Role of Cognitively Stimulating Home Environment in Children's Academic Intrinsic Motivation: A Longitudinal Study

The short- and long-term, and direct and indirect, relations between cognitively stimulating home environment and academic intrinsic motivation were investigated in a longitudinal study from childhood through early adolescence. Structural equations modeling was used to test the hypothesis that home environment positively predicts academic intrinsic motivation over this period. It was also hypothesized that home environmental processes would positively predict motivation controlling for socioeconomic status (SES). When children were age 8, home environment (comprising both direct observations and parent report) and SES were measured. Academic intrinsic motivation was assessed at ages 9, 10, and 13. Results supported the hypotheses. Home environment had statistically positive and significant, direct and indirect paths to academic intrinsic motivation from childhood through early adolescence, indicating both short- and long-term effects across these ages. Moreover, home environment was significant above and beyond SES. The findings revealed that children whose homes had a greater emphasis on learning opportunities and activities were more academically intrinsically motivated.     

The Restructuring of Academic Work in Australia: Power,management and gender

This paper examines how the restructuring of Australia's university system and the introduction of corporate managerialism has changed the work performed by academic staff. The paper illustrates how the emergence of higher education as both a major export industry and a vehicle for attaining greater international competitiveness has led to more intense regulation of academic work. Within a context of funding cutbacks, substantial inequities have emerged between and within universities, as they compete more aggressively for higher education markets. Hierarchical line management, with clear divisions between different categories of academic staff, has substantially replaced collegial forms of administration. This paper demonstrates how these processes have worked to undermine the effective implementation of Equal Employment Opportunity initiatives, as women remain concentrated in the lowest paid and least secure positions within universities.