Influencers of career choice among allied health students.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown-West, A P

1991-01-01

This study focused on the factors that influence students' choice of an allied health profession. A survey of 153 students in three allied health programs at the University of Connecticut revealed that "the need to help others," "prestige," "professional autonomy," "opportunities for advancement," "income potential," and "the effect of the specialty on family and personal life," were the major influencers of career choice among allied health students. Only a few students regarded malpractice suits and AIDS as negative influencers. While medical laboratory science majors regarded these as important factors, dietetics and physical therapy majors did not. The article suggests further use of these findings by program directors and career counselors.

International Students' College Choice is Different!

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Alfattal, Eyad

2017-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the needs and aspirations of international students studying at a comprehensive university campus in the USA in comparison to domestic students represented by factors that drive students' college choice. Design/methodology/approach: The study opted for a survey design through questionnaire and…

Career Choice And College Students: Parental Influence on Career Choice Traditionalism among College Students in Selected Cities in Ethiopia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sella Kumar

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The study explored the influence of parents on choosing career among college students in selected private colleges situated around Bahirdar City, Ethiopia. Choosing a suitable career is a vital part in every student’s life. Further, it ignites a person’s future life for his/her own job preference and life style. In this context, influence of social members is inevitable; generally the influence of family members and most particularly parents play a major role as an influencer and determiner on choosing a career option. Students in Ethiopia are not exceptional to this phenomenon of selecting right and suitable career. A cross-sectional survey design was adopted and multi stage sampling technique was employed to identify the participants. Totally, 175 participants (Male=99 and (Female =76 responded to Holland Personality Inventory (Holland, 1997 and Career Choice Traditionalism Scale (Hensely, 2003. The collected data were statistically processed using SPSS version 16. Descriptive and inferential statistics was employed to analyze the data. The results revealed that there is a significant influence of parents on career choice among students. Specifically, father’s influence is found to be more significant on career choice decision making among students than their mothers.

Long-term impact of a preclinical endovascular skills course on medical student career choices.

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Lee, Jason T; Son, Ji H; Chandra, Venita; Lilo, Emily; Dalman, Ronald L

2011-10-01

Surging interest in the 0 + 5 integrated vascular surgery (VS) residency and successful recruitment of the top students in medical school requires early exposure to the field. We sought to determine the impact of a high-fidelity simulation-based preclinical endovascular skills course on medical student performance and ultimate career specialty choices. Fifty-two preclinical medical students enrolled in an 8-week VS elective course from 2007 to 2009. Students completed a baseline and postcourse survey and performed a renal angioplasty/stent procedure on an endovascular simulator (pretest). A curriculum consisting of didactic teaching covering peripheral vascular disease and weekly mentored simulator sessions concluded with a final graded procedure (posttest). Long-term follow-up surveys 1 to 3 years after course completion were administered to determine ultimate career paths of participants as well as motivating factors for career choice. Objective and subjective performance measured on the simulator and through structured global assessment scales improved in all students from pre- to posttest, particularly with regard to technical skill and overall procedural competency (P choices including surgical subspecialties (64%), radiology (10%), and cardiology (6%). Most respondents indicated major reasons for continued interest in VS were the ability to practice endovascular procedures on the simulator (92%) and mentorship from VS faculty (70%). Basic endovascular skills can be efficiently introduced through a simulation-based curriculum and lead to improved novice performance. Early exposure of preclinical medical students provides an effective teaching and recruitment tool for procedural-based fields, particularly surgical subspecialties. Mentored exposure to endovascular procedures on the simulator positively impacts long-term medical student attitudes toward vascular surgery and ultimate career choices. Copyright © 2011 Society for Vascular Surgery. Published by

Students' approaches to medical school choice: relationship with students' characteristics and motivation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wouters, Anouk; Croiset, Gerda; Schripsema, Nienke R.; Cohen-Schotanus, Janke; Spaai, Gerard W. G.; Hulsman, Robert L.; Kusurkar, Rashmi A.

2017-01-01

The aim was to examine main reasons for students' medical school choice and their relationship with students' characteristics and motivation during the students' medical study. In this multisite cross-sectional study, all Year-1 and Year-4 students who had participated in a selection procedure in

Factors Influencing Career Choice of Management Students in India

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Agarwala, Tanuja

2008-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the influence of a range of factors on the career choice of management students in India. The importance of different individuals in the family and at work in making career choices among these students is also to be explored. In addition, the study seeks to address the relationship of the cultural values of…

Food Choice Architecture: An Intervention in a Secondary School and its Impact on Students' Plant-based Food Choices.

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Ensaff, Hannah; Homer, Matt; Sahota, Pinki; Braybrook, Debbie; Coan, Susan; McLeod, Helen

2015-06-02

With growing evidence for the positive health outcomes associated with a plant-based diet, the study's purpose was to examine the potential of shifting adolescents' food choices towards plant-based foods. Using a real world setting of a school canteen, a set of small changes to the choice architecture was designed and deployed in a secondary school in Yorkshire, England. Focussing on designated food items (whole fruit, fruit salad, vegetarian daily specials, and sandwiches containing salad) the changes were implemented for six weeks. Data collected on students' food choice (218,796 transactions) enabled students' (980 students) selections to be examined. Students' food choice was compared for three periods: baseline (29 weeks); intervention (six weeks); and post-intervention (three weeks). Selection of designated food items significantly increased during the intervention and post-intervention periods, compared to baseline (baseline, 1.4%; intervention 3.0%; post-intervention, 2.2%) χ(2)(2) = 68.1, p food items during the intervention period, compared to baseline. The study's results point to the influence of choice architecture within secondary school settings, and its potential role in improving adolescents' daily food choices.

Australian medical students and their choice of surgery as a career: a review.

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Grigg, Megan; Arora, Manit; Diwan, Ashish D

2014-09-01

Surgery is an emotionally, physically and mentally challenging profession, and medical students factor in many variables when choosing surgery as a career choice. The aim of this study is to review the available literature on the factors influencing Australian medical students' choice of surgery as their career. A search of EMBASE and MEDLINE with the search terms 'medical students' AND 'surgery'; 'medical students' AND 'career pathways'; 'medical students' AND 'career choices' was conducted. Additionally, Google Scholar and the reference list of some articles were canvassed for suitable areas of study. Lifestyle factors were the main reason influencing medical student's career choices. A balance between work, family and lifestyle was found to be important, and a surgical career choice was not always compatible with this. In particular, female students placed more importance on family and lifestyle factors when opting for non-surgical careers. Positive exposure and/or experiences in a surgical environment, perceived prestige and perceived financial reward were associated with surgical career choice. There is a need to better understand the factors influencing surgical and non-surgical career choice among Australian medical students, and develop appropriate interventions to promote surgery as a career. This article does not discuss personality traits of people who go into surgery. © 2013 Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.

Choices and changes: Eccles' Expectancy-Value model and upper-secondary school students' longitudinal reflections about their choice of a STEM education

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Lykkegaard, Eva; Ulriksen, Lars

2016-03-01

During the past 30 years, Eccles' comprehensive social-psychological Expectancy-Value Model of Motivated Behavioural Choices (EV-MBC model) has been proven suitable for studying educational choices related to Science, Technology, Engineering and/or Mathematics (STEM). The reflections of 15 students in their last year in upper-secondary school concerning their choice of tertiary education were examined using quantitative EV-MBC surveys and repeated qualitative interviews. This article presents the analyses of three cases in detail. The analytical focus was whether the factors indicated in the EV-MBC model could be used to detect significant changes in the students' educational choice processes. An important finding was that the quantitative EV-MBC surveys and the qualitative interviews gave quite different results concerning the students' considerations about the choice of tertiary education, and that significant changes in the students' reflections were not captured by the factors of the EV-MBC model. This questions the validity of the EV-MBC surveys. Moreover, the quantitative factors from the EV-MBC model did not sufficiently explain students' dynamical educational choice processes where students in parallel considered several different potential educational trajectories. We therefore call for further studies of the EV-MBC model's use in describing longitudinal choice processes and especially in investigating significant changes.

Participation Behaviour among International Students: The Role of Satisfaction with Service Augmentation and Brand Choice Attainment

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Elsharnouby, Tamer H.

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to integrate service marketing and higher education (HE) literature to develop and test a model that links customer participation behaviour with student overall satisfaction that stems from satisfaction with service augmentation elements. It also examines the influence of brand choice attainment on both…

The Effect of Fast Food Globalisation on Students' Food Choice

OpenAIRE

Ijeoma Chinyere Ukonu

2016-01-01

This research seeks to investigate how the globalisation of fast food has affected students' food choice. A mixed method approach was used in this research; basically involving quantitative and qualitative methods. The quantitative method uses a self-completion questionnaire to randomly sample one hundred and four students; while the qualitative method uses a semi structured interview technique to survey four students on their knowledge and choice to consume fast food. A cross tabulation of v...

Stability of and Factors Related to Medical Student Specialty Choice of Psychiatry.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldenberg, Matthew N; Williams, D Keith; Spollen, John J

2017-09-01

Targeted efforts are needed to increase the number of medical students choosing psychiatry, but little is known about when students decide on their specialty or what factors influence their choice. The authors examined the timing and stability of student career choice of psychiatry compared with other specialties and determined what pre- and intra-medical school factors were associated with choosing a career in psychiatry. Using survey data from students who graduated from U.S. allopathic medical schools in 2013 and 2014 (N=29,713), the authors computed rates of psychiatry specialty choice at the beginning and end of medical school and assessed the stability of that choice. A multivariate-adjusted logistic regression and recursive partitioning were used to determine the association of 29 factors with psychiatry specialty choice. Choice of psychiatry increased from 1.6% at the start of medical school to 4.1% at graduation. The stability of psychiatry specialty choice from matriculation to graduation, at just over 50%, was greater than for any other specialty. However, almost 80% of future psychiatrists did not indicate an inclination toward the specialty at matriculation. A rating of "excellent" for the psychiatry clerkship (odds ratio=2.66), a major in psychology in college (odds ratio=2.58), and valuing work-life balance (odds ratio=2.25) were the factors most strongly associated with psychiatry career choice. Students who enter medical school planning to become psychiatrists are likely to do so, but the vast majority of students who choose psychiatry do so during medical school. Increasing the percentage of medical students with undergraduate psychology majors and providing an exemplary psychiatry clerkship are modifiable factors that may increase the rate of psychiatry specialty choice.

The Effect of Medical Student Volunteering in a Student-Run Clinic on Specialty Choice for Residency.

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Brown, Ashley; Ismail, Rahim; Gookin, Glenn; Hernandez, Caridad; Logan, Grace; Pasarica, Magdalena

2017-01-09

 Student-run free clinics (SRFCs) are a recent popular addition to medical school education, and a subset of studies has looked at the influence of SRFC volunteering on the medical student's career development. The majority of the research done in this area has focused on understanding if these SRFCs produce physicians who are more likely to practice medicine in underserved communities, caring for the uninsured. The remainder of the research has investigated if volunteering in an SRFC influences the specialty choice of medical school students. The results of these specialty choice studies give no definitive answer as to whether medical students chose primary or specialty care residencies as a result of their SRFC experience. Keeping Neighbors in Good Health through Service (KNIGHTS) is the SRFC of the University of Central Florida College of Medicine (UCF COM). Both primary and specialty care is offered at the clinic. It is the goal of this study to determine if volunteering in the KNIGHTS SRFC influences UCF COM medical students to choose primary care, thereby helping to meet the rising need for primary care physicians in the United States.  A survey was distributed to first, second, and third-year medical students at the UCF COM to collect data on demographics, prior volunteering experience, and specialty choice for residency. Responses were then combined with records of volunteer hours from the KNIGHTS Clinic and analyzed for correlations. We analyzed the frequency and Pearson's chi-squared values. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.  Our survey had a total response rate of 39.8%. We found that neither the act of becoming a KNIGHTS Clinic volunteer nor the hours volunteered at the KNIGHTS Clinic influenced the UCF COM student's choice to enter a primary care specialty (p = NS). Additionally, prior volunteering/clinical experience or the gender of the medical school student did not influence a student's choice to volunteer at

Integrated Testlets: A New Form of Expert-Student Collaborative Testing

Science.gov (United States)

Shiell, Ralph C.; Slepkov, Aaron D.

2015-01-01

Integrated testlets are a new assessment tool that encompass the procedural benefits of multiple-choice testing, the pedagogical advantages of free-response-based tests, and the collaborative aspects of a viva voce or defence examination format. The result is a robust assessment tool that provides a significant formative aspect for students.…

Association of medical student burnout with residency specialty choice.

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Enoch, Lindsey; Chibnall, John T; Schindler, Debra L; Slavin, Stuart J

2013-02-01

Given the trend among medical students away from primary care medicine and toward specialties that allow for more controllable lifestyles, the identification of factors associated with specialty choice is important. Burnout is one such factor. The purpose of this study was to examine the associations between burnout and residency specialty choice in terms of provision for a less versus more controllable lifestyle (e.g. internal medicine versus dermatology) and a lower versus higher income (e.g. paediatrics versus anaesthesiology). A survey was sent to 165 Year 4 medical students who had entered the residency matching system. Students answered questions about specialty choice, motivating factors (lifestyle, patient care and prestige) and perceptions of medicine as a profession. They completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Human Services (MBI), which defines burnout in relation to emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalisation (DP) and personal accomplishment (PA). Burnout and other variables were tested for associations with specialty lifestyle controllability and income. A response rate of 88% (n = 145) was achieved. Experiences of MBI-EE, MBI-DP and MBI-PA burnout were reported by 42 (29%), 26 (18%) and 30 (21%) students, respectively. Specialties with less controllable lifestyles were chosen by 87 (60%) students and lower-income specialties by 81 (56%). Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) indicated that the choice of a specialty with a more controllable lifestyle was associated with higher MBI-EE burnout (OR = 1.77, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06-2.96), as well as stronger lifestyle- and prestige-related motivation, and weaker patient care-related motivation. The choice of a higher-income specialty was associated with lower MBI-PA burnout (OR = 0.56, 95% CI 0.32-0.98), weaker lifestyle- and patient care-related motivation, and stronger prestige-related motivation. Specialty choices regarding lifestyle controllability and income were associated with the amount and type of

Students' Choices between Typing and Handwriting in Examinations

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Mogey, Nora; Cowan, John; Paterson, Jessie; Purcell, Mike

2012-01-01

Keyboarding (typing) is a ubiquitous skill for most UK students, and most coursework essays must be word processed. However, few examinations, other than for students with disabilities, permit the use of a word processor. It is not known how students would respond given a free choice between handwriting and word processing in an essay examination.…

Perceptions on gender awareness and considerations in career choices of medical students in a medical school in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Yueh-Chin; Lin, Ching-Yi; Huang, Chien-Ning; Yang, Jen-Hung

2013-11-01

issues. Other factors such as fixed hours of duty with no emergency, easier lifestyle, and more time to take care his/her families were also important factors affecting career choice in medical students regardless of their gender; however, the junior students disclosed lower concern on the issues. In addition, four major misperceptions of gender and health issues were prevalent in the 7(th)-year students; therefore, we recognized the importance of integrating gender issues into medical curriculum to diminish gender misunderstanding and prejudice, and to provide gender-specific health care is mandatory in Taiwan. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Value-based choice: An integrative, neuroscience-informed model of health goals.

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Berkman, Elliot T

2018-01-01

Traditional models of health behaviour focus on the roles of cognitive, personality and social-cognitive constructs (e.g. executive function, grit, self-efficacy), and give less attention to the process by which these constructs interact in the moment that a health-relevant choice is made. Health psychology needs a process-focused account of how various factors are integrated to produce the decisions that determine health behaviour. I present an integrative value-based choice model of health behaviour, which characterises the mechanism by which a variety of factors come together to determine behaviour. This model imports knowledge from research on behavioural economics and neuroscience about how choices are made to the study of health behaviour, and uses that knowledge to generate novel predictions about how to change health behaviour. I describe anomalies in value-based choice that can be exploited for health promotion, and review neuroimaging evidence about the involvement of midline dopamine structures in tracking and integrating value-related information during choice. I highlight how this knowledge can bring insights to health psychology using illustrative case of healthy eating. Value-based choice is a viable model for health behaviour and opens new avenues for mechanism-focused intervention.

A Case Study of Technology Choices by High School Students

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Owens-Hartman, Amy R.

2015-01-01

The purpose of this case study was to examine student technology choices when given the freedom to choose technology devices to complete a project-based learning activity in a content area of study. The study also analyzed factors affecting technology choice as well as how technology proficiency scores aligned to technology choices. Patterns and…

The Social Geography of Choice: Neighborhoods' Role in Students' Navigation of School Choice Policy in Chicago

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Phillippo, Kate L.; Griffin, Briellen

2016-01-01

This study extends research on school choice policy, and on the geography of educational opportunity, by exploring how students understand their school choices and select from them within social-geographical space. Using a conceptual framework that draws from situated social cognition and recent research on neighborhood effects, this study…

The Effect of English Language on Multiple Choice Question Scores of Thai Medical Students.

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Phisalprapa, Pochamana; Muangkaew, Wayuda; Assanasen, Jintana; Kunavisarut, Tada; Thongngarm, Torpong; Ruchutrakool, Theera; Kobwanthanakun, Surapon; Dejsomritrutai, Wanchai

2016-04-01

Universities in Thailand are preparing for Thailand's integration into the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by increasing the number of tests in English language. English language is not the native language of Thailand Differences in English language proficiency may affect scores among test-takers, even when subject knowledge among test-takers is comparable and may falsely represent the knowledge level of the test-taker. To study the impact of English language multiple choice test questions on test scores of medical students. The final examination of fourth-year medical students completing internal medicine rotation contains 120 multiple choice questions (MCQ). The languages used on the test are Thai and English at a ratio of 3:1. Individual scores of tests taken in both languages were collected and the effect of English language on MCQ was analyzed Individual MCQ scores were then compared with individual student English language proficiency and student grade point average (GPA). Two hundred ninety five fourth-year medical students were enrolled. The mean percentage of MCQ scores in Thai and English were significantly different (65.0 ± 8.4 and 56.5 ± 12.4, respectively, p English was fair (Spearman's correlation coefficient = 0.41, p English than in Thai language. Students were classified into six grade categories (A, B+, B, C+, C, and D+), which cumulatively measured total internal medicine rotation performance score plus final examination score. MCQ scores from Thai language examination were more closely correlated with total course grades than were the scores from English language examination (Spearman's correlation coefficient = 0.73 (p English proficiency score was very high, at 3.71 ± 0.35 from a total of 4.00. Mean student GPA was 3.40 ± 0.33 from a possible 4.00. English language MCQ examination scores were more highly associated with GPA than with English language proficiency. The use of English language multiple choice question test may decrease scores

Dental Student Academic Integrity in U.S. Dental Schools: Current Status and Recommendations for Enhancement.

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Bruce S; Knight, G William; Graham, Linda

2016-01-01

Cheating incidents in 2006-07 led U.S. dental schools to heighten their efforts to enhance the environment of academic integrity in their institutions. The aims of this study were to document the measures being used by U.S. dental schools to discourage student cheating, determine the current incidence of reported cheating, and make recommendations for enhancing a culture of integrity in dental education. In late 2014-early 2015, an online survey was distributed to academic deans of all 61 accredited U.S. dental schools that had four classes of dental students enrolled; 50 (82%) responded. Among measures used, 98% of respondents reported having policy statements regarding student academic integrity, 92% had an Honor Code, 96% provided student orientation to integrity policies, and most used proctoring of final exams (91%) and tests (93%). Regarding disciplinary processes, 27% reported their faculty members only rarely reported suspected cheating (though required in 76% of the schools), and 40% disseminated anonymous results of disciplinary hearings. A smaller number of schools (n=36) responded to the question about student cheating than to other questions; those results suggested that reported cheating had increased almost threefold since 1998. The authors recommend that schools add cheating case scenarios to professional ethics curricula; disseminate outcomes of cheating enforcement actions; have students sign a statement attesting to compliance with academic integrity policies at every testing activity; add curricular content on correct writing techniques to avoid plagiarism; require faculty to distribute retired test items; acquire examination-authoring software programs to enable faculty to generate new multiple-choice items and different versions of the same multiple-choice tests; avoid take-home exams when assessing independent student knowledge; and utilize student assessment methods directly relevant to clinical practice.

Development and Preliminary Testing of the Food Choice Priorities Survey (FCPS): Assessing the Importance of Multiple Factors on College Students' Food Choices.

Science.gov (United States)

Vilaro, Melissa J; Zhou, Wenjun; Colby, Sarah E; Byrd-Bredbenner, Carol; Riggsbee, Kristin; Olfert, Melissa D; Barnett, Tracey E; Mathews, Anne E

2017-12-01

Understanding factors that influence food choice may help improve diet quality. Factors that commonly affect adults' food choices have been described, but measures that identify and assess food choice factors specific to college students are lacking. This study developed and tested the Food Choice Priorities Survey (FCPS) among college students. Thirty-seven undergraduates participated in two focus groups ( n = 19; 11 in the male-only group, 8 in the female-only group) and interviews ( n = 18) regarding typical influences on food choice. Qualitative data informed the development of survey items with a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = not important, 5 = extremely important). An expert panel rated FCPS items for clarity, relevance, representativeness, and coverage using a content validity form. To establish test-retest reliability, 109 first-year college students completed the 14-item FCPS at two time points, 0-48 days apart ( M = 13.99, SD = 7.44). Using Cohen's weighted κ for responses within 20 days, 11 items demonstrated moderate agreement and 3 items had substantial agreement. Factor analysis revealed a three-factor structure (9 items). The FCPS is designed for college students and provides a way to determine the factors of greatest importance regarding food choices among this population. From a public health perspective, practical applications include using the FCPS to tailor health communications and behavior change interventions to factors most salient for food choices of college students.

Medical student debt and major life choices other than specialty

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

James Rohlfing

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Background: Median indebtedness at graduation is now more than $170,000 for graduates of US Medical Schools. Debate still exists as to whether higher debt levels influence students to choose high paying non-primary care specialties. Notably, no previous research on the topic has taken into account cost of attendance when constructing a debt model, nor has any research examined the non-career major life decisions that medical students face. Methods: Medical students were surveyed using an anonymous electronic instrument developed for this study. The survey was delivered through a link included in a study email and students were recruited from school wide listservs and through snowball sampling (students were encouraged to share a link to the survey with other medical students. No incentives were offered for survey completion. Results: Responses were recorded from 102 US Allopathic medical schools (n=3,032, with 22 institutions (11 public, 11 private meeting inclusion criteria of 10% student body response proportion (n=1,846. Students with higher debt relative to their peers at their home institution reported higher frequencies of feeling callous towards others, were more likely to choose a specialty with a higher average annual income, were less likely to plan to practice in underserved locations, and were less likely to choose primary care specialties. Students with higher aggregate amounts of medical student loan debt were more likely to report high levels of stress from their educational debt, to delay getting married and to report disagreement that they would choose to become a physician again, if given the opportunity to revisit that choice. Increases in both aggregate and relative debt were associated with delaying having children, delaying buying a house, concerns about managing and paying back educational debt, and worrying that educational debt will influence one's specialty choice. Conclusions: Medical student debt and particularly debt

Medical student debt and major life choices other than specialty.

Science.gov (United States)

Rohlfing, James; Navarro, Ryan; Maniya, Omar Z; Hughes, Byron D; Rogalsky, Derek K

2014-01-01

Median indebtedness at graduation is now more than $170,000 for graduates of US Medical Schools. Debate still exists as to whether higher debt levels influence students to choose high paying non-primary care specialties. Notably, no previous research on the topic has taken into account cost of attendance when constructing a debt model, nor has any research examined the non-career major life decisions that medical students face. Medical students were surveyed using an anonymous electronic instrument developed for this study. The survey was delivered through a link included in a study email and students were recruited from school wide listservs and through snowball sampling (students were encouraged to share a link to the survey with other medical students). No incentives were offered for survey completion. Responses were recorded from 102 US Allopathic medical schools (n=3,032), with 22 institutions (11 public, 11 private) meeting inclusion criteria of 10% student body response proportion (n=1,846). Students with higher debt relative to their peers at their home institution reported higher frequencies of feeling callous towards others, were more likely to choose a specialty with a higher average annual income, were less likely to plan to practice in underserved locations, and were less likely to choose primary care specialties. Students with higher aggregate amounts of medical student loan debt were more likely to report high levels of stress from their educational debt, to delay getting married and to report disagreement that they would choose to become a physician again, if given the opportunity to revisit that choice. Increases in both aggregate and relative debt were associated with delaying having children, delaying buying a house, concerns about managing and paying back educational debt, and worrying that educational debt will influence one's specialty choice. Medical student debt and particularly debt relative to peers at the same institution appears to

Every third Kazakhstani medical student regrets the choice of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Many physicians regret about their choice of profession. However, no studies on this topic have been performed in Central Asia. Objective: To assess the proportion of medical students who regret their choice of education and to study factors associated with this outcome in Kazakhstan. Methods: This is a ...

An Expanded Conceptual Framework of Medical Students' Primary Care Career Choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfarrwaller, Eva; Audétat, Marie-Claude; Sommer, Johanna; Maisonneuve, Hubert; Bischoff, Thomas; Nendaz, Mathieu; Baroffio, Anne; Junod Perron, Noëlle; Haller, Dagmar M

2017-11-01

In many countries, the number of graduating medical students pursuing a primary care career does not meet demand. These countries face primary care physician shortages. Students' career choices have been widely studied, yet many aspects of this process remain unclear. Conceptual models are useful to plan research and educational interventions in such complex systems.The authors developed a framework of primary care career choice in undergraduate medical education, which expands on previously published models. They used a group-based, iterative approach to find the best way to represent the vast array of influences identified in previous studies, including in a recent systematic review of the literature on interventions to increase the proportion of students choosing a primary care career. In their framework, students enter medical school with their personal characteristics and initial interest in primary care. They complete a process of career decision making, which is subject to multiple interacting influences, both within and outside medical school, throughout their medical education. These influences are stratified into four systems-microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem, and macrosystem-which represent different levels of interaction with students' career choices.This expanded framework provides an updated model to help understand the multiple factors that influence medical students' career choices. It offers a guide for the development of new interventions to increase the proportion of students choosing primary care careers and for further research to better understand the variety of processes involved in this decision.

Having Many Choice Options Seems Like a Great Idea, but...: Student Perceptions about the Level of Choice for a Project Topic in a Marketing Course

Science.gov (United States)

Ackerman, David S.; Gross, Barbara L.; Sawhney Celly, Kirti

2014-01-01

Many educators today emphasize student engagement and self-regulated learning, including giving students choices. However, research suggests that too much choice can have negative consequences such as feelings of stress and regret. An experimental design wherein students were offered different numbers of choice options when previewing, as in a…

Factors affecting future specialty choice among medical students in Kuwait.

Science.gov (United States)

Al-Fouzan, Rawan; Al-Ajlan, Sarah; Marwan, Yousef; Al-Saleh, Mervat

2012-01-01

Choosing a medical specialty can be either a daunting and confusing experience for some medical students and junior doctors or a foregone conclusion to others. The aim of this study is to evaluate factors affecting future specialty choice among medical students in Kuwait University. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from medical students registered in Kuwait University during the academic year 2011/2012. Chi-square test and logistic regression were used to test the association between deciding a future specialty and students' sociodemographic and academic factors. Of the 422 students approached, 387 (91.7%) decided to participate. A total of 144 (37.2%) students made a decision regarding their choice of future medical specialty. Pediatrics, general surgery, and cardiology were the most desired specialties - 18 (12.5%), 17 (11.8%), and 16 (11.1%) students requested these specialties, respectively. Only 61 (42.4%) of those who selected a future specialty received advice regarding their choice. Looking for a good treatment outcome for patients (66; 45.8%) and a challenging specialty (58; 40.3%) were the most influencing incentives when selecting a future specialty. Students in the clinical phase of their study were 3.014 (95% CI: 1.498-6.065) more likely to report on their decision regarding a future specialty compared to students in the basic medical sciences phase (p=0.002). A variety of factors appeared to inspire medical students in Kuwait to choose a future medical specialty. When identified, these factors can be used by mentors of medical students and directors of residency training programs to motivate students to choose specialties that are limited in Kuwait.

Factors Affecting the Choice of Anesthesiology by Medical Students for Specialty Training.

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Chandra, Phool; Hughes, Mark

1984-01-01

A study of medical students' choice of anesthesiology as a specialty and the quality of clerkships available established several factors in students' choice, including the negative effect of certified registered nurse anesthetists on the operating room floor. A study of relationships with nurse practitioners, physician's assistants, and…

Specialty choice preference of medical students according to personality traits by Five-Factor Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Oh Young; Park, So Youn

2016-03-01

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between personality traits, using the Five-Factor Model, and characteristics and motivational factors affecting specialty choice in Korean medical students. A questionnaire survey of Year 4 medical students (n=110) in July 2015 was administered. We evaluated the personality traits of Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness by using the Korean version of Big Five Inventory. Questions about general characteristics, medical specialties most preferred as a career, motivational factors in determining specialty choice were included. Data between five personality traits and general characteristics and motivational factors affecting specialty choice were analyzed using Student t-test, Mann-Whitney test and analysis of variance. Of the 110 eligible medical students, 105 (95.4% response rate) completed the questionnaire. More Agreeableness students preferred clinical medicine to basic medicine (p=0.010) and more Openness students preferred medical departments to others (p=0.031). Personal interest was the significant motivational factors in more Openness students (p=0.003) and Conscientiousness students (p=0.003). Medical students with more Agreeableness were more likely to prefer clinical medicine and those with more Openness preferred medical departments. Personal interest was a significant influential factor determining specialty choice in more Openness and Conscientiousness students. These findings may be helpful to medical educators or career counselors in the specialty choice process.

Specialty choice preference of medical students according to personality traits by Five-Factor Model

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Oh Young Kwon

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between personality traits, using the Five-Factor Model, and characteristics and motivational factors affecting specialty choice in Korean medical students. Methods: A questionnaire survey of Year 4 medical students (n=110 in July 2015 was administered. We evaluated the personality traits of Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness by using the Korean version of Big Five Inventory. Questions about general characteristics, medical specialties most preferred as a career, motivational factors in determining specialty choice were included. Data between five personality traits and general characteristics and motivational factors affecting specialty choice were analyzed using Student t-test, Mann-Whitney test and analysis of variance. Results: Of the 110 eligible medical students, 105 (95.4% response rate completed the questionnaire. More Agreeableness students preferred clinical medicine to basic medicine (p=0.010 and more Openness students preferred medical departments to others (p=0.031. Personal interest was the significant motivational factors in more Openness students (p=0.003 and Conscientiousness students (p=0.003. Conclusion: Medical students with more Agreeableness were more likely to prefer clinical medicine and those with more Openness preferred medical departments. Personal interest was a significant influential factor determining specialty choice in more Openness and Conscientiousness students. These findings may be helpful to medical educators or career counselors in the specialty choice process.

Differences in medical students' academic interest and performance across career choice motivations.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kyong-Jee; Hwang, Jee Y; Kwon, Bum S

2016-02-15

To investigate medical students' career choice motivation and its relationship with their academic interest and performance. We conducted a cross-sectional study in a sample (n=207) of medical students at a private medical school in Korea, stratified by year of medical course. Data about participant demographics, career choice motivation and academic interest were collected using a self-report questionnaire. The item on career choice motivation enquired about the respondents' main reason for applying for medical school among 8 possible response options, which comprised two components of career choice motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. The participants' levels of academic interest were measured in a Likert-type question. Participants' academic interest and Grade Point Averages (GPAs) were compared across the groups of different career motivations along with analyses of their admission scores for baseline comparisons. A total of 195 students completed the questionnaire (94%response rate). Seventy-four percent, (n=145; the intrinsic group) of the participants chose reasons related to intrinsic motivation, 22% (n=42; the extrinsic group) chose reasons pertaining to extrinsic motivation, and 4% (n = 8) chose other reasons for applying to medical school. The intrinsic group outperformed the extrinsic group in their GPAs, although their prior academic achievements did not differ significantly. The intrinsic group showed significantly higher levels of academic interest and also performed better in the admission interviews. Our study illustrates differences in medical students' academic interest and performance across career choice motivations. Further research is warranted to establish the predictive power of medical students' career choice motivation and academic interest on their academic performance.

Factors affecting future specialty choice among medical students in Kuwait

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Rawan Al-Fouzan

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Choosing a medical specialty can be either a daunting and confusing experience for some medical students and junior doctors or a foregone conclusion to others. The aim of this study is to evaluate factors affecting future specialty choice among medical students in Kuwait University. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from medical students registered in Kuwait University during the academic year 2011/2012. Chi-square test and logistic regression were used to test the association between deciding a future specialty and students’ sociodemographic and academic factors. Results: Of the 422 students approached, 387 (91.7% decided to participate. A total of 144 (37.2% students made a decision regarding their choice of future medical specialty. Pediatrics, general surgery, and cardiology were the most desired specialties – 18 (12.5%, 17 (11.8%, and 16 (11.1% students requested these specialties, respectively. Only 61 (42.4% of those who selected a future specialty received advice regarding their choice. Looking for a good treatment outcome for patients (66; 45.8% and a challenging specialty (58; 40.3% were the most influencing incentives when selecting a future specialty. Students in the clinical phase of their study were 3.014 (95% CI: 1.498–6.065 more likely to report on their decision regarding a future specialty compared to students in the basic medical sciences phase (p=0.002. Conclusion : A variety of factors appeared to inspire medical students in Kuwait to choose a future medical specialty. When identified, these factors can be used by mentors of medical students and directors of residency training programs to motivate students to choose specialties that are limited in Kuwait.

Field Dependence and Vocational Choice of Interior Design Students.

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Davis, Diane M.; And Others

One hundred ninety-three interior design college students were administered the Group Embedded Figures Test, a measure of field dependence, in order to evaluate two of Witkin's hypotheses regarding career choice. The career-differentiation hypothesis predicted that students electing to major in interior design would be field independent because…

Perceptions on gender awareness and considerations in career choices of medical students in a medical school in Taiwan

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Yueh-Chin Chung

2013-11-01

��economic incentive” were more appreciated by the senior than the junior students (p < 0.05. Effect of “family” or “spouse” did not differ significantly regardless of gender or seniority. The 7th-year students had experiences in clinical medicine and had different considerations in career choice in comparison to the 1st-year students, and gender played a role in senior students. In addition, the senior rather than the junior students regarded “training and learning environments”, “risk of lawsuit”, and “economic incentive” as more important factors affecting the career choices, and male students paid more attention to these issues. Other factors such as fixed hours of duty with no emergency, easier lifestyle, and more time to take care his/her families were also important factors affecting career choice in medical students regardless of their gender; however, the junior students disclosed lower concern on the issues. In addition, four major misperceptions of gender and health issues were prevalent in the 7th-year students; therefore, we recognized the importance of integrating gender issues into medical curriculum to diminish gender misunderstanding and prejudice, and to provide gender-specific health care is mandatory in Taiwan.

Effects of student choice on engagement and understanding in a junior high science class

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Foreback, Laura Elizabeth

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of increasing individual student choice in assignments on student engagement and understanding of content. It was predicted that if students are empowered to choose learning activities based on individual readiness, learning style, and interests, they would be more engaged in the curriculum and consequently would develop deeper understanding of the material. During the 2009--2010 school year, I implemented differentiated instructional strategies that allowed for an increased degree of student choice in five sections of eighth grade science at DeWitt Junior High School. These strategies, including tiered lessons and student-led, project-based learning, were incorporated into the "Earth History and Geologic Time Scale" unit of instruction. The results of this study show that while offering students choices can be used as an effective motivational strategy, their academic performance was not increased compared to their performance during an instructional unit that did not offer choice.

Future Choice of Specialty among Students in a Caribbean Medical ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: The medical specialities chosen by medical students for their careers play an important part in ... data, generic factors considered as important in their specialty choice as well as factors that influence the students\\' attractiveness to ...

Exploring International Students' Food Choices Using Photovoice Techniques

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Corcoran, Nova

2018-01-01

This study aimed to explore international student food choices in a semirural setting using participatory photovoice techniques. Eighteen international students took photographs over 7-10 days of a typical food week and then attended a workshop where they completed three photography display and captioning tasks. Ten themes emerged linked to the…

The influence of low-fare airlines on vacation choices of students : results of a stated portfolio choice experiment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Grigolon, A.B.; Kemperman, A.D.A.M.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

2012-01-01

This paper reports the results of a portfolio model of vacation choices of students. The portfolio model concerns the combined choice of destination type, transport mode, duration, accommodation, and travel party for vacations. In addition to usual transport modes such as airline, train, bus and

Students' perspectives on promoting healthful food choices from campus vending machines: a qualitative interview study.

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Ali, Habiba I; Jarrar, Amjad H; Abo-El-Enen, Mostafa; Al Shamsi, Mariam; Al Ashqar, Huda

2015-05-28

Increasing the healthfulness of campus food environments is an important step in promoting healthful food choices among college students. This study explored university students' suggestions on promoting healthful food choices from campus vending machines. It also examined factors influencing students' food choices from vending machines. Peer-led semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with 43 undergraduate students (33 females and 10 males) recruited from students enrolled in an introductory nutrition course in a large national university in the United Arab Emirates. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and coded to generate themes using N-Vivo software. Accessibility, peer influence, and busy schedules were the main factors influencing students' food choices from campus vending machines. Participants expressed the need to improve the nutritional quality of the food items sold in the campus vending machines. Recommendations for students' nutrition educational activities included placing nutrition tips on or beside the vending machines and using active learning methods, such as competitions on nutrition knowledge. The results of this study have useful applications in improving the campus food environment and nutrition education opportunities at the university to assist students in making healthful food choices.

Student's Local Top-Up Higher Education Choices

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Agbola, Frank W.; Cheng, Calvin

2017-01-01

Making decisions about education choices is challenging and difficult for students. Utilising the theory of reasoned action, we specify and estimate a conceptual framework that captures the cognitive process of decision making of students in choosing top-up higher degrees in Hong Kong. Top-up higher or bachelor's degrees are top-up undergraduate…

The choice of surgical specialization by medical students and their syncopal history.

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Rudnicki, Jerzy; Zyśko, Dorota; Kozłowski, Dariusz; Kuliczkowski, Wiktor; Koźluk, Edward; Lelonek, Małgorzata; Piątkowska, Agnieszka; Gajek, Jacek; Negrusz-Kawecka, Marta; Agrawal, Anil Kumar

2013-01-01

The aim of the study was to assess whether medical students' fainting outside the university or while witnessing surgical procedures and/or autopsies influenced their choice of a specialization. The study group consisted of 605 medical students (from fourth to sixth year of study) from five medical universities in Poland (325 women, 212 men and 8 responders of an unspecified gender). The median age of subjects studied was 23 years, and the interquartile range was 23-24 years. The students at each university were chosen randomly by the author who worked there and had contact with them. An anonymous questionnaire was developed to gather information regarding demographics, the specialization which each student wanted to choose, the syncope occurrence in the medical history, the syncope and presyncope occurrence during surgery and autopsy as well as the syncopal events' characteristics. The group of 15% of women and 30% of men declared to have pursued the surgical specialization (P<0.001), 29% of women and 56% of men declared the intention to pursue an invasive specialization (P<0.001). As many as 36.0% of women studied and 13.1% of men studied reported syncopal spells outside university (P<0.001). Only 41 students (6.8%) reported that syncope or presyncope in any studied circumstances had an impact on their specialization choice. The multivariate analysis showed that the choice of surgical specialization is related to the male gender and the absence of syncopal spells outside the university. Syncopal and presyncopal spells may affect the professional choices of the medical students. The male gender and a lack of syncope occurrence outside operating room are related to the choice of surgical specialization.

School Choice, Student Mobility, and School Quality: Evidence from Post-Katrina New Orleans

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Welsh, Richard O.; Duque, Matthew; McEachin, Andrew

2016-01-01

In recent decades, school choice policies predicated on student mobility have gained prominence as urban districts address chronically low-performing schools. However, scholars have highlighted equity concerns related to choice policies. The case of post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans provides an opportunity to examine student mobility patterns in…

In Their Words: Student Choice in Training Markets--Victorian Examples. NCVER Research Report

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Brown, Justin

2017-01-01

This research offers insights into the options available to individuals as they navigate the vocational education and training (VET) market. Importantly, this study directly represents the voice of students, asking how their choices were made and whether their choice was sufficiently "informed." The student voice is contrasted with…

The Impact of Middle-School Students' Feedback Choices and Performance on Their Feedback Memory

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Cutumisu, Maria; Schwartz, Daniel L.

2016-01-01

This paper presents a novel examination of the impact of students' feedback choices and performance on their feedback memory. An empirical study was designed to collect the choices to seek critical feedback from a hundred and six Grade 8 middle-school students via Posterlet, a digital assessment game in which students design posters. Upon…

What factors influence UK medical students' choice of foundation school?

