Sense of coherence: a relevant resource in the coping process of mothers of deaf and hard-of-hearing children?

This study examined the importance of reported sense of coherence (Antonovsky, 1987) in mothers of children with hearing impairment. Sense of coherence was explored as a factor in relation to the experience of stress and subjective life satisfaction and in the context of other relevant variables in coping (e.g., social support, additional handicaps of the child, child's hearing status, means of communication). Two hundred thirty-five mothers completed a questionnaire, and path analysis corroborated a theoretical model in which sense of coherence was delineated as a factor contributing directly to stress perception. Both sense of coherence and the experience of social support were identified as resources that reduced reported stress and improved quality of life, with sense of coherence especially important in reducing stress. Child variables, including additional handicaps and extent of hearing impairment, intensified reported stress for the mothers, but mode of communication with the deaf child did not affect stress experience. The findings are discussed within the context of socialization theory. Recommendations for further research (e.g., longitudinal data, control designs, socio-economic status, applicability to fathers) are made.     

Adolescents at risk for violence

Interpersonal violence among youth is a growing problem in many communities and schools across the nation. The causes of violence are multiple and complex. This paper examines the extent and nature of interpersonal violence among youth as well as the individual and societal factors which contribute to youth violence. Adolescents are disproportionately represented as both victims and perpetrators of fatal and nonfatal assaultive violence. Homicide rates among young men in the United States are vastly greater than those of other Western industrialized nations. Persons age 12–24 years face the highest risk of nonfatal violent victimization of any segment of our society. Arrest rates for homicide, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault peak among adolescents and young adults. Further, arrest rates for murder and other violent crimes have increased substantially among this age group since the mid-1980s. Effective prevention programs will require combinations of interventions aimed at multiple factors and delivered through many channels.     

Mediated Exchange and Reflective Collaboration: A model of science teaching development

Interpersonal discussions and mediated exchange are combined processes in curriculum planning and innovation in the national project PING, a system for the development and evaluation of integrated science education in lower secondary schools in Germany. In this project teachers from pilot schools, researchers, teacher trainers and administrators are collaborating by direct interpersonal exchange in teacher training sessions, workshops and research meetings, or through mediated exchange by mail or electronic network. Collaboration is supported by institutionalisation and co-ordination with the aim of curriculum development for integrated science teaching. A major activity in the project is the reflective development and research activity of a core group, supported by a collaborative network. Analysis of interviews and network activities specify functions and problems of mediated exchange. The network is experienced as helpful for a continuous development in the project, especially through documentation and revision of a knowledge base of something already thought or discussed. The format is dependent on a co-ordination centre that offers exchange of messages, files and announcements. There is no direct mediated exchange between participants of the network. Mediated exchange is not a substitute for interpersonal contacts, especially of colleagues, and does not help to overcome teachers' individualistic role in class. However, it is socially less constrained by rivalries and unequal workload than interpersonal co-operation. Interpersonal and mediated reflective collaboration depends on a system of exchange between different persons across different institutions involved in a social and cultural context. Teachers are part of this exchange. In class, reflective practice refers to a situation where teachers mainly depend on their 'autonomous self'. At this point, teachers lack support from others and this lack is a conceptual problem of the individualistic reflective practice approach.     

Hochschulexpansion, Wandel der Fächerproportionen und Akademikerarbeitslosigkeit in Deutschland

The paper investigates the relationship between the expansion of higher education and the development of unemployment among higher education graduates by discipline using time series data. Our results find that the overall relationship between higher education and the world of labor is a recursive one. The relative weight of some disciplines among graduates, changes according to labor market needs, but this reaction is not immediate and subject to a delay. Other disciplines however develop independently of employment prospects. The rising proportion of graduates within these disciplines leads to pressures for change on the labor market. In both cases our data shows that the employment system absorbs the expansion of higher education graduates. This happens through a diversification of employment positions in order to accommodate the expansion of higher education graduates.     

From the (Academic) middle to the top: an evaluation of the AVID/TOPS college access program

Abstract

Despite overall increases in college-going, college enrollment rates remain inequitable. Many programs attempt to address these persistent racial/ethnic and social class disparities in college attendance by intervening in the high school curriculum. Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) is among the longest standing and prevalent of these college access programs. In this paper, we present findings from a multi-year evaluation and cost analysis of the AVID/TOPS program – an enhanced AVID model – in place in Madison Metropolitan School District (Wisconsin). Taken together, the evaluation’s findings characterize AVID/TOPS as a promising program model that is associated with an increased likelihood for college readiness and matriculation, particularly for student groups underrepresented in higher education. We also report on the resources and costs required to implement the program, and show that the program’s benefits appear to exceed its costs.     

Procrastination in a distance university setting

Procrastination, putting off until tomorrow what should have been done today, is a self-regulation failure that is widespread among students. Although plenty of research has emerged regarding academic procrastination, hardly any research endeavor regarding procrastination in distance university settings exists. This lack of research is even more astonishing when considering that the demands on self-regulation are higher in distance education settings than in traditional university settings. The present (questionnaire) study was intended to shed light on procrastination in an actual distance university setting by exploring its relationship to grades, learning strategies (e.g., cognitive, meta-cognitive strategies), and life satisfaction in students from a distance university in comparison to students from a traditional university.     

Private Higher Education and Economic Development

In Western Europe, especially in Germany, private higher education is generally perceived as an alternative to public higher education for students from relatively affluent families; more broadly, there is a general perception that attending a private higher education institution is correlated to wealth. This perception is influenced by private higher education in the US, which is the world's most visible private system, but also probably the most atypical. In this article, we will analyse the relationship between private higher education attainment and the wealth of nations as reflected by their per capita GDP. We will try to relate the indicators in models that use cross-sectional transnational data as well as time series analysis for four contrasting countries (Chile, Germany, Romania, and the US). We will address two questions: (1) do wealthier nations have a higher percentage of enrolment in private higher education? and (2) does enrolment in private higher education grow with economic growth? Our analysis shows that a simple general relationship between enrolment in private higher education and the wealth of nations does not exist.     

Discourse and the new didactics of scientific literacy

This study examines ways in which students’ experiences of a culturally‐sensitive curriculum may contribute to their developing sense of ethnic identity. It uses a narrative‐inquiry approach to explore students’ experiences of the interaction of culture and curriculum in a Canadian inner‐city, middle‐school context. It considers ways in which the curriculum may be interpreted as the intersection of the students’ home and school cultures. Teachers, administrators, and other members of the school community made efforts to be accepting of the diverse ethnic, linguistic, and religious backgrounds that students brought to the school. However, examination of students’ experiences of school curriculum events and activities revealed ways in which balancing affiliation to their home cultures while at the same time abiding by expectations of their teachers and peers in their school context could be difficult. The stories highlight ways in which curriculum activities and events may contribute to shaping the ethnic identity of students in ways not anticipated by teachers, administrators, and policy‐makers.