Why care about caring? Linking teachers’ caring and sense of meaning at work with students’ self-esteem,well-being,and school engagement

Research on teacher-student relationships shows their impact on students. However, it typically focuses on teachers’ interactions and instruction, with less attention to motivations/feelings. Specifically, almost no quantitative research has focused on teachers’ caring for students, despite its potential importance. The present multilevel study, comprising 675 students in ages 15–17 and their 33 homeroom teachers, linked students’ feelings that their teacher cares for them with their self-esteem, well-being, and school engagement and indicated that teacher-student relationships quality mediates these links. Furthermore, students’ reports on teachers’ caring were associated with teachers’ sense of meaning at work, suggesting its role in enhancing caring.     

Measuring Quality: A Comparison of U.S. News Rankings and NSSE Benchmarks

College rankings and guidebooks have become big business. The prominent role played by rankings and guidebooks is problematic because the criteria used to evaluate institutions have little to do with the quality of education students receive. Designed as an alternative to college rankings, NSSE assesses student engagement in activities that contribute to learning and success during college. This study compared the NSSE scores for 14 AAU public research universities with their rankings by U.S. News and World Report.     

An international comparison of community engagement in higher education

Community engagement in higher education is a shift beyond the traditional roles of instruction and research. This paper presents a transnational view of community engagement developed from two case studies of universities in the Philippines and Australia. The study, revealed variations in the way community engagement is understood and implemented by universities across different countries. These variations are related to economic, social-cultural, political and organizational factors. The role of university leadership was found to have a critical role in embedding community engagement in the organizational identity and image.     

Building student belonging and engagement: insights into higher education students’ experiences of participating and learning together

Student belonging and engagement has received increased attention in the context of an expanding and more diverse higher education student population. Student retention is regarded as a priority with many universities augmenting their retention strategies to instil a sense of belonging. This article provides insights into first year Business Management students’ experiences of starting their degrees and retention interventions at a university in the South of England. It is based on findings from an ongoing study that applied Wenger's social theory of learning and adopted an appreciative inquiry approach to focus group interviewing to investigate students’ perceptions. Students developed a sense of belonging, constructed learner identities, made sense of their learning and gained confidence, but also experienced instances of tension and frustration that raise questions about the extent to which sociality practices within evolving communities of practice can address diverse engagement and identity development needs and mitigate disengagement.     

The device in the room: Technology’s role in third grade literacy instruction

Abstract

This yearlong study explores how digital technologies are used during literacy instruction in the critical year of third grade. We analyzed technology use in 16 classrooms across six geographically and socioeconomically diverse schools. We examined the multiple layers of technology’s influences on teachers’ instructional decision-making and on students’ engagement. Applying Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy alongside the SAMR model, expectations for student technology use varied across settings and resulted in mixed levels of student engagement. Although technology has the potential to transform teaching and learning, it is most often used as a substitution for traditional instructional tools and to support students’ remembering and understanding rather than more complex tasks. Analysis suggests technology tools are not being strategically employed to support the development of 21st century learning skills.     

工作资源对高校图书馆员敬业度影响机制的实证研究

[目的/意义]探讨工作资源对高校图书馆员敬业度的影响与机制,以期为高校图书馆实施人力资源管理和提升图书馆员的敬业度提供参考。[方法/过程]选取湖南各高校图书馆的358名馆员为研究对象,考察工作资源对高校图书馆员敬业度的预测作用以及心理资本与组织承诺在两者之间的中介作用。[结果/结论]描述性统计与差异分析、相关分析和逐步回归分析的结果表明,不同性别的高校图书馆员在组织承诺量表得分上存在显著性差异,男性馆员组织承诺得分显著高于女性,不同性别馆员在其余得分上均不存在显著性差异。不同婚姻、年龄、学历、职位、职称者在各量表得分上均不存在显著性差异。高校图书馆员工作资源、心理资本、组织承诺与敬业度的两两相关都达到统计显著性水平。工作资源对高校图书馆员的敬业度具有正向预测作用,心理资本和组织承诺能够在工作资源对高校图书馆员敬业度的影响中起部分中介作用。丰富高校图书馆员工作资源,增进其组织支持感,增强其心理资本和组织承诺,是促进高校图书馆员敬业度提升的有效路径。