“Is the friendship worth keeping:” Gender differences in communicating forgiveness in friendships

Although forgiveness plays an integral role in friendship maintenance, interpersonal communication scholarship has largely overlooked how transgressions and forgiveness are negotiated between friends. This study focuses on gender differences to develop a typology of relational transgressions in friendships. Two hundred and thirty survey respondents (116 women and 114 men) described relational transgressions in their friendships, the perceived severity of these transgressions, and strategies used to communicate forgiveness. A combination of MANCOVA and inductive analyses reveals gender differences. While male transgressions typically involve encroaching on other intimate relationships and theft, female transgressions emphasize disclosing personal communication beyond the friendship’s boundaries. Conflicts between male friends could escalate from verbal to physical aggression, whereas female friends were likely to sabotage other close relationships that threatened the friendship. Finally, males preferred to communicate forgiveness using the minimizing strategy, while female friends generally favored the discussion and conditional forgiveness strategies. Overall, the perceived severity of a transgression was positively related to use of the discussion and conditional forgiveness strategies, and negatively related to the minimizing strategy. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Students’ Persistence in a Distributed Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership in Higher Education: A Mixed Methods Study

The purpose of this mixed methods sequential explanatory study was to identify factors contributing to students’ persistence in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Distributed Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership in Higher Education by obtaining quantitative results from surveying 278 current and former students and then following up with four purposefully selected typical respondents to explore those results in more depth. In the first, quantitative, phase, five external and internal to the program factors were found to be predictors to students’ persistence in the program: “program”, “online learning environment”, “student support services”, “faculty”, and “self-motivation”. In the qualitative follow up multiple case study analysis four major themes emerged: (1) quality of academic experiences; (2) online learning environment; (3) support and assistance; and (4) student self-motivation. The quantitative and qualitative findings from the two phases of the study are discussed with reference to prior research. Implications and recommendations for policy makers are provided.     

The effects of instruction on college nonmajors' conceptions of respiration and photosynthesis

Students in a college nonscience majors' biology course took tests designed to reveal their conceptions of respiration and photosynthesis before and after course instruction. Even though most students had taken at least a full year of biology, serious misconceptions persisted. Most students gave definitions of respiration, photosynthesis, and food which were markedly different from those generally accepted by biologists. These incorrect definitions were associated with more fundamental misunderstandings about how plants and animals function. Most students could not explain how animal cells use either food or oxygen. They understood plants as vaguely analogous to animals, taking in food through their roots instead of mouths. Previous biology instruction seemed neither to improve student performance on the pretest nor to prepare them to master these conceptions during the course. Course instruction did improve student's understanding, but misconceptions persisted for many students. These results raise fundamental questions about the effectiveness of curriculum and instruction in current high school and college biology courses.     

Collaborative learning and positive experiences: does letting students choose their own groups matter?

This study used self‐determination theory as a framework to examine the relationship between choice regarding group membership and student motivation within classrooms that use collaborative learning as an instructional tool. Data were collected from over 500 students across seven classrooms from a large university in the Midwestern United States. In three of the seven classrooms, students were allowed to choose with whom they worked; in the remaining four classes the professor formed the groups. Using hierarchical linear modelling, the choice condition was a positive and significant predictor of students’ intrinsic motivation and classroom community, even when accounting for autonomy support and class size. The practical implications of affording choice during collaborative learning are discussed.     

Facebook Friend Request: Applying the Theory of Reasoned Action to Student-Teacher Relationships on Facebook

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that influence professors’ and students’ intentions to add each other as friends on Facebook. Participants were 160 professors and 249 students from different universities in the United States. Consistent with theory of reasoned action, intention was the strongest predictor of them adding each other as Facebook friends. However, among faculty members, a personal attitude was the most significant predictor of the intention to add students as friends. For students, subjective norm was the most significant predictor of the intention to friend professors.     

Book reviews

The College of William and Mary     

THE EIGHTH GENERAL CONVENTION

This is a practical, how to do it article on the way the Bible fits into teaching science