Possessing 21st-Century Skills and Building Sustainable Careers: Early-Career Social Sciences Graduates’ Perspectives

In today’s complex labor market, social sciences graduates encounter various challenges and negative experiences in their current jobs and job transitions, which may threaten the sustainability of their careers. Possessing 21st-century skills is considered important in supporting their career sustainability. Employing a cross-sectional survey design, this study investigated which 21st-century skills help social sciences graduates build a sustainable career after their graduation. The sample consisted of 129 early-career social sciences graduates. We utilized both a variable-centered (path analysis) and a person-centered (latent profile) approach to data analysis. The path-analysis results showed that collaboration, creativity, and problem solving, but not communication and critical thinking, related to career sustainability. The results also revealed a suppressor effect of problem solving on the positive relationships between creativity and health-related problems, suggesting that problem solving may prevent creative individuals from developing health-related issues. Furthermore, latent-profile analysis demonstrated two profiles: sustainable and non-sustainable careers. While both profiles exhibited similar productivity levels, individuals from the non-sustainable profile reported lower happiness and higher health problems. Partly corroborating the path-analysis results, graduates with sustainable careers differed in communication and collaboration skills. This study enhances the understanding of 21st-century skills’ role in career sustainability and validates the model of sustainable careers

Promoting retrieval practice use during self-study in higher education:The effects of a compact strategy intervention with metacognitive support

Intensive training programs have successfully supported students in using cognitive learning strategies. This study investigated whether a compact intervention can promote students' retrieval practice use during self-study for course-relevant materials. In an experiment embedded in a reputation management course, students were either given strategy instructions on retrieval practice (RP condition), strategy instructions and metacognitive email support (RP++) or no support (control). Students' potential retrieval practice use during self-study of key concepts was measured with an online learning environment. Results showed a small but significant effect on retrieval practice use for the RP++ condition as compared to control (p =.005, r = 0.39). No significant differences were found between RP++ and RP, and RP and control and no significant effects were found on a delayed performance test. With our compact intervention, we took a small step in fostering the use of retrieval practice as a learning strategy during self-study.</p

Motives for studying and student wellbeing:Validation of the motivational mindset model

Research on the joint effect of multiple motives for studying was recently given a push in a new direction with the introduction of the motivational mindset model (MMM). This model contributes to a better understanding of study success and student wellbeing in higher education. The aim of the present study is to validate the newly developed model and the associated mindset classification tool (MCT). To this end, 662 first-year university students were classified in one of the four types of motivational mindset using the classification tool and three exploratory validation procedures were conducted through sense of purpose, study engagement, and students’ background characteristics in terms of gender and ethnicity. Both purpose and study engagement are central dimensions of student wellbeing and predictors of study success. The results show that (1) sense of purpose and study engagement differ across the four types of mindset, (2) students in the low-impact mindset show the least optimal pattern of study engagement and sense of purpose, (3) sense of purpose and study engagement are positively related and this relationship is consistent across mindsets, and (4) overall differences in purpose and study engagement between gender and ethnic subgroups stem from one specific type of motivational mindset. The results provide support for the validity of the MMM and the usefulness of the MCT. The implications of the findings are discussed as well as promising avenues for future research

Pathological Personality Domains and Social Media Use in Emerging Adults:Mediation by Social Media Self-Control Failure

Social media use has been associated with negative effects on mental health, but little is known about the role of personality pathology in predicting social media use. To address this gap, this longitudinal study examined the relationship between self-reported pathological personality domains (Short Form Personality Inventory for the DSM-5; PID-5-SF), social media use (hours per day) and social media self-control failure measured 3 years later. A total of 368 emerging adults (M age = 24.86 years, SD = 1.11, 55% female) were included. Using a multivariate mediation model, we investigated whether pathological personality traits relate to social media use through social media self-control failure. Results indicated that while no direct relationships were observed, social media self-control failure served as an indirect-only mediator between the pathological personality domain of disinhibition and social media use. These findings have implications for clinical practice in identifying individuals at risk for higher social media use.</p

Students’ and Teachers’ Experiences With the Implementation of Problem-Based Learning at a University Law School

A few years ago, the Erasmus School of Law implemented problem-based learning (PBL) as an instructional method in the bachelor’s program. Transition to a PBL program often brings some difficulties for the teaching staff. To find out whether the implementation at the Erasmus School of Law has been successful, students and teachers were asked about their experiences with and perceptions of the PBL program. Both students and teachers reported positive study behaviors, such as regular studying and active involvement of students as a result of PBL. However, some issues also arose after implementing PBL: staff members reported dissatisfaction regarding the PBL program and students reported feelings of insufficient preparation for the legal profession. Recommendations on how to address these issues are discussed

