Longitudinal associations between soft skills, education and labour market outcomes: evidence from a survey of young Australians

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to develop a measure of soft skills suitable for use in a large survey of Australian adolescents.Design/methodology/approachA survey was conducted with N = 4,704 Australians aged 15–19 over 2 years. Principal components analysis was performed on 14 self-report items, followed by generalised linear mixed modelling predicting education- and employment-related outcomes.FindingsSelf-reported problem solving, creativity, teamwork and verbal communication were alternately associated with later high school performance, hourly wage and employment status. These effects persisted when controlling for demographics and prior academic achievement.Originality/valueExisting measures have been limited by their length or focus on specific skills or industries. The presented measures are short, domain-general, measure multiple skills simultaneously, and are suitable for a wide range of research contexts.

Modeling First Year Stop Out of Kalamazoo Promise Scholars: Mapping Influences of Socioeconomic Advantage and Pre-College Performance to College Performance and Persistence

The Kalamazoo Promise (KPromise) is amongst the most well-known and generous tuition-free policies. This study advances the understanding of Promise student performance and persistence. We used a weighted-least square means and variance adjusted (WLSMV) SEM approach and k-nearest neighbors (k-NN) to deal with missing data. The main model suggested first-year college GPA (β = –.48) possessed the strongest effect on a first-year stop out followed by socioeconomic advantage (β = –.26), high school performance (β = –.25), immediate enrollment (β = –.22), and KPromise funding (β =.06). Model differences from 06–10 and 11–15 cohorts, illustrate that in the later cohorts socioeconomic advantage’s effect on a first-year stop out lessened.

Competence of Neurotypical Siblings of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

In present study, the school, social and activities competencies of neurotypical siblings of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD-NTDsibs) were examined. A total of 146 children, including 66 ASD-NTDsibs and 80 children both themselves and their siblings are neurotypical (NTC-NTDsibs), participated in the study, which was designed in the correlational survey model. The data were collected via mothers using part 1 of CBCL / 6-18, which measures competence. In the analysis of the data, competence levels of ASD-NTDsibs were evaluated as normal/ borderline/clinical according to the norms of the scale using the raw scores obtained from the scale and the T scores obtained by using the profiles, and the competence levels were examined according to demographic variables and compared with the competence levels of NTC-NTDsibs. According to the research results, significant differences favour the comparison group regarding school, social and activities sub-fields and total competence levels between the study and comparison groups. ASD-NTDsibs demonstrated a normal level of competence in the school and social sub-fields, clinical level of competence in sub-field activities, and total competence. There was no significant difference between competence of ASD-NTDsibs and demographic variables, except that the sisters showed a high school performance level.

The relationship between school performance and anxiety in adolescents

In this paper we analyzed the relationship between school performance and anxiety in adolescents. School performance is closely related to Education and competition, which are two components found in all cultures of the world. The foundations of competition are difficult to identify compared to those of education that are hidden in an unknown past. People have always considered competition and education as important aspects, both in the past and in the present. Educational competitions are found in Romania, as being organized in the form of Olympics and school competitions. These are carried out in accordance with the provisions of the National Education Law no. 1/2011, subsequently completed by the Methodology - framework for conducting and organizing school competitions and is addressed to students in middle and high school classes, being organized by subject, and have as general objective "stimulating students with high school performance or who have interest and special skills in the scientific, technical-applied, cultural-artistic, civic and sports fields ”(MEN, 2011). Subsidiary to this objective we find as mentioned some secondary ones such as the desire to stimulate critical thinking and creativity through the opportunity to manifest motivation in learning and identifying the talents, abilities and knowledge of students of all ages. In Romania, through competitions, the state offers the winners cash prizes, scholarships or places in camps.

Risk Factors and Effectiveness of Implemented Academic Interventions on Student Retention at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

We examined three large freshman cohorts from Texas State University, a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), to identify risk factors that might affect academic retention. Risk factors supported by empirical studies such as first-generation, ethnicity, gender, financial aid need, high school performance, and living off campus were examined. We also determined the effectiveness of four academic interventions in achieving retention of students that were on academic probation for two consecutive semesters. Statistical analyses demonstrated that being a first-generation college student and receiving financial aid were significant risks for attrition in all cohorts. Living off-campus and being an URM student were not. Retention in two cohorts was dependent on the combinations of three peer mentoring, two academic coaching, and two to three academic advising sessions. A probation predictive model was developed. Finally, we discussed the importance of examining risk factors and interventions that are tailored to each academic institution.

Relationships in a Family with High Academic Achievement Students

RESEARCH OBJECTIVE: School achievements are an important dimension of human life and are conditioned by internal and external factors, to which family belongs. The purpose of this investigation was to answer the question how of high academic achievement students perceive their relationships in the family. THE RESEARCH PROBLEM AND METHODS: The Family Questionnaire was used in the version “My Family, My Father and My Mother,” developed by Plopa and Połomski. The subjects were 16 year-old students (n = 155), who achieved high scores in the lower secondary school test, and a comparative group with the average score (n = 161). THE PROCESS OF ARGUMENTATION: The students assessed relationships in their families in terms of the following dimensions: communication, cohesion, identity and autonomy-control. RESEARCH RESULTS: It was found that for students with high school performance, cohesion in relation to father is more important than for the comparative group. CONCLUSIONS, INNOVATIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS: In addition, it was found that there are differences in the perception of family relationships on the basis of the gender of the studied students. Boys assessed cohesion and communication with their father on a higher level than girls. An interesting result of the study is a higher assessment of family identity in the perceptions of boys than girls.

The Impact of College Diversity on Behavior toward Minorities

This paper estimates the impact of racially diverse peers on white males’ subsequent behavior toward minorities. To overcome selection bias, we exploit data from the US Air Force Academy where students are randomly assigned to autonomous peer groups. A randomly assigned increase in freshman black peer ability causes white men to more frequently choose a black roommate in their sophomore year, after reassignment to a new peer group with a different set of black peers. We also find increased exposure to black students from the middle and top of the high school performance distribution, but not the bottom, increases future interactions. (JEL I23, J15)