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Abstract: Introduction: The cohort of students enrolled in the discipline‐specific bioscience paper reflects a structural diversity in that it includes students of multiple ethnicities, varied age groups, differing scholastic and life experiences. These divergent identities of students are known to influence academic performance. The purpose of this retrospective quantitative study was to determine the ability of a set of variables such as age, gender, ethnicity, level of prior education, the place from which prior education was obtained, work experience and prior academic achievement to predict academic performance in the discipline‐specific bioscience paper. Method: The sample for this study was a purposive sample of all oral health students who had enrolled in the paper at the Auckland University of Technology from 2011 to 2014. The desensitised empirical data of 116 students from the University's database were subject to multivariable regression analysis. Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated. Results: Prior academic achievement was a statistically significant predictor variable (P < 0.001) for the academic performance in the discipline‐specific bioscience paper and was also positively correlated (r = 0.641, P < 0.001) to the grades in the discipline‐specific bioscience paper. Conclusion: Prior academic achievement was the only variable that was demonstrated to be correlated to and predictive of the academic performance in the discipline‐specific bioscience paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The use of e‐exams in higher education is increasing. However, the role of student diversity in the acceptance of e‐exams is an under‐researched topic. In the current study, we considered student diversity in terms of three sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, and second language) and three dispositional student characteristics (computer anxiety, test anxiety, and technology openness). Objectives: The main objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between student diversity and acceptance of e‐exams. Methods: Our research combined cross‐sectional analyses (N = 1639) with data from a natural experiment on the introduction of e‐exams versus the established paper‐pencil exams (N = 626) and used both self‐report and institutional data. Sociodemographic and dispositional characteristics were indirectly related to pre‐exam acceptance via expectancy variables from the Technology Acceptance Model framework. Results and Conclusions: Comparisons of post‐exam acceptance showed that practical experience with the e‐exam led to a significant increase in e‐exam acceptance, and that students with low openness toward technology particularly benefited from this effect. Students' exam performance (i.e., grades) was unrelated to the exam format or their pre‐exam acceptance of the e‐exam format, and this was true across students' sociodemographic and dispositional characteristics. Takeaway: Student diversity plays a role in e‐exam acceptance, but its influence is mitigated by first‐hand experience with e‐exams. The practical implications for higher education institutions aiming to implement e‐exams are discussed. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: The use of e‐exams in higher education is increasingThe role of student diversity for e‐exam acceptance is unclearTechnology acceptance is predicted by expectancies towards new system What this paper adds: We investigated students' sociodemographic and dispositional diversityDiversity predicted e‐exam acceptance via the expectanciesIn a natural experiment, first‐hand experience increased e‐exam acceptanceNo difference between performance in e‐exams and paper‐pencil‐exams found Implications of the study findings for practitioners: Higher education institutions implementing e‐exams should consider diversitySupport for older students and students with low technology openness neededNo student groups systematically disadvantaged by e‐exam implementationPractice rooms can increase experience with new system before exam [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reflects on the importance of 'time spent' in understanding the international student experience. Short‐term mobility programmes (involving stays of between 1 week and 2 months) attracting less privileged students, such as the relatively new Turing Scheme in the United Kingdom, have been hailed as a potential 'solution' to the fact that, traditionally, wealthier individuals have been far more likely to engage in study abroad. However, we do not yet know how short‐term and longer duration programmes compare in terms of the value they confer to students (in relation to their experiences and outcomes). How likely is it that short‐term mobility at undergraduate level is as valuable, according to different measures, as mobility lasting 6 months to several years (as with degree mobility)? This paper reviews some of the evidence to date on shorter duration mobility, addressing how value in international study is constructed and conferred and how this relates to 'time spent'. The paper concludes by arguing that the picture is mixed: although short‐term mobility will be beneficial to students, those engaging in longer term exchanges (usually more privileged students) are likely to derive greater benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a case study on the adoption and the impact of new modules in a learning analytics dashboard supporting the dialogue between student advisors and students when advising on a study plan for the next academic semester in Escuela Superior Politecnica del Litoral, a higher education institute in Ecuador. The impact and the adoption of the new dashboard modules were assessed using a mixed‐methods approach. The quantitative approach builds on data of 172 advisors in 34 programs and 4481 advising sessions in 2019 (post) and 4747 advising sessions in 2018 (pre) to assess the adoption and use of the dashboard, the level of support experienced by the advisors, the impact of the new dashboard modules on the difference between the advised study plan and the plan students register for, and students' academic achievement. The qualitative approach with observations of 14 staged advising dialogues and semi‐structured interviews with eight advisors was used to assess how the dashboard was used and to get deeper understanding of the perceived usefulness and impact of the dashboard. The results show that an institution‐wide deployment of dashboard modules tailored to the needs of the advisors can be achieved and can increase the level of support perceived by the advisors and significantly decrease the gap between the suggested study plans in advising dialogues and the study plans that students actually register for. On the short‐term, however, no significant changes in academic achievement were observed. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic? Academic advising can positively impact retention, academic achievement and study completion.Learning analytics dashboards are promising pieces of educational technology for academic advising as they can trigger reflection and sense‐making of educational data.Evaluation of learning analytics dashboards is often still immature and not well‐connected to the actual goals of the dashboards. Large‐scale evaluations looking at impact of dashboards are even scarcer.What this paper adds? This paper adds, to the scarce scientific evidence on academic advising dashboards, a large‐scale case study on a dashboard supporting the advisor student dialogue during the composition of well‐balanced study plans.The paper presents research evidence of the impact of the dashboard on the support advisors experience, the study plans suggested by the advisors and the ones actually registered by the students and students' academic achievement. Evidence is based on a quantitative analysis, using data of 172 advisors from 34 programs representing more than 9000 advising dialogues, and a qualitative analysis using observations and interviews.Implications for practice and/or policy Dashboards to support academic advising dialogues can be realized institution‐wide at scale. Training of student advisors supports a large scale deployment.Well‐designed dashboards that focus on addressing needs of advisors increase the level of support that advisor experience when advising students.Dashboard accommodating the simulation of study plans and the workload associated with them, succeed in decreasing the variance in suggested plans between advisors and reduce the gap between the study plans that advisors suggest to student and the study plans that students actually register for. Short‐term impact on academic achievement was not observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Higher Education Quarterly is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background: Delivering effective feedback to large groups of students represents a challenge for the academic staff at universities. Research suggests that undergraduate students often ignore the Elaborated Feedback (EF) received via digital learning environments. This may be because instructors provide feedback in written format instead of using more engaging channels (e.g., audiovisual). Objectives: This quasi‐experimental study examines the extent to which feedback format (video vs. written) influences students' perceptions of feedback, their decision to access EF messages related to high‐stakes assignments in digital environments, and its impact on academic performance, while considering the effect of their academic engagement. Methods: A total of 171 undergraduate students received generic EF messages through a learning platform the day after submitting each course assignment. 