Career and Technical Education Experiences Relationship to Technology Attitudes, Self-regulation and Grit

Career and Technical Education (CTE) secondary school experiences have a positive impact on career development and academic achievement. This study explores other positive impacts such as technology attitudes, persistence, and cognitive traits that are associated with career and academic success. This study investigated the relationships between high school CTE experiences of 103 pre-service education students and technology attitudes, grit, and self-regulated learning. The results demonstrate a statistically significant positive correlation between the number of CTE courses taken in high school and technology dependence. Similarly, there is a positive correlation between CTE courses and self-regulatory skills. Grit was positively correlated with internship experiences in high school

Eye quietness and quiet eye in expert and novice golf performance: an electrooculographic analysis

Quiet eye (QE) is the final ocular fixation on the target of an action (e.g., the ball in golf putting). Camerabased eye-tracking studies have consistently found longer QE durations in experts than novices; however, mechanisms underlying QE are not known. To offer a new perspective we examined the feasibility of measuring the QE using electrooculography (EOG) and developed an index to assess ocular activity across time: eye quietness (EQ). Ten expert and ten novice golfers putted 60 balls to a 2.4 m distant hole. Horizontal EOG (2ms resolution) was recorded from two electrodes placed on the outer sides of the eyes. QE duration was measured using a EOG voltage threshold and comprised the sum of the pre-movement and post-movement initiation components. EQ was computed as the standard deviation of the EOG in 0.5 s bins from –4 to +2 s, relative to backswing initiation: lower values indicate less movement of the eyes, hence greater quietness. Finally, we measured club-ball address and swing durations. T-tests showed that total QE did not differ between groups (p = .31); however, experts had marginally shorter pre-movement QE (p = .08) and longer post-movement QE (p < .001) than novices. A group × time ANOVA revealed that experts had less EQ before backswing initiation and greater EQ after backswing initiation (p = .002). QE durations were inversely correlated with EQ from –1.5 to 1 s (rs = –.48 - –.90, ps = .03 - .001). Experts had longer swing durations than novices (p = .01) and, importantly, swing durations correlated positively with post-movement QE (r = .52, p = .02) and negatively with EQ from 0.5 to 1s (r = –.63, p = .003). This study demonstrates the feasibility of measuring ocular activity using EOG and validates EQ as an index of ocular activity. Its findings challenge the dominant perspective on QE and provide new evidence that expert-novice differences in ocular activity may reflect differences in the kinematics of how experts and novices execute skills

Mental Health Literacy: How to Obtain and Maintain Positive Mental Health

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AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHER GRIT, TECHNOLOGY SELF-EFFICACY, AND TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION

The use of educational technology applications has grown tremendously in the last decade. Instructors are now equipped with hardware and software applications previously unavailable, such as mobile and interactive technologies. These tools can have tremendous impact on students’ learning and teacher practices. Teachers can improve their assessment capabilities through technology integration, provide better learning opportunities for students with learning disabilities, and promote deeper learning practices. Due to these benefits, budgets at the federal, state, and local levels of the United States now have specific allocations regarding technology-related purchases. Nevertheless, barriers remain regarding the effective integration of technologies in public schools. Student and teacher access to technology can be limited when at school versus at home. Internet access or slow speeds can drastically impact educational access in rural communities. Such differences in access can limit teachers\u27 and students\u27 experiences with technologies, restricting instructor technology background and student learning outcomes. School district policies regarding testing requirements can constrain teachers\u27 use of technology for instruction. Additionally, professional development opportunities for technology training can focus solely on introducing new technologies and not on effective integration strategies. While some of these variables can be addressed by increasing access to technology and shifting technology policies to increase teachers’ daily use, non-cognitive factors, such as teacher levels of technology self-efficacy and grit, may play a role in helping teachers use technology more effectively. This study addressed non-cognitive factors of self-efficacy and grit and their role in teacher levels of technology integration. A rural school district was chosen to evaluate high school teachers\u27 level of technology integration, technology self-efficacy, and grit. Exploratory Factor analysis, Correlation analysis, and hierarchical linear regression modeling were used to determine the correlations of grit and self-efficacy with technology integration. While self-efficacy correlates with technology integration for providing students with content, grit is correlated with how teachers use technology for tasks relating to higher-order thinking processes such as student publication. This study offers a foray into understanding the relationship between grit and technology integration across multiple high school locations in a rural district. The application of non-cognitive psychometrics on technology integration may support educators in advancing student use of technology to become deep-conceptual, metacognitive learners

Measuring Positive Psychology Constructs to Determine the Effect of a Well-being Intervention at GateWay Community College

In partnership with GateWay Community College (GWCC), the following service-learning project outlines an application plan to implement validated measures of positive psychology constructs through GWCC’s Strategies for College Success (CPD150) course. Supported by a situation analysis and literature review, constructs of Hope, Grit and Career Decision Self-Efficacy were identified as key constructs to be measured in alignment with the course curriculum and research demonstrating a positive correlation to student achievement and well-being outcomes. The application plan describes the identified measures for each construct, resources to support implementation within CPD150, and recommendations for additional measures and limitations

Supporting First-Generation Students’ Adjustment to College With High-Impact Practices

