Digital Commons Network^™

Fear As A Predictor Of Life Satisfaction For Older Adults In Retirement In Canada, Satoko Nguyen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In developed countries, most healthy retirees still have fears about growing old; however, there is little empirical data on the relationship between this fear and quality of life. This cross-sectional, correlational, survey study tested whether a summated measure of fears of growing old (fear) based on Laslett’s theory of retirement (the third age) significantly predicted life satisfaction and retirement satisfaction after adjusting for significant activity theory covariates. 190 Canadian volunteer retirees at 3 community retirement centers completed surveys. A pilot study established the reliability and valdity of the scales, including an instrument Fears about Growing Old derived from Laslett’s exemplifications, …

Using Video And Contact To Change Attitudes Toward Gay Men And Lesbians, Jonna J. Cooley, Gary J. Burkholder

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Prejudice against gay men and lesbians has continued to fuel negative attitudes that are perpetuated by stereotypes and by validation from those within one’s own social group. While there has been some research regarding the impact of contact on attitudes, the present study expands the theoretical approach of Allport and the empirical work of researchers such as Herek to examine the impact of adding media to interactive contact with lesbian and gay individuals. Participants were placed into one of three treatment groups: control, video only, and video plus contact with gay men and lesbians. The sample included 106 undergraduate students …

Western Faculty Members' Cross-Border Lived Experiences, Xin Bu, Bill Mccaw, Patty Kero

Higher Learning Research Communications

Universities in China and the United States have been engaged in cross-border education through partnerships establishing international branch campuses (IBCs). This qualitative study used Moustakas’s (1994) strategy of inquiry as a framework and explored Western faculty members’ cross-border lived experiences at IBCs in China. IBCs in this study were coestablished by American universities and their Chinese partners. The central research question that guided this study asked about the lived experiences of Western faculty members at IBCs in China. This study purposefully selected 14 participants and data were collected through semistructured, one-on-one, face-to-face interviews. Moustakas’s (1994) seven-level method of analysis involving …

Phenomenological Investigation Of Elementary School Teachers Who Successfully Integrated Instructional Technology Into The Classroom, Lori R. Walker, Maryfriend Shepard

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Technology integration in school curricula promotes student achievement, yet many teachers are not successfully integrating technology for learning. This phenomenological study explored the strategies of 10 elementary teachers in Georgia who overcame barriers to technology integration to successfully incorporate lessons within the public school curriculum. To understand the successes, we assessed strategies for overcoming barriers, intrinsic and extrinsic motivators, and professional development experiences. Rogers’s innovation-decision process provided the theoretical foundation and data sources consisted of an open-ended questionnaire and two in-depth, semistructured interviews. Data were coded for preliminary categories, and themes were generated using open coding. Despite common barriers, the …

A Mixed-Methods Study Assessing Special Education Preservice Candidates' Preparedness For Their First Year Of Teaching, Beverly Tillman, Stephen B. Richards, Catherine Lawless Frank

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This study employed a Likert-type survey,

Praxis/Pathwise

written observations, as well as guided and open-ended reflections to assess the perceptions of preparedness for the first year of teaching for special education student teaching candidates. Cooperating teachers completed the survey and Praxis /Pathwise observations. University supervisors completed Praxis/Pathwise observations and responded to and analyzed guided and open-ended reflections. The survey instrument was based on the research literature and included responsibilities typically required of special educators (e.g., completing paperwork, planning, assessment, etc.). Results indicated general congruence among the three data sources, but also indicated that two cooperating …

Reflective Thinking In Elementary Preservice Teacher Portfolios: Can It Be Measured And Taught?, Rebecca Pennington

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

This study examined whether teacher portfolios can be validly and reliably assessed by investigating the effect of an instructional tool on increasing the level of reflective thinking in elementary preservice teachers’ portfolios. It also examined whether reflective thinking in preservice teachers’ electronic portfolios represented sufficient quality to make them useful in practice. The Rubric for Evaluating Portfolio Reflective Thinking instrument developed for this study demonstrated moderate levels of interrater reliability (r = .66) and sufficient content validity to be used to measure reflective thinking. Also, members of the treatment group scored significantly higher on five of the six portfolio domains …

