Pathways and Structures: Evaluating Systems Changes in an NSF INCLUDES Alliance

In this article, we reflect on our experience applying a framework for evaluating systems change to an evaluation of a statewide West Virginia alliance funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to improve the early persistence of rural, first-generation, and other underrepresented minority science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) students in their programs of study. We begin with a description of the project and then discuss the two pillars around which we have built our evaluation of this project. Next, we present the challenge we confronted (despite the utility of our two pillars) in identifying and analyzing systems change, as well as the literature we consulted as we considered how to address this difficulty. Finally, we describe the framework we applied and examine how it helped us and where we still faced quandaries. Ultimately, this reflection serves two key purposes: 1) to consider a few of the challenges of measuring changes in systems and 2) to discuss our experience applying one framework to address these issues.

Measuring personal and academic differences in students’ perceived social media credibility

Purpose Social media is a popular source for information sharing in the contemporary world. Social media allow individuals to create, publish and diffuse contents directly. This openness has increased the risk of running into misinformation and raised questions about credibility of information shared. This study aims to examine the credibility of social media through the perceptions of university students. It also intends to see the difference in opinions based on their gender, academic disciplines and programs of study. Design/methodology/approach The study was based on a cross-sectional survey; a structured questionnaire was developed by consulting the relevant literature. Students were selected on convenient basis from all the programs of four universities of Faisalabad, Pakistan. Four hundred students were selected randomly from each university. Findings The findings indicated that students considered social media partially credible. Currency, community wellness, understandability and completeness of information were the highly rated facets, while factual and unbiased information was the low rated aspects. The perceived credibility of social media among the university students was the same across genders, programs of study and academic disciplines. Research limitations/implications The study may be helpful for social media service providers to address the concerns that students had in their perception regarding its credibility. Originality/value This study may likely benefit faculty members, researchers, librarians/information professionals and digital libraries to understand the students’ concerns about social media credibility from a developing country’s perspective. Such understanding will enable them to better address, educate and train university students at how to evaluate the quality of information on social media by offering information literacy programs. It is direly needed that university libraries should train the students to be proficient in assessing the quality of information by offering information or digital literacy programs. Moreover, the study may be helpful for social media service providers to address the concerns that students had in their perception regarding its credibility.

Investigating the Benefits and Challenges of Workplace Volunteering Experiences for International Students’ Employability Literacies

For many international students the prospect of employment in overseas locations post-study is a strong desire. The concept of employability has infiltrated the literature but little is known about how volunteering experiences might impact international students’ preparedness for work placement during their programs of study. Using theoretical framing related to types of employability literacies, this paper shares data from interviews with international students who volunteered. Findings revealed several themes aligning with linguistic proficiency, cultural awareness, attitudes and mindset, and vocational literacies. Additional themes such as hospitable relationships and building trust were also revealed which could relate to sustainable citizenship. Many benefits result from volunteering experiences for both international students and their hosts, but more work is needed to support hosts through cultural awareness programs and international students due to their study commitments and limited time.

Research Brief: Changes in Empathy of Pre-Professional Healthcare Students From Matriculation to Graduation

In this research brief, researchers used a quantitative method, descriptive design, and cross-sequential grouping to investigate changes in empathy of pre-professional healthcare students over the course of their degree programs. Changes in empathy occurred; however, changes did not measure as statistically significant. Empathy overall increased; it decreased for certain majors and increased for others. The importance of empathy in the healthcare arena points to a need for specific efforts by educators toward increasing student empathy throughout these programs of study. This study showed that empathy is being maintained, but only just barely, over the course of these programs.

Conceptualizing Thriving: An Exploration of Students’ Perceptions of Positive Functioning Within Graduate Education

The current wellness crisis among graduate students calls on institutions of higher education to act and advocate for student thriving. While existing research on human thriving provides insight into how this experience of positive functioning can be understood across the lifespan, what it means to thrive within graduate programs—and by extension, how to support students in their ability to thrive within these programs—remains understudied. To address this gap in the literature, this study examined how graduate students describe and understand thriving within their programs of study. We thematically and quantitatively analyzed 2,287 Canadian graduate students survey responses to the question “How would you describe a student who is thriving in your program.” Findings indicate that graduate students conceptualize thriving as a complex and multi-dimensional construct involving both academic and non-academic components. The six overarching themes of achieving, engaging, connecting, balancing, enjoying, and being provide foundation for further exploration and insight into the ways that universities and post-secondary institutions can support students’ positive functioning.

