Academic Workload Research Articles

Associations among stressors, perceived stress, and psychological distress in nursing students: a mixed methods longitudinal study of a Hong Kong sample.

Nursing students are at risk for high-stress levels and psychological distress. Limited longitudinal studies have been conducted examining factors associated with stress levels and psychological distress of nursing students in their course of study. The purpose of this study was to examine the levels of stress and corresponding stressors, particularly those predicting psychological distress, among nursing students over their 5 years of study. A longitudinal design, using questionnaires and focus group interviews of a single cohort of nursing students in Hong Kong and following them over their 5 years of training. The Stressors in Nursing Students Scale-Chinese version and the Chinese version of General Health Questionnaire-12 were used to assess stress levels and psychological distress, respectively. Ninety-seven participants completed the questionnaires 5 times. Quantitative findings revealed that the overall stress levels of the nursing students increased over 5 years (from mean = 3.08 to 3.33), with the highest levels in the second wave (mean = 3.33). Nursing students experienced higher stress during years 2 (p = 0.006) and 4 (p = 0.037). Psychological distress was the highest in year 3 (sum score = 18.47) (p = 0.002) but declined from year 4 (p < 0.001). Thematic analysis revealed that academic performance issues, coping challenges, unfavorable learning environments, relationships were identified as the stressors. However, nursing students also used positive coping strategies to pursue success and seek support. This study suggests that the year of study is a significant predictor of stress levels among nursing students, especially during the first and senior years due to heavy academic workload. Psychological distress was observed among nursing students, and those who worked more part-time jobs tended to report higher levels of distress. The junior year was associated with higher levels of distress related to financial and time-related stress, while academic and personal problems were more prevalent during the senior year.

Practices and Challenges of Teachers in Teaching Science Online

Educational disruption brought by this pandemic changed the practices and challenged teachers and students to navigate the new learning landscape. This descriptive research study determined the practices and challenges of science teachers in teaching amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 54 science teachers in Zambales, Philippines responded to the researcher-made Practices and Challenges of Science Teachers Questionnaire (PCSTQ). Results revealed that science teachers use printed module as a learning delivery modality in their classes. They often employ varied science teaching strategies, utilize assessment strategies and incorporate technology integration in teaching during educational disruption. They often encounter challenges in academic workload, laboratory experimentation, and physical infrastructures, while they sometimes face challenges in terms of digital infrastructure, instructional resources, digital competence, and assessment and supervision. There are significant differences in the teachers’ teaching strategies by trainings, and technology integration practices by trainings and modality used. Furthermore, there are significant differences in the challenges in instructional resources, physical infrastructure, digital competence, and academic workload by years in service; challenges in digital competence by zone; and challenges in academic workload by age. Implications of the study to pedagogy, policy, and practice are discussed in the paper. The study also contributes to the dearth of literature in describing the teachers’ practices and challenges in science teaching in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gerontology, Art, and Activism: Can the Intersection of Art, Social Research, and Community Power Lead to Lasting Change?

This paper seeks to address the question of what gerontologists and humanities scholars can learn from how their respective fields engage with critical issues of age-based intersectional disadvantage, inequality, colonialism, and exclusion. The paper considers the Uncertain Futures Project, a participatory arts-led social research study based in Manchester, United Kingdom. The project explores the inequalities of women over 50 regarding issues of work using an intersectional lens. This work has produced a complex entanglement of methodological ideas that underpin performance art, community activism, and gerontological research. The paper will consider if this model can lead to a lasting impact beyond the scope of the project and beyond the individuals involved. First, we outline the work undertaken from the conception of the project. We consider the relationship between these activities and the ongoing nature of qualitative data analysis within the complexity of academic workloads and competing priorities. We raise questions and considerations of how the elements of the work have connected, collaborated, and intertwined. We also explore the challenges within interdisciplinary and collaborative work. Finally, we address the kind of legacy and impact created by work of this nature.