78 students received EF in written format and 93 in video format. Results and Conclusions: Our results showed that feedback format influenced students' decision to access EF and their academic performance, but not their feedback perceptions. Students in the written‐feedback group accessed EF messages more often, but students who received video‐feedback performed better than their counterparts in the written‐feedback group. Moderation analysis showed that the relationship between the feedback format and students' academic performance was moderated by their academic engagement, suggesting that students with lower levels of academic engagement may benefit from video‐feedback. Takeaways: The results reveal that using video feedback in digital environments may influence students' decisions to process EF and their academic achievement, especially when it comes to students with lower levels of academic engagement. Lay Description: What is currently known about the subject matter: Delivering Elaborated Feedback (EF) to large groups of students represents a challenge for instructors.Undergraduate students often ignore the EF received via digital learning environments.Students usually prefer audiovisual formats to receive feedback compared to the written format.Results in regard to whether video‐feedback is best for learning are inconclusive. What this paper adds: A quasi‐experimental study to compare two feedback formats (video and written) in an ecologically valid setup.Data of students' voluntary decisions to process EF related to high‐stakes assignments.The moderating effect of students' academic engagement on the relationship between feedback format and academic performance. The implications of study findings for practitioners: Students positively value the EF received in both video and written formats.Students may not engage with EF as expected even when provided in audiovisual formats.Students may access written‐EF more frequently than video‐EF.Video‐EF may positively influence academic performance when students have low levels of academic engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital data are transforming higher education (HE) to be more student‐focused and metrics‐centred. In the UK, capturing detailed data about students has become a government priority, with an emphasis on using student data to measure, compare and assess university performance. The purpose of this paper is to examine the governmental and commercial drivers of current large‐scale technological efforts to collect and analyse student data in UK HE. The result is an expanding data infrastructure which includes large‐scale and longitudinal datasets, learning analytics services, student apps, data dashboards and digital learning platforms powered by artificial intelligence (AI). Education data scientists have built positive pedagogic cases for student data analysis, learning analytics and AI. The politicization and commercialization of the wider HE data infrastructure is translating them into performance metrics in an increasingly market‐driven sector, raising the need for policy frameworks for ethical, pedagogically valuable uses of student data in HE. Practitioner NotesWhat is already known about this topic Learning analytics, education data science and artificial intelligence are opening up new ways of collecting and analysing student data in higher education.UK government policies emphasize the use of student data for improvements to teaching and learning.What this paper adds A conceptual framework from "infrastructure studies" demonstrates how political objectives and commercial aims are fused to HE data systems, with data infrastructure becoming a key tool of government reform.A critical infrastructure analysis shows that student data processing technologies are being developed and deployed to measure university performance through student data.Implications for practice and/or policy Educators and managers in universities need to prepare robust institutional frameworks to govern their use of student data.Learning analytics practitioners, data scientists, learning scientists and social science researchers need to collaborate with the policy community and education technology developers on new policy frameworks to challenge narrow uses of student data as performance metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Undergraduates' collective epistemic agency is critical for their productive collaborative inquiry and knowledge building (KB). However, fostering undergraduates' collective epistemic agency is challenging. Studies have demonstrated the potential of computer‐supported collaborative inquiry approaches, such as KB—the focus of this study, and reflective assessment to foster collective epistemic agency. Objectives: This study used a quasi‐experimental design to examine the impact of reflective assessment on undergraduates' collective epistemic agency and the mechanisms of this impact. Methods: An experimental class, comprising 40 undergraduates, engaged in KB inquiry enhanced by analytics‐assisted reflective assessment, while a comparison class, comprising 41 undergraduates, engaged in portfolio‐supported reflective assessment in KB inquiry. Classroom observations, audio recordings of group discussions and reflections, and student artefacts were collected in both conditions. Results and Conclusions: The experimental class demonstrated significantly higher levels of collective epistemic agency than the comparison class, as indicated by their collective knowledge advancement and epistemic and metacognitive actions. Qualitative thematic analysis revealed that reflective assessment enhanced the undergraduates' collective epistemic agency through their collective monitoring and regulation of inquiry and ideas, negotiation and synthesis of the community's ideas, conceptualization of collective theories and identification of collective inquiry trajectories with an internal reflective structure. Major Takeaways: Higher‐level metacognitive actions are critical for productive collaborative inquiry and higher‐level epistemic agency that does not often occur naturally and should be promoted by appropriate scaffolding strategies. Students need data from learning analytics and accompanying prompt sheets to help them develop the internal metacognitive structure for agency and learning. Lay Description: What is currently known about this topic?: Undergraduates' collective epistemic agency (CEA) is critical for productive KB.Analytics‐assisted reflective assessment (AARA) are promising in fostering CEA. What does this paper add?: AARA has positive influences on students' CEAAARA helps students develop CEA through the following mechanisms.AARA supports students' collective regulation and negotiation of collective ideas.AARA enhances conceptualization and deepening of collective trajectories with an internal reflective structure. Implications for practice/or policy: Higher‐level metacognitive actions are critical for collaborative inquiry and CEAAnalytics‐assisted RA can enhance students' higher‐level metacognitive actions.Students should be provided with learning data and appropriate scaffolding strategies.These data and strategies can develop students' internal metacognitive structure crucial for agency and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Affect can significantly influence education/learning. Thus, understanding a learner's affect throughout the learning process is crucial for understanding motivation. In conventional education/learning research, learner motivation can be known through postevent self-reported questionnaires. With the advance of affective computing technology, researchers are able to objectively identify and measure a learner's affective status during the entire learning process in a real-time manner, and then they are able to understand the interrelationship between emotion, motivation and learning performance. There are over 100 papers in the ScienceDirect database with the keywords 'affective computing in education' or 'affective computing in learning,' which reveals that this emerging technology has been applied to education/learning. This study intends to categorize and summarize those measurements so as to realize their applicability, feasibility and trends. Finally, some challenges and suggestions are then raised for helping educational researchers when applying affective computing technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is little debate regarding the importance of student feedback for improving the learning process. However, there remain significant workload barriers for instructors that impede their capacity to provide timely and meaningful feedback. The increasing role technology is playing in the education space may provide novel solutions to this impediment. As students interact with the various learning technologies in their course of study, they create digital traces that can be captured and analysed. These digital traces form the new kind of data that are frequently used in learning analytics to develop actionable recommendations that can support student learning. This paper explores the use of such analytics to address the challenges impeding the capacity of instructors to provide personalised feedback at scale. The case study reported in the paper showed how the approach was associated with a positive impact on student perception of feedback quality and on academic achievement. The study was conducted with first year undergraduate engineering students enrolled in a computer systems course with a blended learning design across three consecutive years (N2013 = 290, N2014 = 316 and N2015 = 415). