Adult learners in the workplace: online learning and communities of practice

Seven in‐employment postgraduate Master's level students in an e‐learning unit participated in this research, designed to identify tensions between participation in a community of learning that was part of their studies, and participation in the communities of practice that they were engaged in at their workplaces. It was hypothesised that participation in both these forms of community in their different contexts may enhance each other, or could potentially have a disrupting effect on each. The research employed an interviewing technique. The students' perceptions of the impact of participation in the one form of community on their participation in the other was mixed, with some suggesting that it was enhancing, and others suggesting the contrary, or that there was no impact. The findings indicate that the enhancing effect of participation in communities of learning relevant to a learner's workplace community of practice occur when the learning tasks are designed to enable negotiation of tasks and collaboration with learners who have similar workplace issues.     

Influences of family based prerequisites,reading attitude,and self-regulation on reading ability

This study investigated the effect of self-regulated learning, as indicated by academic self-concept, motivation and learning strategies, reading attitude and family based prerequisites on reading ability. Students (n = 4018) in the eighth grade answered the IEA reading literacy test, the self-regulated learning questionnaire and a student questionnaire about their background. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) revealed that the self-regulated learning questionnaire did not measure the intended three dimensions, but only two: Verbal/General academic self-concept and a new dimension called Goal oriented strategies. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with a cross-validation sample was conducted to determine the effects in the final model. The strongest effect on reading ability was from Verbal/General academic self-concept (β = .43 for final and β = .56 for cross-validation model). Gender differences revealed that girls read better on narrative and expository texts, had a more positive reading attitude, and more positive verbal self-concept, whereas boys had a higher academic self-concept (not domain-specific), self-efficacy, control expectation, reported more memorising, elaboration, and instrumental motivation (all differences p < .001).     

Being chimaera: a monstrous identity for SoTL academics

Lurking on the fringes of university culture are academic identities that do not fit into the usual disciplinary communities. Aiming to explore the experience of ‘being academic’ when not linked directly to a discipline, this paper examines the stories of a diverse group of SoTL scholars who work in a centralised multi-campus academic skills support centre in an Australian university. Framed as group auto-ethnography, the paper inquires into the everyday experience of these academics through narrative analysis of multiple first-person accounts and makes apparent the monstrousness of de-affiliated academic identities. Despite diverse disciplinary backgrounds, the author-participants found that they now shared a tripartite academic identity formed through the negotiation of three roles: the teacher, the disciplinarian, and the educational researcher. Using the chimaera, a mythical three-headed monster as an organising metaphor, this paper aims to provide agency and visibility for often under-represented and unacknowledged academic identities.     

Language in science performance: do good readers perform better?

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Science performance is highly affected by students’ reading comprehension. Recently, there has been a growing attention to the role of linguistic...     

Perceived self-efficacy and social anxiety changes in high school students with learning disabilities (LD) during first year of secondary vocational education

This empirical study focused on high school students with a learning disability (LD), particularly adolescents undergoing training in secondary vocational study programmes. A total of 417 1st-year high school students were included in the survey, 105 of whom were LD students. Data on social anxiety and perceived social self-efficacy were collected at the beginning and end of the school year using the Social Self-Efficacy Scale and the LSAA Social Anxiety Scale. The results mostly relate to male students because the sample included 359 boys and 58 girls. In both the initial and final measurements, a significantly lower level of perceived social self-efficacy and a higher level of social anxiety were found in students with special needs compared to their peers. Perceived self-efficacy in LD students decreased significantly during the school year, while changes in social anxiety were not statistically significant. Results could indicate some difficulties in social integration of LD youths in vocational school classes. Thus, it would be desirable for schools to provide a more supportive and efficient learning environment for strengthening social integration of LD students in secondary vocational education.     

Promoting VET teachers’ innovative behaviour: exploring the roles of task interdependence,learning goal orientation and occupational self-efficacy

Changing employer demands, new technological and pedagogical insights are examples of developments which urge Vocational Education and Training (VET) institutes to continually renew and innovate their educational programmes. This, in turn, requires teachers to show innovative behaviour. Our study focuses on the effects of task interdependence on VET teachers’ innovative behaviour. In addition, the mediating roles of learning goal orientation and occupational self-efficacy in this relationship are examined. A two-wave survey study among 342 teachers, from 54 teams of 6 Dutch VET institutes, showed that task interdependence enhanced teachers’ learning goal orientation, which enhanced their engagement in innovative behaviour over time. Task interdependence also increased teachers’ occupational self-efficacy, which in turn increased their engagement in innovative behaviour. This effect, however, appeared short lived. Apparently, once teachers exceed a certain level of occupational self-efficacy, other variables, like learning goal orientation, play a more important role in sustaining innovative behaviour.     

Presidential vetoes and American Indian affairs, 1789–2000

Between the years 1789 and 2000, nineteen Presidents of the United States vetoed 114 bills or resolutions concerning matters related to Indian affairs. These executive actions are collected in a new digital resource, and are presented with their supporting Congressional documents. A brief history of Presidential veto power and activities is included.     

Is There Anything Specific about Early School Leaving in Southeast Europe? A Review of Research and Policy

Studies on early school leaving (ESL) from countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia have been missing from the international early school leaving research map. As a contribution to remedying this, the article reviews research papers and strategic documents from these countries, guided by the general question whether there is anything specific about ESL in this region in comparison to the wider European research and policy context. The aspects of ESL examined include definitional similarities and differences, extent of ESL, dominant theoretical and methodological approaches, factors identified as impacting ESL as well as policy solutions. We find that Croatia and Slovenia are among the countries which have the lowest ESL rates in Europe. The findings of the reviewed research studies correspond to international research papers in terms of the following frequent risk factors for ESL: low economic and cultural family background, ethnic minority and migration status, type of school enrolled and motivation and academic achievement. There is a strong focus on Roma children early school leavers in all of the countries examined and Bosnia and Herzegovina stands out in the broader European context with the finding that girls from large, low socio-economic status families, who live more than three kilometres away from school, are at particular risk of ESL. In discussing ESL, the reviewed studies tend to emphasise individual and family characteristics rather than also broader social constraints as ESL determinants, a practice also reflected in policy documents which do not mention the role of broader social and economic conditions shaping early school leaving.