Rhetorical pattern of the Indonesian EFL undergraduate students’ writings

The present research aimed to study the rhetorical patterns in students’ writings, whether they follow a deductive pattern or an inductive pattern, and whether the pattern is similar when writing in English and the Indonesian language. The sample for this study was 20 undergraduate students from the Faculty of Teacher Training and Education majoring in English Education in several universities in Indonesia. Participants were requested to write two essays and two email-format letters, one of each was written in English, the other in the Indonesian language. The results showed that all students preferred the deductive pattern for their two types of essays. However, for the letter writing, students preferred the inductive pattern more than the deductive one, with 12 students using the inductive pattern in their letters in English and 16 students using the inductive pattern in their letters in Indonesian. It is suggested that the Indonesian culture and the teaching instructions received in the classrooms may influence students’ choice of the patterns they use in different types of writings. The findings should give valuable information for the design of teaching writing courses in English Education majors in Indonesia.

Emotional Competence Within the Stress Coping Strategies of Music Education Students

Researchers have identified high levels of stress among music education students, but we know very little about how students manage this stress and how emotional competence skills might be utilized within stress coping mechanisms for this population. Through this qualitative study, we sought to understand the stress coping strategies of eight music education majors through the lens of emotional competence as outlined by Saarni. We identified several sources of participants’ stress: general life stress, schedule, performance expectations, and coursework. Student coping strategies included awareness of stress, an attitude of pushing through, self-care, and seeking support. Through coding and utilization of the theoretical framework, we concluded that all eight of Saarni’s emotional competence skills were evident in the data as a whole, but not for each individual participant. Minimal evidence was found for half of the skills and for some students they were nonexistent, thus indicating a need for growth in emotional competency. Gaining an understanding of how music education majors cope with their stress could be a key step toward understanding how to better support students throughout their degree programs and as they transition into the field of music education.

The Writing of university students in a Venezuela in crisis

The goal of this investigation is to present the writing competence of Venezuelan college students considering the particular academic and extra-academic situations it is going through and surrounded by. This is a qualitative and descriptive study, based on a field research that took place in Caracas at the Andrés Bello Catholic University (UCAB) during 2018. 37 students enrolled in the first semester of either the Mass Communication, Psychology, or Education majors were the subjects of the mentioned groundwork. This investigation was realized in a period of 15 weeks total, divided in three phases: diagnostic, intervention and verification of changes in writing. In conclusion, there were advances in pragmatic notions or factors that must be considered in moments prior to writing and during the process itself, referring to metacognitive, cognitive and axiological aspects. It is suggested to continue working on all these aspects in order to achieve the consolidation of what has been achieved, preventing or reducing the chances of regression.

The Mediating Role of Professional Commitment in Self-efficacy and Learning Burnout of Special Education Majors — Take China's Southwestern Part as an Example

Through the questionnaire for the professional commitment, self-efficacy, academic burnout of the southwestern part, and explore the relationship between the three and its intrinsic mechanisms, in order to reduce learning burnout of normal students in special education, improve their Academic quality provides effective recommendations. The results showed that self-efficacy positively affected the low sense of achievement in learning burnout, negatively affected the inappropriate behavior, and had no significant effect on the depression. Among them, self-efficacy positively affects professional commitment, and then significantly negatively affects low sense of achievement in learning burnout. Professional commitment has a complete mediating effect between self-efficacy and low sense of achievement, while professional commitment has no mediating effect between self-efficacy, low mood and inappropriate behavior.

The General Financial Education in China: Evidence From Ratio of Undergraduate Financial Education Majors in Universities

Since the development of electronic money, the complex financial situation has raised the importance of financial education. This study focuses on universities' undergraduate financial field education coverage, which helps estimate citizens' overall financial knowledge situation for most undergraduate universities, focusing on learning the general field knowledge that is similar to primary financial thought. The study shows a low concentration of financial education majors among universities; even though the available number of majors in all universities is low, the coverage rate of financial education majors towards universities is higher than initially thought. The results point out specific majors that are worth investing in accumulating financial education in China.

Effects of Music Self-Perception on Music Education and Nonmusic Majors’ Ensemble Participation

In this study, I examined the relationship between undergraduate music education and nonmusic education majors and their music self-perception, or how they perceived themselves as musicians. A secondary purpose of the research included investigating the relationship between music self-esteem, gender, concentration, year in school, and continued arts participation. Participants ( N = 66) were music education and nonmusic education undergraduate volunteers from one band, one chorus, and four music education classes at a large, public university in the Northeastern United States. The participants completed a shortened version of Schmitt’s Self-Esteem of Musical Ability Scale, along with questions about gender, ensemble participation, major, and instrument. Results indicated no significant difference between music self-esteem in music education majors and nonmusic education majors who participated in college ensembles. There were significant differences in music education majors’ comparison of themselves to their high school peers, self-comparisons over 1 year, and planned future ensemble participation. More years of experience in ensembles predicted higher Schmitt’s Self-Esteem of Musical Ability Scale scores.