Academic procrastination of undergraduates: Low self-efficacy to self-regulate predicts higher levels of procrastination

This article reports two studies exploring the academic procrastination of 456 undergraduates. Study 1 explores the relationships among academic procrastination, self-regulation, academic self-efficacy, self-esteem, and self-efficacy for self-regulation. Results reveal that although other self-variables are related to procrastination, self-efficacy for self-regulation is most predictive of procrastination tendencies. Study 2 examines academic and motivation characteristics of “negative procrastinators,” the undergraduates who are most adversely influenced by procrastination. The 25% of 195 participants in Study 2 who were classified as negative procrastinators had significantly lower GPAs, higher levels of daily and task procrastination, lower predicted and actual class grades, and lower self-efficacy for self-regulation. After controlling for GPA, daily procrastination and self-efficacy for self-regulation significantly predicted the negative impact of procrastination. The article concludes with a discussion of the importance that self-efficacy for self-regulation holds for procrastination research, and with suggestions for practitioners who work with students who are adversely affected by procrastination.     

New School of Mustafa Satı Bey in Istanbul (1915)

This study has two purposes: the first is to present the general condition of public education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by showing the reformation process in educational institutes and teacher training, and the relationship between this process and the New Education movement in the Ottoman Empire; the second is to determine to what extent Mustafa Sat? Bey, often referred to as the Pestalozzi of the Ottoman Empire, contributed to the New Education movement through the analysis of his opinions on education, and his attempts to open a New School. As a result of Mustafa Sat? Bey’s analysis, New Education practices in the Ottoman Empire were stated to be practising a unilateral receiving-and-adapting procedure and the Ottoman Empire was positioned at the periphery in terms of the circulation of the movement. In his New School and in the Teacher Training School, Sat? Bey was concerned with the New Education movement both on an administrative and operative level. However, his practices were not sufficient to create his own theory and examine any other theory. Thus, when evaluated in terms of his contributions to the New Education movement, Sat? Bey is positioned somewhere between practical reformer and practitioner.     

The Application of Historical Narrative in Science Learning: The Atlantic Cable Story

The use of historically based stories to teach science has both theoretical and practical support. This paper outlines how the historically based story may be utilized effectively in the classroom and, as an illustration of this, presents the story of Lord Kelvin’s role in the laying of the first trans-Atlantic communications cable during the period from 1857 to 1866. Expected and observed classroom benefits that accrue from this approach are summarized. The paper concludes with an outline of a program of research which incorporates the development of historically based stories.     

What was it like for you?

Abstract

As LEAs and schools develop their inclusive policies and practices, arguments about how to provide the most effective education for pupils with EBD continue. Is it possible to provide high quality education for this group in mainstream schools whilst not adversely affecting the education of the other pupils? What are the consequences of placing the most disturbed pupils in special schools? What do the pupils themselves think? This article draws on findings from 26 interviews with former pupils of an EBD residential school. We were interested in their opinions about the quality of education and care they received at the school and the impact of the placement on their experiences as young adults. Overall, despite some concerns, the former pupils have very positive memories of the school and felt that it had helped them to overcome their learning and behavioural difficulties. The findings have key implications for the development of policy and practice.     

Predicting performance on academic and non-academic tasks: A comparison of adolescents with and without learning disabilities

Previous research suggests that adolescents with learning disabilities (LD) are less accurate in predicting academic performance than normally achieving (NA) adolescents and display a tendency to overestimate their level of performance (e.g., Klassen, 2007). However, no studies have been conducted investigating whether this overestimation is specific to academic contexts or a phenomenon that extends across domains. Ninety-four adolescents (46 LD, 48 NA) predicted their performance on a spelling task and on a ball-throwing task. Results revealed group differences in performance calibration across domains with adolescents with LD showing an overestimation of ability on the spelling and ball-throwing tasks, and NA adolescents demonstrating more precise self-appraisals. Additionally, the accuracy of non-academic performance predictions remained stable with increasing difficulty in the NA group whereas the adolescents with LD demonstrated a decrease in accurate performance prediction as the difficulty level increased.     

Preservice teachers’ work stress, self-efficacy, and occupational commitment in four countries

In this study, we examine the teaching-related stress, self-efficacy, and occupational commitment of preservice teachers from two culturally western and two culturally eastern countries. The sample included 1,187 participants from Canada (n?=?379), England (n?=?203), Hong Kong (n?=?211), and Thailand (n?=?394). Self-efficacy partially reduced (mediated) the effect of stress from student behavior and from workload on commitment in three of four contexts. Mediation tests with country as moderator revealed significant differences in the strength of the mediating effect across the four contexts. The results suggest that teachers’ self-efficacy changes the way in which work stress influences the commitment to continue teaching, although cultural milieu influences the nature of the relationship according to context.     

Scientific misconduct at an elite medical institute: The role of competing institutional logics and fragmented control

The incidence of revealed fraud and dishonesty in academia is on the rise, and so is the number of studies seeking to explain scientific misconduct. This paper builds on the concepts of competing logics and institutional fields to analyze a serious case of medical and scientific misconduct at a leading research institute, Karolinska in Sweden, home to the Nobel Prize in Medicine.By distinguishing between a market-oriented, a medical and an academic logic, the study analyzes how various actors ? executives, research leaders, co-authors, journal editors, medical doctors, science bloggers, investigative journalists and documentary filmmakers ? sustained or tried to expose the misconduct. Despite repeated warnings from patient-responsible doctors and external academic reviewers, Karolinska protected the surgeon, Paolo Macchiarini, until a documentary film at the Swedish national public TV exposed the fraud which led to public inquiries and proposals for a new national ethics legislation.The analysis illustrates the power of a market-oriented logic focused on brand and image at the research institute and at a leading journal, but also the perseverance of the logics of scientific scrutiny and medical care among practicing doctors and independent academics although the carriers of these logics were less well organized than the carriers of the market-oriented logic. Furthermore, the analysis shows the problem of fragmented control in the academic institutional field. The discussion of remedies compares the Karolinska case, where media actors were instrumental in sanctioning the perpetrators, with a similar instance of medical misconduct at Duke in the US where the government agency (ORI) intervened and shows the limitations of both types of actors. The conclusion highlights the importance of studying misconduct management and institution-building in different fields to develop effective remedies.     

An international validation of the engaged teacher scale

The purpose of this study was to test and validate the Engaged Teacher Scale (ETS) in a Turkish context (ETS-TR). In order to test the construct validity of the ETS, data were collected from 388 teachers in two northeast cities of Turkey. First-order confirmatory factor analysis results supported the 16-item and four-factor model of ETS while second-order confirmatory factor analysis suggested that a single factor was also appropriate for representing teacher engagement. Additionally, four multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to provide further validation evidence. Results showed that subscales of the ETS-TR were found to be positively correlated with teacher self-efficacy. Given our evidence of validity and reliability, we recommend researchers interested in measuring the engagement of Turkish teachers to consider using the ETS-TR. The adaptation of ETS into Turkish also provides a measure for use when conducting research examining cultural comparisons between english-speaking and Turkish teachers.