eine Novelle zum österreichischen Studienförderungsgesetz eingeführte Mobilitätsstipendium ist entsprechend den vom Europäischen Gerichtshof in Morgan und Bucher entwickelten Grundsätzen am Gemeinschaftsrecht zu messen.     

Exploring the Effects of Financial Aid on the Gap in Student Dropout Risks by Income Level

Using national survey data and discrete-time logit modeling, this research seeks to understand whether student aid mediates the relationship between parental income and student dropout behavior. Our analysis confirms that there is a gap in dropout rates for low-income students compared with their upper income peers, and suggests that some types of aid are associated with lower risks of dropout. Thus, we examine the interaction between financial aid type and parental income to explore whether, and if so how, different types of aid may reduce the dropout gap by income level group. We find that the receipt of a Pell grant is related to narrowing the dropout gap between students from low- and middle-income groups, although overall the interaction between Pell grant and income is not significant. Loans and work-study aid both have similar effects on student dropout across all income groups. Methodologically, our results demonstrate the need to model dropout behavior temporally and to avoid main-effect bias by incorporating interaction effects.

A Comparison of the Australian and British Post Binary Higher Education Systems

Both Australia and Britain have recently moved from a binary system of higher education to a unitary system based upon the universities. In both countries change has been affected by an increasing emphasis upon higher education as a vital national economic resource and the need to make higher education institutions” more efficient.” As a result universities have a much closer relationship with government than ever before.

Yet there are important differences: Australia ended its binary system by consolidating its Colleges of Advanced Education into the university system. In Britain the trend has been to redesignate polytechnics as universities without amalgamation. Britain has evolved a much more competitive system in the allocation of resources which has had a profound affect upon the universities.

This article explores major similarities and contrasts in the Australian and British experiences.     

School experience,relational justice and legitimation of institutional

This study analysis the relationship between perceptions of the justice of teacher’ behaviour and (a) the legitimation of school authority and (b) the legitimation of institutional authorities outside school. 448 adolescent students participated in the study. In questionnaire participants were asked about (a) perceptions of the justice of teachers’ behaviour; (b) evaluation of the school experience; and (c) evaluation of institutional authorities. Results show that the evaluation of the justice of teacher behaviour, in particular relational and procedural justice, have an impact on the legitimation of the authority of teachers and on the evaluation of institutional authorities outside school. Results also show that the legitimacy granted to teachers is a mediator variable between perceptions of justice in school and evaluation of authorities outside school. These results are discussed in the context of the studies on the relationship between school experience and adolescents attitudes towards authorities, and in the framework of the “Relational Model of Authority” and of the “Group Value Model”.     

A SYSTEMIC,STUDENT-CENTERED STUDY OF UNIVERSITY SERVICE

This paper discusses the methods and findings ofthe Student Focus Project, a sixmonth study of studentperceptions of service at a large university inBrisbane, Australia. The study paneled 24 focus groups of undergraduate students to assess theirbeliefs about a pretested set of questions concerningpositive and negative aspects of university life,successes and frustrations with university service,attempts to overcome the obstacles of university life,and what students expect from their relationship to theuniversity. Of the themes identified in the StudentFocus study, it was found that malignantbureaucracy and the balkanization ofInformation are systemic factors that negativelyinfluence student perceptions of the quality ofuniversity service. It was also found that studentstrategies for service recovery can contribute to the overall confusion andpoor performance of university services.     

Developing Seventh Grade Students’ Understanding of Complex Environmental Problems with Systems Tools and Representations: a Quasi-experimental Study

A systems-based classroom intervention on environmental education was designed for seventh grade students; the results were evaluated to see its impact on the development of systems thinking skills and standard science achievement and whether the systems approach is a more effective way to teach environmental issues that are dynamic and complex. A quasi-experimental methodology was used to compare performances of the participants in various dimensions, including systems thinking skills, competence in dynamic environmental problem solving and success in science achievement tests. The same pre-, post- and delayed tests were used with both the comparison and experimental groups in the same public middle school in Istanbul. Classroom activities designed for the comparison group (N = 20) followed the directives of the Science and Technology Curriculum, while the experimental group (N = 22) covered the same subject matter through activities benefiting from systems tools and representations such as behaviour over time graphs, causal loop diagrams, stock-flow structures and hands-on dynamic modelling. After a one-month systems-based instruction, the experimental group demonstrated significantly better systems thinking and dynamic environmental problem solving skills. Achievement in dynamic problem solving was found to be relatively stable over time. However, standard science achievement did not improve at all. This paper focuses on the quantitative analysis of the results, the weaknesses of the curriculum and educational implications.