Academic Mentoring and Dropout Prevention for Students in Math,Science and Technology

In this study, we examined the impact of a new academic mentoring program aimed at preventing student dropout in math, science and technology. The MIRES program entails bimonthly meetings between students entering college and university students completing their undergraduate degree in science and engineering. A randomized pretest-posttest control group design was used to evaluate the program’s short-term impact. At the end of the program, mentees (n = 150) presented significantly higher levels of motivation, a more positive career decision profile and enhanced institutional attachment and social adjustment than students in the control group (n = 157). MIRES mentees also showed success and persistence rates (mainly male participants) that were significantly higher than those of students in the control group.     

The production and reproduction of news: broadcast students at journalism school

This paper examines the occupational socialization of graduate journalists. It demonstrates the strength of the relationship between vocational training and occupational demands through an examination of the teaching arrangements for broadcast training. In the first training term the broadcast course is indexed by weak classification and strong framing, corresponding to the pedagogy of technicisation characteristic of other highly vocational courses. Second‐term training is indexed by overt weak framing because students work independently from staff in the construction of the dummy news programme. This does not contradict the technicisation thesis, however, but rather suggests that second‐term teaching reinforces the relationship between training and occupational work. Finally it is suggested that where overt weak framing disguises an covert form of strong framing, the demands of the occupation assume a naturalness or inevitability as students learn how to perform the routine tasks of occupational work.