An Evaluation Of The Effectiveness Of A Medical School Musculoskeletal Curriculum At An Academic Medical Center, Andy Lalka, Frank A. Scott, Ryan Caldwell, Andrew Black

Higher Learning Research Communications

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders are common medical problems encountered by physicians and affected 126.6 million Americans in 2012. Musculoskeletal education has inadequate in United States medical schools. Objective: To determine the musculoskeletal competency of third year medical students. Methods: A cross-sectional 25-question nationally validated musculoskeletal competency exam was given to the third year medical students. A survey was given to second and third year medical students to assess students’ level of interest in musculoskeletal medicine and their feedback regarding the curriculum. Results: The mean score of the competency exam was 69.0%. There was 48/107 (44.9%) students’ who reached the minimum passing …

Adjunct Faculty Perceptions Of Participation In Online Collaborative Research Teams, Rita Hartman, Danielle Sixsmith Edd, Patricia Akojie, Christa Banton

Higher Learning Research Communications

Career professionals who serve as adjunct faculty at the university level are expected to engage in continual research and publishing to maintain their status as adjunct (part-time) faculty, to be considered for potential advancement, and to qualify for additional compensation. One way of meeting this objective is to participate in online collaborative research projects benefiting from a set of multiple lenses, multiple insights, and a multitude of considerations in regard to design, methodology, data interpretations, and broader reaching implications. A narrative inquiry approach was applied to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences of adjunct faculty working in online collaborative …

Assessment Of The Socrative Platform As An Interactive And Didactic Tool In The Performance Improvement Of Stem University Students, Roberto Gómez-Espina, Delia Rodríguez-Oroz, Manuel Chávez, Cristian Saavedra, María Jesús Bravo

Higher Learning Research Communications

This paper collects and analyzes students' academic results related to the change in teaching methodologies used in different subjects of different science and engineering university courses between 2013 and 2016. This change means introducing active methodologies such as gamification and ICT instead of a traditional methodology. With this purpose the use of Socrative, a platform that has been designed for the educational field, was introduced during said period. Interaction with the Socrative platform took place in well prepared classrooms with computers and internet connections, including the use of personal mobile devices (laptops, smartphones and tablets) according to the BYOD methodology. …

Assessing And Modeling Student Academic Practices And Performance In First-Year Mathematics Courses In Higher Education, Kim Ward, Chantal Larose

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: This research brief explores literature addressing developmental education to identify successful interventions in first-year math courses in higher education. Our goal is to describe the relationship between students’ academic practices and their final course grade in their first-year math courses. Method: Data on 3,249 students have been gathered and analyzed using descriptive statistics and predicative analytics. We describe the Math program, which includes a supplemental support component, and the environment under which it was created. We then examine the behavior between students’ participation in supplemental support and their academic performance. Results: We used classification and regression tree algorithms to …

Psychological Adaptation Of International Students In The Northern Part Of Cyprus, Ariel Ladum, Gary J. Burkholder

Higher Learning Research Communications

This study examined how cultural distance, acculturative stress, and social support interacted to influence emotional responses among international students studying in the northern part of Cyprus. Acculturation models and the stress-buffering hypothesis served as theoretical frameworks. The research questions involved understanding whether international students experienced more negative emotional responses compared to students from the home culture and whether social support moderated acculturative stress and reactions to being in the northern part of Cyprus. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) examined differences in emotional reactions between home and international students while hierarchical multiple regression was used to examine the moderation hypotheses. ANOVA …

The Internationalization Of Higher Education In Japan: Effective Organization For A Sustainable Internationally Cooperative Higher Education Program, Kiyoko Saito, Kim Sounghee