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Miah, Saiful; Pang, Karl H; Rebello, Wayne; Rubakumar, Zoe; Fung, Victoria; Venugopal, Suresh; Begum, Hena

2017-01-01

We aimed to identify the factors influencing UK medical student applicants' choice of foundation school. We also explored the factors that doctors currently approaching the end of their 2-year program believe should be considered. A cross-sectional study was conducted during the 2013-2014 academic year. An online questionnaire was distributed to 2092 final-year medical students from nine UK medical schools and 84 foundation year-2 (FY2) doctors from eight foundation schools. Participants were asked to rank their top 3 from a list of 12 factors that could potentially influence choice of foundation school on a 5-point Likert scale. Collated categorical data from the two groups were compared using a chi-square test with Yates correction. Geographic location was overwhelmingly the most important factor for medical students and FY2 doctors with 97.2% and 98.8% in agreement, respectively. Social relationships played a pivotal role for medical student applicants. Clinical specialties within the rotations were of less importance to medical students, in comparison to location and social relationships. In contrast, FY2 doctors placed a significantly greater importance on the specialties undertaken in their 2-year training program, when compared to medical students (chi-square; p =0.0001). UK medical schools should make their foundation program applicants aware of the importance of choosing rotations based on specialties that will be undertaken. Individual foundation schools could provide a more favorable linked application system and greater choice and flexibility of specialties within their 2-year program, potentially making their institution more attractive to future applicants.

The Integrate Student Portal: Online Resources to Prepare Students for the Workforce of a Sustainable Future

Science.gov (United States)

Bruckner, M. Z.; Manduca, C. A.; Egger, A. E.; Macdonald, H.

2014-12-01

The InTeGrate Student Portal is a suite of web pages that utilize InTeGrate resources to support student success by providing undergraduates with tools and information necessary to be proactive in their career choices and development. Drawn from various InTeGrate workshops and programming, the Portal organizes these resources to illuminate a variety of career opportunities and pathways to both traditional and non-traditional jobs that support a sustainable future. Informed from a variety of sources including employers, practitioners, faculty, students, reports, and articles, the pages explore five facets: (1) sustainability across the disciplines, (2) workforce preparation, (3) professional communication, (4) teaching and teaching careers, and (5) the future of green research and technology. The first three facets explore how sustainability is integrated across disciplines and how sustainability and 'green' jobs are available in a wide range of traditional and non-traditional workplaces within and beyond science. They provide students guidance in preparing for this sustainability workforce, including where to learn about jobs and how to pursue them, advice for strengthening their job applications, and how to build a set of skills that employers seek. This advice encompasses classroom skills as well as those acquired and strengthened as part of extracurricular or workplace experiences. The fourth facet, aimed at teaching assistants with little or no experience as well as at students who are interested in pursuing teaching as a career, provides information and resources about teaching. The fifth facet explores future directions of technology and the need for innovations in the workforce of the future to address sustainability issues. We seek your input and invite you to explore the Portal at: serc.carleton.edu/integrate/students/

Science choices and preferences of middle and secondary school students in Utah

Science.gov (United States)

Baird, J. Hugh; Lazarowitz, Reuven; Allman, Verl

This research sought to answer two questions: (1) What are Utah junior and senior high school students' preferences and choices regarding science subjects? (2) Could preferences and choices be related to the type of school, age or gender? Two thousand students from grades six through twelve participated in this study. Findings show that zoology and human anatomy and physiology were most preferred. Ecology was least prefered. Topics in the physical sciences were also low. There was a trend among girls to prefer natural sciences such as botany while boys tended to prefer the physical sciences. Generally, students' choices were limited to those subjects presently taught in the formal school curriculum. They appeared unaware of the many science related subjects outside the texts or the approved course of study.

The choice of surgical specialization by medical students and their syncopal history.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jerzy Rudnicki

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to assess whether medical students' fainting outside the university or while witnessing surgical procedures and/or autopsies influenced their choice of a specialization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study group consisted of 605 medical students (from fourth to sixth year of study from five medical universities in Poland (325 women, 212 men and 8 responders of an unspecified gender. The median age of subjects studied was 23 years, and the interquartile range was 23-24 years. The students at each university were chosen randomly by the author who worked there and had contact with them. An anonymous questionnaire was developed to gather information regarding demographics, the specialization which each student wanted to choose, the syncope occurrence in the medical history, the syncope and presyncope occurrence during surgery and autopsy as well as the syncopal events' characteristics. RESULTS: The group of 15% of women and 30% of men declared to have pursued the surgical specialization (P<0.001, 29% of women and 56% of men declared the intention to pursue an invasive specialization (P<0.001. As many as 36.0% of women studied and 13.1% of men studied reported syncopal spells outside university (P<0.001. Only 41 students (6.8% reported that syncope or presyncope in any studied circumstances had an impact on their specialization choice. The multivariate analysis showed that the choice of surgical specialization is related to the male gender and the absence of syncopal spells outside the university. CONCLUSIONS: Syncopal and presyncopal spells may affect the professional choices of the medical students. The male gender and a lack of syncope occurrence outside operating room are related to the choice of surgical specialization.

teacher characteristics and students' choice of teaching as a career

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Engr E. Egbochukwu

choice of teaching as a career among secondary school students in Osun state, Nigeria. ... as a career. The study also showed a significant relationship between ... follows that how the students perceive their environment, personality, and opportunity will also ..... status and their children's, occupational preference. Journal of.

Gender differences in motives and career choice of medical students.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heiligers, P.J.M.; Emmerik, H. van

2009-01-01

Introduction: Insight in the choices of medical students concerning their future career is an actual issue, since the population is changing towards a majority of female students. We focus here on insight in the effect of gender and life-stage on students’ preferences concerning a medical specialty,

Integrative technology of massage manipulations in physical rehabilitation of students with backbone pathology

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V.I. Kotelevskiy

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Purpose:to analyze effectiveness of massage manipulations’ integrative technology in physical rehabilitation of higher educational establishments’ students with backbone pathology. Material: in the research 195 students of 19-20 years’ age participated. All students had periodical initial neurological symptoms of functional pathology and first stage osteochondrosis in different parts of backbone. We conducted a course of 10 sessions of therapeutic massage. Results: the sense of massage integrative technology is that every specialist shall have certain optimal set of skills and knowledge in technique of manipulation sessions of massage. Integrative technology of massage manipulations consists of psycho-corrective and manipulation parts. It considers psycho-somatic, mechanical and reflex rehabilitation aspects of patho-genesis of backbone functional disorders and vertebral osteochondrosis. Conclusions: depending on pathological process or backbone functional state of every person (peculiarities of his (her psycho-somatic status or, even, his (her bents. Individual approach in choice of strategy, tactic and methodological provisioning of massage session shall be used.

Food Choice Motives among the Students of a Dental Institution in Mysore City, India.

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Sushma, R; Vanamala, N; Nagabhushana, D; Maurya, M; Sunitha, S; Reddy, Cvk

2014-09-01

In pursuit of a more "holistic" dentistry and an increasing focus on promoting oral health, dental students are increasingly being trained to take a more active part in health promotion and education. In particular, this incorporates an emphasis on diet and educating people to eat in more healthy ways. This paper works from the premise that if dental students are to engage in oral health promotion, they will do so more effectively if they have first explored their own food choice motivations. A descriptive, cross-sectional questionnaire study. The food choice questionnaire (FCQ) was distributed to a comparative group of 1(st) and 5(th) year dental students in timetabled lecture slots. The FCQ is a previously validated measure designed to assess ten main factors relevant to peoples" food choices. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 18.0 (Chicago, IL, USA) using descriptive statistics and independent sample t-test. Nearly 77% (122/159) students responded. Findings were analyzed using independent sample t-test. Results indicated statistically significant differences in terms of food choice motivations between male and female students of 1(st) and 5(th) year. Awareness and an understanding of the differences in motivational factors affecting food choice between dental students is important as they are increasingly taught to play an active role in oral health promotion.

Optimizing the Power of Choice: Supporting Student Autonomy to Foster Motivation and Engagement in Learning

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Evans, Miriam; Boucher, Alyssa R.

2015-01-01

Choice plays a critical role in promoting students' intrinsic motivation and deep engagement in learning. Across a range of academic outcomes and student populations, positive impacts have been seen when student autonomy is promoted through meaningful and personally relevant choice. This article presents a theoretical perspective on the…

Gender and race are significant determinants of students' food choices on a college campus.

Science.gov (United States)

Boek, Stacey; Bianco-Simeral, Stephanie; Chan, Kenny; Goto, Keiko

2012-01-01

To examine the roles of gender and race in students' determinants of food choices on a college campus. A total of 405 college students participated in a survey entitled "Campus Food: You Tell Us!" Chi-square and logistic regression were used to examine associations between demographics and food choice determinants. Gender and race appeared to play a significant role in determinants of students' food dislikes. Males were significantly more likely to choose cost, taste, and poor quality over poor nutrition as determinants. White students were significantly less likely to choose cost, inconvenience, and taste over poor nutrition than students of other races. Gender was also a significant factor associated with student preferences for campus dining location and determinants of unhealthful food. Future marketing may be more effective if tailored to gender and race. Nutrition educators should consider addressing taste and convenience when attempting to influence students' food choices. Copyright © 2012 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Factors Affecting Career Choice among Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology Students

Science.gov (United States)

Stone, Larissa; Pellowski, Mark W.

2016-01-01

This investigation assessed the factors affecting career choice among 474 current undergraduate and graduate speech-language pathology and audiology students (from four universities). A 14-item questionnaire was developed that included questions related to general influence of career choice and whether or not the participants had previously been,…

Influencers of Career Choice among Allied Health Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown-West, Anne P.

1991-01-01

Major influences on career choice among 153 allied health students were need to help others, prestige, autonomy, and advancement and income potential. Risk of malpractice suits and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome were negative influences for medical laboratory majors, but not for dietetics and physical therapy majors. (SK)

How Predictive Analytics and Choice Architecture Can Improve Student Success

Science.gov (United States)

Denley, Tristan

2014-01-01

This article explores the challenges that students face in navigating the curricular structure of post-secondary degree programs, and how predictive analytics and choice architecture can play a role. It examines Degree Compass, a course recommendation system that successfully pairs current students with the courses that best fit their talents and…

The Selection of a Business Major: Elements Influencing Student Choice and Implications for Outcomes Assessment

Science.gov (United States)

Pritchard, Robert E.; Potter, Gregory C.; Saccucci, Michael S.

2004-01-01

In this article, the authors examine the key factors that influence student choice of a business major and how business schools can help students make that choice more realistically. Investigating students at a regional university, the authors found that whereas those with better quantitative skills tended to major in accounting or finance, those…

The Influence of Cultural Social Identity on Graduate Student Career Choice

Science.gov (United States)

Haley, Karen J.; Jaeger, Audrey J.; Levin, John S.

2014-01-01

This study examines and enriches understanding of the career choice process for graduate students of color. Social identity theory (SIT) is used as a framework to expand our understanding of how and why graduate students choose (or do not choose) faculty careers. Graduate students' cultural social identities influenced their career choice…

Every third Kazakhstani medical student regrets the choice of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

admin

Conclusions: The results suggest that one third of medical students in Almaty, Kazakhstan, regret the choice of medical education. ..... test (MCAT) (24), the graduate Australian medical .... experience of help seeking for mental health problems ...

Factors influencing medical students' choice of emergency medicine as a career specialty-a descriptive study of Saudi medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Alkhaneen, Hadeel; Alhusain, Faisal; Alshahri, Khalid; Al Jerian, Nawfal

2018-03-07

Choosing a medical specialty is a poorly understood process. Although studies conducted around the world have attempted to identify the factors that affect medical students' choice of specialty, data is scarce on the factors that influence the choice of specialty of Saudi Arabian medical students, in particular those planning a career in emergency medicine (EM). In this study, we investigated whether Saudi medical students choosing EM are influenced by different factors to those choosing other specialties. A cross-sectional survey was conducted at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAUHS), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire distributed among all undergraduate and postgraduate medical students of both sexes in the second and third phases (57% were males and 43% were females). A total of 436 students answered the questionnaire, a response rate of 53.4%. EM group was most influenced by hospital orientation and lifestyle and least influenced by social orientation and prestige provided by their specialty. Unlike controllable lifestyle (CL) group and primary care (PC) group, EM reported lesser influence of social orientation on their career choice. When compared with students primarily interested in the surgical subspecialties (SS), EM group were less likely to report prestige as an important influence. Moreover, students interested in SS reported a leaser influence of medical lifestyle in comparison to EM group. When compared with CL group, EM group reported more interest in medical lifestyle. We found that students primarily interested in EM had different values and career expectations to other specialty groups. The trends in specialty choice should be appraised to meet future needs.

Student-Generated Content: Enhancing Learning through Sharing Multiple-Choice Questions

Science.gov (United States)

Hardy, Judy; Bates, Simon P.; Casey, Morag M.; Galloway, Kyle W.; Galloway, Ross K.; Kay, Alison E.; Kirsop, Peter; McQueen, Heather A.

2014-01-01

The relationship between students' use of PeerWise, an online tool that facilitates peer learning through student-generated content in the form of multiple-choice questions (MCQs), and achievement, as measured by their performance in the end-of-module examinations, was investigated in 5 large early-years science modules (in physics, chemistry and…

Socio-demographic characteristics and career choices amongst Chilean dental students.

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Karla Gambetta

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This cross-sectional study aimed to explore the socio-demographic and career choice characteristics of dental students in two publicly funded universities in Chile. A total of 601 dental students participated in the study with a 53% response rate.The written survey covered age, gender, type of school attended, place of residence, parental occupation, level of education, tuition fees payment methods, along with motivations and preferences towards dentistry as a career. The respondents had an average age of 22 years old. Sixty one percent of respondents were female, and the majority had completed secondary education in private and subsidized schools with only 21.5% having finished in public schools. Most of the students covered their tuition fees with parental money (37.1%, followed by any type of loan (27.9%. The majority of students (63.8% had placed dentistry as their first career choice with self-motivation being the most important reason for their decision. This study provides a description of the socio-demographic and economic profile of Chilean dental students and provides insights about career decision issues. It also purposes areas for further research and management by academics for future program development.

What Factors Influence Vietnamese Students' Choice of University?

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Dao, Mai Thi Ngoc; Thorpe, Anthony

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report the factors that influence Vietnamese students' choice of university in a little researched context where the effects of globalization and education reform are changing higher education. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative survey was completed by 1,124 current or recently completed university…

Factors influencing the choice of profession of first-year teaching students

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N. Hislop-Esterhuizen

2008-09-01

Full Text Available The lack of appropriately qualified teachers in South Africa is growing rapidly and debates about the decline in teacher numbers in South Africa are increasing. In this study, the results of an investigation into possible factors that impact on the career choice of teaching students are reported. The reasons why first-year teaching students at the University of Pretoria chose teachings a career were studied by using a non-experimental design (survey design; administering anon-standardised questionnaire. The results revealed, inter alia, that a number of factors influence the career choice of first-year teaching students. Trends that emerged from the current study include the following: many more women than men enter the teaching profession; relatively few African language speaking students choose education as a field of study and the role of parents in helping their children to choose a career cannot be underestimated. 

Factors affecting future specialty choice among medical students in Kuwait

OpenAIRE

Marwan, Yousef; Al-Fouzan, Rawan; Al-Ajlan, Sarah; Al-Saleh, Mervat

2012-01-01

Background: Choosing a medical specialty can be either a daunting and confusing experience for some medical students and junior doctors or a foregone conclusion to others. The aim of this study is to evaluate factors affecting future specialty choice among medical students in Kuwait University. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data from medical students registered in Kuwait University during the academic year 2011/2012. Chi-square test and logistic regression wer...

Becoming a general practitioner--which factors have most impact on career choice of medical students?

Science.gov (United States)

Kiolbassa, Kathrin; Miksch, Antje; Hermann, Katja; Loh, Andreas; Szecsenyi, Joachim; Joos, Stefanie; Goetz, Katja

2011-05-09

In Germany, there is a shortage of young physicians in several specialties, the situation of general practitioners (GP) being especially precarious. The factors influencing the career choice of German medical students are poorly understood. This study aims to identify factors influencing medical students' specialty choice laying a special focus on general practice. The study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. In 2010, students at the five medical schools in the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany) filled out an online-questionnaire. On 27 items with 5-point Likert scales, the students rated the importance of specified individual and occupational aspects. Furthermore, students were asked to assign their intended medical specialty. 1,299 students participated in the survey. Thereof, 1,114 students stated a current choice for a specialty, with 708 students choosing a career in one of the following 6 specialties: internal medicine, surgery, gynaecology and obstetrics, paediatrics, anaesthetics and general practice. Overall, individual aspects ('Personal ambition', 'Future perspective', 'Work-life balance') were rated as more important than occupational aspects (i.e. 'Variety in job', 'Job-related ambition') for career choice. For students favouring a career as a GP individual aspects and the factor 'Patient orientation' among the occupational aspects were significantly more important and 'Job-related ambition' less important compared to students with other specialty choices. This study confirms that future GPs differ from students intending to choose other specialties particularly in terms of patient-orientation and individual aspects such as personal ambition, future perspective and work-life balance. Improving job-conditions in terms of family compatibility and work-life balance could help to increase the attractiveness of general practice. Due to the shortage of GPs those factors should be made explicit at an early stage at medical school to increase

Becoming a general practitioner - Which factors have most impact on career choice of medical students?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Loh Andreas

2011-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background In Germany, there is a shortage of young physicians in several specialties, the situation of general practitioners (GP being especially precarious. The factors influencing the career choice of German medical students are poorly understood. This study aims to identify factors influencing medical students' specialty choice laying a special focus on general practice. Methods The study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. In 2010, students at the five medical schools in the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany filled out an online-questionnaire. On 27 items with 5-point Likert scales, the students rated the importance of specified individual and occupational aspects. Furthermore, students were asked to assign their intended medical specialty. Results 1,299 students participated in the survey. Thereof, 1,114 students stated a current choice for a specialty, with 708 students choosing a career in one of the following 6 specialties: internal medicine, surgery, gynaecology and obstetrics, paediatrics, anaesthetics and general practice. Overall, individual aspects ('Personal ambition', 'Future perspective', 'Work-life balance' were rated as more important than occupational aspects (i.e. 'Variety in job', 'Job-related ambition' for career choice. For students favouring a career as a GP individual aspects and the factor 'Patient orientation' among the occupational aspects were significantly more important and 'Job-related ambition' less important compared to students with other specialty choices. Conclusions This study confirms that future GPs differ from students intending to choose other specialties particularly in terms of patient-orientation and individual aspects such as personal ambition, future perspective and work-life balance. Improving job-conditions in terms of family compatibility and work-life balance could help to increase the attractiveness of general practice. Due to the shortage of GPs those factors should

Gender and Race Are Significant Determinants of Students' Food Choices on a College Campus

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Boek, Stacey; Bianco-Simeral, Stephanie; Chan, Kenny; Goto, Keiko

2012-01-01

Objective: To examine the roles of gender and race in students' determinants of food choices on a college campus. Methods: A total of 405 college students participated in a survey entitled "Campus Food: You Tell Us!" Chi-square and logistic regression were used to examine associations between demographics and food choice determinants. Results:…

Socio- Demographic Characteristics and Career Choice of Private Secondary School Students

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Maria Ramona S. Braza

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This study determined the career choice of the high school students of the different private institutions in San Jose, Batangas as a basis for developing a career program guide to help the students in choosing their career.The descriptive method was used the study with the questionnaire and standardized test as the main data gathering instruments. Parents, students and teachers served as respondents of the study. The study revealed that most preferred career of the respondents is the academic track particularly the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM strand. The proposed program guide formulated focused on how to help the students decide on their future career. When properly given, it will benefit the students. The researchers recommended that the proposed career program guide that has been formulated may be shown to school heads for their suggestions; the students should be provided with effective orientation on what career is really all about. This could be done by the school guidance counselor or by the teachers and parents as well and there must be a close–up tie among the guidance personnel, teachers, students, and parents to promote a better understanding of the factors which influence the career choice of the students.

Predicting Burnout and Career Choice Satisfaction in Counseling Psychology Graduate Students

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Clark, Heddy Kovach; Murdock, Nancy L.; Koetting, Kristin

2009-01-01

Counseling psychology doctoral students (N = 284) from 53 training programs throughout the United States anonymously completed online measures of burnout, career choice satisfaction, global stress, role conflict, social support (from family/friends, advisors, other students) and psychological sense of community (SOC) in the doctoral program. Two…

Self-Concept as a Correlate of Career Choice of Students in Tertiary ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

concept and career choice of students in Post-Secondary Institutions in Sokoto State. The sample consisted of 300 students (140 males and 160 females) deliberately selected from the population of three tertiary institutions in Sokoto State.

Medical Student Research: An Integrated Mixed-Methods Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

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Mohamed Amgad

Full Text Available Despite the rapidly declining number of physician-investigators, there is no consistent structure within medical education so far for involving medical students in research.To conduct an integrated mixed-methods systematic review and meta-analysis of published studies about medical students' participation in research, and to evaluate the evidence in order to guide policy decision-making regarding this issue.We followed the PRISMA statement guidelines during the preparation of this review and meta-analysis. We searched various databases as well as the bibliographies of the included studies between March 2012 and September 2013. We identified all relevant quantitative and qualitative studies assessing the effect of medical student participation in research, without restrictions regarding study design or publication date. Prespecified outcome-specific quality criteria were used to judge the admission of each quantitative outcome into the meta-analysis. Initial screening of titles and abstracts resulted in the retrieval of 256 articles for full-text assessment. Eventually, 79 articles were included in our study, including eight qualitative studies. An integrated approach was used to combine quantitative and qualitative studies into a single synthesis. Once all included studies were identified, a data-driven thematic analysis was performed.Medical student participation in research is associated with improved short- and long- term scientific productivity, more informed career choices and improved knowledge about-, interest in- and attitudes towards research. Financial worries, gender, having a higher degree (MSc or PhD before matriculation and perceived competitiveness of the residency of choice are among the factors that affect the engagement of medical students in research and/or their scientific productivity. Intercalated BSc degrees, mandatory graduation theses and curricular research components may help in standardizing research education during

Medical students' choice of specialty and factors determining their choice: a cross-sectional survey at the Addis Ababa University, School oF Medicine, Ethiopia.

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Seyoum, Nebyou; Biluts, Hagos; Bekele, Abebe; Seme, Assefa

2014-07-01

A consideration of the future specialization interests of undergraduate medical students might help in understanding the needs of higher medical education and future manpower availability for healthcare in a country. This study assessed the career of choice made by medical students of the Addis Ababa University in the year 2012. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 161 medical students of the Addis Ababa University, School of Medicine, Ethiopia in April 2012 using a self-administered questionnaire. Data were analyzed using computer based statistical software IBM SPSS data editor version 20.0. In addition to descriptive statistics difference in proportions was compared using Chi-square test Of the 161 students, 101 (62.7%) were male. The mean age of respondents was 24.1 years (SD 2.02, ranging from 21 to 35). Majority, 138 (85.7) wanted to pursue their specialty training in the near future, their first career of choice being surgery for, 50 (31.1%), followed by internal medicine for, 44 (27.3%) and Obstetrics and Gynaecology for, 29 (18.0%]), However 18 (11.2%) did not specify their career of choice. The basic science fields such as anesthesiology, and oncology were the least favored choices by the students. The main reasons that influenced the students' decisions to opt for a particular specialty were inspiration during their clinical practicein 67 (41.6%). Financial reward (24.2%), dedication to the field (19.2%) possession of competency needed for the speciality (18.6%) and Influence of teacher (16.1%) were also factors that influenced future choice of speciality of the students. The majority of medical students preferred to pursue their specialty training. As the number and interest in certain specialties is huge, training centers must be ready to cater for the interests shown by the students. The lack of interest towards certain specialists such as basic sciences, anesthesiology, and oncology requires a special attention by policy makers.

A Two-Tier Multiple Choice Questions to Diagnose Thermodynamic Misconception of Thai and Laos Students

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Kamcharean, Chanwit; Wattanakasiwich, Pornrat

The objective of this study was to diagnose misconceptions of Thai and Lao students in thermodynamics by using a two-tier multiple-choice test. Two-tier multiple choice questions consist of the first tier, a content-based question and the second tier, a reasoning-based question. Data of student understanding was collected by using 10 two-tier multiple-choice questions. Thai participants were the first-year students (N = 57) taking a fundamental physics course at Chiang Mai University in 2012. Lao participants were high school students in Grade 11 (N = 57) and Grade 12 (N = 83) at Muengnern high school in Xayaboury province, Lao PDR. As results, most students answered content-tier questions correctly but chose incorrect answers for reason-tier questions. When further investigating their incorrect reasons, we found similar misconceptions as reported in previous studies such as incorrectly relating pressure with temperature when presenting with multiple variables.

Choices and Changes: Eccles' Expectancy-Value Model and Upper-Secondary School Students' Longitudinal Reflections about Their Choice of a STEM Education

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Lykkegaard, Eva; Ulriksen, Lars

2016-01-01

During the past 30 years, Eccles' comprehensive social-psychological Expectancy-Value Model of Motivated Behavioural Choices (EV-MBC model) has been proven suitable for studying educational choices related to Science, Technology, Engineering and/or Mathematics (STEM). The reflections of 15 students in their last year in upper-secondary school…

School Choice: Education's Trickle Down Theory for Urban Students Attending Private Schools? Study II.

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Kapel, David E.; And Others

This study investigated possible effects of school choice programs by surveying 200 private schools in large urban areas. The survey instrument requested information on school demography, possible effects of participation in a Choice program, costs, selection of students participating in Choice, and climate and parental involvement. Analysis of…

Investigating Student Choices in Performing Higher-Level Comprehension Tasks Using TED

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Bianchi, Francesca; Marenzi, Ivana

2016-01-01

The current paper describes a first experiment in the use of TED talks and open tagging exercises to train higher-level comprehension skills, and of automatic logging of the student's actions to investigate the student choices while performing analytical tasks. The experiment took advantage of an interactive learning platform--LearnWeb--that…

Becoming a general practitioner - Which factors have most impact on career choice of medical students?

OpenAIRE

Loh Andreas; Hermann Katja; Miksch Antje; Kiolbassa Kathrin; Szecsenyi Joachim; Joos Stefanie; Goetz Katja

2011-01-01

Abstract Background In Germany, there is a shortage of young physicians in several specialties, the situation of general practitioners (GP) being especially precarious. The factors influencing the career choice of German medical students are poorly understood. This study aims to identify factors influencing medical students' specialty choice laying a special focus on general practice. Methods The study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. In 2010, students at the five medical schools in ...

Psychological aspects of professional identity and professional choices of intellectually gifted students

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Aron I. S.

2016-03-01

Full Text Available in the work determines the relevance of psychological research of professional self-determination of intellectually gifted students. The results of diagnostics of psychological characteristics of intellectually gifted students that affect the success of their professional identity and professional choices.

Factors Influencing Medical Students' Choice of Specialty

OpenAIRE

Chang, Pei-Yeh; Hung, Chih-Young; Wang, Kuei-lng; Huang, Yuan-Huei; Chang, King-Jen

2006-01-01

Medical school graduates are the source of a country's physicians. Determining how the graduates of these schools select their areas of specialization is the key to achieving a balanced distribution of doctors among all specialties. The purposes of this study were to determine the factors that influence medical students' choice of medical specialty, and to derive the relative weight of each factor. Methods: We constructed a two-tiered analytic hierarchy process (AHP) model which was repres...

An Analysis of Student Choices in Medical Ethical Dilemmas.

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Woloshin, Phyllis Lerman

This report describes a study undertaken to assess student choices in medical ethical dilemmas. Medical ethical dilemmas are interpreted to include problems such as abortion, euthanasia, sterilization, experimentation on humans, allocation of scarce medical resources, and physician and health personnel training. The major purpose of the study was…

Measuring University students' understanding of the greenhouse effect - a comparison of multiple-choice, short answer and concept sketch assessment tools with respect to students' mental models

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Gold, A. U.; Harris, S. E.

2013-12-01

The greenhouse effect comes up in most discussions about climate and is a key concept related to climate change. Existing studies have shown that students and adults alike lack a detailed understanding of this important concept or might hold misconceptions. We studied the effectiveness of different interventions on University-level students' understanding of the greenhouse effect. Introductory level science students were tested for their pre-knowledge of the greenhouse effect using validated multiple-choice questions, short answers and concept sketches. All students participated in a common lesson about the greenhouse effect and were then randomly assigned to one of two lab groups. One group explored an existing simulation about the greenhouse effect (PhET-lesson) and the other group worked with absorption spectra of different greenhouse gases (Data-lesson) to deepen the understanding of the greenhouse effect. All students completed the same assessment including multiple choice, short answers and concept sketches after participation in their lab lesson. 164 students completed all the assessments, 76 completed the PhET lesson and 77 completed the data lesson. 11 students missed the contrasting lesson. In this presentation we show the comparison between the multiple-choice questions, short answer questions and the concept sketches of students. We explore how well each of these assessment types represents student's knowledge. We also identify items that are indicators of the level of understanding of the greenhouse effect as measured in correspondence of student answers to an expert mental model and expert responses. Preliminary data analysis shows that student who produce concept sketch drawings that come close to expert drawings also choose correct multiple-choice answers. However, correct multiple-choice answers are not necessarily an indicator that a student produces an expert-like correlating concept sketch items. Multiple-choice questions that require detailed

An Empirical Investigation on Chinese High School Students' Choice of Pursuing Undergraduate Education Abroad

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Chen, Jiankun

2014-01-01

Globalization has greatly promoted student mobility around the world. Being a developing economy, China witnessed significant growth of students studying internationally, especially with the number of students study at undergraduate programs. However, empirical research on high school students' choice and the decision-making process of pursuing…

An integrated model for developing research skills in an undergraduate medical curriculum: appraisal of an approach using student selected components.

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Riley, Simon C; Morton, Jeremy; Ray, David C; Swann, David G; Davidson, Donald J

2013-09-01

Student selected components (SSCs), at that time termed special study modules, were arguably the most innovative element in Tomorrow's Doctors (1993), the document from the General Medical Council that initiated the modernization of medical curricula in the UK. SSCs were proposed to make up one-third of the medical curriculum and provide students with choice, whilst allowing individual schools autonomy in how SSCs were utilized. In response, at the University of Edinburgh the undergraduate medical curriculum provides an integrated and sequential development and assessment of research skill learning outcomes, for all students in the SSC programme. The curriculum contains SSCs which provide choice to students in all 5 years. There are four substantial timetabled SSCs where students develop research skills in a topic and speciality of their choice. These SSCs are fully integrated and mapped with core learning outcomes and assessment, particularly with the 'Evidence-Based Medicine and Research' programme theme. These research skills are developed incrementally and applied fully in a research project in the fourth year. One-third of students also perform an optional intercalated one-year honours programme between years 2 and 3, usually across a wide range of honours schools at the biomedical science interface. Student feedback is insightful and demonstrates perceived attainment of research competencies. The establishment of these competencies is discussed in the context of enabling junior graduate doctors to be effective and confident at utilizing their research skills to effectively practice evidence-based medicine. This includes examining their own practice through clinical audit, developing an insight into the complexity of the evidence base and uncertainty, and also gaining a view into a career as a clinical academic.

Emerging Australian Education Markets: A Discrete Choice Model of Taiwanese and Indonesian Student Intended Study Destination.

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Kemp, Steven; Madden, Gary; Simpson, Michael

1998-01-01

Isolates factors influencing choice of Australia as a preferred destination for international students in emerging regional markets. Uses data obtained from a survey of students in Indonesia and Taiwan to estimate a U.S./Australia and rest-of-world/Australia discrete destination-choice model. This model identifies key factors determining country…

Explaining Academic Progress via Combining Concepts of Integration Theory and Rational Choice Theory.

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Beekhoven, S.; De Jong, U.; Van Hout, H.

2002-01-01

Compared elements of rational choice theory and integration theory on the basis of their power to explain variance in academic progress. Asserts that the concepts should be combined, and the distinction between social and academic integration abandoned. Empirical analysis showed that an extended model, comprising both integration and rational…

Parental Influence on Exploratory Students' College Choice, Major, and Career Decision Making

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Workman, Jamie L.

2015-01-01

This article explores parental influence on exploratory students' college choice, major, and career decision making. The research began with examination of a first year academic advising model and Living Learning Community. Parental influence emerged as a key theme in student decision making processes. The project was conducted using grounded…

Cognitive style as a factor in accounting students' perceptions of career-choice factors.

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Gul, F; Huang, A; Subramaniam, N

1992-12-01

Since prior studies of individuals' perceptions of career-choice factors have not considered the effect of cognitive styles of subjects, this study, using 68 accounting students, investigated the mediating effects of the field dependent-independent cognitive dimension on perceptions of the importance of career-choice factors. The results, in general, show that cognitive style affected individuals' perceptions of career-choice factors, suggesting that future studies of individuals' perceptions should take into account individual cognitive differences.

How do STEM-interested students pursue multiple interests in their higher educational choice?

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Vulperhorst, Jonne Pieter; Wessels, Koen Rens; Bakker, Arthur; Akkerman, Sanne Floor

2018-05-01

Interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has lately received attention in research due to a gap between the number of STEM students and the needs of the labour market. As interest seems to be one of the most important factors in deciding what to study, we focus in the present study on how STEM-interested students weigh multiple interests in making educational choices. A questionnaire with both open-ended and closed-ended items was administered to 91 STEM-interested students enrolled in a STEM programme of a Dutch University for secondary school students. Results indicate that students find it important that a study programme allows them to pursue multiple interests. Some students pursued multiple interests by choosing to enrol in two programmes at the same time. Most students chose one programme that enabled them to combine multiple interests. Combinations of pursued interests were dependent on the disciplinary range of interests of students. Students who were interested in diverse domains combined interests in an educational programme across academic and non-academic domains, whilst students who were mainly interested in STEM combined only STEM-focused interests. Together these findings stress the importance of taking a multiple interest perspective on interest development and educational choice.

Reaching Our Successors: Millennial Generation Medical Students and Plastic Surgery as a Career Choice

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Abdulrasheed Ibrahim

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Research shows that career choices are made as a result of preconceived ideas and exposure to a specialty. If plastic surgery is to continue to attract the best, factors that may dissuade the millennial generation medical students from pursuing plastic surgery as a career must be identified and addressed. We explored the determinants of interest in plastic surgery as a career choice amongst millennial generation medical students. Materials and Methods: A survey regarding factors considered important in choosing plastic surgery was conducted amongst final year medical students in September 2011. Participants were asked to rate their agreement or disagreement with 18 statements on a four-point Likert scale (1 = very unimportant; 4 = very important. Statistical analyses were performed using Chi-square test to compare categorical variables between male and female medical students. Values of P 3.0 was seen in all the subscales except in gender equity and life style concerns. There were statistically significant differences between male and female students in opinions of a spouse, a significant other, or family members in choosing plastic surgery P < 0.5 and my choice of plastic surgery will be influenced by my decision to have a family P < 0.5. Conclusion: Factors influencing the decision of medical students to choose plastic surgery were related to the perceived quality of life as a plastic surgeon and the ability of plastic surgeons to provide good role models for medical students. Female medical students were more concerned with gender equity and work-life balance in selecting plastic surgery compared to male medical students.

Reaching Our Successors: Millennial Generation Medical Students and Plastic Surgery as a Career Choice

Science.gov (United States)

Ibrahim, Abdulrasheed; Asuku, Malachy E

2016-01-01

Background: Research shows that career choices are made as a result of preconceived ideas and exposure to a specialty. If plastic surgery is to continue to attract the best, factors that may dissuade the millennial generation medical students from pursuing plastic surgery as a career must be identified and addressed. We explored the determinants of interest in plastic surgery as a career choice amongst millennial generation medical students. Materials and Methods: A survey regarding factors considered important in choosing plastic surgery was conducted amongst final year medical students in September 2011. Participants were asked to rate their agreement or disagreement with 18 statements on a four-point Likert scale (1 = very unimportant; 4 = very important). Statistical analyses were performed using Chi-square test to compare categorical variables between male and female medical students. Values of P 3.0 was seen in all the subscales except in gender equity and life style concerns. There were statistically significant differences between male and female students in opinions of a spouse, a significant other, or family members in choosing plastic surgery P < 0.5 and my choice of plastic surgery will be influenced by my decision to have a family P < 0.5. Conclusion: Factors influencing the decision of medical students to choose plastic surgery were related to the perceived quality of life as a plastic surgeon and the ability of plastic surgeons to provide good role models for medical students. Female medical students were more concerned with gender equity and work-life balance in selecting plastic surgery compared to male medical students. PMID:27013852

Career choice and perceptions of dental hygiene students and applicants.

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DeAngelis, Susan; Dean, Kim; Pace, Cherin

2003-01-01

As the number of dental hygiene programs across the country continues to increase, educational opportunities for prospective students have flourished, resulting in increased competition among dental hygiene programs for qualified applicants. The purpose of this study was to provide a current description of dental hygiene students and applicants, assess the reasons for choosing the career, and evaluate the perceptions of both applicants and enrolled students with regard to specific aspects of the profession. A questionnaire was mailed to 142 prospective dental hygiene students who met the minimal requirements for admission to either of the two dental hygiene programs in Arkansas. The prospective students had been invited for an admissions interview. The questionnaire also was administered during class to 80 students currently enrolled in one of the two programs. An overall response rate of 71% (n = 157) was achieved. The average respondent was 22 years old, female, and Caucasian with a grade point average of 3.5 and a composite ACT score of 23. Dental hygiene was also the first career choice and most respondents had prior dental assisting experience. Dental hygienists and dentists were reported as providing the most career guidance, while high school and college guidance counselors were least influential. Respondents chose the profession in order to work with and help people, have flexible work schedules, and receive good salaries. Respondents typically viewed dental hygiene as offering a bright future in terms of job security, good salaries, flexible work schedules, diverse career opportunities, and personal responsibility. No significant difference in overall perceptions of the profession was found between applicants and those enrolled in dental hygiene programs, although the strength of individual perceptions of the profession differed between applicant and first-year students compared to second-year students. Dental hygiene programs can use the findings of this

Are career mature students more committed to the career choice process?

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M. B. Watson

1997-06-01

Full Text Available The present study examines the relationship between commitment to the career choice process and the career maturity of 123 White first year psychology students. The results indicate a statistically highly significant relationship (�? Opsomming Die huidige studie ondersoek die verhouding tussen die toegewydheid aan die proses van loopbaankeuse en die loopbaanvolwassenheid van 123 Blanke eerstejaar sielkunde-studente. Die resultate dui op 'n hoogs beduidende statistiese verhouding (�? < 0,01 tussen loopbaanvolwassenheid en die "Vocational Exploration and Commitment" sub-skaal van Blustein et al.'s (1989 se "Commitment to Career Choices Scale". Verder dui die resultate ook op 'n statisties beduidende verhouding (�? < 0,05 tussen loopbaanvolwassenheid en die sub-skaal genaamd "Tendency to Foreclose". Geslag is nie beduidend in verband tot enige van die bevindings gestel nie.

Perception of final year medical students about the choice of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: In Nigeria and many other countries, many specialties had problems with recruitment of medical teachers outside the core clinical departments. Objective: We aim at determining the factors that influence the choice of medical microbiology as a speciality among final year medical students in University of ...

Information Integration in Risky Choice: Identification and Stability

OpenAIRE

Stewart, Neil

2011-01-01

How is information integrated across the\\ud attributes of an option when making risky\\ud choices? In most descriptive models of\\ud decision under risk, information about\\ud risk, and reward is combined multiplicatively\\ud (e.g., expected value; expected utility\\ud theory, Bernouli, 1738/1954; subjective\\ud expected utility theory, Savage, 1954;\\ud Edwards, 1955; prospect theory, Kahneman\\ud and Tversky, 1979; rank-dependent utility,\\ud Quiggin, 1993; decision field theory,\\ud Busemeyer and To...

A comparative study of American and Chinese college students' motives for food choice.

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Pearcey, Sharon M; Zhan, Ginny Q

2018-04-01

Previous cross-cultural research has examined college students' food choice decisions in different countries. The current study aimed to add to the literature by examining similarities and differences in motives for food choice between American (N = 328) and Chinese (N = 333) college students. The Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) was used to measure the participants' motives for food choice. Students' perceptions on the importance of diet and on their body satisfaction were also obtained. Results show that, while there are many similarities between the two cultural groups on the FCQ items, there are also significant differences. Specifically, the two groups view sensory appeal, weight, health, mood, and familiarity in a similar way, but the American participants score higher on price and convenience whereas the Chinese score higher on natural content and ethical concerns. We believe contextual cultural factors of each country may be related to these results. Women view sensory appeal and weight as significantly more important than men. Interactions between culture and gender are also found. For example, American women score significantly higher than American men on mood whereas there is no gender difference in the Chinese group; on the other hand, Chinese men score significantly higher on price than Chinese women whereas there is no gender difference in the American group. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Barriers and Strategies for Healthy Food Choices among American Indian Tribal College Students: A Qualitative Analysis.

