Illuminating Differences in The Psychological Predictors of Academic Performance for First- And Continuing-Generation Students

First-generation college students experience a disproportionate rate of challenges on college campuses, reflected by lower academic performance. Research has identified academic self-efficacy, optimism, goal orientation, and academic stress all as psychological factors associated with academic performance. However, this research rarely distinguishes between first- and continuing-generation students, and there may be unique effects for each group. We investigated whether the previously identified psychological factors associated with academic performance hold the same relationships for firstand continuing-generation college students. A sample of 143 undergraduate students self-reported levels of academic self-efficacy, optimism, goal orientation, and academic stress. Academic performance was measured using their midterm exam grade. There were differences found in the mean levels of psychological factors and their associations with academic performance for first- and continuing-generation students. Overall, the psychological factors explained a very small portion of the variance in academic performance among first-generation students (13.4%) with none of the psychological factors holding an independent association with academic performance. Conversely, psychological factors explained considerably more of the variance in academic performance for continuing-generation students (60.5%), with domains of goal orientation and academic stress being independently associated with academic performance. Our findings suggest that new pathways to improving first-generation students’ academic performance should be identified, and that

Adoption of Technology Acceptance Model in Technical Universities Libraries: Implication to Higher Education in Ghana

The research is on the adoption of Technology acceptance model in technical universities libraries: Implication to higher institutions education in Ghana. It revealed the concept of the Technology acceptance model theory that related to the study. Descriptive research was used for the research with a sample of 20 librarians within the technical universities landscape. Findings showed that 90percent of the respondents revealed that their students do not have access to online digital resources like open public access catalogues (OPAC), e-books, e- journals and other electronic databases. Network problems; Server slowness and frequent breakdown of digital resources. The implications to technical higher education are that students that utilize less of Technology in knowledge acquisitions will lag in their research, learning and assignment process in this digital age. The research recommends that GTEC should enforce the implementation of the ten to fifteen percent of each Technical University's expenditure on Library’s Technology infrastructure.

Using Motivational Interviewing Within School Consultations

Literature suggests motivational interviewing (MI) could be integrated into school consultative practice, although this has yet to be empirically investigated. MI helps promote consultee autonomy and self-efficacy, recognises practitioner experience, and could be a useful approach for supporting teachers and school-based practitioners. The current research is an empirical investigation into the integration of MI into educational psychology (EP) consultative practice. Three qualified UK-based EPs took part in semi-structured interviews after applying MI within their consultative practice over a seven-month period. Results indicated that all three participants perceived benefits and felt that the application of MI was consistent with their practice philosophy. However, all acknowledged that integrating it into consultative practice was more difficult than anticipated. Implications would include additional opportunities for EP training and reflection, and further research would be required to ascertain the usefulness of MI-based consultation for school-based practitioners.

Mathematics, Reading, and Selected Cognitive Abilities at the Beginning of Kindergarten

Cognitive abilities, executive functions (EFs) and patterning, and simple measures of early literacy and mathematics were measured for 275 kindergartners during the second and third month of formal schooling. An exploratory factor analysis revealed four factors. The first was a literacy factor, to which a number series scale made a small contribution. The second was primarily a mathematics scale, but also reflected early literacy. The ability to recognize patterns, working memory, and inhibition also contributed to this factor. A third factor involved cognitive flexibility, patterning, and literacy. Finally, there was a factor that essentially involved phonics. These results indicate that two EFs and patterning are related to early mathematics at the beginning of kindergarten when children have experienced little formal schooling. In addition, very early in kindergarten, there is a general achievement factor that does not reflect any of the cognitive abilities tested here.

The Effect of Perceptual-Semantic Blindness in Solving Semantic Problems with Visual Means Containing the Solution

In the light of the Cultural-Historical Theory (L.S. Vygotsky) and the Theory of Transcendental Psychology of Perception (A.I. Mirakyan), the author considers the position and functional role of the perceptual process in the development of the mind of an adult. The hypothesis is that the functional role of perception in the mind of the person at the end of its period of maturation is subordinate to the higher mental functions, in particular, the process of thinking, which is based on the search for a person available memory capacity and the possibility of finding knowledge in the relevant external sources. Therefore, in semantic terms, visual perception can be excluded from a conscious process of finding semantic solutions. This suggests the subordinate function of visual perception in cognitive adult life and the virtually automatic nature of the process that serves the knowledge-based development opportunities. In this context, we presented and experimentally tested on 30 students the effect of perceptual-semantic blindness, which shows that the mental process of solving semantic tasks is in the main ignoring additional visual stimuli containing the solution in the general visual field. In contrast to inattentional blindness, these stimuli are constantly presented in the field of vision and perceptual blindness was due not so much to inattention, but semantic processes. The presented effect of perceptual-semantic blindness is clearly expressed in more than 60% of cases (up to 100% for graphical variants). This situation can be regarded as the result of a kind of sociocultural development, formed in the conditions of modern information technology society. It also points to the need for special and purposeful perceptual-cognitive training as one of the effective means of using unclaimed perceptual possibilities to avoid the phenomena of perceptual-semantic blindness. These means are especially important for the educational process.

Pedagogical Approaches in the Social Studies Instructional Process in Western Region Colleges of Education, Ghana

The study focused on the pedagogical approaches of the current Social Studies curriculum of the Colleges of Education in the western Region of Ghana. Descriptive survey was used for the study and a multi-stage sampling technique was used to sample 480 teacher trainees for the study. Self-developed questionnaires were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse the data including frequencies and percentages. The results revealed that most of the tutors did not use appropriate pedagogical approaches to affect the teaching and learning of Social Studies. Furthermore, the Social Studies teachers did not exhibit enough pedagogical content knowledge of teaching learning strategies which significantly enhances the Social Studies instructional process in classroom. It is recommended that Social Studies tutors should try as much as possible to integrate the use of different teaching and learning methods in teaching to improve the quality of instruction given in schools.

