CO-PARENTING FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO ACADEMIC SUCCESS

This study assessed factors contributed from parents who live in two different households and that lead to academic success. Data were collected from undergraduates enrolled in a Midwestern satellite university. Academic success was defined by university enrollment, grade point average, and standardized testing scores. Co-parenting factors that were hypothesized to lead to academic success included the distance between parents homes (which further influenced time spent with the child, participation in child‘s activities, and participation in decision making) and financial stability (which also influenced participation in decision making and the level of conflict within the family). The original structural equation model revealed that the relationship linking the distance between homes and the time spent with the child was accurately described. Added to the model, after the Lagrange test, was a path from finances to participation in child‘s activities and time spent with the child. The financial stability of a family predicted the participation of the non-custodial parent in the child‘s activities, in the decision-making for the child, conflict, and the time spent with the child. Implications for practitioners who work with families with co-parenting responsibilities are discussed

Salient Factors in Predicting Student Success, Including Course Modality

Much discussion in higher education has focused upon predicting student learning, and how to identify students who may be at particular risk of failure. Little research has actually tackled that challenge, and research on the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in this areas is scarce; this study does so by measuring students across three semester of study in a variety of courses and course formats. Our results indicate that a set of characteristics predicting student success can be identified, and that course modality affects overall student success rate. Our results are discussed in terms of how they might inform faculty and administrators how best to identify at risk groups of students, and who other researchers might expand on these results to produce a more nuanced interactive understanding of the interplay among students, courses, course modalities, and other characteristics to identify ideal combinations of those factors leading to student success

CO-PARENTING FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO ACADEMIC SUCCESS

This study assessed factors contributed from parents who live in two different households and that lead to academic success. Data were collected from undergraduates enrolled in a Midwestern satellite university. Academic success was defined by university enrollment, grade point average, and standardized testing scores. Co-parenting factors that were hypothesized to lead to academic success included the distance between parents homes (which further influenced time spent with the child, participation in child‘s activities, and participation in decision making) and financial stability (which also influenced participation in decision making and the level of conflict within the family). The original structural equation model revealed that the relationship linking the distance between homes and the time spent with the child was accurately described. Added to the model, after the Lagrange test, was a path from finances to participation in child‘s activities and time spent with the child. The financial stability of a family predicted the participation of the non-custodial parent in the child‘s activities, in the decision-making for the child, conflict, and the time spent with the child. Implications for practitioners who work with families with co-parenting responsibilities are discussed

Predictors of success in courses of varying modality

Relatively little information exists on how course teaching modality affects academic performance. There is a broad discussion of the effects of online education, but much of the literature on its effects (vs. more traditional course delivery) is anecdotal or disciple-specific. The specific aim of this project is to better understand what effect, if any, that course modality has on students’ academic performance, both overall and (as data warrant) in specific courses. In addition, we will seek to identify specific student clusters, so that we might better understand which particular groups of students are better suited to particular modalities

Importance of Health Science Education for Personal Fitness Trainers

Using a questionnaire developed for the current study, the Fitness Instructors Knowledge Assessment (FIKA(Copyright )), we examined relations between commonly used indicators of knowledge (training and experience) and actual knowledge in the five areas of (a) nutrition, (b) health screening, (c) testing protocols, (d) exercise prescription, and (e) general training knowledge regarding special populations. FIKA provided reliable measures of knowledge in these areas, which are of critical importance in developing an optimal fitness program for the client and for avoiding unnecessary injuries. A survey of 115 health fitness professionals revealed that a bachelor\u27s degree in the field of exercise science and possession of American College of Sports Medicine or the National Strength and Conditioning Association certifications as opposed to other certifications were strong predictors of a personal trainer\u27s knowledge, whereas years of experience was not related to knowledge. These findings suggest that personal fitness trainers should have licensing requirements, such as a bachelor\u27s degree in exercise science and certification by an organization whose criteria are extensive and widely accepted, before being allowed to practice their craft