Higher Learning Research Communications

The goal of this study is to explore the challenges of international collaboration in higher education activities in Japan by identifying the management frameworks and elements necessary to run sustainable, quality-assured, internationally collaborative activities. Internationalization was examined from three perspectives: collaboration between a university’s headquarters and its departments, program management, and quality assurance. A qualitative case study design was used that involved interviews with 48directors of collaborative international higher education programs. Regarding intra-university collaboration, it was found that there were four major system types divided into eight subtypes: 1. Top-down; (A) Leaving the job to departments, (B) Control, and (C) …

Faculty Members’ Perceptions Of Quality Assurance And Accreditation In Afghanistan, Sayed Ahmad Javid Mussawy, Gretchen B Rossman

Higher Learning Research Communications

Abstract This study investigated faculty members’ perceptions of quality assurance and accreditation (QAA) in Afghanistan. The study aimed to examine how familiar faculty members were with QAA policy, quality concepts, QAA processes, and whether QAA process has improved the status quo. Through a sequential exploratory mixed methods design, the investigators interviewed seven faculty members at four universities, and subsequently conducted a self-administered survey questionnaire at six universities (two public and four private). A response rate of 54 percent (N = 42) was obtained from the survey. The study findings suggest that faculty members had mixed impressions about QAA implementation. For …

Hearing The Voice Of Faculty: Global Recommendations For Faculty Recognition In Higher Education Institutions, Águeda Benito, Fionna Scott-Milligan

Higher Learning Research Communications

Faculty constitutes one of the most important elements of Higher Education institutions. Their role is key in curriculum development, as well as in guiding students´ learning and driving their engagement, in conducting research and in the overall success of their institutions. This paper presents the results of a number of faculty interviews, and a focus group carried out in nine different Laureate institutions, operating in eight different countries. Faculty were asked about professional recognition, its importance and how it should occur. The results of the study show a lot of consistency, starting with the conviction of its importance, and then …

The Influence Of Strategies Used To Communicate Sustainable Corporate Responsibility On Reputation Of A Major Airport, Benno D. Hoffmann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Self-presentation of a corporation as a citizen committed to sustainable corporate responsibility can, according to scholarly findings, help the organization improve its reputation among key stakeholders. The purpose of this case study was to explore the success of one major airport in aligning communication strategies to improve its reputation. The research question involved how effectively a major German airport communicated its commitment to sustainable corporate responsibility to its key stakeholders during 2005--2009. Of particular interest was how key stakeholders perceived the airport's stance towards the impacts of aircraft noise. Corporate documents, newspaper articles, and semistructured interviews comprised the data. Data …

Defining Quality In Undergraduate Education, Alison W. Bowers, Shyam Ranganathan, Denise R. Simmons

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objectives: This research brief explores the literature addressing quality in undergraduate education to identify what previous research has said about quality and to offer future directions for research on quality in undergraduate education. Method: We conducted a scoping review to provide a broad overview of existing research. Using targeted search terms in academic databases, we identified and reviewed relevant academic literature to develop emergent themes and implications for future research. Results: The exploratory review of the literature revealed a range of thoughtful discussions and empirical studies attempting to define quality in undergraduate education. Many publications highlighted the importance of including …

Evaluation Of Academic Competencies Through Standardized Instruments, Oscar Garcia López, Gema Santiago Gómez, Sara Redondo Duarte

Higher Learning Research Communications

The aim of this investigation is to assess the correlation among different competencies-assessment systems available on the market to measure social skills in the university environment. In order to carry out the research, three self-perception competency tests were used, and 30 competencies were evaluated in a Likert scale with several response levels: the LPA-Q, the ESCI-U, and the CompeUEM. The three questionnaires were completed by 57 university students. The results show a low degree of agreement among the different questionnaires in relation to measuring the same competencies, as well as an unclear factor structure.

