Academic Attitudes Research Articles

Expert Perspectives on the Future of Physical Education in Higher Education

ABSTRACTDespite physical education teacher education/physical education sport pedagogy’s (PETE/PESP’s) significant strides in the past century, there are concerns about its future. Grounded in participatory research, and through an interview-Delphi method, this study purposefully sampled five male PETE/PESP scholars’ expert critiques of current threats, projections of probable and preferable futures, and recommendations for transformation. Data were analyzed through an interpretive approach. Findings included: (a) limitations in physical education policy, teacher preparation, and status as key threats; (b) more of the same conflicts in the probable future and increased cooperation regarding conflicts in the preferable future; and (c) proactively revising the subdisciplinary framework and doctoral studies as transformative recommendations. We interpret issues critiqued as threatening PETE/PESP’s future, and projections of the probable future, as reflective of neoliberal rationality that has renormalized academic work in de-democratizing ways. We interpret that projections of preferable futures and transformative recommendations call for a re-emphasis on ethical academic attitudes to resist neoliberalization and reclaim democracy.

An online growth mindset intervention in a sample of rural adolescent girls.

Students living in rural areas of the United States exhibit lower levels of educational attainment than their suburban counterparts. Innovative interventions are needed to close this educational achievement gap. We investigated whether an online growth mindset intervention could be leveraged to promote academic outcomes. We tested the mindset intervention in a sample of 222 10th-grade adolescent girls (M age=15.2; 38% White, 25% Black, 29% Hispanic) from four rural, low-income high schools in the Southeastern United States. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of the growth mindset intervention, relative to a sexual health programme. We used random sampling and allocation procedures to assign girls to either the mindset intervention (n=115) or an attention-matched control programme (n=107). We assessed participants at pre-test, immediate post-test, and 4-month follow-up. Relative to the control condition, students assigned to the mindset intervention reported stronger growth mindsets at immediate post-test and 4-month follow-up. Although the intervention did not have a total effect on academic attitudes or grades, it indirectly increased motivation to learn, learning efficacy and grades via the shifts in growth mindsets. Results indicate that this intervention is a promising method to encourage growth mindsets in rural adolescent girls.

Young Spanish-English speaking children’s reading attitudes in relation to language skills

Background: Reading attitudes are recognised as an influencing factor on the language and literacy achievement of school age monolingual English-speaking children. The relationship between reading attitudes and achievement in young Spanish-speaking English Learners (ELs) remains understudied.Purpose: The aim of the current study was to describe reading attitudes of young Spanish-speaking ELs and to examine the relationship between attitudes and language performance.Method: The investigators utilised the Elementary Reading Attitudes Survey (ERAS) with 204 participants: 100 ELs in kindergarten and 104 in first grade. Investigators administered standardised measures of language and literacy performance. Correlational analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between attitudes and performance on language assessments.Findings: Significant mean differences were observed between girls and boys, with girls showing more positive attitudes towards recreational reading. Phonological awareness skills showed a significant strong correlation with academic reading attitudes for children in kindergarten. Spanish receptive vocabulary showed significant positive correlation with reading attitudes. No significant grade differences were found in overall mean reading attitudes.Conclusions: Overall, students in both grades demonstrated generally positive attitudes towards reading, despite potential language barriers. Findings substantiate a positive relationship between reading attitudes and receptive vocabulary, and phonological awareness skills in young children.

Effectiveness of Training on Self-regulated Learning Strategies in Improving Academic Self-Motivation and Attitudes towards School of low Achieving Gifted Students

Effectiveness of Training on Self-regulated Learning Strategies in Improving Academic Self-Motivation and Attitudes towards School of low Achieving Gifted Students

Is the prickly pear a ‘Tzabar’? Diversity and conservation of Israel’s migrant species

Human-assisted biotic migration is a hallmark of the Anthropocene. Populations introduced outside their native ranges (‘migrant species’) have commonly been viewed as a threat to be addressed with lethal control programs. Israel has a long history of anthropogenic changes, and conservation has typically focused on ameliorating direct human impacts rather than eradicating migrant species. However, this may be changing with the growing influence of invasion biology worldwide. We conducted a review of the diversity, conservation status, and academic attitudes toward Israel’s migrant species (IMS). We identified 199 plants and animals from 85 families that have immigrated into Israel from across the globe, and 122 species from 64 families considered native to Israel that have emigrated to every bioregion and to two oceans, although few species have become cosmopolitan. The conservation status of most immigrant (84.9%) and emigrant (55.7%) species has not been assessed, and even the native ranges of eleven immigrants (5.5%) remains unknown. Of those assessed, 27% of immigrants are threatened or decreasing in their native ranges, and 62% of emigrants are globally decreasing or locally threatened and extinct. After accounting for local extinctions, immigration has increased Israel’s plant and vertebrate richness by 104 species. Israel’s immigrants are increasingly being viewed from an invasion biology perspective, with 76% of studies published in the past decade, reaching over a quarter of local conservation publications. Incorporating principles of compassionate conservation could help foster a more socially acceptable and morally grounded approach to the immigrant wildlife of the Middle East.

