Stress, Positive Psychology and the National Student Survey

The aim was to explore the predictive ability of sources of stress and a range of dispositional and coping behaviours on student satisfaction and motivation. Most research exploring sources of stress and coping in students construes stress as psychological distress, with little attempt to consider positive experiences of stress. A questionnaire was administered to 120 first-year UK psychology students. Questions were asked which measured sources of stress when rated as likely to contribute to distress (a hassle) and likely to help one achieve (an uplift). The sources of stress were amended from the UK National Student Survey (NSS, 2011). Support, control, self-efficacy, personality and coping style were also measured, along with their potential affect on
course satisfaction, motivation and feeling part of a learning community. The sources of stress likely to lead to distress were more often significant than sources of stress likely to lead to positive, eustress states. Ironically,
factors one would consider would help students, such as the university support facilities, only did so when rated as a hassle, not as an uplift. Published university league tables draw heavily on student course satisfaction but this negatively correlated with intellectual motivation and feeling part of a learning
community. This suggests course satisfaction alone reveals an incomplete picture of the student experience. Course educators need to consider how course experiences contribute not just to potential distress but to
potential eustress. Teaching quality, effective support and work-life balance are key to student satisfaction and motivation. How educators interact with their students and the opportunities they create in and outside the class to promote peer support are likely to enhance satisfaction and motivation.

Stress, eustress and the National Student Survey

The aim was to explore the relationship between sources of stress and a range of coping behaviours on student
satisfaction and motivation. Most research exploring sources of stress construes stress as distress, with little
attempt to consider positive, good stress or ‘eustress’ experiences. A cohort of first-year psychology students (N=88)
were surveyed on a range of stressors. These were amended from the UK National Student Survey (NSS, 2011).
Published university league tables draw heavily on student course satisfaction but study results suggest there was
also merit in measuring students’ intellectual motivation and the extent to which they felt part of a learning
community. Using multiple regression analyses, it was found that even the attributes that normally help one to adjust to change, such as self-efficacy, do little to help the new student adjust to university life, such was the acuteness of perceived stress in the first year. Social opportunities within the university were important to help new students integrate into university life and to help them network and build support. Educators need to consider how course experiences contribute, not just to potential distress but to potential eustress.

A comparison of methods to obtain active parental consent for an international student survey

Many school-based research efforts require active parental consent for student participation. Maximizing rates of consent form return and agreement is an important issue, because sample representativeness may be compromised when these rates are low. This article compares two methods for obtaining active parental consent: return of consent forms in the mail versus return by students to their classrooms. The methods were tested in a pilot study of 46 schools (1,058 students), with half of the schools randomly allocated to each of the alternative methods. A hierarchical nonlinear model of consent form return and agreement rates suggests that the student delivered method is more successful at producing higher rates of consent form return and agreement to participate in the study, after controlling for school-level characteristics. The authors discuss the findings and their implications for other researchers engaged in school-based research with adolescents.

Deakin Studies Online student survey 2004/2005

The data was collected to gauge Deakin University students' perceptions of the university's centralised learning management system, especially if it enhanced their learning experience. It identified the features that were most used and valued by the students and those they felt could be improved.

The dataset consists of a set of survey questions and the survey results in an electronic database. It comprises of 2908 responses from 2004 and 2526 responses from 2005; including approximately 1000 open-ended comments providing rich qualitative data.

The data includes the following categories of information:
• demographic and background information (including gender, mode of study);
• perception of importance of and satisfaction with a range of LMS functions;
• a number of overall LMS satisfaction measures; and
• open-ended written comments about the LMS.

Law student lifestyle pressures

One significant factor influencing student wellbeing is the degree to which their studies are subject to external lifestyle pressures. These pressures are relieved or exacerbated by choices students make around their approaches to study, and the amount of time they devote to work and leisure. This Chapter considers results from a 2012 survey of law students at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia. Those results are compared to results from a similar US law student survey, and comparable data from the UK and Australia more broadly. In addition, the UNSW study compares key lifestyle choices of undergraduate (LLB) and graduate (JD) law students. The significance of the analysis in this Chapter for understanding law students’ wellbeing is that comparing American and Australian law students’ lifestyle patterns provides insights into contextual variation between both groups, which is important to bear in mind when comparing American and Australian research on law students’ wellbeing, and appreciating the limits of such comparisons. In particular, much of the wellbeing literature to date has focused on course-based stressors, but in light of recent research indicating that improvements in students’ course-based experiences may not have a direct effect on law students’ elevated levels of psychological distress, it is important to understand the broader life pressures and stressors that may be impacting law students’ wellbeing.

Students reflect on their learning community: survey results

Building a learning community demands a commitment to providing a complete learning environment, which comprises a three layer model; a content layer, an interface layer and an infrastructure layer [1]. Consequently, the aim of this research is to gain a better understanding of how students view their online learning experiences. A student survey was conducted at Deakin University which delivered comprehensive insight into their thoughts, opinions and suggestions. Consequently, this will assist in developing an online collaborative model, which will be built in view of improving teaching and learning outcomes for staff and students respectively.