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research study discusses the role of knowledge management (KM) in facilitating the composition and development of higher education (HE) partnerships. The paper identifies and discusses the KM behavioural constructs, in other words, the fundamental elements that indicate the behaviour of higher education institutions (HEIs) and that impact the development of a partnership. Furthermore, this work explores institutional and partnership factors that affect the development of partnerships and compiles a list of KM activities deemed necessary to assist HEIs in exchanging knowledge in a partnership setting. The proposed conceptual framework can serve as a diagnostic instrument, assisting HE executives, managers, practitioners and researchers in being able to assess institutional capabilities for collaborative undertakings. The work presented in this paper aims to encourage further academic discussions as to how KM concepts can be used to assist HEIs in working together and overcoming challenges for sustainable development in the digital era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formative assessment is considered to be helpful in students' learning support and teaching design. Following Aufschnaiter's and Alonzo's framework, formative assessment practices of teachers can be subdivided into three practices: eliciting evidence, interpreting evidence and responding. Since students' conceptions are judged to be important for meaningful learning across disciplines, teachers are required to assess their students' conceptions. The focus of this article lies on the discussion of learning analytics for supporting the assessment of students' conceptions in class. The existing and potential contributions of learning analytics are discussed related to the named formative assessment framework in order to enhance the teachers' options to consider individual students' conceptions. We refer to findings from biology and computer science education on existing assessment tools and identify limitations and potentials with respect to the assessment of students' conceptions. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Students' conceptions are considered to be important for learning processes, but interpreting evidence for learning with respect to students' conceptions is challenging for teachers.Assessment tools have been developed in different educational domains for teaching practice.Techniques from artificial intelligence and machine learning have been applied for automated assessment of specific aspects of learning.What does the paper add Findings on existing assessment tools from two educational domains are summarised and limitations with respect to assessment of students' conceptions are identified.Relevent data that needs to be analysed for insights into students' conceptions is identified from an educational perspective.Potential contributions of learning analytics to support the challenging task to elicit students' conceptions are discussed.Implications for practice and/or policy Learning analytics can enhance the eliciting of students' conceptions.Based on the analysis of existing works, further exploration and developments of analysis techniques for unstructured text and multimodal data are desirable to support the eliciting of students' conceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technologies and teaching practices can provide a rich log data, which enables learning analytics (LA) to bring new insights into the learning process for ultimately enhancing student success. This type of data has been used to discover student online learning patterns, relationships between online learning behaviors and assessment performance. Previous studies have provided empirical evidence that not all log variables were significantly associated with student academic achievement and the relationships varied across courses. Therefore, this study employs a systematic review with meta‐analysis method to provide a comprehensive review of the log variables that have an impact on student academic achievement. We searched six databases and reviewed 88 relevant empirical studies published from 2010 to 2021 for an in‐depth analysis. The results show different types of log variables and the learning contexts investigated in the reviewed studies. We also included four moderating factors to do moderator analyses. A further significance test was performed to test the difference of effect size among different types of log variables. Limitations and future research expectations are provided subsequently. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Significant relationship between active engagement in online courses and academic achievement was identified in a number of previous studies.Researchers have reviewed the literature to examine different aspects of applying LA to gain insights for monitoring student learning in digital environments (eg, data sources, data analysis techniques).What this paper adds Presents a new perspective of the log variables, which provides a reliable quantitative conclusion of log variables in predicting student academic achievement.Conducted subgroup analysis, examined four potential moderating variables and identified their moderating effect on several log variables such as regularity of study interval, number of online sessions, time‐on‐task, starting late and late submission.Compared the effect of generic and course‐specific, basic and elaborated log variables, and found significant difference between the basic and elaborated.Implications for practice and/or policy A depth of understanding of these log variables may enable researchers to build robust prediction models.It can guide the instructors to timely adjust teaching strategies according to their online learning behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As universities around the world have begun to use learning management systems (LMSs), more learning data have become available to gain deeper insights into students' learning processes and make data‐driven decisions to improve student learning. With the availability of rich data extracted from the LMS, researchers have turned much of their attention to learning analytics (LA) applications using educational data mining techniques. Numerous LA models have been proposed to predict student achievement in university courses. To design predictive LA models, researchers often follow a data‐driven approach that prioritizes prediction accuracy while sacrificing theoretical links to learning theory and its pedagogical implications. In this study, we argue that instead of complex variables (e.g., event logs, clickstream data, timestamps of learning activities), data extracted from online formative assessments should be the starting point for building predictive LA models. Using the LMS data from multiple offerings of an asynchronous undergraduate course, we analysed the utility of online formative assessments in predicting students' final course performance. Our findings showed that the features extracted from online formative assessments (e.g., completion, timestamps and scores) served as strong and significant predictors of students' final course performance. Scores from online formative assessments were consistently the strongest predictor of student performance across the three sections of the course. The number of clicks in the LMS and the time difference between first access and due dates of formative assessments were also significant predictors. Overall, our findings emphasize the need for online formative assessments to build predictive LA models informed by theory and learning design. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Higher education institutions often use learning analytics for the early identification of low‐performing students or students at risk of dropping out.Most predictive models in learning analytics rely on immutable student characteristics (e.g., gender, race and socioeconomic status) and complex variables extracted from log data within a learning management system.Prioritizing prediction accuracy without theory orientation often yields "black‐box" models that fail to inform educators on what remedies need to be taken to improve student learning.What this paper adds Predictive models in learning analytics should consider learning theory, pedagogy and learning design to identify key predictors of student learning.Online formative assessments can be a starting point for building predictive models that are not only accurate but also provide educators with actionable insights on how student learning can be improved.Time‐related and score‐related features extracted from online formative assessments are particularly useful for predicting students' course performance.Implications for practice and/or policy This study provides strong evidence for using online formative assessments as the foundation for predictive models in learning analytics.Student data from online formative assessments can help educators provide students with feedback while informing future formative assessment cycles.Higher education institutions should avoid the hype around complex data from learning management systems and instead rely on effective learning tools such as online formative assessments to revolutionize the use of learning