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The purpose of this paper is to discuss a reflexive process that makes a distinction between reflection and reflexivity, two processes the authors define according to the mentalization construct. Next, it explores how the narrative mediation path (NMP), a novel multimodal counselling method addressed to underachieving college students, promotes reflection and reflexivity by enhancing student ability to mentalize their university experiences.

The authors conducted an idiographic case study on one of the ten groups of underachieving students who participated in the counselling sessions.

NMP narrative modes (metaphoric, iconographic, writing, and bodily) promoted reflection, and group-level inter-subjective steps were essential for the development of reflexivity. Furthermore, it was found that in each narrative mode, the students developed reflective and reflexive processes through the attainment of mentalization dimensions.

The adoption of the NMP has some implications for universities. Many underachieving students in higher education often have reflexive difficulties when examining their university experiences, so could be considered average mentalizers who tend to show bias in their university experience signification when under stress. Promoting mentalization development can enable students to use their resources strategically at university and improve their academic performance.

The NMP is innovative because of its multimodality: it employs different modes and media, makes use of both individual and group narrative levels, and is integrated in a single method, which enhances the development of reflexive meaning construction.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

In light of contemporary critiques of New Zealand comprehensive schooling published mainly in the popular press, it is timely to re‐examine the origins of and the rationale for the widespread adoption of this model of education. The comprehensive schooling philosophy, it was recently alleged, has produced a situation in which ‘as many as one in five pupils in the system is failing’ and where ‘there is a large group at the bottom who are not succeeding’. This group was estimated to include some 153,000 students out of the total current New Zealand student population of 765,000. In this context, however, Chris Saunders and Mike Williams, principals of Onehunga High School and Aorere College in Auckland respectively, have noted that having underachieving students in secondary schools in particular is not a recent phenomenon. A large ‘tail’ of poor performing high school students has long been a cause of concern, Williams suggests.

The purpose of this paper is to determine the prevalence of two types of underachieving students (n=246) (active failing (AF) and passive failing (PF)) in Brunei vocational and technical education (VTE) institutions and their patterns of coping.

The field survey method was used to directly reach many participants, administer the instruments and collect the required data.

The authors found 20 AFs (14 males) and 16 PFs (five females) across the VTE courses. More-able and average students scored relatively higher on all six productive coping strategies (e.g. confronting the stressor), while the AFs and PFs scored lower on these attributes. The AFs and PFs scored relatively higher on both dysfunctional coping styles (e.g. distancing) than more-able and average students. Furthermore, the AFs also scored lower on seeking social support (possible reason for not performing well). Internet connection and students’ financial support need to be improved in Brunei VTE institutions.

The study would have been strengthened by the inclusion of an interview component to probe supplement/complement findings from the quantitative survey and the open-ended qualitative instrument (both self-reports).

The study had practical significance in that its findings could be used by instructors and policy makers to improve the achievement of VTE students in Brunei and elsewhere.

This is the first time the phenomena of AF and PF were investigated in Brunei VTE students. Further qualitative research was recommended to gain additional insights and solutions.

The purpose of this paper is to review literature about effective leadership’s impact on school performance, as a basis for schools to focus on, to encourage similar results in like school settings. Educational professionals are commissioned with the extraordinary task of instructing students with the acquisition of knowledge that will serve them in all future endeavors. In recent years, education has come under attack and has been scrutinized with the implementation accountability measures, in the form of standardized testing, to produce increased success in populations that have previously been underachieving.

The approach to compiling this literature was reflective in nature with identification of effective leadership attributes on school performance.

Many schools have used various strategies that have had positive impacts on student achievement. To enhance student achievement, the schools’ leadership should be trustworthy administrators who encourage collaboration and teacher leadership, as well as employment of educators who are genuinely passionate about teaching and love children. Examination of characteristics leading to school success may serve as a foundation for other schools.

The value of this review of literature is the compilation of numerous studies highlighting effective school leadership and structures used to impact student achievement.

Discusses the North London mentoring programme for black students. Identifies the reasons for this initiative, explaining the issues the programme aimed to address and how. Outlines the aims, structure, purpose and method of the programme, indicating the target group. Profiles the actual groups and indicates outcomes. Discusses issues which have arisen in implementing the programme, commenting on the programme′s effectiveness. Makes specific reference to research material which is relevant to the needs of the target group and has informed the programme philosophy, design and implementation. Highlights issues emerging from the programme.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of young people's participation in organised sport on their educational outcomes.

