Emergent literacy and reading acquisition: a longitudinal study from kindergarten to primary school

European Journal of Psychology of Education - This study explores the predictivity of an emergent literacy model on the acquisition of reading in primary school in a language with a transparent...     

The Contribution of Attentional Control and Working Memory to Reading Comprehension and Decoding

Little is known about how specific components of working memory, namely, attentional processes including response inhibition, sustained attention, and cognitive inhibition, are related to reading decoding and comprehension. The current study evaluated the relations of reading comprehension, decoding, working memory, and attentional control in 1,134 adolescent students. Path analyses were used to assess the direct and indirect effects of working memory and aspects of attentional control on reading comprehension and decoding. There were significant direct effects of working memory, sustained attention, and cognitive inhibition on reading comprehension, but not decoding. There was a significant direct effect of working memory and response inhibition on decoding, but not comprehension. These results suggest that different aspects of attentional control are important for decoding versus comprehension.     

Effective University Leadership and Management of Learning and Teaching in a Widening Participation Context: Findings from two national Australian studies

Abstract

The paper argues for the need to increase student participation in university governance, especially in relation to high‐level decision‐making concerning the aims and mission of tertiary institutions. The paper examines the arguments in favour of, and against, student participation in university governance. It also provides an overview of the findings of recent empirical studies on the topic. The need for a process of negotiation in the setting of higher education aims is emphasised and several suggestions are offered regarding ways of increasing student involvement in the aims‐setting process.     

Mentorship Efforts to Support Part-time Social Work Faculty Members

Social work faculty experience increasing demands to develop and maintain a research portfolio that includes external funding and publications. Given the increase in research expectations, more part-time instructors are needed to teach courses. In addition to the literature review, we briefly describe a pilot part-time faculty mentorship project developed by our school to build a strong, connected, and consistent part-time faculty team. However, we also wanted to examine mentorship programs at other schools/departments of social work; as a result, we conducted an exploratory research study with social work deans and directors nationwide. Findings suggested that while schools of social work are more likely to employ greater numbers of faculty overall, departments tend to have higher teaching expectations for full-time tenure-track faculty. Despite variability among responses, most schools and departments provide some form of support to part-time faculty members; a lack of resources was given as the primary reason for limited mentorship activities.     

An ethic of care and educational practice

Abstract

This article explicates the theoretical framework of an ethic of care and outlines recommendations for applying the framework to practice in adventure education, offering possibilities for re-imagining organizations as centrally concerned with compassion and care. Focusing on the work of Gilligan and Noddings, we suggest an understanding of an ethic of care that is contextual, ungendered, and inclusive of both the private and public spheres of life, and draw parallels between this ethic and the philosophies underlying Outward Bound specifically, and adventure education more generally. Finally, we outline possibilities for organizing educational curricula around centres of care for self, others, and the natural world, using Noddings' suggested curricular components of modeling, dialogue, practice, and confirmation.     

In-Course Instructor-Guided Service Learning in a Community College General Psychology Class

Institutional and student level data from the Florida Community Colleges were examined to explore the Retention Index of the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). A simple correlation and regression analysis was conducted to determine if the CCSSE Retention Index could be used to predict the institutional retention rate calculated for the state accountability measure. Student level data were used with a nested ANOVA to examine if there were mean differences in the CCSSE Retention Index scores of males and females of different racial groups when accounting for the potential influence of the institution attended. Mean differences were examined since differences in retention rates of these groups have been documented.     

Learning Partnerships in Practice: Orientation,Leadership, and Residence Life

Committed to improving how their various programs serve student learning, Taran Cardone, Elizabeth Stoll Turton, Gerald Olson, and Marcia Baxter Magolda describe how their participation in Miami University's Community of Practice on Engaged Learning (COPEL) helped them create developmentally appropriate, learning‐centered approaches that support the complex task of student self‐authorship.     

The Knowledge Required for Tutorial Planning: An Empirical Analysis

A significant portion of tutorial interactions revolve around the bugs a student makes. When a tutor performs an intervention to help a student fix a programming bug, the problem of deciding how to help the student appears to require extensive planning. In this article, we identify five considerations tutors appear to take into account when they plan tutorial interventions for students’ bugs. Using data collected from human tutors working in the domain of introductory computer programming, we (1) identify the knowledge tutors use when they reason about the five planning considerations, and (2) show that tutors are consistent in the ways that they use the kinds of knowledge to reason about students’ bugs.     

Porto street stage at Rally Portugal: the determinants of the length of stay

ABSTRACT

We present the determinants of the length of stay (LOS) of Porto Street Stage that integrated the program of the 52nd edition of Rally de Portugal. Sport events assume an important role in the marketing of tourism destinations. However, when we compare them with other segments in tourism, it still remains underexplored. This study represents an opportunity to contribute to the literature, and it could become a significant toll for the organizers, public entities and other stakeholders. We contemplate a set of information and data that may improve the management of the future editions in a more rigorous and effective way. As we are dealing with an international event, it is an occasion to enlist tourists and promote the tourist destination. We applied a quantitative analysis and considered the sociodemographic characteristics of the spectators, factors that influenced the trip, expenses per day in the city, level of satisfaction with the event, and the intention to return. An OLS regression model, a Weibull survival model and a zero-truncated negative binomial regression model were estimated, and the results were compared. On the LOS determinants it is not common to consider the influence of each item of expenditure during the stay and the satisfaction levels with the event and different effects were observed. The travel and accommodation expenditures present a negative effect on the LOS. In the opposite side the satisfaction level and intention to return, both present a positive effect on the LOS. The sociodemographic characteristics have diverse impacts on the LOS.