Education and psychological distress in adolescence and mid-life: Do private schools make a difference?

This article extends the evidence base on childhood circumstances, education and psychological distress. We examine the link between childhood advantage and disadvantage, the type of school attended during adolescence and psychological distress at ages 16 and 42. The analysis uses a large, population-based birth cohort study, the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70) (n = 17,198) using a structural equation modelling (SEM) approach. More advantaged young people were more likely to attend private schools, but we find no evidence for an effect of private schooling on psychological distress for men, and for women there was an association between private schooling and raised psychological distress at age 16. Having a university degree was associated with a modest reduction in psychological distress in mid-life. We establish that maternal psychological distress at age 10 was a risk factor for the offspring’s psychological distress both in adolescence and in mid-life, and adolescent psychological distress predicts psychological distress in mid-life. We conclude that schools which are academically successful do not necessarily provide wider benefits in terms of mental health.     

Patterns of maternal behavior among neglectful families: implications for research and intervention

OBJECTIVE: The heterogeneity within neglecting caregivers has not been explored in an empirical fashion. The current study sought to address this limitation by utilizing archival data in order to explore variability of maternal behavior among neglectful families. METHOD: The current study utilized archival data containing caseworker and self-report information on 100 mothers for whom neglect had been substantiated and was the primary referral concern. Cluster analysis was used to describe patterns of maternal behavior. Subsequent analysis was used to determine differences between the clusters on degree of neglect, maternal depression, perceived social support, and other demographic characteristics (income, education). RESULTS: Five distinct patterns of maternal behavior emerged, each with different ratings of maternal confidence, relatedness, impulse control, and willingness to engage in verbal interactions. The clusters differed on ratings of neglect, life stressors, resource problems and adult problems. The clusters were similar in terms of maternal education, number of children in the home, and monthly income. Additionally, women in all clusters reported similar levels of depression, similar number of children, and a comparable amount of social support. CONCLUSIONS: The five clusters are described and implications for intervention approaches are discussed.     

‘Students that just hate school wouldn’t go’: educationally disengaged and disadvantaged young people’s talk about university education

This paper contributes to a growing body of literature on widening university participation and brings a focus on the classed and embodied nature of young people’s imagination to existing discussions. We interviewed 250 young people living in disadvantaged communities across five Australian states who had experienced disengagement from compulsory primary and secondary schooling. We asked them about their education and their educational futures, specifically how they imagined universities and university participation. For these young people, universities were imagined as ‘big’, ‘massive’ alienating schools. The paper explores how the elements of schooling from which these young people disengaged became tangible barriers to imagining and pursuing participation in university education. The primary barrier they described was their relationships with school teachers. Our analysis shows how relationships with teachers can impact the imagined improbability/probability of university participation. We offer suggestions for how barriers to university created by poor relationships with teachers may be overcome.     

Practitioners' views about effective mental health and well-being support for post-16 students attending special school

Supporting children and young people's mental health and well-being is central to UK Government policy, with statistics suggesting post-16 students and those with learning difficulties are vulnerable. This case study explored how practitioners at a special school for students with severe and profound and multiple learning difficulties promote post-16 students' mental health and well-being. Data were drawn from four semi-structured interviews and a follow-up focus group. The thematic analysis identified a whole-team approach to supporting mental health and promoting student well-being, through staff knowledge and interpersonal skills, particularly related to communication and ability to build trusting relationships, providing experiences and preparing students for adulthood. Consideration was also given to facilitators and barriers to promoting such provision for students. The emotional needs audit from the Human Givens Institute (2006) could provide a framework for practitioners in special schools to promote mental health and well-being, enabling practical and tangible strategies for intervention and support.     

Communication,Communication, Communication! Growth through Laboratory Instructing

This study examined gains undergraduate students made in their communication and collaboration skills when they served as peer teachers, i.e., laboratory instructors (LIs), for a General Psychology laboratory. Self-ratings of communication and collaboration skills were completed before and after teaching the laboratory. When compared to before the teaching experience, the students rated their skills significantly higher in written expression, oral expression, and participation skills. They also rated themselves significantly higher in written comprehension and expression skills than did a comparison group of non-LIs. Results from interviews also revealed beliefs that their communication and collaboration skills had substantially increased.     