Teaching With Web 2.0 Technologies in Selected Federal Universities in South West Nigeria

The purpose of the study reported on in this article was to investigate the extent of use of Web 2.0 for teaching purposes in federal universities in South West Nigeria. The study addressed two research objectives, namely: (1) to examine the extent to which Web 2.0 technologies are integrated into teaching in the selected federal universities; and (2) to investigate the factors influencing the use of Web 2.0 technologies for teaching purposes. The study was guided by the updated DeLone and McLean (DM create enabling policies; improve academic staff attitudes towards the use of technologies for teaching purposes; and develop capacity.

Formas teóricas de lealtad en la izquierda analógica: Beuchot auxilia a Rorty

El presente artículo pretende explorar las razones por las que Richard Rorty, desde su filosofía, advirtiera en 1998 la aparición de un líder político como Donald Trump. El motivo sobresaliente esgrime su desconfianza por la izquierda cultural. Rorty aboga por una izquierda reformista junto a una actitud académica solidaria, preocupada por los pobres, pero además por ampliar una intelectualidad que traza un vínculo entre la lealtad política y la solidaridad científica. Se suma a Rorty la consideración de la hermenéutica analógica de Mauricio Beuchot, cuya contribución fortalece a la izquierda actual.

Construction and Validation of a Measurement Instrument for Attitudes towards Teamwork.

Cooperative, collaborative learning and other forms of group learning methods are increasingly used in classrooms. Knowing students’ attitudes toward teamwork has great value since they influence the students’ learning results as well as their social development. So it is necessary to have robust instruments to provide a better understanding of these attitudes and preferences concerning teamwork. Such instruments also help to identify the factors that promote positive or negative attitudes within the context of group activities. Using a sample of 750 first and second year university students studying a degree in Kindergarten, Primary and Social Education, an instrument measuring attitudes toward team learning has been developed. Two distinct factors were obtained through various factorial analyses and structural equations: Academic attitudes and Social and emotional attitudes. Our study reveals that the instrument is both valid and reliable. Its application is both simple and fast and it has important implications for planning teaching and learning activities that contribute to an improvement in attitudes as well as the practice of teaching in the context of learning through teamwork.

Experiences of professor Li Shunmin in treating chronic kidney disease with data mining

Objectives Explore the experiences of professor Li Shunmin in treating chronic kidney diseases (CKD) according to spleen and kidney theory. Methods Information of medical records was acquired from Shenzhen TCM hospital information management department. It included the records from Jan, 2014 to Mar, 2016. Access database was established and SQL was used for data processing. Cytoscape 2.8 software was used to visualize the results and analyze the treatment characteristics in CKD. Results Professor Li used herbs of nourishing spleen and kidney to treat CKD. The herbs included Astragalus membranaceus, Rhizoma Dioscoreae, Rehmannia glutinosa and Gordon Euryale. The rules of treatment included invigorating spleen and kidney, and regulating liver and lung. The characteristics of using herbs included combination of cooling and warming herbs, bitter and pungent herbs, and sweet herbs for CKD. Conclusions Data mining could help to discover the rules of Li Shunmin in treating CKD. The results confirmed the academic attitude of treating CKD on spleen and kidney. It provided ideas and direction for CKD treatment. Key words: Famous doctor's experience; Chronic kidney disease; Data mining; Li Shunmin

DEVELOPMENT OF STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT AND ATTITUDES THROUGH PURDUE MODEL IN SCIENCE EDUCATION

In this study, the effects of the Purdue Model used in the teaching of the unit ‘The Let’s Solve the Puzzle of Our Body’ on the attitudes of 5th grade students towards academic achievement, permanent learning and science have been analysed. For this purpose, a quasi-experimental study was conducted with a total of 87 students in Samsun in Turkey. For this purpose, the research was carried out by using the quasi-experimental method, in total 87 students in Samsun city of Turkey. While in the experimental group applications were carried out based on the Purdue Model, in the control group the course was taught according to the activities stated in 2013 Ministry of National Education Science Curriculum in Turkey. The data of study were collected using Academic Achievement Test and Attitude Scale towards Science. As a result of the study, it was determined that achievement and attitude levels of the experimental group and the control group students were significantly different in favour of the experimental group students. On the basis of the results obtained from this research, some suggestions have been made to future researchers. Article visualizations:

Development of personal initiative: impact of an intervention applied to the educational field / Desarrollo de la iniciativa personal: impacto de una intervención aplicada al ámbito educativo

Personal initiative refers to the behaviours that characterize people as being proactive, persistent and self-starting when tackling obstacles that arise as they try to achieve goals. Given the relevance of personal initiative to the educational field, the main aim of this study was to design, implement and evaluate a programme for developing personal initiative in this field. A further objective was to improve a set of variables closely linked to personal initiative. Participants included 160 students aged between 16 and 30 years and enrolled in six centres offering initial vocational training. Of the total sample, 119 students were assigned to the experimental condition and 41 to the control condition. The study’s design was quasi-experimental with a non-equivalent control group. The results indicated that the programme improved the self-starting component of personal initiative and raised the participants’ academic achievement and entrepreneurial attitude. It also had some effect on self-efficacy and on two dimensions of emotional intelligence, namely clarity and regulation.

The Effects of Web 2.0 Technologies Usage in Programming Languages Lesson on the Academic Success, Interrogative Learning Skills and Attitudes of Students towards Programming Languages

It is observed that teacher candidates receiving education in the department of Computer and Instructional Technologies Education are not able to gain enough experience and knowledge in “Programming Languages” lesson. The goal of this study is to analyse the effects of web 2.0 technologies usage in programming languages lesson on the academic success, interrogative learning skills and attitudes of students towards programming languages. “Pre-test-Post-test Control Group Quasi-Experimental Design Model” is used as research model in this study. Participants are divided into two groups named experimental group and control group. The work group chosen from the population for this study consists of 75 students in total receiving education in the 2nd grade of Computer and Instructional Technologies Teaching Department of Faculty of Ahmet Keleşoğlu, Necmettin Erbakan University in 2015-2016 academic year. “Academic Success Test” developed by researcher, “Attitude Towards Programming Languages Scale” which is adapted into Turkish by Durak (2013) and “Interrogative Skills Scale” developed by Aldan, Kandemir and Saraçoğlu (2013) are used in the study. As a result of the study, it is concluded that students receiving education within the experimental group are more successful. When analysing their attitudes towards programming languages, it is concluded that attitudes of students in experimental group are more positive than that of those in control group. Analysing the effects of students using and not using cooperative learning environment developed with Web 2.0 technologies on their interrogative learning skills, it is determined that post-test grades of experimental group are higher than those of control group. According to the result of the study, a learning environment designed with Web 2.0 technologies has high-level effects on students’ academic success and attitudes towards programming languages and has medium-level effect on their interrogative learning skills.

Longitudinal Relations Among Parenting Styles, Prosocial Behaviors, and Academic Outcomes in U.S. Mexican Adolescents.

This article examined parenting styles and prosocial behaviors as longitudinal predictors of academic outcomes in U.S. Mexican youth. Adolescents (N=462; Wave 1 Mage =10.4years; 48.1% girls), parents, and teachers completed parenting, prosocial behavior, and academic outcome measures at 5th, 10th, and 12th grades. Authoritative parents were more likely to have youth who exhibited high levels of prosocial behaviors than those who were moderately demanding and less involved. Fathers and mothers who were less involved and mothers who were moderately demanding were less likely than authoritative parents to have youth who exhibited high levels of prosocial behaviors. Prosocial behaviors were positively associated with academic outcomes. Discussion focuses on parenting, prosocial behaviors, and academic attitudes in understanding youth academic performance.

Study of Academic Anxiety in Relation to Scientific Attitude and Gender Among Secondary School Students

Anxiety is an important determinant of human behavior. Academic anxiety is a situation specific anxiety that arises in an academic context and has negative effects on educational outcomes. Inculcation of scientific attitude among the students is the need of the hour. A descriptive survey was conducted on 227 students of Government secondary school students in Delhi. In this study, the gender difference with respect to academic anxiety and scientific attitude were explored. Co-relation between the academic anxiety and scientific attitude as well as main effects of and interaction effects between gender and scientific attitude were also studied. The data analysis showed that there was a gender difference, in the favor of boy students, with respect to academic anxiety and scientific attitude. A significantly negative co-relation between academic anxiety and scientific attitude scores of students was found. The findings of the study were also supported by the main effects as well as interaction effects between the independent variables.