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Keith, Jill F; Stastny, Sherri; Brunt, Ardith; Agnew, Wanda

2018-06-01

American Indian and Alaskan Native individuals experience disproportionate levels of chronic health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and overweight and obesity that are influenced by dietary patterns and food choices. Understanding factors that influence healthy food choices among tribal college students can enrich education and programs that target dietary intake. To build an understanding of factors that influence healthy food choices among tribal college students at increased risk for college attrition. A nonexperimental cohort design was used for qualitative descriptive analysis. Participants (N=20) were purposively sampled, newly enrolled, academically underprepared tribal college students enrolled in a culturally relevant life skills course at an upper Midwest tribal college between September 2013 and May 2015. Participant demographic characteristics included various tribal affiliations, ages, and number of dependents. Participant responses to qualitative research questions about dietary intake, food choices, self-efficacy for healthy food choices, psychosocial determinants, and barriers to healthy food choices during telephone interviews were used as measures. Qualitative analysis included prestudy identification of researcher bias/assumptions, audiorecording and transcription, initial analysis (coding), secondary analysis (sorting and identifying meaning), and verification (comparative pattern analysis). Qualitative analysis revealed a variety of themes and subthemes about healthy food choices. Main themes related to barriers included taste, food gathering and preparation, and difficulty clarifying healthy food choices. Main themes related to strategies included taste, cultural traditions and practices, and personal motivation factors. Qualitative analysis identified barrier and strategy themes that may assist nutrition and dietetics practitioners working with tribal/indigenous communities, tribal college educators and health specialists, and tribal

Self-determined motivation and students' physical activity during structured physical education lessons and free choice periods.

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Lonsdale, Chris; Sabiston, Catherine M; Raedeke, Thomas D; Ha, Amy S C; Sum, Raymond K W

2009-01-01

Various organizations have suggested that physical education (PE) should play a central role in increasing adolescents' physical activity (PA) levels. The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between students' self-determined motivation and their PA behavior during a structured PE lesson led by their teacher and a free-choice period in which they were not required to be active. 528 Hong Kong students (mean age=15.78 years) participated in this study in April and May 2007. Situational Motivation Scale scores were used to form high and low self-determined motivation groups. Students wore a pedometer during a 20-minute structured basketball lesson and a 20-minute free choice period, during which they did not receive instruction. ANOVA revealed that self-determined motivation and PE class environments which provided students opportunities to make choices were related to greater PA. Furthermore, the difference in PA between the high and low self-determined groups was greater in the free-choice condition than the structured lesson, suggesting that self-determined motivation is especially important when students are not supervised. Findings indicated that promoting self-determined motivation may be an effective means of ensuring that PE programs are able to increase PA levels, foster self-initiated PA behaviors, and enhance adolescents' health.

Pharmacy Students' Attitude and Future Career Choices: A survey of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Pharmacy as a health profession has major responsibilities and contributions in maintaining health of the society. Thus, pharmacists have to maintain professional behaviour and attitude that is worthy of the respect the public has for the profession. Studies on pharmacy students' attitude and career choice are important to ...

Dental students' perceptions of dental specialties and factors influencing specialty and career choices.

Science.gov (United States)

Dhima, Matilda; Petropoulos, Vicki C; Han, Rita K; Kinnunen, Taru; Wright, Robert F

2012-05-01

The goals of this study were to 1) evaluate dental students' perceptions of dental specialties, 2) identify factors that play an important role in students' decision to pursue specialty training or career choices, and 3) establish a baseline of students' perceptions of the dental fields with the best future in terms of salary, personal and patient quality of life, and overall impact on the dental profession. Surveys were distributed to 494 students at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. Data were collected from 380 traditional four-year students and thirty advanced standing students. Chi-square tests, multivariate analysis, and logistic regressions were used to determine associations and independent contributions of student demographics to their perceptions of dental specialties and factors influencing specialty training or career choices. Debt was a statistically significant factor (p<0.001) in choosing specialty training or career independent of gender, age, or class year. Enjoyment of providing care in a specialty or field was identified as the single most important factor in choosing a specialty career. Half of the respondents had decided not to specialize. Pursuing postdoctoral general dentistry training and private practice in general dentistry were the most commonly reported plans after completion of dental school. Suggestions are made for ways to inform students about specialty training.

Explaining academic progress via combining concepts of integration theory and rational choice theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beekhoven, S.; Jong, U. de; Hout, J.F.M.J. van

2002-01-01

In this article, elements of rational choice theory and integration theory are compared on the basis of their explanatory power to explain variance in academic progress. It is argued that both theoretical concepts could be combined. Furthermore the distinction between social and academic integration

International Higher Education for Whom? Expatriate Students, Choice-Making and International (Im)mobility in the Northern United Arab Emirates

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Rensimer, Lee

2016-01-01

This article identifies a research gap on expatriate students attending international branch campuses in their country of residence, and presents evidence that they are insufficiently distinguished from international students in research on student mobility and choice-making. It finds that the priorities and enrollment choices of expatriates are…

From NHS Choices to the integrated customer service platform.

Science.gov (United States)

Gann, Bob; Grant, Maria J

2013-03-01

In 2013 the NHS Commissioning Board launches its new integrated customer service platform. The new service utilises the full range of channels (web, telephone, apps etc) to provide access to information to support transparency, participation and transactions. Digital health services have proven benefits in informed choice, shared decision making and patient participation. © 2013 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2013 Health Libraries Group.

Exploring the ideas and expectations of German medical students towards career choices and the speciality of psychiatry.

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Baller, Frauke A E; Ludwig, Karin V; Kinas-Gnadt Olivares, Clara L; Graef-Calliess, Iris-Tatjana

2013-08-01

The aim of this study was to explore the ideas and expectations of medical students toward their career choices and the speciality of psychiatry. A total of 323 students of the Hannover Medical School filled in a questionnaire about their career choices, preferred medical specialization, factors of influence on career choices and attitude towards psychiatry. The three most important factors of influence appeared to be: (1) work-life balance, (2) flexible working hours, (3) career prospects. Although expectations towards the professional life of psychiatrists were quite positive among the students, there was only a small number of students (n = 53 of 318 respondents, 17%) interested in specializing in psychiatry. Important reasons for choosing psychiatry included personal experience with somatic or mental health issues and practical experience in psychiatry. Most of the students experienced clinical exposure to psychiatry but at a much later period in the curriculum. For a career choice of psychiatry as a speciality it seems to be important to start psychiatric education in medical school early. The positive aspects of the professional life in psychiatry, such as flexible working hours, career prospects and good work-life balance should be more emphasized.

PhD students and integrative research

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Fry, G.; Tress, B.; Tress, G.

2006-01-01

The training of PhD students is currently very dynamic and varies widely from place to place. We present some examples of this variation and comment on how it may affect the way PhD students cope with integrative studies. Our focus is on the training needs of PhD students studying integrative

Chinese Students' Choice of Transnational Higher Education in a Globalized Higher Education Market: A Case Study of W University

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Fang, Wenhong; Wang, Shen

2014-01-01

This research studies Chinese students' choice of transnational higher education in the context of the higher education market. Through a case study of the students in the transnational higher education programs of W University, the research finds that Chinese students' choice of transnational higher education is a complicated decision-making that…

Factors affecting choice of sponsoring institution for residency among medical students in Singapore.

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Ng, Chew Lip; Liu, Xuan Dao; Murali Govind, Renuka; Tan, Jonathan Wei Jian; Ooi, Shirley Beng Suat; Archuleta, Sophia

2018-03-16

Postgraduate medical education in Singapore underwent major transition recently, from a British-style system and accreditation to a competency-based residency programme modelled after the American system. We aimed to identify the relative importance of factors influencing the choice of residency sponsoring institutions (SIs) among medical students during this transition period. A questionnaire-based cross-sectional study of Singaporean undergraduate medical students across all years of study was performed in 2011. Participants rated 45 factors (including research, academia and education, marketing, reputation of faculty, working conditions, posting experience and influence by peers/seniors) for degree of importance to their choice of SIs on a five-point Likert scale. Differences with respect to gender and seniority were compared. 705 of 1,274 students completed the survey (response rate 55.3%). The top five influencing factors were guidance by mentor (4.48 ± 0.74), reputation for good teaching (4.46 ± 0.76), personal overall experience in SIs (4.41 ± 0.88), quality of mentorship and supervision (4.41 ± 0.75), and quality and quantity of teaching (4.37 ± 0.78). The five lowest-rated factors were social networking (2.91 ± 1.00), SI security (3.01 ± 1.07), open house impact (3.15 ± 0.96), advertising paraphernalia (3.17 ± 0.95) and research publications (3.21 ± 1.00). Female students attributed more importance to security and positive work environment. Preclinical students rated research and marketing aspects more highly while clinical students valued positive work environment more. Quality of education, mentorship, experiences during clerkship and positive working environment were the most important factors influencing the choice of SIs.

Greek medical students' career choices indicate strong tendency towards specialization and training abroad.

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Avgerinos, Efthimios D; Msaouel, Pavlos; Koussidis, George A; Keramaris, Nikolaos C; Bessas, Zacharias; Gourgoulianis, Konstantinos

2006-11-01

The aim of the study was to investigate the career choices, location preferences and criteria among medical students in Greece. We applied a questionnaire-based analysis using a sample of 591 students of four out of seven Greek Medical Schools. The sample included students of all academic years. The vast majority of students wish to specialize (97.6%), while general practice gathered a very low percentage (1.7%). The scientific challenge (61.4%) and interaction with patients (60.6%) seem to be the major influencing factors for most of the students' specialty preferences, whilst less common variables influencing career choice are the high demand/supply ratio for certain health services (40.4%), the income potential (31.4%), the active tempo (26.2%) and prestige (15%). 70.3% of those asked consider the possibility of specializing abroad. The low concern of Greek medical students for general practice reveals today's drastic deficiency in Greek primary health care. Such a situation will escalate, unless targeted strategies to produce more general practitioners are adopted. Furthermore, the results reflect a lower education and organizing level urging students to specialize abroad. The National Health System (NHS) should be reformed towards a rationalistic distribution of the medical specialties and medical workforce.

Association Between Student Loan Debt on Graduation, Demographic Characteristics and Initial Choice of Practice Setting of Pharmacists

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Akeem A. Yusuf

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives: (1 To examine trends in level of student loan indebtedness for groups of pharmacists that were first licensed between 1980 and 2006; (2 To examine if demographic variables are associated with level of student loan indebtedness; (3 To examine the association between student loan debt and choice of practice setting while controlling for demographic variables. Methods: Data for this study were collected from a national random sample of 3,000 pharmacists using a self administered survey. Descriptive statistics were used to examine trends in level of indebtedness. The relationships between level of indebtedness, demographic variables and practice setting choice were examined using Chi-square statistics. Multinomial logistic regression was used to determine the independent association of student loan debt and choice of practice setting while controlling for demographic variables. Results: The proportion of licensed pharmacists reporting student loan debt after graduation, and the mean amount of debt incurred increased between 1980 and 2006. Non-white pharmacists incurred debt at a higher proportion compared to white, and they also incurred significantly higher levels of debt. A lower level of indebtedness was associated with choosing independent practice over chain practice. Conclusions: Student loan indebtedness has been increasing over time, especially for non-white pharmacy students. Future research should be done to examine other factors that might influence student debt load, work contributions and choice of practice settings. The affordability of pharmacy education for students of color and how salaries may or may not help off-set these costs also should be examined closely.   Type: Original Research

Factors Affecting Students' Career Choice in Accounting: The Case of a Turkish University

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Uyar, Ali; Güngörmüs, Ali Haydar; Kuzey, Cemil

2011-01-01

This study investigates the reasons that influence students' career choices in accounting. In order to determine these reasons, a questionnaire survey has been employed. The empirical findings can be divided into two categories. First, students who have a desire to work in accounting field assume that accounting field provides good job…

Teaching Teachers about Supply Chain Management to Influence Students' Career and Education Choices

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Gardner, Leslie L.

2013-01-01

Since teachers are influential in high school students' career choices, enabling high school teachers to introduce educational and career opportunities in supply chain management is a viable strategy for reaching high school students about these opportunities. This article presents a pilot program of supply chain workshops to educate high school…

Integrating Student Organizations into Typewriting.

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Munday, Sandy

1978-01-01

The author states that typewriting activities related to student organizations may be integrated into typewriting and other classes in which typewriting skills are needed. She cites advantages of typing in student organizations and suggests selected classroom typing activities to motivate students and also benefit student organizations. (MF)

The Effect of Positive or Negative Frame on the Choices of Students in School Psychology and Educational Administration.

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Fagley, N. S.; Miller, Paul M.; Jones, Robert N.

1999-01-01

Doctoral students (N=109) in school psychology and educational administration responded to five decision problems whose outcomes were framed either positively as gains or negatively as losses. Frame and profession significantly affected the number of risky choices. Educational administration students made more risky choices than school psychology…

General Practice as a career choice among undergraduate medical students in Greece

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Stefanadis Christodoulos

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Although General Practice (GP was recognized as a medical specialty in Greece in 1986, the number of GPs is insufficient to cover needs and only few medical graduates choose GP as a career option. In the present study we investigated the profile of medical students in terms of their decisions regarding specialization and the possible association of career choices different from GP with the status of undergraduate training regarding GP. Methods The sample consisted of final year students in the Medical School of the University of Athens, Greece. Students filled in a self-reported questionnaire focusing on medical specialization, and GP in particular. Results Response rate was 82.5% with 1021 questionnaires collected, out of 1237 eligible medical students. Only 44 out of the 1021 (4.3% respondents stated that GP is -or could be- among their choices for specialty. The most popular medical specialty was General Surgery (10.9%, followed by Cardiology (9.6%, Endocrinology (8.7% and Obstetrics-Gynaecology (8.3%. The most common criterion for choosing GP was the guaranteed employment on completion of the residency (54.6% while a 56.6% of total respondents were positive to the introduction of GP/FM as a curriculum course during University studies. Conclusion Despite the great needs, GP specialty is currently not a career option among undergraduate students of the greater Medical University in Greece and is still held in low esteem. A university department responsible for undergraduate teaching, promotion and research in GP (where not available is essential; the status of undergraduate training in general practice/family medicine seems to be one of the most important factors that influence physician career choices regarding primary care specialties.

Factors influencing the choice of profession of first-year teaching students

OpenAIRE

N. Hislop-Esterhuizen; J. G. Maree; M. J. van der Linde; A. Swanepoel

2008-01-01

The lack of appropriately qualified teachers in South Africa is growing rapidly and debates about the decline in teacher numbers in South Africa are increasing. In this study, the results of an investigation into possible factors that impact on the career choice of teaching students are reported. The reasons why first-year teaching students at the University of Pretoria chose teachings a career were studied by using a non-experimental design (survey design; administering anon-standardised que...

The New Orleans OneApp: Centralized Enrollment Matches Students and Schools of Choice

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Harris, Douglas N.; Valant, Jon; Gross, Betheny

2015-01-01

In most of the U.S., the process for assigning children to public schools is straightforward: take a student's home address, determine which school serves that address, and assign the student accordingly. However, states and cities are increasingly providing families with school choices. A key question facing policymakers is exactly how to place…

Psychiatry as a career choice: Perception of students at a private medical college in South India

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Animesh Jain

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: People with mental illness are often subjected to stigma and discrimination. The poor popularity of Psychiatry as a field of specialty has been a global concern. Any preconceived notions, perceptions and formative influences among medical students could have strong influence on their future choice of career. This study aimed to determine the students′ perception of Psychiatry as career choice and the factors influencing their perception and career choice. Subjects and Methods: Following approval from Institutional Ethics Committee and necessary permissions, consenting medical students at a private medical college in Mangalore, India were surveyed using a pilot-tested questionnaire. The responses were compiled and data analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 10. Chi-square test was performed and P < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: Of the 250 participants, 152 (60.8% were males while 96 (38.4% were females aged 17-25 years. Only 28 (11.2% wanted to pursue Psychiatry as a career while 97 (38.8% considered it as an option although not their first choice. There was no association between gender and completion of Psychiatry postings on the decision regarding Psychiatry as a career. However, an exposure to a mentally ill person had a statistically significant association with Psychiatry as career choice (P < 0.001. Conclusion: Very few students aspire for Psychiatry. Targeted interventions including focused approach and creating an interest during undergraduate posting may inspire more students to take up Psychiatry.

Career choice and perceptions of nursing among healthcare students in higher educational institutions.

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Liaw, Sok Ying; Wu, Ling Ting; Chow, Yeow Leng; Lim, Siriwan; Tan, Khoon Kiat

2017-05-01

Due to the ageing population and competition from other healthcare courses, a greater demand in the healthcare workforce has made it challenging for educational institutions to attract school leavers to enter nursing courses. Understanding the considerations of students who have chosen non-nursing healthcare courses and their perceptions of nursing can help identify specific strategies to enhance the attractiveness of nursing course. This study aims to examine the differences between healthcare career choices and perceptions of nursing as a career choice among first-year non-nursing healthcare students. A descriptive survey design was conducted at the beginning of the healthcare courses of seven healthcare groups and from four higher educational institutions in Singapore. A total of 451 students responded, yielding an overall response rate of 52.7%. The online survey was administered using a valid and reliable 35-item parallel scale, known as the Healthcare Career Choice and Nursing Career Choice. The participants perceived prior healthcare exposure as the most influential factor and self-efficacy as the least influential factor when choosing nursing as a career. In comparison to their own healthcare career choices, nursing was perceived to have greater gender stigma and, as nurses, they would be less likely to achieve higher qualifications and career advancements, and they would be less likely to enjoy fulfilling careers. They also perceived that they would be less likely to gain their parents' support to pursue nursing and to make their parents proud. This study provides educators and policy-makers with vital information to develop key strategies to improve nursing enrolment in educational institutions. These strategies include early exposure to nursing as a rewarding career during school years, addressing the issue of gender stigma, and promoting information on the career and educational advancement of a registered nurse to parents of school leavers. Copyright �

Perception of 1 st year medical students towards career choices and specialty of psychiatry

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Suneet Kumar Upadhyaya

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Shortage of psychiatrists is a worldwide phenomenon. If the factors that attract or repel students towards a specialty can be identified, it may be possible to encourage them towards it. Choice of specialty as a career depends on the complex interplay of experiences before, during or after exposure to the specialty. Objectives: The aim was to understand perceptions of 1 st year medical students regarding career choices and the specialty of psychiatry through a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study. Materials and Methods: Perceptions of 137 1 st year medical students from the Government Medical College were recorded using a semi-structured questionnaire. Students provided their opinions about future career choices; perspective of these specialties in terms of financial reward, reputation, work-life balance, challenging aspect, ability to help patients effectively and emotional stability; their preferences in life and interaction with psychiatrist and its impact. Statistical Analysis Used: One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA with post-hoc analysis by Tukey-Kramer test. Results: Surgery was a high priority for 69 (50% while psychiatry was a high priority only for 11 (8%. Surgery was highest for financial reward and reputation, but lowest for work-life balance. Psychiatry had higher emotional stability, however, its the reputation was lower than surgery, medicine, obstetrics and gynaecology and paediatrics. Students preferred reputation (41% over social service opportunities (43%, work-life balance (16%, and high-income (11%. Interaction with psychiatrist increased inclination for psychiatry in 69% (9/13 students. Conclusions: Psychiatry is not a preferred specialty among 1 st year medical students due to its poor reputation.

Learning from peer feedback on student-generated multiple choice questions: Views of introductory physics students

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Kay, Alison E.; Hardy, Judy; Galloway, Ross K.

2018-06-01

PeerWise is an online application where students are encouraged to generate a bank of multiple choice questions for their classmates to answer. After answering a question, students can provide feedback to the question author about the quality of the question and the question author can respond to this. Student use of, and attitudes to, this online community within PeerWise was investigated in two large first year undergraduate physics courses, across three academic years, to explore how students interact with the system and the extent to which they believe PeerWise to be useful to their learning. Most students recognized that there is value in engaging with PeerWise, and many students engaged deeply with the system, thinking critically about the quality of their submissions and reflecting on feedback provided to them. Students also valued the breadth of topics and level of difficulty offered by the questions, recognized the revision benefits afforded by the resource, and were often willing to contribute to the community by providing additional explanations and engaging in discussion.

Classification Model That Predicts Medical Students' Choices of Primary Care or Non-Primary Care Specialties.

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Fincher, Ruth-Marie E.; And Others

1992-01-01

This study identified factors in graduating medical students' choice of primary versus nonprimary care specialty. Subjects were 509 students at the Medical College of Georgia in 1988-90. Students could be classified by such factors as desire for longitudinal patient care opportunities, monetary rewards, perception of lifestyle, and perception of…

The selection of a mode of urban transportation: Integrating psychological variables to discrete choice models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cordoba Maquilon, Jorge E; Gonzalez Calderon, Carlos A; Posada Henao, John J

2011-01-01

A study using revealed preference surveys and psychological tests was conducted. Key psychological variables of behavior involved in the choice of transportation mode in a population sample of the Metropolitan Area of the Valle de Aburra were detected. The experiment used the random utility theory for discrete choice models and reasoned action in order to assess beliefs. This was used as a tool for analysis of the psychological variables using the sixteen personality factor questionnaire (16PF test). In addition to the revealed preference surveys, two other surveys were carried out: one with socio-economic characteristics and the other with latent indicators. This methodology allows for an integration of discrete choice models and latent variables. The integration makes the model operational and quantifies the unobservable psychological variables. The most relevant result obtained was that anxiety affects the choice of urban transportation mode and shows that physiological alterations, as well as problems in perception and beliefs, can affect the decision-making process.

[The motivational value foundations in the choice of career among professional nursing students and students studying at teacher's college].

Science.gov (United States)

Kovácsné Tóth, Agnes

2008-08-24

For the profession of teachers and nurses we need well-trained, highly qualified employees with a sense of vocation. A comparative analysis of motivation in the choice of career among professional nursing students and teacher-students. This analysis was done in Hungary among professional nursing students and students participating in teacher training. In this sample 783 students were analysed. In the choice of career of nurses and teachers the primary motivation is of altruistic nature and also the human characteristics of the chosen career. According to genders in the case of female interviewed people we got a higher value than in the case of males in connection with "Helping people". It is more typical in the case of professional nursing students to choose the career as early as in their childhood. Choosing the career at a later age is typical for those who are teacher-students. As a consequence of our rapid economic changes or because of career dissatisfaction, we have to face the fact that the qualifications obtained at a young age will not last for a life time, and the majority of people are forced to change their jobs several times during their lives. In harmonizing the demands of the labour market and education, those people who take part in professional education and training have a professional advantage.

Reaching Our Successors: Millennial Generation Medical Students and Plastic Surgery as a Career Choice.

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Ibrahim, Abdulrasheed; Asuku, Malachy E

2016-01-01

Research shows that career choices are made as a result of preconceived ideas and exposure to a specialty. If plastic surgery is to continue to attract the best, factors that may dissuade the millennial generation medical students from pursuing plastic surgery as a career must be identified and addressed. We explored the determinants of interest in plastic surgery as a career choice amongst millennial generation medical students. A survey regarding factors considered important in choosing plastic surgery was conducted amongst final year medical students in September 2011. Participants were asked to rate their agreement or disagreement with 18 statements on a four-point Likert scale (1 = very unimportant; 4 = very important). Statistical analyses were performed using Chi-square test to compare categorical variables between male and female medical students. Values of P 3.0 was seen in all the subscales except in gender equity and life style concerns. There were statistically significant differences between male and female students in opinions of a spouse, a significant other, or family members in choosing plastic surgery P work-life balance in selecting plastic surgery compared to male medical students.

Factors associated with the choice of general medicine as a career among Japanese medical students

Science.gov (United States)

Kawamoto, Ryuichi; Ninomiya, Daisuke; Kasai, Yoshihisa; Kusunoki, Tomo; Ohtsuka, Nobuyuki; Kumagi, Teru; Abe, Masanori

2016-01-01

Background In Japan, there is a shortage of young physicians in various specialties; the present situation of general medicine or family medicine (GM/FM) in particular is risky. The factors influencing the career choice of Japanese medical students are poorly understood. This study aims to identify factors related to choosing GM/FM as a career. Methods The study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. Students at one medical school in Japan filled out a questionnaire. Students were asked to state their intended medical specialty, and they rated the importance of specific individual and occupational aspects using a 4-point likert scale. Factor analysis was performed on the variables. Reliability of the factor scores was estimated using Cronbach‘s alpha coefficients; biserial correlations between the factors and career choices were calculated. Furthermore, multiple linear regression analysis was performed using career choice (GM/FM vs. others) as the criterion variable and the factors plus demographic characteristics as confounding variables. Results Factor analysis produced six factors that explained future career plans. Medical students in this study had a positive and realistic idea about GM/FM, but only 18.8% of them chose GM/FM first as a career. The significant variables associated with choosing GM/FM first as a career were: ‘Admission from hometown’ (β=0.189, P=0.001), ‘Student preparing for the entrance exam’ (β=0.172; P=0.001), ‘Intent for rural practice’ (β=0.123, P=0.016), and ‘Work–life balance’ (β=0.126, P=0.013). While significant variables that were negatively associated with choosing GM/FM were ‘Presence of medical relatives’ (β=−0.107, P=0.037) and ‘Scientific orientation’ (β=−0.125, P=0.013). Conclusions Strategies have been suggested, such as recruiting medical students with significant variables that were associated with choosing GM/FM first as a career. By engaging students early in their choice of career

Factors associated with the choice of general medicine as a career among Japanese medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawamoto, Ryuichi; Ninomiya, Daisuke; Kasai, Yoshihisa; Kusunoki, Tomo; Ohtsuka, Nobuyuki; Kumagi, Teru; Abe, Masanori

2016-01-01

In Japan, there is a shortage of young physicians in various specialties; the present situation of general medicine or family medicine (GM/FM) in particular is risky. The factors influencing the career choice of Japanese medical students are poorly understood. This study aims to identify factors related to choosing GM/FM as a career. The study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. Students at one medical school in Japan filled out a questionnaire. Students were asked to state their intended medical specialty, and they rated the importance of specific individual and occupational aspects using a 4-point likert scale. Factor analysis was performed on the variables. Reliability of the factor scores was estimated using Cronbach's alpha coefficients; biserial correlations between the factors and career choices were calculated. Furthermore, multiple linear regression analysis was performed using career choice (GM/FM vs. others) as the criterion variable and the factors plus demographic characteristics as confounding variables. Factor analysis produced six factors that explained future career plans. Medical students in this study had a positive and realistic idea about GM/FM, but only 18.8% of them chose GM/FM first as a career. The significant variables associated with choosing GM/FM first as a career were: 'Admission from hometown' (β=0.189, P=0.001), 'Student preparing for the entrance exam' (β=0.172; P=0.001), 'Intent for rural practice' (β=0.123, P=0.016), and 'Work-life balance' (β=0.126, P=0.013). While significant variables that were negatively associated with choosing GM/FM were 'Presence of medical relatives' (β=-0.107, P=0.037) and 'Scientific orientation' (β=-0.125, P=0.013). Strategies have been suggested, such as recruiting medical students with significant variables that were associated with choosing GM/FM first as a career. By engaging students early in their choice of career, we may be able to increase enthusiasm for this specialty.

Factors associated with the choice of general medicine as a career among Japanese medical students

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Ryuichi Kawamoto

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Background: In Japan, there is a shortage of young physicians in various specialties; the present situation of general medicine or family medicine (GM/FM in particular is risky. The factors influencing the career choice of Japanese medical students are poorly understood. This study aims to identify factors related to choosing GM/FM as a career. Methods: The study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. Students at one medical school in Japan filled out a questionnaire. Students were asked to state their intended medical specialty, and they rated the importance of specific individual and occupational aspects using a 4-point likert scale. Factor analysis was performed on the variables. Reliability of the factor scores was estimated using Cronbach‘s alpha coefficients; biserial correlations between the factors and career choices were calculated. Furthermore, multiple linear regression analysis was performed using career choice (GM/FM vs. others as the criterion variable and the factors plus demographic characteristics as confounding variables. Results: Factor analysis produced six factors that explained future career plans. Medical students in this study had a positive and realistic idea about GM/FM, but only 18.8% of them chose GM/FM first as a career. The significant variables associated with choosing GM/FM first as a career were: ‘Admission from hometown’ (β=0.189, P=0.001, ‘Student preparing for the entrance exam’ (β=0.172; P=0.001, ‘Intent for rural practice’ (β=0.123, P=0.016, and ‘Work–life balance’ (β=0.126, P=0.013. While significant variables that were negatively associated with choosing GM/FM were ‘Presence of medical relatives’ (β=−0.107, P=0.037 and ‘Scientific orientation’ (β=−0.125, P=0.013. Conclusions: Strategies have been suggested, such as recruiting medical students with significant variables that were associated with choosing GM/FM first as a career. By engaging students early in their

Factors influencing the choice of ophthalmology as a career among medical students of king saud bin abdulaziz university Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

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Sarah Abdullah AlSalman

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Context: Choosing a future speciality for medical students can be frightening as well as confusing. Identifying factors that influence medical students' future career choice is critical and can play an important role in shaping the future workforce. Aims: The study aims to determine factors associated with medical students' preference of Ophthalmology as a future career choice at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences (KSAU-HS. Settings and Design: A cross-sectional study was carried out among Saudi students of both genders who were enrolled in KSAU-HS (clinical phase during the study. Subjects and Methods: A validated questionnaire was sent through E-mail to 302 eligible students, of which 275 participated, with a response rate of (91%. Statistical Analysis Used: Descriptive analysis was carried out for all categorical variables. In addition, data were compared using Chi-square test; all tests were two-sided and P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 28 students (10.2% considered Ophthalmology as their first choice, while it was the second choice for four students (1.5%. Among all the participants, factors that attracted medical students to consider Ophthalmology as a career choice included the high income (54%, private sector opportunities (40%, part-time opportunities (40% and leisure (34%. Whereas, the difficulty of getting into the Ophthalmology Residency Programme (53% was the most important factor that pushed students away from choosing Ophthalmology. Conclusions: Multiple factors influenced the KSAU-HS medical students' choice of when choosing a future speciality. Knowing these factors can help in directing work-force to choose specialities that are currently limited in Saudi Arabia.

The Relationship between Intuitive Action Choices and Moral Reasoning on Animal Ethics Issues in Students of Veterinary Medicine and Other Relevant Professions.

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Verrinder, Joy M; Phillips, Clive J C

2018-01-01

With growing understanding of animals' capabilities, and public and organizational pressures to improve animal welfare, moral action by veterinarians and other relevant professionals to address animal issues is increasingly important. Little is known about how their action choices relate to their moral reasoning on animal ethics issues. A moral judgment measure, the VetDIT, with three animal and three non-animal scenarios, was used to investigate the action choices of 619 students in five animal- and two non-animal-related professional programs in one Australian university, and how these related to their moral reasoning based on Personal Interest (PI), Maintaining Norms (MN), or Universal Principles (UP) schemas. Action choices showed significant relationships to PI, MN, and UP questions, and these varied across program groups. Having a previous degree or more experience with farm animals had a negative relationship, and experience with horses or companion animals a positive relationship, with intuitive action choices favoring life and bodily integrity of animals. This study helps to explain the complex relationship between intuitive moral action choices and moral reasoning on animal ethics issues. As a useful research and educational tool for understanding this relationship, the VetDIT can enhance ethical decision making.

Attributional Choices for Academic Success and Failure by Intellectually Gifted Students

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Assouline, Susan G.; Colangelo, Nicholas; Ihrig, Damien; Forstadt, Leslie

2006-01-01

This study emerges from the lack of empirical research on gifted students' attributions about academic success and failure in multiple subject areas and school in general. We explored differences in top attributional choices between boys and girls for success and failure in general academics, language arts, science, and mathematics. Gifted…

Influence of an Academic Intervention Program on Minority Student Career Choice

Science.gov (United States)

Sweeney, Jennifer K.; Villarejo, Merna

2013-01-01

This qualitative, retrospective study explored how educational experiences provided as part of an undergraduate intervention program helped to shape career decisions for minority biology students. A key goal for the program is to increase minority entry into science research and teaching careers, yet actual career choice has not been studied.…

Women's and Men's Choice of Higher Education--What Explains the Persistent Sex Segregation in Norway?

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Storen, Liv Anne; Arnesen, Clara Ase

2007-01-01

This article examines sex segregation in higher education in Norway. The extent to which parent's education and occupation and students' grades have an impact on the choice of male and female dominated subjects is analysed. The analysis uses a framework which integrates socialisation and rational choice perspectives. The data used are from a…

Assessing Segregation under a New Generation of Controlled Choice Policies

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Frankenberg, Erica

2017-01-01

Student assignment policies (SAPs) in K-12 schools can either reproduce or help ameliorate existing inequality. Some districts are trying to maintain voluntarily adopted integration policies despite the Supreme Court's recent 2007 decision in "Parents Involved," which prohibited most race-conscious school choice policies that were…

The effect of gender bias on medical students and career choices: a cross-sectional study

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AKANKSHA GARG

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Dear Editor, Gender equality amongst healthcare professionals is no doubt paramount to allow both equal opportunity and provision of good quality healthcare. The General Medical Council encourages that all colleagues should be treated fairly, but studies have previously demonstrated gender bias against female medical students (1. Whether this might have any impact on the students’ decision-making process and career pathways has yet to be explored. We aimed to evaluate whether doctors gave students gender-specific advice and the extent to which this advice influenced the students. Furthermore, we explored whether students felt their gender affected their career choices. We carried out a cross-sectional national study of British clinical medical students. A standardised questionnaire was completed by 94 students (54.3% female. The response rate was 88.7%. Results showed that 43.6% (n=41 of students received career advice based purely on their gender, and 63.4% (n=26 of these said that this would influence their career choices. Importantly, 82.9% (n=34 of the students who received gender-specific advice were female. Additionally, 41.2% (n=21 of females felt their gender would restrict their career choices compared with only 11.6% (n=5 of males (p=0.00142. 37.3% (n=19 of females thought their gender would unfairly disadvantage their career progression compared to 4.65% (n=2 of males (p=0.00016. Our results highlighted that doctors gave more gender-specific advice to females compared to males, and that this advice significantly impacts students’ decision making process. Furthermore, females disproportionately felt their careers would be disadvantaged and restricted compared with males. This shows an enormous disparity between male and female attitudes towards medical careers. This can have both long and short-term effects on training, career choices and patient interaction. Further research investigating why females feel their gender will

School Choice: Private School Choice Programs Are Growing and Can Complicate Providing Certain Federally Funded Services to Eligible Students. Report to Congressional Requesters. GAO-16-712

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US Government Accountability Office, 2016

2016-01-01

Voucher and education savings account (ESA) programs fund students' private school education expenses, such as tuition. In school year 2014-15, 22 such school choice programs were operating nationwide, all but one of which was state funded. Under two federal grant programs, one for students with disabilities and one for students from disadvantaged…

Academic Integration of Mainland Chinese Students in Germany

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Hanwei Li

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This article presents an analysis of the academic integration experiences of mainland Chinese tertiary-level students in Germany. Using Tinto’s model, the article explores the challenges that Chinese students face during their academic integration, the strategies they employ, and the relationship between academic and social integration. The data were collected in spring 2016 by interviewing 26 mainland Chinese students studying either in German universities or universities of applied sciences. Four major challenges were identified and analyzed: language barrier, knowledge gap, pedagogical differences, and cultural differences. An important outcome of the study presented is that social integration serves as a facilitator for enhancing academic integration, but is not a prerequisite for academic success. Group learning with peers was found to enhance learning outcomes. Overall, Chinese students have exploited their own advantages in academic integration by exploring feasible strategies and benefiting from their past learning experiences. It is suggested that academic integration as a long and challenging process for international students should be acknowledged by the German HEIs, and that more institutional support and guidance are needed.

Social Physique Anxiety, Obligation to Exercise, and Exercise Choices among College Students

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Chu, Hui-Wen; Bushman, Barbara A.; Woodard, Rebecca J.

2008-01-01

Objective: The authors examined relationships among social physique anxiety, obligation to exercise, and exercise choices. Participants and Methods: College students (N = 337; 200 women, 137 men) volunteered to complete 3 questionnaires: the Social Physique Anxiety Scale (SPAS), Obligatory Exercise Questionnaire (OEQ), and Physical Activity…

Predicting Persistence and Withdrawal: An Analysis of Factors Relating to Students' Choice of Course.

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de Rome, E. A.; Wieneke, C. E.

Information relating to course choice and commitment, and use of pre-enrollment information and advisory resources, were collected at the time of enrollment in 1980 from 1,375 first-year students at the University of New South Wales. The students were enrolled in the faculties of arts, architecture, and engineering. Multivariate analyses were used…

Gender and Subject Choice: An Empirical Study on Undergraduate Students' Majors in Phnom Penh

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Dom, Vannak; Yi, Gihong

2018-01-01

The empirical study on 610 undergraduate students between the age of 16 to 25 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, was set to examine the relationship of gender and subject choice. The findings have revealed that women were overrepresented in non-science subjects and their gender identity has strong connection with subject choice (*** p < 0.001). The study…

Cross-cultural validity of the theory of planned behavior for predicting healthy food choice in secondary school students of Inner Mongolia.

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Shimazaki, Takashi; Bao, Hugejiletu; Deli, Geer; Uechi, Hiroaki; Lee, Ying-Hua; Miura, Kayo; Takenaka, Koji

2017-11-01

Unhealthy eating behavior is a serious health concern among secondary school students in Inner Mongolia. To predict their healthy food choices and devise methods of correcting unhealthy choices, we sought to confirm the cross-cultural validity of the theory of planned behavior among Inner Mongolian students. A cross-sectional study, conducted between November and December 2014. Overall, 3047 students were enrolled. We devised a questionnaire based on the theory of planned behavior to measure its components (intentions, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control) in relation to healthy food choices; we also assessed their current engagement in healthy food choices. A principal component analysis revealed high contribution rates for the components (69.32%-88.77%). A confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the components of the questionnaire had adequate model fit (goodness of fit index=0.997, adjusted goodness of fit index=0.984, comparative fit index=0.998, and root mean square error of approximation=0.049). Notably, data from participants within the suburbs did not support the theory of planned behavior construction. Several paths did not predict the hypothesis variables. However, attitudes toward healthy food choices strongly predicted behavioral intention (path coefficients 0.49-0.77, ptheory of planned behavior can apply to secondary school students in urban areas. Furthermore, attitudes towards healthy food choices were the best predictor of behavioral intentions to engage in such choices in Inner Mongolian students. Copyright © 2017 Diabetes India. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Social Demand for Education in Peru: Students' Choices and State Autonomy.

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Post, David

1990-01-01

Asked 3,200 Peruvian graduating secondary students to explain their choice concerning whether to attend college. Reveals human capital theory's limited applicability, showing only wealthier urban boys used cost effectiveness in their decision. Relates the heterogeneity of higher education demand factors to inherent limits in Latin American…

Examining the Application of Holland's Theory to Vocational Interests and Choices of Chinese College Students

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Tang, Mei

2009-01-01

This study investigates the applicability of Holland's career development theory in cross-cultural settings by examining vocational interests of Chinese college students and the relationship between those interests and their career choices. One hundred sixty five Chinese college students complete a Chinese version of the Self-Directed Search and a…

Do Students Behave Rationally in Multiple Choice Tests? Evidence from a Field Experiment

OpenAIRE

María Paz Espinosa; Javier Gardeazabal

2013-01-01

A disadvantage of multiple choice tests is that students have incentives to guess. To discourage guessing, it is common to use scoring rules that either penalize wrong answers or reward omissions. In psychometrics, penalty and reward scoring rules are considered equivalent. However, experimental evidence indicates that students behave differently under penalty or reward scoring rules. These differences have been attributed to the different framing (penalty versus reward). In this paper, we mo...

Can Public Transportation Improve Students' Access to Denver's Best Schools of Choice?

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Gross, Bethany; Denice, Patrick

2017-01-01

Transportation remains a vexing concern in cities that offer students school choice. Time and again, research has shown that families typically want high-performing schools or schools with unique academic programs. But those schools tend to be concentrated in a city's affluent neighborhoods, often long distances from low-income households and…

Does Correct Answer Distribution Influence Student Choices When Writing Multiple Choice Examinations?