Implementation Through Innovation: A Literature-Based Analysis Of The Tuning Project, Krisztián Pálvölgyi

Higher Learning Research Communications

Tuning Educational Structures in Europe is perhaps the most important higher education innovation platform nowadays. The main objective of the Tuning Project is to develop a tangible approach to implement the action lines of the Bologna Process; thus, implementation and innovation are closely linked in Tuning. However, during its development, Tuning has evolved into a complex, multilevel policy implementation toolset with a worldwide significance. The purpose of this article is to present the complex nature of the Tuning Project, the environment and dynamics of its development, and the mechanisms of its operation from a multilevel implementation perspective, through a literature-review-based …

Developing Faculty To Provide University Students With Improved Learning Experiences, Águeda Benito, Neal A. Green, Deborah R. Popely, Phuong M. Thai-Garcia, Art T. Schneiderheinze

Higher Learning Research Communications

The article addresses the importance of incorporating faculty development as a key priority of higher education institutions. A literature review and some face-to-face and online interviews were conducted at various U.S. institutions, to identify common and best practices regarding this important matter. The article offers some ideas about what is done, and how it is done, to help faculty be ready for the challenging role they need to play: to be effective developers of a diverse student body that meets the evolving needs of industry and that utilizes technological tools that never existed before.

Exploring The Relationship Between Students With Accommodations And Instructor Self-Efficacy In Complying With Accommodations, Anna M. Wright, Kevin R. Meyer

Higher Learning Research Communications

The willingness and flexibility of university instructors to comply with and provide accommodations for students with disabilities is critical to academic success. The authors examine how communication between students needing accommodations and university instructors impacts instructor self-efficacy, or instructors’ perception that they can meet the accommodation. Specifically, the authors’ explored the relationship between student self-disclosure of a disability and instructor empathy, flexibility, and self-efficacy in meeting student accommodation needs. Results revealed that the more a student self-discloses about a needed accommodation, the more self-efficacy an instructor has in making that accommodation. For the low-disclosure condition, empathy and flexibility were both …

Transforming The World In Which We Live: Laureate's Transnational Civic Learning Project, William M. Plater

Higher Learning Research Communications

Higher education serves as an agent of social change that plays a significant role in the development of socially conscious and engaged students. The duty higher education has toward society, the role for-profit educational institutions play in enhancing the public good, and the prospect of making social change an element of these providers’ missions are discussed. Laureate’s Global Citizenship Project is introduced, highlighting the development of the project’s civic engagement rubric and the challenges of assessing civic engagement.

Augmented-Virtual Reality: How To Improve Education Systems, Manuel Fernandez

Higher Learning Research Communications

This essay presents and discusses the developing role of virtual and augmented reality technologies in education. Addressing the challenges in adapting such technologies to focus on improving students’ learning outcomes, the author discusses the inclusion of experiential modes as a vehicle for improving students’ knowledge acquisition. Stakeholders in the educational role of technology include students, faculty members, institutions, and manufacturers. While the benefits of such technologies are still under investigation, the technology landscape offers opportunities to enhance face-to-face and online teaching, including contributions in the understanding of abstract concepts and training in real environments and situations. Barriers to technology use …

Digital Literacy Matters. Increasing Workforce Productivity Through Blended English Language Programmes., Kshema Jose

Higher Learning Research Communications

The three Rs, the ability to read, write and do basic arithmetic have traditionally been measured as indicators of knowledge and ability to communicate, and in turn, a predictor of success at workplace. However, survey any place of work today, and we see that the traditionally held literacy skills do not suffice; newer forms of literacies that go beyond the ability to decode print, like the skill to communicate, interact, solve complex problems, analyse, judge, evaluate, collaborate, construct, create, and to use information technology/ digital tools, are now considered essential contributors to enhanced employability opportunities as well as workplace success.

