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1 – 10 of over 2000Jenna Vekkaila, Kirsi Pyhältö and Kirsti Lonka
The aim of this paper is to explore doctoral students' engaging and disengaging experiences among a group of students whose doctoral processes had been prolonged for more than…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to explore doctoral students' engaging and disengaging experiences among a group of students whose doctoral processes had been prolonged for more than seven years.
Design/methodology/approach
The participants were 16 doctoral students in the behavioural sciences. The data were collected with interviews employing a visualisation of their doctoral journeys, and were content analysed qualitatively.
Findings
The results suggested that the students described their engagement in doctoral work in terms of dedication, vigour and occasionally absorption. In turn, disengagement was described in terms of insufficiency, cynicism and sometimes exhaustion. Interestingly, the source of engagement was typically a sense of belonging in the scholarly community, whereas the students often reported a lack of autonomy and a lack of belonging as sources for disengagement.
Research limitations/implications
Further longitudinal studies are needed to explore the development of engagement in doctoral work among students from different contexts.
Practical implications
In terms of developing more engaging learning environments, the findings imply that by enhancing students' sense of belonging to their scholarly community and their experiences of autonomy within it their engagement in doctoral work, and further, development as researchers can be fostered.
Originality/value
This study extends the understanding of what may engage or disengage students from their doctoral studies and the essential relationship between the sense of autonomy and that of belonging in doctoral student engagement, in particular in the context of prolonged doctoral studies in the behavioural sciences.
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GopalaKrishnan T and P Sengottuvelan
The ultimate objective of the any e-Learning system is to meet the specific need of the online learners and provide them with various features to have efficacious learning…
Abstract
Purpose
The ultimate objective of the any e-Learning system is to meet the specific need of the online learners and provide them with various features to have efficacious learning experiences by understanding their complexities. Any e-Learning system could be much more improved by tracking students commitment and disengagement on that course, in turn, would allow system to have personalized involvements at appropriate times in order to re-engage learners. Motivations play a important role to get back the learners on the track could be done by analyzing of several attributes of the log files. This paper aims to analyze the multiple attributes which cause the learners to disengage from an online learning environment.
Design/methodology/approach
For this improvisation, Web based learning system is researched using data mining techniques in education. There are various attributes characterized for the disengagement prediction using web log file analysis. Though, there have been several attempts to include motivating characteristics in e-Learning systems are adapted, presently influence on cognition is acknowledged mostly.
Findings
Classification is one of the predictive data mining technique which makes prediction about values of data using known results found from different data sets. To find out the optimal solution for identifying disengaged learners in the online learning systems, Naive Bayesian (NB) classifier with Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) algorithm is used which will classify the data set and then perform the independent analysis.
Originality/value
The experimental results shows that the use of unrelated variables in the class attributes will reduce the accuracy and reliability of a any classification model. However, the hybrid PSO algorithm is clearly more apt to find minor subsets of attributes than the PSO with NB classifier. The NB classifier combined with hybrid PSO feature selection method proves to be the best feature selection capability without degrading the classification accuracy. It is further proved to be an effective method for mining large structural data in much less computation time.
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Muhammad Asif, George Thomas, Muhammad Usman Awan and Asfa Muhammad Din
Previous studies have mainly discussed the impact of student engagement on different facets of academic performance. Research on the approaches to promote student engagement in a…
Abstract
Purpose
Previous studies have mainly discussed the impact of student engagement on different facets of academic performance. Research on the approaches to promote student engagement in a classroom setting (i.e., micro-level practices) is relatively sparse. This paper provides a framework for enhancing student engagement in a university undergraduate classroom setting.
Design/methodology/approach
This study builds on action research. At the core of this approach is making interventions through a set of pedagogical approaches, derived from the literature. The impact of these interventions was measured, followed by reflections on the outcomes and developing a future improvement strategy.
Findings
Student engagement can be enhanced by using heterogeneous pedagogical approaches that positively influence student performance. Further, the use of mixed pedagogical approaches helps students and teachers acquire meta-cognitive knowledge (i.e., knowledge of their learning preferences) and sets the direction for learning.
Research limitations/implications
The key contribution of this study is providing a student engagement framework applicable in a sophomore-level classroom setting. The framework discusses a set of techniques, their theoretical underpinnings, the course of their execution and the challenges faced in this process. The framework can be used to guide enhancing student engagement.
