Enhancing students' self-concepts and related constructs: A critical longitudinal analysis capitalising on and combining promising enhancement techniques for educational settings

Enhancing children's self-concepts is widely accepted as a critical educational outcome of schooling and is postulated as a mediating variable that facilitates the attainment of other desired outcomes such as improved academic achievement. Despite considerable advances in self-concept research, there has been limited progress in devising teacher-administered enhancement interventions. This is unfortunate as teachers are crucial change agents during important developmental periods when self-concept is formed. The primary aim of the present investigation is to build on the promising features of previous self-concept enhancement studies by: (a) combining two exciting research directions developed by Burnett and Craven to develop a potentially powerful cognitive-based intervention; (b) incorporating recent developments in theory and measurement to ensure that the multidimensionality of self-concept is accounted for in the research design; (c) fully investigating the effects of a potentially strong cognitive intervention on reading, mathematics, school and learning self-concepts by using a large sample size and a sophisticated research design; (d) evaluating the effects of the intervention on affective and cognitive subcomponents of reading, mathematics, school and learning self-concepts over time to test for differential effects of the intervention; (e) modifying and extending current procedures to maximise the successful implementation of a teacher-mediated intervention in a naturalistic setting by incorporating sophisticated teacher training as suggested by Hattie (1992) and including an assessment of the efficacy of implementation; and (f) examining the durability of effects associated with the intervention.

Students' and teachers' perceptions of adolescents' problems and coping strategies

In an investigation of the problems and coping strategies of Australian high school students, comparisons were made between the responses of 1664 students enrolled in years 8 to 12 in 1988, 1620 students enrolled in the same year levels in 1993, and 178 high school teachers in 1993. The subjects completed the High School Stressors Scale and the Adolescent Coping Strategies Scale. Data analyses using MANOVAs, ANOVAs, and t- tests revealed close similarities between the responses of the 1993 students and those of the 1988 students, but a considerable amount of incongruence between the responses of the students and those of the teachers. In particular, the teachers generally seemed to regard their students' problems as being more serious than was acknowledged by the students, and the teachers generally seemed to project a less positive view of adolescents' coping strategies than did the students. These discrepancies are discussed in terms of the different orientations that students and teachers bring to the student- teacher relationship. It is suggested that teachers and counsellors need to take cognisance of the differences between adolescents' perspectives and their own if they are going to be effective in assisting students to develop positive coping strategies and in creating more positive learning environments.

Upper body musculoskeletal disorders among Australian occupational therapy students

Although upper body musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) represent an increasingly important issue for university students, few if any studies have targeted the occupational therapy faculty. Given this dearth of information, it was considered necessary to investigate a cross-section of Australian occupational therapy students by means of an established questionnaire survey. Completed replies were obtained from 95.7%, 100% and 97.7% (n = 44, 55 and 48) of students in the first, second and fourth years of a large occupational therapy school in northern Queensland, Australia.---------- The 12-month period prevalence of MSDs was as follows: neck (67.4%), shoulder (46.3%) and upper back (39.5%). Three-quarters of all students (75.5%) reported an MSD occurring in at least one of these body regions. Over half (56.5%) reported an MSD over 2 days' duration in the past year. Almost 40% (39.5%) reported an MSD that had affected their daily life, while one-quarter (25.2%) needed some type of treatment.---------- Logistic regression indicated that students aged over 21 years were almost four times more likely to report shoulder-related MSD (OR 3.7, 95%CI: 1.4-10.2). Year of study in the occupational therapy course was another important MSD correlate, with adjusted odds ratios ranging from 3.3 at the upper back (OR 3.3, 95%CI: 1.2-9.6) to 10.9 at the neck (OR 10.9, 95%CI: 3.2-43.8). Computer usage also incurred a certain degree of risk, with students who spent over 5 hours per week on the computer having an increased risk of MSD at the neck (OR 5.0, 95%CI: 1.3-21.5) and shoulder (OR 4.7, 95%CI: 1.4-18.3).---------- Overall, this study suggests that Australian occupational therapy students have a large burden from MSDs in the upper body region, even more so than other student groups and some working populations. Since the distribution of MSD risk is not uniform among them, interventions to help reduce these conditions need to be carefully targeted. Further longitudinal investigations would also be useful in determining the mechanisms and contributory factors for MSDs among this unique student population.

Learning support : what do students want?

Assumptions are often made about students' needs, especially in the area of learning support. In this study 89 students were asked 8 questions relating to receiving learning support. The results are presented both qualitatively and quantitatively, and indicate that all students have individual needs that cannot be assumed. The findings reveal that the most common area of perceived need was in literacy. There were some differences between primary and middle school students' responses to withdrawal from the classroom, but the majority of students in both groups indicated a preference for withdrawal because they could concentrate better in an environment that was less noisy and because they felt they might look 'stupid' if they remained in class.

