Education policy and early fertility: Lessons from an expansion of upper secondary schooling

This paper studies effects of education policy on early fertility. We study a major educational reform in Sweden in which vocational tracks in upper secondary school were prolonged from two to three years and the curricula were made more academic. Our identification strategy takes advantage of cross-regional and cross-time variation in the implementation of a pilot scheme preceding the reform in which several municipalities evaluated the new policy. The empirical analysis draws on rich population micro data. We find that women who enrolled in the new program were significantly less likely to give birth early in life and that this effect is driven by women with higher opportunity costs of child rearing. There is however no statistically significant effect on mens fertility decisions. Our results suggest that the social benefits of changes in education policy may extend beyond those usually claimed.Schooling reform; teenage childbearing; fertility

Education policy and early fertility: lessons from an expansion of upper secondary schooling

This paper studies effects of education policy on early fertility. We study a major educational reform in Sweden in which vocational tracks in upper secondary school were prolonged from two to three years and the curricula were made more academic. Our identification strategy takes advantage of cross-regional and cross-time variation in the implementation of a pilot scheme preceding the reform in which several municipalities evaluated the new policy. The empirical analysis draws on rich population micro data. We find that women who enrolled in the new program were significantly less likely to give birth early in life and that this effect is driven by women with higher opportunity costs of child rearing. There is however no statistically significant effect on men’s fertility decisions. Our results suggest that the social benefits of changes in education policy may extend beyond those usually claimed.Schooling reform; teenage childbearing; fertility

A Putative Dual Role for Yorkie in Hippo pathway Signaling

The Hippo pathway inactivates genes involved in organ size and when aberrant, can lead to cancer. To control organ size, the Hippo pathway inhibits Yorkie (Yki), a transcriptional coactivator that works with Scalloped (Sd), a DNA binding protein. When active, Yki translocates into the nucleus and initiates transcription. Conversely, when inactive, Yki remains in the cytoplasm. However, my work shows that cytoplasmic, inactive Yki interacts with other proteins in the Hippo pathway by recruiting them to the plasma membrane. Accordingly, this study challenges the notion that cytoplasmic Yki is inactive and instead, may play a dual role in the Hippo pathway

Interteaching and mindset

The researcher investigated the relationships between growth mindset and performance and statistics self-efficacy and performance in interteaching courses. The study included college students enrolled in one section of a Psychological Statistics and Measurements class. Participants completed a mindset survey indicating their level of growth mindset. Participants then completed a Statistics Self-Efficacy Survey. Finally, participants completed a demographics survey. Participants completed the mindset survey again in the middle of the semester as well as at the end of the semester. The researchers also collected behavioral data including the number of emails participants sent throughout the course and the number of preparation guides missed. Students completed four tests during the semester. There was a significant negative relationship between growth mindset of intelligence and grades. Growth mindset did not increase across time during the interteaching course. There was not a significant relationship between growth mindset of intelligence and number of preparation guides missed. There was not a significant relationship between growth mindset of intelligence and number of emails. The findings of this study suggest that aspects of interteaching courses might create an environment that supports students with lower levels of growth mindset and growth mindset may be related to long-term academic performance

Platelet-derived growth factor and its alpha-receptor subunit in oligodendrocyte development.

How the diverse range of cell types seen in the vertebrate central nervous system (CNS) is generated is one of the most intriguing questions in developmental neurobiology. This Thesis concentrates on the development of oligodendrocytes, the myelinating cells of the CNS. There have been several hypotheses as to where in the embryo oligodendrocyte progenitors originate. Accumulating circumstantial evidence suggests that cells expressing platelet-derived growth factor alpha-receptor (PDGFRα+ cells) in the embryonic spinal cord are oligodendrocyte progenitors. In Chapter Three I demonstrate that these PDGFRα+ cells differentiate into oligodendrocytes in vitro, providing direct evidence that oligodendrocytes develop from a discrete group of PDGFRα+ cells in the ventral ventricular zone of the embryonic spinal cord. Further in vitro experiments suggest that PDGFRα+ progenitors are the major or only source of oligodendrocytes within the developing spinal cord. In Chapter Four I demonstrate that PDGFRα+ cells in the embryonic brain are oligodendrocyte progenitors. I describe evidence that suggests that PDGFRα+ oligodendrocyte progenitors originate in the ventral diencephalon and migrate throughout the brain during subsequent development I demonstrate that dorsal forebrain cells, at an age when PDGFRα+ cells are not present, can generate oligodendrocytes in vitro if treated with certain factors. However, it is not clear whether this potential is realised in vivo. In Chapter Five of this Thesis I investigate the roles of the ligands for PDGFRα (PDGF-A and PDGF-B) during oligodendrocyte progenitor development in vivo. By examining PDGF-A and PDGF-B null mice I show that PDGF-AA but not PDGF-BB or PDGF-AB is crucial for PDGFRα+ oligodendrocyte progenitor proliferation in the spinal cord in vivo. Further experiments with transgenic mice demonstrate that the amount of PDGF-AA available to each PDGFRα+ progenitor in vivo controls the length of its cell cycle and; therefore, PDGF-AA availability is one factor that regulates oligodendrocyte progenitor number in vivo

Does making upper secondary school more comprehensive affect dropout rates, educational attainment and earnings? Evidence from a Swedish pilot scheme

Since the mid-20th century many OECD countries have discarded their previous selective schools systems, in which students early on were separated between academic and vocational tracks, in favor of more comprehensive schools. The effects of these reforms have generally been difficult to evaluate and their consequences for students’ educational and labor market outcomes remain disputed. This paper evaluates the effects of the introduction of a more comprehensive upper secondary school system in Sweden in the 1990s. The reform reduced the differences between the academic and vocational educational tracks through prolonging and substantially increasing the academic content of all vocational tracks. The effects of this policy change are identified by exploiting a six year pilot scheme, which preceded the actual reform in some municipalities. The results show that the prolongation of the vocational tracks brought about an increased probability of dropping out among low performing students. Though one important motive behind the policy change was to enable all upper secondary school graduates to pursue a university degree, I find no effects on university enrolment or graduation. There are some indications, however, that attending the longer and more academic vocational track may have led to increased earnings in the long run.Upper secondary education; comprehensive school system; educational attainment; earnings; instrumental variables

Exploring positive adjustment in people with spinal cord injury.

This study explored adjustment in people with spinal cord injury; data from four focus groups are presented. Thematic analysis revealed four themes, managing goals and expectations, comparison with others, feeling useful and acceptance, showing participants positively engaged in life, positively interpreted social comparison information and set realistic goals and expectations. These positive strategies show support for adjustment theories, such as the Cognitive Adaptation Theory, the Control Process Theory and Response Shift Theory. These results also provide insight into the adjustment process of a person with spinal cord injury and may be useful in tailoring support during rehabilitation