Racial/Ethnic Differences in Effects of Welfare Policies on Early School Readiness and Later Achievement

This study examined whether the effects of employment-based policies on children's math and reading achievement differed for African American, Latino and Caucasian children of welfare receiving parents, and if so, why. Two kinds of employment policies were examined: education-first programs with an emphasis on adult education and job training; and work-first programs with an emphasis on immediate employment. With data from two- and five-year follow-ups in four experimental demonstrations in Grand Rapids, Michigan (N = 591) and Riverside County, California (N = 629), there was evidence of small positive effects of the Grand Rapids and Riverside education-first programs on African American and Latino children's school readiness and math scores. An opposite pattern of effects emerged among Caucasian children. In one of the two sites, we found that Latino parents' higher levels of goals for pursuing their own education appeared to explain why their children benefited to a greater degree from the program than their Caucasian counterparts.     

Impact of Adolescent Childbearing on Families and Younger Sibling: Effects that Increase Younger Siblings' Risk for Early Pregnancy

To better inform educational policies for Latino students, this study explores the relations between Latino students' conceptions of their futures and their risk status for school dropout. Using the theory of possible selves, the study examines students' hoped-for, expected, and feared selves, the power of those selves to predict risk status for school dropout, and the content of their specificity and ideological beliefs. Four hundred fifteen ninth grade Latino students were surveyed, 30 who also participated in interviews. Results indicated that Latino students' possible selves differed significantly, with hoped-for selves representing the highest levels of educational and occupational attainment. Although hoped-for and expected selves did not predict students' academic performance, feared selves did. The interviews indicated that the specificity and ideological beliefs housed within possible selves might be integral to the mechanisms through which those selves influence academic performance. The implications of the study's findings for school reform policies, specifically those advocating standardized assessments, are discussed.     

Retrospective Reports of Child Feeding Practices,Current Eating Behaviors,and BMI in College Students

Research concerning child feeding practices has focused on children and adolescents, and little is known about how feeding practices used in childhood relate to eating behaviors and weight status in early adulthood. We assessed college students' and their parents' retrospective reports of child feeding practices used when the students were in middle childhood. We also assessed the college students' current reports of their eating behaviors using the Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) and the Intuitive Eating Scale (IES), and measured their current BMI. Results showed that college students' and their parents' reports about previous parental use of child feeding practices were not correlated. Parent reports of their own use of child feeding practices were more related to students' eating behaviors and BMI than were students' recollections about feeding practices used by their parents. An analysis of gender effects showed that there were positive correlations between parental child feeding practices, BMI, and emotional eating for female students. These relationships did not exist for male students. The results suggest that child feeding practices recollected by parents are linked to the development of emotional eating and weight status of women in early adulthood.     

Does family language matter? The role of foreign language use and family social capital in the educational achievement of immigrant students in Germany

The role of ethnic resources in the educational success of immigrants is highly disputed. Combining arguments of segmented assimilation and Coleman's concept of family social capital, this study investigates whether speaking one's language of origin at home relates to achievement by facilitating the mobilization of resources or their transmission from parents to children. Mediating and moderating mechanisms are disentangled and empirically questioned in regression models that predict the mathematical competences of immigrant students from Turkey, Poland and the former Soviet Union. Based on data from the German National Educational Panel Study, the results contradict the assumption that foreign language use will contribute to education through mechanisms of social capital. Regardless of parental human capital or the group of origin, the language used at home does not affect the students’ learning when German language proficiency is accounted for.     

