Helping out or hanging out: the features of involvement and how it relates to university adjustment

This study examined the nature of students’ out-of-class involvements with a view to identifying the kinds of involvement that are most conducive to positive adjustment to university. Students from five Canadian universities completed questionnaires in November of their first-year at university assessing the quality of their out-of-class involvements and the extent to which such activities were structured (i.e., supervised, performed regularly, had a goal or purpose). Measures of adjustment to university were administered in November and March of their first-year. Results indicated that the amount of structure present in out-of-class activities was positively related to university adjustment. Activity quality was found to mediate the relationship between activity structure and university adjustment; it seems that activities that are highly structured are related to more positive outcomes because they tend to provide participants with a high-quality experience. Results are discussed in terms of the transition to university, and first-year transition intervention programs.     

How cognitive,metacognitive, motivational and emotional self‐regulation influence school performance in adolescence and early adulthood

This contribution aims to examine how different areas of self‐regulation are related to academic achievement in adolescents and young adults. The study involved participants, drawn from following age groups: 14–15, 17–18 and 22–23. In order to get information about cognitive, metacognitive, motivational and emotional aspects of self‐regulation, self‐report questionnaires were used. Differences between age‐groups revealed following tendency: there has been a decrease in all fields of self‐regulation from age of 14 (end of primary school) to the age of about 18 years (end of secondary school), and then results slowly improved to the age of about 22 years (students of undergraduate studies). The results obtained are mirroring perceived competence of self‐regulation and differ from the results concerning metacognitive accuracy. Metacognitive self‐regulation persists as an important predictor of school achievement at all developmental levels, and the motivational self‐regulation has significant impact on performance in the first and second age group.     

Looking through the lens of a teacher's life: The power of prototypical stories in understanding teachers' instructional decisions in mathematics

The focus of this narrative inquiry was to examine how teachers describe influences on their instructional decisions in mathematics. Using a lens provided by pivotal or prototypical stories teachers told about their past experiences, connections were suggested between these past experiences and their instructional decisions. These connections helped to illustrate how instructional decisions may be shaped by priorities and beliefs established earlier in life, as well as by current contexts. Further research on the use and characteristics of prototypical stories is suggested.     

Stimulating teachers' reflection and feedback asking: An interplay of self-efficacy,learning goal orientation,and transformational leadership

The goal of the study was to investigate how teachers' reflection and feedback asking – two crucial components of professional development – can be explained by occupational self-efficacy, learning goal orientation and transformational leadership. A survey study with data from 456 teachers from a Dutch College for Vocational Education and Training shows that occupational self-efficacy and learning goal orientation are positively related to reflection and feedback asking. Furthermore, learning goal orientation mediates the relationships between occupational self-efficacy and reflection and asking feedback. Finally, the positive relationship between transformational leadership and reflection and asking feedback appears to depend on learning goal orientation.     

The Issue at a Glance

THE ISSUE AT A GLANCE

The Issue at a Glance     

Health sciences librarians' attitudes toward the Academy of Health Information Professionals.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the study was to ascertain health sciences librarians' attitudes toward the Academy of Health Information Professionals (AHIP). SAMPLE: Systematic sampling was used to select 210 names from the list of members of the Midwest Chapter of the Medical Library Association. METHODS: A questionnaire containing open- and closed-ended questions was used to collect the data. RESULTS: A total of 135 usable questionnaires were returned. Of the respondents, 34.8% are members of the academy and most are at the senior or distinguished member levels. The academy gives them a sense of professionalism and helps them to keep current with new trends. The majority of participants (65.2%) are not members of the academy. Among the various reasons proffered are that neither institutions nor employers require it and that there is no obvious benefit to belonging to the academy. CONCLUSIONS: More research needs to be done with a larger sample size to determine the attitudes of health sciences librarians, nationwide, toward the academy.     

Characteristics of sports participation and psychosocial health in children: Results of a cross-sectional study

Several studies suggest that sports participation is beneficial for psychosocial health. There is, however, only a limited number of studies about the relationship of specific characteristics of sports participation with psychosocial health. The present study investigated associations between characteristics of sports participation and three aspects of psychosocial health, i.e. internalising problems, externalising problems and prosocial behaviour. The examined characteristics of sports participation pertained to individual versus team sports, indoor versus outdoor sports, involvement in competition or not, and contact sports versus non-contact sports. Cross-sectional data were collected from 1768 Dutch children aged 10–12 years who were member of a sports club. These children completed the Movement and Sports Monitor Questionnaire Youth aged 8–12 years (MSMQ) and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Linear multilevel analyses and logistic generalised estimating equation were conducted. Children participating in team sports, outdoor sports, or competition showed fewer internalising problems than children engaged in individual sports, indoor sports, or only training. The associations with internalising problems were stronger for boys than for girls. Children participating in non-contact sports showed fewer externalising problems than children performing non-contact sports as well as contact sports. Children practising indoor sports or non-contact sports showed better prosocial behaviour than children doing outdoor or contact sports. In conclusion, the form of sports participation seemed to matter highly with respect to internalising problems, especially for boys, and, to a lesser extent, with respect to externalising problems and prosocial behaviour. This offers starting points for developing tailor-made sports programmes for children.     

Becoming a primary teacher in Scotland: comparing one-year and four-year courses

This study compared Scottish primary teachers trained by the one-year Bachelor of Education (BEd) and the four-year Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) routes. It was found that BEd graduates were younger, while the PGCEs were more diverse, containing a number embarking on teaching as a second career. It was also found that BEds complete probation slightly faster though this may be due to more favourable opportunities to complete the probationary requirements. The implications are discussed in relation to the changing nature of the teacher employment market and the policy implications for the balance of numbers of teachers trained through the two routes.