Mediating role of educational environment in the relationship between workload and generic skills of nursing students in Vietnam

Students’ learning experiences are considered useful indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of teaching in tertiary education. With limited theory-driven research, this study aimed to examine whether the educational environment is able to mediate the relationship between student workload and generic skills. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1347 nursing students in ten nursing schools across Vietnam from November 2021 to January 2022. The results showed that the total score of the students’ workload and the generic skills were 3.25 ± 0.59 and 3.84 ± 0.56 (possible score: 1-5), respectively. Students were at an “agree” level with statements like “the sheer volume of work to be got through in this course means you can’t comprehend it” and “as results of doing this course, I feel more confident about tackling unfamiliar problem”. Most nursing students rated the educational environment at levels of “more positive educational environment” (N=1018, 75.58%), with a total score of 120.75 ± 20.78 (possible score: 0-200). The educational environment was identified as a mediator in the relationships between the workload and the generic skills. The direct effect on workload was -0.00035 which was not significant (p=0.987) with the generic skills. The indirect effect of workload that passes through the educational environment was -0.07 and is also statistically significant, at p= 0.002. As such, the study suggests that, to enhance students’ generic skills, it is necessary to instruct students in efficient learning strategies to help them manage their academic workload, particularly during unexpected situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, despite the occurrence of a high level of student workload, nursing schools could focus on efficient tactics and interventions to improve the educational environment, which subsequently helps to improve students’ outcomes.

A Study to Correlate Stress Score with Heart Rate Variability among MBBS Students at a Tertiary Care Center, Jaipur

Introduction: Medical students have high levels of stress that could be due to stressors related to the academic workload, time pressure competency, professionalism, physical, mental, and emotional issues. This study aimed to find out subjective assessment of stress, stressors, and coping strategies and objective assessment of stress with heart rate variability (HRV) and correlate subjective and objective assessment of stress scores among 1st year MBBS students at RUHS College of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: Institutional ethical clearance (EC-P-21/RUHS) was obtained after that study was conducted among a total of 150 1st year MBBS students. The students were asked to fill out a validated general health questionnaire (GHQ-12), “medical student stress questionnaire 40,” and a brief COPE inventory to assess stress, stressors, and various coping strategies for subjective assessment and objective assessment done by time and frequency domain parameters of HRV. Results: The mean age was 20.85 ± 1.56. The severity of stress categorized as mild, moderate, high, and severe were 17%, 40%, 13%, and 10%, respectively. The most affected stressor was academic contributed to 80% followed by teaching–learning related, social, intra- and interpersonal, group activities, drive, and desire-related stressors 78%, 75%, 73%, 70%, and 68%, respectively. Overall, the students’ coping strategies were mostly avoidant followed by emotional and problem based. HRV is measured by time domain, i.e., PNN50, standard deviation of normal to normal RR intervals, root mean square of successive differences, and “frequency domain parameters,” i.e., low frequency (LF), high-frequency (HF), and LF/HF ratio. Conclusion: In the present study, a positive correlation was observed between HRV and stress score. More than 75% of RUHSCMS 1st year medical students were suffering from measurable academic stress. Time domain and frequency domain parameters were positively correlated with stress score.

A phenomenological study of the lived experience of clinicians transitioning into academic roles in Australian universities

Background Nurse academics occupy a pivotal role in educating the nursing workforce of the future. However, preparation of registered nurses for an intense academic workload requiring diverse skills, attracts limited literature from an Australian context. Aim This paper employs phenomenology to explore registered nurses’ lived experiences as they transitioned from the role of clinician to novice nurse academic in six Australian universities. Method The essence of this study was to understand the lived experiences of 11 registered nurses who transitioned into the role of a novice nurse academic in 2020. Data collection included individual semi-structured interviews that were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic analysis converted the rich data into interpretations of the lived experience of participants. Findings Four key themes emerged from the data: The ‘Becoming’ of a Nurse Academic, The Fusion of Horizons, The ‘Becoming’ of Intentionality, and the ‘Being’ of a Nurse Academic. Additionally, six pivotal subthemes emerged to reflect the collective essence of the participants’ experience. Discussion Findings from this research render an original contribution to bridge the transitional pedagogical proficiency gap for novice nurse academics. The expert skills and abilities of clinicians are not simply transferable to the nurse academic role. Conclusion This paper provides new insights into the Australian novice nurse academics’ experiences, including the impact that the experiences have on the nurse academic’s transitional progression. Findings from this study generated a targeted transition model termed NOVICE, to provide universities with strategies to support novice nurse academics’ transition to academia.