The student experience of working in teams online

The research reported here is part of a project undertaken at a large Australian university in late 2005. The overall aim of the project was to identify the characteristics of student learning in an online environment. A university-wide student survey was conducted to ascertain student views of online learning and also of online teaching as part of the project. In the survey students were asked questions about their experiences of team work in online environments. The student perceptions of teams and team work are the focus of this paper.

The findings from the survey indicated that students appreciated the opportunity of working in diverse teams. They supported the view that their opinions were valued in such teams. Student views of how teaching should be conducted in units with online teams were also expressed. Concerns about team interactions, technological barriers and communication and cultural issues were also raised. The implications for teaching with online student teams are presented and discussed.

Study of student satisfaction for 'Sandwiches' delivery approach

The summer trimester system provides students with greater flexibility to plan their study around work or lifestyle commitments, create options for students to commence a degree sooner or at a more convenient time of the year and enable students to fast track their study. There is increasing number of students enrolled in summer trimester. However, it was found that student engagement during summer is less than when those same subjects are delivered during other trimesters. This research investigates the using the "Sandwiches" delivery approach to improve the learning relationship with students. This innovative approach includes the first three weeks intensive oncampus delivery with a range of lectures and tutorials. This is followed by six weeks of on-line discussions, quizzes and self-assessment activities to strengthen the students' knowledge and reinforce learning. The last week of summer trimester is revision to confirm theory prior to an examination. Positive responses from student reflected that this approach can be used for other subjects not only in summer trimester but also applicable in other trimesters. In fact, In order to improve course delivery, higher education providers always collect feedback and comment from students and previous research studies have used various methodologies. This paper demonstrates how to use survey plus case study to analysis student satisfaction.

Defining the student burnout construct: a structural analysis from three burnout inventories

College student burnout has been assessed mainly with the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). However, the construct's definition and measurement with MBI has drawn several criticisms and new inventories have been suggested for the evaluation of the syndrome. A redefinition of the construct of student burnout is proposed by means of a structural equation model, reflecting burnout as a second order factor defined by factors from the MBI-Student Survey (MBI-SS); the Copenhagen Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (CBI-SS) and the Oldenburg Burnout Inventory-Student Survey (OLBI-SS). Standardized regression weights from Burnout to Exhaustion and Cynicism from the MBI-SS scale, Personal Burnout and Studies Related Burnout from the CBI, and Exhaustion and Disengagement from OLBI, show that these factors are strong manifestations of students' burnout. For college students, the burnout construct is best defined by two dimensions described as "physical and psychological exhaustion" and "cynicism and disengagement."

Student's academic efficacy or Inefficacy? an example on how to evaluate the psychometric properties of a measuring instrument and evaluate the effects of item wording

This study evaluated the effect of item inversion on the construct validity and reliability of psychometric scales and proposed a theoretical framework for the evaluation of the psychometric properties of data gathered with psychometric instruments. To this propose, we used the Maslach Burnout Inventory, which is the most used psychometric inventory to measure burnout in different professional context (Students, Teachers, Police, Doctors, Nurses, etc…). The version of the MBI used was the MBI-Student Survey (MBI-SS). This inventory is composed of three key dimensions: Exhaustion, Cynicism and Professional Efficacy. The two first dimensions—which have positive formulated items—are moderate to strong positive correlated, and show moderate to strong negative correlations with the 3rd dimension—which has negative formulated items. We tested the hypothesis that, in college students, formulating the 3rd dimension of burnout as Inefficacy (reverting the negatively worded items in the Efficacy dimension) improves the correlation of the 3rd dimension with the other two dimensions, improves its internal consistency, and the overall MBI-SS’ construct validity and reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis results, estimated by Maximum Likelihood, revealed adequate factorial fit for both forms of the MBI-SS (with Efficacy) vs. the MBI-SSi (with Inefficacy). Also both forms showed adequate convergent and discriminant related validity. However, reliability and convergent validity were higher for the MBI-SSi. There were also stronger (positive) correlations between the 3 factors in MBI-SSi than the ones observed in MBI-SS. Results show that positively rewording of the 3rd dimension of the MBI-SS improves its validity and reliability. We therefore propose that the 3rd dimension of the MBI-SS should be named Professional Inefficacy and its items should be positively worded.

University students' engagement: Development of the university student engagement inventory (USEI)

Student engagement is a key factor in academic achievement and degree completion, though there is much debate about the operationalization and dimensionality of this construct. The goal of this paper is to describe the development of an psycho-educational oriented measure – the University Student Engagement Inventory (USEI). This measure draws on the conceptualization of engagement as a multidimensional construct, including cognitive, behavioural and emotional engagement. Participants were 609 Portuguese University students (67 % female) majoring in Social Sciences, Biological Sciences or Engineering and Exact Sciences. The content, construct and predictive validity, and reliability of the USEI were tested. The validated USEI was composed of 15 items, and supported the tri-factorial structure of student engagement. We documented evidence of adequate reliability, factorial, convergent and discriminant validities. USEI’s concurrent validity, with the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student Survey, and the predictive validity for self-reported academic achievement and intention to dropout from school were also observed.