基于在线课程的混合式教学在微生物学课程中的探索和实践

在线课程的建设与应用已成为现阶段高校教学信息化变革的重要举措,有效应用在线课程资源、开展混合式教学的设计与实践是建设一流本科课程的重点。依托微生物学在线精品课程(浙江省绍兴市),在科学教育2016-2018级尝试了基于在线课程的混合式教学,3轮教学实践表明:基于在线课程的混合式教学能提升学生学习兴趣和参与度,促使学生深度学习,促进学生综合能力和素质的提高;微生物学课程在学院和学校层面已经形成品牌,受到学生的普遍欢迎和好评。     

Chronotype and the Transition to College Life

Social synchronizers of morningness-eveningness, or chronotype, begin to change during the developmental transition from adolescence to college life. The current study examined how these changes related to the sleep/wake patterns of 220 undergraduates (93 males/122 females) ranging in age from 18 to 29 yrs at a private university. Coping strategies students used to deal with early morning commitments and familial conflict over sleep patterns were also examined. Results revealed that evening chronotypes were more likely to report conflict with parents in junior high school and high school over going to bed and waking, followed by a shift to a later sleep/wake pattern in college. They also reported adjusting their schedules and using more coping strategies to accommodate their evening bias. Morning chronotypes, whose routines easily fit a conventional morning schedule, reported little change in schedules and sleep patterns from junior high school to college, and used fewer coping strategies in response to early morning commitments. The shift in social zeitgebers from junior high school to college are significant, and yet little research has examined the effect these changes can have on students' adjustment to college life and the role that chronotype plays in this process. Because students' ability to cope with these changes will ultimately influence how successful they are in their various endeavors, a greater understanding of how chronotype is related to adaptive functioning across this developmental period is needed. (Author correspondence: lzimmerm@su.edu)     

The Mathematical Basis of Mendelian Genetics

In a climate where increasing numbers of students are encouraged to pursue post-secondary education, the level of preparedness students have for college-level coursework is not far from the minds of all educators, especially high school teachers. Specifically within the biological sciences, introductory biology classes often serve as the gatekeeper or a pre-requisite for subsequent coursework in those fields and pre-professional programmes (eg pre-medicine or pre-veterinarian). Thus, how helpful high school science and mathematics experiences are in preparing students for their introductory biology classes is important and relevant for teachers, science educators and policy makers alike. This quantitative study looked at the association between students' high school science and mathematics experiences with introductory college biology performance. Using a nationally representative sample of US students (n?=?2667) enrolled in 33 introductory college biology courses, a multi-level statistical model was developed to analyse the association between high school educational experiences and the final course grade in introductory biology courses. Advanced high school science and mathematics coursework, an emphasis on a deep conceptual understanding of biology concepts and a prior knowledge of concepts addressed in well-structured laboratory investigations are all positively associated with students' achievement in introductory college biology.     

The value of a dog in a classroom of children with severe emotional disorders

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine how a dog's presence in a self-contained classroom of six children diagnosed with severe emotional disorders affected students' emotional stability and their learning. Across an eight-week period of time, the children were observed, the children and their parents were interviewed, and behavioral data were recorded when students went into emotional crisis. Qualitative analysis of all coded data indicated that the dog's placement in this self-contained classroom: a) contributed to students' overall emotional stability evidenced by prevention and de-escalation of episodes of emotional crisis; b) improved students' attitudes toward school; and c) facilitated students' learning lessons in responsibility, respect and empathy.     

When Small Words Foretell Academic Success: The Case of College Admissions Essays

The smallest and most commonly used words in English are pronouns, articles, and other function words. Almost invisible to the reader or writer, function words can reveal ways people think and approach topics. A computerized text analysis of over 50,000 college admissions essays from more than 25,000 entering students found a coherent dimension of language use based on eight standard function word categories. The dimension, which reflected the degree students used categorical versus dynamic language, was analyzed to track college grades over students'' four years of college. Higher grades were associated with greater article and preposition use, indicating categorical language (i.e., references to complexly organized objects and concepts). Lower grades were associated with greater use of auxiliary verbs, pronouns, adverbs, conjunctions, and negations, indicating more dynamic language (i.e., personal narratives). The links between the categorical-dynamic index (CDI) and academic performance hint at the cognitive styles rewarded by higher education institutions.     