Students’ use of personal technologies in the university classroom: analysing the perceptions of the digital generation

Faculty frequently express concerns about students’ personal use of information and communication technologies in today’s university classrooms. As a requirement of a graduate research methodology course in a university in Ontario, Canada, the authors conducted qualitative research to gain an in-depth understanding of students’ perceptions of this issue. Their findings reveal students’ complex considerations about the acceptability of technology use. Their analysis of the broader contexts of students’ use reveals that despite a technological revolution, university teaching practices have remained largely the same, resulting in ‘cultural lag’ within the classroom. While faculty are technically ‘in charge’, students wield power through course evaluations, surveillance technologies and Internet postings. Neoliberalism and the corporatisation of the university have engendered an ‘entrepreneurial student’ customer who sees education as a means to a career. Understanding students’ perceptions and their technological, social and political contexts offers insights into the tensions within today’s classrooms.     

Scaling Culture Change through Institutional Logics: A Look at the American Association of Universities (AAU) STEM Initiative

ABSTRACT

Little research examines scaled culture change attempted across a network of institutions moving toward more enterprise-level changes. This study attempts to fill that gap by studying the American Association of Universities (AAU) Undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) Initiative and its attempt to scale culture change related to improving STEM teaching across the entire AAU network. The findings show that culture change was being facilitated through AAU’s development of institutional logics that created a new and compelling value system for campuses. However, the logics and conversations had not translated into widespread changes in institutional practices, policies, and structures. The study also identifies hidden values that can play a role in stalling scaled culture change.     

It's All About Me: The User-Centered Approach as a Solution to the Challenges Posed by Information Literacy Instruction

The Future Voices in Public Services column is a forum for students in graduate library and information science programs to discuss key issues they see in academic library public services, to envision what they feel librarians in public service have to offer to academia, to tell us of their visions for the profession, or to tell us of research that is going on in library schools. We hope to provide fresh perspectives from those entering our field, in both the United States and other countries. Interested faculty of graduate library and information science programs, who would like their students’ ideas represented in these pages, are invited to contact Nancy H. Dewald at nxd7@psu.edu

Samantha Sinanan is an MLIS candidate in the School of Library, Archival and Information Studies at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Here she proposes that librarians should seek to understand the Net Generation searcher's perspective in order to teach information literacy most effectively.

Accredited by the American Library Association with the Canadian Library Association, SLAIS is an internationally recognized graduate school at The University of British Columbia, in beautiful Vancouver. At SLAIS we are in the business of preparing professionals to exercise leadership in planning, implementing, and promoting the preservation, organization, and effective use of society's recorded information and ideas. We offer the master's degree in Library and Information Studies (MLIS) and the master's degree in Archival Studies (MAS). In addition, we sponsor a multidisciplinary Master of Arts in Children's Literature (MACL) with five other departments. Opportunities are also available for post-master's study, including a Ph.D. program in library, archival & information studies. For more information, visit www.slais.ubc.ca     

How It's Done: Examining Distance Education Library Instruction and Assessment

ABSTRACT

While articles on individual studies, surveys, and programs abound, there is a lack of baseline data regarding what and how libraries provide instruction for their distant populations. Do libraries generally provide information literacy or library instruction to students at a distance? How is instruction usually provided? Is instruction generally assessed? If so, how is instruction assessed? These questions were asked of librarians in an online survey of 143 institutions offering distance programs, randomly sampled from the College Blue Book. With a 55% response rate, data about instruction offerings and assessment were correlated with information about library staff size, budget, and student enrollment. The expectation was that larger libraries with more money and students would provide more and better services, but interestingly these factors had far less influence than anticipated. It seems that the individual efforts of librarians were the major determinants for services offered by libraries at institutions with distant students.