Learning Arabic language in China: Investigation on instrumental and integrative motivations of Chinese Arabic learners

There is an increasing demand in recent years for the study of the Arabic language by foreign learners as a second language, especially Chinese students. There are wide ranges of necessity to Arabic languages, such as commercial, industrial, economic, cultural, political, media, and other fields. Many foreign learners are learning this language to increase demands in all areas of life and use it in non-Arabic-speaking countries. China is one of those earliest countries that took this advantage and offered this program for an academic major. It’s almost 37 universities and institutes where the Arabic language is taught in China. The request for learning this language has increased because of the urgent need for exchange programs with Arab-speaking countries. As result, international experts believe motivations are an important factor in teaching Arabic to non-speakers that can be influential reasons for the foreign learners to practice, argue, push and motivate them to benefit more and overcome the difficulties of the Arabic language. This study examines two facial types of motivations, instrumental and integrative motivations. In this study, all participants are Chinese students currently studying in China. The number of participants was 125 students from both genders, including 4 academic directors of the Arabic language department in five public Chinese Universities. The findings show that Chinese students learning Arabic as a Second Language (ASL) are highly instrumental than integrative to studying Arabic. A lack of experience of the Arabic language in their classrooms and society guides their attitude. The findings also revealed that there is a relationship between the language structure and a classroom environment that decreases their motivation and achievements of learning Arabic.

Myles Brand: Intecollegiate Athletics Within the Limits of the Academic Mission Alone

During his NCAA presidency, Myles Brand led novel academic reforms that gained deserved national recognition, but his defense of the educational and academic value of IA should be equally acknowledged since this was, for Brand, the ultimate reason why universities should support intercollegiate athletics (IA) in the first place. In this article, I describe the development of Brand’s view of the educational value of IA that preceded his signature 2006 publication ‘The Role and Value of Intercollegiate Athletics in Universities.’ I then explain Brand’s Integrated View of IA in his 2006 article and focus on his key argumentative strategy: the analogy of the educational value of IA to the educational value of performing arts like music and dance. I contend that Brand did not bring his persuasive analogical argument to its full logical conclusions since IA should contribute to a new academic major in Sport Performance and some of the very character virtues that Brand identified as developed ideally by IA are now recognized as essential academic liberal learning outcomes. I conclude by raising some criticisms of Brand’s view based on the organizational framework and policies of IA that create difficulties for the full realization of its educational value. Nonetheless, at a momentous time in U.S. higher education when university priorities and budgets are under perhaps unprecedented scrutiny, Brand’s insistence that IA must be integrated with the academic mission is more relevant than ever.

Academic Majors and HEXACO Personality

Self-reports on the HEXACO-PI-R scales were examined in relation to academic majors in post-secondary education ( N > 73,000). Openness to Experience showed the largest mean differences across academic major areas, with the Visual/Performing Arts and Humanities areas averaging higher and Health Sciences and Business/Commerce averaging lower. Emotionality showed the second largest differences, with the Engineering and Physical Sciences/Math areas averaging lower and Visual/Performing Arts averaging higher; these differences in Emotionality became smaller in within-sex analyses. In addition, Extraversion tended to be higher for Business/Commerce and lower for Physical Sciences/Math, while Honesty-Humility was lower for Business/Commerce. The facet-level analyses provided additional detail, as facet scales in the same domain sometimes showed considerably different means within a given academic major area. In one case, Visual/Performing Art majors averaged lower in Prudence, but higher in Perfectionism, even though both facets belong to the Conscientiousness domain.

Exploring the Effect of College Students’ Civic Engagement on Transferable Capabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Civic engagement refers to the ways that citizens participate in the life of a community to help shape its future or improve conditions for others. While it might have been shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic recovery, this study explored how college students perceive civic engagement on selected campuses that were partially locked down. We sampled 1036 student volunteers from six universities in Taiwan by using a self-designed module of civic engagement and transferable capabilities. The Student’s t-test, ANOVA, regression, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to interpret the differences and relationships among these variables. This study provides a more detailed example of the current status of civic engagement and its relationship to transferable capabilities in a higher education setting. The related programs and institutions should take responsibility for enhancing students’ civic engagement and transferable capabilities during the pandemic. How to ameliorate the situation? The findings suggest that it is necessary to consider a student’s academic major, learning experiences in the department, and time spent on related activities during the pandemic recovery. The findings might prove useful to various campuses for enhancing ongoing practices for sustainable development.

Exploring the Effect of College Students’ Civic Engagement on Transferable Capabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Civic engagement refers to the ways in which citizens participate in the life of a community to help shape its future or improve conditions for others. While it might have been shaped by the COVID-19 pandemic recovery, this study explored how college students perceive civic engagement on selected campuses that were partially locked down. We sampled 1036 student volunteers from six universities in Taiwan by using a self-designed module of civic engagement and transferable capabilities. The Student’s t-test, ANOVA, regression, factor analysis, and structural equation modeling (SEM) were used to interpret the differences and relationships among these variables. This study provides a more detailed example of the current status of civic engagement and its relative to transferable capabilities in a higher education setting. The related programs and institutes should take responsibility for enhancing students’ civic engagement and transferable capabilities during the pandemic. How to ameliorate the situation? The findings suggest that it should consider a student’s academic major, learning experiences in the department, and time spent on related activities during the pandemic recovery. The findings might prove useful to various campuses for enhancing ongoing practices.

Work Value Orientation and TVET Students’ Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy: The Mediating Role of Academic Major Satisfaction

Graduates should know how technical and vocational education and training (TVET) can increase their employability and set them on a path to a professional career. However, graduate underemployment continues to be a severe and rising issue in many countries due to graduates’ lack of readiness to make a future career decision. The present study assessed the influence of work value orientation on Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy (CDMSE) and the mediating role of Academic Major Satisfaction (AMS) on the relationship between work value orientation and CDMSE of TVET students. A cross-sectional survey design was employed, involving 223 full-time Malaysian Skills Certificate (MSC) students who were randomly selected from TVET public institutions in Selangor, Malaysia. This study found that work value orientation was positively correlated with CDMSE. Extrinsic work values have more impact than intrinsic values in serving as precursors to students’ career decision-making. Besides, AMS satisfaction mediated the relationship between work value orientation and CDMSE.