First-year undergraduate induction: Who attends and how important is induction for first year attainment?

The first year of study in higher education is a time of major transition for students. While the importance of induction has been widely demonstrated, there is evidence to suggest that not all students benefit equally from participation in induction. This study examined attendance rates at induction, the relationship between induction attendance and first-year attainment and, finally, whether this relationship differed as a function of demographic factors, entry qualifications and the number of credits attempted. Data from students enrolled in the first year of full-time undergraduate study in a UK metropolitan institution of higher education in 2011–12 was collected from an internal cross-sectional survey and from the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service. Results showed that attendance at induction differed as a function of a number of demographic characteristics. In line with and extending previous research, ethnicity and previous entry qualifications predicted unique variance in attainment, as did the number of credits attempted and attendance at induction. The attainment gap related to attendance at induction was greater for students who attempted fewer than 120 credits. Overall, the results emphasise the importance of attendance at induction and the need for early engagement with new students, which may be particularly beneficial to those unable to attend induction.     

实行教师资格国家考试的必要性及具体设想

教师资格考试是我国教师资格制度的重要内容。统一而完善的教师资格考试体系对顺利实施教师资格制度,培养和选拔合格教师,提高我国教师整体素质等都有着重要意义。然而,当前我国还没有统一的教师资格考试办法,各地实施的教师资格考试无论在法律规定方面,还是在实际操作方面都存在着很多问题。提倡实行教师资格国家考试制度,并提出具体构想。     

浅论村民资格的法律性质和确认程序

村民资格争议涉及村民自治,所以成为当前我国司法实践的难题.村民资格的条件和标准在学界已经多有探讨,但是对于村民资格的法律性质和确认程序却少有深入探讨.村民资格具备私法和公法双重性质的,应区分对待.对目前存在涉及公法性质的村民资格行为应该由人大授权行政机关对村民资格进行确认并由人民法院进行司法审查.     

Who Upgrades to Higher Level Qualifications in Midlife?

This paper investigates why people return to study in their 30s and beyond and upgrade to a higher level qualifications. Some previous research has argued that attitudes formed in childhood, via family background and schooling, continue to shape a person’s engagement in learning throughout the adult lifecourse. Psychologists distinguish extrinsic motivation, determination to progress in a career, from intrinsic motivation, love of learning and suggest that both may be relevant to participation in adult education. A well-established education literature focuses on barriers to adult learning, such as lack of time or lack of funds.

The research focuses on people who did not enter higher education at the conventional ages of late teens or early twenties but who did subsequently obtain degree-level or equivalent qualifications in midlife, defined here as from their early 30s through to age 50. The research uses data from the 1958 British birth cohort, a large-scale longitudinal survey. In the paper, a comparison group methodology and binary logistic regression models are used to isolate the key factors which explain why cgertain individuals progress to higher level qualifications in midlife while others do not.     

我省地方高校师资队伍建设现状分析及改革思路

介绍福建省目前高校师资队伍建设的基本情况,分析困扰我省地方高校师资队伍建设的一些主要因素,提出通过细化、量化部分职称评审条件以提高师资队伍建设整体水平的改革思路。     

Educators’ use of commanding language to direct infants’ behaviour: relationship to educators’ qualifications and implications for language learning opportunities

This study investigated the manner in which 56 infant educators used language to direct the behaviour of infants (defined as children aged birth to two years), on the basis that the ways in which educators frame their commands represent an important component of young children’s learning experiences. Underpinned by systemic functional linguistic theory, the study analysed the frequency and type of command produced by educators with university, diploma and certificate qualifications. Suggestive and indirect commands convey a sense of negotiation, as if the addressees’ subjective opinions and thoughts are considered, while nonsuggestive and direct commands foreground the speakers’ power and authority. The findings demonstrate that commands feature frequently in educators’ talk to infants, with nonsuggestive and direct commands being most commonly used. Individual differences were related to the qualifications of staff. University-qualified early childhood teachers used significantly fewer nonsuggestive and direct commands than did diploma and certificate-qualified educators, and they were more likely to provide infants with a reason for the command. These findings have implications for the way in which learning opportunities are created by the language that educators use, and for the overall quality of infant early childhood programmes.     

立足高职教育创建特色师资

师资队伍建设是学校工作的重点和关键，建设一支能够适应高职教育需要、具有高职教育特色的师资队伍是许多高职院校普遍关注的问题。本文阐述了高职教育特色师资的内涵，针对目前高职院校师资队伍建设中存在的问题，提出了创建高职教育特色师资应采取的具体措施。     

在现代教育技术下的英语专业师范生综合素质的培养与教学策略的建构

英语专业师范生的综合素质对英语教育的改革和发展具有重要的现实意义。在多媒体等现代教育技术下,以人本主义、建构主义、学习风格理论等为理论依据,构建自我导向策略、语言多维信息输入策略、交互学习策略、创建协作探究策略、创立教-学风格顺应策略等教学策略,无疑是培养和提高英语专业师范生综合素质的有效途径。     

中等职业教育与高等职业教育衔接模式的构建

中高职教育的衔接必须在构建完善的职教体系这个大背景下来考虑，建立以全面素质为基础，综合职业能力为主线，职业资格证书制度为依托的模式。构建与实施该模式应规范高职入口标准；按照中高职贯通的教学模块体系实施教学；以职业能力等级反映不同层次职业教育的教学要求；以选课制作为实现衔接的手段。     

Employers’ skill preferences across Europe: between cognitive and non-cognitive skills

This article analyses online job advertisements to identify skills that are demanded in selected low- and medium-skilled occupations. We explore data from the publicly administered cross-European EURES job search portal and quantify the different cognitive and non-cognitive skills requested by employers in small European economies. While we find that the service sector demands non-cognitive skills more than other types of occupation, the skill-mix demanded is very diverse across countries, implying that other domestic factors shape how demand is formulated. Our work shows that online portals can become a useful source for studying employers’ demand at the micro-level to inform employment, education and training policies.