Tele-Psychiatry for College Students: Challenges, Opportunities, and Lessons Learned from the Pandemic

ABSTRACT College students are the human capital of a nation, and their college education lays the foundation for their success as future leaders of society. However, their ability to advance is often impeded by stress. Changes in lifestyle, increased academic workload, student debt, forming interpersonal relationships, and coping with new adult responsibilities may result in clinically significant anxiety and depression that require medical attention. Left untreated, these illnesses hinder academic progress and decrease graduation rates. College students constitute a highly mobile population frequently traveling for breaks and school-related activities and, as such, at increased risk of interruption and/or discontinuation of care. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged our ability to offer consistent mental health care for students and forced us to implement public health measures that were long overdue. Temporary governmental policy changes allowing for the provision of remote care across state lines at the same reimbursement rate as in-person services were vital to student mental health recovery, retention in school, and graduation rates. The time-limited loosening of state-based medical licensure restrictions clearly demonstrated the feasibility, benefits, and dire need for widespread implementation of telehealth. These are important lessons that should inform future policies for student health. In this paper, we advocate therefore, that the temporary loosening of the licensure restrictions and equitable reimbursement rates be codified into law. The current licensing regulations have not kept pace with the lived experience of college students or modern society in general. Given more mobile lifestyles, these restrictions result in frequent inevitable transitions of care which are highly undesirable. Even if providers outside metropolitan areas were readily available,1,2 these transitions of care are fraught with considerable risk for medical error. We also advocate for a national standardization of tele-psychiatry policy and procedures, including access to electronic health care records for providers taking care of matriculated students. To date, student mental health services are a patchwork of organizational models of varying funding and efficacy.

0924 Poor sleep regularity is widespread among first-year medical students

Abstract Introduction Poor sleep health is widespread within healthcare and is notoriously neglected during residency; however, little is known about sleep quality during the pre-clinical years of medical school. Sleep regularity is increasingly recognized as a key driver for sleep quality and health. This study sought to determine the prevalence of and the factors that contribute to irregular sleep among first-year medical students. Methods A one-time, 130-item survey was distributed to the first year medical school class three months into the first semester. Quantitative and open-text questions asked about various sleep health related topics, including sleep regularity across weekdays (WDs) and weekends (WEs) for the past two weeks. Likert scale responses were treated as continuous data and reported as mean ± standard deviation. Means for WD and WE times were compared using paired t-tests. Statistical significance was considered a p-value ≤0.05. Results Out of 209 medical students in the first-year class, 58% (n=121) completed the sleep irregularity items on the survey. Demographics mirrored those of the whole class: 46% male, 54% female, and average age 23.5. The differences between WD and WE times for getting into bed (1.03 hours ± 0.90 hours), falling asleep (0.92 ± 0.80 hours), waking up (1.62 ± 0.84 hours), and getting out of bed (1.89 ± 0.93 hours) were significant (p&amp;lt; 0.001). Furthermore, 49.3% of participants reported significant bedtime or wake time variability (&amp;gt;3 hours difference from one day to another) at least once per week during the past 3 months. This occurred despite respondents expressing a strong belief in the importance of sleep consistency (7.1 ± 2.25 on a 10-point Likert scale; 0=Strongly Disagree, 5=Neutral, 10=Strongly Agree). Conclusion Poor sleep regularity is widespread during the first year of medical school. While students are aware of the importance of consistent bedtimes and wake times, they rarely follow this knowledge suggesting that external factors encountered during medical school such as poorly balanced academic workloads or stress might be to blame. Future studies should seek to better understand the factors contributing to poor sleep regularity in medical school and develop interventions to help students address any barriers. Support (if any)

