The effects of type of institution attended on graduate earnings in New Zealand: a cross‐field comparison

This paper presents research on the returns to tertiary education for individuals who graduated between 1997 and 2008 with bachelor degrees from universities and polytechnics in New Zealand based on their experiences post study. It examines data on their post‐study earnings drawn from two longitudinal datasets linking administrative data on individuals’ tertiary education records to their earnings. An advantage of this research is that it reports on differences in the earnings of those who studied in specific fields of study at polytechnics and universities. The data are used to help shed light on the importance of reputational capital in reproducing social classes.     

Understanding disability with children's social capital

This paper reports on a specific event which attempted to facilitate discussions with children and young people about diversity issues, including disability. The concept of social capital was operationalised and used as both a resource to stimulate discussions and as an explicit goal. The paper first reports on the processes involved and the topics identified for discussion by the children and young people and then considers their engagement with disability. Their insights on knowing disability, relationships, and provision and support illustrate a shift from an essentialising of impairment to an articulation of barriers which excluded disabled people and the lessons which teachers might take from these are discussed.     

The home–school interface in religious and moral formation: the Irish case

With the student body across Europe becoming more diverse, the issue of religious education in schools has come to receive greater attention. In the context of the specific historical and institutional context of the Irish primary educational system, this paper addresses aspects of the religious and moral formation of primary school children. The methodology employed in this study is qualitative: it is based on in-depth interviews with school principals, teachers and parents, and focus groups with students in five case-study schools. The paper examines the role of both home and school in the development of religious and secular beliefs. It also examines the way children are active agents in their own moral development, specifically how they mediate and interpret three sets of influences, namely formal school-based religious instruction, the broader school climate, and the implicit values and beliefs communicated by school, parents and the wider family.     

Using a 10-day mindfulness-based app intervention to reduce burnout in special educators

The field of special education is thought to be a stressful profession due to the complex needs of the students. The current study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based smartphone application intervention for reducing burnout in special educators. We used the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory scale (with three subscales; personal, work-related and student-related) to measure burnout and the Five Facets of Mindfulness (shortened version) to assess mindfulness. Special educators (n = 29) were assigned to either the experimental group (n = 14) which used the ‘Smiling Mind’ app for guided meditations or the active control group (n = 15) which used ‘Day One’, a note-taking app, for a list-making activity. Both groups used their assigned apps for 10 days. The experimental group showed significant reductions from baseline to post-intervention on the personal burnout subscale while the control group did not, indicating that the intervention affected this domain of burnout. This was maintained at a 2-week follow-up. Mindfulness scores did not significantly increase in the experimental condition, meaning that the mechanism of this decrease in personal burnout is unknown. Further research is needed in order to add to the knowledge on preventing and treating burnout in special educators.     

Social identification and academic performance: integrating two existing models of tertiary student learning

Recent research has mapped the ways social identification and normative influence affect students’ self-reported learning approaches and course experience, and also, the ways in which social identification and learning approach impact directly on grades. However, there is no evidence for a model incorporating both of these processes. The current paper aims to address this in a dataset drawn from a range of courses and disciplines at a mid-size Australian university. The data capture student demographics, social identification with the field of study, perceived learning norms and learning approaches, and examine how these map onto end of semester academic outcomes. Findings indicate support for the Bliuc identification-to-grade, through learning approach model. Further, we find support for the Smyth identification-by-norm moderation model of predicting learning approaches. Added to which, we find support for a combined moderated mediation model, where the identification–norm interaction moderates the indirect effect of identification predicting grades through learning approach. Implications for course design are discussed.     

Using Performance Feedback To Decrease Classroom Transition Time And Examine Collateral Effects On Academic Engagement

Performance feedback has been described as a necessary component of consultation. Although feedback has been used to improve academic performance of individual students, less research has examined the effects on classroom academic engagement when implementation of classroom management variables is the source of feedback. Using a multiple-baseline design, the effects of performance feedback with goal setting was examined across three high school biology teachers who were first provided with feedback on the number of seconds devoted to transitions and then successful implementation of classroom time management strategies. Feedback on the number of transition minutes alone led to decreases in transition time and corresponding increases in student academic engagement for all teachers. One teacher benefited from additional feedback on classroom time management strategies. For all teachers, low rates of transition time and high rates of academic engagement were maintained when the intervention was faded and after it was terminated.     

Concepts of change: enhancing the practice of academic staff development in higher education

Achieving change at any level of educational activity is not easy. In terms of teaching practice, developing a positive capacity for continuous improvement may involve deep change with the potential to threaten the core values and personal belief systems of staff and the students whom they teach. Recent theorising and discussion concerning conceptions of teaching and learning is an acknowledgement that the task of achieving change and the role of change supporters is not just a pragmatic one. This paper considers some of the issues faced by academic staff developers attempting to transform teaching practice. The author draws upon late twentieth century philosophy and extensive theorising about educational and organisational change with a view to suggesting this literature's potential to support the work of change supporters, such as academic staff developers.