analytics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The global COVID‐19 pandemic turned the adoption of on‐line assessment in the institutions for higher education from possibility to necessity. Thus, in the end of Fall 20/21 semester Tel Aviv University (TAU)—the largest university in Israel—designed and implemented a scalable procedure for administering proctored remote examinations. This procedure is applicable to different kinds of examinations in diverse disciplines and to disparate degree levels. Objectives: This study aims to deepen the knowledge with respect to the design and adoption of remote proctoring at an institutional level Methods: First, based on lessons learned from the first semester of COVID‐19, we describe the development and implementation of an institution‐wide protocol for conducting on‐line proctored assessment. We show the large‐scale applicability of the protocol for administering examinations via Moodle with remote proctoring via Zoom. The accurately designed procedures that included careful consideration of all parties involved—academic staff members, students, administrative staff and proctors—enabled TAU to successfully assess the learning outcomes of its 25,000 students, while maintaining validity, compatibility and reliability of the assessment. Second, we report combined data from surveys of 4380 students and 188 faculty‐members (18% and 12% response rate respectively), conducted at TAU following these examinations. Results and Conclusions: With over 90% of the students experiencing at least one, and 80% of faculty‐members administering at least one proctored remote examination, these heterogeneous sources of data allow us to investigate a unique and complementary perspective of the process. Some of the significant findings consist of the over‐all perception of the students' integrity by both groups surveyed; the discrepancy in the groups' perspectives of the adequate form of learning‐assessment—with the instructors preferring proctored examinations and the students—formative‐assessment; and the influence of the pedagogical challenges on the perception of validity that outweighed other factors, for example, the pandemic‐related stress, the on‐line assessment challenges and other. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Proctoring exams remotely is challenging, due to technical, ethical and other concerns.Proctoring can be conducted remotely by a human, record and review later technology, automated algorithms to detect atypical behaviour.Different methods for remote proctoring in higher education have been implemented on small scale. What this paper adds: Review of studies examining various facets of remote proctoring before and during COVID‐19.A protocol for remote proctoring in a large‐scale university, based on the first post COVID‐19 semester.The perspectives of students and faculty members regarding testing with remote proctoring. Implications for future practice and/or policy: The protocol can assist higher education institutions in developing their own guidelines.The implementation should take into consideration ethical norms and constitutional limitations.Unlike automated process using algorithms, remote human proctoring is not widely opposed by students.Further research comparing remotely proctored exam performance with the f2f proctoring is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advancement of technologies has promoted the increasing popularity and integration of mobile technologies in science education in the past decade. These trends have led to an increased interest among scholars to understand the effects of mobile technologies in science education and whether those effects differ depending on how mobile technologies are used in learning and teaching (eg, student‐led, teacher‐led, collaborative). In this study, we performed a meta‐analysis of 34 studies that directly examined the effects of users' pedagogical role on K‐16 students' achievement in science when engaging in mobile learning (ML). The analysis of the 34 studies yielded an overall significant main effect of ML on K‐16 science learning outcomes. We applied the mixed‐effects model with moderator variables and found that users' pedagogical role significantly moderated the ML effects as a whole. Collaborative and student‐led uses had a statistically significant impact on student science learning, whereas teacher‐led use did not. Findings from this meta‐analysis are consistent with prior research, providing synthesized research‐based evidence of the effects of ML on science learning that holds implications for both mobile curriculum design and mobile technology use. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topicMobile technology has been increasingly adopted in science learning with great potential to support learning and teaching.Prior meta‐analysis has suggested multiple moderators in measuring the mobile learning effect.Prior empirical studies examined the effect of mobile users' pedagogical role in the specific subject domains (eg, physics) and grade levels (eg, high school).What this paper addsThis meta‐analysis is among the first to examine the moderator effect of mobile users' pedagogical roles on ML in K‐16 science education.This study found that mobile technology use is associated with significant science learning outcomes across 34 studies.This study found that the effect of mobile learning was moderated by mobile users' pedagogical roles (ie, who initiated the use). Collaborative use between teachers and students tends to be the most effective. Teacher‐led use tends to be the least effective.Implications for practiceThis study suggests that we should consider who leads the use of mobile technology when integrating mobile learning in science education.In particular, educators should encourage collaborative and student‐led mobile use for learning and instruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Situational engagement plays a critical role in promoting students' academic performance. In a smart classroom environment, this study collected longitudinal real‐time data for 105 college students at a university in central China to investigate the relationship among situational engagement, personal characteristics and learning environment perceptions. Hierarchical linear modelling showed that environmental perception and students' personal factors have different effects on situational engagement. Specifically, (1) social support perceptions, autonomous motivation and controlled motivation have a significant impact on behavioural engagement; (2) perceptions of social and media support, autonomous motivation and controlled motivation have a significant impact on shallow cognitive engagement; and (3) perceptions of teacher and social support, self‐efficacy and autonomous motivation significantly predict deep cognitive and emotional engagement. This study suggests that the effect of the perception regarding advanced technology‐supported learning environments on students' situational engagement is limited, and instructors should pay more attention to improving students' perceptions of teacher and social support, self‐efficacy and autonomous motivation to promote students' situational deep cognitive engagement in smart classrooms. Practitioner notesWhat is already known about this topic Compared with overall engagement, situational engagement fluctuates and changes with time and context.Situational engagement is a product of environmental and personal factors.Few studies have focused on the nature of situational engagement and how environmental and personal factors influence situational engagement in smart classrooms.What the paper adds This study contributes to the existing literature by investigating the critical factors that predict situational engagement, using the experience sampling method in a smart classroom at a Chinese university.Environmental perception, self‐efficacy and students' motivation factors have different effects on situational engagement in a smart classroom.Perceptions of teacher and social support, self‐efficacy and autonomous motivation significantly predict deep cognitive and emotional engagement, while perceptions of media support only have a significant impact on shallow cognitive engagement.Personal factors (controlled and autonomous motivation) moderate the relationship between environmental perception factors and situational engagement.Implications for practice and/or policy Rather than only providing external technology‐rich conditions, instructors should focus more on improving students' perceptions of teacher and social support, self‐efficacy and autonomous motivation in the smart classroom environment.Instructors should promote students' perception of teacher support and their autonomous motivation to enhance their deep cognitive engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Research in Reading is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper shows how inclusive and participative research is developed into two case studies of students facing educational transitions. The studies were developed in two different places in Spain describing different approaches to support transitions by students. The first case focuses on activities organised and developed together by students from 8 schools in the same local area to enhance a shared understanding of the experience of transitions and to explore how to facilitate and sensitize to the community about them. The second case involved a student Mutual Support Group consisting of a trained group of three students in the same school who meet regularly with self-referred