Using the Course Experience Questionnaire to Assess UAE Students’ Perceptions of their Learning Environment

The quality of the learning environment has a significant impact on students’ ability to achieve their learning goals. Therefore, this paper aims to examine students’ perceptions of their learning environment in an Arab learning context. The Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ), as an international benchmark, was used with a random sample of students at a public university in the United Arab Emirates. Participants were 623 students (505 females and 118 males) aged between 20 and 28 years. They were asked to complete the CEQ during their professional development seminars immediately before graduation. The results show strong reliability for the CEQ (Cronbach’s alpha = .90). The students had positive perceptions on the six CEQ subscales, with Good Teaching scoring the highest and Appropriate Workload the lowest. The findings support the use of the CEQ as a benchmark of teaching effectiveness outside the Western World. Despite the widespread use of the CEQ around the world, it is not commonly used in the Arab learning context. Therefore, this paper makes a valuable contribution towards further validating the CEQ as a benchmark of quality in higher education in the Arab world.

Validating an Instrument to Measure School Culture in Project-Based Learning Environments

Measuring school culture and analyzing student learning experiences is a rapidly growing practice, with a notable uptick following the increased forcus on learning experiences spurred by international comparisons of educational environments and resulting student outcomes. The literature documents common constructs that are often included in school culture surveys. However, often all learning environments are organized together and offered the same school culture survey. This is problematic because a common school culture survey construct is “learning environment” and the items that form this construct will be significantly different based on the instructional model. Therefore, providing educators with a one size fits all culture survey does not meet the needs of schools offering problem-based learning (PrBL) and project-based learning (PBL) environments. This research examines the process for revising, designing, and validating a school culture survey aligned to PrBL and PBL environments.

Bridging the Gap Between Academe-Industry Through Outcomes-Based Curriculum Development

To bridge the gap between academe and industry, the study determined the highly in demand technical skills and knowledge competencies needed in psychological practice in CALABARZON. Two perspectives were considered in approaching the problem: the perspective of 44 employers or industry partners and the perspective of 120 employees who are graduates from Bachelor of Arts in Psychology in Southern Luzon State University. The study employed both quantitative and qualitative methods in gathering data. Quantitative data was analyzed through the use of weighted mean and MannWhitney U while qualitative data was analyzed based on the model of psychological competencies of the IAAP and the IUPsyS. Findings revealed that majority (21 or 52.5%) of the 40 identified as very relevant competencies fall within Cluster A which consists of psychological knowledge and skills underpinning the core competencies; ten (25%) of the identified skills and competencies fall within Cluster C which consists of professional activities competencies and nine (22.5%) fall within Cluster B which consists of professional behavior competencies. The top twelve competencies in the list consists Encourage good relations and motivations among personnel (W=2.82); Facilitate professional trainings and career development (W=2.72); Effectively communicate orally and in writing using both English and Filipino (2.70); and Recognize professional, social and ethical responsibility (both with WM=2.70); Conduct interviews; and Communicate well with clients (both with WM=2.67); Develop selection procedures, performance appraisal techniques and curricula for training programs (W=2.66); Facilitate recruitment, assessment and selection of personnel (W=2.64); Deal with complaints objectively (W=2.59); Establish and maintain rapport; Organize seminar workshops and trainings; and Conduct job performance appraisal (all with WM=2.59). It was concluded that psychological knowledge and skills competencies are among the top competencies needed in psychological practice based on the perception of both groups of respondents. However, on top of psychological knowledge and skills are professional behavior competencies which also play an important role in the industry. It was further concluded that the skills and competencies being developed in the AB Psychology curriculum of Southern Luzon State University are highly relevant and responsive to the needs of the industry. Recommendations were forwarded to concerned authorities.

Development, Feasibility, and Post-Training Outcomes of the STAC Teacher Training: A Companion Program for a Brief, Bystander Bullying Intervention

The purpose of this study was to develop a companion Teacher Training for a brief, bystander bullying intervention (STAC) and to assess feasibility and post-training outcomes. Although research supports the efficacy of the STAC intervention, training teachers to support student “defenders” may enhance the program’s impact. A mixed-methods design with sequential sampling was used with qualitative focus group data and quantitative survey data. The researchers used Consensual Qualitative Research to analyze qualitative data and independent sample t-tests to analyze qualitative data. Teachers (N =18) from one high school in an urban community were recruited for the study. We used a phased research approach to meet the study aims. In Phase 1, teachers participated in focus groups to develop content for the training. Qualitative themes that emerged included identification of barriers to intervening in bullying, gaps in teacher knowledge, suggestions for supporting students to report bullying to teachers, the need for a supportive school culture, and attitudes toward students who bully. In Phase 2, we created the STAC Teacher Training based on the literature and feedback from participants in Phase 1. The 50-minute training includes 1) normative feedback regarding beliefs about bullying, 2) a didactic component that includes information about bullying, a description of the student STAC strategies, and corresponding teacher strategies used to support student “defenders” and 3) an experiential component for strategy practice. In Phase 3, we trained a sub-set of teachers (N = 8) in the STAC Teacher Training to evaluate feasibility and post-training outcomes. Results supported training feasibility and teachers reported an increase in knowledge, confidence to support students to act as “defenders”, as well as confidence, comfort, and self-efficacy in intervening in bullying situations. This study serves as a first step in developing a companion Teacher Training for the STAC intervention.