An investigation of adolescent constructs of stress and academic achievement /

The present study was a phenomenological investigation of adolescent constructs of stress and academic achievement. The study utilised a modified version of George Kelly's Repertory Grid Technique to provide direct insight into adolescent stress and academic achievement. The premise of the study was that only students who exhibited extreme cases of stress and academic achievement levels would be examined. The investigation identified and examined the adolescents who exhibited these extremes and explored the underlying constructs that defined these differences. It was expected that if adolescents were able to identify the stressors in their lives, how these stressors affect their lives, and how these stressors affect their academic performance, then suggestions could be made to help students to better cope with stress and to improve their academic achievement level. Further, based on the results of the study, the pedagogical implications for classroom research are provided. Phenomenological inquiries, using modified, and less complex versions of the repertory grid, can be conducted pre-, mid-, and postacademic terms, to determine and to monitor the stressors and the academic performance of the students in a classroom. Specific assessments for individual students will help teachers to better exercise their knowledge and understanding of the realm of teaching and learning strategies (e.g., Gardiner's Multiple Intelligences) that exist.

Predictors of academic achievement and social competence in adolescence : facilitation, inhibition and general cognitive processing /

The relevance of attentional measures to cognitive and social adaptive behaviour was examined in an adolescent sample. Unlike previous research, the influence of both inhibitory and facilitory aspects of attention were studied. In addition, contributions made by these attentional processes were compared with traditional psychometric measures of cognitive functioning. Data were gathered from 36 grade 10 and 1 1 high school students (20 male and 16 female students) with a variety of learning and attentional difficulties. Data collection was conducted in the course of two testing sessions. In the first session, students completed questionnaires regarding their medical history, and everyday behaviours (the Brock Adaptive Functioning Questionnaire), along with non-verbal problem solving tasks and motor speed tasks. In the second session, students performed working memory measures and computer-administered tasks assessing inhibitory and facilitory aspects of attention. Grades and teacher-rated measures of cognitive and social impulsivity were also gathered. Results indicate that attentional control has both cognitive and social/emotional implications. Performance on negative priming and facilitation trials from the Flanker task predicted grades in core courses, social functioning measures, and cognitive and social impulsivity ratings. However, beneficial effects for academic and social functioning associated with inhibition were less prevalent in those demonstrating a greater ability to respond to facilitory cues. There was also some evidence that high levels of facilitation were less beneficial to academic performance, and female students were more likely to exceed optimal levels of facilitory processing. Furthermore, lower negative priming was ''S'K 'i\':y-: -'*' - r " j«v ; ''*.' iij^y Inhibition, Facilitation and Social Competence 3 associated with classroom-rated distraction and hyperactivity, but the relationship between inhibition and social aspects of impulsivity was stronger for adolescents with learning or reading problems, and the relationship between inhibition and cognitive impulsivity was stronger for male students. In most cases, attentional measures were predictive of performance outcomes independent of traditional psychometric measures of cognitive functioning. >,, These findings provide support for neuropsychological models linking inhibition to control of interference and arousal, and emphasize the fundamental role of attention in everyday adolescent activities. The findings also warrant further investigation into the ways which inhibitory and facilitory attentional processes interact, and the contextdependent nature of attentional control.associated with classroom-rated distraction and hyperactivity, but the relationship between inhibition and social aspects of impulsivity was stronger for adolescents with learning or reading problems, and the relationship between inhibition and cognitive impulsivity was stronger for male students. In most cases, attentional measures were predictive of performance outcomes independent of traditional psychometric measures of cognitive functioning. >,, These findings provide support for neuropsychological models linking inhibition to control of interference and arousal, and emphasize the fundamental role of attention in everyday adolescent activities. The findings also warrant further investigation into the ways which inhibitory and facilitory attentional processes interact, and the contextdependent nature of attentional control.