mates to design personal pathways to face transitions. The paper concludes by reflecting on how student voice and participation provide a genuine and innovative means through which educational transitions can be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the influence that school sport and non-sport extracurricular activities (ss EC and ns EC) can have on academic achievement. A central thesis of this paper is that, despite the literature on the perceived and presumed benefits of school sport and of non-sport activities, theorising a model of the process by which the benefit is attained, which we conceptualise as a case of transfer, has been neglected. Cognisant of the long-standing literature on transfer and the recent resurgence in transfer research, we present a dual step transfer hypothesis by which ss EC and ns EC activities confer academic achievement benefits. Key to this dual step transfer hypothesis is the influence these activities have on non-cognitive skills, whereby the activity promotes non-cognitive skills (i.e., motivational-social skills), which in turn promote learning and academic achievement. We present an overview of transfer from the early discussions framing transfer to either mental muscle or identical elements mechanisms, to more recent discussions and new perspectives on what counts as transfer. To this discussion we compare research linking academic achievement to school physical education, school sport and school non-sport activities. We place particular emphasis on extracurricular activities and the potential influence they can have on non-cognitive characteristics. In making our argument we weigh up the relative support for dual step transfer within extant literature on both areas, and in doing so return to take a position on the long-standing and divergent framing of transfer in terms of either mental muscle or identical elements mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Higher Education Quarterly is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

During the COVID‐19 crisis, digital informal learning is important for students' academic engagement. Although scholars have highlighted the importance of students' digital competence in improving digital informal learning (DIL), the mediating role of DIL between digital competence and academic engagement has remained ambiguous. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between students' digital competence and their academic engagement with the mediating role of DIL in the higher education context. This study used a descriptive correlational design, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The study sample included 308 students from Shiraz University, Iran. The results showed that digital competence positively and significantly correlated with students' DIL and their academic engagement. Furthermore, DIL, as the mediator variable, was found to mediate the relationship between students' digital competence and their academic engagement. Since higher education institutions have a key role in improving students' academic engagement, particularly in the COVID‐19 pandemic, academic administrators should pay more attention to students' digital competencies and provide them with efficient and user‐friendly DIL platforms that can increase their academic engagement. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: One of the challenges of online learning environments is students' engagement especially in the COVID‐19 crisis.The role of digital informal learning (DIL) in the students' engagement is ambiguous.Little work has been done to support the relationship between digital competence, DIL and academic engagement. What this paper adds: The structural equation model of academic engagement, digital competence, and DIL was examined.There is a significant relationship between digital competence and DIL of students.The engagement of students will increase both with the use of digital competencies and DIL. Implications for practice and/or policy: Administrators should provide efficient DIL platforms to increase students' academic engagement.Educators should consider students' digital competencies to increase their academic engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context Thirty years ago, it was suggested in the Edinburgh Declaration that medical school applicants should be selected not only on academic, but also on non-academic, attributes. The main rationale behind extending medical school selection procedures with the evaluation of (non-academic) personal qualities is that this will lead to the selection of students who will perform better as a doctor than those who are selected on the basis of academic measures only. A second rationale is the expectation that this will lead to a representative health workforce as a result of reduced adverse impact. The aims of this paper are (i) to describe what can be learned about the use of selection criteria other than grades from over 15 years of Dutch experience and (ii) to summarise current knowledge on the issue of adverse impact in relation to non-grades-based selection. Methods A narrative review was undertaken of the (published) evidence that has resulted from non-grades-based school-specific selection procedures in the Netherlands and from recent explorations of the effect of the use of non-grades-based selection criteria on student diversity. Results The Dutch evidence is grouped into five key themes: the effect of participation in voluntary selection procedures, the assessment of pre-university extracurricular activities, the use of work samples, Dutch experiences with situational judgement tests and the effects of changing circumstances. This is followed by several lessons learned for medical schools that aim to increase their student diversity. Conclusion Over the last 30 years, important steps towards reliable and valid methods for measuring non-academic abilities have been taken. The current paper describes several lessons that can be learned from the steps taken in the Dutch context. The importance of sharing evidence gathered around the globe and building on this evidence to reach our goal of predicting who will be a good doctor is acknowledged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to literacy and numeracy skills, social and emotional skills are increasingly recognized as being essential for success in school and beyond. This commentary paper summarizes the discussions from a 2018 seminar on social and emotional learning (SEL) in tertiary education in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. The summary is framed through the lenses of competition, cooperation, and complementarity. While institutions of higher education compete for students, they cooperate by leveraging knowledge of how students succeed at a particular institution and they seek complementarity by recognizing that student/institutional fit may increase completion. Their shared goal is for students to succeed in getting to, through, and beyond tertiary education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In dealing with numerous challenges, higher education instructors need to adapt their pedagogical practices to present students with meaningful, engaged learning experiences that are likely to promote student success and adequately prepare students for the world we live in. As part of this pedagogical transformation instructors also need to consider the potential of digital technologies to assist flexible pedagogies, as well as the role that students can play as partners in transforming the learning process (C. Evans, D. Muijs, & M. Tomlinson. Engaged student learning: high-impact strategies to enhance student achievement. York: Higher Education Academy, , p. 9). In this paper the author reflects on her particular engaged scholarship approach and the important role that her students-as collaborators in the pedagogical transformation process-have played in the creation of meaningful technology-enhanced learning experiences. She describes the evolution of her action inquiry approach over more than a decade and uses one particular project to highlight the value that student voice can contribute to pedagogical transformation. She also underscores the value of a 'design for partnership' approach that can be incorporated as an underlying pedagogical approach to facilitate the creation of meaningful learning experiences in a technology-enhanced teaching and learning environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of a podcasting task on the examination performance of several hundred first-year chemistry undergraduate students. Educational researchers have established that a deep approach to learning that promotes active understanding of meaning can lead to better student outcomes, higher grades and superior retention of knowledge over time. We attempted to promote such an approach by setting a task that involved student collaboration, contextualisation of content, and communication through new media, specifically creative podcasting. Examination results were used as a source of empirical evidence of changes in understanding and retention that occurred for students who completed this task. In comparing results across 2 years on similar questions related to the podcasting topics, we found a statistically significant improvement after introduction of the podcasting task on the questions related to one of the topics on which students had actively created their own podcasts ('acids & bases'), but not on the other ('oxidisation and reduction'). Improved learning outcomes in the form of better understanding and retention over time in at least one case suggest that under some circumstances creative podcasting may indeed help to promote a deep learning approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In many countries entrance to Higher Education is determined by the performance of students in secondary school and/or the scores obtained in national exams. The relative weight of these two scores on the admission decision is a relevant policy topic, given its implication on who is admitted to university. