When Learning Counts: Rethinking Licenses for School Leaders

Recommends restructuring state licensing systems to focus on the skills and knowledge leaders need to improve learning, and better aligning licenses with the current job demands on principals

Influence of Emotional Intelligence, Motivation and Resilience on Academic Performance and the Adoption of Healthy Lifestyle Habits among Adolescents

Included among the basic objectives of Physical Education (PE) classes is the consolidation of habits of a healthy lifestyle among adolescents. However, the main studies in this field have focused on cognitive aspects related to students during these classes, yet they ignore the role that emotions can play in the adoption of future habits. Objectives: To analyze how emotions (emotional intelligence and emotional state) can influence the resilience and motivation of adolescents, as well as academic performance and adoption of healthy lifestyle habits. Methodology: 615 secondary school students between the ages of 14 and 19 participated (M = 16.02; SD = 1.57) in the study. A structural equations model was developed using the main variables and by applying some of the principles of Self-Determination Theory. The results show that emotional intelligence is positively related to positive emotions and negatively related to negative emotions. Positive emotions positively predict both self-motivation towards physical education classes and resilience. Resilience positively predicts self-motivation. Finally, self-motivation acts as a predictor of both academic performance and regular participation in physical activity. Conclusions: This study successfully shows the importance of focusing on emotions in PE classes inasmuch as emotion increases the tendency to get good grades and maintain active lifestyle habits. In this sense, focusing on the emotions of students in PE could prove quite beneficial

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 Effect of Musical Characteristics, Exposure, and Individual Difference Variables on String Student Musical Preference: Implications for Introducing Western Art Music

This study explores the influences of various musical, environmental, and personal factors on string students\u27 preferences for selections of Western Art Music. The purpose of this study was to provide insight into the information of music preferences by young string students in order to allow teachers to introduce Western Art music most effectively. Participants (n = 498) from northwest Arkansas public school string programs were given the String Student Music Preference Questionnaire (SSMPQ) developed by the author. Part One of the SS~MPQ measured preference for six one-minute selections of Western Art music by Beethoven, Berlioz, Mahle1; Saint-Siiens, and Schoenberg. In Part Two, the researcher collected data on participants\u27 age, gender, musical experience, social influence and listening habits. It was determined that the musical examples with characteristics similar to popular music were most preferred. These characteristics included: fast tempo, steady rhythm, stable dynamics, identifiable instntmentation, and moderate complexity. Age, social influences, and listening habits did not significantly affect preference, while the gender and the live attendance portion of the musical experience variables significantly influenced participant preference

Influence of Personal Preferences on Link Dynamics in Social Networks

We study a unique network dataset including periodic surveys and electronic logs of dyadic contacts via smartphones. The participants were a sample of freshmen entering university in the Fall 2011. Their opinions on a variety of political and social issues and lists of activities on campus were regularly recorded at the beginning and end of each semester for the first three years of study. We identify a behavioral network defined by call and text data, and a cognitive network based on friendship nominations in ego-network surveys. Both networks are limited to study participants. Since a wide range of attributes on each node were collected in self-reports, we refer to these networks as attribute-rich networks. We study whether student preferences for certain attributes of friends can predict formation and dissolution of edges in both networks. We introduce a method for computing student preferences for different attributes which we use to predict link formation and dissolution. We then rank these attributes according to their importance for making predictions. We find that personal preferences, in particular political views, and preferences for common activities help predict link formation and dissolution in both the behavioral and cognitive networks.Comment: 12 page

Mobilizing Communities to Support the Literacy Development of Urban Youth: A Conceptual Framework and Strategic Planning Model

Offers a strategic planning model for community mobilization around adolescent literacy development. Explores spheres of influence; strategies for schools, community groups, and families; outcomes; and lessons learned from other community change efforts

Academic Performance among Student Library Employees: How Library Employment Impacts Grade Point Average and Perception of Success

The study of college student employment and its effects on retention, academics, and student satisfaction is not new and yet has come to varying conclusions; also, very little has been reviewed on what impact a student’s place of employment may have on their academics. This research examines student employees at a college library and how that specific type of employment has impacted the academic success of those employees. The study used a combination of data, comparing their cumulative grade point average with survey results asking about their perception of the effect library employment had on their academics. The overwhelming majority of students felt that library employment had a positive impact on their academics and this perception was confirmed by their collective, average GPAs when compared to that of their peers. This research expands the knowledge not only in the potential impact of place on academics but also in how college libraries perceive their impact upon student employees and the benefits of such employment

Dispositions: Real-Time Active Practice

This longitudinal case study followed new teachers from one small undergraduate pre-service program into the first years of teaching. The researcher’s initial study (Hughes, 2014) examined dispositional awareness and development of participants using personal interview data from program graduates, interview data from program faculty, and archived course artifacts. The current study extends the research and shines a light on dispositional development from pre-service through the fourth year of teaching. Using personal interviews, a focus group meeting, and archived course artifacts, the study affirms the significance of dispositions in pre-service preparation and professional practice. The study validates that participants carry dispositional awareness into the fourth year of teaching and also reveals a variety of strategies that new teachers use to grow dispositions. Of significance is the finding that new teachers require a set of dispositional practices for career longevity. This finding exposes the need for increased professional development opportunities related to dispositions during and beyond the first years of teaching

The Teacher as Servant Leader: Revisited

This essay revisits an original conference proceedings chapter from 1997, examining the biblical and educational underpinnings for the concept of teacher and servant leader