Understanding the literacy difficulties of students with Asperger's syndrome in middle years' classrooms

Among the students in Australian classrooms who are experiencing learning difficulties are increasing numbers of children who have been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome. Although the general cognitive and language abilities of these students are comparable with most of their peers, they experience significant difficulties with social communication, social interactions and social-emotional/behavioural functioning. Despite indications that there are features inherent in Asperger's syndrome that are likely to have a negative effect on the development of advanced literacy skills, studies to date have primarily focused on social-emotional/behavioural challenges. Without effective literacy skills, however, students' access to educational and career opportunities may be curtailed. This article reviews features of Asperger's syndrome that appear to have a negative impact upon the development of advanced literacy skills and suggests ways in which inclusive classroom teachers could support the development of their learners.

Reduction of Secondary Degeneration after Spinal Cord Injury by Acute Delivery of Proinflammatory Growth Factors

INTRODUCTION Inflammation is a protective attempt to facilitate the removal of damaged tissue and to initiate the healing response in other tissues. However, after spinal cord injury (SCI), this response is prolonged leading to secondary degeneration and glial scarring. Here, we investigate the potential of sustained delivery of pro-inflammatory factors vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) to increase early inflammatory events and promote inflammatory resolution. Method Animal ethics approval was obtained from the Queensland University of Technology. Adult Wistar-Kyoto rats (12-16 weeks old) were subjected to laminectomies and T10 hemisections. Animals were then randomised to treatment (implantation of osmotic pump (Alzet) loaded with 5ug VEGF & 5 ug PDGF) or control groups (lesion control or lesion plus pump delivering PBS). Rats were sacrificed at one month and the spinal cords were harvested and examined by immunohistology, using anti-neurofilament-200(NF200) and anti- ionized calcium binding adapter molecule 1 (Iba1). One way ANOVA was used for statistic analysis. Results At 1 month, active pump-treated cords showed a high level of axonal filament throughout the defects as compared to the control groups. The mean lesion size, as measured by NF200, was 0.47mm2 for the lesion control, 0.39mm2 for the vehicle control and 0.078mm2 for the active pump group. Significant differences were detected between the active pump group and the two control groups (AP vs LC p= 0.017 AG vs VC p= 0.004). Iba-1 staining also showed significant differences in the post-injury inflammatory response. Discussion We have shown that axons and activated microglia are co-located in the lesion of the treated cord. We hypothesise the delivery of VEGF/PDGF increases the local vessel permeability to inflammatory cells and activates these along with the resident microglia to threshold population, which ultimately resolved the prolonged inflammation. Here, we have shown that maintaining the inflammatory signals for at least 7 days improved the morphology of the injured cord. Conclusion This study has shown that boosting inflammation, by delivery VEGF/PDGF, in the early phase of SCI helps to reduce secondary degeneration and may promote inflammation resolution. This treatment may provide a platform for other neuro-regenrative therapies.

Low achieving mathematics students' attitudinal and achievement changes as a result of using an integrated learning system

This paper reports on a study to measure the effectiveness of an integrated learning system (ILS) in improving mathematics achievement for low achieving Year 5 to 9 students. The study found that statistically significant gains on the integrated learning system were not supported by scores on standardised mathematics achievement tests. It also found that although student attitudes to computers decreased (significantly for some items), the students still liked the integrated learning system and felt that it had helped them to learn.

Year 6 students' idiosyncratic notions of unitising, reunitising and regrouping decimal number places

Having flexible notions of the unit (e.g., 26 ones can be thought of as 2.6 tens, 1 ten 16 ones, 260 tenths, etc.) should be a major focus of elementary mathematics education. However, often these powerful notions are relegated to computations where the major emphasis is on "getting the right answer" thus procedural knowledge rather than conceptual knowledge becomes the primary focus. This paper reports on 22 high-performing students' reunitising processes ascertained from individual interviews on tasks requiring unitising, reunitising and regrouping; errors were categorised to depict particular thinking strategies. The results show that, even for high-performing students, regrouping is a cognitively complex task. This paper analyses this complexity and draws inferences for teaching.

Planning mobile futures : the border artistry of International Baccalaureate Diploma choosers

This paper reports on a study of students choosing the International Baccalaureate Diploma (IBD) over state-based curricula in Australian schools. The IBD was initially designed as a matriculation certificate to facilitate international mobility. While first envisaged as a lifestyle agenda for cultural elites, such mobility is now widespread with more people living ‘beyond the nation’ through choice or circumstance. Beck (2007) and others highlight how the capacity to cross national borders offers a competitive edge with which to strategically pursue economic and cultural capital. Beck’s ‘border artistes’ are those who use national borders to their individual advantage through reflexive strategy. The study explored the rationales and strategy behind the choice of the IBD curriculum expressed by students in a focus group interview and an online survey. This paper reports on their imagined transnational routes and mobile orientations, and how a localised curriculum limits their imagined mobile futures.