The effect of teacher-generated and student-self-generated groups on academic success and attitude: A case of force and energy

The effect of teacher-generated and student-self-generated groups on academic success and attitude: A case of force and energy

Academics’ Attitudes toward the Utilization of Institutional Repositories in Nigerian Universities

This study was carried out to ascertain the attitudes of academics concerning the utilization of institutional repositories (IRs) in Nigerian universities. The study took the form of a descriptive survey, gathering data from the five Nigerian universities with IRs. The result showed that the universities developed IRs to create a forum for their research, to collaborate with colleagues, and for long-term preservation. Academics have positive attitudes toward the utilization of IRs, and they willingly submit their publications. They believe that publishing works on institutional repositories will improve accessibility to scholarly literature and increase the citation impact of their work. The implication of this study is that academics’ support of institutional repositories favors the growth of IRs in Nigeria. Their contributions and observations will have a considerable impact on the improvement of IRs generally.

Factors Directing Students to Academic Digital Reading

This research study aims at investigating at which level the variables of academic and recreational digital reading attitude, technology attitude, and possession of social media account and mobile devices predict the classification of students as those who perform more academic digital reading and who perform less academic digital reading. The participants of the research are 259 students (120 male, 139 female) within the age range of 13-15 who were attending the 8th-grade of 3 state secondary schools in the city center of Duzce. In accordance with the purpose, the Logistic Regression Analysis (LRA) was preferred. It was seen in the regression model that variables of academic digital reading attitude and technology tendency are significant predictive variables in estimating the academic digital reading group membership of the students of 13-15 age group. It was also found in the model that recreational digital reading attitude, negativity of technology, contribution and importance of technology, technology for all, possession of online mobile devices, possession of an active social media account and gender variables are not significant predictors of students performing less or more digital reading. It can be argued based on the research results that supporting the academic digital reading attitude and technology tendency together may provide more qualified attainments regarding the purpose of online reading for learning.

The Effects of Reflective Thinking promotion strategies using Thinking maps on Reflective thinking, Science academic achievement and Scientific attitudes of Elementary school students

The Effects of Reflective Thinking promotion strategies using Thinking maps on Reflective thinking, Science academic achievement and Scientific attitudes of Elementary school students

Conceptualizing High School Students' Mental Health Through a Dual-Factor Model

.Mental health is increasingly viewed as a complete state of being, consisting of the absence of psychopathology and the presence of positive factors such as subjective well-being (SWB). This cross-sectional study analyzed multimethod and multisource data for 500 high school students (ages 14–18 years, M = 15.27 years, SD = 1.0 years) to examine how mental health, defined in a dual-factor model, relates to adjustment. Relevant outcomes within self-determination theory include academic adjustment, social adjustment, identity development, and physical health. A dual-factor model was supported through identification of four groups: complete mental health (62.2% of sample), vulnerable (11.4%), symptomatic but content (11.4%), and troubled (15%). Results extend the importance of high SWB to optimal functioning during middle adolescence, as students with complete mental health (high SWB, low psychopathology) reported better outcomes than vulnerable students (low SWB despite low psychopathology) in terms of academic attitudes, perceptions of overall physical health, social support and satisfaction with romantic relationships, and identity development. Among students with elevated psychopathology, those with high SWB (symptomatic-but-content group) reported greater academic self-perceptions, perceived physical health, social support and satisfaction with romantic relationships (as well as less peer victimization), and identity development than their peers with low SWB (troubled group). Main effects of SWB in multilevel models that controlled for psychopathology and demographic covariates further illustrate the additive value of SWB in mental health assessments in terms of explaining unique variance in student adjustment in all four domains examined.

Systematic review of educational interventions for looked-after children and young people: Recommendations for intervention development and evaluation.

Looked‐after children and young people (LACYP) are educationally disadvantaged compared to the general population. A systematic review was conducted of randomised controlled trials evaluating interventions aimed at LACYP aged ≤18 years. Restrictions were not placed on delivery setting or delivery agent. Intervention outcomes were: academic skills; academic achievement and grade completion; special education status; homework completion; school attendance, suspension, and drop‐out; number of school placements; teacher‐student relationships; school behaviour; and academic attitudes. Fifteen studies reporting on 12 interventions met the inclusion criteria. Nine interventions demonstrated tentative impacts. However, evidence of effectiveness could not be ascertained due to variable methodological quality, as appraised by the Cochrane risk of bias tool. Theoretical and methodological recommendations are provided to enhance the development and evaluation of educational interventions.