Undergraduates' Perception of (STEM) Education as a Tool for Enhancing Economic Development in Sokoto State, Nigeria

Economic development appears to be a major challenge confronting nations and individuals across the globe in recent times. Economic development is the process by which a nation improves the economic, political, and social well-being of its people. Nigeria which is tagged as the giant of Africa, and also endowed with numerous natural and human resources, is still battling with the menace of economic under development particularly Sokoto state. This paper therefore, examined the perception of undergraduates on (STEM) education as a tool for enhancing economic development. The study employed a quantitative research design, with a sample of 200 undergraduate students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS). The sampled students were randomly selected from four programs of study. A questionnaire containing (12) items, entitled Perception of Undergraduates on STEM for Enhancing Economic Development (PUSEEED) was utilized in collecting data for the study. The instrument was content validated by 3 experts. The reliability index of 0.82 was calculated for the instrument using the Cronbach Alpha. The result of the study indicated that the undergraduates appreciated the introduction of STEM education as a tool for enhancing economic development and they looked forward to actively participating in the program once it is practically integrated into their programs. It was recommended among others that STEM education should be incorporated into the entrepreneurial programs of Nigerian universities especially in Sokoto state, Nigeria for meaningful economic development.

Can We Actually Assess Learner Autonomy? The Problematic Nature of Assessing Student Autonomy

This paper explores, from a theoretical basis, the difficulty in defining and assessing learner autonomy in higher education. Although the development of learner autonomy as a key aim of higher education, it is a vague and ill-defined term. As such, the assessment of learner autonomy within university programs of study is highly problematic. The author argues that the authentic assessment of genuine learner autonomy may not be possible within formal credit-bearing programs of higher education. The aim of the paper is to stimulate reflection and discussion so that university teaching staff may reflect and consider whether they can assess autonomy in the programs they are responsible for.

A Comparison of Self-Reported Anxiety and Depression Among Undergraduate Music Majors and Nonmusic Majors

The purpose of this exploratory research study was to compare anxiety and depression levels reported by music majors and nonmajors at a small, private liberal arts university. Study participants completed the Burns Anxiety Inventory and Burns Depression Checklist. Anxiety and depression levels were significantly higher among music majors, and there was a strong, positive relationship between anxiety and depression. Regardless of major, self-reports were not affected by year in school. Implications for additional mental health resources and strategies for improving music major health and self-care are discussed, along with a need for increased music faculty awareness of perceived anxiety and depression leading to modified programs of study.

STUDENTS' NEED FOR ACADEMIC GUIDANCE AND EFFECTIVE CONTROL OVER EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITIES

The subject of this article is a theoretical study of already defined and stably predicted parameters that have been proven to affect the quality and success of completing academic programs of study based on selected criteria to ensure early identification of students who need guidance. On the one hand: these parameters can or are already used for targeted, diversity-oriented instructional guidance; on the other hand: adapted guidance and management of the training process for future teachers should take into account the individual student successes. Students with different educational paths have diverse needs for adapting, correcting, and managing this diversity. In the article, the model of four-dimensional diversity is taken for the methodology and benchmark in the study of international experience (Gardenswartz L. and Rowe A., 2003). At the center of this fourdimensional model of diversity lies a personality, followed by almost unchanged internal dimensions, such as age, gender, and ethnicity. The authors concluded that a method for identifying students who need instructional guidance and the effectiveness of follow-up should be accompanied by future intervention research

Self-Regulation for and of Learning: Student Insights for Online Success in a Bachelor of Nursing Program in Regional Australia

The blended online digital (BOLD) approach to teaching is popular within many universities. Despite this popularity, our understanding of the experiences of students making the transition to online learning is limited, specifically an examination of those elements associated with success. The aim of this study is to explore the experiences of students transitioning from a traditional mode of delivery to a more online approach in an inaugural BOLD Bachelor of Nursing program at a regional multi-campus institution in Victoria, Australia. Fifteen students across two regional campuses participated in one of four focus groups. This qualitative exploration of students’ experience contributes to contemporary insights into how we might begin to develop programs of study that help students develop self-regulation. A modified method of thematic analysis of phenomenological data was employed to analyse the focus group interview data to identify themes that represent the meaning of the transition experience for students. This qualitative exploration of students’ experience contributes to contemporary insights into how we might begin to develop programs of study that help students develop self-regulation.