Organizational Change: A Case Study

Universities are often characterized as highly resistant to change, but this is not always true. In circumstances of major threat to institutional survival they may be as susceptible to change as any other large complex organization. This article presents a case study of major organizational change in a mid-sized (17,000 students) university in Ontario, Canada. It concludes that, while formal internal processes may vary from one institution to another, many of the tenets of change theory applicable to other organizations also apply in universities. Lessons about when and how such change can be effected are suggested.     

Figures of Disengagement: Charles Taylor,Scientific Parenting,and the Paradox of Late Modernity

In this essay Luc Van den Berge and Stefan Ramaekers take the idea(l) of “scientific parenting” as an example of ambiguities that are typical of our late‐modern condition. On the one hand, parenting seems like a natural thing to do, which makes “scientific parenting” sound like an oxymoron; on the other hand, a disengaged stance informed by the latest scientific findings is uncritically demanded of parents, as such an approach is conceived of as a panacea. Instead of taking sides in this discussion, the authors seek a way to make sense of it, drawing upon the work of Charles Taylor, who offers a striking account of our contingent modern condition as well as of our ontological human constitution. They focus particularly on two examples Taylor gives where the contingent self‐understanding does not coincide with our timeless human features. This opens a space for what might be considered paradoxes in our late‐modern Western culture. This essay thus confronts Taylor's philosophy with the new parenting discourse to reveal how our moral horizons have evolved. Following this approach, the authors both expand on Taylor's thinking about our late modernity and at the same time try to assess the new scientific parenting discourse.     

The Role of Reflection in the Effects of Community Service on Adolescent Development: A Meta‐Analysis

This meta‐analysis assessed the effect of community service on adolescent development and the moderation of this effect by reflection, community service, and adolescent characteristics to explicate the mechanisms underlying community service effects. Random effects analyses, based on 49 studies (24,477 participants, 12–20 years old), revealed that community service had positive effects on academic, personal, social, and civic outcomes. Moderation analyses indicated that reflection was essential; the effect for studies that include reflection was substantial (mean ES = .41) while community service in the absence of reflection yielded negligible benefits (mean ES = .05). Effects increased when studies include more frequent reflection and community service, reflection on academic content, and older adolescents. These findings have implications for understanding and improving community service.     

Inequality in language achievement growth? An investigation into the impact of pupil socio‐ethnic background and school socio‐ethnic composition

This paper investigates how pupils' growth trajectories in three language domains (reading fluency, spelling, and reading comprehension) are related to their own socioeconomic and ethnic background and to the socioeconomic and ethnic composition of their primary school. Using multilevel piecewise growth curve analysis, the growth trajectories of approximately 5000 pupils from 170 primary schools were estimated. The results indicate that a pupil's socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds have the largest impact on achievement and growth in reading comprehension and the smallest impact on reading fluency. Furthermore, school ethnic composition—but not socioeconomic composition—was related to pupils' achievement in all three language domains at the first measurement occasion, though none of the types of school composition was related to growth. The research findings therefore imply that to combat the deficits in language proficiency often found in ethnic minority pupils, priority should be given to investments in individual intervention programmes over policy plans to desegregate schools. Moreover, our study identifies the specific points in time during primary school at which intervention programmes are needed the most.     

The mediating effect of instruction on pair composition in L2 revision and writing

The present study tests the effect of ability pairing in two instructional methods in L2 collaborative revision. Two continuous indices determine a pair: individual proficiency level, distance in proficiency between pair members (heterogeneity), and the interaction between both indices. Instructional methods tested are modelling and practising. Results show that the effect of pair composition depends on instructional strategies. In the Practising condition less proficient learners profit most from a heterogeneous ability pair, whereas more proficient learners are best paired homogeneously. In the Modelling condition no effect of pair composition factors was observed. This result illustrates that Modelling is a powerful instructional method for complex learning tasks like collaborative revision in L2 as it overrides some of the grouping effects which can be found in more traditional learning conditions.     

