Strategy Precedes Operational Effectiveness: Aligning High Graduation Rankings With Competitive Graduation Grade Point Averages

Two pivotal and interconnected claims are addressed in this article. First, strategy precedes program effectiveness. Second, graduation rates and rankings are insufficient in any account of academic progress for African American students. In this article, graduation is regarded as the floor and not the ceiling, as it were. The ideal situation in the promotion of strategy is the alignment of high graduation rates or rankings with high graduation cumulative grade point averages. This strategic alignment is precisely what needs to be formulated in the first instance before making judgments about program development and/or operational effectiveness. The work of the Office of African American Affairs of the University of Virginia provides the context for observing trends in academic performance that illustrate the optimal alignment between high graduation rankings and correspondingly high grade point averages.     

The three goods of higher education; as education,in its educative,and in its institutional practices

Although there has been considerable debate in contemporary literature on the erosion of the public good in higher education, most of it has been concentrated on the word ‘public’ rather than on the notion of ‘good’. Further, the idea of higher education and the organisations for its delivery have become conflated through a focus on the ‘good’ as inherent, intrinsic, and instrumental. An idea is proposed, that: higher education is intrinsically good; that aspects of its practice are feasibly inherently good; and institutional practices are instrumentally good. These three goods are commonly conflated rather than interwoven in our policymakers’ understanding of the contribution that higher education has for human flourishing and what contribution higher education providers make to the economics of society.     

DIY街机

建立世界上最大的电子游戏厅——就在你房间里！     

The Impacts of Course Restructuring on Student Performance

Analysis of student performance in a Geography degree course over a ten year period, as part of a larger study of student performance in large classes, revealed a five year cycle of change in student performance and in the ability of the course to cope with large classes. The cycle exactly matched the introduction of new degree programmes with performance taking four years to recover to the levels eventually achieved with the previous course design. It is concluded that radical change in course design can initially reduce performance and that stability for several years may be necessary to achieve the potential of a new course.     

Fostering Self-Control Development With a Designed Intervention in Physical Education: A Two-Year Class-Randomized Trial

This study evaluated whether a theory-based intervention in physical education (PE) designed to train self-control may positively impact children’s quick-temperedness and disruptiveness and whether changes in executive functions (EFs) may be a correlate or antecedent of such effects. One hundred and sixteen children aged 8–9 years participated in a 2-year intervention and completed three assessments at baseline, 6- and 18-month follow-ups in quick-temperedness and disruptiveness, hot and cool EFs. After the intervention, children in the intervention group showed lower quick-temperedness and disruptiveness and improvement in hot EF. Changes over the intervention period were moderately associated and showed marginal evidence of causal ordering, suggesting that designed PE may benefit self-control through a possible linkage to hot EF improvement.     

The structure of primary and secondary teachers' attributions for pupils' misbehaviour: a preliminary cross-phase and cross-cultural investigation

The purpose of this study was to see if systematic contrasts in educational culture and curricular emphases might affect the underlying structure of teachers' attributions for children's behaviour. Thus, responses to a questionnaire developed from earlier work by Miller and colleagues (2000, 2002) were gathered from primary and secondary school teachers in England and the Republic of Ireland. Exploratory factor analyses revealed that teachers participating in the study appear to have attributed pupils' misbehaviour at least as much to teachers' and adult behaviours as much as to any distinctive parental or home factors. The structure of primary and secondary teachers' attributions appears to have differed, with primary teachers distinguishing between their own and parental influences on children's behaviour. However, contrary to expectation the demands of the curriculum did not seem to have figured highly in these teachers' perception of causes of misbehaviour. Finally, some speculations on possible differences in relative weighting between English and Irish teachers' views are offered. Teachers in the Republic of Ireland appear to have attached greater importance to children's personalities and pressures on children. Further, teachers in primary schools in England seem to have rated their classroom management strategies and other more general adult behaviours as more important associates of behaviour than did their counterparts in the Republic of Ireland. The implications of the findings are discussed in relation to cultural and curricular differences and teachers' constructions of behaviour and special educational needs.     

Gender differences in South African men and women's access to and evaluation of informal sources of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information

While much research has documented unsatisfactory sexual and reproductive health (SRH) awareness among young people in South Africa, understanding of gender differences in access to and evaluation of SRH information is limited. This paper concerned itself with men and women's informal sources and content of SRH, and gendered divergences around accessibility, evaluation, and impact of such information. Fifty sexual history narrative interviews and twenty-five narrative interviews with women were conducted with participants purposively sampled from a range of ages, cultural and racial backgrounds, and in urban and rural sites across five provinces in South Africa. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. While young women were more likely to learn about SRH information from family members, they also reported greater regulation concerning their sexuality. This could enhance stigma surrounding women's sexuality and hinder open communication. Men predominantly learned about sex through pornography and peers, which was reported to encourage sexual prowess to the neglect of practising safer sex. Lack of adequate SRH instruction for young people as revealed through the narratives had significant and often negative implications for men and women's early safer sex behaviours. In response to these insights, recommendations are offered to strengthen informal sources of SRH awareness.     

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Self-Presentational Efficacy Scale

This study examined the psychometric properties of the Self-Presentational Efficacy Scale (SPES) developed by Gammage, Hall, and Martin Ginis (2004 Gammage, K. L., Hall, C. R. and Martin Ginis, K. A. 2004. Self-presentation in exercise contexts: Differences between high and low frequency exercisers. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 34: 1638–1651. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). University students (196 men and 269 women) completed the SPES and measures of social physique anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, and physical activity. Participants also completed the SPES a second time. A series of multivariate data analyses were conducted to examine the SPES's factor structure. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a 3-factor model, with each factor representing a distinct latent variable. Acceptable internal consistency and test–retest reliability were found. Evidence of concurrent validity with respect to sex and exercise status was demonstrated. Convergent validity was also shown, as relationships to exercise participation and self-presentational anxiety were found. Future research should assess the reliability and validity of the SPES in other samples and the relative and unique contribution of the three factors in predicting exercise-related outcomes.