Quality of Learning on an MBA Programme: The impact of approaches to learning on academic performance

This investigation: first, examines some psychometric properties of the scores obtained on a 30 item short form of the Revised Approaches to Studying Inventory (RASI) using samples of postgraduate management (MBA) students (n=75); second, examines the relationship between scores on the three dimensions of the RASI and background variables of age, gender and prior educational experience; third, tests for any relationship between the background variables and academic performance as measured by four distinct types of assessment; and fourth, examines the relationship between scores on the three dimensions of the RASI and academic performance. No previous published work has examined the approaches to learning of postgraduate business students. Key findings include: the instrument has satisfactory psychometric properties; and scores obtained on the RASI using samples of MBA students are good predictors of academic performance in continuous assessment tasks but poor predictors of performance in examinations and oral presentations.     

开罗夜未眠

During the last few years, my neighborhood in Cairo has experienced such an influxof refugees from the Iraq war that longtime residents have begun, with a mixture of     

CONVERGENT AND DISCRIMINANT VALIDITY OF THREE MEASURES OF ABILITY,ASPIRATION-LEVEL,ACHIEVEMENT, ADJUSTMENT AND DOMINANCE1

The convergent and discriminant validity of three measures of the concepts of aspiration level, ability, achievement, adjustment, and dominance were examined in the context of a multitrait-multimethod matrix. Self-reports and peer-reports on 75 Ss were employed as two measures of each trait. In addition, aspiration level was measured by the Edwards Personal Preference Schedule (EPPS) Nach scale, dominance by the EPPS (dom scale), achievement by cumulative college grade point ratio (GPR), ability by the Ohio State Psychological Examination (OSPE), and adjustment by the Bell Adjustment Inventory. Of the paper and pencil instruments, only the OSPE and EPPS (dominance scale) exhibited satisfactory convergent validity. No measure met all the requirements of discriminant validity. The desirability of establishing adequate validational evidence prior to using “trait” measures in studies relating theoretical variables was emphasized.     

Feminism in Scotland: Self-identification and stereotypes

A questionnaire concerned with gender issues was completed by 2029 women and 2137 men students at a Scottish University. Of the women respondents, 1252 answered a question about whether they thought of themselves as feminists; 5% ticked 'always', 9% 'often', 59% 'occasionally' and 27% 'never'. Women in the 36-45 year old age bracket and postgraduate women were most likely to identify as feminists. This question was included in a factor analysis with items concerning gender roles. It loaded strongly only on the third factor, which linked strong feminist identification to an endorsement of an essentialist model of gender differences. Analysis of extended comments in response to a question about the image of feminism indicated that both male and female students were affected by negative stereotypes of feminism in the media. It was concluded that the study showed a somewhat stronger level of identification with feminism than previous studies.