Is accreditation ‘on the right track’? The views of Portuguese academics

In many countries, quality assurance systems rely on study programme accreditation. As with all quality assurance mechanisms, accreditation should also be continuously improved in order to maintain its relevance as a promoter of study programme quality. A way to move accreditation forward is by taking into account academics’ views, interests and needs about the process, since their support for it is paramount for its success and effectiveness. This paper analyses Portuguese academics’ knowledge and views on accreditation with the aim of understanding if the process is being supported and is on the right route for being effective. It is based on the analysis of 1484 academics’ answers to a questionnaire distributed in 16 higher education institutions. This analysis reveals a moderately positive attitude of academics towards accreditation, reflected in an only moderate knowledge of the process as well as in a mild agreement with its characteristics and implementation features. This suggests that there is room for improvement to bring this quality assurance mechanism closer to academics’ expectations and needs and therefore to improve accreditation’s effectiveness.

     

Opening Doors: Teaching LGBTQ-themed Young Adult Literature for an Inclusive Curriculum

LGBTQ themes are often neglected in many schools' curriculum. Currently, an LGBTQ-inclusive curriculum framework is not required in most school districts across the county. Therefore, it is important to understand how teachers regard LGBTQ issues; how they address the needs of students in the middle school and high school English classroom who identify on this spectrum or who come from LGBTQ families; and how they incorporate literature that may be considered “controversial” in their future school districts. In this study, English/Language Arts preservice teachers (PSTs) (certification 7–12) were invited to participate in a book club and self-select young adult (YA) literature centering on characters who identify on the LGBTQ spectrum. During two book club meetings, three themes emerged that embody how literature can become a mirror as well as a window for students and assist youth in identity formation and confirmation. Moreover, literature has the potential to empower readers to take action on controversial issues, especially when readers are in positions to make change (no matter how subtle). Although the data collected were from PSTs, our aim with this article is to expand these three themes as overarching messages for practicing educators today, urging the importance of a more inclusive curricula involving LGBTQ literature.     

Perspectives on pedagogical change: instructor and student experiences of a newly implemented undergraduate engineering dynamics curriculum*

Engineering education has been slow to adopt research-based educational innovations. Few prior works on such adoption have investigated the combined classroom experiences of instructors and students when such innovations are being implemented. Therefore, this work focuses on the lived experiences of an instructor and her students when adopting an active, blended, and collaborative learning environment, known as Freeform, in a second-year dynamics course. Weekly reflections from the instructor were processed alongside student interviews using Thematic Analysis to discern prominent themes in their perspectives for comparison and discussion. The results indicate that the instructor navigated internal tensions between her previous instructional preferences and the philosophy and resources of Freeform. Similarly, students had to adapt to this new philosophy and suite of resources that were uncommon for their institution. Ultimately, this work highlights the contextual natures of teaching and learning, and how situational factors can influence educational innovation.     

A Model-Based Inquiry Sequence as a Heuristic to Evaluate Students’ Emotional,Behavioural, and Cognitive Engagement

Research in Science Education - In this study we address the need to promote student engagement with school science and the need to measure a more comprehensive conception of engagement considering...     

Artificial intelligence in education: evolution of the teaching—learning relationship

In this paper some of the implications of the exploitation of Artificial Intelligence techniques in the educational field are presented, and the evolution of the changing quality of interaction between student and teacher is illustrated. Such historical changes are presented as a consequence of the introduction of new technologies in education. Particular aspects of Intelligent Educational Systems are presented, pointing out the innovative features of such systems compared with traditional applications.     

The Italian adaptation of courage measure

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - This project developed and examined the psychometric properties of an Italian version of the Courage Measure, the reduced version...     

Elimination of lipaemic interference by high-speed centrifugation

IntroductionIn order to deliver high quality results, detection and elimination of possible analytical interferences, such as lipaemia, is crucial. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of high-speed centrifugation in eliminating lipaemic interference and to define own lipaemic index (LI) for the studied biochemical analytes.Materials and methodsEvaluated analytes were: albumin, alkaline phosphatase, alanine-aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate-aminotransferase (AST), calcium, creatinine, gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT), glucose, phosphates, total proteins, urea and total bilirubin. Those analytes and LIs have been analysed in duplicate in the Roche Diagnostics-c8000 analyser in samples centrifuged at 3000 rpm/10 minutes in the SL16 (Thermo Scientific, Waltham, USA) centrifuge and according to an own high-speed centrifugation protocol (12,900 rpm/15 minutes) in the MicroCL17R (Thermo Scientific, Waltham, USA) centrifuge. Lipaemia has been measured in each sample. The efficiency of high-speed centrifugation is verified by the Wilcoxon test (P < 0.05). In cases where significant differences are observed, our own LI is calculated. For ALT and AST, it is verified by McNemar test (P < 0.05). For creatinine, both Wilcoxon and McNemar test were applied.ResultsThere were statistically significant differences in analyte concentration before and after high-speed centrifugation for: albumin, creatinine, GGT, glucose, phosphates, urea and total bilirrubin. Own LI is calculated. McNemar test shows statistically significant diferences in the proportion of delivered results before and after high-speed centrifugation in ALT, AST and creatinine.ConclusionsThis study confirms the efficacy of high-speed centrifugation protocol for all the considered analytes, excepting calcium, alkaline phosphatase and total proteins.     

Patterns of Early‐Life Social and Environmental Exposures and Child Cognitive Development,Rhea Birth Cohort,Crete, Greece

Early‐life exposures are critical for later child cognitive development. McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA) were used to assess cognitive development of 700 preschoolers (M_age = 4.2 years), derived from the “Rhea” birth cohort, in Greece. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied on prospectively collected exposure data. Six components were extracted; five of them were associated with child cognition. Higher parental social status, preschool attendance and less TV watching, nonsmoking during pregnancy and breastfeeding, and parental involvement in child life were protective factors of child cognition at 4 years. Increased child birth order was negatively associated with child cognition. Offspring's size at birth was not associated with any cognitive outcome. These findings reveal the importance of early‐life exposures to child cognitive development.