Book Review: Soul Care: Christian Faith and Academic Administration

Soul care: Christian faith and academic administration. Edited by Heie, H. and Sargent, M. (2012). Abilene, TX: Abilene Christian University Press. As the editors of this book state in the introduction, little has been written about how to provide effective academic leadership to a Christian institution of higher education. This collection of essays was written for an audience of academic administrators under the assumption that most individuals who find themselves in such a role have very little formal preparation for their responsibilities. Furthermore, academic leaders in Christian higher education in particular generally come into such positions with a great deal of experience in their respective fields, but with very little theological preparation needed to make day to day decisions in a faith-based environment. The 16 essays in this 17-chapter book are written by practitioners in the field of academic administration in Christian higher education and are designed to offer new and prospective academic administrators insight into the highly complex and nuanced field of academic leadership set within a Christian context

Preparing occupational therapy students for practice placements: Initial evidence

Practice placements are a crucial part of occupational therapy education, yet they can be a stressful experience for students, practice placement educators and the university. This may contribute to a shortage of placements. The effectiveness of a 4-week preparation with second-level full-time students at Brunel University, prior to a practice placement was evaluated by a two-part analysis. First, the students’ perspective on the effectiveness of the preparation is presented. This is followed by a comparison of placement grades between the current cohort of students (academic year 2006-2007), who attended the preparation and the previous cohort of students (academic year 2005-2006), who did not have this opportunity

Postdoctoral research positions as preparation for an academic career

Discussions of the nature and purpose of postdoctoral contract research positions is an area where assumptions and stereotypes tend to predominate. This is due to (a) recent changes in the higher education sector that have impacted on postdoctoral positions in a way that conflicts with traditional expectations, and (b) a relative lack of data and publications on postdoctoral positions, which creates a climate in which stereotypes can continue relatively unchallenged. This is unfortunate, because it limits the ability of supervisors to provide sound career advice to their postdocs as well as the ability of postdocs to make informed career decisions. Based on an extensive study of PDRs in Australia, this paper challenges four commonly held assumptions: 1. that postdoctoral researchers want an academic career; 2. that postdoctoral research positions provide a stepping stone to academic careers; 3. that postdoctoral research positions provide an opportunity for novice researchers to become increasingly independent; and 4. that postdoctoral research positions provide an opportunity for the incumbents to concentrate solely on research

Latino Youth Finishing College: The Role of Selective Pathways

Assesses the dimensions of the gap in bachelor degree completions between Latinos and whites and some factors that contribute to it. Focuses on the differing fates of young people who graduate from high school with similar levels of academic preparation

Building Bridges: Using the Office Consultation Project to Connect Students to Theory and Practice

The Office Consultation Project is an innovative capstone project that partners graduate students in student affairs preparation programs with academic and student affairs practitioners. It provides an opportunity for students to apply research and scholarship to practical settings, while giving practitioners new insight into their units, additional work support, and expanded professional networks. The project benefits graduate preparation programs by cultivating cross-divisional networking and increasing campus awareness about the student affairs profession that could generate new practicum and assistantship opportunities

Combining international student social and academic transition online

The social and academic acculturation of a large number of newly arrived international students challenges even the most prepared of UK higher education institutions. How best to facilitate students’ social need to form new friendships with that of formally preparing them for the often unfamiliar academic demands of a different educational system? This paper will present a pre-arrival online course delivered to over 2,000 international students each summer, which combines student-centred socialisation with institution-driven academic preparation. From the initial data, it will draw some tentative conclusions about how far this approach could help facilitate students’ transition in advance of their arrival

Latin American perspectives to internationalize undergraduate information technology education

The computing education community expects modern curricular guidelines for information technology (IT) undergraduate degree programs by 2017. The authors of this work focus on eliciting and analyzing Latin American academic and industry perspectives on IT undergraduate education. The objective is to ensure that the IT curricular framework in the IT2017 report articulates the relationship between academic preparation and the work environment of IT graduates in light of current technological and educational trends in Latin America and elsewhere. Activities focus on soliciting and analyzing survey data collected from institutions and consortia in IT education and IT professional and educational societies in Latin America; these activities also include garnering the expertise of the authors. Findings show that IT degree programs are making progress in bridging the academic-industry gap, but more work remains

Reading Muscles: Preparation for Standardized Testing in High School Students

As educators, it is our responsibility to help students in their journey to academic growth and discovery. Being such, many teachers find themselves struggling for that perfect balance between making students more comfortable and pushing them outside of their comfort zones. Many Language Arts teachers, if asked, would likely state that when they hold test preparation activities, the class is run in a relatively similar manner as it might be on any other given day. Yes, the reading material and subsequent questions might have been acquired from a test preparation booklet appropriate to the students’ grade level, but most other circumstances remain stable, unchanged. Students are often only expected to complete one reading and one coinciding set of questions with minimal limitations on where and from whom they might attain assistance when a problem occurs. The material is test preparation-worthy but the situation is not

Expectations of Field Supervisors in Kenya: Implications for Community-based Human Service Practicums

Community-based learning (CBL), which provides opportunities for undergraduate students to develop disciplinary and work-related knowledge and skills, is increasingly becoming an integral component of higher education. Similar to other countries, there is a widespread belief among employers in Kenya that there is a mismatch between university programs and labour market demands. In order to enhance the employability of graduates, many departments at a Kenyan university have incorporated work-integrated experiential learning opportunities such as practicums in the educational experience for undergraduate students. The aim of this article is to describe the expectations of field supervisors in host organisations participitating in a community-based human services program at a Kenyan University. Fifteen purposively sampled field supervisors participated in individual face-to-face interviews that included questions about their understanding of the department’s expectations of student learning activities during practicums, knowledge of the academic preparation of students in the program and challenges associated with the supervisory role. Six field supervisors exhibited some level of understanding of the expectations of their role in working with practicum students, while nine field supervisors indicated unclear expectations of the students’ practicum experience. Thematic analysis revealed key themes related to: (1) student abilities, learning goals and their contributions to the host organisations, and (2) the academic program of study and academic support available from the university faculty or staff to field supervisors. The results of our study revealed a lack of clarity around practicum expectations for most of the field supervisors interviewed and insufficient preparation of the community-based organisations to host a practicum student. Several recommendations are identified to clarify the expectations of community partner organisations and the staff providing student supervision to ensure benefits for both students and the host organisation. Results from this study can be used to inform the development or improvement of practicum opportunities focused on producing a skilled workforce

Elementary 1st grade teachers' views on the practices in the 12-week adaptation and preparation process

A functional preparation process that can be conducted before basal reading and writing practices in the 1st grade can be effective for children to start reading and writing successfully. This study aims to examine teachers' views on the practices in the 12-week adaptation and preparation process of 1st graders. Qualitative research method was used in the study. Holistic single case study design was employed in the study that was conducted in the spring term of 2012-2013 academic year. The participants were 1st grade teachers (n=66) and the data were gathered through an open-ended question survey. The data were analysed using the content analysis technique. A majority of the teachers participated in the study followed the 12-week adaptation and preparation process in their classes. The teachers thought that it was not suitable to teach two different age groups in the same class, and the remaining time after 12 weeks was not enough for teaching and reinforcing basal reading and writing