This study describes a survey which was conducted with 193 students and related particularly to their experience in a physical chemistry laboratory which did not involve pre-laboratory exercises. Pre-laboratory exercises were then developed for this laboratory and a second survey was conducted the following year, with a sample of 211. After the second survey, 60 students were also interviewed in groups in order to gain more information about their perceptions of the pre-laboratory exercises. A third survey was conducted with 229 first year chemistry students at the outset of their university chemistry course to explore their perceptions as they looked back on their school experience. Surveys were then carried out in Pakistan with three different groups: first year BSc. students (229), second year BSc. students (150), and BEd. Trainee Secondary Teachers (118), all these groups being drawn from Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad. The aim was to explore student perception in a situation where laboratory work was not well established. In the surveys of Scottish students' views about their school and university laboratory experiences, it is clear that, at both levels, the students have positive attitudes towards their experiences. At school level, this reflects the well organised laboratory work which is strongly integrated with other teaching. At university level, the long established place of laboratory work has led to a well organised system. The overall importance from the results of this survey was that students saw the importance of laboratory work and wished it to be a successful and satisfying experience. In the Pakistan surveys, attitudes towards laboratory work are also positive. However, as there is little laboratory work at school, this can be seen as an indication that more is wanted while, at university, the laboratory work is much less well developed compared to Scotland and there is clear evidence that student views are becoming increasingly polarised with experience, a matter of some concern. Rigorous comparisons between Scotland and Pakistan were not considered appropriate in that the social, educational and professional structures are so very different.

This thesis examines students' perspectives of Foundation Degrees, employment skills and work-based learning. It questions whether the primary remit of higher education should be the development of vocational skills for the workplace. It investigates: firstly, the perceived benefits to individuals undertaking a Foundation Degree in terms of developing appropriate employment related skills; secondly, whether the compulsory work based/related learning element, seen as the cornerstone of Foundation Degrees, provides students with the relevant skills for the workplace; thirdly, the assumption that the government's multiple-agendas of widening participation in education, as a means to improve social inclusion; upskilling the workforce; working collaboratively with employers and further education colleges, can be met through provision of shortened higher education degree programmes. Results from three research studies, indicate that students felt that undertaking a Foundation Degree would improve employment prospects; improve employment promotion prospects and develop employment skills. Students also felt the Foundation Degree prepared them for the third year of an honours degree programme. However, findings relating to whether the compulsory work-based learning element of the Foundation Degree provided students with the relevant skills for the workplace were inconclusive. The studies also found that, despite its compulsory nature, not all of the Foundation Degrees from which respondents were surveyed had a work-based learning element as part of the programme. The implications of this are that the work-based learning element is not being used to promote employer engagement in the manner that the government intended. The research also revealed that employers were not engaging in formal assessment of the Foundation Degree programme, neither were they providing mentoring for employees undertaking this form of study. This represented a missed opportunity for true engagement with employers in a manner that could help to bridge the divide between academic qualification and vocational relevance. A number of recommendations are made.

<p> The purpose of this directed project is to develop nutrition resources aimed at optimizing energy status in male and female elite collegiate endurance runners. Specifically, this project includes personalized meal plans and a post-workout meal suggestion matrix that will be featured within a goal-based smartphone app called &ldquo;Run Fueled.&rdquo; A Formative Evaluation Survey was conducted. An expert panel of three Registered Dietitians completed the survey, and their opinions were determined using a 5-point Likert scale. Overall, the expert panel tended to agree with the specific evaluation items, indicating that the nutrition resources were appropriate and useful for the intended audience. In the future, a research project or qualitative assessment may be conducted on the endurance runners using &ldquo;Run Fueled&rdquo; to determine the effectiveness of the nutrition resources.</p>

<p> This dissertation investigated the demise of Illinois State University (ISU), a small antebellum Lutheran denominational college that existed from 1852 to 1867 in Springfield, Illinois. The professional higher education historiography has described the phenomenon of antebellum college demise, but a traditionalist theory of causality by unrestrained competition among religious denominations to found colleges, proposed in the early 20th century, was by the end of the century largely debunked by revisionist higher education historians as based on ahistorical concepts and inaccurate data. The study utilized the historical narrative method consisting of document review and content analysis. Using Clark&rsquo;s (1972) concept of &ldquo;organizational saga,&rdquo; the study found that while ISU was in many ways indistinguishable from other denominational colleges in the United States of the era, ISU accumulated unsustainable debt on its edifice and failed despite determined founders. Durnford&rsquo;s (2002) model of institutional sponsorship revealed that despite growth during the antebellum era, the Lutheran Church was riven by doctrinal, linguistic, national and personal rivalries that undermined its ability to sustain ISU. Five of the seven factors in Latta&rsquo;s (2008) unique model of antebellum denominational college survival helped identify ISU&rsquo;s strengths and weaknesses, and revealed that an unresolved crisis in leadership contributed to the school&rsquo;s demise. This study provided data useful in furthering the development of a comprehensive revisionist narrative to explain antebellum college founding, demise and survival.</p>

<p> Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) play a central role in global efforts toward environmental sustainability. With 23 campuses, the California State University (CSU) is the largest higher education system in the world. The CSU graduates over 100,000 students annually and significantly contributes to developing the workforce of the state and the country, which underlines the vast opportunity for the CSU system to influence culture change toward sustainability within California and beyond. This qualitative research study focused on CSU campus presidents because previous research has demonstrated the important role IHE leaders play on their campuses by setting a vision, establishing priorities, and allocating funding. This study aimed to investigate the 23 CSU campus presidents&rsquo; perspectives on sustainability in higher education. The semi-structured interview protocol explored how the presidents understood environmental sustainability, how they viewed the role of IHEs generally and the CSU system in particular in efforts toward sustainability, how they viewed their role as president, and what they perceived as barriers and enhancers to sustainability efforts on campus.</p>

No description available.