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relative predictive power of these two measures on the academic performance of students in Higher Education. It makes use of a dataset of Bachelor students from Portuguese Higher Education institutions with detailed information about their characteristics and past achievement results. The measure of academic achievement considered is the Bachelor's final average score. The main finding is that the scores given by teachers in secondary school are better predictors of subsequent performance than the access exam scores. The relevance of factors like working status, social support and gender vary with the reputation of the degree and the type of Higher Education institution, university versus polytechnic. A noteworthy result is that the added predictive contribution of parents' education is always negligible when past success measures are already taken into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This chapter provides practical suggestions from community college students and faculty—in their own words—about how to prevent academic dishonesty and what to do if it happens. Both new and veteran professors can benefit from the wide variety of ideas that are enlightening and innovative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper reports on a study that investigated whether a flipped classroom approach enhanced perceptions of levels of engagement and skill performance among students enrolled in a Blackboard course at a Saudi university. Fifty‐eight participants were divided into control and experimental groups, which were taught using a traditional and a flipped approach respectively. To determine the effect of the approach on participants' perceived levels of engagement and skill performance, questionnaires were administered and student performance was examined in terms of quantitative descriptive analysis. The results revealed that participants in the experimental group were more active and engaged compared with those in the control group. In terms of classroom engagement specifically, participants in the experimental group exhibited greater behavioral and emotional engagement. Through the flipped approach, participants were able to study course content at home first, thereby preparing themselves to participate in relevant class activities, pose questions and engage in problem solving with peers. In addition, unlike in a traditional lecture, the instructor was able to move freely through the classroom, providing direct assistance to participants on a case‐by‐case basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much of the literature on the consequences of natural disasters has focused on their physical and psychological ramifications. Few researchers have considered how the impacts of a natural disaster can influence academic achievement. This study analyses data collected from nearly 300 students at a mid-sized, private university in the northeast United States to determine if the effects of Cyclone Sandy in 2012 are associated with measures of academic achievement. The findings reveal that experiencing headaches after the event resulted in a higher likelihood of students suffering a loss of academic motivation. In addition, experiencing headaches and a loss of academic motivation were correlated with a lower grade point average (GPA) during the semester in which Sandy made landfall. However, the more direct effects of the superstorm, including displacement and a loss of power, did not have a significant bearing on academic achievement. Lastly, the paper examines the implications for higher education policy and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital media have unique potential to amplify student voice in both high school teacher preparation and academic development for college faculty. This paper applies narrative analysis to participant descriptions of how three uses of digital media amplify student voice in the context of a single higher education consortium: (1) high school students and prospective high school teachers use email to engage in dialogue as part of a larger project within the consortium's secondary teacher preparation program, (2) undergraduate student consultants use visual mapping technology as a classroom observation tool through one of the consortium's academic development programs for college faculty and (3) graduate and undergraduate students, faculty and staff engaged in pedagogical partnerships within and beyond this consortium use on an online platform to publish reflective essays on their collaborative work. Amplifying student voice through these uses of digital media has the following actual effects: it creates the possibility for exchanges between students and teachers across space and time; it supports the development of reflective practice; and it encourages the embrace of a partnership approach to teaching and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context Being able to accurately monitor learning activities is a key element in self-regulated learning in all settings, including medical schools. Yet students' ability to monitor their progress is often limited, leading to inefficient use of study time. Interventions that improve the accuracy of students' monitoring can optimise self-regulated learning, leading to higher achievement. This paper reviews findings from cognitive psychology and explores potential applications in medical education, as well as areas for future research. Cognitive Psychology Effective monitoring depends on students' ability to generate information ('cues') that accurately reflects their knowledge and skills. The ability of these 'cues' to predict achievement is referred to as 'cue diagnosticity'. Interventions that improve the ability of students to elicit predictive cues typically fall into two categories: (i) self-generation of cues and (ii) generation of cues that is delayed after self-study. Providing feedback and support is useful when cues are predictive but may be too complex to be readily used. Application to Medical Education Limited evidence exists about interventions to improve the accuracy of self-monitoring among medical students or trainees. Developing interventions that foster use of predictive cues can enhance the accuracy of self-monitoring, thereby improving self-study and clinical reasoning. First, insight should be gained into the characteristics of predictive cues used by medical students and trainees. Next, predictive cue prompts should be designed and tested to improve monitoring and regulation of learning. Finally, the use of predictive cues should be explored in relation to teaching and learning clinical reasoning. Conclusions Improving self-regulated learning is important to help medical students and trainees efficiently acquire knowledge and skills necessary for clinical practice. Interventions that help students generate and use predictive cues hold the promise of improved self-regulated learning and achievement. This framework is applicable to learning in several areas, including the development of clinical reasoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst beneficial, the consistent and regular use of evidence to improve teaching and learning in schools is proving difficult to achieve in practice. This paper attempts to shed new light on this issue by examining the applicability of a model of rational behaviour as it relates to the notion of evidence-informed practice (EIP). Specifically, exploring the question: 'if EIP is rational behavior, why aren't all teachers engaged in it?', we examine whether the beliefs and perspectives of teachers in relation to EIP, align with their evidence-use behaviours. We then assess what factors (if any) prevent teachers/schools who wish to engage in EIP from doing so. To examine beliefs, instances of, and barriers to evidence use, we employ a Gradient Boosted Tree predictive model to analyse data from a survey of 696 practitioners in 79 schools. Our findings suggest that, should they wish to increase EIP within their schools, school leaders need to: 1) promote the vision for evidence-use (i.e. actively encourage its use); 2) illustrate how research and evidence can be effectively employed to enhance aspects of teaching and learning; and 3) establish effective learning environments, in which learning conversations around the use of evidence, can flourish. Simultaneously we caution that evidence use will never be fully or meaningfully realised unless school leaders prioritise EIP as a school commitment. Simultaneously, it is unlikely that such prioritisation will occur until EIP forms part of any education system's accountability regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores a 'pedagogy first' approach to technology enhanced learning developed by Sheffield Hallam University (SHU) as a method to encourage use of, and experimentation with, technology within teaching practice and to promote the mainstreaming of innovative practice. Through a consultative approach where all staff members were invited to contribute, SHU has created a Teaching Approaches Menu