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Jacqueline A. Carnegie

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Summative evaluation for large classes of first- and second-year undergraduate courses often involves the use of multiple choice question (MCQ exams in order to provide timely feedback. Several versions of those exams are often prepared via computer-based question scrambling in an effort to deter cheating. An important parameter to consider when preparing multiple exam versions is that they must be equivalent in their assessment of student knowledge. This project investigated a possible influence of correct answer organization on student answer selection when writing multiple versions of MCQ exams. The specific question asked was whether the existence of a series of four to five consecutive MCQs in which the same letter represented the correct answer had a detrimental influence on a student’s ability to continue to select the correct answer as he/she moved through that series. Student outcomes from such exams were compared with results from exams with identical questions but which did not contain such series. These findings were supplemented by student survey data in which students self-assessed the extent to which they paid attention to the distribution of correct answer choices when writing summative exams, both during their initial answer selection and when transferring their answer letters to the Scantron sheet for correction. Despite the fact that more than half of survey respondents indicated that they do make note of answer patterning during exams and that a series of four to five questions with the same letter for the correct answer would encourage many of them to take a second look at their answer choice, the results pertaining to student outcomes suggest that MCQ randomization, even when it does result in short serial arrays of letter-specific correct answers, does not constitute a distraction capable of adversely influencing student performance. Dans les très grandes classes de cours de première et deuxième années, l�

Five-Factor Personality Scale on Career Choice Regarding Accounting Profession: A Study About Business Department Students

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Şuayyip Doğuş DEMİRCİ

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Accounting profession emerges as an important career choice for students of business administration department. By this study, the role of personality traits and some other factors on career choices regarding accountancy profession of 3rd and 4th degree undergraduate students of Business Department at the stage of discovering their careers was tried to be determined. For this purpose, survey as one of data collection techniques was applied and quantitative research methods have been utilized. In order to identify the personality traits of participants, five-factor personality scale was used. As a result of conducted statistical analysis, there were found significant differences in career choices regarding accountancy profession according to average monthly income of family, grade point average, whether having knowledge about profession, whether being interested in accounting courses of individual and responsibility dimension of personality.

The influence student placement experience can have on the employment choices of graduates: A paediatric nursing context.

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Boyd-Turner, Danni; Bell, Elaine; Russell, Alison

2016-01-01

This paper explores how the student placement experience may influence employment choices in the context of paediatric nursing. A qualitative research methodology was used. Data was collected using semi structured interviews at a tertiary teaching hospital. The sample group comprised of six newly qualified nurses who had completed their Bachelor of Nursing less than 12 months before the interview. They had completed at least one clinical placement at the site of data collection in their 2nd or 3rd year of undergraduate nursing studies. The main themes contributing to the student nurse experience within the context of paediatric nursing included the wish to work with children, a job being available, support during clinical placements and assistance with future career planning while on placement. The support experienced by student nurses during their clinical placement was seen to have a very positive influence on their future employment choices. Group de-briefing to support mutual understanding and sharing was seen to be a highly positive aspect of a clinical placement. Also how students were treated by clinical staff was a key factor that influenced future employment choices. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Beverage Alcohol Choice Among University Students: Perception, Consumption and Preferences

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Claudia Liana SALANTA

2017-05-01

Full Text Available This paper aims to analyze and compare the beverage alcohol choice among university students. The study was carried out on a total of 1069 students (men and women from University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj-Napoca, Romania. A general questionnaire assessed alcoholic beverage consumption, perception and preference. The main reasons associated with alcohol consumption were relaxation and socialization followed by taste and flavour. The most respondents are attracted by flavor and aroma of the favourite beverage. The participants in the study were not heavy social drinkers (only 1.7 % of participants consume alcohol every day. Beer and wine, were the alcoholic beverages ranked in the top of preferences. Our findings can provide information for educators and policymakers in Romania to implement target-orientated interventions against alcohol abuse at universities. The results of this study may also add evidence to university administrators and public health educators elsewhere dealing with students from Romania.

Performing a Choice-Narrative

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holmegaard, Henriette Tolstrup

2015-01-01

Students’ science choices have long attracted attention in both public and research. Recently there has been a call for qualitative studies to explore how choices create a sense of fit for individual students. Therefore, this paper aims to study how science students’ choices of higher education...... side articulated as not too predictable, and on the other side appearing realistic and adjusted to the students’ sense of self. Third, the choice-narratives were informed, validated and adjusted in the students’ social network providing the students with a repertoire of viable pathways. The study...... demonstrates how cultural discourses about how a proper choice is made set the scene for the students’ choices. The study raises some concerns for science education. Improving students’ interests in science alone might not lead to increased admission as several interests equally intervene. To attract more...

College-Level Choice of Latino High School Students: A Social-Cognitive Approach

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Gonzalez, Laura M.

2012-01-01

Latino students attend 2-year colleges more often than 4-year colleges. This has an impact on the rate of bachelor's degree attainment, because the transfer rate between the 2 levels is low. The author uses national data to identify predictors associated with college-level choice and then uses social-cognitive career theory (Lent, Brown, &…

Effects of Chronotypes on Students' Choice, Participation, and Performance in Online Learning

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Luo, Yi; Pan, Rui; Choi, Jea H.; Strobel, Johannes

2018-01-01

Introducing a new theoretical framework of chronotypes (inner biological clock), this article presents a study examining students' choices, participation, and performance in two discussion-heavy online history courses. The study comprised two major parts: a repetition study and an exploratory study. The survey adopted in the repetition study…

Using a socioecological framework to understand the career choices of single- and double-degree nursing students and double-degree graduates.

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Hickey, Noelene; Harrison, Linda; Sumsion, Jennifer

2012-01-01

Untested changes in nursing education in Australia, such as the introduction of double degrees in nursing, necessitate a new research approach to study nursing career pathways. A review of the literature on past and present career choice theories demonstrates these are inadequate to gain an understanding of contemporary nursing students' career choices. With the present worldwide shortage of nurses, an understanding of career choice becomes a critical component of recruitment and retention strategies. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how an ecological system approach based on Bronfenbrenner's theory of human development can be used to understand and examine the influences affecting nursing students' and graduates' career development and career choices. Bronfenbrenner's socioecological model was adapted to propose a new Nursing Career Development Framework as a way of conceptualizing the career development of nursing students undertaking traditional bachelor of nursing and nontraditional double-degree nursing programs. This Framework is then applied to a study of undergraduate nurses' career decision making, using a sequential explanatory mixed method study. The paper demonstrates the relevance of this approach for addressing challenges associated with nursing recruitment, education, and career choice.

Key determinants of students’ mobile phone choice

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Michael Dzigbordi Dzandu

2014-08-01

Full Text Available As there is still only limited research on students brand choice of mobile phones, the focus of this study was to ascertain drivers of tertiary students’ mobile phone brand choice in Ghana. Using a structured questionnaire, data was collected from a random sample of 840 students from three tertiary institutions in Ghana. The study revealed that the most significant determinant of the students brand choice of mobile phones was perceived quality (p0.05. The study concludes that in spite of their economic handicaps, students brand choice was driven most by perceived quality and not price. Recommendations on how information technology manufacturers’ particularly mobile phone companies and marketers can exploit these drivers to sustain and improve their brand equity among students have been made.

Live Lectures or Online Videos: Students' Resource Choices in a First-Year University Mathematics Module

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Howard, Emma; Meehan, Maria; Parnell, Andrew

2018-01-01

In "Maths for Business", a mathematics module for non-mathematics specialists, students are given the choice of completing the module content via short online videos, live lectures or a combination of both. In this study, we identify students' specific usage patterns with both of these resources and discuss their reasons for the…

Determinants of Tracking Intentions, and Actual Education Choices among Junior High School Students in Rural China

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Song, Yingquan; Loyalka, Prashant; Wei, Jianguo

2013-01-01

This article analyzes rural middle school students' tracking intentions (academic high school, vocational high school, or going to work), actual education choices, and the factors affecting them, using a random sampled baseline survey and follow-up survey of 2,216 second-year students residing outside of county seats in forty-one impoverished…

Mother’s freedom of choice and the rights of an unborn child: a comparison between the views of freshmen and senior medical school students

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Motoki, Marcelo Shigueo Yosikawa; Cabar, Fabio Roberto; Francisco, Rossana Pulcineli Vieira

2016-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To compare the views of freshman students with senior students of the Faculty of Medicine- University of São Paulo concerning the respect for the mother’s freedom of choice, the need to protect the unborn child, the proportionality between the mother’s freedom of choice and the protection of the unborn child, and issues related to legal abortion. To determine whether the medical knowledge acquired throughout the academic years can influence the views of medical students on these issues. METHODS: First- and sixth-year students of the Faculty of Medicine – University of São Paulo answered a questionnaire; the inclusion criteria were as follows: a first- or sixth-year student of the medical school and a signature on the free informed consent form. To compare the proportions, a chi-square or Fisher’s exact test was used. The significance level was set to 5%. RESULTS: Regarding the mother’s freedom of choice, in the case when a pregnant woman undergoes a cesarean section by means of a court order despite her intention to not have a cesarean, 55.7% of the first-year students have answered that the mother’s choice should be respected. Among the sixth-year students, only 28.9% believe that the mother’s intention should be considered (p<0.0001). With reference to the mother’s choice in connection with antiretroviral medication, 38.1% of the first-year students agreed that the mother’s intention should be respected, whereas 33% of sixth-year students believed that the mother’s intention should be respected (p=0.453). CONCLUSION: There was a tendency to consider the unborn child’s rights over the mother’s choice as students spent more time in medical school. PMID:27759844

Demographic Characteristics of Ghanaian Optometry Students and Factors Influencing Their Career Choice and Institution of Learning

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Boadi-Kusi, Samuel Bert; Kyei, Samuel; Mashige, Khathutshelo Percy; Abu, Emmanuel Kwasi; Antwi-Boasiako, Daniel; Halladay, Abraham Carl

2015-01-01

Optometry is only provided at tertiary level in two institutions in Ghana, with an average of 50 students graduating each year for a population of approximately 24.6 million. No information on the demography of optometry students and factors that influence their choice of optometry as a career and institution of learning is available. This…

Career choices of today's medical students: where does surgery rank?

Science.gov (United States)

Boyle, E; Healy, D; Hill, A D K; O'Connell, P R; Kerin, M; McHugh, S; Coyle, P; Kelly, J; Walsh, S R; Coffey, J C

2013-09-01

The national junior doctor recruitment crisis prompts an appraisal of medical student attitudes to different career pathways. The purpose of this study was to perform a national review of surgical career intentions of Irish final year medical students. Ethical and institutional approval was obtained at each study location. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to final year students. Domains assessed included demographics, career plans and reasons associated. Anonymised responses were collated and evaluated. Categorical data were compared with Fisher's exact test. Responses were obtained from 342 students in four medical schools of whom 78.6% were undergraduates. Over half (53%) were Irish, with Malaysia, Canada and the USA the next most common countries of origin. Only 18% of students intended to pursue surgery, with 60% stating they did not plan to, and 22% undecided. Of those who plan not to pursue surgery, 28% were unsure about a speciality but the most common choices were medicine (39%), general practice (16%) and paediatrics (8%). Reasons for not picking a career in surgery included long hours and the unstructured career path. Suggestions to improve uptake included earlier and more practical exposure to surgery, improved teaching/training and reduction in working hours. In this study 18% of final year medical students identified surgery as their chosen career pathway. Although lifestyle factors are significant in many students' decision, perceived quality and duration of surgical training were also relevant and are modifiable factors which, if improved could increase interest in surgery as a career.

SUSTAINING OCCUPATIONAL INFORMATION FOR CAREER CHOICE AND DEVELOPMENT IN STUDENTS OF TECHNICAL COLLEGES IN ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA

OpenAIRE

Moses Ikebe Odo

2015-01-01

This study takes on the issue of sustaining occupational information for career choice and development in students of technical colleges in Enugu State, Nigeria. The method adopted for this study was the survey design and the population included were all final year students of the three government technical colleges in Enugu State of Nigeria. The technical colleges were sampled as follows: Government Technical College, Enugu (156 students); Government Technical College, Nsukka (148 students);...

Determinants of career choices among women and men medical students and interns.

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Redman, S; Saltman, D; Straton, J; Young, B; Paul, C

1994-09-01

Women continue to be poorly represented in medical specialties other than general practice. A cross-sectional design was used to explore the development of career plans as medical training progressed; men and women students were compared in their first (n = 316), final (n = 295) and intern (n = 292) years. Women at each stage of training were significantly more likely to choose general practice as the field in which they were most likely to practise. There was little evidence that these differences were influenced by experience during training: women were as likely to choose general practice in first year as in the intern year. The most important determinant of career choice appeared to be the flexibility of training and of practice of medicine: variables such as the opportunity for part-time training, flexible working hours and part-time practice were important determinants of career choice and were of more importance to women than to men. The study also found high rates of discrimination or harassment reported by women medical students and interns. The results indicate the need for continued debate about these issues within medicine and the development of more flexible styles of medical training and practice.

Modeling the Relation between Students' Implicit Beliefs about Their Abilities and Their Educational STEM Choices

Science.gov (United States)

van Aalderen-Smeets, Sandra I.; Walma van der Molen, Juliette H.

2018-01-01

Despite the large body of research on students' educational and career choices in the field of technology, design, and science, we still lack a clear understanding of how to stimulate more students to opt for a study path or career within the STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics). In this article, we outline a new theoretical…

Can Interdistrict Choice Boost Student Achievement? The Case of Connecticut's Interdistrict Magnet School Program

Science.gov (United States)

Bifulco, Robert; Cobb, Casey D.; Bell, Courtney

2009-01-01

Connecticut's interdistrict magnet schools offer a model of choice-based desegregation that appears to satisfy current legal constraints. This study presents evidence that interdistrict magnet schools have provided students from Connecticut's central cities access to less racially and economically isolated educational environments and estimates…

Modeling the anti-cyberbullying preferences of university students: Adaptive choice-based conjoint analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Cunningham, Charles E; Chen, Yvonne; Vaillancourt, Tracy; Rimas, Heather; Deal, Ken; Cunningham, Lesley J; Ratcliffe, Jenna

2015-01-01

Adaptive choice-based conjoint analysis was used to study the anti-cyberbullying program preferences of 1,004 university students. More than 60% reported involvement in cyberbullying as witnesses (45.7%), victims (5.7%), perpetrator-victims (4.9%), or perpetrators (4.5%). Men were more likely to report involvement as perpetrators and perpetrator-victims than were women. Students recommended advertisements featuring famous people who emphasized the impact of cyberbullying on victims. They preferred a comprehensive approach teaching skills to prevent cyberbullying, encouraging students to report incidents, enabling anonymous online reporting, and terminating the internet privileges of students involved as perpetrators. Those who cyberbully were least likely, and victims of cyberbullying were most likely, to support an approach combining prevention and consequences. Simulations introducing mandatory reporting, suspensions, or police charges predicted a substantial reduction in the support of uninvolved students, witnesses, victims, and perpetrators. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

An integrative review on conflict management styles among nursing students: Implications for nurse education.

Science.gov (United States)

Labrague, Leodoro J; McEnroe-Petitte, Denise M

2017-12-01

Nurse education plays a critical role in the achievement of conflict management skills in nursing students. However, a wider perspective on this concept has not been explored. This paper is a report of a review appraising and synthesizing existing empirical studies describing conflict management styles among nursing students. An integrative review method guided this review. Five (5) bibliographic databases (CINAHL, Medline, Psych Info, Embase and SCOPUS) were searched to locate relevant articles. An electronic database search was performed in December 2016 to locate studies published from 2007 onwards. The search words included: 'conflict', 'management resolution', 'management style', 'management strategy', 'nursing', 'student'. Thirteen (13) articles met the inclusion criteria. Nursing students preferred 'constructive/positive conflict management styles' when handling conflicts. However, more studies are needed to identify factors that may affect their choice of styles. Further, this review emphasizes the need for empirical studies to identify appropriate interventions that would effectively enhance nursing students' skills in managing conflicts using rigorous methods. Nursing faculty play a critical role in teaching, training, and modeling constructive conflict resolution styles in nursing students. Simulation scenarios, reflective exercises, and role playing may be useful to facilitate such learning in choosing constructive conflict management styles. Structured training programme on conflict management will assist nursing students develop positive conflict management styles. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

International Student Destination Choice: The Influence of Home Campus Experience on the Decision to Consider Branch Campuses

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Wilkins, Stephen; Huisman, Jeroen

2011-01-01

Previous research has found that the country and institution choices of international students are greatly influenced by recommendations they receive from others who have experience of undertaking higher education overseas. For Western universities, it is of utmost importance to satisfy their international students, who can then encourage the next…

Professional choice self-efficacy: predicting traits and personality profiles in high school students

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Rodolfo Augusto Matteo Ambiel

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract This study aimed to verify the predictive capacity of the Big Five personality factors related to professional choice self-efficacy, as well as to draw a personality profile of people with diverse self-efficacy levels. There were 308 high school students participating, from three different grades (57.5 % women, from public and private schools, average 26.64 years of age. Students completed two instruments, Escala de Autoeficácia para Escolha Profissional (Professional Choice Self-efficacy Scale and Bateria Fatorial de Personalidade (Factorial Personality Battery. Results were obtained using multiple regression analysis, analysis of variance with repeated measures profile and Cohen’s d to estimate the effect size of differences. Results showed that Extraversion, Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were the main predictors of self-efficacy. Differences from medium to large were observed between extreme groups, and Extraversion and Conscientiousness were the personality factors that better distinguish people with low and high levels of self-efficacy. Theses results partially corroborate with the hypothesis. Results were discussed based on literature and on the practical implications of the results. New studies are proposed.

Student certainty answering misconception question: study of Three-Tier Multiple-Choice Diagnostic Test in Acid-Base and Solubility Equilibrium

Science.gov (United States)

Ardiansah; Masykuri, M.; Rahardjo, S. B.

2018-04-01

Students’ concept comprehension in three-tier multiple-choice diagnostic test related to student confidence level. The confidence level related to certainty and student’s self-efficacy. The purpose of this research was to find out students’ certainty in misconception test. This research was quantitative-qualitative research method counting students’ confidence level. The research participants were 484 students that were studying acid-base and equilibrium solubility subject. Data was collected using three-tier multiple-choice (3TMC) with thirty questions and students’ questionnaire. The findings showed that #6 item gives the highest misconception percentage and high student confidence about the counting of ultra-dilute solution’s pH. Other findings were that 1) the student tendency chosen the misconception answer is to increase over item number, 2) student certainty decreased in terms of answering the 3TMC, and 3) student self-efficacy and achievement were related each other in the research. The findings suggest some implications and limitations for further research.

A comparative analysis of multiple-choice and student performance-task assessment in the high school biology classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Cushing, Patrick Ryan

This study compared the performance of high school students on laboratory assessments. Thirty-four high school students who were enrolled in the second semester of a regular biology class or had completed the biology course the previous semester participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to examinations of two formats, performance-task and traditional multiple-choice, from two content areas, using a compound light microscope and diffusion. Students were directed to think-aloud as they performed the assessments. Additional verbal data were obtained during interviews following the assessment. The tape-recorded narrative data were analyzed for type and diversity of knowledge and skill categories, and percentage of in-depth processing demonstrated. While overall mean scores on the assessments were low, elicited statements provided additional insight into student cognition. Results indicated that a greater diversity of knowledge and skill categories was elicited by the two microscope assessments and by the two performance-task assessments. In addition, statements demonstrating in-depth processing were coded most frequently in narratives elicited during clinical interviews following the diffusion performance-task assessment. This study calls for individual teachers to design authentic assessment practices and apply them to daily classroom routines. Authentic assessment should be an integral part of the learning process and not merely an end result. In addition, teachers are encouraged to explicitly identify and model, through think-aloud methods, desired cognitive behaviors in the classroom.

Career choice in engineering students: its relationship with motivation, satisfaction and the development of professional plans

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Iciar Pablo-Lerchundi

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Choosing a university degree is a relevant process for the personal, social and economic development. This study was designed to explore the students' choice for technical degrees. It is centered on the relationship between the quality of their choice and their motivation, satisfaction and development of professional plans. The inquiry involved an incidental sample of 89 students from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM in Architecture, Computer Sciences and Forestry Engineering. After the analysis of the ad hoc adapted inventory, descriptive data and the results concerning dependence between the variables considered (analyzed with Pearson's chi-squared test are presented. Non-parametric tests were used to asses differences on satisfaction by gender and degree studied. Results show dependence between the students' motivation and satisfaction, and the later and their professional plans' content. Gender and degree are also dependent with professional plans' temporality, as well as degree with their structure. No significant differences were found for the means in satisfaction.

Consequences the extensive use of multiple-choice questions might have on student's reasoning structure

OpenAIRE

Raduta, C. M.

2013-01-01

Learning physics is a context dependent process. I consider a broader interdisciplinary problem of where differences in understanding and reasoning arise. I suggest the long run effects a multiple choice based learning system as well as society cultural habits and rules might have on student reasoning structure.

[An investigation of career choice, plans and expectations and practice preferences of male and female dental students

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Daalmans, M.T.; Vissia, M.S.; Kuijpers-Jagtman, A.M.; Lagro-Janssen, A.L.M.

2004-01-01

Aim of this study was to get more insight into the career choice, plans and expectations, and practice pattern preferences of male and female dental students in The Netherlands. A structured questionnaire was sent out to all 5th year dental students in The Netherlands in the academic year 2001/2002

Post choice information integration as a causal determinant of confidence: Novel data and a computational account.

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, Rani; Teodorescu, Andrei R; Usher, Marius

2015-05-01

Confidence judgments are pivotal in the performance of daily tasks and in many domains of scientific research including the behavioral sciences, psychology and neuroscience. Positive resolution i.e., the positive correlation between choice-correctness and choice-confidence is a critical property of confidence judgments, which justifies their ubiquity. In the current paper, we study the mechanism underlying confidence judgments and their resolution by investigating the source of the inputs for the confidence-calculation. We focus on the intriguing debate between two families of confidence theories. According to single stage theories, confidence is based on the same information that underlies the decision (or on some other aspect of the decision process), whereas according to dual stage theories, confidence is affected by novel information that is collected after the decision was made. In three experiments, we support the case for dual stage theories by showing that post-choice perceptual availability manipulations exert a causal effect on confidence-resolution in the decision followed by confidence paradigm. These finding establish the role of RT2, the duration of the post-choice information-integration stage, as a prime dependent variable that theories of confidence should account for. We then present a novel list of robust empirical patterns ('hurdles') involving RT2 to guide further theorizing about confidence judgments. Finally, we present a unified computational dual stage model for choice, confidence and their latencies namely, the collapsing confidence boundary model (CCB). According to CCB, a diffusion-process choice is followed by a second evidence-integration stage towards a stochastic collapsing confidence boundary. Despite its simplicity, CCB clears the entire list of hurdles. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Information Search as an Indication of Rationality in Student Choice of Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Menon, Maria E.

2004-01-01

This paper investigates the degree of information search that precedes the choice of a private third-level educational institution in Cyprus. Information search is used as an indication of rationality in order to provide a test for the economic approach to the explanation of human behaviour. A survey was conducted among 120 college students in the…

The effect of homework choices on achievement and intrinsic motivation

Science.gov (United States)

Christensen, Emily Fast

The purpose of this research was to test an intervention of choices in homework on the achievement and intrinsic motivation of seventh-grade science students at a middle school. The intervention was based on concepts from the cognitive evaluation theory of Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan (1985). The subjects were sixteen heterogeneous classes of seventh-grade students, who were divided among four teachers. Two randomly chosen classes from each teacher received choices in their homework and the remaining two classes of each teacher received similar homework assignments without choices. Two hypotheses were developed for this study: (1) Seventh-grade science students given choices in their homework would show an increase in intrinsic motivation as measured on a motivation orientation measure, compared to students not given choices in their homework, and (2) Seventh-grade science students given choices in their homework would show an increase in achievement on an achievement measure, compared to students not given choices in their homework. Having choices in homework did not increase intrinsic motivation or achievement. However, students who did their homework did significantly better on the posttest, and students who were more intrinsically motivated did significantly better on the posttest. Just doing the homework was important for achievement, and intrinsic motivation was linked to achievement.

An Exploration of the Effect of Servicescape on Student Institution Choice in UK Universities

Science.gov (United States)

Winter, Emma; Chapleo, Chris

2017-01-01

In recent years there has been increased discussion of the subjective, emotional and sociological factors influencing student choice of university. However, there is a dearth of information exploring what constitutes these feelings. This exploratory paper uses the conceptual model of the servicescape to provide insight into the emotional factors…

A Study of Factors Influencing International Students' Choice of Higher Education Institutions

OpenAIRE

Akadu, Victor Abia

2013-01-01

This paper discusses the factors that influence international students’ choice of higher education institutions. The research conducted using the international students in the University of Nottingham (Malaysia Campus) and Monash University (Malaysia Campus) and survey questionnaires were mainly used to gather primary data for the purpose of this study. Findings from this research indicated that product and university based factors, cost factors, promotion, location and social influences all ...

Technology choices for the Integrated Beam Experiment (IBX)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leitner, M.A.; Celata, C.M.; Lee, E.P.; Sabbi, G.; Waldron, W.L.; Barnard, J.J.

2002-10-31

Over the next three years the research program of the Heavy Ion Fusion Virtual National Laboratory (HIF-VNL), a collaboration among LBNL, LLNL, and PPPL, is focused on separate scientific experiments in the injection, transport and focusing of intense heavy ion beams at currents from 100 mA to 1 A. As a next major step in the HIF-VNL program, we aim for a complete ''source-to-target'' experiment, the Integrated Beam Experiment (IBX). By combining the experience gained in the current separate beam experiments IBX would allow the integrated scientific study of the evolution of a single heavy ion beam at high current ({approx}1 A) through all sections of a possible heavy ion fusion accelerator: the injection, acceleration, compression, and beam focusing. This paper describes the main parameters and technology choices of the planned IBX experiment. IBX will accelerate singly charged potassium or argon ion beams up to 10 MeV final energy and a longitudinal beam compression ratio of 10, resulting in a beam current at target of more than 10 Amperes. Different accelerator cell design options are described in detail: Induction cores incorporating either room temperature pulsed focusing-magnets or superconducting magnets.

Building a bridge into the future: dynamic connectionist modeling as an integrative tool for research on intertemporal choice.

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Scherbaum, Stefan; Dshemuchadse, Maja; Goschke, Thomas

2012-01-01

Temporal discounting denotes the fact that individuals prefer smaller rewards delivered sooner over larger rewards delivered later, often to a higher extent than suggested by normative economical theories. In this article, we identify three lines of research studying this phenomenon which aim (i) to describe temporal discounting mathematically, (ii) to explain observed choice behavior psychologically, and (iii) to predict the influence of specific factors on intertemporal decisions. We then opt for an approach integrating postulated mechanisms and empirical findings from these three lines of research. Our approach focuses on the dynamical properties of decision processes and is based on computational modeling. We present a dynamic connectionist model of intertemporal choice focusing on the role of self-control and time framing as two central factors determining choice behavior. Results of our simulations indicate that the two influences interact with each other, and we present experimental data supporting this prediction. We conclude that computational modeling of the decision process dynamics can advance the integration of different strands of research in intertemporal choice.

Building a bridge into the future: Dynamic connectionist modeling as an integrative tool for research on intertemporal choice

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefan eScherbaum

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Temporal discounting denotes the fact that individuals prefer smaller rewards delivered sooner over larger rewards delivered later, often to a higher extent than suggested by normative economical theories. In this article, we identify three lines of research studying this phenomenon which aim (i to describe temporal discounting mathematically, (ii to explain observed choice behavior psychologically, and (iii to predict the influence of specific factors on intertemporal decisions. We then opt for an approach integrating postulated mechanisms and empirical findings from these three lines of research. Our approach focuses on the dynamical properties of decision processes and is based on computational modeling. We present a dynamic connectionist model of intertemporal choice focusing on the role of self-control and time framing as two central factors determining choice behavior. Results of our simulations indicate that the two influences interact with each other, and we present experimental data supporting this prediction. We conclude that computational modeling of the decision process dynamics can advance the integration of different strands of research in intertemporal choice.

Factors Affecting Student Choice of Career in Science and Engineering: Parallel Studies in Australia, Canada, China, England, Japan and Portugal.

Science.gov (United States)

Woolnough, Brian E.; Guo, Yuying; Leite, Maria Salete; Jose de Almeida, Maria; Ryu, Tae; Wang, Zhen; Young, Deidra

1997-01-01

Describes studies that utilized questionnaires and interviews to explore the factors affecting the career choices of students. Reveals differences between scientists and nonscientists with regard to their preferred learning styles and relates these differences to career choice and self-perception. (DDR)

Determinants of Awareness, Consideration, and Choice Set Size in University Choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Dawes, Philip L.; Brown, Jennifer

2002-01-01

Developed and tested a model of students' university "brand" choice using five individual-level variables (ethnic group, age, gender, number of parents going to university, and academic ability) and one situational variable (duration of search) to explain variation in the sizes of awareness, consideration, and choice decision sets. (EV)

A descriptive study of high school Latino and Caucasian students' values about math, perceived math achievement and STEM career choice

Science.gov (United States)

Rodriguez Flecha, Samuel

The purpose of this study was to examine high school students' math values, perceived math achievement, and STEM career choice. Participants (N=515) were rural high school students from the U.S. Northwest. Data was collected by administering the "To Do or Not to Do:" STEM pilot survey. Most participants (n=294) were Latinos, followed by Caucasians (n=142). Fifty-three percent of the students rated their math achievement as C or below. Of high math students, 57% were male. Females were 53% of low math students. Caucasians (61%) rated themselves as high in math in a greater proportion than Latinos (39%). Latinos (58%) rated themselves as low in math in a greater proportion than Caucasians (39%). Math Values play a significant role in students' perceived math achievement. Internal math values (r =.68, R2 =.46, p =.001) influenced perceived math achievement regardless of gender (males: r =.70, R2 =.49, p =.001; females: r =.65, R2 =.43, p =.001), for Latinos (r =.66, R2 =.44, p =.001), and Caucasians (r =.72, R2 =.51, p =.001). External math values (r =.53, R2 =.28, p =.001) influenced perceived math achievement regardless of gender (males: r =.54, R2 =.30, p =.001; females: r =.49, R2 =.24, p =.001), for Latinos (r =.47, R2 =.22, p =.001), and Caucasians (r =.58, R2 =.33, p =.001). Most high-math students indicated an awareness of being good at math at around 11 years old. Low-math students said that they realized that math was difficult for them at approximately 13 years of age. The influence of parents, teachers, and peers may vary at different academic stages. Approximately half of the participants said there was not a person who had significantly impacted their career choice; only a minority said their parents and teachers were influencing them to a STEM career. Parents and teachers are the most influential relationships in students' career choice. More exposure to STEM role models and in a variety of professions is needed. Possible strategies to impact students

Does students' exposure to gender discrimination and sexual harassment in medical school affect specialty choice and residency program selection?

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Stratton, Terry D; McLaughlin, Margaret A; Witte, Florence M; Fosson, Sue E; Nora, Lois Margaret

2005-04-01

To examine the role of gender discrimination and sexual harassment in medical students' choice of specialty and residency program. Anonymous, self-administered questionnaires were distributed in 1997 to fourth-year students enrolled in 14 public and private U.S. medical schools. In addition to reporting the frequency of gender discrimination and sexual harassment encountered during preclinical coursework, core clerkships, elective clerkships, and residency selection, students assessed the impact of these exposures (none, a little, some, quite a bit, the deciding factor) on their specialty choices and rankings of residency programs. A total of 1,314 (69%) useable questionnaires were returned. Large percentages of men (83.2%) and women (92.8%) experienced, observed, or heard about at least one incident of gender discrimination and sexual harassment during medical school, although more women reported such behavior across all training contexts. Compared with men, significantly (p harassment influenced their specialty choices (45.3% versus 16.4%) and residency rankings (25.3% versus 10.9%). Across all specialties, more women than men experienced gender discrimination and sexual harassment during residency selection, with one exception: a larger percentage of men choosing obstetrics and gynecology experienced such behavior. Among women, those choosing general surgery were most likely to experience gender discrimination and sexual harassment during residency selection. Interestingly, correlations between exposure to gender discrimination and sexual harassment and self-assessed impact on career decisions tended to be larger for men, suggesting that although fewer men are generally affected, they may weigh such experiences more heavily in their choice of specialty and residency program. This study suggests that exposure to gender discrimination and sexual harassment during undergraduate education may influence some medical students' choice of specialty and, to a lesser

Factors associated with the choice of public health service among nursing students in Thailand.

Science.gov (United States)

Sawaengdee, Krisada; Pudpong, Nareerut; Wisaijohn, Thunthita; Suphanchaimat, Rapeepong; Putthasri, Weerasak; Lagarde, Mylene; Blaauw, Duane

2017-01-01

Despite the fact that public and private nursing schools have contributed significantly to the Thai health system, it is not clear whether and to what extent there was difference in job preferences between types of training institutions. This study aimed to examine attitudes towards rural practice, intention to work in public service after graduation, and factors affecting workplace selection among nursing students in both public and private institutions. A descriptive comparative cross-sectional survey was conducted among 3349 students from 36 nursing schools (26 public and 10 private) during February-March 2012, using a questionnaire to assess the association between training institution characteristics and students' attitudes, job choices, and intention to work in the public sector upon graduation. Comparisons between school types were done using ANOVA, and Bonferroni-adjusted multiple comparisons tests. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to construct a composite rural attitude index ( 14 questions). Cronbach's alpha was used to examine the internal consistency of the scales, and ANOVA was then used to determine the differences. These relationships were further investigated through multiple regression. A higher proportion of public nursing students (86.4% from the Ministry of Public Health and 74.1% from the Ministry of Education) preferred working in the public sector, compared to 32.4% of students from the private sector ( p  = public nursing schools were less motivated by financial incentive regarding workplace choices relative to students trained by private institutions. To increase nursing workforce in the public sector, the following policy options should be promoted: 1) recruiting more students with a rural upbringing, 2) nurturing good attitudes towards working in rural areas through appropriate training at schools, 3) providing government scholarships for private students in exchange for compulsory work in rural areas, and 4) providing a

A singular choice for multiple choice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Frandsen, Gudmund Skovbjerg; Schwartzbach, Michael Ignatieff

2006-01-01

How should multiple choice tests be scored and graded, in particular when students are allowed to check several boxes to convey partial knowledge? Many strategies may seem reasonable, but we demonstrate that five self-evident axioms are sufficient to determine completely the correct strategy. We ...

Attachment, Career-Choice Pessimism, and Intrinsic Motivation as Predictors of College Students' Career Adaptability

Science.gov (United States)

Shin, Yun-Jeong; Lee, Ji-Yeon

2017-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the cross-cultural validity of the effects of attachment, career-choice pessimism, and intrinsic motivation on career adaptability (CA) in American (n = 198) and Korean (n = 294) college students. We hypothesized that the association between attachment and CA is sequentially mediated by career-choice…

Gender difference in preference of specialty as a career choice among Japanese medical students

OpenAIRE

Kawamoto, Ryuichi; Ninomiya, Daisuke; Kasai, Yoshihisa; Kusunoki, Tomo; Ohtsuka, Nobuyuki; Kumagi, Teru; Abe, Masanori

2016-01-01

Abstract Background In Japan, the absolute deficiency of doctors and maldistribution of doctors by specialty is a significant problem in the Japanese health care system. The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors contributing to specialty preference in career choice among Japanese medical students. Methods A total of 368 medical students completed the survey giving an 88.2 % response rate. The subjects comprised 141 women aged 21 ± 3 (range, 18–34) years and 227 men aged 22 ± 4 ...

Choices and Consequences.

Science.gov (United States)

Thorp, Carmany

1995-01-01

Describes student use of Hyperstudio computer software to create history adventure games. History came alive while students learned efficient writing skills; learned to understand and manipulate cause, effect choice and consequence; and learned to incorporate succinct locational, climatic, and historical detail. (ET)

International Students' Experiences of Integrating into the Workforce

Science.gov (United States)

Nunes, Sarah; Arthur, Nancy

2013-01-01

This study explored the integration experiences of 16 international students entering the Canadian workforce using a semistructured interview and constant comparison method. The international students were pursuing immigration to Canada, despite unmet job prospects. Students recommended that employers refrain from discriminating against students…

Modeling school choice: A comparison of public, private-independent, private-religious and home-schooled students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Clive R. Belfield

2004-06-01

Full Text Available U.S. students now have four choices of schooling: public schooling, private–religious schooling, private–independent schooling, and home-schooling. Of these, home-schooling is the most novel: since legalization across the states in the last few decades, it has grown in importance and legitimacy as an alternative choice. Thus, it is now possible to investigate the motivation for home-schooling, relative to the other schooling options. Here, we use two recent large-scale datasets to assess the school enrollment decision: the first is the National Household Expenditure Survey (1999, and the second is micro-data on SAT test-takers in 2001. We find that, generally, families with home-schoolers have similar characteristics to those with children at other types of school, but mother’s characteristics – specifically, her employment status – have a strong influence on the decision to home-school. Plausibly, religious belief has an important influence on the schooling decision, not only for Catholic students, but also those of other faiths.

A Theory of Change for Student-Led Academic Integrity

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Richards, Deborah; Saddiqui, Sonia; White, Fiona; McGuigan, Nicholas; Homewood, Judi

2016-01-01

Breaches in academic integrity are a pervasive and enduring international concern to the overall quality of higher education. Despite students being the group most affected by academic integrity policies, organisational culture is such that students tend to be passive recipients of change initiatives, rather than the drivers. To deliver a paradigm…

Effectiveness of Guided Multiple Choice Objective Questions Test on Students' Academic Achievement in Senior School Mathematics by School Location

Science.gov (United States)

Igbojinwaekwu, Patrick Chukwuemeka

2015-01-01

This study investigated, using pretest-posttest quasi-experimental research design, the effectiveness of guided multiple choice objective questions test on students' academic achievement in Senior School Mathematics, by school location, in Delta State Capital Territory, Nigeria. The sample comprised 640 Students from four coeducation secondary…

Integrated learning through student goal development.

Science.gov (United States)

Price, Deborah; Tschannen, Dana; Caylor, Shandra

2013-09-01

New strategies are emerging to promote structure and increase learning in the clinical setting. Nursing faculty designed a mechanism by which integrative learning and situated coaching could occur more readily in the clinical setting. The Clinical Goals Initiative was implemented for sophomore-, junior-, and senior-level students in their clinical practicums. Students developed weekly goals reflecting three domains of professional nursing practice. Goals were shared with faculty and staff nurse mentors at the beginning of the clinical day to help guide students and mentors with planning for learning experiences. After 6 weeks, faculty and students were surveyed to evaluate project effectiveness. Faculty indicated that goal development facilitated clinical learning by providing more student engagement, direction, and focus. Students reported that goal development allowed them to optimize clinical learning opportunities and track their growth and progress. Faculty and students indicated the goals promoted student self-learning, autonomy, and student communication with nurse mentors and faculty. Copyright 2013, SLACK Incorporated.

Factors That Influence College Choice: Decisions of Graduate Students

Science.gov (United States)

Sheppard, Jody Sue

2013-01-01

Beginning in the early 1980s, reduction in the funding of education has been a trend. As a solution to the funding issue, colleges and universities have turned towards tuition to make up the deficit; therefore, a need arises to enroll more students. Marketing higher education programs has now become an integral part to raising enrollment to meet…

Course Modality Choice and Student Performance in Business Statistics Courses in Post Secondary Institutions

Science.gov (United States)

Radners, Richard Harry, Jr.

2011-01-01

Limited research has been conducted on the role of course modality choice (face-to-face [FTF] or online [OL]) on course grades. At the study site, an independent college, the research problem was the lack of research on the proportions of undergraduate students who completed a statistics course as part of their academic program, in either OL or…

Senior Medical Students' Attitudes toward Psychiatry as a Career Choice before and after an Undergraduate Psychiatry Internship in Iran

Science.gov (United States)

Amini, Homayoun; Moghaddam, Yasaman; Nejatisafa, Ali-Akbar; Esmaeili, Sara; Kaviani, Hosein; Shoar, Saeed; Shabani, Amir; Samimi-Ardestani, Mehdi; Akhlaghi, Amir Abbas Keshavarz; Noroozi, Alireza; Mafi, Mostafa

2013-01-01

Objectives: The study aimed to assess 1) the attitudes of medical students in the sixth and seventh years (known as interns in Iran) toward psychiatry as a career choice, and 2) the degree of attractiveness of psychiatry as a career choice, with regard to various defined aspects, before and after an undergraduate psychiatry internship (similar to…

The Stability of Factors Influencing the Choice of Medical Specialty Among Medical Students and Postgraduate Radiology Trainees.