Systematic review of the literature. A comprehensive search was used to identify all research evidence about engagement, impact and value in culture and sport. A combination of manual and automated screening was used to select studies for inclusion in this review based on pre-specified criteria. Included studies had to use a “high”-quality experimental research design, focus on children and young people and have quantitative educational outcome measures. Results from the individual studies were transformed into a standardised effect size and meta-analysis was used to combine the results from individual studies where appropriate.

Young people's participation in sport may lead to improved educational outcomes. Young people's participation in organised sports activities, when compared to non-participation, improves their numeracy skills. Young people's participation in organised sport linked with extra-curricular activities, when compared to non-participation, improves a range of learning outcomes for underachieving pupils. These findings are based on six “high”-quality studies conducted in the UK and North America. Study populations included young people within the range of four to 16 years old.

This paper builds on the existing evidence base in two main ways. First, it focuses specifically on the impacts associated with organised sport whereas previous reviews have had a broader focus. Second, it uses meta-analytic methods to synthesise study findings. This paper provides pooled effect sizes for overall educational impacts and translates these into potential changes in test/grade scores.

This study intends to add to the existing body of literature and provides a strong advocacy for the use of the computer-mediated corrective feedback by university lecturers in Nigeria and elsewhere. The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions and experiences of lecturers toward students' research project supervision using the computer-mediated corrective feedback, factors that facilitate its use, the most preferred computer-mediated corrective feedback types and the extent of its usage in project supervision.

This research relies on both the Dialectical Theory and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology. This study adopted the interpretivist philosophical paradigm. The case study approach of the qualitative design was used in this investigation. The research participants were selected using the multi-stage sampling procedure. In all, twenty-four (24) lecturers (four from each university, comprising 16 males and 8 females and their ages ranged from 37 years to 61 years) made up the study sample. In-depth interviews were held with these lecturers. The collected data were transcribed and coded and themes were generated based on the responses of research participants using inductive-thematic analysis (ATLAS.ti version 22).

The results indicated that lecturers' perceptions towards the computer-mediated corrective feedback in students’ research project supervision are positive, as they considered it flexible, speedy and economical. Users' personal and device-related factors affect the deployment of computer-mediated corrective feedback for students' research project supervision. E-mail, WhatsApp and Zoom are the three themes that emerged as computer-mediated corrective feedback types that lecturers adopt while supervising students’ research projects. Therefore, the study recommends that lecturers should take full advantage of computer-mediated corrective feedback in supervising students' research projects in lieu of the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Universities should also provide an enabling environment that facilitates computer-mediated corrective feedback.

Studies (outside Nigeria) have been conducted on CMCF using predominantly the experimental and the quantitative research designs in ascertaining the impact of this mode of feedback on students' writing performances. Other studies examined students' perceptions toward CMCF. However, little or no attention has been given to the use of CMCF in the supervision of students' research project writing, especially in Nigeria. Moreover, calls for more qualitative research into lecturer-student interactions and the assessment of educational issues have emerged in recent times. It is against this backdrop that this study explored university lecturers' perceptions and experiences of CMCF on students' research project supervision in Nigerian universities.

Sustainability focuses on the effect of present actions on societies, environments and ecosystems of the future. The purpose of this paper is to discover to what extent the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region corporations carry out various aspects of corporate sustainability. This paper studies corporate sustainability practices and examines the association between corporate sustainability practices and performance in the MENA region.

A thorough literature review was conducted. The findings indicate six key categories/constructs that can be used as indicators for measuring corporate sustainability and performance. Based on the literature review, a theoretical framework was constructed and tested. Data for this quantitative and explanatory study were obtained through a self-administered survey which was distributed to senior managers at corporations in the MENA region.

The findings of this study show that the corporations operating in the MENA region are underachieving in all aspects of sustainability except for the energy management facet. Larger-sized companies tend to be more involved in corporate sustainability practices in the categories of internal and external education, external health and resources and energy management. This study finds the existence of a strong positive relationship between each sustainability category and each performance category.

Most studies on sustainability focus on North America, Europe and East Asia, not the MENA region. The findings will help corporations in the MENA region become aware of the importance of increasing their engagement in the sustainability aspects that they lack, as this will lead to a boost of their overall performance.

This paper examines the varying experiences of quality amongst key stakeholders (those who have an interest in, an impact on or are users of) in faculty student administration in an Australian university and proposes a framework for understanding quality in this context. Data were obtained using a qualitative phenomenographic research approach and collected through 42 face‐to‐face interviews with key stakeholders (students, parents, administrative staff, academic staff, executive officers, domestic partners, offshore partners and a careers adviser). Data were categorised into eight conceptions which represent stakeholders' understanding of quality. The relationships between the conceptions are discussed and represented diagrammatically to form a new understanding of quality in faculty student administration.