Effective curricula for at-risk students in vocational education:a study of teachers’ practice

Abstract Background This study focused upon a curriculum for at-risk students in vocational education aimed at enhancing students’ motivation and engagement for learning. The study explored teachers’ view on effective curricular characteristics and teachers’ strategies to create positive learning experiences for students. Methods Qualitative research has been conducted regarding four curricula for at-risk students; data were collected and examined by means of 16 focus group interviews with teachers and analysis of relevant documents. Results Teachers pointed out the central position of the student, resulting in individual trajectories. Teachers used peer group dynamics, job orientation and sports as tool for student development. Teachers regarded themselves as coaches, as experts in sport activities and as group managers. For positive learning experiences two key curricular characteristics have been identified: (1) equality in the relationship between student and teacher, (2) a positive fit between the curriculum and the students

Development of the clinical learning evaluation questionnaire for undergraduate clinical education: factor structure, validity, and reliability study

BACKGROUND: Teaching and learning of clinical skills for undergraduate medical students usually takes place during the clinical clerkship. Therefore, it is of vital importance to ensure the effectiveness of the rotations within this clerkship. The aims of this study were to develop an instrument that measures the effectiveness of the clinical learning environment, to determine its factor structure, and to find first evidence for the reliability and validity of the total scale and the different factors. METHODS: The Clinical Learning Evaluation Questionnaire (CLEQ) is an instrument, consisting of 40 items, which have been developed after consideration of the results of a qualitative study that investigated the important factors influencing clinical learning, both from the perspective of students, as well as teachers. Results of relevant literature that investigated this issue were also incorporated in the CLEQ. This instrument was administered to a sample of students (N = 182) from three medical colleges in Riyadh city, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The factor structure of the CLEQ (Principal component analysis, Oblimin rotation) and reliability of the factor scales (Cronbach’s α) were determined. Hypotheses concerning the correlations between the different factors were tested to investigate their convergent and divergent validity. RESULTS: One hundred and nine questionnaires were returned. The factor analysis yielded six factors: F1 Cases (8 items), F2 Authenticity of clinical experience (8 items), F3 Supervision (8 items), F4 Organization of the doctor-patient encounter (4 items), F5 Motivation to learn (5 items), and F6 Self awareness (4 items). The overall internal consistency (α) of the CLEQ was 0.88, and the reliabilities (Cronbach’s α) of the six factors varied from .60 to .86. Hypotheses concerning the correlations between the different factors were partly confirmed, which supported the convergent validity of the factors, but not their divergent validity. Significant differences were found between the scores of the students of the three different schools on the factors Supervision and Organization of patient-doctor encounter. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study demonstrated that CLEQ is a multidimensional and reliable instrument. It can be utilized as an evaluation tool for clinical teaching activities, both by educators as well as students. Further research is needed into the validity of the CLEQ

Cigarette smoking among female students in five medical and nonmedical colleges

Hamza M Abdulghani,1 Norah A Alrowais,2 Ali I Alhaqwi,3 Ahmed Alrasheedi,2 Mohammed Al-Zahir,2 Ahmed Al-Madani,2 Abdulaziz Al-Eissa,2 Bader Al-Hakmi,2 Redwan Takroni,2 Farah Ahmad1 1Department of Medical Education, 2Department of Family and Community Medicine, King Saud University, 3Department of Family Medicine, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Objectives: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of smoking, knowledge about the ill effects of smoking on health, and the influence of family members' smoking habits among Saudi female students. Methods: This is a type of cross-sectional study. A sample of 1,070 female students was selected by a nonrandom and convenient sampling method from five colleges (Medicine, Business and Administration, Computer Sciences, Education, and Languages and Translation) of King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A self-administrated questionnaire was used to determine the personal, social, and educational characteristics of the respondents. In addition, questions about their smoking types, status, duration of smoking, knowledge about the ill effects of smoking, daily cigarette consumption, and reasons for quitting smoking were included. Results: The students' response rate was 85%. The prevalence of current smoking was 4.3% and 5.6% for cigarettes and water-pipes, respectively, whereas 3.9% of the participants were ex-smokers. The prevalence of current smoking was highest in the College of Business and Administration (10.81%) and lowest in the College of Medicine (0.86%). The majority (77%) of the smokers' parents (current and ex-smokers) were also smokers. More than half (54%) of the smokers started their smoking habit for entertainment, and 44.4% of the participants did not know that smoking causes serious health problems. The most common factors for quitting smoking were health concerns (54%), religious beliefs (29%), and parent's advice (17%). Conclusion: The study concludes that the prevalence of smoking varies in different subject streams and that family and friends have a great influence on individuals starting or stopping smoking. Extensive health education programs are needed to educate young women on the health hazards of smoking and help stop them from smoking. Keywords: smoking prevalence, quitting smoking, female students, cigarettes per da