Moral identity, youth engagement, and discussions with parents and peers /

The strength of adolescents' moral identity was examined in relation to their sense of social responsibility, frequency of community engagement, and interactions with parents and friends. Participants were 191 applicants to national youth conferences, ranging in age from 14-19, who completed a 40-minute survey. 76% of the participants were female. Social responsibility, community engagement, and discussion with parents and friends were measured using self-report questionnaires. Participants also reported on the importance of various values to themselves, their parents, and their friends, which were used to create an index of the degree of disagreement between the youth and their parents and friends. In addition, participants provided self-descriptions, which were used to measure moral identity with both a coding scheme and a ratings measure. Moral identity as measured by coding was not related to social responsibility, community engagement, or any other study variables, and thus did not appear to be a valid measure of moral identity. However, moral identity as measured by ratings was related to both social responsibility and community engagement, and thus appeared to be a valid measure. Neither disagreement nor discussion with friends was related to moral identity. However, disagreement with parents was positively related to moral identity ratings, and for girls only was negatively related to social responsibility. Furthermore, discussion with parents was positively related to moral identity for boys only. The hypothesis predicting a mediational model was not supported. Results were discussed in terms of theoretical positions on the role of parents and friends in children's moral development and suggestions for ftiture research were made.

Gendered inequality in academia : exploring women's experiences during the pre-tenure stages of their academic career

This research uses the work of Pierre Bourdieu as a starting point for an examination of women's experiences during the pre-tenure stages of their academic career. This thesis is based on six semi-structured interviews with six tenured academic women in the Faculty of Social Sciences at a medium sized Ontario University. I explore the ranges of experiences that the women report encountering during their pre-tenure years, as well as demonstrate how these experiences are gendered. Through my analysis, I find that women's experiences in academia are shaped by a culture that legitimates their existence in the academic field insofar as they embody the dispositions that reinforce the gendered structure of the academic institution. I argue that being measured according to a prototypical male standard creates difficulties for academic women during their pre-tenure years.

ESL students' perceptions of web-based prewriting activities /

Although much research has explored computer mediated communication for its application in second language instruction, there still exists a need for empirical results from research to guide practitioners who wish to introduce web-based activities into their instruction. This study was undertaken to explore collaborative online task-based activities for the instruction of ESL academic writing. Nine ESL students in their midtwenties, enrolled at a community college in Ontario, engaged in two separate online prewriting activities in both a synchronous and an asynchronous environment. The students were interviewed in order to explore their perceptions of how the activities affected the generation and organization of ideas for academic essays. These interviews were triangulated with examples of the students' online writing, nonparticipatory observations of the students' interactions, and a discussion with the course instructor. The results of the study reveal that a small majority of students felt that brainstorming in writing with their peers in an asynchronous online discussion created a grammatical and lexical framework that supported idea generation and organization. The students did not feel that the synchronous chat activity was as successful. Although they felt that this activity also contributed to the generation of ideas, synchronous chat introduced a level of difficulty in communication that hindered the students' engagement in the task and failed to assist them with the organization of their ideas. The students also noted positive aspects of the web-based activities that were not related to prewriting tasks, for example, improved typing and word processing skills. Directions for future research could explore whether online prewriting activities can assist students in the creation of essays that are syntactically or lexically complex.

Introducing e-learning in a large multisite academic health sciences centre: a case study of e-curriculum planning and educator support /

This qualitative study investigated how a team of 7 hospital educators collaborated to develop e-curriculum units to pilot for a newly acquired learning -r management system at a large, multisite academic health sciences centre. A case study approach was used to examine how the e-Curriculum Team was structured, how the educators worked together to develop strategies to better utilize e-leaming in their ovwi practice, what e-curriculum they chose to develop, and how they determined their priorities for e-curriculum development. It also inquired into how they planned to involve other educators in using e-leaming. One set of semistructured interviews with the 6 hospital educators involved in the project, as well as minutes of team meetings and the researcher's journal, were analyzed (the researcher was also a hospital educator on the team). Project management structure, educator support, and organizational pressures on the implementation project feature prominently in the case study. This study suggests that implementation of e-leaming will be more successful if (a) educators involved in the development of e-leaming curriculum are supported in their role as change agents, (b) the pain of vmleaming current educational practice is considered, (c) the limitations of the software being implemented are recognized, (d) time is spent leaming about best practice, and (e) the project is protected as much as possible from organizational pressures and distractions.

