Cross‐Validated Prediction of Academic Performance of First‐Year University Students: Identifying Risk Factors in a Nonselective Environment

Early prediction of academic performance is important for student support. The authors explored, in a multivariate approach, whether pre‐entry data (e.g., high school study results, preparative activities, expectations, capabilities, motivation, and attitude) could predict university students’ first‐year academic performance. Preregistered applicants for a bachelor's program filled out an intake questionnaire before study entry. Outcome data (first‐year grade point average, course credits, and attrition) were obtained 1 year later. Prediction accuracy was assessed by cross‐validation. Students who performed better in preparatory education, followed a conventional educational path before entering, and expected to spend more time on a program‐related organization performed better during their first year at university. Concrete preuniversity behaviors were more predictive than psychological attributions such as self‐efficacy. Students with a “love of learning” performed better than leisure‐oriented students. The intake questionnaire may be used for identifying up front who may need additional support, but is not suitable for student selection.     

Rowley revisited: through an effective history lens

Historical synopses of special education litigation in the USA often reflect traditional perspectives. Because these traditional perspectives are commonly referenced by legislators and judges when new legislation is crafted and judicial decisions are handed down, a reliance on these traditional historical synopses may perpetuate a status quo – which may or may not advance the interests of students with disabilities. We argue that some special education legal cases are decided upon and written from traditional perspectives. This allegiance to traditional perspectives may lead to intentional or unintentional discrimination against children with disabilities. This paper examines the seminal special education case, Hendrick Hudson Central School District v. Rowley, to determine the extent to which those traditional perspectives continue to infiltrate all special education cases 25 years later.     

Lads and English

This article explores some of the issues raised by the perennial ‘Boys and English’ debate. It questions whether stereotypically masculine or ‘laddish’ behaviour and the apparent ‘feminisation’ of English hinders the achievements within the subject of all boys. A study of a selective independent boys' school reveals that social context greatly influences how boys relate to the subject, suggesting that it is unhelpful to make generalisations about ‘boys’ and English. The analysis frames the fieldwork with reference to media debate, Ofsted reports, and the literature on gender and English.     

Examining the Creative Arts Doctorate in Australia: Implications for supervisors

Abstract

One of the significant roles performed by the higher degree research (HDR) supervisor is to assist students to prepare their dissertations for examination. At a time when there is increasing interest in how the academy manages the transition of creative arts HDR candidates from apprentice to peer, there is also concern about the processes, practices, and policies associated with this largely under-researched area of research training. In a recent national Office of Learning and Teaching funded project, we investigated the policy expectations, expert and peer beliefs and expectations, and examiners’ practice around HDR examination, and canvassed the creative arts academic community for their recommendations on best practice in the examination of creative arts doctorates. An unexpected finding was the role of the HDR supervisor in relation to these key areas, and the impact of supervisors upon the examination of students’ theses. This article presents our findings with special reference to the role, understandings, and aspirations of HDR supervisors in the context, and process, of preparing their students for creative arts HDR examination.     

Of sentimental value: collecting personal diaries from the First World War

ABSTRACT

Weeks after the Armistice was declared, Principal Librarian William Ifould of the Public Library of New South Wales recommended to Library Trustees that the institution begin to collect ‘private and official documents’ produced during the war. By early December 1918, advertisements began to appear in Australian and New Zealand newspapers, encouraging returning soldiers to sell their personal diaries to the Library. Known as the European War Collecting Project, this acquisition program was the first of its kind in Australia. This paper explores the Library’s acquisition of personal diaries written by those who served and analyses the appraisal methodologies carried out by State Library staff. This case study underscores the recent archival debate which has re-assessed the role of archivists in assessment, appraisal, preservation (and privileging) of some collections over others and argues that archivists mediate and consequently shape the collections in their institutions.     

Evaluating Records of Student Experience within Initial Teacher Education

This paper describes the evaluation of an innovative approach to student self‐evaluation which was piloted with PGCE (postgraduate certificate in education) students at the University of Bath. It gives background information on the context of the development of the Record of Student Experience (ROSE) and describes the various models adopted for student use. The ROSE evaluation process and findings are described and a discussion of the central issues concerning this form of self‐evaluation is provided. This paper describes the stages in the development of the ROSE with one group of students and offers some conclusions about the future use of this approach within initial teacher education.     

Memory span for heterospecific individuals' odors in an ant, Cataglyphis cursor

Only recently have researchers studied the ability of ants to learn and remember individual heterospecific odors. Cataglyphis cursor adults have the capacity to learn these odors, but the duration of their memory and the factors that affect its formation remain unknown. We used a habituation/discrimination paradigm to study some of these issues. C. cursor adult workers were familiarized to an anesthetized Camponotus aethiops on four successive encounters. Then they were either isolated or placed with 20 nestmates for a certain length of time before undergoing a discrimination test that consisted of reintroducing the familiar C. aethiops, as well as introducing an unknown member of the same colony. The results showed that adult C. cursor ants can retain in memory a complex individual odor for at least 30 min, as well as differentiate it from the odor of another closely related individual. However, when ants were replaced in a rich social background between the habituation and the discrimination trials, we did not observe a significant discrimination between the known and unknown C. aethiops ants. Our study shows, for the first time, the existence of long-term memory for individual odors in mature ant workers.     

#poetryisnotdead: understanding Instagram poetry within a transliteracies framework

Adolescents are more connected to the globalised world than ever before, with an increased prevalence of social media use amongst youth. Young people are composing multimodal creative works, including digital poetry, to share with an online audience, using platforms such as Instagram. Drawing on transliteracies theory, this case study found that three main themes appeared regarding the nature of literacy practices on Instagram. Community and interactivity were important to poets, especially in regard to feedback. The platform and complementary apps, especially those used for photo editing, afforded poets agency and fostered multimodality when composing, thus highlighting the changing nature of digitised writing practices. Value was placed on the mobility and accessibility of Instagram as a mobile app, for composing and consuming digital poetry. Young people may therefore be considered innovators of multimodal writing who employ ever‐evolving technologies to engage in authentic literacy practices in digital spaces. As a result, this study suggests that the implications of Instapoetry on English pedagogy include the increased exposure and relevance of poetry writing and appreciation, a space for student‐centred writing, reading, and analysis of poems, as well as a relevant method of peer review and collaboration.