Examining the impact of prior academic achievement on moral reasoning development among college students: A growth curve analysis

Moral reasoning is concerned with making decisions regarding the appropriate course of action in particular situations and has been highlighted as a critical factor that may facilitate (or impede) the effectiveness of educational programs in promoting positive outcomes. This study examined the trajectories of moral reasoning as measured by the Defining Issues Test (DIT2) for college students and to what extent there are intra-individual (within student) and inter-individual (between student) changes in moral reasoning during this developmental period. The results suggest that moral reasoning was best represented by a linear increase on the mean level and non-signi?cant variability across students. The relationship between moral reasoning and students’ prior academic attainment was also examined.     

Graduates’ experiences of,and attitudes towards,the inclusion of employability-related support in undergraduate degree programmes; trends and variations by subject discipline and gender

Enhancing graduate employability is a priority for many stakeholders in higher education and this research explores graduates’ experiences of, and attitudes towards, the inclusion of employability-related support in undergraduate degree programmes. A literature review is supplemented by primary research on a targeted sample of 104 graduates from humanities, sciences, engineering and social sciences, who span several generations and have over 2250 years of employment experience. The findings are triangulated to a workshop with 23 graduate careers advisory professionals. The results signal some important trends in experiences and attitudes, as well as variations by discipline and gender. While one in 10 graduates prefer a disciplinary focus with just indirect attention to employability, nine in 10 want employability to have greater emphasis, albeit those preferences vary between optional and integrated approaches. Experiences of employability-related support signal a significant shift over recent decades in how that support is provided, with professional service groups such as careers taking a much more active role and the overall level of provision rising. A cautionary note however is that the link with the discipline remains critical and the right balance needs to be struck between the provision of such support and embedding it into the curriculum.     

What starts to happen to assessment when teachers learn about their children’s informal learning?

Classroom assessment practices are greatly influenced by national and local policies on assessment. Typically, these include accountability requirements for schools to evidence and report their students’ learning in the form of specific learning outcomes, calibrated against national benchmark standards of achievement and progression. An implication for teachers is that their understanding of children’s learning is influenced by an official curriculum that is more likely to be weighted towards particular policy priorities, and desired learning outcomes. This means the knowledge, skills and understanding that children develop outside school are less likely to be included in classroom assessment measures or judgments about desirable progress and achievement. This article explores what happens to teachers’ thinking when they learn about their children’s informal learning outside school and begin to relate to learners in a different way. The findings reported here from a New Zealand three-year longitudinal study identified possibilities for teachers to assess expanded conceptions of children’s learning within the classroom, even though the pressures of assessment against National Standards were ever present. We argue that teachers engaging with knowledge of their students’ informal learning act as a catalyst to rethink and re-conceptualise learning more broadly. Incorporating a strong student voice component in assessment, together with a focus on ipsative assessment, enables teachers to mitigate some of the unintended educational consequences of assessment accountability policies and practices.     

Text density level as a design variable in instructional displays

Presenting narrative text in computer-based instruction (CBI) is more difficult than in print lessons due to limited screen resolution and display area. The present research aimed at achieving a more compatible match between lesson content and the attributes of the presentation media. Subjects received either a print or CBI statistics lesson containing low-density (concise) narrative text, high-density (conventional) text, or the density type they preferred (learner-control). Results showed the low-density lesson to reduce completion time relative to the high-density version, while yielding equivalent achievement. Subjects receiving the lesson in the print mode had shorter completion times and higher achievement than their CBI counterparts. Attitude results showed that CBI was favorably regarded, but perceived as longer and slow-moving than print. Implications of results for designing instructional material in accord with CBI attributes and learner characteristics are discussed.     

The role of ethnic school segregation for adolescents’ religious salience

Public concerns over the possible effects of school segregation on immigrant and ethnic majority religiosity have been on the rise over the last few years. In this paper we focus on (1) the association between ethnic school composition and religious salience, (2) intergenerational differences in religious salience and (3) the role of ethnic school composition for intergenerational differences in religious salience. We perform analyses on religious salience, one five-point Likert scale item measuring religious salience among 3,612 16-year-old pupils in Belgian secondary schools. National origin was used as a proxy for ethnicity. Ethnic minority pupils in schools with a higher share of ethnic minorities tend to be more religious. This relation holds for Muslim as well as other religious and ethnic minorities. Ethnic school composition also moderates the relationship between migrant generation and religious salience: second generation migrants tend to be more religious in ethnic minority dominated schools. For ethnic Belgians the association is moderated by their religious affiliation: Catholics tend to be more religious, while non-affiliated ethnic Belgians are less religious in schools with a higher share of ethnic minority pupils.     

Processing of identity and conditional relations in monkeys (Cebus apella) and pigeons (Columba livid)

Learning & Behavior - As a test of differential processing of identity and conditional relations, subjects were first highly trained on 0-sec delay identity matching (IM) and conditional...     

Environmental literacy of youth movement members – is environmentalism a component of their social activism?

Youth-movements in Israel are non-formal organizations that educate for social and political involvement and provide a broad platform for youth involvement in the community. This study explored the question: does the social activism of adolescents who both elect for membership in youth movements and a leadership role of instructing younger members also reflect itself in environmentalism? In a survey of 1496 young instructors drawn from 15 official youth movements, findings on environmental literacy variables show youth are only generally knowledgeable about environmental problems; express ‘technical-optimism’ which leads them to limited concern for the environment; show limited recognition of the importance of environmental education, and show limited acknowledgment of the necessity for changes in personal consumerism. Findings also show that environmental issues are not on their mind since they are not a conversation topic with peers or family. Nonetheless, these youth also demonstrate strong self-efficacy to effect change; view themselves as role models for younger members; and express willingness to include environmentally-supportive activities within regular youth movement activities. Their valuing of nature also provides a foundation for building other environmental values. Further analysis shows how these findings can contribute theoretical and practical tools for incorporating sustainability within the youth movement framework, and help realize their potential for promoting sustainability in society.