Pioneer women in engineering studies: what can we learn from their experiences?

ABSTRACT

Women's access to higher education in Spain began in the last third of the nineteenth century. However, the full incorporation of women into technical studies did not occur until a century later. This article presents the results of research into the access of the first women to do technical studies in Catalonia (northeast Spain). Data have been collected from 11 technical schools belonging to the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) with the aim of understanding the dynamics of the incorporation of women into these schools between 1851 (foundation of the first engineering school in Catalonia) and 1980. Interviews were conducted with 21 pioneer women who completed their technical studies. Their experiences show how technical schools had to adapt, both physically and culturally, to female students. Finally, the current status of female engineers in Catalonia is compared with the situation in other Western countries. Similarities are found that show the relevance of gender as a social structuring force.     

College Readiness for English Language Learners (ELLs) in California: Assessing Equity for ELLs under the Local Control Funding Formula

English Learners (ELs) represent critical mass of K-12 students in public schools across the nation. However, states have failed to improve EL student academic outcomes, including college readiness. In 2013, California altered its school funding policy, providing additional support for English learners. Drawing on Vertical Equity and a Critical Community Strength Framework, this study examines the impact of local funding on college readiness among EL students by analyzing accountability plans and secondary data of 13 districts and assessing reforms using markers of college readiness. Document analysis shows: 1) school districts’ prioritization, 2) resource allocation based on those priorities, and 3) different approaches to operationalizing the construct of equity. Secondary data analysis reveals EL students lagged behind peers in performance on state assessments and enrollment in college preparatory and Advanced Placement varied across districts. These data confirm the critical need for intervention and targeted investment to raise overall college readiness rates among EL students in California and have national implications for states with growing Latino and EL student populations.     

Expanding horizons: Encouraging cross‐campus student collaboration to develop a novel food product for individuals experiencing dysphagia

At the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (UIUC), cross‐campus collaborations are strongly encouraged; however, due to the vast size of the university, opportunities for student collaboration commonly rely on serendipitous events—being at the right place at the right time. On a cold day in February 2017, the required serendipity befell Clarion Mendes (Speech and Hearing Sciences [SHS]) and Dawn Bohn (Food Science and Human Nutrition [FSHN] concentration Food Science [FS]). The SHS department is part of the College of Applied Health Sciences and the FS department is part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences. SHS graduate students in Speech–Language Pathology pursue careers in schools, hospitals, and other healthcare facilities. FS undergraduate and graduate students often pursue careers in food product development, quality assurance, sensory science, ingredient applications, and regulatory compliance. Seemingly, these two fields are contextually discrete (and geographically quite separated at UIUC). Nevertheless, through Clarion's vision and Dawn's enthusiasm, the two initiated an important student collaboration between two initially isolated, but forever connected, fields. How did professors from two very different fields determine that their students could make excellent collaborators? It all began with a well‐loved, neon–orange snack food—Cheetos^®.     

Assessing efficiency in the Spanish public universities through comparative non-radial and radial data envelopment analysis

In this study we have used data from Spanish public universities to assess their efficiency in a longitudinal framework between 2008/9–2014/15. To carry out the analysis, two windows data envelopment analysis and intertemporal, non-radial and radial analysis methodologies were compared. The main results show a significant deterioration in university efficiency from the 2012/13 academic year for the three proposed frontiers, with both methodologies. Some factors may explain these results, such as the ageing of teaching force and its low replacement rate of 10%, and the lack of incentives for young researchers who wish to pursue a research career, influenced by the presence of endogamy, in hiring or promotion. Finally, the resources necessary for the good governance of the Spanish public university with the consequent accountability of these, in terms of teaching, research and its transfer to society, could become a strategic issue that should be taken into account by all the actors involved.

     

Antisocial Behaviour in Children and Eysenck's Theory of Personality: An evaluation

Antisocial behaviour in children and youth was examined in relation to the biosocial personality theory of Hans Eysenck. Eysenck's theory is based on three independent personality traits that reflect hypothesised temperament source traits affecting behavioural predisposition. The theory holds that the interaction of the three temperament traits Psychoticism (P), Extroversion (E), and Neuroticism (N) with socialisation experiences produce personality. Eysenck's measurement instruments also contain a Lie (L) scale that has been shown to function as an index of socialisation or social conformity. Eysenck's antisocial behaviour (ASB) hypothesis predicts that individuals at risk for developing ASB have above average P scale scores. Further, individuals who are also high on the E and N scales and below average on the L scale are at the greatest risk. The current article provides an overview of the theory and an evaluation of the research support for the ASB hypothesis in children and youth. The evaluation supported the role of P and L in ASB. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Measuring Science Instructional Practice: A Survey Tool for the Age of NGSS

Ambitious efforts are taking place to implement a new vision for science education in the United States, in both Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)-adopted states and those states creating their own, often related, standards. In-service and pre-service teacher educators are involved in supporting teacher shifts in practice toward the new standards. With these efforts, it will be important to document shifts in science instruction toward the goals of NGSS and broader science education reform. Survey instruments are often used to capture instructional practices; however, existing surveys primarily measure inquiry based on previous definitions and standards and with a few exceptions, disregard key instructional practices considered outside the scope of inquiry. A comprehensive survey and a clearly defined set of items do not exist. Moreover, items specific to the NGSS Science and Engineering practices have not yet been tested. To address this need, we developed and validated a Science Instructional Practices survey instrument that is appropriate for NGSS and other related science standards. Survey construction was based on a literature review establishing key areas of science instruction, followed by a systematic process for identifying and creating items. Instrument validity and reliability were then tested through a procedure that included cognitive interviews, expert review, exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis (using independent samples), and analysis of criterion validity. Based on these analyses, final subscales include: Instigating an Investigation, Data Collection and Analysis, Critique, Explanation and Argumentation, Modeling, Traditional Instruction, Prior Knowledge, Science Communication, and Discourse.     

The Burden of Teaching Teachers: Memoirs of Race Discourse in Teacher Education

This paper presents the views and educational experiences of two African American female scholars, from a critical race and black feminist theorist perspective, teaching in the area of social justice to predominantly white female pre-service teachers. These testimonies reveal the struggles encountered by these scholars when engaging students in a historical and contemporary examination of race, privilege, and systemic inequalities. The objectives of this paper are to expand on the literary dialogue of such resistance and attempt to bring awareness into the arenas that need the most exposure, i.e. departmental, faculty, and tenure review meetings. It is commonly written and verbalized that institutions are interested in attracting and retaining faculty of color. We argue that the ways we are supported must shift. This problem of student resistance, who they resist and why, should become open for discussion on college campuses across the nation. Dawn G. Williams is an Assistant Professor of Educational Administration and Policy at Howard University. Venus Evans-Winters is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational Studies at Illinois Wesleyan University.     

Charging to the End: Course Activities for Semester‐Long Student Engagement in an Undergraduate Product Development Capstone Course

Setting instructional goals to drive student engagement in the classroom is essential, as research has shown that improved student engagement in a course will affect student success, as well as the development of key personal and professional skills. Student engagement is a multifaceted concept with multiple perspectives. In focusing on the behavioral perspective of student engagement, various effective teaching practices can be implemented to encourage engagement in a diverse study body. Utilizing validated tools, such as the Natl. Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Engagement Themes and Indicators, can ease the development of classroom approaches to student engagement with convenience and flexibility. Semester‐long student engagement in a food science undergraduate product development capstone course was encouraged through instructional approaches styled around the NSSE Engagement Themes and Indicators. The variety of instructional approaches utilized in the capstone food science course are described in detail and discussed in relation to the NSSE Engagement Themes and Indicators with which they align.