The landscape of work engagement in brain injury rehabilitation /

This study examined work engagement among brain injury rehabilitation professionals with specific attention to how they engage with their work (the extent to which they experience vigor, dedication, and absorption while working) and how they engage with people (the degree to which they are welcoming towards others and demonstrate integrity, responsibility, transparency). This study also tested a theoretical model of work engagement that predicted a relationship between engagement and personal, interpersonal, and organizational capacity. Eighty-one staff employed in a hospital-based brain injury program participated in the study. A quantitative self-report survey was used to measure participants' levels of capacity and engagement and a qualitative question was included to identify initiatives that could be introduced to enhance job performance. As predicted by the model, there were statistically significant positive correlations among all three capacity variables and engagement with work and statistically significant positive correlations between ethical engagement and personal and interpersonal capacity. The results of the qualitative data analysis revealed three broad categories of recommendations for improving job performance (more learning opportunities, more resources to support professional development, and the need to build greater team cohesion). These findings provide initial support for a theoretical model that emphasizes the link between capacity and engagement, which could be used to guide theory-driven interventions aimed at improving the work environment.

Giving voice to lifelong learning in professional nursing practice

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to uncover the meaning of lifelong learning to nurses in an Academic Health Care setting. Six female pediatric nurses were interviewed and audiotaped in response to 2 main questions of interpretation and engagement in lifelong learning with respect to their nursing practice. Four additional probing questions elicited responses of further qualities and characteristics of the meaning of lifelong learning. The emergent themes uncovered the characteristics and nature of the journey of lifelong learning. The themes evolved into parallel characteristics developing into the concepts of personal empowerment and occupational authorship. The personal empowerment concept involved processes whereby the participants overcame or removed barriers to engage in personal lifelong learning. Participants utilized personal power and internal motivators to sustain their engagement in lifelong learning. The occupational authorship concept involved participants controlling their exploration into lifelong learning through collaboration and recognition of occupational demands to be met as a professional. The remaining themes revealed a seasoning journey. This journey entailed a process of mastery through the themes of engagement discord, discovery pilgrimage, transforming, and maturation. The engagement in this journey resulted in their lifelong learning to becoming more intuitive and a part oftheir being. The overall theme uncovered from the journeys was one of a vocation described as a call to thinking critically of nursing practice. The participants responded to lifelong learning as a call to be a good nurse by using critical thinking through reflection, transformative and constructionist learning processes. This study gave voice to the meaning of lifelong learning in their nursing practice as interpreted by -ao the nurse participants.

The link between extracurricular activities and academic achievement for youth in grades 5 and 7 /

This study examined the link between involvement in extracurricular activities and academic success for 504 youth in grades 5 and 7, using the first-year survey data from a longitudinal study conducted by Youth Lifestyle Choices-Community University Research Alliance (YLC-CURA). Specifically, the study investigated whether a linear or curvilinear relation existed between extracurricular activities and academic achievement for both in- and out-of-school activities. It was hypothesized that stress may be a possible mediator in the link between extracurricular activities and achievement Results indicated that students in grades 5 and 7 were involved in club and sport activities both inside and outside of school at fairly equal fi-equencies, with a mean frequency of approximately once a month. The hypothesis that a positive relation j between in- and out-of-school extracurricular activities and achievement was supported. The hypothesis that a curvilinear relation would exist between extracurricular activities and achievement was only supported for out-of-school activities. This finding supports the argument that too much or too little involvement in out-of-school activities is related negatively to a student's academic success; however, a moderate amount of involvement appears to be positive. The hypothesis that there would be a relation between involvement in extracurricular activities and stress level for both in-school and out-ofschool activities was not supported. Results were discussed in terms of educational implications and community resources for extracurricular activities.

The impact of integrated programming on student attitude and achievement in grade 9 academic mathematics and science

This research studioo the effect of integrated instruction in mathematics and~ science on student achievement in and attitude towards both mathematics and science. A group of grade 9 academic students received instruction in both science and mathematics in an integrated program specifically developed for the purposes of the research. This group was compared to a control group that had received science and mathematics instruction in a traditional, nonintegrated program. The findings showed that in all measures of attitude, there was no significant difference between the students who participated in the integrated science and mathematics program and those who participated in a traditional science and mathematics program. The findings also revealed that integration did improve achievement on some of the measures used. The performance on mathematics open-ended problem-solving tasks improved after participation in the integrated program, suggesting that the integrated students were better able to apply their understanding of mathematics in a real-life context. The performance on the final science exam was also improved for the integrated group. Improvement was not noted on the other measures, which included EQAO scores and laboratory practical tasks. These results raise the issue of the suitability of the instruments used to gauge both achievement and attitude. The accuracy and suitability of traditional measures of achievement are considered. It is argued that they should not necessarily be used as the measure of the value of integrated instruction in a science and mathematics classroom.