0918 Elevated stress during the first-year of medical school negatively impacts sleep quality

Abstract Introduction Poor sleep health is widespread within healthcare and is notoriously neglected during residency; however, little is known about sleep quality during the pre-clinical years of medical school. Stress contributes to poor sleep quality and is commonplace in medical education. This study sought to understand how stress impacts sleep among first-year medical students. Methods A one-time, 130-item survey was distributed to the first-year medical school class three months into the first semester. Quantitative and open-text questions sought to understand student demographics, mental health, sleep quality, and sleep-related behaviors, beliefs, and knowledge. Highly prevalent anxiety was defined as feeling nervous/anxious/on edge for more than half of the days during the previous two weeks. Odds ratios (OR) include 95% confidence intervals and were determined using binary logistic regression. Statistical significance was considered a p-value ≤0.05. Results 138 of the 209 students (66%) in the first-year medical school class completed the survey. Demographics mirrored those of the whole class: 46% male, 54% female, and average age 23.5. Short sleep was prevalent with a mean (standard deviation) sleep time of 6.85 (0.86) hours. Additionally, more than three-quarters reported suboptimal sleep: 56% rated quality as average, and 21% rated quality as poor/very poor. 33% of respondents reported difficulty falling asleep at least once per week. A lack of restorative sleep was also common: 38% felt that sleep was rarely or never refreshing. Over half of respondents (51%) attributed poor sleep to either stress or school, and 29% of students reported elevated or highly prevalent anxiety. Elevated anxiety predicted suboptimal sleep quality (OR 14.67, 1.70-126.76, p=0.015) and a lack of restorative sleep (OR 6.00, 1.52-23.71, p=0.011). Similarly, suboptimal sleep quality was associated with highly prevalent anxiety (OR 44.0, 4.62-418.93, p&amp;lt; 0.001) and difficulty falling asleep (OR 4.14, 1.76-9.75, p=0.001). Conclusion Poor sleep and stress are both prevalent during the first year of medical school, with students directly linking stress from their academic workload to impaired sleep quality and insufficient sleep duration. Due to the pervasiveness of stress within medical education, future interventions should help students improve their sleep during both low and high stress time periods. Support (if any)

The consequences of physical activity deficit in the applicants of the higher education

Excessive academic workload, nervous overstrain, and physical inactivity are risk factors that cause neurovegetative changes in the body of the applicants of the higher education, which leads to the gradual development of functional disorders and a sharp decline in both mental and physical performance.&#x0D; Physical activity helps to improve the physical, mental and functional state, adaptation to environmental conditions, and improve the quality of life in the applicants of the higher education&#x0D; Physical activity relieves psycho-emotional fatigue and helps to restore somatic strength, as well as improves physical and mental qualities that allow you to freely control your actions and regulate the process of mental activity. The inclusion of physical exercises in the daily routine of higher education students significantly improves mental performance. Today, this contingent is experiencing a significant decrease in physical activity.&#x0D; The purpose of the study: to investigate the consequences of physical activity deficit in higher education students. Results of the study. The consequences of a sedentary lifestyle among students are considered. Conclusions. Physical activity deficit has a negative impact on health, physical development, physical fitness and performance; it is the main cause of non-communicable diseases; causes an increased risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, breast cancer, depression, frequent respiratory diseases, decreased immune system activity, chronic diseases, metabolic disorders, internal organ function, and posture, deterioration of the mental state, weakening of physical functions, functional disorders, development of muscle atrophy, deterioration of the body's functional reserves, reduced mental performance, and the body's defence mechanisms against adverse environmental influences in the applicants of the institutions of the higher education.

AN ANALYSIS ON A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY FINAL YEAR ENGINEERING STUDENTS’ STRESS LEVELS

Stress is one of the serious issues that affect university students’ life and has been identified to cause academic decline, poor relationships with peers and family members and overall dissatisfaction with life. As for final year university students, academic workloads, expectations from societies and future career uncertainties are some of the common factors that create stress. Therefore, this case study aims to investigate the stress experienced by the final year engineering students at a public university. The main objectives are to identify factors that cause stress and its effects on the students. A five-dimension set of questionnaires i.e. Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Motivation, Environment, and Workload was distributed to 260 final year students of an engineering faculty before they participated in a Stress Management Awareness Program. The program which was part of the Final Year Project (FYP), exposed the students with stress management strategies. Later, interviews were conducted to explore the extent of stress effects on the students’ academic success, and lifestyle in general, and the effect of the workshop. The mean scores of the dimensions and its items were analysed descriptively and findings from the interviews were compared after the students had undergone the workshop. The quantitative results indicated a moderate level of stress among the students with some significance in ‘Environment’ and ‘Workloads’ dimensions. Qualitatively, the workshop had made the students aware of their stress experiences, and educated them with various stress management strategies. Interestingly, there were similar continuous patterns of stress experiences from 33 volunteered interviewees, which have brought to light the actual circumstances of students’ stress. Evidently, these results call for a context-driven stress management module that can provide the students with resourceful selfregulated strategies in coping with the demanding life as final year engineering students.