Science.gov (United States)

Yen, Adam J; Webb, Emily M; Jordan, Eric J; Kallianos, Kimberly; Naeger, David M

2018-06-01

To investigate whether general psychological motivating factors that guide career selection of a medical specialty differ over the course of medical school and to compare differences in motivating factors among students choosing "controllable" lifestyle specialties, students choosing "uncontrollable" lifestyle specialties, and a cohort of radiology residents. An anonymous survey was distributed to first- through fourth-year medical students and radiology residents at a single institution. Participants were asked to select their top three of seven factors that most influenced their choice of medical specialty. Fourth-year students were asked to designate the specialty to which they had applied. The survey was distributed to 259 students and 47 radiology residents with a response rate of 93.8% (243 of 259) and 95.7% (45 of 47), respectively. The top three factors indicated by medical students were finding the daily work fulfilling, work-life balance, and interest in the subject. These top three factors were common to all medical student classes and did not differ between students choosing "controllable" versus "uncontrollable" fields. The factors uncommonly selected were similar personality to others in the field, attending income, competitiveness or prestige, and job market conditions. For radiology residents, the top three motivating factors were the same as for medical students. Three out of seven motivating factors were universally important to trainees, regardless of their stage of medical training or their selection of a controllable versus uncontrollable lifestyle specialty. These data suggest the variety of career choices made by students may not derive from differing underlying values. Copyright © 2018 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The roots of physics students' motivations: Fear and integrity

Science.gov (United States)

Van Dusen, Ben

Too often, physics students are beset by feelings of failure and isolation rather than experiencing the creative joys of discovery that physics has to offer. This dissertation research was founded on the desire of a teacher to make physics class exciting and motivating to his students. This work explores how various aspects of learning environments interact with student motivation. This work uses qualitative and quantitative methods to explore how students are motivated to engage in physics and how they feel about themselves while engaging in physics. The collection of four studies in this dissertation culminates in a sociocultural perspective on motivation and identity. This perspective uses two extremes of how students experience physics as a lens for understanding motivation: fear and self-preservation versus integrity and self-expression. Rather than viewing motivation as a property of the student, or viewing students as inherently interested or disinterested in physics, the theoretical perspective on motivation and identity helps examine features of the learning environments that determine how students' experience themselves through physics class. This perspective highlights the importance of feeling a sense of belonging in the context of physics and the power that teachers have in shaping students' motivation through the construction of their classroom learning environments. Findings demonstrate how different ways that students experience themselves in physics class impact their performance and interest in physics. This dissertation concludes with a set of design principles that can foster integration and integrity among students in physics learning environments.

On school choice and test-based accountability.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Damian W. Betebenner

2005-10-01

Full Text Available Among the two most prominent school reform measures currently being implemented in The United States are school choice and test-based accountability. Until recently, the two policy initiatives remained relatively distinct from one another. With the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB, a mutualism between choice and accountability emerged whereby school choice complements test-based accountability. In the first portion of this study we present a conceptual overview of school choice and test-based accountability and explicate connections between the two that are explicit in reform implementations like NCLB or implicit within the market-based reform literature in which school choice and test-based accountability reside. In the second portion we scrutinize the connections, in particular, between school choice and test-based accountability using a large western school district with a popular choice system in place. Data from three sources are combined to explore the ways in which school choice and test-based accountability draw on each other: state assessment data of children in the district, school choice data for every participating student in the district choice program, and a parental survey of both participants and non-participants of choice asking their attitudes concerning the use of school report cards in the district. Results suggest that choice is of benefit academically to only the lowest achieving students, choice participation is not uniform across different ethnic groups in the district, and parents' primary motivations as reported on a survey for participation in choice are not due to test scores, though this is not consistent with choice preferences among parents in the district. As such, our results generally confirm the hypotheses of choice critics more so than advocates. Keywords: school choice; accountability; student testing.

Service-learning in nursing: Integrating student learning and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Service-learning in nursing: Integrating student learning and community-based service experience through reflective practice. ... the students' reflective journals, group project reports and a focus-group discussion as the primary data sources.

Assessment of personality type and medical specialty choice among medical students from Karachi; using Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) tool.

Science.gov (United States)

Jafrani, Sana; Zehra, Nosheen; Zehra, Muneeza; Abuzar Ali, Syed Muhmmad; Abubakar Mohsin, Saiyed Abdullah; Azhar, Rasheed

2017-04-01

To assess personality type of medical students and associate it with their choice of medical specialty. This cross-sectional study was conducted in February 2014 at one public and one private medical university of Karachi, and comprised medical students. A self- administered questionnaire based on Myers-Briggs type indicator was used to collect data which was analysed using SPSS 20. Of the 400 participants, there were 200(50%) each from public and private universities. Of all, 201(50.3%) students were found to be extroverted and 199(49.8%) were introverted personality types. Clinical fields were the main preference of students after their medical degree as selected by 317(79.2%) students; of the, Extroverted-Sensing-Feeling-Perceptive was the most common type identified in39(7.2%) students. Extroverted-Sensing-Feeling-Perceptive 11(2.8%), Extroverted-Sensing-Thinking-Judging 12(3%), Extroverted-Sensing-Feeling-Judging 5(1.3%), Introverted-Sensing-Feeling-Judging 6(1.5%), Introverted-Sensing-Thinking-Perceptive 7(1.8%) had preference for surgery, medicine, gynaecology, paediatrics and cardiology, respectively. Personality had significant impact on specialty and career choice.

Content and Language Integrated Learning and the inclusion of immigrant minority language students: A research review

Science.gov (United States)

Somers, Thomas

2017-08-01

This article addresses the inclusion of immigrant minority language students in Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) bilingual education programmes. It reviews results of research on (1) the reasons, beliefs and attitudes underlying immigrant minority language parents' and students' choice for CLIL programmes; (2) these students' proficiency in the languages of instruction and their academic achievement; and (3) the effects of first language typology on their second and third language proficiency. The author explores conditions and reasons for the effectiveness of CLIL pedagogy, as well as the comparative suitability of CLIL programmes for immigrant minority language students. The review shows that CLIL programmes provide a means to acquire important linguistic, economic and symbolic capital in order to effect upward social mobility. Findings demonstrate that immigrant minority language students enrolled in CLIL programmes are able to develop equal or superior levels of proficiency in both languages of instruction compared to majority language students; with previous development of first language literacy positively impacting academic language development. CLIL programmes are found to offer immigrant minority language students educational opportunities and effective pedagogical support which existing mainstream monolingual and minority bilingual education programmes may not always be able to provide. In light of these findings, the author discusses shortcomings in current educational policy. The article concludes with recommendations for further research.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

Student Choice in Higher Education: Motivations for Choosing to Study at an International Branch Campus

Science.gov (United States)

Wilkins, Stephen; Balakrishnan, Melodena Stephens; Huisman, Jeroen

2012-01-01

The international branch campus has emerged as a prominent feature on the international higher education landscape. Although there exists a fairly substantial body of literature that has sought to identify the motivations or choice criteria used by international students to select countries and institutions, there has to date been little research…

Why Do They Study There? Diary Research into Students' Learning Space Choices in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Beckers, Ronald; van der Voordt, Theo; Dewulf, Geert

2016-01-01

Higher education learning and teaching methods have changed while most educational buildings are still rather traditional. Yet, there is an increasing interest in whether we can educate today's higher education students in yesterday's buildings. This paper aims to contribute to this debate by studying the learning space choices of higher education…

Veterinary student attitudes toward curriculum integration at James Cook University.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavalieri, John

2009-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes of veterinary science students to activities designed to promote curriculum integration. Students (N = 33) in their second year of a five-year veterinary degree were surveyed in regard to their attitudes to activities that aimed to promote integration. Imaging, veterinary practice practicals, and a field trip to a cattle property were classified as the three most valuable learning activities that were designed to promote integration. Veterinary practice practicals, case studies, and palpable anatomy were regarded by students as helping them to learn information presented in other teaching sessions. They also appeared to enhance student motivation, and students indicated that the activities assisted them with their preparation for and performance at examinations. Attitudes to whether the learning exercises helped improve a range of skills and specific knowledge varied, with 39-88% of students agreeing that specific skills and knowledge were enhanced to a large or very large extent by the learning activities. The results indicate that learning activities designed to promote curriculum integration helped improve motivation, reinforced learning, created links between foundational knowledge and its application, and assisted with the development of skills that are related to what students will do in their future careers.

Informed Food Choice

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Coff, Christian

2014-01-01

of informed food choice. An informed food choice is an enlightened food choice made by the individual based on the information made available. Food choices are made when shopping for food or when eating/drinking, and information is believed to give clarity to the options by increasing market transparency......Food production and consumption influence health, the environment, social structures, etc. For this reason consumers are increasingly interested in information about these effects. Disclosure of information about the consequences of food production and consumption is essential for the idea......, supporting rationality (the best choice), consumers’ self-governance (autonomy) and life coherence (integrity). On a practical level, informed food choice remains an ideal to strive for, as information on food often is inadequate....

Long-term student outcomes of the Integrated Nutrition and Physical Activity Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Puma, Jini; Romaniello, Catherine; Crane, Lori; Scarbro, Sharon; Belansky, Elaine; Marshall, Julie A

2013-01-01

To examine the long-term effects of the Integrated Nutrition and Physical Activity Program (INPAP), a school-based nutrition education program. Quasi-experimental design comparing intervention and comparison cohorts at 3-6 years after delivery of the INPAP intervention on nutrition- and physical activity-related outcomes. This study was conducted in 1 school district in a low-income rural county of ∼15,000 residents in south-central Colorado. In second grade, intervention and comparison cohorts included 173 (fall 2000) and 190 (fall 1999) students, respectively. Approximately 60% of these students completed assessments in eighth grade. INPAP is an experiential school-based nutrition education program, grounded in social cognitive theory and Piaget's cognitive development theory and adapted for use in a rural setting. Nutrition and physical activity knowledge, self-efficacy, attitudes and behaviors, body mass index. Wilcoxon signed rank test, chi-square test for proportions, and t test for means. Long-term effects were observed in nutrition-related knowledge and attitudes but not self-efficacy or behavior change. The effects that did occur were attenuated over time. This study found that INPAP implemented in elementary school had limited lasting effects by the end of middle school, a time when students have increased autonomy to make food choices. Copyright © 2013 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Integration of Mathematics in Middle School Science: Student and Teacher Impacts Related to Science Achievement and Attitudes Towards Integration

Science.gov (United States)

McHugh, Luisa

Contemporary research has suggested that in order for students to compete globally in the 21st century workplace, pedagogy must shift to include the integration of science and mathematics, where teachers effectively incorporate the two disciplines seamlessly. Mathematics facilitates a deeper understanding of science concepts and has been linked to improved student perception of the integration of science and mathematics. Although there is adequate literature to substantiate students' positive responses to integration in terms of attitudes, there has been little empirical data to support significant academic improvement when both disciplines are taught in an integrated method. This research study, conducted at several school districts on Long Island and New York City, New York, examined teachers' attitudes toward integration and students' attitudes about, and achievement on assessments in, an integrated 8th grade science classroom compared to students in a non-integrated classroom. An examination of these parameters was conducted to analyze the impact of the sizeable investment of time and resources needed to teach an integrated curriculum effectively. These resources included substantial teacher training, planning time, collaboration with colleagues, and administration of student assessments. The findings suggest that students had positive outcomes associated with experiencing an integrated science and mathematics curriculum, though these were only weakly correlated with teacher confidence in implementing the integrated model successfully. The positive outcomes included the ability of students to understand scientific concepts within a concrete mathematical framework, improved confidence in applying mathematics to scientific ideas, and increased agreement with the usefulness of mathematics in interpreting science concepts. Implications of these research findings may be of benefit to educators and policymakers looking to adapt integrated curricula in order to

Determinants of Postgraduate Students' Choices of Speciality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bikash Shrestha

2016-03-01

Conclusions: Various factors affect the choices for preferred specialty. Policy makers should look at the needs of the nation, and ensure that specialty postgraduate education programs reflect those needs. Keywords: career choices; likert scale; medical education; postgraduate specialty. | PubMed

The formation of science choices in secondary school

Science.gov (United States)

Cleaves, Anna

2005-04-01

In this paper I examine the formation of post-16 choices over 3 years among higher achieving students with respect to enrolment in post-compulsory science courses. Transcripts from four interviews carried out over 3 years with 72 secondary school students were qualitatively analysed. Students were found to shape their choices for science in a variety of ways across time. The situation regarding science choices hinges on far more dynamic considerations than the stereotypical image of the potential advanced science student, committed to becoming a scientist from an early age. There is an interplay of self-perception with respect to science, occupational images of working scientists, relationship with significant adults and perceptions of school science The findings are informative for science educators and for career guidance professionals who may need to take into account the complexity of young people's choices.

Anterior cingulate cortex instigates adaptive switches in choice by integrating immediate and delayed components of value in ventromedial prefrontal cortex.

Science.gov (United States)

Economides, Marcos; Guitart-Masip, Marc; Kurth-Nelson, Zeb; Dolan, Raymond J

2014-02-26

Actions can lead to an immediate reward or punishment and a complex set of delayed outcomes. Adaptive choice necessitates the brain track and integrate both of these potential consequences. Here, we designed a sequential task whereby the decision to exploit or forego an available offer was contingent on comparing immediate value and a state-dependent future cost of expending a limited resource. Crucially, the dynamics of the task demanded frequent switches in policy based on an online computation of changing delayed consequences. We found that human subjects choose on the basis of a near-optimal integration of immediate reward and delayed consequences, with the latter computed in a prefrontal network. Within this network, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was dynamically coupled to ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) when adaptive switches in choice were required. Our results suggest a choice architecture whereby interactions between ACC and vmPFC underpin an integration of immediate and delayed components of value to support flexible policy switching that accommodates the potential delayed consequences of an action.

Investigating student difficulties on integral calculus based on critical thinking aspects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Farida Nursyahidah

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Students of Mathematics education often struggle with integration problem, but yet the root of the problem related to critical thinking is rarely investigated. This article reports research where the first-year students of Mathematics Education of PGRI University Semarang were given an integral problem, then individually they were interviewed related to the answer they have made. The findings of students' difficulties in working on integration problem were confirmed through several questions in the interview which aimed to uncover their critical thinking process related to concepts, procedures, and problem solving. This study shows that student difficulties in Integration by disc method such as failure in identifying radius of a rotary object, specify partition, and integration bounds are closely related to their failure to think critically related to concept, skills, and problem solving aspects of critical thinking.

An investigation of factors affecting elementary female student teachers' choice of science as a major at college level in Zimbabwe

Science.gov (United States)

Mlenga, Francis Howard

The purpose of the study was to determine factors affecting elementary female student teachers' choice of science as a major at college level in Zimbabwe. The study was conducted at one of the Primary School Teachers' Colleges in Zimbabwe. A sample of two hundred and thirty-eight female student teachers was used in the study. Of these one hundred and forty-two were non-science majors who had been randomly selected, forty-one were science majors and forty-five were math majors. Both science and math majors were a convenient sample because the total enrollment of the two groups was small. All the subjects completed a survey questionnaire that had sixty-eight items. Ten students from the non-science majors were selected for individual interviews and the same was done for the science majors. A further eighteen were selected from the non-science majors and divided into three groups of six each for focus group interviews. The same was done for the science majors. The interviews were audio taped and transcribed. Data from the survey questionnaires were analyzed using Binary Logistic Regression which predicted factors that affected students' choice of science as a major. The transcribed interview data were analyzed used using domain, taxonomic and componential analyses. Results of the study indicated that elementary female students' choice of science as a major at college level is affected by students' attitudes toward science, teacher behavior, out-of-school experiences, role models, gender stereotyping, parental influence, peer influence, in-school experiences, and societal expectations, namely cultural and social expectations.

Integrating Character Education In Teaching Speaking For Business Administration Students

OpenAIRE

Woro Prastiwi, Chyntia Heru

2016-01-01

Globalization along with the advancement of information and communication technology has brought tremendous effects on students' character. Education field as a place of community has to contribute in developing students' character traits. Integrating character education in curriculum is the key for qualified education. This research aimed to describe the way to integrate character education in teaching speaking for Business Administration students. The data was obtained from teaching and lea...

Students' network integration vs. persistence in introductory physics courses

Science.gov (United States)

Zwolak, Justyna; Brewe, Eric

2017-01-01

Society is constantly in flux, which demands the continuous development of our educational system to meet new challenges and impart the appropriate knowledge/skills to students. In order to improve student learning, among other things, the way we are teaching has significantly changed over the past few decades. We are moving away from traditional, lecture-based teaching towards more interactive, engagement-based strategies. A current, major challenge for universities is to increase student retention. While students' academic and social integration into an institution seems to be vital for student retention, research on the effect of interpersonal interactions is rare. I use of network analysis to investigate academic and social experiences of students in and beyond the classroom. In particular, there is a compelling case that transformed physics classes, such as Modeling Instruction (MI), promote persistence by the creation of learning communities that support the integration of students into the university. I will discuss recent results on pattern development in networks of MI students' interactions throughout the semester, as well as the effect of students' position within the network on their persistence in physics.

Effects of international health electives on medical student learning and career choice: results of a systematic literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeffrey, Jessica; Dumont, Rebecca A; Kim, Gloria Y; Kuo, Tony

2011-01-01

The present study reviewed the published literature to examine the effects of international health electives (IHEs) on medical student learning and career choice. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify key English-language articles on IHEs, using PubMed journal databases for the period 1990--2009. Article inclusion for this review was vetted by a rigorous evaluation of each article's study methods, content, and data quality. Pooled or aggregate information from 11 key articles, including information on type and duration of IHE, study and comparison group characteristics, and measured outcomes such as self-reported changes in cultural competency, clinical skills, and specialty choice, were extracted and summarized. Findings suggest that having IHE experiences contributed to a more well-rounded training for medical students; students reported being more culturally competent and were more likely to choose a primary care specialty and/or a public service career. Although IHE experiences appear to have educational benefits, the quality and availability of these electives vary by institution. Barriers to ensuring that students attain a safe and rich experience include the lack of consistent categorical funding, safety concerns when traveling, and limited faculty experience and resources to support and guide students during their rotations abroad.

Integrative research on environmental and landscape change: PhD students' motivations and challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Tress, Bärbel; Tress, Gunther; Fry, Gary

2009-07-01

The growing demand for integrative (interdisciplinary or transdisciplinary) approaches in the field of environmental and landscape change has increased the number of PhD students working in this area. Yet, the motivations to join integrative projects and the challenges for PhD students have so far not been investigated. The aims of this paper were to identify the understanding of PhD students with regard to integrative research, their motivations to join integrative projects, their expectations in terms of integration and results, and to reveal the challenges they face in integrative projects. We collected data by a questionnaire survey of 104 PhD students attending five PhD Master Classes held from 2003 to 2006. We used manual content analysis to analyse the free-text answers. The results revealed that students lack a differentiated understanding of integrative approaches. The main motivations to join integrative projects were the dissertation subject, the practical relevance of the project, the intellectual stimulation of working with different disciplines, and the belief that integrative research is more innovative. Expectations in terms of integration were high. Core challenges for integration included intellectual and external challenges such as lack of knowledge of other disciplines, knowledge transfer, reaching depth, supervision, lack of exchange with other students and time demands. To improve the situation for PhD students, we suggest improving knowledge on integrative approaches, balancing practical applicability with theoretical advancement, providing formal introductions to other fields of research, and enhancing institutional support for integrative PhD projects.

Choice of speciality amongst first-year medical students in the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine, University of KwaZulu-Natal

Science.gov (United States)

Naidu, Edwin; Naidu, Jesse

2013-01-01

Abstract Background Trends in career choice amongst medical graduates have considerable implications for the percentage of the workforce available for training. Objective To investigate and review factors affecting career choice by undergraduate first-year medical students. Method This was a cross-sectional study using a closed-ended, semi-structured survey instrument. Two hundred and four questionnaires were administered to all first-year medical students at the Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine in the first term of the 2012 academic session. Results The questionnaire was completed by 167 out of 204 students (81.8% response rate). Most of the respondents were South Africans (91%) and blacks (72%), with a higher proportion of women to men (2:1). The majority (86%) intended to undertake their postgraduate training in surgical specialties (53%), general surgery (50%) and cardiology (46%). Few were interested in an academic career in basic sciences (27.6%), either because they were not interested in research and/or teaching (48%), not clinically-orientated (20%), or found it to be an unattractive choice (12.3%). The top perceived career-related factors favouring choice of speciality were personal interest and benefits to patients as many (83%) respondents still viewed the medical profession as having a bright future in South Africa. Conclusions Our study highlighted the fact that self and patient interests were strong determinants of speciality choices by the students and the role of parents and practice in rural areas were considered least as potential influencing factors. This would appear to be a good indicator that the healthcare sector may be boosted in the future by doctors who are wholeheartedly committed to the service of the communities with the greatest disease burden.

Temperament in Portuguese university students as measured by TEMPS-A: implications for professional choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Figueira, M Luisa; Caeiro, Lara; Ferro, Ana; Cordeiro, Raul; Duarte, Pedro M; Akiskal, Hagop S; Akiskal, Kareen K

2010-06-01

The structure of temperament displays subaffective traits as attributes of adaptive value. There are few studies on how different professions compare on temperaments. Our aim was to examine the relationship between the choices of Portuguese students in their fields of study, and their respective temperaments. The sample included 1386 students from six different universities (law, engineering, arts, medicine, psychology, and nursing), of both genders (67% female), and ages between 17 and 58 (X + or - SD = 21 + or - 3.4). Law and art students presented a cyclothymic or irritable temperament. Engineering students presented a hyperthymic temperament. Psychology and nursing students presented predominantly depressive and anxious temperaments. Medicine students were least extreme in temperament scores or frequencies. Nursing students came largely from one university located in a Portuguese city (northeast from Lisbon) which could be a potential limitation to be confirmed. Distinct temperamental profiles of students enrolled in different professional fields could be identified in our sample taking into account the presence or absence of excessive temperaments. Future physicians did not present a predominant temperament, future lawyers and artists presented predominantly a cyclothymic or irritable temperament, future engineers presented a hyperthymic temperament and, future psychologists and nurses presented predominantly depressive and anxious temperaments. Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Faith-Learning Integration, Critical Thinking Skills, and Student Development in Christian Education

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Karl G. D.

2012-01-01

Although the integration of faith and learning presupposes a learner, little theoretical work has addressed the role of students in faith-learning integration. Moreover, many students perceive faith-learning integration to be the work of teachers and institutions, suggesting that for learners, integration is a passive experience. This theoretical…

Nepalese dental hygiene and dental students' career choice motivation and plans after graduation: a descriptive cross-sectional comparison.

Science.gov (United States)

Knevel, Ron J M; Gussy, Mark G; Farmer, Jane; Karimi, Leila

2015-12-11

This is the first study of its kind to provide data regarding the self-reported career choice motivation and intentions after graduation of dental and dental hygiene students in Nepal. The findings of this study can be used to inform future oral health workforce planning in Nepal. A cross-sectional survey of dentistry and dental hygiene students attending a large accredited dental college in Kathmandu, Nepal. Quantitative data were analysed using IBM® SPSS® 22. The respondents were given the opportunity to provide clarifying comments to some of the questions. Two hundred questionnaires were distributed, and 171 students completed the anonymous survey (response rate 86 %). Working in health care and serving the community were the most important initial motives for career choice, with significantly more dentistry students selecting their degree course because of the possibility to work flexible working hours (p work in rural areas after study. Most common preferred locations to live after graduation are urban (33 %) or abroad (38 %). Data suggest a preference to combine working in a hospital with working in their own practice (44 %) while interest in solely working in their own practice is low (work.

Factors influencing Saudi Arabian optometry candidates' career choices and institution of learning. Why do Saudi students choose to study optometry?

Science.gov (United States)

Osuagwu, Uchechukwu L; Briggs, Stella T; Chijuka, John C; Alanazi, Saud A; Ogbuehi, Kelechi C

2014-09-01

Optometry is a primary health-care profession (PHCP) and this study aimed to elucidate the factors influencing the choice of optometry as a career for Saudi students, the students' perceptions of optometry and the effect of gender. Two hundred and forty-seven students whose average age was 21.7 ± 1.5 (SD) years and who are currently enrolled in two colleges of optometry in Saudi Arabia--King Saud University (KSU) and Qassim University (QU)--completed self-administered questionnaires. The survey included questions concerning demography, career first choice, career perception and factors influencing career choices. The response rate was 87.6 per cent and there were 161 male (64.9 per cent) students. Seventy-nine per cent of the participants were from KSU (males and females) and 20.6 per cent were from QU (only males). Seventy-three per cent come from Riyadh and 19 per cent are from Qassim province. Regarding the first choice for their careers, the females (92 per cent) were 0.4 times more likely (p = 0.012) to choose optometry than males (78.3 per cent). The males were significantly more likely to be influenced by the following factors: the Doctor of Optometry (OD) programs run at both universities, good salary and prospects (p optometry. Females were more likely to opt for a career in optometry and males were more likely to be influenced by the new OD programs, good salary and job prospects. Service provision to others in the community was a primary motivation to opt for a career in optometry among young Saudis. © 2014 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Optometry © 2014 Optometrists Association Australia.

Effect of price and information on the food choices of women university students in Saudi Arabia: An experimental study.

Science.gov (United States)

Halimic, Aida; Gage, Heather; Raats, Monique; Williams, Peter

2018-04-01

To explore the impact of price manipulation and healthy eating information on intended food choices. Health information was provided to a random half of subjects (vs. information on Saudi agriculture). Each subject chose from the same lunch menu, containing two healthy and two unhealthy entrees, deserts and beverages, on five occasions. Reference case prices were 5, 3 and 2 Saudi Arabian Reals (SARs). Prices of healthy and unhealthy items were manipulated up (taxed) and down (subsidized) by 1 SAR in four menu variations (random order); subjects were given a budget enabling full choice within any menu. The number of healthy food choices were compared with different price combinations, and between information groups. Linear regression modelling explored the effect of relative prices of healthy/unhealthy options and information on number of healthy choices controlling for dietary behaviours and hunger levels. University campus, Saudi Arabia, 2013. 99 women students. In the reference case, 49.5% of choices were for healthy items. When the price of healthy items was reduced, 58.5% of selections were healthy; 57.2% when the price of unhealthy items rose. In regression modelling, reducing the price of healthy items and increasing the price of unhealthy items increased the number of healthy choices by 5% and 6% respectively. Students reporting a less healthy usual diet selected significantly fewer healthy items. Providing healthy eating information was not a significant influence. Price manipulation offers potential for altering behaviours to combat rising youth obesity in Saudi Arabia. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Examination of the Social Integration Perceptions of Undergraduate Students

Science.gov (United States)

Özgan, Habib

2018-01-01

This study was aimed to determine the social integration perceptions of undergraduate students and to examine them in terms of certain variables. It was a descriptive study with survey methodology. The data were obtained using the "Social Integration Scale." The study group consisted of 545 undergraduate students during the fall semester…

The Fiscal Impact of a Tuition Assistance Grant for Virginia's Special Education Students. Parent Choice Issues in the State

Science.gov (United States)

Aud, Susan L.

2007-01-01

Parents of students with disabilities face a number of difficult choices in determining how to get the best education for their children. Too often, the special education system in public schools fails its students. Parents must become both experts and advocates for their children in order to navigate a burdensome maze of regulations to fight for…

Student Perspectives on the Impact of an Undergraduate Work-Integrated Learning Program on Admission and Transition to Medical School.

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Rachel; Bobrowski, Adam; Drost, Leah; Rowbottom, Leigha; Pretti, Judene; Soliman, Hany; Chan, Stephanie; Chow, Edward

2018-05-05

Work-integrated learning (WIL) is a form of education that integrates academic and workplace study. Such programs provide students the opportunity to concurrently develop cognitive and non-cognitive competencies. The purpose of this study is to explore which experiences and skills learned in a WIL placement are useful in applying to medical school and transitioning into the first year of a Doctor of Medicine program. All individuals who worked in the Rapid Response Radiotherapy Program (RRRP; WIL placement) since 2004 and had completed at least 1 year of medical school were invited to participate. Semi-formal interviews were conducted and transcribed. A thematic analysis was completed to identify recurring concepts, and quotes were selected to represent them. Of 39 eligible individuals, 14 agreed to participate (36%). Students identified the volume of work, achieving a work-life balance, and time management as challenges in first-year medical school. Five themes emerged regarding the impact of the RRRP on applying and transitioning to medical school: time management skills, mentorship opportunities, research experience, clinical experience, and career choice. WIL placements present a unique opportunity for undergraduate students interested in pursuing medicine to acquire skills and experiences that will help them succeed in applying and transitioning to medical school.

Induction Accelerator Technology Choices for the Integrated Beam Experiment (IBX)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Leitner, M.A.; Celata, C.M.; Lee, E.P.; Logan, B.G.; Sabbi, G.; Waldron, W.L.; Barnard, J.J.

2003-01-01

Over the next three years the research program of the Heavy Ion Fusion Virtual National Laboratory (HIF-VNL), a collaboration among LBNL, LLNL, and PPPL, is focused on separate scientific experiments in the injection, transport and focusing of intense heavy ion beams at currents from 100 mA to 1 A. As a next major step in the HIF-VNL program, we aim for a complete 'source-to-target' experiment, the Integrated Beam Experiment (IBX). By combining the experience gained in the current separate beam experiments IBX would allow the integrated scientific study of the evolution of a single heavy ion beam at high current (∼1 A) through all sections of a possible heavy ion fusion accelerator: the injection, acceleration, compression, and beam focusing.This paper describes the main parameters and technology choices of the planned IBX experiment. IBX will accelerate singly charged potassium or argon ion beams up to 10 MeV final energy and a longitudinal beam compression ratio of 10, resulting in a beam current at target of more than 10 Amperes. Different accelerator cell design options are described in detail: Induction cores incorporating either room temperature pulsed focusing-magnets or superconducting magnets

Using skin carotenoids to assess dietary changes in students after one academic year of participating in the shaping healthy choices program

Science.gov (United States)

Objective: To determine whether 4th-grade students participating in the Shaping Healthy Choices Program (SHCP), a school-based nutrition intervention, change vegetable intake Design: quasi-experimental single group pre-test, post-test with a self-selected, convenience sample of students recruited at...

Beyond the "science of sophomores": does the rational choice explanation of crime generalize from university students to an actual offender sample?

Science.gov (United States)

Bouffard, Jeff; Bry, Jeff; Smith, Shamayne; Bry, Rhonda

2008-12-01

Much of the criminological literature testing rational choice theory has utilized hypothetical scenarios presented to university students. Although this research generally supports rational choice theory, a common criticism is that conclusions from these studies may not generalize to samples of actual offenders. This study proceeds to examine this issue in two steps. First, a traditional sample of university students is examined to determine how various costs and benefits relate to their hypothetical likelihood of offending. Then the same data collection procedures are employed with a somewhat different sample of younger, adjudicated, and institutionalized offenders to determine whether the conclusions drawn from the student sample generalize to this offender sample. Results generally suggest that the content and process of hypothetical criminal decision making differ in the sample of known offenders relative to the university students. Limitations of the current study, as well as suggestions for future research, are discussed.

Implementation of School Choice Policy: Interpretation and Response by Parents of Students with Special Educational Needs.

Science.gov (United States)

Bagley, Carl; Woods, Philip A.; Woods, Glenys

2001-01-01

Provides empirically based insights into preferences, perceptions, and responses of parents of students with special education needs to the 1990s restructured school system in England. Uses analyses of quantitative/qualitative data generated by a large-scale research study on school choice. Reveals depth and range of problems encountered by these…

The Role of Facebook in Fostering Transfer Student Integration

Science.gov (United States)

Nehls, Kimberly

2014-01-01

Persistence of transfer students is greatly influenced by academic and social integration at receiving institutions. The purpose of this study was to examine how transfer students and student affairs professionals used Facebook during the initial transition to campus. Findings from 15 different institutional Facebook groups revealed that transfer…

Self-Esteem Challenges of Nursing Students: An Integrative Review

OpenAIRE

KEOGH, BRIAN

2016-01-01

Introduction: Self-esteem among nursing students is important in providing high-quality serviceto clients, yet each study in this field has described only a portion of existing relevant knowledge.Integrative review studies are the best practice for identification of existing nursing knowledge.The purpose of this study was to determine self-esteem challenges among nursing students. Methods: An integrative review was conducted in this study. The databases ProQuest, Medlineon PubMed, Science Dir...

Visualizing Volume to Help Students Understand the Disk Method on Calculus Integral Course

Science.gov (United States)

Tasman, F.; Ahmad, D.

2018-04-01

Many research shown that students have difficulty in understanding the concepts of integral calculus. Therefore this research is interested in designing a classroom activity integrated with design research method to assist students in understanding the integrals concept especially in calculating the volume of rotary objects using disc method. In order to support student development in understanding integral concepts, this research tries to use realistic mathematical approach by integrating geogebra software. First year university student who takes a calculus course (approximately 30 people) was chosen to implement the classroom activity that has been designed. The results of retrospective analysis show that visualizing volume of rotary objects using geogebra software can assist the student in understanding the disc method as one way of calculating the volume of a rotary object.

Teaching Healthful Food Choices to Elementary School Students and Their Parents: The Nutrition Detectives[TM] Program

Science.gov (United States)

Katz, David L.; Katz, Catherine S.; Treu, Judith A.; Reynolds, Jesse; Njike, Valentine; Walker, Jennifer; Smith, Erica; Michael, Jennifer

2011-01-01

Background: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a nutrition education program designed to teach elementary school students and their parents, and to distinguish between more healthful and less healthful choices in diverse food categories. Methods: Three schools were assigned to receive the Nutrition Detectives[TM] program and…

Who wants to be a surgeon? Patterns of medical student career choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Shirley, Otis C; Addison, Ben; Poole, Phillippa

2014-11-07

NZ needs a surgical workforce with the capacity to meet the increasing health demands of an aging population. This study determined longitudinal patterns of medical student interest in a surgical career and factors influencing that choice. We studied medical students entering the Auckland medical programme from 2006-2008 who completed an entry and exit questionnaire on career intentions. Four notional groups were created, depending on the level of interest at entry and at exit. Demographic factors for each category were compared. Analysis of influencing factors was also undertaken. Of 488 students, 310 (64%) completed both an entry and exit questionnaire. Over 50% of students had a strong interest in a surgical career at entry, dropping to 26% at exit. The 'Never Evers' (No interest at entry /No interest at exit) made up 39%,'Divergers' (Strong/No) 35%, 'Die Hards' (Strong/Strong) 18%, and 'Convertibles' (No/Strong) 8%. Less interest in a surgical career was seen among female (P=0.001) and older students (P=0.017). Influencing factors differentiating the 'Die Hards' from the 'Divergers' were work hours and flexibility (less influence among 'Die Hards'), with procedural nature and consultants/mentors (higher). There is a significant reduction in interest in a surgical career over the course of the undergraduate programme, especially among female and older students. Yet the level appears sufficient for available training places. Consultant role models are an important career influence. Lack of flexibility in work and training programmes continue to provide challenges in creating a diverse surgical workforce.

Effectiveness of Adaptive Contextual Learning Model of Integrated Science by Integrating Digital Age Literacy on Grade VIII Students

Science.gov (United States)

Asrizal, A.; Amran, A.; Ananda, A.; Festiyed, F.

2018-04-01

Educational graduates should have good competencies to compete in the 21st century. Integrated learning is a good way to develop competence of students in this century. Besides that, literacy skills are very important for students to get success in their learning and daily life. For this reason, integrated science learning and literacy skills are important in 2013 curriculum. However, integrated science learning and integration of literacy in learning can’t be implemented well. Solution of this problem is to develop adaptive contextual learning model by integrating digital age literacy. The purpose of the research is to determine the effectiveness of adaptive contextual learning model to improve competence of grade VIII students in junior high school. This research is a part of the research and development or R&D. Research design which used in limited field testing was before and after treatment. The research instruments consist of three parts namely test sheet of learning outcome for assessing knowledge competence, observation sheet for assessing attitudes, and performance sheet for assessing skills of students. Data of student’s competence were analyzed by three kinds of analysis, namely descriptive statistics, normality test and homogeneity test, and paired comparison test. From the data analysis result, it can be stated that the implementation of adaptive contextual learning model of integrated science by integrating digital age literacy is effective to improve the knowledge, attitude, and literacy skills competences of grade VIII students in junior high school at 95% confidence level.

In their own words: A qualitative study exploring influences on the food choices of university students.

Science.gov (United States)

Lambert, Michelle; Chivers, Paola; Farringdon, Fiona

2018-06-11

University students generally make independent decisions regarding food choices. Current research about knowledge of Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG), sources of nutrition information and influences on food choices for this group is scarce. Qualitative data was collected from gender separated focus groups comprising four female (n=31) and four male (n=18) to identify: knowledge of ADG, sources of nutrition information; factors that influence food choices; perceived relevant nutrition messages and how best to deliver them. Gaps in knowledge were identified particularly regarding number of serves and serving size for food groups. Social media was the most commonly reported source of knowledge. Social media was also a major influence on food choice due to its impact on body ideals. Current health promotion nutrition messages were perceived irrelevant given the focus on long-term health risks. Health and adhering to the ADG were not identified as important. The desire to look a particular way was the major influence on food choices. SO WHAT?: While there is an awareness of ADG, our participants made a deliberate decision not to follow them. This provides a challenge for developing relevant preventive health messages for this target audience. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Live lectures or online videos: students' resource choices in a first-year university mathematics module

Science.gov (United States)

Howard, Emma; Meehan, Maria; Parnell, Andrew

2018-05-01

In Maths for Business, a mathematics module for non-mathematics specialists, students are given the choice of completing the module content via short online videos, live lectures or a combination of both. In this study, we identify students' specific usage patterns with both of these resources and discuss their reasons for the preferences they exhibit. In 2015-2016, we collected quantitative data on each student's resource usage (attendance at live lectures and access of online videos) for the entire class of 522 students and employed model-based clustering which identified four distinct resource usage patterns with lectures and/or videos. We also collected qualitative data on students' perceptions of resource usage through a survey administered at the end of the semester, to which 161 students responded. The 161 survey responses were linked to each cluster and analysed using thematic analysis. Perceived benefits of videos include flexibility of scheduling and pace, and avoidance of large, long lectures. In contrast, the main perceived advantages of lectures are the ability to engage in group tasks, to ask questions, and to learn 'gradually'. Students in the two clusters with high lecture attendance achieved, on average, higher marks in the module.

[Development, factor-analytical control and psychometric evaluation of a questionnaire on specialty choices among medical students].

Science.gov (United States)

Hermann, K; Buchholz, A; Loh, A; Kiolbassa, K; Miksch, A; Joos, S; Götz, K

2012-07-01

A questionnaire was developed and validated which assesses factors influencing career choices of medical students and their perception of possibilities in general practice. The first questionnaire version, which was developed based on a systematic literature review, was checked for comprehensibility and redundancy using concurrent think aloud. The revised version was filled out by a pilot sample of medical students and the factor structure was assessed using principal component analysis (PCA). The final version was filled out in an online survey by medical students of all 5 Medical Faculties in the federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The factor structure was validated with a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Reliability was assessed as internal consistency using Cronbach's α. The questionnaire comprises 2 parts: ratings of (A) the individual importance and of (B) the possibilities in general practice on 5-point scales. The first version comprising 118 items was shortened to 63 items after conducting interviews using concurrent think aloud. A further 3 items giving no information were removed after piloting the questionnaire on 179 students. The 27 items of part A were structured in 7 factors (PCA): image, personal ambition, patient orientation, work-life balance, future perspectives, job-related ambition, and variety in job. This structure had a critical fit in the CFA applied to the final version filled out by 1 299 students. Internal consistency of the factors was satisfactory to very good (Cronbach's α=0.55-0.81). The questionnaire showed good psychometric properties. Further, not assessed factors influence career choice resulting in unexplained variance in our dataset and the critical fit of the model. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

Becoming a nurse - A study of career choice and professional adaptation among Israeli Jewish and Arab nursing students: A quantitative research study.

Science.gov (United States)

Halperin, Ofra; Mashiach-Eizenberg, Michal

2014-10-01

The growing shortage of nurses is a global issue, with nursing recruitment and retention recognized as priorities worldwide. Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs share residency and citizenship. However, language, religion, values, customs, symbols and lifestyle differ between the groups. This research covers only Arab citizens of Israel and not those in the occupied territories, the West Bank and Gaza. The future of the profession lies in the ability to recruit and retain the next generation of nurses. To examine career choice and professional adaptation among Israeli Jews and Israeli Arab nursing students by addressing motivation, materialistic factors and professional adaptation. 395 students, which comprised the total number of students in the first five years of the nursing program's existence, in the nursing faculty at an academic college in Israel. A questionnaire was created and administered to the students in the first week of their first year in the nursing program. Altruistic motivation, such as the opportunity to help others, was the primary factor that influenced students to choose nursing as a profession followed by professional interest. Materialistic factors, such as social status and good salary, had less influence. A significant positive correlation was found between professional adaptation and all three dimensions of role perception - teamwork, professional knowledge, and treatment skills. The female students perceived those components as more important than the male students and the Jewish students perceived themselves as more suitable for nursing than the Arab students. Career choice and professional adaptation are influenced by multiple factors. Future recruitment and retention strategies used to address the critical nursing shortage should consider these factors, as well as the role of mentors, peers, and role models in the formulation of career expectations and career choice decisions. © 2013.

