A model of psychological well-being among international students*

This study aims to investigate the relationship between acculturation attitude (i.e. adjustment and attachment attitudes) and individuals’ psychological adaptation (i.e. life satisfaction, depression and self-esteem). Additionally, the relationship between the dimensions of psychological adaptation with psychological well-being and their mediation effect are examined. Data were collected from 974 randomly selected international students pursuing their Master or Doctoral level studies in six Malaysian public universities using a structured questionnaire. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) technique was applied to examine the relationships in the research model. The results revealed that both adjustment and attachment attitudes are significantly related to life satisfaction and self-esteem while only adjustment attitude associates with depression. All the three dimensions of psychological adaptation are significantly related to psychological well-being. Moreover, the mediation effect of life satisfaction, self-esteem and depression are supported for the relationship between adjustment attitude and psychological well-being. Study implications and contributions are presented.     

Scientific reasoning and epistemological commitments: Coordination of theory and evidence among college science students

Reasoning skills are major contributors to academic and everyday life success. Epistemological commitments (ECs) are believed to underlie reasoning processes and, when considered, could do much in delineating the complex nature of scientific reasoning. This study examined the relationship between ECs and scientific reasoning among college science students. Prior knowledge (PK) was factored in as an intervening variable. Participants were 139 college students enrolled in two physics courses in a large Midwestern university. They completed an online questionnaire, which assessed their PK regarding buoyancy in liquids and EC to the consistency of theory with evidence. Responses to the online questionnaire were used to select 40 participants with varying levels of PK and EC. These participants were divided into four groups, each with 10 students, representing four conditions: High PK–High EC, High PK–Low EC, Low PK–High EC, and Low PK–Low EC. These groups allowed using a 2 × 2 factorial quasi‐experimental design to examine the relationship between participants' reasoning and ECs, accounting for their PK. The quality of participants' reasoning was assessed during individual interviews, which presented them with four problem‐solving tasks involving objects immersed in water. Two‐way analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated the absence of interaction between PK and EC. The results showed that the higher the ECs were, the higher the quality of reasoning was for comparable levels of PK. Additionally, it was found that PK impacted reasoning more strongly when ECs were weaker. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 47: 1064–1093, 2010     

Exploring pharmacy students chosen career path: a year-on-year perspective

Higher Education - There are many factors that motivate students to choose a particular academic major, whether it is due to interest, salary, or family. Government policies and...     

Challenges Faced by Subject Librarians in an Academic Library and Initiatives Toward Overcoming Them: UPM Library Experience

ABSTRACT

Subject Librarians play an important role in an academic library, a role which it is crucial to study. There have been many published studies that have highlighted the lack of evidence on the competencies of Subject Librarians. This paper discusses the challenges faced by the Subject Librarians of the Universiti Putra Malaysia Library. The aim was to gather information from published documents regarding the experiences and practices carried out in efforts to increase the competencies of Subject Librarians. The outcomes from this conceptual paper serve as an important instructional tool for the training and development of Subject Librarians. The results might also provide guidance for the implementation of a similar program or relevant problem-solving plans for other libraries in the region.     

The Student Actions Coding Sheet (SACS): An instrument for illuminating the shifts toward student‐centered science classrooms

This study describes the development of an instrument to investigate the extent to which student‐centered actions are occurring in science classrooms. The instrument was developed through the following five stages: (1) student action identification, (2) use of both national and international content experts to establish content validity, (3) refinement of the item pool based on reviewer comments, (4) pilot testing of the instrument, and (5) statistical reliability and item analysis leading to additional refinement and finalization of the instrument. In the field test, the instrument consisted of 26 items separated into four categories originally derived from student‐centered instruction literature and used by the authors to sort student actions in previous research. The SACS was administered across 22 Grade 6–8 classrooms by 22 groups of observers, with a total of 67 SACS ratings completed. The finalized instrument was found to be internally consistent, with acceptable estimates from inter‐rater intraclass correlation reliability coefficients at the p < 0.01 level. After the final stage of development, the SACS instrument consisted of 24 items separated into three categories, which aligned with the factor analysis clustering of the items. Additionally, concurrent validity of the SACS was established with the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol. Based on the analyses completed, the SACS appears to be a useful instrument for inclusion in comprehensive assessment packages for illuminating the extent to which student‐centered actions are occurring in science classrooms.     

The Relation of Career Indecision and Parental Attachment among Iranian Undergraduate Students

Career indecision particularly among college and undergraduate students is a concern of counselors and psychologists. This concern has led to numerous research studies related to career indecision and factors that influence it, such as family relationships. In this regard, several studies have reported a significant relationship between career indecision and parental attachment. However, little research has been undertaken on the influence of this factor in regard to career indecision for Iranian students. For this purpose, 158 Iranian freshmen and sophomores who had completed the ‘Career Decision Scale’ (Osipow et al., Journal of Vocational Behavior 9:233–243, 1976) and had been identified as career-undecided, completed the ‘Inventory of Parents and Peer Attachment-Revised’ (Armsden & Greenberg, Journal of Youth and Adolescence 16:427–453, 1987). The results revealed that a significant negative relationship was found between career indecision and attachment to mother, whilst the relationship between career indecision and attachment to father was not significant. However, regression analysis showed parental attachment did not significantly predict career indecision of students. Implications and recommendations for further research are discussed.     

The face of digital literacy for Muslim teenage girls: a comparative study of Bradford Muslim girl schools

This paper is grounded in a qualitative approach, to call forth the views of Muslim teenage girls on their access and use of learning technologies for inclusive educational practice. The 45 Muslim teenage girls, aged 14–19 years old, from three British Muslim girls schools participated in this empirical study. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection and the data were analysed using template analysis, matrix analysis, and cross-case analysis. The pupils had strong aspirations that learning technologies and computers should support their learning and attainment, but their access and use to supporting technologies was mixed. It was found through a comparative analysis of the data that all the Muslim teenage girls that entered Muslim schools felt secure and performed competently. Furthermore, the educational success of School A was attributable to educational norms and values relative to the provision of digital resources and skilled teaching staff. The educational experiences of School B and School C were more variable due to access to digital technologies, provision of digital contents and skilled teaching staff. Furthermore, this research study seems to highlight a marked difference between the Muslim School environment and the social context of teenage girls outside the educational setting.     

Towards a personality understanding of information technology students and their IT learning in UAE university

This research investigates the personality characteristics of Information Technology students (CIT) in UAE University (UAEU) and how such features impact their IT learning. To achieve this objective, this research attempts to explain the impact of the Big-5 factors on learning using survey research. Results from 179 respondents suggested that agreeableness, extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness respectively were the most important strategies adopted by CIT students. However, neuroticism scored the lowest. Such results could be attributed to personal as well as to cultural reasons as highlighted in this research. The research highlights theoretical as well as professional contributions and implications. Some of challenges in this research could be addressed by designing programs aiming at enhancing student’s learning ability from the perspective of their personal traits.