The significance of goals in management of academic study

This thesis is concerned with the centrality of goals in university students' on-going management of their academic study. The theoretical perspective on the significance of goals was inspired by theories and research on mental representations, self-regulation of learning and adult learning. Although most cognitive theorists emphasise the significance of goals for providing direction to cognitive activities, to date there has been little systematic investigation of the nature and function of goals in management of academic study. Duncker's theory of productive problem-solving provided the rationale for analysing the function of goals, and perceptions of difficulties to work on a new course of study. Management of study is characterized as a dynamic and complex task occurring over time and under the direction of students' goals. Goals, as students' explicit individualised intentions or as the tacit acceptance of instructional objectives, are proposed to provide direction and criteria for the management of study, and for overcoming perceived difficulties in the way of the achievement of these goals. The proposed approach stresses the interactions of goals with students' background characteristics, specifically domain knowledge, and educational experience with age, and their mediating role in the on-going handling of various tasks involved in a course of academic study. Three studies were designed to examine the significance and function of goals in relation to students' background, perceptions of study difficulties and working plans. The methodology involved in-depth qualitative and quantitative analyses of groups of targeted students over their courses of study in educational psychology and statistics, in order to encompass students' representations of their study as it occurs naturally over time. Data sources were clinical interviews, sample study activities, questionnaires, students’ examination summaries experimental tasks and course performances. Qualitative data were reduced to diagrammatic and tabulated forms to show the stabilities and changes in students' goals and management strategies over time and data sources. The first study revealed differences, over six weeks, in goals expressed as individualised intentions and course-related objectives, perceived difficulties, and working plans of more and less successful students. The second study showed how goals involving different levels of commitment to the pursuit of instructional objectives and study management throughout a whole course mediated effects of background knowledge differently according to age. The third study addressed the issue of stability and change in goals, and the relation of goals to students' own evaluation of their study. Complex networks of causal relations were identified between students' goals, perceptions of obstacles and routes taken to achieve goals and deal with difficulties. Individualised goals were used by students as criteria for assessing their own effectiveness on the course. The studies supported the case for the significance of goals in management of academic study. Goals were significant for giving direction to the continuous interplay between learner and task variables, for mediating effects of background knowledge, and for providing criteria against which to assess own performance. It is argued that the concept of goal is crucial for uncovering causes in on-going adaptive or maladaptive adjustments to study tasks, and for understanding individual differences in adult learning. Re-adjustments of goals themselves over time emphasise the dynamic and adaptive nature of study management over a total course of study

Importance of Building Confidence in Patient Communication and Clinical Skills Among Chiropractic Students

One important objective of chiropractic education is to foster student professional confidence and competence in patient communication and clinical skills. Therefore, the aim of this article is to review the extant literature on this topic, stressing the significance of building students’ confidence for effective practice and the need for more research in this area. Methods: The authors reviewed MEDLINE and ERIC from 1980 through 2008 using several key words pertinent to confidence and health care. Three distinct, but interrelated, bodies of literature were assessed, including professional confidence in health care research, the nature and development of confidence in educational psychology research, and fostering professional confidence in chiropractic education. Results: It was apparent through the review that chiropractic education has developed educational methods and opportunities that may help develop and build student confidence in patient communication and clinical skills. However, there has not been sufficient research to provide empirical evidence of the impact. Conclusion: Fostering chiropractic students’ development of confidence in what they say and do is of paramount importance not only to them as new practitioners but more importantly to the patient. There is no doubt that a better understanding of how confidence can be developed and consolidated during tertiary study should be a major goal of chiropractic education

South-east Asian students at Australian universities: a reappraisal of their tutorial participation and approaches to study

This study is a beginning-it begins to question the established literature, and hopefully to provoke university staff into reassessing their perceptions of Southeast Asian students and their assumptions that all students from South-east Asia fit a particular mould. On the other hand we acknowledge that adjustments need to be made by South-east Asian students studying at Australian universities, and depending on their English language proficiency and background these adjustments may be substantial and challenging. However, many of the adjustments South-east Asian students face in Australia will be similar in kind to those that confront all students moving from the more structured environment of the school to a university setting where greater self-reliance and self-management of study is required. Some of the adjustments will be unique to the particular circumstances of each individual student. Some of the adjustments will be related to reconciling the competing demands of university study, securing financial resources, maintaining personal relationships, and setting aside time for recreation. Within these overlapping sets of adjustments will be socially and culturally constituted strategies and resources that students will draw on as they move forward through their programs of study. We need to learn to recognise the resourcefulness of students in this process rather than presume that their differences are a deficiency

Die Bedeutung der Lehrer-Schüler-Beziehung für die Emotionen der Lehrpersonen, deren Unterrichtsverhalten und berufliches Wohlbefinden