Texas Latino College Student Attitudes Toward Natural Resources and the Environment

Abstract: Latinos in the United States are an increasing segment of the population and are becoming important stakeholders in the management of natural resources. Although Latinos have been included in attitudinal research on environmental concerns, few studies have focused exclusively on Latino attitudes toward natural resources and the environment. We surveyed Texas college and university students of Mexican descent (n = 635) to determine their environmental concerns. Using the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP), we determined an environmental concern score for each respondent and compared this index to several demographic variables. We found that gender, a political candidate's environmental position, mother's education, combined parental income, and, to a lesser degree, the number of grandparents born in the United States and religiosity (church attendance), were important model variables. We hypothesized that acculturation would be an important factor in predicting NEP scores; however, acculturation level was not an important predictor in our study, which we attribute to both the nature of our sample (i.e., highly acculturated college students) and small sample sizes of less-acculturated college students. We recommend that future research consider determining the importance of acculturation in Latino attitudes toward natural resources and the environment.     

Science Educational Outreach Programs That Benefit Students and Scientists

Both scientists and the public would benefit from improved communication of basic scientific research and from integrating scientists into education outreach, but opportunities to support these efforts are limited. We have developed two low-cost programs—"Present Your PhD Thesis to a 12-Year-Old" and "Shadow a Scientist”—that combine training in science communication with outreach to area middle schools. We assessed the outcomes of these programs and found a 2-fold benefit: scientists improve their communication skills by explaining basic science research to a general audience, and students'' enthusiasm for science and their scientific knowledge are increased. Here we present details about both programs, along with our assessment of them, and discuss the feasibility of exporting these programs to other universities.     

Sexual behaviour of adolescents in Nigeria: cross sectional survey of secondary school students

ObjectivesTo determine whether family structure (polygamous or monogamous) is associated with sexual activity among school students in Nigeria.DesignCross sectional school survey with a two stage, clustered sampling design.Participants4218 students aged 12-21 years attending 39 schools in Plateau state, Nigeria. Responses from 2705 students were included in the analysis.ResultsOverall 909 students (34%) reported ever having had sexual intercourse, and 1119 (41%) reported a polygamous family structure. Sexual activity was more common among students from polygamous families (42% of students) than monogamous families (28%) (χ²=64.23; P<0.0001). Variables independently associated with sexual activity were male sex (adjusted odds ratio 2.52 (95% confidence interval 2.05 to 3.12)), older age (1.62 (1.24 to 2.14)), lower sense of connectedness with parents (1.87 (1.48 to 2.38)), having a dead parent (1.59 (1.27 to 2.00)), family polygamy (1.58 (1.29 to 1.92)), lower sense of connectedness with school (1.25 (1.09 to 1.44)), and lower educational level of parents (1.14 (1.05 to 1.24)). Multistep logistic regression analysis showed that the effect of polygamy on sexual activity was reduced by 27% by whether students were married and 22% by a history of forced sex.ConclusionsSecondary school students in Nigeria from a polygamous family structure are more likely to have engaged in sexual activity than students from a monogamous family structure. This effect is partly explained by a higher likelihood of marriage during adolescence and forced sex. Students'' sense of connectedness to their parents and school, regardless of family structure, decreases the likelihood of sexual activity, and fostering this sense may help reduce risky sexual behaviour among Nigerian youth.

What is already known on this topic

In 2000 Nigeria developed a national health policy aimed at preventing behaviour among adolescents leading to sexually transmitted infections (including HIV), pregnancy, and dropout from schoolEffective interventions in Nigeria have been hampered by inadequate information on contextual factors associated with sexual behaviour of adolescentsIn Western countries adolescents'' sense of connectedness to their parents and to school is inversely associated with risky sexual behaviour, but these effects may differ in countries where polygamy is prevalent and where school attendance is low

What this paper adds

A polygamous family structure is associated with early sexual activity among adolescents, an effect partly explained by a higher likelihood of marriage and history of forced sexual intercourseA greater sense of connectedness to parents and school decreases the likelihood of sexual activity, regardless of family structure     

Black spots on the scalps of schoolchildren. A recurrent condition in the windy west.