Comparing problem-based learning students to students in a lecture-based curriculum: learning strategies and the relation with self-study time

In educational theory, deep processing (i.e., connecting different study topics together) and self-regulation (i.e., taking control over one’s own learning process) are considered effective learning strategies. These learning strategies can be influenced by the learning environment. Problem-based learning (PBL), a student-centered educational method, is believed to stimulate the use of these effective learning strategies. Several aspects of PBL such as discussions of real-life problems, selecting literature by the students themselves, and formulating answers to learning issues encourage students’ use of deep processing and self-regulation. In the present study, third-year PBL law students were compared to third-year law students of a lecture-based program with respect to their learning strategies, which were measured with the Inventory Learning Styles (ILS; Vermunt in British Journal of Educational Psychology, 68, 149–171, 1998). In addition, the relation between time invested in self-study and learning strategies, when taking the instructional method into account, was explored. Results showed that PBL students reported to apply deep processing, self-regulation, and external regulation more frequently than their non-PBL counterparts. PBL seems to contribute to the use of effective learning strategies, but PBL students also relied more often on external sources for their regulation, such as teachers, course material, and assessment

Students’ and teachers’ experiences with the implementation of problem-based learning at a university law school

A few years ago, the Erasmus School of Law implemented problem-based learning (PBL) as an instructional method in the bachelor’s program. Transition to a PBL program often brings some difficulties for the teaching staff. To find out whether the implementation at the Erasmus School of Law has been successful, students and teachers were asked about their experiences with and perceptions of the PBL program. Both students and teachers reported positive study behaviors, such as regular studying and active involvement of students as a result of PBL. However, some issues also arose after implementintig PBL: staff members reported dissatisfaction regarding the PBL program and students reported feelings of insufficient preparation for the legal profession. Recommendations on how to address these issues are discussed

Is problem-based learning associated with students’ motivation? A quantitative and qualitative study

In this study, a mixed-method design was employed to investigate the association between a student-centred, problem-based learning (PBL) method and law students’ motivation. Self-determination theory (SDT) states that autonomous motivation, which is associated with higher academic performance, can be reached when there is fulfillment of three psychological needs: autonomy, competence and relatedness. PBL aims to trigger autonomous motivation. In Study 1, 85 PBL law students (37% male; Mean age = 21.99 years) and 69 law students of a lecture-based, non-PBL program (39% male; Mean age = 22.72 years) filled out the Self-Regulation Questionnaire and an adapted version of the Work-related Basic Need Satisfaction Scale in order to measure autonomous and controlled motivation and perceived autonomy, competence and relatedness. In order to compare both groups, two MANOVAs were conducted and results showed differences neither in autonomous and controlled motivation, nor in feelings of autonomy and competence. However, PBL students experienced more relatedness. Additionally, in Study 2, focus-group discussions that were conducted indicated that PBL contains both autonomy-supportive and controlling elements, which might explain why no differences were found in perceptions of autonomy and autonomous and controlled motivation between PBL and non-PBL students. Furthermore, students reported that tutorial groups in PBL contributed to feelings of relatedness

Allowing course compensation in higher education: a latent class regression analysis to evaluate performance on a follow-up course

In this study, the consequences of allowing course compensation in a \nhigher education academic dismissal policy are evaluated by examining \nperformance on a second-year follow-up (i.e. sequel) course that builds \non material from a first-year precursor course. Up to now, differences in \nthe consequences of compensation on student performance across \ngroups of students who portray different unobserved study processes \nwere not considered. In this study we used a latent class regression \nmodel to distinguish latent groups of students. Data from two undergraduate curricula were used and latent classes were formed based on \nsimilar patterns in averages, variability in grades, the number of compensated courses, and the number of retakes in the first year. Results \nshow that students can be distinguished by three latent classes. \nAlthough the first-year precursor course is compensated in each of \nthese latent classes, low performance on the precursor course results in \nlow performance on the second-year sequel course for psychology students who belong to a class in which the average across first-year \ncourses is low and the average number of compensated courses and \nretakes are high. For these students, compensation on a precursor \ncourse seems more likely to relate to insufficient performance on a \nsequel course