Transition into high school : a phenomenological study

Transition is a process of moving from the known to the unknown (Green, 1997) and transition from primary school to high school can be described in this way. In Australia, there is a two tiered system of primary and secondary schooling operating where school students typically undergo at least two transitions. Firstly, when they leave home to attend pre-school/primary school; and secondly, when they leave primary school to enter secondary school. Potentially some students may experience up to four transitions: from home to kindergarten to pre-school to primary school to secondary school while for a smaller number of students who attend P-12 schools, there may be only one transition: from home to preschool.

The ethical predisposition of university students in Western Australia : 1997 vs 2007

A sample of 285 Western Australian university students was used to assess the prevailing attitudes regarding potential breaches of ethical conduct on the part of business practitioners and organisations. The authors developed an ethical profile for the 2007 sample based on 14 scenarios used in the questionnaire. This profile was then compared to the results from data collected in 1997 using similar sampling and the same survey instrument. The prevailing predisposition is best viewed as centrist in nature, with a move to a more ethical stance in the last 10 years.

Comparing the ethical predisposition of university students in five English-speaking countries : an examination of 14 questionable business practices

Recent years have seen intense scrutiny focused on the reported ethical breaches of enterprises across the globe. At the forefront of the accompanying criticism are the actions of giant American firms such as WorldCom, Arthur Anderson, and Enron. However, such deviations from acceptable standards of conduct have not been confined to the American market. Australia endured its era of “corporate excess” in the 1980s [Milton-Smith, 1997]. As a result, a spate of ethics-based research was undertaken in the early 1990s. More recently, China has been identified as a major venue for behavior deemed to be unacceptable, even unsafe. Issues such as counterfeit fashion items, software, and automobile parts have been a concern for several years [Gonzalez, 2007]. Perhaps more disconcerting are the recent recalls of children’s products, many of which were produced for leading toy companies such as Mattel and Fisher-Price, because of the use of dangerous lead-based paint. As one might anticipate, news reports and consumer protection agencies have been quick to condemn any action that falls within the “controversial” category. Indeed, many segments of society characterize such actions as unethical behavior. One result of this increased level of concern is the higher level of attention given to ethics in higher education programs. Even accreditation bodies such as AACSB have virtually mandated the integration of ethics into the curriculum. As a consequence, academicians have ramped up their ethics-based research agendas.

The ‘Get Marketer Challenge’: Engaging first year students in an introductory marketing course

Research on student engagement suggests courses that involve students in challenging, authentic tasks linking students to their peers and educators are associated with high levels of engagement. This paper presents an assessment innovation within a first year marketing course that was designed to promote student engagement. Currently in its pilot stage, the ‘Get Marketer Challenge’ is a constructively aligned, authentic assessment task; requiring student teams to solve a real-world marketing problem as part of a course-wide competition. Student enrolment data suggests the Get Marketer Challenge is an attractive assessment option that encourages students to enrol in the Marketing course. Educators have been surprised by the consistency and high level of effort expended by student teams. Students report the Get Marketer Challenge is an enjoyable assessment task that helped them to understand some of the challenges faced by marketers.

The Get Marketer Challenge Innovation: Challenging students using a tournament style competition

This paper presents an assessment innovation which used a tournament style competition to challenge and engage first year marketing students. The course-wide competition required student teams to solve real-world marketing problems for industry sponsors. Student feedback reflects enjoyment of the task and the competition, with students welcoming the opportunity to put theory into practice. Student attendance in the lectures and tutorials involving team presentations was improved. This structure can be adapted for any course with large enrolments. We recommend that instructors adopting a tournament structure consider grading mechanisms that promote equal effort and additional rewards, such as bonus marks, for teams progressing in subsequent rounds.

Supporting mature-aged students from a low socioeconomic background

The aim of the current study was to examine mature-aged student perceptions of university support services and barriers to study. Using a mixed methods approach, interviews and focus groups were conducted with mature-aged students to identify barriers to study, knowledge and use of current student support services, and suggestions to improve upon these services. From these data and an audit of university support services, an online survey was created to examine study barriers and patterns of support service use, as well as, perceptions of proposed support services not currently offered by the university within a larger sample of mature-aged students. Analysis of survey data indicated distinct patterns of barriers and support service use according to socioeconomic status as well as other demographic factors such as, age and enrolment status. Study findings are discussed in terms of generating support services for the retention of mature-aged students of low socioeconomic status and for the retention of mature-aged students in general.