This study investigated the beliefs about teaching and learning English of nine non-native novice teachers at a private university in Northern Cyprus, and the extent to which these beliefs changed in their first year of teaching. Data was collected over an academic year of nine months by means of semi-structured interviews, credos, classroom observations, post-lesson reflection forms, stimulated-recall interviews, diaries and a metaphor-elicitation task. The study found that novice teachers’ prior learning experiences were influential in shaping their initial beliefs. By the end of the year, change in the content of the teachers’ beliefs was limited. However, the findings also showed that the majority of the teachers’ beliefs were re-structured and strengthened, suggesting that beliefs are dynamic. Analysis of the findings indicated that several factors stimulated change in beliefs; differences in individual experiences; contextual factors i.e. the syllabus, dissatisfaction with student behaviour, and students’ expectations; and becoming aware of their beliefs and practices. Moreover, the study found that novice teachers’ beliefs were not always reflected in their teaching. The analysis showed that inconsistency between beliefs and practices resulted mainly from differences in individual experiences and the restriction of the syllabus. Thus, teachers were not always able to do what they believed would be effective in their classes. Based on the findings, the study argues that novice teachers are involved in a learning period in their first year of teaching and that their beliefs are susceptible to change. Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to teacher education programmes and recommendations are made for further research.

A Bakhtinian theoretical framework throws fresh light on higher education assessment, dialogue and classroom dynamics, demonstrating that assessed, student-led seminars can have a powerfully positive effect on student learning. The case study comprised of a well-established programme of seminars in a university history department. These seminars, which are regarded as innovative, have three distinctive features: they are assessed; they contain dialogic interaction; and they are student-led. This qualitative study investigating the effects of the seminars on student learning employed interviews with tutors and students, and observations of seminars. A holistic picture has been created which takes account of the socio-ideological context of the seminars, the socio-linguistic structures which constituted the actual interaction and the participants’ perspectives. A Bakhtinian analysis was applied to empirical data and revealed that it is when three conditions are in place that the potential for dialogic learning is enhanced. Firstly, assessment directs students’ activity amplifying their learning experience. Secondly, the use of different types of dialogue enables students to assimilate new ideas. Thirdly, through peer facilitation and leadership of the seminars, along with other structuring devices, the power dynamics of the classes remain open and fluid and the tutor is prevented from unwittingly suppressing active student involvement. In these conditions, it is argued, students are able to engage actively with the material in-hand resulting in a richer learning experience.

<p> This quantitative study examined the STEM degree aspirations of Latina/o students. Harper's (2010) Anti-Deficit Achievement framework on students of color in STEM was utilized to frame this study. Secondary data from the Cooperative Institutional Research Program's (CIRP), Freshman and Your First Year in College surveys were used to complete T-tests, correlations, and hierarchical regression analyses to explore gender differences in STEM degree aspirants and habits of mind among Latinas/os. Findings include probable major in STEM, faculty interaction, highest degree planned, academic self-concept and the habits of the mind CIRP construct were significant predictors of degree aspirations. Habits of the mind at the end of the first year in college were predicted by academic disengagement, positive cross-racial interactions, academic self-concept, and college involvement. Implications for STEM policy, student affairs practice and future research are discussed.</p>

<p> In Fall 2014 over 460,000 students enrolled in the 23-campus California State University system; unfortunately, more than 20,000 qualified applicants were denied admission due to capacity and budgetary constraints. In response to continued overcrowding, the Chancellor's Office and Board of Trustees are investigating "bottlenecks," defined as anything limiting students' ability to graduate in a timely manner. Blended learning, a pedagogy combining face-to-face and computer-mediated instruction, presents a potential solution to alleviate overcrowding and bottleneck problems. </p><p> In an effort to investigate the extent to which student demographics and performance analytics explain student success outcomes in a popular blended learning psychology course, an explanatory sequential design was used to study 18,254 students enrolled in the course between 2006 and 2014. In the initial quantitative part of the design, logistic regression and traditional regression analysis were used to determine the predictors of those who chose to drop the course, those who ultimately passed the course, and then to investigate why some students received higher grades than others. Results revealed that race, gender, age, socioeconomic status, and early course participation were key predictors of success.</p><p> Some of the most significant findings &ndash; which included the fact that Mexican American, African American, and Filipino students were less successful in the course than their White counterparts &ndash; were examined in more detail in the qualitative part of the study that followed. Specifically, students who self-identified within these race/ethnicities provided a nuanced look at their own course experiences by completing questionnaires and interviews for the study. Thematic findings revealed socioeconomic status, time management, parents' education, and students' campus community as factors contributing to course performance. </p><p> This study represents one of few large-scale analyses of a blended learning environment focused upon learner outcomes, and it serves to inform the evaluative work surrounding student success interventions, including the ability to predict and understand student risk characteristics for dropping, failing, or performing poorly within a blended learning environment. Understanding the many reasons students engage in less successful behavior may inform student success strategies and alleviate bottlenecks, especially as the prevalence of blended learning courses increases within the California State University system.</p>