This qualitative case study describes some of the issues faced by incoming first-generation college students at a private, 4-year institution in the northwest. Using constructs drawn from social cognitive theory and social cognitive career theory, it explores how high-impact practices such as learning communities, writing-intensive courses, and ePortfolios might impact first-generation students’ adjustment during their first year of college. The findings of the research on students’ writing in their first-year composition course suggest that the cumulative impact of engaging in multiple high-impact practices improves students’ literacy and study skills. In addition, these educational practices appear to increase students’ self-appraisal of their academic abilities in general and their institutional commitment. As a consequence of their increased self-efficacy and engagement, this study suggests that students are more likely to experience better academic outcomes, leading them to persist in their studies and be retained after their first year at college

The Relationship Between Secondary Teachers\u27 Grit and Self-Efficacy Beliefs on Classroom Management and Student Engagement

Teaching as a profession is becoming more and more difficult. School districts are facing a teacher shortage, creating greater focus on recruitment and retention efforts. The majority of these efforts focus on novice teachers (within the first five years) providing support and assistance to help keep them in the classroom. Less effort is placed upon assisting the veteran teacher in maintaining effort in the classroom and avoiding burnout. Those who experience burnout or become disheartened show a reduction in effort negatively impacting student achievement. The purpose of this correlational study was to explore the relationship between teacher passion and perseverance (grit) and teacher sense of self-efficacy in classroom management and student engagement among high school teachers. This study was grounded in Bandura’s self-efficacy theory, Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory, and Duckworth’s grit theory. The participants included 92 teachers drawn from a convenience sample across the four high schools in a large district in central South Carolina. Data collected from the Grit-S Scale and Teacher Self-Efficacy Scale was analyzed utilizing a product-moment correlation coefficient (Pearson’s r) to answer the questions of the relationship between grit and self-efficacy in classroom management and student engagement. This study increased the body of knowledge in the research of these constructs among veteran teachers

The study of grit in engineering education research: a systematic literature review

Researchontheroleofgrit–definedasbothperseveranceandpassionfor long-termgoals–onhumanperformancehasbeenconductedforthepast decade. It has been suggested that this non-cognitive factor is a better predictor of students’ retention than traditional academic measures. These findings hold relevance for engineering education research but studies on this area are still scarce. This paper provides a systematic review of the current state of research on grit and its correlates in engineering higher education research. Publications were identified using three types of databases specific to engineering education; a final set of 31 relevant records was analysed by type of population, methods, research topics and main results. Most of the reviewed studies implemented quantitative methodologies to assess grit and also used one of the two versions of Duckworth’s Grit scale. Key findings are that in engineering education research, both the conceptualisation of grit and research reporting procedures have been inconsistent. Such inconsistency hinders interpretation of the impact of grit in engineering education. In response, new research avenues and best practices for reporting are proffered

Student Perceptions of Grit, Emotional-Social Intelligence, and the Acquisition of Non-Cognitive Skills in the Cristo Rey Corporate Work Study Program

p\u3eThe Catholic Church has long emphasized an “option for the poor” and relied heavily on its schools to assist in providing the education necessary to help families escape poverty (Benson, Yeager, Guerra & Manno, 1986; Bryk, Lee, & Holland, 1993; Buetow, 1988; Convey, 1992; Greeley, 1982; Neal, 1997; United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, USCCB, 1998; York, 1996). Catholic schools in the United States are closing at a steady rate from a lack of funding, and this has created an ongoing problem for the outreach efforts of the Church and the low-income families with the greatest need (Brinig & Garnett, 2014; United States Department of Education, US DOE, 2008). In addition, families living in poverty have difficulty meeting the financial requirements and tuition demands of the schools that remain after taking care of basic needs for survival (Hudley, 2013; Rumberger, 2013). The Society of Jesus created Cristo Rey schools to provide one solution to this crisis facing the poor. Of paramount importance to low-income students seeking success in their educational and professional endeavors are non-cognitive skills such as grit and emotional-social intelligence (Bar-On, 2006; Bar-On & Parker, 2000; Duckworth, Peterson, Matthews, & Kelly, 2007; Duckworth & Quinn, 2009; Gardner, 1983; Goleman, 1995; Salovey & Mayer, 1990; Tough, 2012). With regards to the aforementioned non-cognitive abilities and traits, the purpose of this study was threefold. First, it measured perceptions of grade 11 and 12 students from three Cristo Rey schools regarding their non-cognitive skills of grit and emotional-social intelligence (intrapersonal, interpersonal, stress management, and adaptability). Secondly, it explored the extent to which these skills are perceived to be utilized and enhanced through their participation in the Cristo Rey Network’s (CRN) Corporate Work-Study Program (CWSP). Finally, it identified what further skills and training the CRN students identified as necessary to ensure their success in the workplace. The results indicated the students had a mean level of grit (M = 3.5) indicating responses on the Likert-style scale directly between “Somewhat like me” and “Mostly like me.” For the ESI subscales, students recorded a mean score for intrapersonal (M = 13.47) approximating the choice “Just a little true of me,” and mean scores for interpersonal (M = 19.24) that placed most student responses for this subscale between the values “Pretty much true of me” and “Very much true of me,” and mean scores for stress management (M = 17.22) and adaptability (M = 16.05) that were above the middle point ESI subscale value of 15 and just below the choice “Pretty much true of me.” The three categories marked by the students with the highest frequency as “developed in the CWSP” were: social responsibility, interpersonal relationships, and flexibility. The categories least often chosen by the students included: self-awareness, self-regard, assertiveness, independence, empathy, and impulse control. Finally the students most often responded they would like training in the intrapersonal and interpersonal domains, with communication, social, and computer skills as the most frequently requested skill sets. The participants indicated they would like additional training, workshops, classes, tutorials, and practice for what they are facing in the workplace in additional to training they already receive