Students’ motivation and engagement in higher education: the importance of attitude to online learning

Higher Education - The emergence of online environments has changed the landscape of educational learning. Some students thrive in this learning environment, but others become amotivated and...     

Examining expansion and trends in higher education in Mozambique,Africa

Higher Education - Concerns about expansion in higher education (HE) have increasingly become a focus of educational policymakers in sub-Saharan countries. However, critical analysis and discussion...     

Is mindfulness training useful for pre-service teachers? An exploratory investigation*

In this study, we investigated the effects of mindfulness training with 23 pre-service teachers. Subjects were assigned to either a six-week mindfulness training program or a control condition. Postintervention, mindfulness participants reported greater emotional clarity and improved regulation of negative emotions. In particular, the mindfulness group was shielded from an increase in negative emotions compared to the control group. In addition, within-group differences suggested that mindfulness training helps student-teachers control impulsive behavior and respond more flexibly to stressful emotions. These findings add to a growing body of research on the benefits of mindfulness. Pre-service teachers, it seems, gain the most benefit in the realm of emotional regulation.     

Learning by Doing: Experiential Learning in Criminal Justice

This article highlights the efforts of colleagues in a criminal justice department to offer experiential learning opportunities (ELOs) to undergraduate students. Operating within the framework of a liberal arts curriculum, we provide criminal justice majors with a range of opportunities that fall under the general rubric of “experiential learning”, including the following: internships, field trips, service-learning, and research projects. Our goal was to combine the academic rigors of traditional, classroom-based learning with exposure to hands-on, real-world, subject-based knowledge. We explain the multistage framework that is used to tie all of our ELOs together across the curriculum. Results from a senior and alumni survey indicate that experiential learning offers significant academic and professional benefits for students.