that reflects practice at the institution and can be used to explore teaching practice and appropriate supporting technology either by individuals or as part of a facilitated discussion. Background to the project is provided, along with the design philosophy and approach, including a brief review of other frameworks. The Teaching Approaches Menu is introduced, its development outlined, and some initial feedback is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The key purpose of educational welfare officers in England is to support students and parents to maximise educational opportunities for young people. However more is known about their role in relation to school attendance than in relation to pupils' educational outcomes. Using the Longitudinal Survey of Young People in England ( LSYPE), this paper investigates the characteristics of teenagers who received educational welfare contact because of their behaviour between 2004 and 2006. With observational data it is often difficult to isolate respondents exposed to a particular intervention or 'treatment', because of non-random allocation. We address this using inverse-probability-weighted regression adjustment ( IPWRA) to estimate more accurately the effect of educational welfare contact on outcomes of educational achievement and aspiration. Our findings indicate that young people who had educational welfare contact because of their behaviour were less likely to apply to university, less confident in university acceptance if they applied and had lower odds of achieving five General Certificate of Secondary Education at grades A*-C, the government benchmark for education achievement at age 16. We discuss the limitations we face and implications of these findings for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This dataset contains participant data related to the use of badging (achievement) feedback in pedagogical design. Two sections each of web-based graphic design and web design undergraduate courses were offered at the University of Central Florida. A badging system for achievements was included in one section of each. Performance, engagement and behavior-related data were collected. The dataset comprises complete data from 44 undergraduate students. This paper includes a justification for data collection, methodology and preexisting usage of the data. It also discusses limitations of the dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contributes to the empirical evidence on participation and attainment in higher education by reviewing the patterns of entry and success of undergraduate students. It examines the characteristics of entrants to different subjects and considers the role that subject studied plays in determining the likelihood of graduating with a 'good' degree. The data used were drawn from the administrative records of over 38,000 UK-domiciled undergraduate students from one 'elite' British university. Despite considerable between-subject variation in degree outcomes, multivariate analysis of the relationship between students' social and academic characteristics and achievement at university revealed that once social background and prior attainment had been controlled for, the subject students studied added little explanatory power to models predicting final degree classifications. Differences in degree outcome were most strongly related to attainment on entry to higher education, sex and ethnicity. In contrast with attainment during the earlier phases of education, the relationship with occupational class was relatively weak. Disparities between the proportion of higher level classifications awarded in different subjects can be largely explained by the background characteristics of the students who choose (and are accepted) to study on these degrees. This finding has particular implications for policies aimed at increasing both the number and quality of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics ( STEM) graduates in what is often argued to be a 'shortage' or 'priority' area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This paper examines the effects of state merit-based student aid programs on college attendance and degree completion. Our primary analysis uses microdata from the 2000 United States Census and 2001-2010 American Community Survey to estimate the effects of exposure to merit programs on educational outcomes for 25 states that adopted such programs by 2004. We also utilize administrative data for the University System of Georgia to look more in depth at the effects of exposure to the HOPE Scholarship on degree completion. We find strong consistent evidence that exposure to state merit aid programs have no meaningfully positive effect on college completion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the participation of 119 students in an online asynchronous forum as part of an academic course on statistical methods was evaluated. The pattern of accesses during the course was analyzed by means of the cumulative mean function. Taking into account the times (hours) at which accesses occurred, it is possible to achieve more accurate and more sensitive assessment of the role of concomitant variables (gender, final mark of the high school attended, examination outcome). As far as academic achievement was concerned, it emerged that graduating probability within 3.5 years from the end of the course was related only to a regular posting activity and not to the overall number of accesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The restructuring of the Australian labour market decreased demand for low-skilled workers and increased demand for highly skilled workers and professionals further strengthening the relationship between educational and occupational attainment. To satisfy the demand for highly educated workers, the government reorganised the higher education sector increasing the number of universities and trebling the number of places for domestic undergraduate students. Analysing data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, this paper examines the association between parents' education and the likelihood of graduating from university for six birth cohorts of Australians. Overall, the findings suggest that although the expansion of the higher education sector in Australia provided alternative pathways into university, differences in educational attainment, on both quantitative and qualitative dimensions, persist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background After graduation from secondary school, academic tasks (i.e., learning contents) are no longer structured in terms of school subjects (i.e., English, mathematics). Therefore, learners lack past performance and mastery experience to inform their expectancy of success (i.e., ability beliefs) regarding novel tasks. Aims In this paper, we investigate how individuals establish expectancy of success regarding novel academic tasks. We hypothesize that individuals draw on ability beliefs regarding known tasks that are deemed similar to novel tasks to estimate expectancy of success (generalization hypothesis). Sample(s) Participants were first-year students ( n = 354) in the field of business administration (Study 1), and (Study 2) psychology students predominantly ( n = 174). Methods In Study 1, we analysed relations between ability beliefs (i.e., academic self-concepts of ability) regarding four school subjects and four fields of study varying in similarity. In Study 2, we assessed mastery experience regarding two school subjects and expectancy of success (i.e., self-efficacy) regarding a fictitious course manipulating participants' similarity judgement. We analysed the data using mainly structural equation modelling. Results Results support the generalization hypothesis regarding both indicators of expectancy of success (i.e., self-concept and self-efficacy). Subject-specific self-concepts of ability predict study-related self-concepts of ability according to individuals' similarity judgements. Subject-specific mastery experience predicts expectancy of success only if the respective school subject is emphasized in the course description. Conclusion Individuals apparently draw on established ability beliefs regarding known tasks to inform their expectancy of success regarding novel tasks. Findings further our understanding of the development of motivation to learn in adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The flipped classroom has become more widely used in engineering education. However, a systematic and quantitative assessment of its achievement outcomes has not been conducted to date. Purpose: To address this gap, we examined the findings from comparative articles published between 2008 and 2017 through a meta‐analysis to summarize the overall effects of the flipped classroom on student achievement in engineering education. Scope/Method: We searched and analyzed journal and conference publications on flipped classroom studies in engineering education in K‐12 and higher education contexts. Twenty‐nine comparative interventions were included in a meta‐analysis involving 2,590 students exposed to flipped classroom and 2,739 students exposed to traditional lectures. A content analysis was also conducted to determine how the flipped engineering classroom benefits student learning. Conclusions: The meta‐analysis comparing these 29 traditional—flipped interventions in relation to student achievement showed an overall significant effect in favor of the flipped classroom over traditional lecturing (Hedges' g = 0.289, 95% CI [0.165, 0.414], p < .001). A moderator analysis