Schools,social capital and space

This paper reports on the significance of social capital in relation to education, exploring its relevance to teachers and other professionals as well as among young people. It draws on aspects of five case studies undertaken by the Schools and Social Capital Network, within the Applied Educational Research Scheme in Scotland. These case studies focused on: an Inclusive Learning Network of teachers and parents of disabled children and young people concerned with inclusion; students from refugee families in one primary and one secondary school, working in association with Asylum Seekers Support Project units; young participants in a local authority youth club; independent (private) schools and a Get Ready for Work Programme. A framework for accounting for bonding, bridging and linking social capital as practices was developed and space was an emergent theme from these case studies.     

Workplace learning within teacher education: the role of job characteristics and goal orientation

Within teacher education, it is widely recognised that internships play a major role in preparing prospective teachers. The current research examines if the learning activities students’ undertake in the workplace can be explained by students’ goal orientation and their perceptions of the workplace. In addition, it will be investigated whether this model is predictive for students’ academic achievement. Participants in this study were 464 bachelor students enrolled in teacher education. The results from the structural equation modelling show that students’ learning goal orientation is an important predictor for students’ learning activities and academic achievement. Students with a higher learning goal orientation demonstrate a more active approach towards their learning. Regarding the context, some positive relations between work-related variables such as job demands and job control on the one hand and students’ learning activities on the other hand were identified, but their relationship was more limited than expected.     

Modeling Change and Variation in U.S. News & World Report College Rankings: What would it really take to be in the Top 20?

University administrators may invest significant time and resources with the goal of improving their U.S. News & World Report ranking, but the real impact of these investments is not well known since, as other universities make similar changes, rankings become a moving target. This research removes the mystique of the U.S. News ranking process by producing a ranking model that faithfully recreates U.S. News outcomes and quantifies the inherent “noise” in the rankings for all nationally ranked universities. The model developed can be a valuable tool to institutional researchers and university leaders by providing detailed insight into the U.S. News ranking process. It allows the impact of changes to U.S. News subfactors to be studied when variation between universities and within subfactors is present. Numerous simulations were run using this model to understand the effect of each subfactor individually and to determine the amount of change that would be required for a university to improve its rank or move into the top 20. Results show that for a university ranked in the mid-30 s it would take a significant amount of additional resources, directed in a very focused way, to become a top-ranked national university, and that rank changes of up to ± 4 points should be considered “noise”. These results can serve as a basis for frank discussions within a university about the likelihood of significant changes in rank and provide valuable insight when formulating strategic goals.     

The Relationship between Workplace Climate,Motivation and Learning Approaches for Knowledge Workers

Workplace learning is becoming a central tenet for a large proportion of today’s employees. This seems especially true for so-called knowledge workers. Today, it remains unclear how differences in the quality of workplace learning are affected by differences in perception of the workplace environment and the motivation of knowledge workers to learn. Moreover, the possible role of motivation as a mediating factor between workplace climate factors and learning is underexplored. This paper therefore investigates direct and indirect links between perceptions of the workplace climate, motivation to learn and approaches to learning in the workplace. Knowledge workers (N?=?202) in one knowledge intensive organisation were questioned using existing and adapted questionnaires to measure learning approaches, motivation and workplace climate. Correlations and multivariate regression analyses were carried out to assess direct relationships amongst variables. Path analysis was carried out to assess the mediating role of motivation. Results show that both workplace climate factors and motivation directly influence employees’ approaches to learning. Some direct relationships between workplace climate factors and motivation were also uncovered. Results regarding the mediating role of motivation showed that the effect of good supervision on deep learning is completely mediated by autonomous motivation. The effect of choice independence on deep learning approach is partially mediated by the same motivational drive. A-motivation was found to partially mediate the link between good supervision and a surface disorganised approach. Implications for research and practice are discussed.