Mathematical Competencies of Third Level Students: a Review

Many lecturers of mathematics and related disciplines in Ireland and internationally believe there has been a gradual decline in mathematical competencies of students presenting for first year at third level educational establishments. Some of the evidence to support this view is reviewed, along with the types of solutions being applied in Ireland and the UK. Attention is drawn to the explicit and implicit decline in standards potentially associated with some of the solutions, particularly for short courses involving mathematics

Superharmonic solutions of nonlinear differential equations

This thesis is a study of the structure of superhaxmonic solutions of order m, to the sloshing equation introduced by Chester and Ockendon &; Ockendon, and to a lesser extent, Duffing’s equation. We use the Lyapunov Schmidt procedure to reduce these problems to two bifurcation equations. We elucidate the form and leading terms of the bifurcation equations. The usual scaling techniques fail when superharmonics of order 4 or greater are sought. An alternative scaling method is provided, which works for superharmonic solutions of all orders. The method is rigorous, and naturally provides an explicit approximation to the bifurcation surface. To produce a formula for the approximate bifurcation surface it is necessary to explicitly calculate coefficients in the bifurcation equations. A simple algorithm, which calculates the terms which may be required, is given. The method is implemented using Macsyma. The program, TAYLOR, produces the information for superharmonic and subharmonic solutions for a large class of nonlinear oscillation problems

A quantitative analysis of educators\u27 attitudes toward wellbeing promotion in Irish post-primary schools

In 2017, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) published the NCCA wellbeing guidelines, mandating all post-primary schools in Ireland to allocate 300 hours of junior-cycle instruction to the promotion of students’ social and emotional wellbeing. Much is understood globally about the potential benefits of such programmes for students and educators alike. However, little is known within an Irish context regarding the attitudes and opinions of educators in this regard. The present study attended to this gap in knowledge. This study administered the purpose-built “Attitudes Toward Wellbeing Promotion” (ATWP) scale to post-primary educators (n=327). Attitudes were assessed in relation to the act of promoting student wellbeing and the available wellbeing policies and curricula, and were examined in relation to a number of demographic variables. Statistically significant attitudinal differences were observed in relation to a number of criteria including educator gender, school gender, and the presence of deleterious educational practices such as streaming and vertical education. This study represents the first attempt to quantify, in terms of positivity or negativity, educators’ attitudes regarding wellbeing promotion in a post-primary context

Learning Analytics to Inform Teaching and Learning Approaches

Learning analytics is an evolving discipline with capability for educational data analysis to enable better understanding of learning processes. This paper reports on learning analytics research at Institute of Technology Blanchardstown, Ireland, that indicated measureable factors can identify first year students at risk of failing based on data available prior to commencement of first year of study. The study was conducted over three years, 2010 to 2012, on a student population from a range of academic disciplines (n=1,207). Data was gathered from both student enrolment data maintained by college administration, and an online, self-reporting tool administered during induction sessions for students enrolling into the first year of study. Factors considered included prior academic performance, personality, motivation, self- regulation, learning approaches, learner modality, age and gender. A k-NN classification model trained on data from the 2010 and 2011 student cohort, and tested on data from the 2012 student cohort correctly identified 74% of students at risk of failing. Some factors predictive of at-risk students are malleable, and relate to an effective learning disposition; specifically, factors relating to self-regulation and motivation. This paper discusses potential benefits of measurement of learner disposition

Emotional Intelligence and Graduates – Employers’ Perspectives

AbstractResearch has demonstrated that employers favour graduates who possess higher levels of emotional intelligence. Many initiatives to increase students’ levels of EI have involved ‘whole school’ approaches, whereby generic EI skills programmes are delivered to all students in a third level institute. This paper details an initial survey of employers’ (n = 500) opinions on the importance and current level of graduates’ social and emotional competencies. The survey was completed across five sectors: engineering, IT/computing, professional services (including accounting, business, finance, HR, law, retail), science (including pharmaceutical and life), and social science which are identified growth industries in Ireland. It sought to explore employers’ perspectives to determine if there are differences in terms of social and emotional competency requirements among graduates, across different employment sectors. Preliminary survey findings demonstrated a major disparity between the degree of importance attributed by employers to emotional intelligence competencies and the current levels displayed by graduate employees. This potentially represents a significant opportunity to enable students to develop those specific skills most favoured by employers in their chosen career areas, thereby possibly increasing their employability and success at work