Lehrpersonen erleben die unterschiedlichsten Emotionen beim Unterrichten (Schutz, 2014). Diese Emotionen sind zum einen multikausal bestimmt und hängen von der Beurteilung der beruflichen Situation in Bezug auf Arbeitsbedingungen, Wertschätzung und den Interaktionen im Klassenzimmer ab; zum anderen beeinflussen sie das berufliche Wohlbefinden und das Unterrichtsverhalten (Frenzel, 2014). Bisher gibt es jedoch wenige gesicherte empirische Befunde zu LehrerInnenemotionen. Insbesondere quantitative Studien, die auf eine Generalisierbarkeit der Erkenntnisse abzielen und Emotionen als Kernvariablen untersuchen, fehlen. Hier setzt die vorliegende Studie an. Basierend auf dem Modell der LehrerInnenemotionen (Frenzel, 2014) gehen wir davon aus, dass Lehrpersonen danach streben, positive Beziehungen zu SchülerInnen aufzubauen (Klassen et al., 2012). Dieses Streben kann auch auf das Grundbedürfnis von Menschen nach positiven Sozialbeziehungen im Allgemeinen zurückgeführt werden (Baumeister & Leary, 1995). Die vorliegende Studie überprüft die Frage, inwieweit die Qualität der Lehrer-Schüler-Beziehung die Emotionen von Lehrpersonen beim Unterrichten vorhersagen kann. Entsprechend eines kognitiven Ansatzes der Emotionsentstehung wird die Selbstwirksamkeitsüberzeugung der Lehrkräfte als mögliche Mediatorvariable berücksichtigt. Zusätzlich werden die Konsequenzen von LehrerInnenemotionen untersucht. Es wird angenommen, dass positive LehrerInnenemotionen die Autonomieunterstützung im Unterricht erhöhen; eine Variable, die aus Sicht der Selbstbestimmungstheorie einen zentralen Faktor von Unterrichtsqualität darstellt. Des Weiteren sollten positive LehrerInnenemotionen zu einem höheren beruflichen Wohlbefinden beitragen. 132 Gymnasiallehrpersonen aus Österreich wurden zu den zentralen Konstrukten auf Basis von überwiegend bewährten Skalen der empirischen Bildungsforschung (Emotionen, Selbstwirksamkeit, Beziehung zu den SchülerInnen, Autonomieunterstützung und berufliches Wohlbefinden) befragt. Sie wurden ebenso aufgefordert, für sie emotional erlebte konkrete Interaktionssituationen mit SchülerInnen zu beschreiben (Fokus: Angst, Ärger und Freude). Als Datenanalyseverfahren wurde die Strukturgleichungsmodellierung gewählt. Die offenen Fragen wurden mit Hilfe der qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse nach Mayring (2010) ausgewertet. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Beziehung zu den SchülerInnen sehr eng mit dem emotionalen Erleben der Lehrpersonen assoziiert war. Die Selbstwirksamkeitsüberzeugung zeigte sich als (partielle) Mediatorvariable. Es ergab sich kein direkter Link zwischen den LehrerInnenemotionen und der Autonomieunterstützung; allerdings wurde diese durch die LehrerInnenselbstwirksamkeit vorhergesagt. Die Beziehung zwischen den LehrerInnenemotionen und dem beruflichen Wohlbefindens war sehr stark ausgeprägt. Die Situationsbeschreibungen stützen die Bedeutung der Lehrer-Schüler-Beziehung für die LehrerInnenemotionen (z.B. wird Ärger sehr häufig durch nicht-erfüllte Erwartungen, z.B. durch disziplinär auffälliges Verhalten, ausgelöst); sie erweitern die Befunde insofern, als auch die positive Entwicklung von einzelnen SchülerInnen – im Sinne eines „(Über-sich-hinaus-)Wachsens“ – häufig als emotionsauslösend, vor allem Freude auslösend, beschrieben wurde. Die Ergebnisse werden mit Bezug zur bisherigen Forschung und hier vor allem bezogen auf das Modell der LehrerInnenemotionen nach Frenzel diskutiert, und es werden Implikationen für die Praxis abgeleitet

Teacher emotions in the classroom: Associations with students’ engagement, classroom discipline and the interpersonal teacher-student relationship

The present study explores teacher emotions, in particular how they are predicted by students’ behaviour and the interpersonal aspect of the teacher-student relationship (TSR). One hundred thirty-two secondary teachers participated in a quantitative study relying on self-report questionnaire data. Based on the model of teacher emotions by Frenzel (2014), teachers rated their experienced joy, anger and anxiety during classroom instruction (dependent variable). Students’ motivational behaviour (= engagement), socio-emotional behaviour (= discipline in class) and relational behaviour (= closeness; interpersonal TSR) were assessed as the independent variables. Teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs served as a control variable. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that the interpersonal relationship formed between teachers and students was the strongest predictor for teachers’ joy (positive relation) and anxiety (negative relation), whereas lack of discipline in class best predicted teachers’ anger experiences. Students’ engagement also proved a significant predictor of teacher emotions. The results suggest that interpersonal TSR plays a particularly important role in teachers’ emotional experiences in class

Development of intercultural relationships at university: A three-stage ecological and person-in-context conceptual framework

For more than four decades, studies of higher education have espoused the significance of fostering intercultural interactions between international and domestic students, yet numerous studies have provided widespread evidence of limited interactions between these cohorts and limited development of long-lasting relationships, such as friendship. After reviewing the conceptualisations of intercultural relationship development and their limitations in the extant literature, this paper outlines the rationale for a three-stage ecological and person-in-context conceptual framework of the development of intercultural relationships in university contexts. The proposed framework addresses: the issue of loose conceptualisations of intercultural relationships in the literature; the overlooked phenomena of dynamic interactions between individual and environmental dimensions that co-contribute to intercultural relationship development; and the developmental nature of intercultural relationships. The main proposal underpinning the framework is that the development of intercultural relationships occurs at the dynamic experiential interface between environmental affordances and students’ agency, both of which evolve along three stages of relationships (i.e. interactivity, reciprocity and unity). The framework, illustrated by empirical data, addresses aspects of intercultural relationships that have been neglected in the higher education literature, and that are expected to stimulate further educational research and practices in various (inter-)national/regional and institutional contexts