During the past 10 years, epidemics of black spots on the scalps of schoolchildren have caused considerable concern in at least 4 communities in the Rocky Mountain states. We describe the clinical presentation of "black spots" in a group of Wyoming elementary school students and the epidemiologic investigation that revealed the cause. Our study included a questionnaire survey of students'' parents, examination of students at the affected school and at two other schools, observation of playground activity patterns, and laboratory analysis of specimens taken from affected children and from the school environment. The black material in the scalp spots was chemically identical to flakes of black material found on the playground and tar from the school roof. We concluded that the spots were caused by flakes of windblown tar from the school roof. Previous outbreaks of black spots may have had a similar cause.     

Understanding Differences in College Persistence: A Longitudinal Examination of Financial Circumstances,Family Obligations,and Discrimination in an Ethnically Diverse Sample

Ethnic and generational differences in motivation and achievement have been well-established. However, minimal research has examined the role of social factors on educational outcomes among individuals from diverse backgrounds. With a longitudinal sample of 408 Latino, Asian, and European-American students, we examine family, discrimination, and financial factors in 12th grade and two years later as predictors of persistence four years after high school, and as mediators of ethnic and generational differences in persistence. Results indicate that family obligations, discrimination, and financial burdens are associated with reduced rates of persistence, while high school GPA, SES, and financial aid are associated with higher rates of persistence. Ethnic differences in persistence are related to high school GPA and SES, as well as financial circumstances. Reducing ethnic disparities in college persistence should thus involve attention not only to academic factors, but also to family circumstances that may cause college attendance to be a hardship.     

Design and implementation of a genomics field trip program aimed at secondary school students

With the rapid pace of advancements in biological research brought about by the application of computer science and information technology, we believe the time is right for introducing genomics and bioinformatics tools and concepts to secondary school students. Our approach has been to offer a full-day field trip in our research facility where secondary school students carry out experiments at the laboratory bench and on a laptop computer. This experience offers benefits for students, teachers, and field trip instructors. In delivering a wide variety of science outreach and education programs, we have learned that a number of factors contribute to designing a successful experience for secondary school students. First, it is important to engage students with authentic and fun activities that are linked to real-world applications and/or research questions. Second, connecting with a local high school teacher to pilot programs and linking to curricula taught in secondary schools will enrich the field trip experience. Whether or not programs are linked directly to local teachers, it is important to be flexible and build in mechanisms for collecting feedback in field trip programs. Finally, graduate students can be very powerful mentors for students and should be encouraged to share their enthusiasm for science and to talk about career paths. Our experiences suggest a real need for effective science outreach programs at the secondary school level and that genomics and bioinformatics are ideal areas to explore.     

The Massachusetts school‐based body mass index experiment—gleaning implementation lessons for future childhood obesity reduction efforts

In 2009, Massachusetts (MA) Department of Public Health (DPH) implemented new regulations that required public schools in the state to measure height and weight, determine body mass index (BMI), and notify parents of children in grades 1, 4, 7, and 10 of their child's weight status. After 3 years of implementation, MA DPH recently abandoned parental notification of school‐based BMI screening results citing several concerns including flaws in the ability to monitor the way that the BMI screening results were communicated from the schools to parents/guardians and some reports of breaches in confidentiality of students' measurements. In this article, we review implementation issues that could have impacted the success of the MA DPH regulation as well as lessons to be learned and potentially applied to future childhood obesity efforts.     

Podcasting as a tool to take conservation education online

Traditional forms of higher learning include teaching in the classroom on college campuses and in‐person adult‐focused public outreach events for non‐students. Online college degree programs and public outreach platforms have been steadily emerging, and the COVID‐19 pandemic has, at least temporarily, forced all related ecology and evolutionary biology programs to move to online delivery. Podcasting is a form of online mass communication that is rapidly gaining popularity and has the flexibility to be incorporated into the pedagogical toolbox for the online classroom and remote public outreach programming. Podcasting is also becoming more popular in the ecology and evolutionary biology field. Here, we describe the great potential of podcasting to transform the learning experience, present a case study of success from the United States, provide a table of podcast recommended by ecologist responding to a listserv, and provide a road map for adoption and utilization of podcasting for the future.     