Integrating Adaptive Games in Student-Centered Virtual Learning Environments

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del Blanco, Angel; Torrente, Javier; Moreno-Ger, Pablo; Fernandez-Manjon, Baltasar

2010-01-01

The increasing adoption of e-Learning technology is facing new challenges, such as how to produce student-centered systems that can be adapted to each student's needs. In this context, educational video games are proposed as an ideal medium to facilitate adaptation and tracking of students' performance for assessment purposes, but integrating the…

Post-Graduate Student Performance in "Supervised In-Class" vs. "Unsupervised Online" Multiple Choice Tests: Implications for Cheating and Test Security

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Ladyshewsky, Richard K.

2015-01-01

This research explores differences in multiple choice test (MCT) scores in a cohort of post-graduate students enrolled in a management and leadership course. A total of 250 students completed the MCT in either a supervised in-class paper and pencil test or an unsupervised online test. The only statistically significant difference between the nine…

Factors Affecting Career Choice: Comparison Between Students from Computer and Other Disciplines

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Alexander, P. M.; Holmner, M.; Lotriet, H. H.; Matthee, M. C.; Pieterse, H. V.; Naidoo, S.; Twinomurinzi, H.; Jordaan, D.

2011-06-01

The number of student enrolments in computer-related courses remains a serious concern worldwide with far reaching consequences. This paper reports on an extensive survey about career choice and associated motivational factors amongst new students, only some of whom intend to major in computer-related courses, at two South African universities. The data were analyzed using some components of Social Cognitive Career Theory, namely external influences, self-efficacy beliefs and outcome expectations. The research suggests the need for new strategies for marketing computer-related courses and the avenues through which they are marketed. This can to some extent be achieved by studying strategies used by other (non-computer) university courses, and their professional bodies. However, there are also distinct differences, related to self-efficacy and career outcomes, between the computer majors and the `other' group and these need to be explored further in order to find strategies that work well for this group. It is not entirely clear what the underlying reasons are for these differences but it is noteworthy that the perceived importance of "Interest in the career field" when choosing a career remains very high for both groups of students.

How social networks influence female students' choices to major in engineering

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Weinland, Kathryn Ann

Scope and Method of Study: This study examined how social influence plays a part in female students' choices of college major, specifically engineering instead of science, technology, and math. Social influence may show itself through peers, family members, and teachers and may encompass resources under the umbrella of social capital. The purpose of this study was to examine how female students' social networks, through the lens of social capital, influence her major choice of whether or not to study engineering. The variables of peer influence, parental influence, teacher/counselor influence, perception of engineering, and academic background were addressed in a 52 question, Likert scale survey. This survey has been modified from an instrument previously used by Reyer (2007) at Bradley University. Data collection was completed using the Dillman (2009) tailored design model. Responses were grouped into four main scales of the dependent variables of social influence, encouragement, perceptions of engineering and career motivation. A factor analysis was completed on the four factors as a whole, and individual questions were not be analyzed. Findings and Conclusions: This study addressed the differences in social network support for female freshmen majoring in engineering versus female freshmen majoring in science, technology, or math. Social network support, when working together from all angles of peers, teachers, parents, and teachers/counselors, transforms itself into a new force that is more powerful than the summation of the individual parts. Math and science preparation also contributed to female freshmen choosing to major in engineering instead of choosing to major in science, technology, or math. The STEM pipeline is still weak and ways in which to reinforce it should be examined. Social network support is crucial for female freshmen who are majoring in science, technology, engineering, and math.

Factors influencing choice of paediatrics as a career among medical ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

None of the male students but 12 of the female students (30%) considered gender distribution to be a factor influencing their career choice (p=0.046). Conclusion. This study indicates that paediatrics is popular among female students and that several factors influence choice of this specialty. Understanding these factors may ...

The positive and negative consequences of multiple-choice testing.

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Roediger, Henry L; Marsh, Elizabeth J

2005-09-01

Multiple-choice tests are commonly used in educational settings but with unknown effects on students' knowledge. The authors examined the consequences of taking a multiple-choice test on a later general knowledge test in which students were warned not to guess. A large positive testing effect was obtained: Prior testing of facts aided final cued-recall performance. However, prior testing also had negative consequences. Prior reading of a greater number of multiple-choice lures decreased the positive testing effect and increased production of multiple-choice lures as incorrect answers on the final test. Multiple-choice testing may inadvertently lead to the creation of false knowledge.

A multi-instructor, team-based, active-learning exercise to integrate basic and clinical sciences content.

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Kolluru, Srikanth; Roesch, Darren M; Akhtar de la Fuente, Ayesha

2012-03-12

To introduce a multiple-instructor, team-based, active-learning exercise to promote the integration of basic sciences (pathophysiology, pharmacology, and medicinal chemistry) and clinical sciences in a doctor of pharmacy curriculum. A team-based learning activity that involved pre-class reading assignments, individual-and team-answered multiple-choice questions, and evaluation and discussion of a clinical case, was designed, implemented, and moderated by 3 faculty members from the pharmaceutical sciences and pharmacy practice departments. Student performance was assessed using a multiple-choice examination, an individual readiness assurance test (IRAT), a team readiness assurance test (TRAT), and a subjective, objective, assessment, and plan (SOAP) note. Student attitudes were assessed using a pre- and post-exercise survey instrument. Students' understanding of possible correct treatment strategies for depression improved. Students were appreciative of this true integration of basic sciences knowledge in a pharmacotherapy course and to have faculty members from both disciplines present to answer questions. Mean student score on the on depression module for the examination was 80.4%, indicating mastery of the content. An exercise led by multiple instructors improved student perceptions of the importance of team-based teaching. Integrated teaching and learning may be achieved when instructors from multiple disciplines work together in the classroom using proven team-based, active-learning exercises.

Channel Choice: A Literature Review

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Østergaard Madsen, Christian; Kræmmergaard, Pernille

2015-01-01

The channel choice branch of e-government studies citizens’ and businesses’ choice of channels for interacting with government, and how government organizations can integrate channels and migrate users towards the most cost-efficient channels. In spite of the valuable contributions offered...

[Does the transition to clinical training change students' perception of career choice, physician's character and preclinical studies?].

Science.gov (United States)

Lotan, Eyal; Kimhi, Oded; Lishner, Michael; Notzer, Netta

2010-04-01

In Israel, the transition to clinical training in hospitals is the first direct encounter of the medical student with the reality of the profession. This is a significant socialization step for his upcoming professional decisions. This study aimed to identify how this encounter influences students' perceptions of career choice, physician's character and preclinical studies. Fourth year Israeli medical students at the Tel Aviv University voluntarily completed a questionnaire before and after their first clinical clerkship. The questionnaire was comprised of 30 5-point Likert scale statements and 3 multiple choice questions with the possibility to add remarks. The random response rate was 90% (81/90) before the clerkship and 82% (90/110) at its end. Results indicate that the students are satisfied with their medical studies at both junctures. However, after the clerkship, 23% of the students consider alternatives to clinical medicine compared with only 6% before, and 16% would rethink studying medicine. Physicians are perceived as professional, compassionate, respectful to colleagues and actively participating in students' education. Physicians' levels of workload and bitterness are evaluated as high and moderate, respectively, while their levels of reward and satisfaction with medicine are evaluated as low and moderate, respectively. Their evaluation of the contribution of preclinical studies as preparation for clinical studies had not changed after the clerkship and was moderate, and earlier exposure to patients and clinical relevancy of the learned subjects were preferred. The students enter the medical world highly satisfied, and this feeling shall be maintained until the stage of being independent physicians and choosing their specialties. The picture that evolved, in which a high proportion of the students consider alternatives to clinical medicine, is disappointing. Educators should be aware of their role model function not only in knowledge and skills, but

Modelling the Preferences of Students for Alternative Assignment Designs Using the Discrete Choice Experiment Methodology

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Brendan Kennelly

2014-11-01

Full Text Available This paper outlines how a discrete choice experiment (DCE can be used to learn more about how students are willing to trade off various features of assignments such as the nature and timing of feedback and the method used to submit assignments. A DCE identifies plausible levels of the key attributes of a good or service and then presents the respondent with alternative bundles of these attributes and their levels and asks the respondent to choose between particular bundles. We report results from a DCE we conducted with undergraduate business students regarding their preferences for assignment systems. We find that the most important features of assignments are how relevant the assignments are for exam preparation and the nature of the feedback that students receive. We also find that students generally prefer online to paper assignments. We argue that the DCE approach has a lot of potential in education research.

Education by the Numbers: The Fiscal Effect of School Choice Programs, 1990-2006. School Choice Issues in Depth

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Aud, Susan L.

2007-01-01

School choice programs, which allow students to attend the public or private school of their choice using public funds, have taken root in the U.S. and are growing rapidly both in number and size. Their fiscal impact has become an important political issue. Proponents say school choice saves money because private schooling is more efficient,…

Project Choice: Lessons Learned.

Science.gov (United States)

Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Kansas City, MO.

Project Choice began with a simple goal: to increase the number of inner-city students who graduate from high school on time and become productive members of society. To that end, Ewing M. Kauffman, his Foundation, and associates designed and implemented a program that promised postsecondary education or training to some students in the Kansas…

Affect of school related factors in the student's choices of the high school

OpenAIRE

Gönül Cengiz; Osman Titrek; Özcan Erkan Akgün

2007-01-01

It is studied that to determine the school related factors which affects the students’ choices of the high school, according to the type of the schools. This is a survey study. The participants are 523  9 th grade students in 21 secondary schools in Adapazarı. SPSS is used for analyzing data. Kay-Kare Test is used to determine the demografic differences due to the type of the school. To analyze the data for the school related factors, Kruskal Wallis is used. As a result, it is expr...

The Importance of Place for International Students' Choice of University: A Case Study at a Malaysian University

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Singh, Jasvir Kaur Nachatar; Schapper, Jan; Jack, Gavin

2014-01-01

The scholarly bias toward Western and English-speaking settings in the study of international education overlooks the experiences of international students in emerging education hubs in Asia. To redress this imbalance, this article offers insights into the crucial role of place in the study destination choices of a group of international…

The Impact of Educating Mothers in Choice Theory on their Children Student's Aggression in Primary level in the City of Hamadan

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Leila Cheggen

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of teaching the choice theory on mothers on the depression of their offspring during the elementary period of the city of Hamedan. The present study was a semiexperimental and design used in the research, pre-test, post-test with control group. The statistical population of the study consisted of all mothers of elementary school students who were enrolled in a boys' primary school in Hamedan District in the academic year of 2017-18. After three months of student behavior observation, examination of their cases, interview with the teacher, a sample of 30 mothers was selected using purposeful sampling. Subjects were randomly assigned into two groups of 15 subjects. The tool was used in the study of the Volger's Formula Aggression Questionnaire. The hypotheses of this research are: 1- Educating mothers in choice theory affects the degree of aggression (verbal-invasive dimension of children. 2- Educating mothers in choice theory affects the degree of aggression (physical-invasive dimension of children. 3 - Educating mothers in choice theory affects the degree of aggression (relational dimension of children. 4 - Educating mothers in choice theory affects the degree of aggression (impulsive dimension of children. The findings of this study showed that the learning method of choice theory to mothers affects the level of aggression in their children (p <0.01. And the verbal, physical and relational aggression in the sample group reduced significantly following educating mothers in choice theory. Therefore, considering the findings of the effectiveness of teaching the choice theory to mothers of the sample group, on the reduction of children aggression, this intervention is an effective method in the correction of parent-child relationship and it seems to be necessary, if it used in order to improve the child raising and prevent Children's behavioral issues and their compatibility.

Multivariate Analysis for the Choice and Evasion of the Student in a Higher Educational Institution from Southern of Santa Catarina, in Brazil

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Queiroz, Fernanda Cristina Barbosa Pereira; Samohyl, Robert Wayne; Queiroz, Jamerson Viegas; Lima, Nilton Cesar; de Souza, Gustavo Henrique Silva

2014-01-01

This paper aims to develop and implement a method to identify the causes of the choice of a course and the reasons for evasion in higher education. This way, we sought to identify the factors that influence student choice to opt for Higher Education Institution parsed, as well as the factors influencing its evasion. The methodology employed was…

Making Healthy Choices Easier

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Guldborg Hansen, Pelle; Skov, Laurits Rohden; Lund Skov, Katrine

2016-01-01

. However, integration and testing of the nudge approach as part of more comprehensive public health strategies aimed at making healthy choices easier is being threatened by inadequate understandings of its scientific character, relationship with regulation and its ethical implications. This article reviews...... working with or incorporating the nudge approach into programs or policies aimed at making healthy choices easier...

Interdisciplinary Integration of the CVS Module and Its Effect on Faculty and Student Satisfaction as Well as Student Performance

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Ayuob Nasra N

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Beyond the adoption of the principles of horizontal and vertical integration, significant planning and implementation of curriculum reform is needed. This study aimed to assess the effect of the interdisciplinary integrated Cardiovascular System (CVS module on both student satisfaction and performance and comparing them to those of the temporally coordinated CVS module that was implemented in the previous year at the faculty of Medicine of the King Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia. Methods This interventional study used mixed method research design to assess student and faculty satisfaction with the level of integration within the CVS module. A team from the medical education department was assembled in 2010/2011 to design a plan to improve the CVS module integration level. After delivering the developed module, both student and faculty satisfaction as well as students performance were assessed and compared to those of the previous year to provide an idea about module effectiveness. Results Many challenges faced the medical education team during design and implementation of the developed CVS module e.g. resistance of faculty members to change, increasing the percentage of students directed learning hours from the total contact hour allotted to the module and shifting to integrated item writing in students assessment, spite of that the module achieved a significant increase in both teaching faculty and student satisfaction as well as in the module scores. Conclusion The fully integrated CVS has yielded encouraging results that individual teachers or other medical schools who attempt to reformulate their curriculum may find valuable.

Understanding student participation and choice in science and technology education

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Dillon, Justin; Ryder, Jim

2015-01-01

Drawing on data generated by the EU’s Interests and Recruitment in Science (IRIS) project, this volume examines the issue of young people’s participation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. With an especial focus on female participation, the chapters offer analysis deploying varied theoretical frameworks, including sociology, social psychology and gender studies. The material also includes reviews of relevant research in science education and summaries of empirical data concerning student choices in STEM disciplines in five European countries. Featuring both quantitative and qualitative analyses, the book makes a substantial contribution to the developing theoretical agenda in STEM education. It augments available empirical data and identifies strategies in policy-making that could lead to improved participation—and gender balance—in STEM disciplines. The majority of the chapter authors are IRIS project members, with additional chapters written by specially invited contribu...

Self-Guided Field Explorations: Integrating Earth Science into Students' Lives

Science.gov (United States)

Kirkby, K. C.; Kirkby, S.

2013-12-01

Self-guided field explorations are a simple way to transform an earth science class into a more pedagogically effective experience. Previous experience demonstrated that self-guided student explorations of museum and aquarium exhibits were both extremely popular and remarkably effective. That success led our program to test an expansion of the concept to include self-guided student explorations in outdoor field settings. Preliminary assessment indicates these self-guided field explorations are nearly as popular with students as the museum and aquarium explorations and are as pedagogically effective. Student gains on post-instruction assessment match or exceed those seen in instructor-assisted, hands-on, small group laboratory activities and completely eclipse gains achieved by traditional lecture instruction. As importantly, self-guided field explorations provide a way to integrate field experiences into large enrollment courses where the sheer scale of class trips makes them logistically impossible. This expands course breadth, integrating new topics that could not be as effectively covered by the original class structure. Our introductory program assessed two models of self-guided field explorations. A walking/cycling exploration of the Saint Anthony Falls area, a mile from campus, focuses on the intersections of geological processes with human history. Students explore the geology behind the waterfalls' evolution as well as its subsequent social and economic impacts on human history. A second exploration focuses on the campus area geology, including its building stones as well as its landscape evolution. In both explorations, the goal was to integrate geology with the students' broader understanding of the world they live in. Although the explorations' creation requires a significant commitment, once developed, self-guided explorations are surprisingly low maintenance. These explorations provide a model of a simple, highly effective pedagogical tool that is

Implementing vertical and horizontal engineering students' integration and assessment of consequence academic achievement

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Al-Zubaidy, Sarim; Abdulaziz, Nidhal; Dashtpour, Reza

2012-08-01

Recent scholarship references indicate that integration of the student body can result in an enhanced learning experience for students and also greater satisfaction. This paper reports the results of a case study whereby mechanical engineering students studying at a newly established branch campus in Dubai of a British university were exposed to vertical and horizontal integration. Different activities have been embedded to ensure that students integrated and worked together with their peers and colleagues at different levels. The implemented processes and practices led to improved academic achievements, which were better than those of a similar cohort of students where no effort had been made to integrate. The analysis revealed that cooperative learning and the degree of academic support provided by teachers are positively and directly correlated with academic as well as the students' own sense of personal achievement. The results are discussed in light of previous research and with reference to the cultural context of the study.

An Integrated Approach to Teaching Biochemistry for Pharmacy Students.

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Poirier, Therese I.; Borke, Mitchell L.

1982-01-01

A Duquesne course integrating biochemistry lectures, clinical applications lectures, and laboratory sessions has the objectives of (1) making the course more relevant to students' perceived needs; (2) enhancing the learning process; (3) introducing clinical applications early in the students' program; and (4) demonstrating additional…

Substitution in recreation choice behavior

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George L. Peterson; Daniel J. Stynes; Donald H. Rosenthal; John F. Dwyer

1985-01-01

This review discusses concepts and theories of substitution in recreation choice. It brings together the literature of recreation research, psychology, geography, economics, and transportation. Parallel and complementary developments need integration into an improved theory of substitution. Recreation decision behavior is characterized as a nested or sequential choice...

Integrity In and Beyond Contemporary Higher Education: What Does It Mean to University Students?

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Sarah Shi Hui Wong

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Research has focused on academic integrity in terms of students’ conduct in relation to university rules and procedures, whereas fewer studies examine student integrity more broadly. Of particular interest is whether students in higher education today conceptualize integrity as comprising such broader attributes as personal and social responsibility. We collected and analyzed qualitative responses from 127 students at the National University of Singapore to understand how they define integrity in their lives as students, and how they envisage integrity would be demonstrated in their lives after university. Consistent with the current literature, our data showed that integrity was predominantly taken as not plagiarizing (in school/giving appropriate credit when credit is due (in the workplace, not cheating, and completing tasks independently. The survey, though, also revealed further perceptions such as, in a university context, not manipulating data (e.g., scientific integrity, being honest with others, group work commitments, conscience/moral ethics/holding true to one’s beliefs, being honest with oneself, upholding a strong work ethic, going against conventions, and reporting others, as well as, in a workplace context, power and responsibility and its implications, professionalism, and representing or being loyal to an organization. The findings suggest that some students see the notion of integrity extending beyond good academic conduct. It is worthwhile to (rethink more broadly what (else integrity means, discover the gaps in our students’ understanding of integrity, and consider how best we can teach integrity to prepare students for future challenges to integrity and ethical dilemmas.

The Integrative Business Experience: Real Choices and Real Consequences Create Real Thinking

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McCord, Mary; Houseworth, Matthew; Michaelsen, Larry K.

2015-01-01

This article describes an innovation called the Integrative Business Experience (IBE) that links a set of required core business courses to an entrepreneurial practicum course in which two things occur. One is that students are concurrently enrolled in the required core business courses and a practicum course while they create a start-up business…

Risk attitudes, competition and career choices – The willingness to take risk and the choice of further education among Finnish upper secondary school students

OpenAIRE

Valve, Joonas

2015-01-01

The subject of this thesis is risk attitudes and the choice of further education among Finnish secondary school students. Data comes from a survey compiled in 2011 for 18 secondary schools in Finland. The data has 3418 respondents in total, 1984 (approximately 58 percent) of whom are female. There are three main questions in this study. First, do gender, parental education and standard of living affect the secondary school student’s willingness to take risks? We measure the risk attitude...

Engaging Primary School Students in Mathematics: Can iPads Make a Difference?

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Hilton, Annette

2018-01-01

Research on the impact of the integration of technologies such as iPads on primary students' attitudes and engagement in mathematics is limited. Further, there have been claims that teachers' pedagogical choices can strongly influence the effectiveness of iPads for engaging students in mathematics. This paper presents an investigation of the…

The "Third Ear" Decolonizes: Integrating Deaf Students into Post-Secondary Classes

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McHeimech, Zeinab

2009-01-01

Can we effectively integrate Deaf students into our post-secondary classes before recognizing and listening to them? Studies indicate that Deaf students continue to struggle, be silenced, and experience isolation when mainstreamed. Deaf students, or second-language students, inevitably develop new identities once included; however, we cannot…

Social Representations of the Integrated High School Students about Astronomy

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Barbosa, Jose Isnaldo de Lima; Voelzke, Marcos Rincon

2017-07-01

Astronomy issues are not always adequately handled in the formal education system, as well as, their dissemination in the media is often loaded with sensationalism. However, in this context the students are forming their explanations about it. Therefore, this work has the objective of identifying the possible social representations of students from the Integrated High School on the inductor term Astronomy. It is basically a descriptive research, therefore, a quali-qualitative approach was adopted. The procedures for obtaining the data occurred in the form of a survey, and they involved 653 subjects students from the Integrated High School. The results indicate that the surveyed students have social representations of the object Astronomy, which are based on elements from the formal education space, and also disclosed in the media. In addition, they demonstrate that the students have information about Astronomy, and a value judgment in relation to this science.

Sequential and simultaneous choices: testing the diet selection and sequential choice models.

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Freidin, Esteban; Aw, Justine; Kacelnik, Alex

2009-03-01

We investigate simultaneous and sequential choices in starlings, using Charnov's Diet Choice Model (DCM) and Shapiro, Siller and Kacelnik's Sequential Choice Model (SCM) to integrate function and mechanism. During a training phase, starlings encountered one food-related option per trial (A, B or R) in random sequence and with equal probability. A and B delivered food rewards after programmed delays (shorter for A), while R ('rejection') moved directly to the next trial without reward. In this phase we measured latencies to respond. In a later, choice, phase, birds encountered the pairs A-B, A-R and B-R, the first implementing a simultaneous choice and the second and third sequential choices. The DCM predicts when R should be chosen to maximize intake rate, and SCM uses latencies of the training phase to predict choices between any pair of options in the choice phase. The predictions of both models coincided, and both successfully predicted the birds' preferences. The DCM does not deal with partial preferences, while the SCM does, and experimental results were strongly correlated to this model's predictions. We believe that the SCM may expose a very general mechanism of animal choice, and that its wider domain of success reflects the greater ecological significance of sequential over simultaneous choices.

Understanding the motivation: a qualitative study of dental students' choice of professional career.

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Gallagher, J; Clarke, W; Wilson, N

2008-05-01

Given the changing nature of the dental workforce, and the need to retain the services of future members, it is important to understand why current dental students perceive that they were motivated to study dentistry. Qualitative research provides the opportunity to explore the underlying issues in addition to informing subsequent quantitative research. The objectives of this research were to investigate final-year dental students' motivation for studying dentistry and how they perceive this has been modified during their undergraduate degree programme. Purposive sampling of a representative group of 35 final-year dental students at King's College London Dental Institute to participate in audio-taped focus groups. Qualitative data were analysed using Framework Methodology. The findings suggest a strong emphasis on having a career, providing 'professional status', 'financial benefits', 'job security, flexibility and independence' and 'good quality of life'. Students reported being attracted by features of the job, supported to a greater or lesser extent by personal experience, family and friends. It appears however that students' initial motivation is being tempered by their experiences during their undergraduate degree programme, in particular, the 'responsibilities of an intensive professional education', their 'mounting student debt' and the perception of 'feeling undervalued'. This perception related to dentistry in general and National Health Service dentistry in particular, being undervalued, by government, patients, the public and members of the dental profession. Students' vision of a 'contained professional career' within health care, providing status and financial benefits, appears to have influenced their choice of dentistry. Pressures relating to student life and policy changes are perceived as impacting on key components of professional life, particularly status in the social and economic order. The implications for educators, professional leaders and

The effects of topic choice in project-based instruction on undergraduate physical science students' interest, ownership, and motivation

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Milner-Bolotin, Marina

2001-07-01

Motivating nonscience majors in science and mathematics studies became one of the most interesting and important challenges in contemporary science and mathematics education. Therefore, designing and studying a learning environment, which enhances students' motivation, is an important task. This experimental study sought to explore the implications of student autonomy in topic choice in a project-based Physical Science Course for nonscience majors' on students' motivational orientation. It also suggested and tested a model explaining motivational outcomes of project-based learning environment through increased student ownership of science projects. A project, How Things Work, was designed and implemented in this study. The focus of the project was application of physical science concepts learned in the classroom to everyday life situations. Participants of the study (N = 59) were students enrolled in three selected sections of a Physical Science Course, designed to fulfill science requirements for nonscience majors. These sections were taught by the same instructor over a period of an entire 16-week semester at a large public research university. The study focused on four main variables: student autonomy in choosing a project topic, their motivational orientation, student ownership of the project, and the interest in the project topic. Achievement Goal Orientation theory became the theoretical framework for the study. Student motivational orientation, defined as mastery or performance goal orientation, was measured by an Achievement Goal Orientation Questionnaire. Student ownership was measured using an original instrument, Ownership Measurement Questionnaire, designed and tested by the researchers. Repeated measures yoked design, ANOVA, ANCOVA, and multivariate regression analysis were implemented in the study. Qualitative analysis was used to complement and verify quantitative results. It has been found that student autonomy in the project choice did not make a

Motivation of Professional Choice as a Component of Professional Subjectness in Teachers

OpenAIRE

Budnikova S.P.,

2017-01-01

The paper addresses the issue of factors that define the choice of university and future profession in prospective students of the Tula State Lev Tolstoy Pedagogical University. The motives of professional choice are essential when it comes to analyzing the conditions of development of professional subjectness. Our study involved 62% of all first-year students and 85% of first-year students of pedagogical departments. We used our specially developed questionnaire “Motives of University Choice...

Anatomy of British Business School Brands: Attributes Affecting Choice Among Pakistani Postgraduate Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Usman Ahmad

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The research studies that investigate business school brands from an Asian consumer perspective are scarce. Current study aims at discovering the branding attributes of UK Business Schools that influence Pakistani business students to apply for admission in higher degrees. Following a naturalistic tradition, data has been collected through semi-structured interviews from a sample of 25 students who were planning to study in United Kingdom. The respondents were identified through personal sources and were later selected using the purposive sampling technique. Thematic analysis was performed to generate themes from the collected data. The data analysis generated four dominant themes that influence the choice of a business school in United Kingdom. These are “financial assistance”, “employability”, “brand reputation” and “rankings”. The study is a pioneer work in the field of university branding from a developing country perspective of Pakistan. The research will be useful to British higher education marketers in devising student-centered branding initiatives. It will also benefit the Pakistani academia, as the country can develop business school brands as well by imparting these attributes to better compete with business schools in UK.

Integrated neuroscience program: an alternative approach to teaching neurosciences to chiropractic students.

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He, Xiaohua; La Rose, James; Zhang, Niu

2009-01-01

Most chiropractic colleges do not offer independent neuroscience courses because of an already crowded curriculum. The Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida has developed and implemented an integrated neuroscience program that incorporates neurosciences into different courses. The goals of the program have been to bring neurosciences to students, excite students about the interrelationship of neuroscience and chiropractic, improve students' understanding of neuroscience, and help the students understand the mechanisms underpinning the chiropractic practice. This study provides a descriptive analysis on how the integrated neuroscience program is taught via students' attitudes toward neuroscience and the comparison of students' perceptions of neuroscience content knowledge at different points in the program. A questionnaire consisting of 58 questions regarding the neuroscience courses was conducted among 339 students. The questionnaire was developed by faculty members who were involved in teaching neuroscience and administered in the classroom by faculty members who were not involved in the study. Student perceptions of their neuroscience knowledge, self-confidence, learning strategies, and knowledge application increased considerably through the quarters, especially among the 2nd-year students. The integrated neuroscience program achieved several of its goals, including an increase in students' confidence, positive attitude, ability to learn, and perception of neuroscience content knowledge. The authors believe that such gains can expand student ability to interpret clinical cases and inspire students to become excited about chiropractic research. The survey provides valuable information for teaching faculty to make the course content more relevant to chiropractic students.

Using historical perspective in designing discovery learning on Integral for undergraduate students

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Abadi; Fiangga, S.

2018-01-01

In the course of Integral Calculus, to be able to calculate an integral of a given function is becoming the main idea in the teaching beside the ability in implementing the application of integral. The students tend to be unable to understand the conceptual idea of what is integration actually. One of the promising perspectives that can be used to invite students to discover the idea of integral is the History and Pedagogy Mathematics (HPM). The method of exhaustion and indivisible appear in the discussion on the early history of area measurement. This paper study will discuss the designed learning activities based on the method of exhaustion and indivisible in providing the undergraduate student’s discovery materials for integral using design research. The designed learning activities were conducted into design experiment that consists of three phases, i.e., preliminary, design experimental, and teaching experiment. The teaching experiment phase was conducted in two cycles for refinement purpose. The finding suggests that the implementation of the method of exhaustion and indivisible enable students to reinvent the idea of integral by using the concept of derivative.

Factors Shaping the Decision of College Students to Walk or Drive under the Influence of Alcohol: A Test of Rational Choice Theory

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Mason, Ashley; Monk-Turner, Elizabeth

2010-01-01

Aims: Rational Choice theory was tested to better understand the differences in behaviour regarding walking and driving under the influence of alcohol. Methods: Students at a residential college campus in Virginia were surveyed. Findings: Results show that students were less likely to walk or drive while intoxicated if they believed such behaviour…

The relationship of parental influence on student career choice of biology and non-biology majors enrolled in a freshman biology course

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Sowell, Mitzie Leigh

Recent declines in science literacy and inadequate numbers of individuals entering science careers has heightened the importance of determining why students major in science or do not major in science and then choose a science-related career. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between parental influences and student career choices of both males and females majoring and not majoring in science. This study specifically examined the constructs of parental occupation, parental involvement, and parental education levels. Aspects indicated by the participants as being influencers were also examined. In addition, differences between males and females were examined. A total of 282 students participated in the study; 122 were science majors and 160 were non-science majors. The data was collected through the use of a student information survey and the Modified Fennema-Sherman Attitude Scale. The findings suggest that students indicated the desire to help others, peers, salary, and skills as influencing their career choice. In regard to the various parental influences, mother's occupation was the only construct found as a statistically significant influencer on a student's decision to major in science. The results of this study can help educators, administrators, and policy makers understand what influences students to pursue science-related careers and possibly increase the number of students entering science-related careers. The results of the study specifically provide information that may prove useful to administrators and educators in the health science fields, particularly nursing fields. The findings provide insight into why students may choose to become nurses.

Mediating Relationship of Differential Products in Understanding Integration in Introductory Physics

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Amos, Nathaniel; Heckler, Andrew F.

2018-01-01

In the context of introductory physics, we study student conceptual understanding of differentials, differential products, and integrals and possible pathways to understanding these quantities. We developed a multiple choice conceptual assessment employing a variety of physical contexts probing physical understanding of these three quantities and…

Student feedback about the integrated curriculum in a Caribbean medical school

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P. Ravi Shankar

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Xavier University School of Medicine adopted an integrated, organ system-based curriculum in January 2013. The present study was aimed at determining students’ perceptions of the integrated curriculum and related assessment methods. Methods: The study was conducted on first- to fourth-semester undergraduate medical students during March 2014. The students were informed of the study and subsequently invited to participate. Focus group discussions were conducted. The curriculum’s level of integration, different courses offered, teaching-learning methods employed, and the advantages and concerns relating to the curriculum were noted. The respondents also provided feedback about the assessment methods used. Deductive content analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: Twenty-two of the 68 students (32.2% participated in the study. The respondents expressed generally positive opinions. They felt that the curriculum prepared them well for licensing examinations and future practice. Problem-based learning sessions encouraged active learning and group work among students, thus, improving their understanding of the course material. The respondents felt that certain subjects were allocated a larger proportion of time during the sessions, as well as more questions during the integrated assessment. They also expressed an appreciation for medical humanities, and felt that sessions on the appraisal of literature needed modification. Their opinions about assessment of behavior, attitudes, and professionalism varied. Conclusion: Student opinion was positive, overall. Our findings would be of interest to other medical schools that have recently adopted an integrated curriculum or are in the process of doing so.

Possibilities of enhancing school students' well-being: Evaluation of the effectiveness of integrative teaching programme

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Skuskovnika D.

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the research was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Integrative Teaching Programme in enhancing school students' well-being and in lowering their level of school's anxiety1. In total, 608 students with different kinds of learning difficulties (aged from 10 till 19 from 17 schools from different administrative districts of Latvia participated in the implementation of this project. Participants filled out a specially developed questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of one school year. Among other scales integrated in Student's Questionnaire, students filled in a School Anxiety scale and Student's well-beingscale. Results show, that after realization of the Integrative Teaching Programme, a significant decrease was found in the students' school's anxiety level, and significant increase in theirs' well-being level. Developed Integrative Teaching Programme is an effective tool for enhancing students' self-regulation ability, self-confidence, social competence etc. Development of these skills and interaction with teachers and classmates in creative, stimulating and free atmosphere can decrease school's anxiety and as result enchase students' subjective well-being which is a necessary step for integrating students with learning difficulties in normal school life.

Students as First-time Voters: The role of Voter Advice Applications in Self-reflection on Party Choice and Political Identity

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Niels Nørgaard Kristensen

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: This article analyses what characterises first time voters' self-reflections on party choice as they use voter advice applications. Method: This study is based on interviews of 28 Norwegian students (age 18-20preparing themselves for their first election. Findings: Finding a party to vote for is primarily characterized by a process of matching a party to students' political self, which we see as steps toward a political identity. Practical implications: Teaching politics should allow for students' reflections on self and their political preferences.

Integrated approach in the development of competencies valeological students - medical doctor

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Y.F. Ostafijchuk

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The analysis of the scientific - methodical sources. We prove the feasibility of using an integrative approach in the training of future health professionals. Scientists are perspectives on the essence of the concept of integration, their position relative to integrative learning in higher education. Integrative learning is seen as a new educational technology. The basic components of the integration of modern science: Interscience synthesis, synthesis of methodological, social synthesis. It is found that an integrative technology is based on the principles of integrative and personal - oriented education. Reveals the main ways of implementing these principles: the design of interdisciplinary integration, the identification of the same type of interdisciplinary topics; orientation training content on the personality of the student, the formation integrity valeological knowledge and practical skills (in the context valeological behavior. Lit their own opinions of the authors on the formation valeological competence of students of medical colleges in the integration environment. Predicted the final result of this process - a methodological willingness of future health professionals to use valeological component in professional activities.

The Relation of an International Student Center's Orientation Training Sessions with International Students' Achievement and Integration to University

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Güvendir, Meltem Acar

2018-01-01

The purpose of the research is to examine the relation of orientation training sessions with integration and achievement of the international students. The study used the Institutional Integration Scales, developed by Pascarella and Terenzini (1980), to examine the integration level of the international students. 181 freshmen undergraduate and…

Students' network integration as a predictor of persistence in introductory physics courses

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Zwolak, Justyna P.; Dou, Remy; Williams, Eric A.; Brewe, Eric

2017-06-01

Increasing student retention (successfully finishing a particular course) and persistence (continuing through a sequence of courses or the major area of study) is currently a major challenge for universities. While students' academic and social integration into an institution seems to be vital for student retention, research into the effect of interpersonal interactions is rare. We use network analysis as an approach to investigate academic and social experiences of students in the classroom. In particular, centrality measures identify patterns of interaction that contribute to integration into the university. Using these measures, we analyze how position within a social network in a Modeling Instruction (MI) course—an introductory physics course that strongly emphasizes interactive learning—predicts their persistence in taking a subsequent physics course. Students with higher centrality at the end of the first semester of MI are more likely to enroll in a second semester of MI. Moreover, we found that chances of successfully predicting individual student's persistence based on centrality measures are fairly high—up to 75%, making the centrality a good predictor of persistence. These findings suggest that increasing student social integration may help in improving persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.

Socio-Economic, Environmental and Personal Factors in the Choice of Country and Higher Education Institution for Studying Abroad among International Students in Malaysia

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Singh, Manjet Kaur Mehar

2016-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to understand the pull factors that influenced international students' choice of country and institution for their Master's education. Design/Methodology/ Approach: This qualitative study relied upon focus group interviews with 70 international students registered in taught Master programmes at a higher…

School Choice and Segregation: "Tracking" Racial Equity in Magnet Schools

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Davis, Tomeka M.

2014-01-01

Three arguments regarding racial equity have arisen in the school choice debate. Choice advocates charge that choice will improve access to quality schools for disadvantaged minority students (Chubb & Moe 1990; Coons & Sugarman, 1978; Godwin & Kemerer, 2002; Viteritti, 1999). Critics argue that choice is unlikely to benefit minority…

What factors influence the choice of urban or rural location for future practice of Nepalese medical students? A cross-sectional descriptive study.

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Sapkota, Bhim Prasad; Amatya, Archana

2015-11-10

Nepal is experiencing a public health issue similar to the rest of the world, i.e., the geographical maldistribution of physicians. Although there is some documentation about the reasons physicians elect to leave Nepal to work abroad, very little is known about the salient factors that influence the choice of an urban versus rural practice setting for those physicians who do not migrate. In recent years, around 1000 medical students became doctors within Nepal, but their distribution in rural locations is not adequate. The purpose of this study was to explore what factors influence the choice of urban or rural location for the future clinical practice of Nepalese medical students in the final year of their program A cross-sectional descriptive study design was used for this study involving Nepalese medical students in their final year of study and currently doing an internship in a medical college. The sample consisted of 393 medical students from four medical colleges in Nepal that were selected randomly. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. To determine the association with rural location choice for their future practice setting, a comparison was done that involved demographic, socio-economic, and educational factors. Data were entered in EpiData and analyzed by using SPSS version 16. Among the 393 respondents, two thirds were male (66.9%) and more than half were below 25 years of age. Almost all (93%) respondents were single and about two thirds (63.4%) were of Brahmin and Chhetri ethnic origin. About two thirds (64.1%) of the respondents were born in a rural setting, and 58.8% and 53.3% had a place of rearing and permanent address in a rural location, respectively. The predictors of future rural location choice for their clinical practice (based on the bivariate analysis) included: (a) Rural (versus urban) place of birth, place of rearing, and permanent address (b) Source of family income (service, business, and agriculture

Patterns of Oral Choice and Evaluation across Secondary Content Areas

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Gleason, Jesse; Berg, Margaret; Huang, Jingzi

2018-01-01

Our study focuses on Choice and Evaluation, two of Mohan's knowledge structures to uncover how teachers and students across content areas developed disciplinary knowledge through classroom talk. Participants included in-service teachers and their students in rural and urban secondary schools in the Eastern and Western US. Through Choice and…

Search predicts and changes patience in intertemporal choice

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Johnson, Eric J.

2017-01-01

Intertemporal choice impacts many important outcomes, such as decisions about health, education, wealth, and the environment. However, the psychological processes underlying decisions involving outcomes at different points in time remain unclear, limiting opportunities to intervene and improve people’s patience. This research examines information-search strategies used during intertemporal choice and their impact on decisions. In experiment 1, we demonstrate that search strategies vary substantially across individuals. We subsequently identify two distinct search strategies across individuals. Comparative searchers, who compare features across options, discount future options less and are more susceptible to acceleration versus delay framing than integrative searchers, who integrate the features of an option. Experiment 2 manipulates search using an unobtrusive method to establish a causal relationship between strategy and choice, randomly assigning participants to conditions promoting either comparative or integrative search. Again, comparative search promotes greater patience than integrative search. Additionally, when participants adopt a comparative search strategy, they also exhibit greater effects of acceleration versus delay framing. Although most participants reported that the manipulation did not change their behavior, promoting comparative search decreased discounting of future rewards substantially and speeded patient choices. These findings highlight the central role that heterogeneity in psychological processes plays in shaping intertemporal choice. Importantly, these results indicate that theories that ignore variability in search strategies may be inadvertently aggregating over different subpopulations that use very different processes. The findings also inform interventions in choice architecture to increase patience and improve consumer welfare. PMID:29078303

Fostering dental student self-assessment of knowledge by confidence scoring of multiple-choice examinations.

