Commuting,transitions and belonging: the experiences of students living at home in their first year at university

In this study, our cross-case analysis of students’ lives challenges the conventional home–university model of transition and highlights the importance of acknowledging the influence of this complex symbiotic relationship for students who attend university and live at home. We argue that as with stay-at-home holidays, or “staycations”, which are of such crucial importance to the tourism industry, so stay-at-home students or commuter students are vital to higher education and the term utilised here is “stayeducation”. Through the narratives of “stayeducation” students, we see how family and community aspects of students’ lives are far more significant than previously realised, and our study suggests that these heavily influence the development of a student sense of belonging. Drawing upon biographical narrative method, this paper introduces three first-year Business and Economics students enrolled at different universities in London and explores their journeys through their transition through home, school and early university life. Ways in which key themes play out in the transition stories of our students and the challenges and obstacles for the individual are drawn out through the cross-case analysis. Findings support the existing literature around gender, class and identity; however, new insights into the importance, for these students, of family, friendships and community are presented. Our work has implications for academic staff, those writing institutional policies, and argues for the creation of different spaces within which students can integrate into their new environment.     

Visible pedagogic work: parenting,private tutoring and educational advantage in Australia

This article explores parents’ use of private tutoring services for their primary school children in Sydney, Australia's largest city. Using Bernstein's theories of invisible and visible pedagogies, we look, through the eyes of a small group of middle-class Chinese-background interviewees, at the tensions between certain pedagogic forms associated with private tutoring and schooling in contemporary contexts of educational competition. We show how some parents are openly seeking more explicit, visible forms of instruction through using private tutoring, to compensate for the perceived ‘invisible’, pedagogically progressive approach of Australian primary schooling. We argue that these parents’ enlistment of supplementary tutoring is a considered approach to their identification of a mismatch between (apparently) relaxed, child-centred classroom practices, and the demands of the more traditional examinations that regulate entry points to desired educational sites such as academically selective high schools and prestigious universities. Our findings show how paid tutoring is a contemporary pedagogic strategy for securing educational advantage, not just a ‘cultural’ practice prevalent among certain migrant communities, as it is often characterised. We suggest that an analytic focus on pedagogy can help connect issues of class, culture and competition in research on home–school relationships, offering a productive way for the field to respond to the tensions these issues engender.     

The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning: Theory–Practice Integration in a Faculty Certificate Program

There is growing recognition of the complexity of academic work and the need for university and college faculty members to develop scholarly approaches to teaching and learning. While structured programs of study have been initiated for faculty to address these issues in various higher education contexts, very little research has investigated the theory–practice relationship of the scholarship of teaching and learning within a faculty certificate program context. This article presents a program development and evaluation framework to enhance the theory–practice integration of the scholarship of teaching and learning in such a program. Data suggest that a broad range of institutional and programmatic strategies can enhance the scholarship of teaching and learning in a faculty certificate program. A scholarly approach to teaching and learning is viewed as both an individual and social contextual process.Dr Harry Hubball and Dr Helen Burt are faculty members at the University of British Columbia, BC, Canada. Harry Hubball's research focuses on curriculum and pedagogy in university settings. He coordinates the UBC Faculty Certificate Program on Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. Helen Burt is the Associate Dean of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Her research interests include the development of novel polymer-based drug delivery systems.     

Chinese students’ social integration into the university community: hearing the students’ voices

According to UNESCO statistics, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) sends far more students to study overseas than any other country in the world. Similarly, from the receiving countries’ point of view, PRC students form by far the highest proportion of international students. In many respects, this is a success story, but it also poses a number of risks to universities. This paper focuses on one of those key risks that of student dissatisfaction (including from PRC students themselves). Using a sequential mixed-method study, it addresses two research questions: (a) Chinese students’ level of satisfaction with their social integration into the university community and (b) the barriers that Chinese students’ perceive in becoming more socially integrated into the university student community. The research finds that many Chinese students are dissatisfied with their range of friendships and that they find it more challenging to socialise with students of other nationalities than other students do. They point out a number of barriers to integration, with cultural distance playing a major role, but also argue for the impact of individual factors. The paper concludes by considering the implications for universities and suggestions for further research.     

What do students believe about effective classroom management? A mixed-methods investigation in Western Australian high schools

Students’ views about teaching, learning, and school experiences are important considerations in education. The purpose of this study was to examine students’ perceptions of teachers who create and maintain safe and supportive learning environments. To achieve this, a survey was conducted with 360 students to capture students’ views on their classroom experiences. Follow-up focus group discussions were used to further elaborate and clarify students’ perceptions. Despite varying school contexts, students provided consistent reports that effective classroom managers meet students’ needs by developing caring relationships and controlling the classroom environment while developing student responsibility and engaging students in their learning.     

Variables related to career commitment,mastery motivation,and level of career aspiration among college students

The authors wish to express appreciation for the statistical help provided by James Wardrop and Ya-Mei Chen; and for the support provided by the Bureau of Educational Research and the Campus Research Board, University of Illinois. Also several persons helped with the development of the measures and data collection including Carole Ames, Mary Z. Anderson, Cindy Glidden, Fu-lin Y. Lee, Kirsten Peterson, and Barbara Powell. Requests for reprints may be addressed to the first author at the Educational Psychology Department, University of Illinois, 1310 South Sixth St., Champaign, IL 61820.     

‘Is it like one of those infectious kind of things?’ The importance of educating young people about HPV and HPV vaccination at school

Abstract

The National Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination Program in Australia commenced in 2007 for girls and in 2013 for boys, using the quadrivalent HPV [4vHPV] vaccine. In Australia, students are primarily vaccinated en masse, on school grounds, after parental/guardian consent is obtained. Students most often receive little, or no, education at school about HPV or HPV vaccination prior to immunisation. There is also some uncertainty about where young people can and should obtain reliable information about the vaccine, outside of school. We conducted a cluster randomised controlled trial of a complex intervention in schools. This study aimed to improve: (1) student knowledge about HPV vaccination; (2) psycho-social outcomes and (3) vaccination uptake. In this paper, we briefly outline our educational intervention and discuss its implementation by educators including facilitators and barriers. We also discuss the study findings pertaining to student knowledge about HPV and HPV vaccination and their attitudes to vaccination across control and intervention schools. Study results showed students in intervention schools demonstrate greater knowledge and understanding of HPV and HPV vaccination. Greater knowledge and understanding of HPV and HPV vaccination appeared to promote positive attitudes towards vaccination and supported confidence with vaccination.     

‘Start treating me like a Dad!’ The impact of parental involvement in education on the paternal identity of fathers in the English prison system

Notwithstanding the increasing number of UK and international studies focused on parental involvement in education and parental imprisonment there remains little focus upon the involvement of imprisoned fathers in children’s education and the impact of this upon paternal identity. Despite the now accepted perspective that parental imprisonment often impacts negatively on family functioning, child outcomes and parental identity, this qualitative study is distinctive in drawing on the discourse of parental involvement in education, using the lens of identity theory to examine the experiences of 15 imprisoned fathers regarding their involvement in their children’s education and their parenting possible selves as educators. Participants demonstrated limited identity standards in relation to education and sometimes a reduced commitment as a result of this. All offered a vision of their possible selves as educators if contextual barriers were addressed. Possible implications are suggested.