If it's going to be,it's up to me: first-year psychology students’ experiences regarding academic success

Student life is marked by substantial growth in areas such as self-regulation abilities. In this article, the experiences of first-year Psychology students are explored through the lenses of the self-determination theory. Both content and thematic analyses were done with 79 students’ reflections on the aspects they regarded as facilitating/preventing success in their studies. Responses ranged from complete external control (amotivation and external regulation) to high levels of internal control (integration). While many participants articulated their perceptions of incompetence, other participants took ownership of their behavior and articulated how an interest in and enthusiasm for Psychology as a discipline moved them toward feelings of competence, autonomy, and relatedness. High value was placed on a well-structured but warm and responsive educational context.     

Early Full-Time Day Care,Mother–Child Attachment,and Quality of the Home Environment in Chile: Preliminary Findings

Research Findings: Two longitudinal studies are reported examining the effects of full-time day care in Mapuche and non-Mapuche families in Chile. First, the Magellan-Leiden Childcare Study (MLCS) used a sample of 95 mothers with children younger than 1 year old (n = 36 in day care). Second, we partially cross-validated our results in a large and representative sample of 10,723 mothers and their children from the Chilean Encuesta Longitudinal de la Primera Infancia (Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey). In both studies, the quality of care for children provided at home was measured with the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment. In the MLCS study, additional indicators of the mother–child relationship were measured. Day care was not negatively associated with the mother–child relationship and maternal sensitivity, compared to maternal care, or with the quality of the home environment. Positive changes in attachment security were found in Mapuche children who attended day care centers. Practice or Policy: We were able to confirm that type of care was not differentially associated with quality of the home environment.     

Longing for a Better World: Hope in Professional Practices

ABSTRACT

Christians are called to be a witness to the coming of the Kingdom of God and to cultivate practices in which peace and justice may flourish. In order to serve God in their daily work, Christians are faced with situations that cause both hope and despair. In this article, we explore what the concept of hope means for the education of Christian professionals. How does hope help them to fulfill their professional duty, especially in situations in which perseverance and courage are needed? We first elaborate on what Snyder (1994 Snyder, C. R. (1994). The psychology of hope: You can get there from here. New York, NY: Free Press. [Google Scholar]), one of the founding fathers of the field of positive psychology, wrote about hope. However interesting Snyder's ideas may be, we contend that the project-based attitude to the future that guides his research does not help us to develop a full understanding of the ambiguities and urgencies of professional practice. According to the scholarship of Schön (1991 Schön, D. A. (1991). The reflective practitioner. How professionals think in action. Farnham, England: Ashgate. [Google Scholar]) and Bourdieu (1998 Bourdieu, P. (1998). Practical reason. On the theory of action. Cambridge, England: Polity Press. [Google Scholar]), hope has been described as the active anticipation of a future state of affairs. Because hope anticipates a reality that does not yet exist, it always is a risky enterprise. To use a colloquial expression, we can never be sure whether or not we are betting on the wrong horse. Kelsey (2009 Kelsey, D. H. (2009). Eccentric existence. A theological anthropology. Louisville, KY: WJK. [Google Scholar]) reflected on hope from a theological-anthropological perspective. He argued that hope is always a response to something that is eccentric to humankind. Professionals do not bring hope themselves, but rather orient themselves to something that transcends the horizon of human existence. From a Christian point of view, hope is grounded in the community with the living God.     

Benefits of personality characteristics and self‐efficacy in the perceived academic achievement of medical students

This study investigates the joint impact of personality characteristics and self‐efficacy on the perceived academic achievement of medical students on top of their prior high school performance. The sample consisted of medical students in their pre‐clinical years. The students’ grade point average scores at high school were included as control variable in our explanatory models. Based on previous findings in the literature, we selected self‐discipline, social activity and emotional stability from the Five Factor Model of Personality as predictor variables. Furthermore, following the social cognitive theory of Bandura, we added self‐efficacy (students’ belief in their academic skills) as an additional predictor. The logistic regression analyses confirmed the importance of self‐discipline (positively related) and social activity (negatively related) for these students’ perceived academic achievement. Additionally, we found a positive contribution of self‐efficacy. The results of this study (as discussed in the final sections) have implications for support programmes in the practical field.     

Simultaneous Assembly of Multiple Test Forms

An algorithm for the assembly of multiple test forms is proposed in which the multiple-form problem is reduced to a series of computationally less intensive two-form problems. At each step, one form is assembled to its true specifications; the other form is a dummy assembled only to maintain a balance between the quality of the current form and the remaining forms. It is shown how the method can be implemented using the technique of O-1 linear programming. Two empirical examples using a former item pool from the LSAT are given—one in which a set of parallel forms is assembled and another in which the targets for the information functions of the forms are shifted systematically.     

A model for the supervisor–doctoral student relationship

The supervisor–doctoral student interpersonal relationship is important for the success of a PhD-project. Therefore, information about doctoral students’ perceptions of their relationship with their supervisor can be useful for providing detailed feedback to supervisors aiming at improving the quality of their supervision. This paper describes the development of the questionnaire on supervisor–doctoral student interaction (QSDI). This questionnaire aims at gathering information about doctoral students’ perceptions of the interpersonal style of their supervisor. The QSDI appeared to be a reliable and valid instrument. It can be used in research on the relationship between supervisor and doctoral student and can provide supervisors with feedback on their interpersonal style towards a particular student.