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McMahan, C Alex; Pinckard, R Neal; Jones, Anne Cale; Hendricson, William D

2014-12-01

Creating a learning environment that fosters student acquisition of self-assessment behaviors and skills is critically important in the education and training of health professionals. Self-assessment is a vital component of competent practice and lifelong learning. This article proposes applying a version of confidence scoring of multiple-choice questions as one avenue to address this crucial educational objective for students to be able to recognize and admit what they do not know. The confidence scoring algorithm assigns one point for a correct answer, deducts fractional points for an incorrect answer, but rewards students fractional points for leaving the question unanswered in admission that they are unsure of the correct answer. The magnitude of the reward relative to the deduction is selected such that the expected gain due to random guessing, even after elimination of all but one distractor, is never greater than the reward. Curricular implementation of this confidence scoring algorithm should motivate health professions students to develop self-assessment behaviors and enable them to acquire the skills necessary to critically evaluate the extent of their current knowledge throughout their professional careers. This is a professional development competency that is emphasized in the educational standards of the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA).

From School Choice to Student Voice.

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Heckman, Paul E.; Montera, Viki L.

2001-01-01

Educational mass marketing approaches are like fast-food franchises; they offer homogeneous, standardized products that cannot satisfy every consumer's needs. A niche market looks inside the masses to address more individual, specialized choices missing from the menu. Variability, not uniformity, should guide development of public schooling. (MLH)

Making the Most of Multiple Choice

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Brookhart, Susan M.

2015-01-01

Multiple-choice questions draw criticism because many people perceive they test only recall or atomistic, surface-level objectives and do not require students to think. Although this can be the case, it does not have to be that way. Susan M. Brookhart suggests that multiple-choice questions are a useful part of any teacher's questioning repertoire…

Changing the Engineering Student Culture with Respect to Academic Integrity and Ethics.

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VanDeGrift, Tammy; Dillon, Heather; Camp, Loreal

2017-08-01

Engineers create airplanes, buildings, medical devices, and software, amongst many other things. Engineers abide by a professional code of ethics to uphold people's safety and the reputation of the profession. Likewise, students abide by a code of academic integrity while learning the knowledge and necessary skills to prepare them for the engineering and computing professions. This paper reports on studies designed to improve the engineering student culture with respect to academic integrity and ethics. To understand the existing culture at a university in the USA, a survey based on a national survey about cheating was administered to students. The incidences of self-reported cheating and incidences of not reporting others who cheat show the culture is similar to other institutions. Two interventions were designed and tested in an introduction to an engineering course: two case studies that students discussed in teams and the whole class, and a letter of recommendation assignment in which students wrote about themselves (character, strengths, examples of ethical decisions) three years into the future. Students were surveyed after the two interventions. Results show that first-year engineering students appreciate having a code of academic integrity and they want to earn their degree without cheating, yet less than half of the students would report on another cheating student. The letter of recommendation assignment had some impact on getting students to think about ethics, their character, and their actions. Future work in changing the student culture will continue in both a top-down (course interventions) and bottom-up (student-driven interventions) manner.

Piloting a Geoscience Literacy Exam for Assessing Students' Understanding of Earth, Climate, Atmospheric and Ocean Science Concepts

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Steer, D. N.; Iverson, E. A.; Manduca, C. A.

2013-12-01

This research seeks to develop valid and reliable questions that faculty can use to assess geoscience literacy across the curriculum. We are particularly interested on effects of curricula developed to teach Earth, Climate, Atmospheric, and Ocean Science concepts in the context of societal issues across the disciplines. This effort is part of the InTeGrate project designed to create a population of college graduates who are poised to use geoscience knowledge in developing solutions to current and future environmental and resource challenges. Details concerning the project are found at http://serc.carleton.edu/integrate/index.html. The Geoscience Literacy Exam (GLE) under development presently includes 90 questions. Each big idea from each literacy document can be probed using one or more of three independent questions: 1) a single answer, multiple choice question aimed at basic understanding or application of key concepts, 2) a multiple correct answer, multiple choice question targeting the analyzing to analysis levels and 3) a short essay question that tests analysis or evaluation cognitive levels. We anticipate multiple-choice scores and the detail and sophistication of essay responses will increase as students engage with the curriculum. As part of the field testing of InTeGrate curricula, faculty collected student responses from classes that involved over 700 students. These responses included eight pre- and post-test multiple-choice questions that covered various concepts across the four literacies. Discrimination indices calculated from the data suggest that the eight tested questions provide a valid measure of literacy within the scope of the concepts covered. Student normalized gains across an academic term with limited InTeGrate exposure (typically two or fewer weeks of InTeGrate curriculum out of 14 weeks) were found to average 16% gain. A small set of control data (250 students in classes from one institution where no InTeGrate curricula were used) was

Profile of Metacognition of Mathematics and Mathematics Education Students in Understanding the Concept of Integral Calculus

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Misu, La; Ketut Budayasa, I.; Lukito, Agung

2018-03-01

This study describes the metacognition profile of mathematics and mathematics education students in understanding the concept of integral calculus. The metacognition profile is a natural and intact description of a person’s cognition that involves his own thinking in terms of using his knowledge, planning and monitoring his thinking process, and evaluating his thinking results when understanding a concept. The purpose of this study was to produce the metacognition profile of mathematics and mathematics education students in understanding the concept of integral calculus. This research method is explorative method with the qualitative approach. The subjects of this study are mathematics and mathematics education students who have studied integral calculus. The results of this study are as follows: (1) the summarizing category, the mathematics and mathematics education students can use metacognition knowledge and metacognition skills in understanding the concept of indefinite integrals. While the definite integrals, only mathematics education students use metacognition skills; and (2) the explaining category, mathematics students can use knowledge and metacognition skills in understanding the concept of indefinite integrals, while the definite integrals only use metacognition skills. In addition, mathematics education students can use knowledge and metacognition skills in understanding the concept of both indefinite and definite integrals.

Who Studies STEM Subjects at a Level and Degree in England? An Investigation into the Intersections between Students' Family Background, Gender and Ethnicity in Determining Choice

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Codiroli Mcmaster, Natasha

2017-01-01

The relative lack of students studying post-compulsory STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) subjects is a key policy concern. A particular issue is the disparities in uptake by students' family background, gender and ethnicity. It remains unclear whether the relationship between student characteristics and choice can be…

Using Research to Inform Learning Technology Practice and Policy: A Qualitative Analysis of Student Perspectives

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Russell, Carol; Malfroy, Janne; Gosper, Maree; McKenzie, Jo

2014-01-01

As learning technologies are now integral to most higher education student learning experiences, universities need to make strategic choices about what technologies to adopt and how to best support and develop the use of these technologies, particularly in a climate of limited resources. Information from students is therefore a valuable…

Urban School Choice and Integration: The Effect of Charter Schools in Little Rock

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Ritter, Gary W.; Jensen, Nathan C.; Kisida, Brian; Bowen, Daniel H.

2016-01-01

We examine the impact of charter schools on school integration in the Little Rock, Arkansas metropolitan area. We find that charters are less likely to be hyper-segregated than traditional public schools (TPS), but TPS have compositions more closely reflecting the region. However, differences in each case are slight. Using student-level data to…

Pre-University Students' Errors in Integration of Rational Functions and Implications for Classroom Teaching

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Yee, Ng Kin; Lam, Toh Tin

2008-01-01

This paper reports on students' errors in performing integration of rational functions, a topic of calculus in the pre-university mathematics classrooms. Generally the errors could be classified as those due to the students' weak algebraic concepts and their lack of understanding of the concept of integration. With the students' inability to link…

Overconfidence and Career Choice.

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Schulz, Jonathan F; Thöni, Christian

2016-01-01

People self-assess their relative ability when making career choices. Thus, confidence in their own abilities is likely an important factor for selection into various career paths. In a sample of 711 first-year students we examine whether there are systematic differences in confidence levels across fields of study. We find that our experimental confidence measures significantly vary between fields of study: While students in business related academic disciplines (Political Science, Law, Economics, and Business Administration) exhibit the highest confidence levels, students of Humanities range at the other end of the scale. This may have important implications for subsequent earnings and professions students select themselves in.

Overconfidence and Career Choice

Science.gov (United States)

Schulz, Jonathan F.; Thöni, Christian

2016-01-01

People self-assess their relative ability when making career choices. Thus, confidence in their own abilities is likely an important factor for selection into various career paths. In a sample of 711 first-year students we examine whether there are systematic differences in confidence levels across fields of study. We find that our experimental confidence measures significantly vary between fields of study: While students in business related academic disciplines (Political Science, Law, Economics, and Business Administration) exhibit the highest confidence levels, students of Humanities range at the other end of the scale. This may have important implications for subsequent earnings and professions students select themselves in. PMID:26808273

What do UK medical students value most in their careers? A discrete choice experiment.

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Cleland, Jennifer A; Johnston, Peter; Watson, Verity; Krucien, Nicolas; Skåtun, Diane

2017-08-01

Many individual- and job-related factors are known to influence medical careers decision making. Previous research has extensively studied medical trainees' (residents') and students' views of the factors that are important. However, how trainees and students trade off these factors at times of important careers-related decision making is under-researched. Information about trade-offs is crucial to the development of effective policies to enhance the recruitment and retention of junior doctors. Our aim was to investigate the strength of UK medical students' preferences for the characteristics of training posts in terms of monetary value. We distributed a paper questionnaire that included a discrete choice experiment (DCE) to final-year medical students in six diverse medical schools across the UK. The main outcome measure was the monetary value of training post characteristics, based on willingness to forgo and willingness to accept extra income for a change in each job characteristic calculated from regression coefficients. A total of 810 medical students answered the questionnaire. The presence of good working conditions was by far the most influential characteristic of a training position. Medical students consider that, as newly graduated doctors, they will require compensation of an additional 43.68% above average earnings to move from a post with excellent working conditions to one with poor working conditions. Female students value excellent working conditions more highly than male students, whereas older medical students value them less highly than younger students. Students on the point of completing medical school and starting postgraduate training value good working conditions significantly more than they value desirable geographical location, unit reputation, familiarity with the unit or opportunities for partners or spouses. This intelligence can be used to address the crisis in workforce staffing that has developed in the UK and opens up fruitful

How Does the Choice of A-level Subjects Vary with Students' Socio-Economic Status in English State Schools?

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Dilnot, Catherine

2016-01-01

The reasons why students from lower socio-economic groups are under-represented at high status universities are not yet entirely understood, but evidence suggests that part of the gap may be a consequence of differential choice of A-levels by social background. The Russell Group of universities has since 2011 published guidance on A-level subject…

[Intersection between gender and socioeconomic status in medical sciences career choice].

Science.gov (United States)

Gallardo-Hernández, Georgina; Ortiz-Hernández, Luis; Compeán-Dardón, Sandra; Verde-Flota, Elizabeth; Delgado-Sáncnchez, Guadalupe; Tamez-González, Silivia

2006-01-01

Analyze the relationship between gender identity and socioeconomic level associated with career choice among undergraduate students selecting the area of health sciences. Our sample was comprised of first year medical nutrition, dentistry and nursing students (n=637) admitted to the Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana - Xochimilco. A self administered questionnaire was used. The dependent variable was career choice. Independent variables included socioeconomic status, gender norms in student's homes, and gender stereotype internalization. More female nursing students came from low socioeconomic strata, while medical students had a higher socioeconomic status. Among males, more nursing and medical students belonged to a higher socioeconomicstrata. Nutrition and dentistry students belonged to a medium strata. In comparison with males from high socioeconomic strata more male participants reported that household chores were divided among men and women. For women, as the socioeconomic level increased, the participation of men and women also increased. In the indicators of internalization of gender stereotypes, nursing students had the highest rates in the submission scale, but the lowest for masculinity and machismo. As the socioeconomic strata increased, the characteristics of masculinity and machismo also increased. The present results seem to indicate that among women of low socioeconomic strata more traditional gender stereotypes prevail which lead them to seek career choices considered femenine. Among men, there is a clear relationship between career choice, socioeconomic level and internalization of gender stereotypes.

Examining Medical Student Specialty Choice Through a Gender Lens: An Orientational Qualitative Study.

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Smith, Victoria; Bethune, Cheri; Hurley, Katrina F

2018-01-01

Phenomenon: A growing number of women are entering the medical workforce, yet their distribution across medical specialties remains nonuniform. We sought to describe how culture, bias, and socialization shape gendered thinking regarding specialty choice at a Canadian undergraduate medical institution. We analyzed transcripts from the Career Choices Project: 16 semistructured focus group discussions with 70 students graduating from Memorial University of Newfoundland in 2003, 2006, 2007, and 2008. The questions and prompts were designed to explore factors influencing specialty choice and did not specifically probe gender-based experiences. Focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed, and deidentified before analysis. Analysis was inductive and guided by principles of orientational qualitative inquiry using a gender-specific lens. The pursuits of personal and professional goals, as well as contextual factors, were the major themes that influenced decision-making for women and men. Composition of these major themes varied between genders. Influence of a partner, consideration of familial commitments (both present and future), feeling a sense of connectedness with the field in question, and social accountability were described by women as important. Both genders hoped to pursue careers that would afford "flexibility" in order to balance work with their personal lives, though the construct of work-life balance differed between genders. Women did not explicitly identify gender bias or sexism as influencing factors, but their narratives suggest that these elements were at play. Insights: Our findings suggest that unlike men, women's decision-making is informed by tension between personal and professional goals, likely related to the context of gendered personal and societal expectations.

Choices and Changes: Eccles’ Expectancy-Value Model and Upper-Secondary School Students’ Longitudinal Reflections about their Choice of a STEM Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lykkegaard, Eva; Ulriksen, Lars

2016-01-01

During the past 30 years, Eccles’ comprehensive social-psychological Expectancy-Value Model of Motivated Behavioural Choices (EV-MBC model) has been proven suitable for studying educational choices related to Science, Technology, Engineering and/or Mathematics (STEM). The reflections of 15 students...... in their last year in upper-secondary school concerning their choice of tertiary education were examined using quantitative EV-MBC surveys and repeated qualitative interviews. This article presents the analyses of three cases in detail. The analytical focus was whether the factors indicated in the EV-MBC model......, and that significant changes in the students’ reflections were not captured by the factors of the EV-MBC model. This questions the validity of the EVMBC surveys. Moreover, the quantitative factors from the EV-MBC model did not sufficiently explain students’ dynamical educational choice processes where students...

Helping Gay and Lesbian Students Integrate Sexual and Religious Identities

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Bayne, Hannah Barnhill

2016-01-01

This article explores the impact of sexual and religious identity on college student development, examining developmental models and discussing how counselors can assist gay and lesbian students with integrating these 2 personal identities. Treatment approaches are presented, and the article concludes with an examination of ethical and…

Healthier food choices as a result of the revised healthy diet programme Krachtvoer for students of prevocational schools

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bessems Kathelijne MHH

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Krachtvoer is a Dutch healthy diet programme for prevocational schools, developed in 2001 and revised for a broader target group in 2007, based on the findings of an evaluation of the first version. The goal of this study was to report on the short- and longer-term total and subgroup effects of the revised programme on students’ fruit, fruit juice, breakfast, and snack consumption. Methods Schools were randomized to the experimental condition, teaching the Krachtvoer programme, or to the control condition teaching the regular nutrition lessons. Self-reported consumption of fruit, fruit juice, breakfast and snacks was measured at baseline directly before programme implementation, one to four weeks after finishing programme implementation, and after six months. Mixed linear and logistic regression analyses were conducted. Results In total 1117 students of 13 experimental schools and 758 students of 11 control schools participated in the study. Short- and longer-term favourable intervention effects were found on fruit consumption (mean difference between experimental and control group 0.15 servings at both posttests. Regarding fruit juice consumption, only short-term favourable effects were revealed (mean difference between experimental and control group 0.05 glasses. Intervention effects on breakfast intakes were limited. No changes in snack frequency were reported, but students made healthier snack choices as a result of the programme. Some favourable as well as unfavourable effects occurred in subgroups of students. Conclusions The effects on fruit consumption and snack choices justify the current nationwide dissemination of the programme. Achieving changes in breakfast consumption may, however, require other strategies.

Academic integrity in the online learning environment for health sciences students.

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Azulay Chertok, Ilana R; Barnes, Emily R; Gilleland, Diana

2014-10-01

The online learning environment not only affords accessibility to education for health sciences students, but also poses challenges to academic integrity. Technological advances contribute to new modes of academic dishonesty, although there may be a lack of clarity regarding behaviors that constitute academic dishonesty in the online learning environment. To evaluate an educational intervention aimed at increasing knowledge and improving attitudes about academic integrity in the online learning environment among health sciences students. A quasi-experimental study was conducted using a survey of online learning knowledge and attitudes with strong reliability that was developed based on a modified version of a previously developed information technology attitudes rating tool with an added knowledge section based on the academic integrity statement. Blended-learning courses in a university health sciences center. 355 health sciences students from various disciplines, including nursing, pre-medical, and exercise physiology students, 161 in the control group and 194 in the intervention group. The survey of online learning knowledge and attitudes (SOLKA) was used in a pre-post test study to evaluate the differences in scores between the control group who received the standard course introduction and the intervention group who received an enhanced educational intervention about academic integrity during the course introduction. Post-intervention attitude scores were significantly improved compared to baseline scores for the control and intervention groups, indicating a positive relationship with exposure to the information, with a greater improvement among intervention group participants (pacademic integrity in the online environment. Emphasis should be made about the importance of academic integrity in the online learning environment in preparation for professional behavior in the technologically advancing health sciences arena. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All

A Question of Agency: Applying Sen's Theory of Human Capability to the Concept of Secondary School Student Career "Choice"

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Galliott, Natal'ya; Graham, Linda J.

2014-01-01

In this paper, we seek to operationalize Amartya Sen's concept of human capability to guide a scholarly investigation of student career choice capability. We begin by outlining factors affecting youth labour markets in Australia; a prosperous country that is affected by a "two-speed" national economy. We then examine recent government…

Career-Oriented Performance Tasks in Chemistry: Effects on Students Integrated Science Process Skills

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Allen A. Espinosa; Sheryl Lyn C. Monterola; Amelia E. Punzalan

2013-01-01

The study was conducted to assess the effectiveness of Career-Oriented Performance Task (COPT) approach against the traditional teaching approach (TTA) in enhancing students’ integrated science process skills. Specifically, it sought to find out if students exposed to COPT have higher integrated science process skills than those students exposed to the traditional teaching approach (TTA). Career-Oriented Performance Task (COPT) approach aims to integrate career-oriented examples and inquiry-b...

Search predicts and changes patience in intertemporal choice.

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Reeck, Crystal; Wall, Daniel; Johnson, Eric J

2017-11-07

Intertemporal choice impacts many important outcomes, such as decisions about health, education, wealth, and the environment. However, the psychological processes underlying decisions involving outcomes at different points in time remain unclear, limiting opportunities to intervene and improve people's patience. This research examines information-search strategies used during intertemporal choice and their impact on decisions. In experiment 1, we demonstrate that search strategies vary substantially across individuals. We subsequently identify two distinct search strategies across individuals. Comparative searchers, who compare features across options, discount future options less and are more susceptible to acceleration versus delay framing than integrative searchers, who integrate the features of an option. Experiment 2 manipulates search using an unobtrusive method to establish a causal relationship between strategy and choice, randomly assigning participants to conditions promoting either comparative or integrative search. Again, comparative search promotes greater patience than integrative search. Additionally, when participants adopt a comparative search strategy, they also exhibit greater effects of acceleration versus delay framing. Although most participants reported that the manipulation did not change their behavior, promoting comparative search decreased discounting of future rewards substantially and speeded patient choices. These findings highlight the central role that heterogeneity in psychological processes plays in shaping intertemporal choice. Importantly, these results indicate that theories that ignore variability in search strategies may be inadvertently aggregating over different subpopulations that use very different processes. The findings also inform interventions in choice architecture to increase patience and improve consumer welfare. Copyright © 2017 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Food Choice Architecture: An Intervention in a Secondary School and its Impact on Students’ Plant-based Food Choices

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Hannah Ensaff

2015-06-01

Full Text Available With growing evidence for the positive health outcomes associated with a plant-based diet, the study’s purpose was to examine the potential of shifting adolescents’ food choices towards plant-based foods. Using a real world setting of a school canteen, a set of small changes to the choice architecture was designed and deployed in a secondary school in Yorkshire, England. Focussing on designated food items (whole fruit, fruit salad, vegetarian daily specials, and sandwiches containing salad the changes were implemented for six weeks. Data collected on students’ food choice (218,796 transactions enabled students’ (980 students selections to be examined. Students’ food choice was compared for three periods: baseline (29 weeks; intervention (six weeks; and post-intervention (three weeks. Selection of designated food items significantly increased during the intervention and post-intervention periods, compared to baseline (baseline, 1.4%; intervention 3.0%; post-intervention, 2.2% χ2(2 = 68.1, p < 0.001. Logistic regression modelling also revealed the independent effect of the intervention, with students 2.5 times as likely (p < 0.001 to select the designated food items during the intervention period, compared to baseline. The study’s results point to the influence of choice architecture within secondary school settings, and its potential role in improving adolescents’ daily food choices.

Development and Standardization of Inventory for Measuring Students' Integration into University Academic Culture

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Esomonu, Nkechi Patricia-Mary; Okeaba, James Uzoma

2016-01-01

The study developed and standardized an Inventory for measuring Students' Integration into University Academic Culture named Inventory for Students' Integration into University Academic Culture (ISIUAC). The increase in dropout rates, substance use, cultism and other deviant behaviours in Nigerian universities makes it necessary for one to ask the…

Understanding Predisposition in College Choice: Toward an Integrated Model of College Choice and Theory of Reasoned Action

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Pitre, Paul E.; Johnson, Todd E.; Pitre, Charisse Cowan

2006-01-01

This article seeks to improve traditional models of college choice that draw from recruitment and enrollment management paradigms. In adopting a consumer approach to college choice, this article seeks to build upon consumer-related research, which centers on behavior and reasoning. More specifically, this article seeks to move inquiry beyond the…

Comparison the Students Satisfaction of Traditional and Integrated Teaching Method in Physiology Course

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Keshavarzi Z.

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Aims: Different education methods play crucial roles to improve education quality and students’ satisfaction. In the recent years, medical education highly changes through new education methods. The aim of this study was to compare medical students’ satisfaction in traditional and integrated methods of teaching physiology course. Instrument and Methods: In the descriptive analysis study, fifty 4th semester medical students of Bojnourd University of Medical Sciences were studied in 2015. The subjects were randomly selected based on availability. Data was collected by two researcher-made questionnaires; their validity and reliability were confirmed. Questionnaure 1 was completed by the students after presenting renal and endocrinology topics via traditional and integrated methods. Questionnaire 2 was only completed by the students after presenting the course via integrated method. Data was analyzed by SPSS 16 software using dependent T test. Findings: Mean score of the students’ satisfaction in traditional method (24.80±3.48 was higher than integrated method (22.30±4.03; p<0.0001. In the integrated method, most of the students were agreed and completely agreed on telling stories from daily life (76%, sitting mode in the classroom (48%, an attribution of cell roles to the students (60%, showing movies and animations (76%, using models (84%, and using real animal parts (72% during teaching, as well as expressing clinical items to enhance learning motivations (76%. Conclusion: Favorable satisfaction of the students in traditional lecture method to understand the issues, as well as their acceptance of new and active methods of learning, show effectiveness and efficiency of traditional method and the requirement of its enhancement by the integrated methods. 

The problems during choice of profession and comparison of these problems with anxiety and depression in final year of high school students

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Veysel Kars

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Objective: We aimed to investigate the relationship between prevalence of anxiety, depressive disorder symptoms and some sociodemographic variables in the final year of high-school students, secondly to determine the socio-economic and cultural factors which affect choosing professions among the high school senior students in the province of Van. Methods: In this context, the study was performed in the provincial center of Van in the second semester of 2011. Unpaired t test and one way Anova test were used for statistical analysis. Socio-demographic Information Form, Awareness of Career Choice Form, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI, and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI were applied to a total of 412 students. Results: In this study BAI and BDI scores were 15.4±13.3 and 15.3±12.8 respectively. BAI scores of the students in Anatolian high school were found higher than the normal high school. Both the anxiety and depressive levels of female students were higher than the males. The mean age was 16,8 years, 73.8% of whom were male. In 58% of the students’ BAI point, in 66% BDI point were higher than 41; and in 37% BDI point were higher than 17. Female students had higher BAI points. There was a positive correlation between BAI and BDI points. Conclusion: It was noticed in our study that the great amount of anxiety discovered in last grade high school students affect. The student’s job choice negatively. We think that providing last grade high school students with guidance service about job selection will be useful.

First-Year College Students Increase Food Label-Reading Behaviors and Improve Food Choices in a Personal Nutrition Seminar Course

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Tallant, April

2017-01-01

Background: Poor dietary behaviors are risk factors for developing chronic diseases that plague public health. Purpose: This study sought to determine the differences in pre and post food label and food choice scores among first-year college students at the beginning and end of the semester. Case analyses were conducted to evaluate individualized…

Going Through Medical School and Considering the Choice of Family Medicine: Prescription or Antidote?

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Mauksch, Hans O.; And Others

A study of the choice of specialty by medical students suggests that Family Medicine depends on students whose choice predates medical school; the number of those interested diminishes significantly over the four years. Interviews suggest several characteristics of the medical school that mitigate against the choice of family medicine and steer…

Technology Integration in Elementary Classrooms: Teaching Practices of Student Teachers

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Liu, Ping

2016-01-01

This study examines how and why student teachers integrated technology to enhance instruction in elementary classrooms. The participants were 31 student teachers who completed an assignment of eight weeks. Multiple data sets including observation notes of 347 lessons were obtained from three key groups for data triangulation. Results reveal that…

Loci of Causality and Orientation in Occupational and Educational Choices

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Kalervo Friberg

2013-06-01

Full Text Available A student self-determination profile of occupational and educational choices was examined through the concepts of Locus of Causality and Locus of Orientation. Research questions associated with respondents’ certainty of occupation and orientation to vocational education were answered. The tested hypotheses were as follows: (a Independence, initiative, self-guidance, choice of discussion forums, and gender are related to certainty of future occupation choice and choice of vocational education; (b certainty of occupation relates to choosing vocational education; (c negatively biased media lessens interest in vocational education; and (d vocational education choices are related to gender. A survey of ninth-grade students in Finnish comprehensive school was conducted after implementation of a work-orientation program defined in the national comprehensive school curriculum. At the local school system level, 649 subjects of the mean ages of 16.0 years participated in an Internet survey in two school districts in southwestern Finland in 2008. The variables were inserted in Linear Multiple Regression Analysis in IBM SPSS. The means of vocational school choice and certainty of occupation, and vocational school choice and negative media image were compared in SPSS means. An independent-samples t test for vocational school choice and sex was conducted. Statistically significant regression models of loci of orientation and locus of causality were found. The more the respondents were certain of their occupation choice, the more they expressed their secondary education orientation to be vocational school. When students discussed their choices less at home, their orientation to vocational education weakened. A negative media image was not associated with vocational school choice in this data. The measured means for girls’ and boys’ orientations to vocational school did not show statistically significant differences.

Multiple-Choice and Short-Answer Exam Performance in a College Classroom

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Funk, Steven C.; Dickson, K. Laurie

2011-01-01

The authors experimentally investigated the effects of multiple-choice and short-answer format exam items on exam performance in a college classroom. They randomly assigned 50 students to take a 10-item short-answer pretest or posttest on two 50-item multiple-choice exams in an introduction to personality course. Students performed significantly…

Special Ed. and Choice Ties Grow

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Shah, Nirvi

2012-01-01

Creating private school vouchers for special education students--programs that are largely unchallenged in court, unlike other publicly financed tuition vouchers--can be the perfect way to clear a path for other students to get school options, according to school choice proponents. At least seven states--Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Ohio,…

Integrating geriatrics into medical school: student journaling as an innovative strategy for evaluating curriculum.

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Shield, Renée R; Farrell, Timothy W; Nanda, Aman; Campbell, Susan E; Wetle, Terrie

2012-02-01

The Alpert Medical School of Brown University began to integrate geriatrics content into all preclerkship courses and key clerkship cases as part of a major medical school curriculum redesign in 2006. This study evaluates students' responses to geriatrics integration within the curriculum using journals kept by volunteer preclerkship and clerkship students between 2007 and 2010. The journals were used to assess the quality of curricular integration of geriatrics didactic and clinical content, to gather information for shaping the evolving curriculum, and to elicit students' responses about their professional development and caring for older adults. Student "journalers" wrote narrative reactions to and evaluations of aging-related content and exposure to older patients in response to written semistructured questions. An interdisciplinary team (including a health services researcher, gerontologist, medical anthropologist, and 2 geriatricians) used qualitative analysis to code the 405 journal entries. The team identified 10 themes within the following domains: (a) evaluation of efforts to integrate geriatrics within the medical school curriculum, (b) recognition and application of geriatrics principles, (c) student attitudes and cultural experiences regarding aging and the care of older patients, and (d) personal and professional development over time. Themes emerging within these domains reflect the effectiveness of geriatrics integration within the new curriculum as well as students' professional development. Journaling provides a novel and effective method for capturing medical students' responses to curricular content in real time, allowing for midcourse corrections and identifying key components of their professional development.

Evaluating multiple-choice exams in large introductory physics courses

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Gary Gladding

2006-07-01

Full Text Available The reliability and validity of professionally written multiple-choice exams have been extensively studied for exams such as the SAT, graduate record examination, and the force concept inventory. Much of the success of these multiple-choice exams is attributed to the careful construction of each question, as well as each response. In this study, the reliability and validity of scores from multiple-choice exams written for and administered in the large introductory physics courses at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign were investigated. The reliability of exam scores over the course of a semester results in approximately a 3% uncertainty in students’ total semester exam score. This semester test score uncertainty yields an uncertainty in the students’ assigned letter grade that is less than 1 / 3 of a letter grade. To study the validity of exam scores, a subset of students were ranked independently based on their multiple-choice score, graded explanations, and student interviews. The ranking of these students based on their multiple-choice score was found to be consistent with the ranking assigned by physics instructors based on the students’ written explanations ( r>0.94 at the 95% confidence level and oral interviews (r=0.94−0.09+0.06 .

Field Dependence-Field Independence Cognitive Style, Gender, Career Choice and Academic Achievement of Secondary School Students in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State

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Onyekuru, Bruno Uchenna

2015-01-01

This is a descriptive study that investigated the relationships among field dependence-field independence cognitive style and gender, career choice and academic achievement of secondary school students in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, Nigeria. From the initial sample of 320 senior secondary school one (SS1) students drawn from the…

Integrated Moral Conviction Theory of Student Cheating: An Empirical Test

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Roberts, Foster; Thomas, Christopher H.; Novicevic, Milorad M.; Ammeter, Anthony; Garner, Bart; Johnson, Paul; Popoola, Ifeoluwa

2018-01-01

In this article, we develop an "integrated moral conviction theory of student cheating" by integrating moral conviction with (a) the dual-process model of Hunt-Vitell's theory that gives primacy to individual ethical philosophies when moral judgments are made and (b) the social cognitive conceptualization that gives primacy to moral…

Knowledge Toward Cancer Pain and the Use of Opioid Analgesics Among Medical Students in their Integrated Clinical Clerkship

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Maria Fidelis C. Manalo

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Among the focal issues of barriers to pain management include the physicians’ lack of knowledge about cancer pain and negative attitudes towards opioids. Many physicians and educators attribute this, at least in part, to limited exposure to pain and palliative care education during medical school.Aim: The researcher investigated the medical students’ knowledge about cancer pain and the use of opioid analgesics.Methods: The subjects were a sample of 50 students of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine in their integrated clinical clerkship year. Descriptive statistics (frequencies, means, standard deviation, rating scales were used to determine mean knowledge score and level of confidence with opioid use. The study also identified specific areas where students exhibited good or poor knowledge of opioids.Results: Approximately sixty-nine (69% of the study respondents mentioned that pain management was given to them during their Anesthesiology lectures while a few recalled that they had these lectures during their Family Medicine rotation in Supportive, Palliative and Hospice Care. More than a third (35% of the respondents admitted to not being confident with morphine use at present. The top three reasons cited as limitations in choice of opioids for cancer pain include fear of addiction, lack of adequate knowledge and experience and fear of side effects and complications. Out of a maximum of 13 correct answers, the mean knowledge score of the medical students was 6.6 ± 2.9. Less than 16% of the respondents had adequate knowledge on cancer pain and opioid use.Conclusions: The results show that basic knowledge of the role of opioids in cancer pain management among medical students in their integrated clinical clerkship year at the University of the Philippines is poor. The findings imply a need to look into making revisions in the medical curriculum to include a training program that will enable all students to

Gender differences in medical students’ motives and career choice

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Heiligers Phil JM

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The main subject is the influence of gender and the stage of life on the choice of specialty in medical education. In particular we looked at the influence of intrinsic and external motives on this relationship. The choice of specialty was divided into two moments: the choice between medical specialties and general practice; and the preference within medical specialties. In earlier studies the topic of motivation was explored, mostly related to gender. In this study stage of life in terms of living with a partner -or not- and stage of education was added. Methods A questionnaire concerning career preferences was used. The online questionnaire was sent to all student members of the KNMG (Royal Dutch Medical Association. 58% of these students responded (N = 2397. Only 1478 responses could be used for analyses (36%. For stipulating the motives that played a role, principal components factor analysis has been carried out. For testing the mediation effect a set of regression analyses was performed: logistic regressions and multiple regressions. Results Although basic findings about gender differences in motivations for preferred careers are consistent with earlier research, we found that whether or not living with a partner is determinant for differences in profession-related motives and external motives (lifestyle and social situation. Furthermore living with a partner is not a specific female argument anymore, since no interactions are found between gender and living with a partner. Another issue is that motives are mediating the relationship between, living with a partner, and the choice of GP or medical specialty. For more clarity in the mediating effect of motives a longitudinal study is needed to find out about motives and changing circumstances. Conclusions The present study provides a contribution to the knowledge of career aspirations of medical students, especially the impact of motivation. Gender and living with a

Factors that influence a career choice in primary care among medical students from high-, middle-, and low-income countries: a systematic review.

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Puertas, E Benjamín; Arósquipa, Carlos; Gutiérrez, Daniela

2013-11-01

To determine which factors influence a medical student's decision to choose a career in primary care; and to establish if these factors are similar or different among students in high-, middle- and low-income countries. An extensive search was done of PubMed, Google Scholar, and Virtual Library of Health for articles on primary care careers published in 2003-2013 in English, Spanish, and/or Portuguese. Initially, 600 records were identified; 74 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and 55 were selected (42 from high-income countries; 13 from middle- and low-income). These were assessed to identify intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence career choice among medical students from high-, middle-, and low-income countries. A comparison framework with common and specific factors that influence career choice in primary care among medical students from high-, middle- and low-income was developed. Factors were classified as extrinsic or intrinsic, and as facilitators or barriers. Several factors common to all countries were identified: facilitators were exposure to rural location, role models, working conditions; barriers were low income, prestige, and medical school environment. Some factors specific to middle- and low-income countries were: understanding of rural needs and intellectual challenge. Other factors specific to high-income countries were: attitude towards social problems, voluntary work, influence of family, and length of residency. Further studies on the subject are needed, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Identifying factors as barriers or facilitators for career choice will promote a better understanding of the reasons behind the shortage of primary care professionals and will contribute to policy building, improved training, and recruitment and retention of these professionals.

The Impact of Students' Choice of Time of Day for Class Activity and Their Sleep Quality on Academic Performance in Multidisciplinary Distance Education Courses

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Miles, Jessica A.

2014-01-01

The purpose of this research was to identify the impact of students' choice of time of day for class activity and their sleep quality on academic performance in multidisciplinary distance education courses at a southeastern U.S. state college. The research addressed the relationship of other individual student characteristics (i.e., age, gender,…

Dynamics of career choice among students in undergraduate medical courses. A BEME systematic review: BEME Guide No. 33.

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Querido, Sophie J; Vergouw, David; Wigersma, Lode; Batenburg, Ronald S; De Rond, Marlies E J; Ten Cate, Olle T J

2016-01-01

Due to the lack of a theoretically embedded overview of the recent literature on medical career decision-making, this study provides an outline of these dynamics. Since differences in educational routes to the medical degree likely affect career choice dynamics, this study focuses on medical career decision-making in educational systems with a Western European curriculum structure. A systematic search of electronic databases (Medline, Embase) was conducted from January 2008 to November 2014. A panel of seven independent reviewers performed the data extraction, quality assessment and data synthesis using the Bland-Meurer model of medical specialty choice as a reference. Fifty-seven studies met the inclusion criteria for the review. Factors associated with specialty preference or career choice can be classified in five main categories: (1) medical school characteristics (e.g., curriculum structure), (2) student characteristics (e.g., age, personality), (3) student values (e.g., personal preference), (4) career needs to be satisfied (e.g., expected income, status, and work-life balance), and (5) perception of specialty characteristics (e.g., extracurricular or curricular experiences). Especially career needs and perceptions of specialty characteristics are often associated with medical career decision-making. Our results support that medical career decisions are formed by a matching of perceptions of specialty characteristics with personal needs. However, the process of medical career decision-making is not yet fully understood. Besides identifying possible predictors, future research should focus on detecting interrelations between hypothesized predictors and identify the determinants and interrelations at the various stages of the medical career decision-making process.

Beyond the Art Lesson: Free-Choice Learning Centers

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Werth, Laurie

2010-01-01

In this article, the author emphasizes that by providing learning centers in the art studio environment and by providing "free-choice time," art educators can encourage and reinforce the natural learning styles of students. Learning centers give elementary students the freedom to pursue individual artistic expression. They give students an…

Policy efforts used to develop awareness aimed at increased students' scientific literacy and career choices in mathematics, science and engineering

Science.gov (United States)

Whitfield, Frank Albert

The lack of an adequate supply of human resources in science and engineering has been well documented. Efforts from a number of agencies, such as the National Science Foundation, have been implemented to alleviate this national problem. However, it is unclear what concerted efforts state agencies are taking to increase the number of African American students' scientific literacy, and career choices in science and engineering. The purpose of this study was to select a talent pool of African American students who are academically able to pursue a career in a math-based major. The selection of this talent pool lead to the recommendation of an encouragement process model to be used by the Tennessee Board of Regents (TBR) system to encourage the selectees of this talent pool to enter math-based programs at TBR universities. An integrated literature review was conducted. This review includes perspectives on national, state, and local educational policy decisions which affect educational purposes, institutional governance and secondary-postsecondary linkages. Existing TBR system data were analyzed and tabulated. This tabulated data along with the recommended model will be offered to the TBR system for possible adoption. The results of these data support the methodological notion that there are an appreciable number of potential TBR system African American students academically able to enter math related majors who, however, may be reluctant to choose a career direction in a math-based career field. Implications of this study and suggestions for further research are discussed. On an applied level, the study might suggest to other states ways in which to deal with similar problems.

Deliberate Integration of Student Leadership Development in Doctor of Pharmacy Programs

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Nelson, Michael H.; Bzowyckyj, Andrew S.; Fuentes, David G.; Rosenberg, Ettie; DiCenzo, Robert

2016-01-01

The CAPE 2013 Outcomes answered the call for increased student leadership development (SLD) by identifying leadership as a desired curricular goal. To meet this outcome, colleges and schools of pharmacy are advised to first identify a set of SLD competencies aligned with their institution’s mission and goals and then organize these competencies into a SLD framework/model. Student leadership development should be integrated vertically and horizontally within the curriculum in a deliberate and longitudinal manner. It should include all student pharmacists, begin at the point of admission, and extend beyond extracurricular activities. The school’s assessment plan should be aligned with the identified SLD competencies so student learning related to leadership is assessed. To accomplish these recommendations, a positive environment for SLD should be cultivated within the school, including administrative backing and resources, as well as support among the broader faculty for integrating SLD into the curriculum. PMID:26941428

Deliberate Integration of Student Leadership Development in Doctor of Pharmacy Programs.

Science.gov (United States)

Janke, Kristin K; Nelson, Michael H; Bzowyckyj, Andrew S; Fuentes, David G; Rosenberg, Ettie; DiCenzo, Robert

2016-02-25

The CAPE 2013 Outcomes answered the call for increased student leadership development (SLD) by identifying leadership as a desired curricular goal. To meet this outcome, colleges and schools of pharmacy are advised to first identify a set of SLD competencies aligned with their institution's mission and goals and then organize these competencies into a SLD framework/model. Student leadership development should be integrated vertically and horizontally within the curriculum in a deliberate and longitudinal manner. It should include all student pharmacists, begin at the point of admission, and extend beyond extracurricular activities. The school's assessment plan should be aligned with the identified SLD competencies so student learning related to leadership is assessed. To accomplish these recommendations, a positive environment for SLD should be cultivated within the school, including administrative backing and resources, as well as support among the broader faculty for integrating SLD into the curriculum.