Originality/value
Contrary to the macro-level measures, research on micro-level measures for promoting student engagement approaches is scarce. This study discusses not only different strategies but also details the dynamic course of their deployment. The study, therefore, is unique in its contribution.
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Anne Louise Nortcliffe, Sajhda Parveen and Cathy Pink-Keech
Black British minority ethnics (BME) students are nationally underachieving in comparison to their Ethnic Chinese and White peers, showing typically a 16 per cent graduate…
Abstract
Purpose
Black British minority ethnics (BME) students are nationally underachieving in comparison to their Ethnic Chinese and White peers, showing typically a 16 per cent graduate attainment gap in the UK. Previous research has suggested that the attainment gap could be explained by BME student disengagement, as the students typically commute from family home to University, and they work part time. However, peer-assisted learning (PAL) has been shown to have a positive impact on addressing and resolving student alienation and disengagement. However, a question still remains regarding whether student perceptions hold up to statistical analysis when scrutinised in comparison to similar cohorts without PAL interventions. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper presents the results of a statistical study for two cohorts of students on engineering courses with a disproportionately high representation of BME students. The research method involved a statistical analysis of student records for the two cohorts to ascertain any effect of correlation between: PAL; student ethnicity; and student parental employment on student academic performance and placement attainment.
Findings
The results indicate that PAL has no significant impact on the academic performance; however, PAL has a positive impact on the placement/internship attainment for BME students and students from parental households with parents in non-managerial/professional employment.
Research limitations/implications
The research limitations are that the cohorts are small, but more equal diverse mix of different social categories than any other courses. However, as the cohorts are less than 30 students, comparing social categories the data sets are small to have absolute confidence in the statistical results of academic performance. Even the t-test has its limitations as the subjects are human, and there are multiple personal factors that can impact an individual academic performance; therefore, the data sets are heterostatic.
Practical implications
The results highlight that there is need for pedagogy interventions to support: ideally all BME students from all social categery to secure placements; BME students who are unable to go on placement to gain supplementary learning that has the same impact on their personal development and learning as placement/internship experience; and White students from managerial/professional family households to engage more in their studies.
Social implications
Not addressing and providing appropriate pedagogy interventions, in the wider context not addressing/resolving the BME academic and placement attainment gap, a set of students are being disadvantaged to their peers through no fault of their own, and compounding their academic attainment. As academics we have a duty to provide every opportunity to develop our student attainment, and as student entry is generally homogeneous, all students should attain it.
Originality/value
Previous research evaluation of PAL programmes has focused on quantitative students surveys and qualitative semi-structured research interviews with students on their student engagement and learning experience. On the other hand, this paper evaluates the intervention through conducting a quantitative statistical analysis of the student records to evaluate the impact of PAL on a cohort’s performance on different social categories (classifications) and compares the results to a cohort of another group with a similar student profile, but without PAL intervention implementation.
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The purpose of this paper is to identify student clusters based on patterns of behavioural, cognitive, emotional, collaborative and social engagement in virtual classrooms, within…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify student clusters based on patterns of behavioural, cognitive, emotional, collaborative and social engagement in virtual classrooms, within the context of higher education. The study also attempts to explore the differences amongst the student clusters with respect to various motivating and demotivating teaching behaviours.
Design/methodology/approach
The study relies on the self-determination theory to describe the dynamics related to various motivating and demotivating teaching behaviours and five different dimensions of student engagement in virtual classrooms. The data were collected from a convenience sample of 831 students from higher educational institutions in the Delhi – National Capital Region of India. Cluster analysis was performed to classify students into mutually exclusive groups based on five student engagement dimensions.
Findings
The findings revealed three student clusters: ‘fully-engaged’, ‘externally-engaged’ and ‘individually-engaged’ students. The findings also provided insights into varied correlations between specific dimensions of motivating/demotivating teaching behaviours and student engagement.
Originality/value
Considering the multi-dimensionality of student engagement as well as teaching behaviours, the study adopts a person-centred approach to understand different clusters of students in virtual classrooms and investigate the relationship between teaching behaviours and student engagement dimensions.