Professor Gender, Age, And “Hotness” In Influencing College Students’ Generation And Interpretation Of Professor Ratings, Sara L. Sohr-Preston, Stefanie S. Boswell, Kayla Mccaleb, Deanna Robertson

Higher Learning Research Communications

Undergraduate psychology students rated expectations of a bogus professor (randomly designated a man or woman and hot versus not hot) based on an online rating and sample comments as found on RateMyProfessors.com (RMP). Five professor qualities were derived using principal components analysis (PCA): dedication, attractiveness, enhancement, fairness, and clarity. Participants rated current psychology professors on the same qualities. Current professors were divided based on gender (man or woman), age (under 35 or 35 and older), and attractiveness (at or below the median or above the median). Using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA), students expected hot professors to be more attractive …

Enhancing Student Learning With Case-Based Teaching And Audience Response Systems In An Interdisciplinary Food Science Course, Davide Giacalone

Higher Learning Research Communications

A growing body of research in higher education suggests that teachers should move away from traditional lecturing towards more active and student-focus education approaches. Several classroom techniques are available to engage students and achieve more effective teaching and better learning experiences. The purpose of this paper is to share an example of how two of them – case-based teaching, and the use of response technologies – were implemented into a graduate-level food science course. The paper focuses in particular on teaching sensory science and sensometrics, including several concrete examples used during the course, and discussing in each case some of …

The Global Public Good: Students, Higher Education, And Communities Of Good, Genevieve G. Shaker, William M. Plater

Higher Learning Research Communications

Along with introducing the purpose and cohesion of the essays that form this special issue, we also wish to highlight the force on which all of these lofty hopes depend: educated students. Without question, the authors who wrote these essays understand and appreciate the importance of students, especially as the prepared and empowered agents of future actions that will be sustainably transformative in the conduct of their lives. In fact, students are so pervasively important to most discussions of higher education and the public good, including the UNESCO report, that they are often taken for granted in a rush to …

Higher Education As A Common Good In China: A Case Study For Ideas And Practices, Jiangang Zhu

Higher Learning Research Communications

China began its modern system of higher education with the establishment of the former Peking University in Beijing in 1898. The traditional Confucian philosophy of education has been replaced dramatically by modern western philosophy. However, since the communist party came to power in 1949, the philosophy of higher education has experienced much more dramatic changes. In Mao’s time between 1949 and 1976, Maoism philosophy largely displaced Western, so-called capitalistic, philosophy and dominated Chinese higher education for almost 30 years.

Working To Educate Global Citizens And Create Neighborly Communities Locally And Globally: Penn’S Partnerships In West Philadelphia As A Democratic Experiment In Progress, Ira Harkavy, Matt Hartley, Joann Weeks, Rita Hodges

Higher Learning Research Communications

In the rapidly accelerating global era in which we now live, human beings must solve a vast array of unprecedently complex problems. Perhaps the most complex and significant problems facing society today are persistent, widening, and increasingly destructive social, economic, and political inequality; globally destructive, man-made climate change; and increasingly frequent and savage terrorist acts. Given their proclaimed dedication to critical intelligence, and their unique constellation of formidable resources to develop it, institutions of higher education, we submit, have a unique responsibility to help solve these problems—indeed all the problems intensified by globalization.

Global Learning In A New Era, Judith Ramaley

Higher Learning Research Communications

Our nation’s colleges and universities have frequently adapted their educational approaches and their relationships with society to respond to new social, economic and environmental challenges. The increasingly interconnected patterns that link together our lives on a global scale have created a new reality. Globalization offers an especially exciting and challenging blend of generational change combined with the emergence of a set of complex, multi-faceted problems created by the global context in which we all now live and work. How shall we educate our students for life in this new era? What can we expect of our graduates in a global …

Cultural Perspectives On Social Responsibility In Higher Education, Iris M Yob

Higher Learning Research Communications

The writers of the UNESCO document, Rethinking education: Towards a global common good? challenge educators to address their efforts to meet the current threats to sustainable life for all who share this planet. One way that higher education has been attempting to do this is through campus-community partnerships working to solve social problems locally or further afield. In this exploratory study, answers were sought to the question of why faculty members and administrators participate in these service partnerships, both in terms of what motivates them to do so and what they hope to accomplish, and how cultural context may influence …