Emotional Intelligence and Graduates - Employers\u27 Perspectives

Research has demonstrated that employers favour graduates who possess higher levels of emotional intelligence. Many initiatives to increase students’ levels of EI have involved ‘whole school’ approaches, whereby generic EI skills programmes are delivered to all students in a third level institute. This paper details an initial survey of employers’ (n = 500) opinions on the importance and current level of graduates’ social and emotional competencies. The survey was completed across five sectors: engineering, IT/computing, professional services (including accounting, business, finance, HR, law, retail), science (including pharmaceutical and life), and social science which are identified growth industries in Ireland. It sought to explore employers’ perspectives to determine if there are differences in terms of social and emotional competency requirements among graduates, across different employment sectors. Preliminary survey findings demonstrated a major disparity between the degree of importance attributed by employers to emotional intelligence competencies and the current levels displayed by graduate employees. This potentially represents a significant opportunity to enable students to develop those specific skills most favoured by employers in their chosen career areas, thereby possibly increasing their employability and success at work

Enhancing the academic and social learning of Irish undergraduates through emotional and social skills development.

This paper considers the potential merits of emotional competency coaching for undergraduate students. We outline the findings from our previous work which showed, for example, that a sample of First Year undergraduate students failed to engage with coaching primarily because it was not a mandatory aspect of the curricula. An analysis of the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ) - which details the specific learning outcomes that must be achieved by all Irish academic syllabi found that this framework makes scant reference to the development of social and emotional skills. Therefore, a revised working model of the NFQ is proposed, which incorporates learning outcomes related to emotional and social development at all levels of academic attainment

Reasons for Non-Engagement with the Provision of Emotional Competency Coaching: a Qualitative Study of Irish First Year Undergraduate Students

Very little is known as to why students choose not to participate in emotional intelligence coaching programmes. This qualitative study was undertaken with a sample of Irish undergraduate students (n=20), who chose not to engage with the provision of coaching at a technical college inDublin. The reasons for non-engagement were explored by means of face-to-face interviews. The four principal reasons for non-engagement were: failing to appreciate the value of coaching; a perceived heavy academic workload; the fact that coaching was not a mandatory component of the academic curriculum; and fear that coaching may reveal weaknesses of character. Based on the findings from this study, it is recommended that institutes of higher education consider providing emotional competency coaching to First Year undergraduate students

The 21st Century Graduate: Delivering a Tailored Approach to Social and Emotional Competency Training for Final Year Students to Enhance Graduate Attributes and Increase Employability

The Higher Education Authority recently reported an average drop-out rate of 16% for Irish third level students, which poses significant pedagogical and economic challenges across the educational sector and negatively impacts the Irish economy. With respect to tackling this issue, a considerable body of international research has identified a strong positive correlation between higher levels of emotional intelligence (EI) and increased levels of student engagement and academic attainment. A wealth of previous research has also shown that employers favour graduates who possess higher levels of EI, for example, Job Outlook Survey, 2008, therefore, increasing students’ levels of EI is also a viable means of improving graduate employment rates. Previous attempts to improve students’ emotional competencies have involved ‘whole school’ approaches, whereby generic EI skills development programmes are designed and delivered to all of the students in a given school or third level institute. As of yet, no attempt has been made to develop a range of programmes explicitly aimed at targeting specific populations of students. Therefore, this represents a significant gap in current knowledge. This research aims to conduct a comprehensive survey of employers and based on these findings and follow up qualitative interviews, a suite of educational modules will be developed that will specifically aim to enable students to develop key emotional strengths that are linked with academic and career success in their chosen field of study. It is anticipated that this will lead to reduced attrition rates and higher engagement levels and allow students to develop key abilities that will help them to improve their employment prospects. Employer engagement will be a critical aspect of this project and employers will be involved in student assessment, which will include practical workshop assessments, self-reflection via an e-portfolio and competency based interviews with employers and academic staff

A Survey of Emotional Well-being Among Irish Third Level Educators

This study aimed to gain baseline scores of perceived levels of work-related stress, self- efficacy, emotional intelligence and well-being for Irish third level educators. A questionnaire was designed to achieve this, including an open-ended question asking participants to note their attitudes and beliefs towards training in the area of social and emotional skills. The questionnaire received 494 responses, 185 (37%) university, 238 (48%) institute of technology, 59 (12%) college of education and 18 (3%) other. Statistical analysis using a one-way ANOVA found a significant difference, with higher levels of work-related stress being reported by university lecturers in comparison to institute of technology lecturers. Content analysis of the open-ended question indicated that participants made most frequent references to organisational culture, the breadth of work in the role of a lecturer, aspects of social support and opinions regarding coaching. The findings indicate that the changing nature of higher education appears to have an adverse impact on stress levels for staff in this sector