Choice is good, but relevance is excellent: autonomy-enhancing and suppressing teacher behaviours predicting students' engagement in schoolwork.

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Assor, Avi; Kaplan, Haya; Roth, Guy

2002-06-01

This article examines two questions concerning teacher-behaviours that are characterised in Self-Determination Theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000) as autonomy-supportive or suppressive: (1) Can children differentiate among various types of autonomy-enhancing and suppressing teacher behaviours? (2) Which of those types of behaviour are particularly important in predicting feelings toward and engagement in schoolwork? It was hypothesised that teacher behaviours that help students to understand the relevance of schoolwork for their personal interests and goals are particularly important predictors of engagement in schoolwork. Israeli students in grades 3-5 (N = 498) and in grades 6-8 (N = 364) completed questionnaires assessing the variables of interest. Smallest Space Analyses indicated that both children and early adolescents can differentiate among three types of autonomy enhancing teacher behaviours - fostering relevance, allowing criticism, and providing choice - and three types of autonomy suppressing teacher behaviours - suppressing criticism, intruding, and forcing unmeaningful acts. Regression analyses supported the hypothesis concerning the importance of teacher behaviours that clarify the personal relevance of schoolwork. Among the autonomy-suppressing behaviours, 'Criticism-suppression' was the best predictor of feelings and engagement. The findings underscore the active and empathic nature of teachers' role in supporting students' autonomy, and suggest that autonomy-support is important not only for early adolescents but also for children. Discussion of potential determinants of the relative importance of various autonomy-affecting teacher actions suggests that provision of choice should not always be viewed as a major indicator of autonomy support.

Effectiveness of Premarital Education Program Based on Premarital Interpersonal Choices and Knowledge Program in Reducing Fear of Marriage and Increasing the Marriage Motivation of Single Students

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Gholamreza Rajabi

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Introduction: The present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of premarital education based on interpersonal choice and knowledge program in reducing fear of marriage and increase motivation of marriage. Methods: This research was designed as an experimental study with pretest-posttest and follow-up with a control group. Thirty-nine volunteer single students were selected from universities of Ahvaz city if they obtained a standard deviation higher than the mean score of fear subscale and were assigned randomly to experimental group (n=20 and control group (n=19. The experiment group was given a premarital interpersonal choice and knowledge program of nine 90-minute sessions twice a week. Results: The results of repeated measures analysis of variance showed that the premarital interpersonal choice and knowledge program reduced fear of marriage and increased motivation for marriage in the experimental group as compared with the control group at posttest and follow-up. Conclusion: Our results showed that the premarital interpersonal choice and knowledge program is a suitable method for reducing fear of marriage and increasing motivation for marriage in single students.

Integrated Mode Choice, Small Aircraft Demand, and Airport Operations Model User's Guide

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Yackovetsky, Robert E. (Technical Monitor); Dollyhigh, Samuel M.

2004-01-01

A mode choice model that generates on-demand air travel forecasts at a set of GA airports based on changes in economic characteristics, vehicle performance characteristics such as speed and cost, and demographic trends has been integrated with a model to generate itinerate aircraft operations by airplane category at a set of 3227 airports. Numerous intermediate outputs can be generated, such as the number of additional trips diverted from automobiles and schedule air by the improved performance and cost of on-demand air vehicles. The total number of transported passenger miles that are diverted is also available. From these results the number of new aircraft to service the increased demand can be calculated. Output from the models discussed is in the format to generate the origin and destination traffic flow between the 3227 airports based on solutions to a gravity model.

Does Correct Answer Distribution Influence Student Choices When Writing Multiple Choice Examinations?

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Carnegie, Jacqueline A.

2017-01-01

Summative evaluation for large classes of first- and second-year undergraduate courses often involves the use of multiple choice question (MCQ) exams in order to provide timely feedback. Several versions of those exams are often prepared via computer-based question scrambling in an effort to deter cheating. An important parameter to consider when…

School Choice Considerations and the Role of Social Media as Perceived by Computing Students: Evidence from One University in Manila

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Lansigan, Rolando R.; Moraga, Shirley D.; Batalla, Ma. Ymelda C.; Bringula, Rex P.

2016-01-01

This descriptive study utilized a validated questionnaire that gathered data from freshmen of two different school years. Demographic profile, marketers (i.e., source of information of students about the school), influencers (i.e., significant others that persuaded them to enroll in the school), level of school choice, and level of consideration…

Students' Reflections on Industry Placement: Comparing Four Undergraduate Work-Integrated Learning Streams

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Hughes, Karen; Mylonas, Aliisa; Benckendorff, Pierre

2013-01-01

This paper compares four work-integrated learning (WIL) streams embedded in a professional Development course for tourism, hospitality and event management students. Leximancer was used to analyze key themes emerging from reflective portfolios completed by the 137 students in the course. Results highlight that student learning outcomes and…

Integrative Student Learning: An Effective Team Learning Activity in a Learner-Centered Paradigm

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Reza Karimi, RPh, PhD

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: An Integrative Student Learning (ISL activity was developed with the intent to enhance the dynamic of student teamwork and enhance student learning by fostering critical-thinking skills, self-directed learning skills, and active learning. Case Study: The ISL activity consists of three portions: teambuilding, teamwork, and a facilitator driven “closing the loop” feedback discussion. For teambuilding, a set of clue sheets or manufacturer‘s drug containers were distributed among student pairs who applied their pharmaceutical knowledge to identify two more student pairs with similar clues or drugs, thus building a team of six. For teamwork, each team completed online exams, composed of integrated pharmaceutical science questions with clinical correlates, using only selected online library resources. For the feedback discussion, facilitators evaluated student impressions, opened a discussion about the ISL activity, and provided feedback to teams’ impressions and questions. This study describes three different ISL activities developed and implemented over three days with first year pharmacy students. Facilitators’ interactions with students and three surveys indicated a majority of students preferred ISL over traditional team activities and over 90% agreed ISL activities promoted active learning, critical-thinking, self-directed learning, teamwork, and student confidence in online library searches. Conclusions: The ISL activity has proven to be an effective learning activity that promotes teamwork and integration of didactic pharmaceutical sciences to enhance student learning of didactic materials and confidence in searching online library resources. It was found that all of this can be accomplished in a short amount of class time with a very reasonable amount of preparation.

Integrative Student Learning: An Effective Team Learning Activity in a Learner-Centered Paradigm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Reza Karimi

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: An Integrative Student Learning (ISL activity was developed with the intent to enhance the dynamic of student teamwork and enhance student learning by fostering critical-thinking skills, self-directed learning skills, and active learning. Case Study: The ISL activity consists of three portions: teambuilding, teamwork, and a facilitator driven "closing the loop" feedback discussion. For teambuilding, a set of clue sheets or manufacturer's drug containers were distributed among student pairs who applied their pharmaceutical knowledge to identify two more student pairs with similar clues or drugs, thus building a team of six. For teamwork, each team completed online exams, composed of integrated pharmaceutical science questions with clinical correlates, using only selected online library resources. For the feedback discussion, facilitators evaluated student impressions, opened a discussion about the ISL activity, and provided feedback to teams' impressions and questions. This study describes three different ISL activities developed and implemented over three days with first year pharmacy students. Facilitators' interactions with students and three surveys indicated a majority of students preferred ISL over traditional team activities and over 90% agreed ISL activities promoted active learning, critical-thinking, self-directed learning, teamwork, and student confidence in online library searches. Conclusions: The ISL activity has proven to be an effective learning activity that promotes teamwork and integration of didactic pharmaceutical sciences to enhance student learning of didactic materials and confidence in searching online library resources. It was found that all of this can be accomplished in a short amount of class time with a very reasonable amount of preparation.   Type: Case Study

Food Choice Motives among the Students of a Dental Institution in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Food is a focus of social interaction ... the role of other influences on food choice. ... Results indicated statistically significant differences in terms of food choice .... This interpretation would support the argument that ... Gender, age and motives underlying food choice affected the .... eating behavior and body weight regulation.

Toward a Model of Social Influence that Explains Minority Student Integration into the Scientific Community

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Estrada, Mica; Woodcock, Anna; Hernandez, Paul R.; Schultz, P. Wesley

2010-01-01

Students from several ethnic minority groups are underrepresented in the sciences, such that minority students more frequently drop out of the scientific career path than non-minority students. Viewed from a perspective of social influence, this pattern suggests that minority students do not integrate into the scientific community at the same rate as non-minority students. Kelman (1958, 2006) describes a tripartite integration model of social influence (TIMSI) by which a person orients to a social system. To test if this model predicts integration into the scientific community, we conducted analyses of data from a national panel of minority science students. A structural equation model framework showed that self-efficacy (operationalized consistent with Kelman’s ‘rule-orientation’) predicted student intentions to pursue a scientific career. However, when identification as a scientist and internalization of values are added to the model, self-efficacy becomes a poorer predictor of intention. Additional mediation analyses support the conclusion that while having scientific self-efficacy is important, identifying with and endorsing the values of the social system reflect a deeper integration and more durable motivation to persist as a scientist. PMID:21552374

Mediating relationship of differential products in understanding integration in introductory physics

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Amos, Nathaniel; Heckler, Andrew F.

2018-01-01

In the context of introductory physics, we study student conceptual understanding of differentials, differential products, and integrals and possible pathways to understanding these quantities. We developed a multiple choice conceptual assessment employing a variety of physical contexts probing physical understanding of these three quantities and administered the instrument to over 1000 students in first and second semester introductory physics courses. Using a regression-based mediation analysis with conceptual understanding of integration as the dependent variable, we found evidence consistent with a simple mediation model: the relationship between differentials scores and integral scores may be mediated by the understanding of differential products. The indirect effect (a quantifiable metric of mediation) was estimated as a b =0.29 , 95% CI [0.25, 0.33] for N =1102 Physics 1 students, and a b =0.27 , 95% CI [0.14, 0.48] for N =65 Physics 2 students. We also find evidence that the physical context of the questions can be an important factor. These results imply that for introductory physics courses, instructional emphasis first on differentials then on differential products in a variety of contexts may in turn promote better integral understanding.

Integrating quantitative thinking into an introductory biology course improves students' mathematical reasoning in biological contexts.

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Hester, Susan; Buxner, Sanlyn; Elfring, Lisa; Nagy, Lisa

2014-01-01

Recent calls for improving undergraduate biology education have emphasized the importance of students learning to apply quantitative skills to biological problems. Motivated by students' apparent inability to transfer their existing quantitative skills to biological contexts, we designed and taught an introductory molecular and cell biology course in which we integrated application of prerequisite mathematical skills with biology content and reasoning throughout all aspects of the course. In this paper, we describe the principles of our course design and present illustrative examples of course materials integrating mathematics and biology. We also designed an outcome assessment made up of items testing students' understanding of biology concepts and their ability to apply mathematical skills in biological contexts and administered it as a pre/postcourse test to students in the experimental section and other sections of the same course. Precourse results confirmed students' inability to spontaneously transfer their prerequisite mathematics skills to biological problems. Pre/postcourse outcome assessment comparisons showed that, compared with students in other sections, students in the experimental section made greater gains on integrated math/biology items. They also made comparable gains on biology items, indicating that integrating quantitative skills into an introductory biology course does not have a deleterious effect on students' biology learning.

Understanding Student Participation and Choice in Science and Technology Education

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ryder, Jim; Ulriksen, Lars; Bøe, Maria Vetleseter

2015-01-01

Many of the chapters in this volume provide reviews of the existing research literature. In this chapter we focus on what the research studies presented in this book have contributed to our understanding of students’ educational choices. The nature of these contributions is varied. Many findings...... corroborate existing research insights, or explore existing perspectives in new educational contexts or across distinct geographical and cultural settings. In some cases our work challenges prevalent accounts of students’ educational choices. This chapter has five themes: theoretical perspectives; choice...

Students' Network Integration as a Predictor of Persistence in Introductory Physics Courses

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Zwolak, Justyna P.; Dou, Remy; Williams, Eric A.; Brewe, Eric

2017-01-01

Increasing student retention (successfully finishing a particular course) and persistence (continuing through a sequence of courses or the major area of study) is currently a major challenge for universities. While students' academic and social integration into an institution seems to be vital for student retention, research into the effect of…

An integrated approach to addressing addiction and depression in college students.

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Eisen, Arri; Kushner, Howard; McLeod, Mark; Queen, Edward; Gordon, Jonathan; Ford, John L

2009-01-01

The authors present an integrated, interdisciplinary approach to address the problem of increasing student mental health issues on college campuses. The model uses addiction and depression as lenses into the problem and links residence life and academic and community internship experiences. The project has a positive impact on student attitudes and actions and strengthens and broadens the campus network required to ensure optimal student mental health.

Security. Review Software for Advanced CHOICE. CHOICE (Challenging Options in Career Education).

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Pitts, Ilse M.; And Others

CHOICE Security is an Apple computer game activity designed to help secondary migrant students memorize their social security numbers and reinforce job and role information presented in "Career Notes, First Applications." The learner may choose from four time options and whether to have the social security number visible on the screen or…

Using Medical Students to Enhance Curricular Integration of Cross-Cultural Content

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Helen M. Shields

2009-09-01

Full Text Available We hypothesized that an interested medical student group would be helpful in reviewing tutorial cases and giving relevant feedback on the curricular integration of cross-cultural content using case triggers in a preclinical gastrointestinal pathophysiology course. Self-selected student leaders (n = 9 reviewed pre-existing problem-based learning tutorial cases (n = 3 with cross-cultural triggers, and provided narrative feedback to course faculty. The cases were modified and used for the entire class in the following 2 years. Participating course students' comments and teaching faculty feedback were also noted. Outcomes were a change in case content, student global evaluations of the course, and self-reported faculty comfort with teaching the cases. All three tutorial cases were reviewed by a separate group of 2–3 students. Major and minor revisions were made to each case based on the student feedback. These cases were used in 2007 and 2008 and were the major change to the course during that time. Overall course evaluation scores improved significantly from 2006 to 2008 (p = 0.000. Tutors (n = 22 in 2007; n = 23 in 2008 expressed relief during tutor meetings that students had reviewed the cases. A general framework for eliciting student feedback on problem-based cases was developed. Student feedback, consisting of self-selected students' case reviews and solicited course and tutor comments, added value to a curricular reform to improve the integration of cross-cultural content into a problem-based learning curriculum. Our study underscores the fundamental link between teachers and students as partners in curricular development.

Gender stereotypes among women engineering and technology students in the UK: lessons from career choice narratives

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Powell, Abigail; Dainty, Andrew; Bagilhole, Barbara

2012-12-01

In the UK, women remain under-represented in engineering and technology (E&T). Research has, therefore, investigated barriers and solutions to women's recruitment, retention and progression. Recruitment into the sector may be supported by exploring the career decisions of women and men who have chosen to study E&T. Triangulating quantitative and qualitative data from E&T students at a UK university, this paper examines the gendered nature of career choice narratives. It finds that women often maintain contradictory views; upholding gendered stereotypes about women's suitability for the so-called masculine work, yet also subscribing to ideals that the sector is accessible to all who wish to work in it. This is explained using an individualist framework in which women construct an autonomous sense of self, yet are also shaped by a gendered self. Women's discourse around career choice, therefore, reveals the problematic nature of gender norms for achieving gender equity in E&T.

Intended Career Choice in Family Medicine in Slovenia: An Issue of Gender, Family Background or Empathic Attitudes in Final Year Medical Students?

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Ster, Marija Petek; Selic, Polona

2017-06-01

Among a variety of complex factors affecting a decision to take family medicine as a future specialisation, this study focused on demographic characteristics and assessed empathic attitudes in final year medical students. A convenience sampling method was employed in two consecutive academic years of final year medical students at the Faculty of Medicine in Ljubljana, Slovenia, in May 2014 and May 2015. A modified version of the 16-item Jefferson Scale of Empathy - Student Version (JSE-S) was administered to examine self-reported empathic attitudes. An intended career in family medicine was reported using a five-point Likert scale. Of the 175 medical school seniors in study year 2013/14, there were 64 (36.6%) men and 111 (63.4%) women, while in the second group (study year 2014/5), there were 68 (40.5%) men and 100 (59.5%) women; 168 students in total. They were 24.9±1.6 (generation 2013/4) and 24.9±1.7 (generation 2014/15) years old. Thirty-six percent of the students in the academic year 2013/14 intended to choose family medicine as a future career, and a similar proportion in academic year 2014/15 (31.7%). Gender (χ 2 =6.763, p=0.034) and empathic attitudes (c 2 =14.914; p=0.001) had a bivariate association with an intended career choice of family medicine in the 2014/15 generation. When logistic regression was applied to this group of students, an intended career choice in family medicine was associated with empathic attitudes (OR 1.102, 95% CI 1.040-1.167, p=0.001), being single (OR 3.659, 95% CI 1.150-11.628, p=0.028) and the father having only primary school education (OR 142.857 95% CI 1.868, p=0.025), but not with gender (OR 1.117, 95% CI 0.854-1.621, p=0.320). The level of students' father's education, and not living in an intimate partnership, increased the odds on senior medical students to choose family medicine, yet we expected higher JSE-S scores to be associated with interest in this speciality. To deepen our understanding, this study should be

Students' Sense of Community in Residence Halls, Social Integration, and First-Year Persistence.

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Berger, Joseph B.

1997-01-01

Used concepts from community psychology literature to elaborate a revised version of Tinto's model of individual student departure. Employed a longitudinal analysis of 718 college students. Results indicate that students' sense of community in their residence halls was a source of social integration and a precursor to student departure decisions.…

Time and Money Explain Social Class Differences in Students' Social Integration at University

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Rubin, Mark; Wright, Chrysalis L.

2017-01-01

Working-class students tend to be less socially integrated at university than middle-class students. The present research investigated two potential reasons for this working-class social exclusion effect. First, working-class students may have fewer finances available to participate in social activities. Second, working-class students tend to be…

How School Choice Programs Can Save Money. WebMemo #727

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Johnson, Kirk A.

2005-01-01

Educational choice can improve educational achievement and states' bottom lines. Not only do choice programs help students from lower-income families attend schools that they otherwise might not be able to attend, but they can also save money in the process. A record number of state legislatures have considered school choice legislation this year,…

The Effects of the Type of Skill Test, Choice, and Gender on the Situational Motivation of Physical Education Students

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Johnson, Tyler G.; Prusak, Keven A.; Pennington, Todd; Wilkinson, Carol

2011-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of (a) skill test type, (b) choices, and (c) gender on the situational motivation profiles of adolescents during skill testing in physical education. Participants were 507 students (53% male) aged 12-16 years (M = 13.87; SD = 0.94) attending a suburban junior high school in a western state in…

Factors that influence a career choice in primary care among medical students from high-, middle-, and low-income countries: a systematic review

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E. Benjamín Puertas

2013-11-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To determine which factors influence a medical student's decision to choose a career in primary care; and to establish if these factors are similar or different among students in high-, middle- and low-income countries. METHODS: An extensive search was done of PubMed, Google Scholar, and Virtual Library of Health for articles on primary care careers published in 2003-2013 in English, Spanish, and/or Portuguese. Initially, 600 records were identified; 74 full-text articles were assessed for eligibility and 55 were selected (42 from high-income countries; 13 from middle- and low-income. These were assessed to identify intrinsic and extrinsic factors that influence career choice among medical students from high-, middle-, and low-income countries. RESULTS: A comparison framework with common and specific factors that influence career choice in primary care among medical students from high-, middle- and low-income was developed. Factors were classified as extrinsic or intrinsic, and as facilitators or barriers. Several factors common to all countries were identified: facilitators were exposure to rural location, role models, working conditions; barriers were low income, prestige, and medical school environment. Some factors specific to middle- and low-income countries were: understanding of rural needs and intellectual challenge. Other factors specific to high-income countries were: attitude towards social problems, voluntary work, influence of family, and length of residency. CONCLUSIONS: Further studies on the subject are needed, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Identifying factors as barriers or facilitators for career choice will promote a better understanding of the reasons behind the shortage of primary care professionals and will contribute to policy building, improved training, and recruitment and retention of these professionals.

University Student and Faculty Opinions on Academic Integrity Are Informed by Social Practices or Personal Values, A Review of: Randall, Ken, Denise G. Bender and Diane M. Montgomery. “Determining the Opinions of Health Sciences Students and Faculty Regarding Academic Integrity.” International Journal for Educational Integrity 3.2 (2007: 27‐40.

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Matthew Thomas

2009-09-01

where all people are treated with fairness, decency, and respect.” Factor two, with 14 individuals, was described as “Personal Integrity,” (PI, and focused on an internal sense of values and self‐modulation, identifying with statements like “Honour means having the courage to make difficult choices and accepting responsibility for actions and their consequences, even at personal cost.” There were also some demographic patterns in the results. Twenty of the 31 students, 20 of the 29 females, and 17 of the 25 participants aged 30 and under were in the CI group, while 3 of the 4 faculty were in PI. Males, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and those over the age of 30 did not belong clearly to one or the other group, having close to equal numbers in both.Conclusion – Given the two factors, CI and PI, this sample of OT and PT students and faculty can be seen to make academic decisions based on either what they believe society deems correct or what their own internal values tell them. The discovery that more females, students, and those 30 and under were associated with CI resonates with the some key claims in the literature, such as that younger individuals tend to have a more social outlook on academic integrity, or that womenʹs ethic of care is often focused on connections among people. Most importantly, students and faculty appear to share a notable degree of common ground as it relates to their opinions on academic integrity. Additional exploration and the continued use and development of policies promoting academic integrity is called for.

Retaining Aspiring Scholars (retention, Students of Color)

Science.gov (United States)

Walters, Nancy Bannister

Tinto's retention model provided the theoretical framework for this research study of the academic and social integration of academically talented students of color into the graduate and professional science degree pipeline. The site for this study was the Life Sciences Summer Undergraduate Research Program of the University of Minnesota. This program recruits academically talented undergraduates from throughout the nation for participation in two months of research, academic study and orientation to science graduate and professional programs. The quantitative data source consisted of survey responses by 108 alumni of the Summer Undergraduate Research Program to the Institutional Integration Scale developed by Ernest Pascarella and Patrick Terenzini. The scale measures academic integration, social integration and institutional and goal commitment of students. The qualitative data source consisted of one-on-one interviews of 14 summer program alumni of Caucasian, Latino and African American background. The quantitative results were not significant, while the qualitative results demonstrated the importance to alumni interviewed of the challenging academic research work, personally confirming peer group socialization, and supportive student faculty interactions. The study showed the importance of programs like these for helping students of color plan upper level college study and graduate/professional school enrollment. Program characteristics that influenced decision making regarding school and career choices by study participants and specifically by students of color were involvement of faculty in recruiting and mentoring students; socialization to the graduate student role through peer group relations and student maturation and empowerment through participation in a high level academic program. Study findings indicated that supportive and empowering faculty contact was considered most important by students of color who continued on to graduate and professional

Women and the Choice to Study Economics

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Emerson, Tisha L. N.; McGoldrick, KimMarie; Mumford, Kevin J.

2012-01-01

Underrepresentation of women in economics is documented in many studies. Investigation of its sources at the undergraduate level is examined through students' decisions to persist in economics, either beyond an introductory course or in their major choices. The authors add to the literature by analyzing students' decisions to take their first…

Students’ approaches to medical school choice: relationship with students’ characteristics and motivation

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Croiset, Gerda; Schripsema, Nienke R.; Cohen-Schotanus, Janke; Spaai, Gerard W.G.; Hulsman, Robert L.; Kusurkar, Rashmi A.

2017-01-01

Objectives The aim was to examine main reasons for students’ medical school choice and their relationship with students’ characteristics and motivation during the students’ medical study. Methods In this multisite cross-sectional study, all Year-1 and Year-4 students who had participated in a selection procedure in one of the three Dutch medical schools included in the study were invited to complete an online survey comprising personal data, their main reason for medical school choice and standard, validated questionnaires to measure their strength of motivation (Strength of Motivation for Medical School-Revised) and autonomous and controlled type of motivation (Academic Self-regulation Questionnaire). Four hundred seventy-eight students participated. We performed frequency analyses on the reasons for medical school choice and regression analyses and ANCOVAs to study their associations with students’ characteristics and motivation during their medical study. Results Students indicated ‘city’ (Year-1: 24.7%, n=75 and Year-4: 36.0%, n=52) and ‘selection procedure’ (Year-1: 56.9%, n=173 and Year-4: 46.9%, n=68) as the main reasons for their medical school choice. The main reasons were associated with gender, age, being a first-generation university student, ethnic background and medical school, and no significant associations were found between the main reasons and the strength and type of motivation during the students’ medical study. Conclusions Most students had based their medical school choice on the selection procedure. If medical schools desire to achieve a good student-curriculum fit and attract a diverse student population aligning the selection procedure with the curriculum and taking into account various students’ different approaches is important. PMID:28624778

Engaging Nursing Students: Integrating Evidence-Based Inquiry, Informatics, and Clinical Practice.

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Keiffer, Melanie R

2017-12-05

The nursing research class requires faculty to create a spirit of inquiry while integrating technology, flexibility, and responsiveness to student needs. This article discusses new pedagogies to actively engage students in the evidence-based nursing process and the achievement of course learning outcomes. Through course exemplar, the author demonstrates a creative method to engage traditional baccalaureate nursing students in a nursing project that links evidence to improved patient outcomes.

Students as First-Time Voters: The Role of Voter Advice Applications in Self-Reflection on Party Choice and Political Identity

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Kristensen, Niels Nørgaard; Solhaug, Trond

2017-01-01

Purpose: This article analyses what characterises first time voters' self-reflections on party choice as they use voter advice applications. Method: This study is based on interviews of 28 Norwegian students (age 18-20) preparing themselves for their first election. Findings: Finding a party to vote for is primarily characterized by a process of…

SAFETY: an integrated clinical reasoning and reflection framework for undergraduate nursing students.

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Hicks Russell, Bedelia; Geist, Melissa J; House Maffett, Jenny

2013-01-01

Nurse educators can no longer focus on imparting to students knowledge that is merely factual and content specific. Activities that provide students with opportunities to apply concepts in real-world scenarios can be powerful tools. Nurse educators should take advantage of student-patient interactions to model clinical reasoning and allow students to practice complex decision making throughout the entire curriculum. In response to this change in nursing education, faculty in a pediatric course designed a reflective clinical reasoning activity based on the SAFETY template, which is derived from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing RN practice analysis. Students were able to prioritize key components of nursing care, as well as integrate practice issues such as delegation, Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act violations, and questioning the accuracy of orders. SAFETY is proposed as a framework for integration of content knowledge, clinical reasoning, and reflection on authentic professional nursing concerns. Copyright 2012, SLACK Incorporated.

Comparison between Two Assessment Methods; Modified Essay Questions and Multiple Choice Questions

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Assadi S.N.* MD

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Aims Using the best assessment methods is an important factor in educational development of health students. Modified essay questions and multiple choice questions are two prevalent methods of assessing the students. The aim of this study was to compare two methods of modified essay questions and multiple choice questions in occupational health engineering and work laws courses. Materials & Methods This semi-experimental study was performed during 2013 to 2014 on occupational health students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. The class of occupational health and work laws course in 2013 was considered as group A and the class of 2014 as group B. Each group had 50 students.The group A students were assessed by modified essay questions method and the group B by multiple choice questions method.Data were analyzed in SPSS 16 software by paired T test and odd’s ratio. Findings The mean grade of occupational health and work laws course was 18.68±0.91 in group A (modified essay questions and was 18.78±0.86 in group B (multiple choice questions which was not significantly different (t=-0.41; p=0.684. The mean grade of chemical chapter (p<0.001 in occupational health engineering and harmful work law (p<0.001 and other (p=0.015 chapters in work laws were significantly different between two groups. Conclusion Modified essay questions and multiple choice questions methods have nearly the same student assessing value for the occupational health engineering and work laws course.

Spiritual Nursing Care Education An Integrated Strategy for Teaching Students.

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White, Donna M; Hand, Mikel

The failure of nursing schools to integrate spiritual nursing care education into the curriculum has contributed to a lack in nurses' spiritual care ability. Developing, integrating, and testing a Spiritual Care Nursing Education strategy in an Associates of Science nursing program significantly increased the perceived spiritual care competence of student nurses. Utilizing a faculty team to develop learning activities to address critical spiritual care attributes offers a method to integrate spiritual nursing care content throughout the curriculum in ASN and BSN programs.

Supporting students' knowledge integration with technology-enhanced inquiry curricula

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Chiu, Jennifer Lopseen

Dynamic visualizations of scientific phenomena have the potential to transform how students learn and understand science. Dynamic visualizations enable interaction and experimentation with unobservable atomic-level phenomena. A series of studies clarify the conditions under which embedding dynamic visualizations in technology-enhanced inquiry instruction can help students develop robust and durable chemistry knowledge. Using the knowledge integration perspective, I designed Chemical Reactions, a technology-enhanced curriculum unit, with a partnership of teachers, educational researchers, and chemists. This unit guides students in an exploration of how energy and chemical reactions relate to climate change. It uses powerful dynamic visualizations to connect atomic level interactions to the accumulation of greenhouse gases. The series of studies were conducted in typical classrooms in eleven high schools across the country. This dissertation describes four studies that contribute to understanding of how visualizations can be used to transform chemistry learning. The efficacy study investigated the impact of the Chemical Reactions unit compared to traditional instruction using pre-, post- and delayed posttest assessments. The self-monitoring study used self-ratings in combination with embedded assessments to explore how explanation prompts help students learn from dynamic visualizations. The self-regulation study used log files of students' interactions with the learning environment to investigate how external feedback and explanation prompts influence students' exploration of dynamic visualizations. The explanation study compared specific and general explanation prompts to explore the processes by which explanations benefit learning with dynamic visualizations. These studies delineate the conditions under which dynamic visualizations embedded in inquiry instruction can enhance student outcomes. The studies reveal that visualizations can be deceptively clear

Remapping the "Landscape of Choice": Patterns of Social Class Convergence in the Psycho-Social Factors Shaping the Higher Education Choice Process

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Kettley, Nigel Charles; Whitehead, Joan M.

2012-01-01

This paper provides a critique of recent Bourdieusian research into the higher education (HE) choice process. Specifically, Ball et al. (2002) maintain that class-related differences in students' psycho-social dispositions in Years 12 and 13, the "landscape of choice", shape their intentions or "decisions" to participate in HE and their selection…

Evaluation of semantic aspect of language in students of ordinary, integrated and special schools

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Ali Ghorbani

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Background and Aim: Children with severe and profound hearing loss have difficulties in communicating with others and educating at school. Effects of learning environment on children's language skills have been recently focused and educating those students in ordinary schools has been proposed. According to this view, we compared perception of antonyms and synonyms as a semantic aspect of language in students of ordinary, integrated and special schools.Methods: It was an analytic cross-sectional study. Three groups of students were enrolled: normal-hearing students of ordinary schools and hearing-loss students of integrated and specials schools. Each group consisted of 25 students in fifth grade of elementary schools in Tehran city. Two written tests were used. Subjects wrote synonyms and antonyms for each word in the tests.Results: Results denoted significant differences between scores of normal-hearing and hearing-loss students and also between hearing-loss students of integrated schools and hearing-loss students of special schools (p<0.05. In all three groups of the students, perception of antonyms was better than antonyms (p<0.001. Speech processing rate in normal-hearing students were higher than both groups of hearing-loss students (p<0.001.Conclusion: The differences between normal-hearing and hearing-loss students shows that similar to other language skills, perception of synonyms and antonyms as a semantic aspect of speech is related to the hearing conditions and type of education. Moreover, the differences between two groups of hearing-loss students represent that speech stimulants and interaction with normal-hearing children could improve semantic aspect of speech in hearing-loss students.

Agent-Based Simulation of School Choice in Bandung, Indonesia: The Emergence of Enrolment Pattern Trough Individual Preferences

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Dhanan Sarwo Utomo

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This study is motivated by the reality that school choice programs that is currently implemented in Bandung that, always resulting student deficit (lack of student in some schools. In this study, a mechanism that can describe how the enrollment pattern in a school choice program emerge as a result of individual preferences of the prospective students, is constructed. Using computer simulation, virtual experiments are conducted. In these experiments, the enrollment patterns and the number of student deficit that were resulted by various school choice program configurations are analyzed. Based on the experiment results, modification of the current program that can minimize the number of student deficit can be purposed.Keywords: agent-based simulation, school choice, computer simulation

Undergraduate medical student's perception about an integrated method of teaching at a medical school in Oman

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Harshal Sabane

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objective In recent years, there has been a gradual but definitive shift in medical schools all over the globe to promote a more integrated way of teaching. Integration of medical disciplines promotes a holistic understanding of the medical curriculum in the students. This helps them better understand and appreciate the importance and role of each medical subject. Method The study was conducted among the 5th year Pre-clinical students. Questionnaire consisted of 4 questions on the level of integration, 5 questions on various aspects of the assessment and some questions which tested the level of awareness of the integrated method. Result Out of a total of 72 students present on the day of data collection, 65 participated in the study giving a response rate of 90.27 %. After primary data cleansing 4 questionnaires had to be omitted. Most of the students opined as “good” or “very good” for the questions on integration and its attributes. Only 27 (44 % were aware of integrated curriculum being taught in other medical schools in the gulf. Similar findings were observed regarding assessment related questions. Reduction in the number of block exams is unpopular among the students and only 6% have agreed for 3, 4, or 5 non-summative block assessments. Opinion regarding the help of integrated teaching in IFOM based OMSB entrance examination was mixed with a greater variance in the responses. 43% students have indicated that they would like to spend more time with PDCI. Conclusion The students of our institution seem to have a favourable opinion regarding the integrated system of teaching. The satisfaction with the conduct of examinations and its related variables is found to be high. A reduction in the number of block exams however is unpopular among the target group and they would appreciate a greater time allocation for subjects of PDCI and Pharmacology.

Integration of basic sciences and clinical sciences in oral radiology education for dental students.

Science.gov (United States)

Baghdady, Mariam T; Carnahan, Heather; Lam, Ernest W N; Woods, Nicole N

2013-06-01

Educational research suggests that cognitive processing in diagnostic radiology requires a solid foundation in the basic sciences and knowledge of the radiological changes associated with disease. Although it is generally assumed that dental students must acquire both sets of knowledge, little is known about the most effective way to teach them. Currently, the basic and clinical sciences are taught separately. This study was conducted to compare the diagnostic accuracy of students when taught basic sciences segregated or integrated with clinical features. Predoctoral dental students (n=51) were taught four confusable intrabony abnormalities using basic science descriptions integrated with the radiographic features or taught segregated from the radiographic features. The students were tested with diagnostic images, and memory tests were performed immediately after learning and one week later. On immediate and delayed testing, participants in the integrated basic science group outperformed those from the segregated group. A main effect of learning condition was found to be significant (pbasic sciences integrated with clinical features produces higher diagnostic accuracy in novices than teaching basic sciences segregated from clinical features.

Strategies to promote a climate of academic integrity and minimize student cheating and plagiarism.

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Scanlan, Craig L

2006-01-01

Student academic misconduct is a growing problem for colleges and universities, including those responsible for preparing health professionals. Although the implementation of honor codes has had a positive impact on this problem, further reduction in student cheating and plagiarism can be achieved only via a comprehensive strategy that promotes an institutional culture of academic integrity. Such a strategy must combine efforts both to deter and detect academic misconduct, along with fair but rigorous application of sanctions against such behaviors. Methods useful in preventing or deterring dishonest behaviors among students include early integrity training complemented with course-level reinforcement, faculty role-modeling, and the application of selected testing/assignment preventive strategies, including honor pledges and honesty declarations. Giving students more responsibility for oversight of academic integrity also may help address this problem and better promote the culture needed to uphold its principles. Successful enforcement requires that academic administration provide strong and visible support for upholding academic integrity standards, including the provision of a clear and fair process and the consistent application of appropriate sanctions against those whose conduct is found to violate these standards.

Facilitating students' application of the integral and the area under the curve concepts in physics problems

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Dong-Hai

This research project investigates the difficulties students encounter when solving physics problems involving the integral and the area under the curve concepts and the strategies to facilitate students learning to solve those types of problems. The research contexts of this project are calculus-based physics courses covering mechanics and electromagnetism. In phase I of the project, individual teaching/learning interviews were conducted with 20 students in mechanics and 15 students from the same cohort in electromagnetism. The students were asked to solve problems on several topics of mechanics and electromagnetism. These problems involved calculating physical quantities (e.g. velocity, acceleration, work, electric field, electric resistance, electric current) by integrating or finding the area under the curve of functions of related quantities (e.g. position, velocity, force, charge density, resistivity, current density). Verbal hints were provided when students made an error or were unable to proceed. A total number of 140 one-hour interviews were conducted in this phase, which provided insights into students' difficulties when solving the problems involving the integral and the area under the curve concepts and the hints to help students overcome those difficulties. In phase II of the project, tutorials were created to facilitate students' learning to solve physics problems involving the integral and the area under the curve concepts. Each tutorial consisted of a set of exercises and a protocol that incorporated the helpful hints to target the difficulties that students expressed in phase I of the project. Focus group learning interviews were conducted to test the effectiveness of the tutorials in comparison with standard learning materials (i.e. textbook problems and solutions). Overall results indicated that students learning with our tutorials outperformed students learning with standard materials in applying the integral and the area under the curve

Medical Specialty Choice and Related Factors of Brazilian Medical Students and Recent Doctors.

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Ligia Correia Lima de Souza

Full Text Available Choosing a medical specialty is an important, complex, and not fully understood process. The present study investigated the factors that are related to choosing and rejecting medical specialties in a group of students and recent medical doctors.A cross-sectional survey of 1,223 medical students and doctors was performed in Brazil in 2012. A standardized literature-based questionnaire was applied that gathered preferable or rejected specialties, and asked questions about extracurricular experiences and the influence of 14 factors on a Likert-type scale from 0 to 4. Specialties were grouped according to lifestyle categories: controllable and uncontrollable, which were subdivided into primary care, internal medicine, and surgical specialties. Notably, the time period of rejection was usually earlier than the time period of intended choice (p < 0.0001, χ(2 = 107.2. The choice mainly occurred during the internship period in medical school (n = 466; 38.7%. An overall large frequency of participation in extracurricular activities was observed (n = 1,184; 95.8%, which were highly associated with the respective medical area. Orthopedic surgery had the highest correlation with participation in specialty-specific organized groups (OR = 59.9, 95% CI = 21.6-166.3 and psychiatry was correlated with participation in research groups (OR = 18.0, 95% CI = 9.0-36.2. With regard to influential factors in controllable lifestyle specialties, "financial reason" (mean score ± standard deviation: 2.8 ± 1.0; median = 3 and "personal time" (3.1 ± 1.3; median = 4 were important factors. In primary care, these factors were less important (1.7 ± 1.3 and 1.7 ± 1.5, respectively; median = 2 for both, and higher scores were observed for "curricular internship" (3.2 ± 1.1, median = 4 and "social commitment" (2.6 ± 1.3, median = 3.The present findings provide important insights into developing strategies to stimulate interest in specialties based on the needs of the

Factors Affecting the Choice of Professors as a Role Model from the Viewpoint of Medical Students

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Masome Rahimi

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The role of professors as a model can have a beneficial impact on the mental, psychological and educational conditions of medical students. This also plays an important role in improving professionalism and academic achievements among medical students. Therefore, the present study was aimed at evaluating the standpoint of students on factors influencing the selection of professors as a role model. This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on the students of different disciplines studying in Jahrom University of Medical Sciences in 2016. A randomized sampling method was conducted on 217 students. Their viewpoints were collected using a 30- question researcher-made questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of three parts, each containing ten items. In addition, this questionnaire was distributed among 20 people (as a pilot survey, the alpha coefficient of which was equal to 0.88; and its measurement was based on Likert scale "from very low to very high". Data were analyzed using SPSS 18 and descriptive statistics. Most respondents were nursing students and the highest influence of professors as a role model was associated with their role as a research leader (future specialized courses in the clinical choices and selection of future specialized fields. The factors influencing the selection of professors as a role model included their respectful attitude toward students, and the high level of their knowledge and skills. On the other hand, the most important factors that caused professors not to be regarded as a role model included their inappropriate relationship with the students and refusing to listen to them. Role model professors can have a beneficial impact on the future of students and scientific communities, as far as the science and education is concerned. Therefore, it is necessary for professors to pay particular attention to strengthening their role as a model at universities.