Self-protection profiles of worth and academic goals in university students

European Journal of Psychology of Education - This work analyzes the possible existence of self-protection profiles based on a combination of self-handicapping (behavioral and claimed) strategies...     

The use of portfolios to foster professionalism: attributes,outcomes, and recommendations

The main objective of this research was to review the characteristics of portfolios and their outcomes for teaching professionalism to undergraduate medical students. A systematic review on the use of portfolios in teaching professionalism to medical students identified 1257 papers. Of these, 11 articles met all inclusion criteria. According to the papers, the use of portfolios for teaching professionalism shows versatility, supports learning strategies and has the potential to be used in different contexts, including for formative and summative purposes. The weaknesses were based on the artificiality of the reflections, deficient instructions, time-consuming processes and preference among students for other teaching methods. Students complained about feeling that the reflection was ‘forced’, and they tended to write based on social conventions rather than reveal their true thoughts. Reflection is a powerful component of the portfolio, but the method by which it is taught could easily ruin its potential to boost professionalism. Requiring reflection did not ensure its achievement; increased understanding by students regarding how and why they were doing it, the clarity of assessment methods and constructive feedback might strengthen the potential for success. A framework was designed to support faculty members in developing and applying portfolios with a clear and broad view of this teaching strategy.     

If I experience formative assessment whilst studying at university,will I put it into practice later as a teacher? Formative and shared assessment in Initial Teacher Education (ITE)

The aim of this article is to analyse whether having experience of formative assessment during their initial teacher education courses (ITE) influences graduates’ subsequent practice as teachers. That is, if the assessment methods that university students are subject to during their learning process are then actually employed by them during their professional practice as schoolteachers. To address this issue, questionnaires were issued and focus groups were held with a sample of ITE graduates. The main results of the study are that: (1) formative and shared assessment (FSA) is not used a great deal during ITE, but is highly valued; (2) some graduates have implemented FSA in their practice as teachers, following their experience on their ITE course; and (3) significant variables are found regarding the implementation of FSA in schools (possible resistance from colleagues and/or pupils’ parents, etc.).     

Application of a lexical-semantic intervention programme for students with Specific Language Impairment / Aplicación de un programa de intervención léxico-semántica en alumnado con Trastorno Específico del Lenguaje

The aim of this research has been to test the efficacy of an intervention programme on lexical-semantic problems in children with Specific Language Impairment (SLI). The sample consisted of 34 children diagnosed with SLI and 34 children with typical language development, all enrolled in different schools on the island of Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain). For the selection of the sample, CELF-3, Peabody, ITPA Auditory Association and Visual Association subtests and the K-BIT IQ tests were used. The intervention programme consisted of 72 sessions of 30 minutes each, using noun and action naming activities along with conversation and categorization tasks in order to increase vocabulary and improve lexical semantic competence. Significant results were achieved in aspects related to the acquisition of vocabulary as well as in lexical semantics or related terms. The educational implications are clear insofar as lexical-semantic aspects are key in terms of activating other linguistic components and in improving the academic progress of SLI students.     

Determinants of successful internationalisation processes in business schools

We analyse the internationalisation process in business schools as a response to the globalisation phenomena and argue that environmental pressures, isomorphic forces, the pool of internal resources and the alignment of the process with the institution’s general strategic plan are the main determinants of a successful internationalisation process. These determinants, two external and two internal, find support in different theoretical frameworks such as contingency, isomorphism, resource-based view and strategic management theories. We use these theoretical approaches to discuss four propositions that explain the implementation of an appropriate internationalisation process for a business school. This paper contributes to the literature concerned with the internationalisation processes in higher education institutions highlighting the main factors that should be taken into account by school deans, university provosts, university boards and educational policymakers in guiding internationalisation process at institutional and national/sector levels.     

CICBS: a methodology and a framework for measuring and managing intellectual capital of cities. A practical application in the city of Mataró

The governments of cities have to make important decisions on the future of their communities. In the past, the vision, objectives, and goals of cities have been determined mainly by considering tangible assets as the main factors of a city's prosperity. However, in the knowledge economy, the role of intangible assets in wealth creation has become fundamental. As a result, a framework of intangible assets that allows navigation from the present reality to the future vision has become an urgent need for all cities. The paper has two well-defined parts. In the first part, it develops a specific methodology and framework for measuring and managing the intellectual capital of cities. In the second part, the study deals with the practical application of this model of intellectual capital in cities with the specific case of the city of Mataró, providing some details of the first cities’ intellectual capital report.     

Asynchronous and synchronous online teaching: Perspectives of Canadian high school distance education teachers

This paper presents the results of an inductive, interpretive analysis of the perspectives of 42 Canadian high school distance education (DE) teachers on asynchronous and synchronous online teaching. The paper includes a conceptual overview of the affordances and constraints of each form of teaching. Findings provided insight into the following aspects of asynchronous and synchronous online teaching: degree of use; the tools used; the contexts in which each occur; students' preferences; and limitations. Pedagogy emerged as more important than media for both asynchronous and synchronous online teaching. Synchronous online teaching relied on teacher‐ rather than student‐centred approaches. Asynchronous online teaching provided support for self‐paced, highly independent forms of secondary DE supplemented by synchronous online teaching for answering questions and troubleshooting.     

US higher education in a budgetary vortex��1992�C2007: tracing the positioning of academe in the context of growing inequality

Through comparative statistical data of public investment trends in higher education, the institution of higher education in the US is contemporarily contextualized within the growing milieu of disparity. Specifically, this study focuses on the period from 1992 to 2007 to see if a mitigation of the growing economic disparity projected per the Kuznets curve was reflected in the prioritization of higher education support needed to preserve the social mobility of the workforce. Through the analysis of higher educational expenditure within the budgetary priorities of the 50 states from 1992 to roughly the present, this paper reveals that, in absolute terms or by disproportional emphasis, the institutional repositioning of higher education necessary for a Kuznets curve readjustment of disparity has not occurred.     

Using Health Literacy in School to Overcome Inequalities

Health literacy has firmly established the links between literacy skills and health outcomes and is subsequently considered a key strategy for improving the health of disadvantaged populations and addressing social inequality. However, current research findings for improving health literacy have primarily focused on adults and actions within health and health care settings. Implementation studies outside the health sector are scarce. This study, a subset of the INCLUD-ED community- based project on social inclusion, reports on successful community-based approaches to health literacy. This article focuses on two schools that take advantage of the cultural intelligence of their students' family members, allowing them to make health literacy programmes more effective and useful for the participants. In addition, family involvement in educational activities addressed to children, including health programmes, has been found to improve the health literacy of the participating adults and their use of healthcare services. Findings indicate that schools in Europe can play a key role in breaking the cycle of health inequalities by promoting health literacy through education.     

Zafar,so good: middle‐class students,school habitus and secondary schooling in the city of Buenos Aires (Argentina)

This article examines how students from the ‘loser’ sections of the middle class dealt with the game of secondary schooling in a ‘good’ state school in the city of Buenos Aires (Argentina). It engages with Bourdieu’s theory of social practice and, in particular, with its concepts of game, habitus and cultural capital. It argues that middle‐class students embody a school habitus, which I call zafar. Zafar (a Spanish slang word) refers to students’ dispositions, practices and strategies towards social and educational demands of teachers and their school. Zafar propels middle‐class students to be just ‘good enough’ students, and promote an instrumental approach to schooling and learning. Although this paper offers an account within which the reproduction of relative educational advantage of a group of middle‐class students takes place, it also poses questions about their future educational and occupational opportunities.