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Hollie J. Mackey and Jacqueline A. Stefkovich
There is a lack of empirical evidence to support the claim that zero-tolerance policies decrease violent incidents in schools or improve school safety. The message behind the…
Abstract
There is a lack of empirical evidence to support the claim that zero-tolerance policies decrease violent incidents in schools or improve school safety. The message behind the policies clearly indicates that violence in schools is not tolerable under any circumstances; however, there is no correlation between the message and the outcomes from policy implementation. The literature on school order and safety suggests that zero tolerance is the simplest and least effective approach with a myriad of unintentional consequences that have a negative impact on education, not just for an individual student but for the system as a whole (American Psychological Association, 2006; Casella, 2003). This chapter examines the role of the school leader, the historical background of school safety, the role of the school leader as a learner, the legislative events that led to the development of zero-tolerance policies, and outline the unintended consequences of zero-tolerance policies in relation to leadership and learning. An alternative approach to school discipline is proposed – namely a restorative justice approach, which may work towards alleviating many of these unintended consequences.
Program efficacy and outcomes can often be determined through an examination of collaborative activities between and among inner city school districts with high dropout rates and…
Abstract
Purpose
Program efficacy and outcomes can often be determined through an examination of collaborative activities between and among inner city school districts with high dropout rates and private, public, and nonprofit organizations. Kettl (2004) adeptly describes additional collaborative practice trends that not only transform governance structures, but blurs the line between and among sectors. These trends illuminate the need for governmental agencies to collaborate with nonprofit and for-profit organizations to address “wicked problems” where no single organization has sufficient resources and the consequences are enormous. The paper aims to discuss theses issues.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilizing a quantitative approach, this research compares the efficacy of a newly developed collaborative alternative education program to existing programs in New Jersey's Newark Public Schools during 2008-2009.
Findings
The results indicate that the overall performance of the students enrolled in the new research models is significantly higher than in the existing program due to incentives and not administrative collaboration.
Research limitations/implications
Implications for future research include: first, the need for studies to reveal enduring, universal effects of collaboration; second, longitudinal studies of the effects of collaboration on alternative education issues; and third, an evaluation of the effectiveness of collaborative training.
Originality/value
This research intends to contribute to the literature concerning these distinctive types of partnerships – specifically the integration of three very different systems into a collaborative service. This single case study presents support of how these services subsist within four settings and what force they have on special services for students in alternative education in the public schools.
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Emby Miller, Deanna L. Wilkinson, Sarah Cummings and James L. Moore
Recognizing the effects of dropping out of high school on society, several questions still remain: (a) Why do urban, African American male students drop out of high school? and…
Abstract
Recognizing the effects of dropping out of high school on society, several questions still remain: (a) Why do urban, African American male students drop out of high school? and (b) What makes these students more prone to dropping out than their counterparts who remain in school? In an attempt to better understand the lives and circumstances of African American males, this study uses a comparative case method to examine similarities and differences in the life histories of a matched sample of African American male high school graduates and dropouts. This study, specifically, focuses on how the interrelated factors of family, neighborhood, peers, and education may shape these youths’ perspective on school. Findings reveal that, while both groups experience high levels of risk factors, high school dropouts had significantly more risk experiences in the family, community, and criminal justice domains. The dropouts also had fewer protective factors in these domain areas. Based on the findings, recommendations are offered.
Rebecca Maxwell-Stuart and Jeroen Huisman
Although there is increasing insight in student engagement (SE) in higher education, there is limited insight in how students experience SE in a transnational setting. The purpose…
Abstract
Purpose
Although there is increasing insight in student engagement (SE) in higher education, there is limited insight in how students experience SE in a transnational setting. The purpose of this paper is to explore SE perceptions and transnational experiences. A model, derived from the literature, representing four student identities (consumer, partner, co-creator and citizen) guides the empirical analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a phenomenological approach, 18 in-depth interviews were carried out with students (business and management) enroled in transnational education initiatives of three Scottish universities in India, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates.
Findings
Students primarily identify the partner and consumer model. Significant levels of apathy were found, not only at the level of the students, but also the staff and the university.
Research limitations/implications
Although the study was based on a relatively small sample, it does highlight the impact of the context (external commitments part-time students, “fly in” staff from home campus) on levels of SE.
Practical implications
Stressing again that the study was explorative, the key practical message is that ultimately meaningful dialogue on SE between all stakeholders – inside and outside – needs to take place to forestall a vicious circle of apathy that would be detrimental for quality (assurance).
Originality/value
This is one of the first papers on SE in a transnational context and offers a solid point of departure for follow-up research.
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