How Canadian universities use social media to brand themselves

This paper explores social media marketing strategies applied by Canadian universities as a tool for institutional branding, recruitment and engagement of home and international students. The target sample involves the total population of Canadian university-status institutions (N = 106). Qualitative data were collected from two major social networking websites, Facebook and Twitter, over the span of six months to provide a comprehensive picture. Additionally, student enrolment data were compiled with the purpose of associating social media implementation with fluctuations of student enrolment. Results reveal that the Twitter platform is generally much more popular to carry conversations, but that Facebook remains the preferred website for university-initiated postings; most of these university-led postings, whether on Twitter or Facebook, relate to campus/student news and events. Findings point to institutions as only one of many message generators, while students and a host of third parties have become the dominant ones.     

Enhancing attachment organization among maltreated children: results of a randomized clinical trial

Young children who have experienced early adversity are at risk for developing disorganized attachments. The efficacy of Attachment and Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC), an intervention targeting nurturing care among parents identified as being at risk for neglecting their young children, was evaluated through a randomized clinical trial. Attachment quality was assessed in the Strange Situation for 120 children between 11.7 and 31.9 months of age (M = 19.1, SD = 5.5). Children in the ABC intervention showed significantly lower rates of disorganized attachment (32%) and higher rates of secure attachment (52%) relative to the control intervention (57% and 33%, respectively). These results support the efficacy of the ABC intervention in enhancing attachment quality among parents at high risk for maltreatment.     

Re-play: Re-assessing the effectiveness of an arts partnership in teacher education

RE-PLAY: RE-ASSESSING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF AN ARTS PARTNERSHIP IN CANADIAN TEACHER EDUCATION – Elementary teachers in Canada are increasingly expected to deliver arts instruction in their classrooms, as financial exigencies have restricted the hiring of specialists. This study examines the effectiveness of an arts partnership between a Canadian university faculty of education and local-area school boards. In this partnership, university staff and specialist arts teachers together delivered the integrated arts component in teacher education. Findings indicate that specialist arts instruction, peer learning methods and theory/practice integration strengthen such training in the arts. Specialist arts teachers can enhance the instructional effectiveness of teacher-candidates by introducing current classroom teaching strategies, concrete activities, up-to-date resources and classroom management techniques. The confidence of beginning teachers to teach the arts can be promoted by observing colleagues, engaging in team learning activities, and obtaining peer feedback. The use of integrated arts theory and a focus on practical applications of concepts, coupled with reflective discussion, can also be seen to promote conceptual understanding. A further recommendation involves expanding the role of the arts in teacher education to foster cultural diversity.     

In need of review: Developing Sensory Provision in Northern Ireland’s Mainstream Primary classrooms

The impact of Sensory Processing Difficulties across a range of Special Educational Needs is well researched. More recently, the impact on children’s mental health and well-being, linked with anxiety, depression and self-injurious behaviours, have redirected international research to consider the holistic benefits of sensory provision, for those with special educational provision and the wider classroom population. A SMART SURVEY was designed to collate empirical evidence regarding current sensory awareness and provision in mainstream primary schools throughout Northern Ireland, in a time efficient manner. Out of 809 schools, 164 (20.27%) fully completed the online survey. Findings indicate that Special Educational Needs Coordinator confidence in developing practice, supporting staff and children was limited and impaired by insufficient and inconsistent training opportunities. While healthcare research recommends provision by trained professionals, Occupational Therapy input was limited (n = 34; 24.8%), resulting in practice that could be detrimental rather than beneficial to children’s progress. Respondents identified a need for sensory training for teachers (n = 124; 93.94%) to ensure that the impact of Sensory Processing Difficulties on the holistic development of all children is understood. Pupil voice was undervalued (n = 5; 3.6%). Active involvement of children in the process of evaluation and intervention is recommended to enhance pupil autonomy and well-being.     

The non-formal communication of scientific knowledge

Ph.D. (University of Montreal). Professor in the Department of Communications at the Université du Québec at Montreal. Former founding director of the Centre de recherche en évaluation sociale des technologies. For some years he has been interested in the popularization of science and in the presentation of science museums. His advice is often sought by different organizations and governmental bodies on scientific culture. Recent publications includeThe rise of environmentalism in museums (1993),Quand la science devient culture [When science becomes culture] (1994) andScience museums for the next century (1995).     

“Asking,Learning, Seeking Out”: An Exploration of Data Literacy for Teaching

Abstract

The current study explored preservice and inservice teachers’ perspectives on data literacy for teaching. Semi-structured interviews were employed with 12 teacher candidates in elementary and special education. The findings revealed participants’ misconceptions regarding formative and summative data; their understanding of the value of formative data; perceptions of challenges related to data literacy for teaching including time, making sense of data, and reliability and validity; and candidates’ preferences for authentic data literacy instruction.     

Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology: Where are the Jobs?

Employment opportunities for persons with doctoral degrees in counselor education and counseling psychology were studied. Over 15 months, 708 positions were identified and analyzed to determine frequency of advertised positions calling for either degree, types of positions, and references to the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) or the American Psychological Association. Additional analyses were conducted for counselor education. Results found the counselor education degree to have a clear identity in the marketplace, especially for faculty positions, whereas the degree in counseling psychology was more often 1 of multiple degrees listed for an advertised position. Implications are discussed, including implications for CACREP‐accredited doctoral programs and needs for future research.     

Student Effort in Preparing for Exams: Intertemporal Preferences and Loss Aversion

In the last two decades, much empirical research has been done in the field of behavioral economics to explain the psychological foundations for economic decisions. In particular, it has been shown that people exhibit time‐inconsistent behavior when making intertemporal decisions, i.e., they demand higher interest rates for a delay of their consumption in the near rather than in the distant future. People also show loss aversion. They demand more compensation for a loss than they are willing to sacrifice for a gain. We analyze these features for the nonmonetary decision of the amount of time invested in learning hours before an exam. Asked at two different points in time, the students were willing to learn more when the time of learning seemed far away than when the learning time had arrived. On the other hand, students were loss averse trying to prevent a deterioration of their grade to a larger extent than when they tried to work for an amelioration.