Interaction and knowledge exchange among academic business librarians in Ontario

A research project submitted to the Faculty of Extension, University of Alberta in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Communications and Technology in 2005.

Association between adolescent leisure, peer social capital and academic performance among Canadian youth

Previous research shows discrepant findings between youth leisure programming (before and after school programs, structured summer program, day camp, overnight camp), academic performance and other youth developmental outcomes. Studies underscores the importance of family, community and school social capital in educational success of youth, investigation of peer social capital in the leisure context and academic performance outcomes is limited. This study uses a sample of 10 and 11 year olds (N=1764) from the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) Cycle 6, to study the association between youth leisure programming, peer social capital and academic performance. Ordinal logistic regression models consistently showed a positive association between overnight camp and academic performance even after controlling for determinants of health, and measures of family, school and community social capital. Similarly, the measure of peer social capital was positively associated with academic performance. Most importantly, the interaction between overnight camp participation and peer social capital was significantly associated with academic performance. Study findings, highlight overnight camp opportunities and peer social

Mediating Influence of Physical Fitness on the Relationship between Academic Performance and Motor Proficiency

We explored the potential mediating influence of physical fitness on the relationship between academic performance and motor proficiency in children. 1864 students (F:926, M:938, age 11.91 (SD:0.34). Academic achievement was derived from an average of standardized tests of reading, writing, and math. The Bruininks-Oseretsky Test of Motor Performance (short-form) determined motor proficiency. Fitness (peak oxygen uptake) was established with the Léger 20-m Shuttle Run Test. OLS regression identified several significant predictors of academic performance. After controlling for age (p=0.0135), gender (p<0.0001), and parental education (p<0.0001), motor proficiency (p<0.0001), was significant. After adding physical fitness (p=0.0030) to the model the effect of motor proficiency remained significant however the point estimate was reduced from 0.0034 (p<0.0001) to 0.0026 (p<0.0001). These results suggest that physical fitness plays a mediating role on the relationship between academic performance and motor proficiency although both aerobic fitness and motor proficiency have independent roles.

Investigation of motivation strategies used by school teachers for workplace engagement

The purpose of this study was to explore the strategies that elementary school teachers use to be engaged in their work. Participation was solicited from a random sample of schools stratified by location (i.e., urban, inner city, and rural) of a large school board. The study used an anonymous quantitative/qualitative questionnaire. The survey tool was based upon Kahn's (1990) psychological engagement framework, which presents the foundation of availability of self, meaningfulness of work, and safety while at work. Forty-one surveys were analyzed descriptively including a subgroup of self-rated highly engaged teachers. Teachers tended to favour physical and emotional strategies compared to cognitive type strategies, with the exception of the highly engaged subgroup. The theme of preferred strategies reflected a setting outside the school/workplace, that is, a preference for horne based strategies. The study's main contribution highlights the teachers' sense of importance for physical and emotional health in a profession that is heavily focused in the cognitive domain. This may influence administrative and teacher discourse regarding workplace engagement with strategies to help reduce stress and to maintain and increase teacher engagement.

Academic advising, eh : a profile of undergraduate academic advising at Ontario universities

Despite its importance to postsecondary students' success, there is little known about academic advisement in Canada. Academic advising can be a very intensive and demanding job, yet it is not well understood what duties or student populations of advising make it so. On a practical level, this study sought to learn more about academic advisement in Ontario universities and provide a general overview of who advisors are and what they do. This study also investigated academic advising duties and time allocation for these responsibilities in an attempt to relate theory to practice incorporating Vilfredo Pareto's theoretical underpinnings to confirm or negate the applicability of the Pareto Principle in relationship to time utilization by advisors. Essentially this study sought to discover which students require the greatest advisement time and effort, and how advisors could apply these findings to their work. Academic advising professionals in Ontario universities were asked to complete a researcher-designed electronic survey. Quantitative data from the responses were analyzed to describe generalized features of academic advising at Ontario universities. Discussion and implications for practice will prompt advisors and institutions using the results of this study to measure themselves against a provincial assessment. Advisors' awareness of time allocation to different student groups can help focus attention where new strategies are needed to maximize time and efforts. This study found that caseload and time spent with student populations were proportional. Regular undergraduate students accounted for the greatest amount of caseload and time followed by working with students struggling academically. This study highlights the need for further evaluation, education, and research in academic advising in Canadian higher education.