Lacking time: A case study of student and faculty perceptions of academic workload in the COVID‐19 pandemic

AbstractBackgroundTo avoid the spread of COVID‐19, most engineering programs rapidly shifted to emergency online education, and prior research has associated online education with academic overload. Before the pandemic, engineering curricula were already packed with content and course assignments, so more studies should explore how the unprecedented conditions of remote learning affected the intensive academic workload of engineering programs.Purpose/HypothesisThis study addresses the following research question: How did the COVID‐19 pandemic affect the perceptions of engineering instructors and students regarding their academic workload? Thus, the main research objective is to explore the influence of COVID‐19 on the perceived academic workload, extrapolating lessons learned for engineering education settings.Design/MethodDuring 2020, we developed a single‐case study to understand academic workload in 22 engineering majors at a large Latin American university. We triangulated different sources of institutional and research‐focused evidence, including two instructor surveys (n = 110), two student surveys (n = 2218), two student focus groups (n = 18), and workload measurement surveys (n = 3131).ResultsBoth instructors and students experienced academic overload since the outbreak of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Throughout the first year, instructors became capable of accommodating course activities and assignments to students' particular circumstances. Regardless of these efforts, students continue perceiving academic overload, particularly affecting those who experience connectivity issues or frequent problems with their personal computer or tablet.ConclusionsFurther efforts are needed to support course planning and self‐regulated learning in engineering education. In these lines, lessons learned were captured and shared to inform engineering education research and practice beyond the COVID‐19 pandemic.

Study related factors associated with study engagement and student burnout among German university students.

Student burnout has become a health concern in higher education systems. Its prevalence rates are high due to specific demands in this life situation. It leads not only to increased academic dropout rates but is also associated with negative health outcomes both physically and mentally. Its counterpart is study engagement, which is a positive, fulfilling, study-related attitude characterized by energy, dedication, and absorption. There has not been a systematical approach covering the demands directly posed by the academic environment itself. Additionally, academic subject fields apart from medicine and nursing sciences have been mostly neglected in regards to this research field. The aim of the study is therefore to identify contributing factors for both burnout and engagement within the academic environment in a sample of different subject fields at a German university. In a cross-sectional study, a sample of 3,451 students of all academic subjects at a technical university in Germany has been analyzed using an online survey. Sociodemographic data, study engagement, student burnout, study satisfaction, academic workload, number of semesters and occupational liabilities have been analyzed. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the associations of burnout symptoms and study engagement. Almost a third of the students showed frequent burnout symptoms, while 42.5% showed a high degree of study engagement with no differences in gender. Age was identified as a risk factor for frequent signs of cynicism (OR = 1.073). Study satisfaction (OR between 0.459 and 0.702), semester progression (OR = 0.959) and working moderately (OR between 0.605 and 0.637) was associated with fewer symptoms in different burnout-dimensions. Study satisfaction is positively associated with study engagement (OR = 2.676). Academic workload is positively related to both burnout (OR between 1.014 and 1.021) and study engagement (OR = 1.014). A substantial number of students show frequent symptoms of burnout and the majority is not highly engaged. The included factors contribute to the model to various degrees and show that university-bound factors play a major role. Fostering a supportive environment is key for study engagement, health and well-being. The inclusion of further, individual factors should be a future concern in order to find and promote strategies for a healthy education system.

Are medical students happy despite unhappy conditions: a qualitative exploration of medical student cohorts during disruptive conditions

BackgroundShortly after the World Health Organization declared the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak a worldwide pandemic, medical school governing bodies issued guidance recommending pausing clinical rotations. Prior to the availability of COVD-19 vaccines, many schools implemented exclusively online curriculums in the didactic and clinical years. These unprecedented events and paradigm changes in medical education could contribute to trainee burnout, wellness, and mental health.MethodsThis single-institution study interviewed first, second, and third-year medical students from a medical school in the southwestern United States. A semi-structured interview was conducted with paper-based Likert scale questions rating perceived happiness were administered both at the time of the interview and one year later in order to understand how their student experience and happiness were impacted. In addition, we asked participants to describe any major life events they experienced since the first interview.ResultsTwenty-seven volunteers participated in the original interview. Twenty-four from the original cohort participated in the one-year follow-up. Happiness as a sense of self and who you “should be” was challenged during the pandemic and changes in happiness over time were not systematic across classes. Stress was caused not only by the pandemic which was experienced by all, but by a tripartite state of individual circumstances, academic workload requirements, and the world at large. Primary themes from the interviews were clustered around the individual, learner, and future professional levels and focused on the primacy of relationships, emotional wellness, stress management, professional identity, and impacts of educational disruptions. These themes created risk factors for developing imposter syndrome. Students demonstrated resiliency across cohorts and were able to utilize a variety of strategies to achieve and maintain both physical and mental health, but the primacy of relationships both personally and professionally was noted.ConclusionMedical students’ identities as individual persons, a learner, and future medical professionals were all impacted by the pandemic. The results from this study suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in the learning format and environment may create a new risk factor in the development of imposter syndrome. There is also an opportunity to re-consider resources to achieve and maintain wellness during a disrupted academic environment.

