The changing American college student: implications for educational policy and practice

New students entering higher education institutions in the United States have undergone dramatic changes during the past two decades. This paper summarizes some of the major trends observed in these surveys and discusses possible implications of the findings for educational policy and practice.Each fall since 1966 the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles has been conducting a national survey of new college freshmen. A typical survey involves 250,000 students and a nationally representative sample of 550 higher education institutions of all types. Between the late 1960s and the mid-1980s American college students became much more focussed on material goals and less concerned with altruism and social problems. These value changes were accompanied by dramatically increased student interest in business careers and a sharp decline of interest in school teaching, social work, nursing, the clergy, and other service careers. These changes are perhaps best illustrated in the contrasting trends in two values: being very well off financially, which doubled in popularity during the period of survey and developing a meaningful philosophy of life which was the top student value in the early 1970s but was endorsed by fewer than half as many students by the late 1980s.During just the past two or three years most of these trends seem to have ended or, in certain cases, shown signs of reversing direction. At the same time, there is growing evidence that students are increasingly oriented toward social activism. Protecting the environment appears to be the single greatest concern among American college students at the turn of the decade.Portions of this talk were given at the January 6, 1989 meeting of the Commission on the University of the 21st Century, Council of Higher Education, Richmond, Virginia: portions have also been adopted from an earlier article in Change magazine (Astin, A. W. Competition or Cooperation, September/October 1987).     

Book Review: Mcconnell David. 2000. Implementing Computer Supported Cooperative Learning. 2nd ed. London,Sterling: Kogan Page Limited. 265 pp. ISBN 0-7494-3135-0

International Review of Education -     

Rissland,Birgit. 2002. Humor und seine Bedeutung für den Lehrerberuf. Bad Heilbrunn/Obb.: Julius Klinkhardt. 234 pp. ISBN 3-7815-1251-7.

International Review of Education -     

The Hispanic Experience in Physical Education Teacher Education Programs: A Qualitative Study

The purpose of this study was to describe the experiences of Hispanic faculty involved in physical education teacher education programs at predominantly White colleges and universities in the United States. The study was positioned in the theoretical framework of organizational socialization. Participants were Hispanic (n = 6) faculty from various kinesiology-based programs in tenure-track positions at institutions of higher education in the United States. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and transcribed, triangulated, and analyzed with constant comparative procedures. We uncovered the following themes: (a) underrepresented, (b) socialized, and (c) cultured and determined. The study’s findings magnify the need for faculty and administrators to heighten their awareness and implement strategies to improve the organizational socialization of Hispanic faculty, particularly at predominantly White doctoral-granting colleges and universities. This means, for instance, identifying strategies to recruit, prepare, retain, and mentor Hispanic faculty at such institutions.     

They also do it: Internet use by older adults living in residential care facilities

The Internet has gained much importance as a resource for older adults during recent years, for example, as a resource for maintaining lifelong learning. However, available studies targeting the adoption of the Internet have mostly focused on young-old, healthy, and community-dwelling adults. To our knowledge, no study has yet examined Internet use among individuals living in residential care facilities (RCF), that is, old–old adults with a range of functional impairments. We provide data on the Internet use in a large sample of 1,212 residents (mean age, 87.9 years) living in 24 RCFs in Zurich, Switzerland. We found that 14% of residents used the Internet, a very similar proportion as previously reported in a Swiss survey of older adults in private households. However, when stratified according to age, individuals aged 65–84 years in RCFs had lower Internet use compared with community-dwelling older adults (21% versus 65%, respectively). No difference was observed among individuals aged ≥85 years. Compared with non-users, Internet users were more likely to be younger, male, living for a shorter duration in RCF, not living alone in the institution, and healthier and functionally unimpaired. Internet users also described themselves as having higher autonomy and satisfaction with life. In conclusion, Internet use has reached (at least in Switzerland) the long-term care sector and appears to play a significant role in the lives of a considerable portion of RCF residents.     

I have to go online next week?! Practical suggestions based on Ke (2016)

Activation of known material, the importance of context and narrative, opportunities for reflection, and appropriate feedback are all major issues to be taken into consideration when designing online courses. The purpose of this review is to discuss the ways in which these various themes, elucidated by Ke (Designing and integrating purposeful learning in game play: A systematic review. Educational Technology Research and Development, 64, 219–244. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-015-9418-1, 2016), can be brought to life when transitioning a course to an online format. Issues related to this review will be discussed from a practical perspective aimed at assisting course instructors when making a fast transition to an online teaching modality.

     

Achieving Optimal Best: Instructional Efficiency and the Use of Cognitive Load Theory in Mathematical Problem Solving

We recently developed the Framework of Achievement Bests to explain the importance of effective functioning, personal growth, and enrichment of well-being experiences. This framework postulates a concept known as optimal achievement best, which stipulates the idea that individuals may, in general, strive to achieve personal outcomes, reflecting their maximum capabilities. Realistic achievement best, in contrast, indicates personal functioning that may show moderate capability without any aspiration, motivation, and/or effort expenditure. Furthermore, our conceptualization indicates the process of optimization, which involves the optimization of achievement of optimal best from realistic best.In this article, we explore the Framework of Achievement Bests by situating it within the context of student motivation. In our discussion of this theoretical orientation, we explore in detail the impact of instructional designs for effective mathematics learning as an optimizer of optimal achievement best. Our focus of examination of instructional designs is based, to a large extent, on cognitive load paradigm, theorized by Sweller and his colleagues. We contend that, in this case, cognitive load imposition plays a central role in the structure of instructional designs for effective learning, which could in turn influence individuals’ achievements of optimal best. This article, conceptual in nature, explores varying efficiencies of different instructional approaches, taking into consideration the potency of cognitive load imposition. Focusing on mathematical problem solving, we discuss the potentials for instructional approaches to influence individuals’ striving of optimal best from realistic best.