showed that the effect of the flipped classroom was further enhanced when instructors offered a brief review at the start of face‐to‐face classes. Our qualitative findings suggest that self‐paced learning and more problem‐solving activities were the two most frequently reported benefits that promoted student learning. Based on quantitative and qualitative support, several implications are identified for future practice, such as offering a brief in‐class review of preclass materials. Some recommendations for future research are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the UN Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm in 1972, higher education institutions (HEIs) have been adapting to assume their social role in supporting societies in promoting sustainable lifestyles. However, HEIs are complex institutions composed of several interdependent subsystems. Sustainable improvement requires holistic assessment measures to comply with established goals. To date, few studies have focused on comparing the different perceptions of sustainability in HEIs and considering the views of the academic community in shaping the efforts and better disseminating sustainable development initiatives. To fill this gap, this work aimed to implement a methodology that compares the perceptions of sustainability and the implemented actions among members of HEIs to show the discrepancies between perceptions and facts. Many studies report either the perception of members of the academic community or the technical assessment of the sustainable performance of the institution in isolation. The novelty of this work lies in developing a tool that allows the use of a similar scale to compare the perception of users of academic services with the valuation attributed by technicians responsible for implementing sustainable development initiatives at HEIs. Analysing of these results enables the identification of dimensions with discrepancies, guiding managers as they carry out actions to promote greater community engagement in implementing sustainability initiatives that boost the consolidation of these values in the institutional culture. Additionally, it is highlighted that the proposed methodology could be adapted for use in other types of institutions, maintaining the same benefits described here. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whole university approaches to student mental health and well‐being increasingly involve university counselling and mental health services (UCMHSs) as key stakeholders in higher education and the fulfilment of good academic outcomes. However, previous research using routine outcome measures has focussed on psychological distress only. Research is needed to demonstrate the value of university counselling on academic outcomes. This study aimed at profiling the psychological distress of a student sample according to the Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation—Outcome Measure (CORE‐OM); measuring the change in perceived impact of problems on academic outcomes, and measuring the perceived impact of counselling on academic outcomes. Students from two UK university counselling services completed the CORE‐OM and the Counselling Impact on Academic Outcomes (CIAO) questionnaire as part of routine practice. After counselling, 67.4% (n = 323) of students with planned endings to counselling showed at least reliable improvement on the CORE‐OM. Significant reductions in the perceived impact of problems on all academic outcomes were also found. On average, 83% (n = 398) of students found counselling helpful for academic outcomes to at least a limited extent. University counselling was found to reduce psychological distress and the impact of problems on academic outcomes. Psychometric examination of the CIAO tool is warranted to strengthen its use. The need for robust data across UCMHSs is demonstrated by both the strengths and limitations of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skills examinations use a cut-off score of 50% to separate good and bad performing students. However, a fixed cut-off score is only associated with students ability to pass exams. The difficulty of the exam or variability between examiners in marking student's performance is not being taken into account. The Online Marking Tool incorporates various Global Rating Scales (GRS) marking professional competence as Pass, Borderline, Fail, Good and Excellent. Borderline Regression Analysis is used to determine a flexible cut-off score. The Online Marking Tool contains of an OSCE Management Tool to plan and execute Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE), a OSCE station bank and a Result Analysis tool including a fully-fledged Borderline Regression Analysis pack (Excel export pack). Individual (blinded) scores at item level are correlated with the GRS of Fail, Borderline, Pass, Good and Excellent or variations of this GRS (Borderline Fail and Borderline Pass; Fail, Borderline, Pass). Borderline Group Average, the average mean score of those students being marked as 'Borderline' is compared with Borderline Regression Method 1 and 2 (Borderline Fail e.g. Pass) to determine a flexible cut-off score. Twelve prestigious universities are currently using this unique online marking tool for clinical skills assessments. Over 200 OSCE were successfully administered and analysed using this software solution. Costs of the labour intense paper trail of regular OSCE are reduced by 70% and the error reduction in the paper trail is reduced by 30%. Approximately 19% more students fail after introducing Borderline Regression Analysis, together with a minimum amount of stations that need to be passed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This meta‐analysis aimed to reveal the extent to which perceived teachers' autonomy support affects academic achievement and motivation among higher education students. Overall, 153 correlations between perceived autonomy support and achievement‐related variables (academic performance, motivation, basic psychological needs satisfaction, and engagement) were collected through a systematic review. They were integrated to estimate population correlation coefficients using meta‐analytic procedures. The effect sizes (i.e., estimated population correlation coefficients) were small for academic performance, medium to large for autonomous motivation and basic psychological needs satisfaction, and small to medium for engagement. The estimated population correlations between autonomy support and motivation constructs were slightly different across countries. These results suggest that autonomy‐supportive teaching can be beneficial for higher education students' educational success in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's higher education system has undergone a rapid expansion over the last two decades. By drawing on hand‐collected data, we explore students' experiences in college and in the labor market post‐graduation in the wake of this expansion. According to our data, the largest employer of college graduates in the labor market was the state sector, followed by the domestic private sector. To explain the returns to college education in China, we explore three mechanisms: human capital, social networks, and signaling. We find that human capital measures, apart from a student's college English test scores, cannot explain the college wage premium, whereas both social networks (for example, membership of the Communist Party) and signaling matter significantly. This seems to indicate that in China, connections are crucial for student success in the labor market, whereas the higher education system itself is more a system for selecting talented individuals than it is for educating them. Finally, students allocate their time accordingly, for example, by spending more time studying English in college than any other subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Studies show that student mental health has continued to deteriorate over the years. Developing strengths‐based approaches could aid educators in the development of Psychological Capital (PsyCap) and positive protective factors in students to support their mental well‐being and aid in their success; however, little is known of the subject experience of educators who attempt this. Aims: This study aims to understand the experience of award‐winning educators; both in their attempts to cultivate positive protective factors in students and in challenges to the pursuit of that goal during the shifting academic landscape at the emergence of COVID‐19. Sample: Six award‐winning educators from a British university. Methods: Participants were interviewed over video calls in this research design using semi‐structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Results & Discussion: The results showed two major themes; pressures for academics and strength‐based approached to cultivating PsyCap. These themes reflected that educators saw an urgent need for students to develop resilience as they struggle to handle subjective failure and that students struggle with imposter syndrome. The educators identified the challenges as feeling taken for granted, having unmanageable workloads along high expectations placed on them. Conclusion: COVID‐19 has added significantly to the workloads of educators and demonstrated students' need for resilience. This research identifies the experiences of educators trying to improve strengths‐based practice while identifying the challenges of pursuing that goal in the changing pedagogy post–COVID‐19. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]