Interprofessional Education for Whom? — Challenges and Lessons Learned from Its Implementation in Developed Countries and Their Application to Developing Countries: A Systematic Review

Background

Evidence is available on the potential efficacy of interprofessional education (IPE) to foster interprofessional cooperation, improve professional satisfaction, and improve patient care. While the intention of the World Health Organization (WHO) is to implement IPE in all countries, evidence comes from developed countries about its efficiency, challenges, and barriers to planning and implementing IPE. We therefore conducted this review to examine challenges of implementing IPE to suggest possible pathways to overcome the anticipated challenges in developing countries.

Methods

We searched for literatures on IPE in PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and ERIC databases. We examined challenges or barriers and initiatives to overcome them so as to suggest methods to solve the anticipated challenges in developing countries. We could not conduct a meta-analysis because of the qualitative nature of the research question and the data; instead we conducted a meta-narrative of evidence.

Results

A total of 40 out of 2,146 articles were eligible for analyses in the current review. Only two articles were available from developing countries. Despite the known benefits of IPE, a total of ten challenges or barriers were common based on the retrieved evidence. They included curriculum, leadership, resources, stereotypes and attitudes, variety of students, IPE concept, teaching, enthusiasm, professional jargons, and accreditation. Out of ten, three had already been reported in developing countries: IPE curriculum, resource limitations, and stereotypes.

Conclusion

This study found ten important challenges on implementing IPE. They are curriculum, leadership, resources, stereotypes, students'' diversity, IPE concept, teaching, enthusiasm, professional jargons, and accreditation. Although only three of them are already experienced in developing countries, the remaining seven are potentially important for developing countries, too. By knowing these challenges and barriers in advance, those who implement IPE programs in developing countries will be much more prepared, and can enhance the program''s potential success.     

Changes in undergraduate attitudes toward medical ethics.

To detect any change in medical students'' attitudes toward medical ethics, students from the same class were given a questionnaire on their first day of medical school and again near the end of their fourth year of study. The results showed a strong shift away from the students'' initial expectations that they would rely on specialists or scholarly sources in the future; the need for a medical ethics course in the curriculum, while still felt, was less important to them by the fourth year. The reasons for these changes were not apparent, for the students'' levels of knowledge and perceptions of the role of ethics in medicine in the first and fourth years did not differ. It is recommended that medical school faculty actively reinforce the initially positive attitudes of students during clinical supervision.     

Tailoring science outreach through E-matching using a community-based participatory approach

In an effort to increase science exposure for pre-college (K-12) students and as part of the science education reform agenda, many biomedical research institutions have established university-community partnerships. Typically, these science outreach programs consist of pre-structured, generic exposure for students, with little community engagement. However, the use of a medium that is accessible to both teachers and scientists, electronic web-based matchmaking (E-matching) provides an opportunity for tailored outreach utilizing a community-based participatory approach (CBPA), which involves all stakeholders in the planning and implementation of the science outreach based on the interests of teachers/students and scientists. E-matching is a timely and urgent endeavor that provides a rapid connection for science engagement between teachers/students and experts in an effort to fill the science outreach gap. National Lab Network (formerly National Lab Day), an ongoing initiative to increase science equity and literacy, provides a model for engaging the public in science via an E-matching and hands-on learning approach. We argue that science outreach should be a dynamic endeavor that changes according to the needs of a target school. We will describe a case study of a tailored science outreach activity in which a public school that serves mostly under-represented minority students from disadvantaged backgrounds were E-matched with a university, and subsequently became equal partners in the development of the science outreach plan. In addition, we will show how global science outreach endeavors may utilize a CBPA, like E-matching, to support a pipeline to science among under-represented minority students and students from disadvantaged backgrounds. By merging the CBPA concept with a practical case example, we hope to inform science outreach practices via the lens of a tailored E-matching approach.