Dispersed assessment: A novel approach to enhancing student engagement during and beyond Covid-19

The Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent need to shift between face-to-face, online, and blended learning caused considerable disruption to student engagement and the workload of academics. Drawing on a Brand Management course (final year undergraduate) in a UK university, this study discusses the students' perception of, and reflection on, a novel method of assessment that we have termed dispersed assessment. This is defined as multiple credit-bearing tasks that are spread throughout the teaching period, are related to taught learning materials and sessions, assist in completing a related final assessment task, and are evidenced in the submission of the final task to limit additional burden on students and markers. Based on scholarly work on assessment and student engagement, we used Leximancer-assisted thematic analysis to examine the data from three focus groups and students’ written reflections (n = 99). Findings show that dispersed assessment significantly enhanced student engagement, without overburdening students or increasing the marking workload. This novel method of assessment helped nurture learning communities, increase motivation, and reduce procrastination. Regarding policy, we recommend the implementation of dispersed assessment to encourage active and continuous student engagement and improve student experience. Practical examples are offered for the implementation of dispersed assessment using VLE technologies.

Revisiting the ‘U-curve’ hypothesis: international students’ academic, sociocultural, and psychological adjustment trajectories at a British university

ABSTRACT This mixed-methods longitudinal study investigated the academic, sociocultural, and psychological adjustment trajectories of international students undertaking one-year postgraduate degrees in the humanities and social sciences at a single British university. It also sought to re-examine the applicability of ‘U-curve’ hypothesis. Three waves of self-report questionnaires (N = 120, 108, 102) measured international students’ adjustment satisfaction and their adjustment patterns throughout nine months period. Additionally, three rounds of semi-structured interviews (N = 16) were conducted to explore students’ lived experiences and adjustment trajectories over time. The findings revealed complex adjustment patterns that differed across academic, sociocultural, and psychological domains. Enablers and barriers to adjustment, as perceived by the students, included cultural distance, English language ability, academic workload, previous personal experiences, and university support. The study contributes to the theoretical understanding of international students’ adjustment, provides insights into the experiences of student sojourners in the UK higher education context and increases knowledge regarding student support services.

Сontradictions in the development of the scientific and pedagogical community as a problem of foreign and domestic research

The subject of sociological analysis in the article is one of the important resources of modern higher education – the scientific and pedagogical community (SPS), considered by the authors as a key social community of universities (along with students and managers). The focus of attention is on two main incarnations of the SPS, that determine the place of the university in domestic and international rankings of higher education institutions. This is a professional-pedagogical and scientificeducational activity of the members of the community. It is emphasised that it is the SPS that today constitutes the “core” of the university’s intellectual asset. That leads to the growing attention to the SPS as an object of theoretical and empirical study in foreign and domestic science. Hence, the purpose of the article was defined as the identification of trends in the SPS research, shown through the prism of its contradictions and problems common to Russian and foreign universities. Special attention is drawn to two paradoxical situations typical of the domestic SPS. Firstly, as its number decreases, the structure of professional activity becomes more complicated, the number of tasks and the degree of responsibility increase, the amount of academic workload and unnecessary bureaucratic burden systematically increase. Secondly, the growing dependence of the university development strategy on scientific and pedagogical staff is combined in a contradictory way with a decrease in real managerial attention to them. Two theories served as a general theoretical framework for the authors – theory of social community and theory of resource dependence. The article presents the results of a systematic analysis of the literature, that allowed to reveal the contradictions in the reproduction of the scientific and pedagogical staff of universities, the impact of the development strategies of higher education and universities on the functioning and development of the SPS, as well as the contradictions in the development of the resource capacity of the SPS.

