Ahead of the pack? Explaining the unequal distribution of scholarships in Germany

This article investigates to what extent scholarships are unequally distributed among students in Germany and how these inequalities can be explained. Following sociological theory, the article argues that elites seek qualitative ways of distinguishing themselves in a mass higher education system. Using student surveys, we demonstrate that class effects cannot merely be explained with reference to class differences in academic achievement but that higher classes have better access to scholarships independent of earlier school performance. Class differences were particularly persistent when the intermediate classes were compared with higher classes with more education. These findings illustrate that social classes have different strategies when it comes to participating in higher education and suggest that information about and access to scholarships is important in gaining a class advantage.     

国家新奖助学金的特点与实施中存在问题的政策学分析

2007年6月,我国教育部、财政部联合下发了一系列文件,使我国的新奖助学金呈现出资助类型多、资助标准完善、中央与地方双重出资、助学金比重增大、民办高校纳入资助体系等特点,完善了我国大学生资助体系。但在具体实施过程当中,在政策方案、执行机构、目标群体、环境方面还存在一些问题,今后的改革也应从建立奖助学金运营机构、制定评价体系与监督机制、对学生进行奖助学金教育、建立系统化资助体系几个方面进行。     

The experience of receiving and then losing a scholarship: a tracer study of secondary school scholarship recipients in Uganda

This study reports findings of a tracer that investigated differences in the profile and subsequent experiences of scholarship recipients in Uganda who were able to complete the lower secondary school cycle (O level) without interruption (N = 174) and those that dropped out before completing their O-level cycle (N = 51), thereby losing their scholarship. Findings indicate that the scholarship programme had important positive impacts on all participants, even if they were unable to complete their O level. Moreover, scholarships had a multiplier effect; they had positive impacts on recipients' siblings, parents, and neighbours. When scholarship recipients did drop out, the most prevalent causes were poverty, pregnancy, and poor performance. However, even the modest amounts of education these dropouts received changed the course of their lives in positive ways.     

“三全育人”理念下独立学院奖学金育人功能探究——以华南理工大学广州学院珠宝学院为例

为了优化奖学金评定机制,充分发挥其育人功能,构建和谐校园,分析了当前独立学院奖学金评定工作中存在的一些典型问题:综合测评及奖励办法缺乏多维性;企业奖学金定位不明确,荣誉效应不强;奖学金缺乏影响力;获奖学生功利性强,榜样作用不明显。将“三全育人”理念融入奖学金评定工作中并提出了以下对策:积极探索多元化评价体系,鼓励求实创新,实现全方位育人;充分发挥企业奖学金的作用,深化校企合作,促进全员育人;搭建学生自我展示、自我教育和自我管理的平台,唤醒大学生的主人翁责任感,强化榜样引领作用,提高感恩知报意识,落实全过程育人。     

Hard Cash and Soft Skills: Experimental Evidence on Combining Scholarships and Mentoring in Argentina

Abstract

We evaluate a long-standing program run by one of the largest education foundations in Argentina that offers scholarships and nonacademic mentoring to secondary school students. We randomly assigned 408 grade 6 students within 10 public schools in the Province of Buenos Aires to either receive the program throughout secondary school or not to receive it. After three years, the program improved students’ academic behaviors (e.g., studying before an exam or catching up on missed work), but we find little evidence that these changes translated into broader improvements in students’ academic mindsets (e.g., self-beliefs about performance and efficacy), perseverance (e.g., grit), or learning strategies (e.g., metacognition). The program also improved students’ performance in school during the first year (e.g., grades, attendance, and passing rates), but we do not find similar gains in subsequent years. This may be due to a large share of treatment students being expelled from the program for not meeting its requirements. The program did not improve student learning or personality traits (e.g., conscientiousness). Finally, we find some heterogeneous effects for female students and students from low-income families.     

Merit-Based Student Aid and Freshman Interstate College Migration: Testing a Dynamic Model of Policy Change

This study examines how state merit-based scholarships individually and simultaneously with prepaid tuition plans influence the interstate migration of college-bound freshmen. State freshman migration percentages were examined over a 10-year period. Results of an interrupted time-series model suggested that students generally respond to merit-based tuition aid in accordance with our initial prediction based on factors influencing student choice in attending postsecondary institutions. More specifically, many students choose to attend an in-state college in order to be eligible for state merit-based scholarships. Moreover, for home states that adopted both merit-based scholarships and prepaid tuition contracts, student out-migration was further reduced over time.

必须遏制大学教师队伍的近亲繁殖

由于长期计划经济思维方式和本位主义的影响,我国高等学校教师队伍和学术研究中的近亲繁殖现象十分严重。这个问题已经到了非解决不可的地步,否则要建设世界一流大学和从事创造性的研究将是非常困难的。     

浅议阻碍国家奖助学金政策功能发挥的因素

国家奖助学金政策的实施,为众多家庭经济困难学生顺利完成学业提供了有力的帮助,取得一定程度的预期效果。但与此同时,高校思想政治教育者要高度关注,在评定前期、评定中期以及评定后期中都还存在不少阻碍国家奖助学金政策功能发挥的因素。     

Market Forces and Strategic Adaptation: The Influence of Private Scholarships on Planning in Urban School Systems

While the current debate about the effects of vouchers focuses on the effects of private schools on achievement, it is also important to examine how the introduction of need-based scholarships influences change in school systems. This study uses a qualitative method to examine the influence of a privately funded scholarship program on strategic adaptations within urban public and private schools in a major metropolitan area. The study revealed that senior administrators in public and private schools rapidly adapted their strategies to contend with the new program: suburban public schools prevented scholarship students from enrolling; urban public schools increased choices for public school students; and private schools actively recruited students. However, the scholarships had little influence on the ways these administrators viewed school choice.     

St. Louis Public Library Employee Scholarship Program

ABSTRACT

The text of a successful employee scholarship program policy at the St. Louis Public Library is presented in this article. The policy covers rationale, application and renewal procedures, content and degrees covered, levels of financial support, approval and disapproval process, appeal procedure if application denied, work time and monetary repayment options, for single classes and associate's degrees along with Bachelor's and MLS degrees as well.