English

In the last decade, there have been different mental health challenges among students due to academic stress, especially during examinations. This has led to the need to explore the relationship between psychoactive ingredients, behavioral responses and academic stress in relation to the use of hair creams. The objectives of the study were to identify hair creams containing psychoactive ingredients in use by female students, assess behavioral responses manifested by female students due to use of these hair creams and compare behavioral responses due to the use of these hair creams across the different departments as it relates to academic workload. The study was a cross-sectional survey of four hundred female students (100 to 500 levels) of the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, in the Faculties of Pharmacy, Basic Medical Sciences, Administration and Social Sciences. The sample size was determined and randomly obtained from the population. A semi-structured questionnaire which was used as a data collection instrument was pretested. The data was subsequently organized with descriptive statistics like frequencies, percentages and analyzed with inferential statistics like Chi Square, Kruskal-Wallis tests and Mann Whitney test for post-hoc determinations. Twelve percent of the respondents confirmed using hair creams containing psychoactive ingredients. The hair products that contain psychoactive ingredients were Morgan hair cream (4.2%), Dax (2.8%), Mega growth (2.8%), Kuza Indian Hemp (1.4%) and Bergamot (0.8%). The behavioral responses (Anxiety (p=0.217), Mood disorders (p=0.14) and Depression (p=0.234)), were not significantly manifested due to psychoactive ingredients of hair creams. Also, there was no significant relationship existing between academic workload and behavioral responses from the use of hair creams (Anxiety (p=0.079), Mood disorders (p=0.141) and Depression (p=0.169)). The study concluded that only 12% of hair creams contain psychoactive ingredients and these hair creams are Morgan Dax, Mega growth, Kuza Indian Hemp and Bergamont hair creams. Data gathered indicated that there was insufficient evidence linking female students&#39; usage of hair products containing psychoactive chemicals with their behavioral responses, and also, that academic workload did not have a role in the behavioral responses that were being displayed. Key words: Psychoactive ingredients, behavioral responses, academic stress, hair creams.

Examining staff burnout during the transition to teaching online due to COVID-19 implications

Orientation: COVID-19 generated the need for changes in the higher education sector, sparking a shift to online approaches ultimately increasing workload. This study assessed the prevalence of burnout symptoms among academics at an online university in South Africa.Research purpose: Assessing prevalence and severity of burnout symptoms among academics and its impact on work engagement.Motivation for research: Academics are central to the teaching and learning processes at higher education institutions. Health and wellness has an impact on institutional functionality. As academic workloads increase, so does the likelihood of burnout, which can influence academic functioning.Research approach/design and method: Cross-sectional design.Main Findings: High levels of burnout within open, distance and e-learning (ODeL) academic staff member population is evident with 75% of staff experiencing high or very high burnout. High levels of burnout were concentrated among senior lecturers, with teaching experience and have at least a PhD. The regression coefficient for work engagement (B = –0.364, p ≤ 0.001) indicated that for each point increase in work engagement, there was a decrease in burnout of 0.364.Practical implications: High levels of burnout include job dissatisfaction, reduced quality of work, and increased absenteeism. Addressing burnout contributes to retaining experienced staff, improved job satisfaction and quality output. This paper highlights the impact of teaching transitions on the academic workforce, contributing towards wellness interventions aiding burnout recovery.Contribution/value-add: This paper highlights the impact of teaching transitions on the academic workforce within South Africa, contributing towards wellness interventions aiding the recovery from burnout.

Assessing Opportunities for Self-Study and Out-of-Class Activities in a Prescriptive High Contact-Hour Engineering Curriculum

Contribution: This work identifies some attributes of a prescriptive high contact-hour engineering curriculum that could be limiting the development of core skills among engineering students. The findings are put together to develop a guideline for curriculum review that optimizes characteristic student academic hours for in- and out-of-class educational activities. Background: One of the identified factors that contribute to developing core technical and soft skills among engineering students is the amount and nature of the academic workload stipulated by the curriculum. An implication of a curriculum with a high quantity of instruction (QI) (class contact hours) is a deficiency in self-directed learning; an activity believed to support the development of critical thinking and lifelong learning skills among students. Research Question: 1) How does the QI of a prescriptive high contact-hour engineering program affect the time for self-study (TSS)? 2) Are there some features of the curriculum of such programs that can be adapted for controlling QI and TSS? Methodology: A narrative review of a curriculum guideline document was carried out. Using an earlier proposed model that expresses TSS as a function of QI, an analysis of TSS and QI characteristics of six universities awarding the same engineering degree was presented. Findings: Given an average weekly contact hour of 27.75, students in the studied engineering programs are likely to have 60% less TSS in comparison to global counterparts. By addressing some characteristics of the curriculum, these numbers can be improved for more out-of-class activities that foster the development of core technical and soft skills.