Bachelor Program Research Articles

Students’ Voices about Education Quality of a Bachelor Program in Pandemic Times

During 2020, a series of quarantines that interrupted face-to-face education were experienced. This study aims at examining aspects that impacted the quality of education of a group of five preservice teachers, who moved from face-to-face to virtual learning. We followed a qualitative narrative research design and the participants’ narratives and logs were compiled as data collection instruments. We concluded that methodology, strategies and levels of well-being and health impacted the participants’ educational quality during the onset of the pandemic, and opportunities for the bachelor program to foster better learning-teaching processes were identified.
 Key words: education, pandemics, quality, story, virtual learning.

Factors influencing the professional identity of nursing interns: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundImproving the professional identity of nursing intern is significant for enhancing the number of new registered nurses and easing the shortage of nursing personnel. The clinical internship is a key period for the formulation of professional identity. However, we know little about the factors influencing the nursing interns’ professional identity during clinical internship. Therefore, this study explore the influencing factors of nursing interns’ professional identity during clinical internship. This study will provide evidence and suggestions for generating effective strategies contributing to professional identity improvement of nursing interns.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study. The convenience sampling was used to recruit 398 nursing interns from a teaching hospital in Hunan, China. The demographic characteristics information was collected by a self-developed questionnaire. The nursing interns’ professional identity and potential influencing factors (e.g., work atmosphere, teacher capacity) were measured by questionnaires with good psychometric properties. The appropriate indicators were used for descriptive statistics, and t test, analysis of variance, Pearson’s correlation analysis and multiple linear regression were used to analyse the influencing factors.ResultsIn this study, the influencing factors of nursing interns' professional identity are education level, first choice of major, residential status, work atmosphere, and teacher capacity. The results showed that: (1) the nursing interns with a higher education level reported a lower level of professional identity; (2) the nursing interns whose first choice of major was not nursing discipline reported a lower level of professional identity; (3) the nursing interns live in rural areas (compared to urban areas) reported a higher level of professional identity; (4) the nursing interns in better work atmosphere reported a higher level of professional identity; (5) the nursing interns under the guidance of the teachers equipped with better teaching capacity reported a higher level of professional identity.ConclusionThe education level, first choice of major and residential status are influence factors of nursing interns’ professional identity. The nursing educators need to pay attention to nursing interns whose first choice is not nursing, and in a bachelor program, who may have a lower level of professional identity. It is crucial to enhance the nursing interns’ professional identity by improve the work atmosphere and clinical teachers’ capacity, to promote nursing interns to choose nursing as a profession and reduce the shortage of nursing workforce.

Empowering piano students of Western classical music: challenging teaching and learning of musical interpretation in higher education

ABSTRACT This study aimed to empower piano students and explore their understandings of how teaching and learning of musical interpretation of Western classical music could be developed to foster autonomy and a personal, authentic artistic voice. Two research questions were formulated: How have students experienced teaching and learning of musical interpretation? How do students envision a meaningful organisation of such teaching and learning? The empirical material, created during a participatory action research project with 4 piano students within an artistic bachelor programme, was hermeneutically analysed, and narratives were created and twice negotiated with the students. Their education was described as backwards-looking and not preparing for autonomous learning and musicianship. In contrast, a meaningful organisation was envisioned as collaborative, dialogical, characterised by openness, humility, honesty, and mutual understanding, where musical interpretation is viewed as a complex, ongoing, open-ended process, allowing for multiple, incompatible views, breaking from the master–apprentice model and the current restrictive ideology.

Are Attitudes Toward Evidence-Based Practice Different Between the United States and Chinese Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy Students?

Purpose: Evidence-based practice (EBP) integrates the best evidence from research, clinician expertise, and patient preferences and values to deliver the highest quality of care to improve patient outcomes. Occupational therapy (OT), physical therapy (PT), and rehabilitation students gain exposure to EBP through both didactic and experiential learning. The differences in cultural, educational systems, and student learning styles between the United States and China may lead to different students’ perceptions and attitudes towards EBP. The purpose of the study was to characterize and compare the perceptions of and attitudes towards EBP between the U.S. and Chinese OT and PT students. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of the Evidence-Based Practice Process Assessment Scale (EBPPAS) was sent to professional students enrolled in Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD), Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT), and Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) programs at three universities in the U.S. (n=1,062) and OT, PT, and rehabilitation students of four-year bachelor programs at four universities in China (n=1,017). Students’ perception of the overall and individual domain of EBP was compared between the U.S. and China with independent samples t-test. Results: In general, all students showed a positive attitude towards EBP across the five domains. The U.S. DPT students had the highest mean score of 3.90 in the domain of “attitude about EBP” followed by the U.S. MOT students (mean=3.88), and the U.S. OTD students (mean=3.84). On average, the U.S. students scored 0.44 (13.8%) higher than Chinese students in all domains combined. Responses from both countries showed the highest scores in the domain of “attitude about EBP” followed by “familiarity with EBP” and “intention to engage in EBP”. In addition, the overall mean score increased non-significantly by 0.07 for the U.S. students from 1st year to 3rd year while it increased significantly by 0.15 (pnd year to 4th year. Conclusion: Few research studies have compared professional students’ attitudes towards EBP between the U.S. and China. This study demonstrated that the U.S. students were more positive overall and in all five domains. Future studies may focus on novice ways to promote EBP in didactic teaching and in clinical practice.

Formation of students’ construction competence in the field of hydraulic engineering

The article deals with the formation of professional competence in the types of professional activities of future bachelors in the field of training - direction of construction of hydraulic structures. Training of qualified, competent and competitive specialists in the construction industry is an urgent task of higher education systems, due to the introduction of the State educational standard of higher education and the Professional standard in the urban planning area, aimed at the formation of professional competencies for bachelors of construction profile, contributing to the productivity of professional activities of graduates. We present professional competencies that correspond to the types of professional activities that the developed bachelor's program "Hydraulic engineering structures in the use of pumping stations "is aimed at forming within the framework of the educational process. The introduction of programs is due to the fact that bachelors of construction profile, having sufficient theoretical knowledge, are not sufficiently prepared to solve professional problems in the field of urban planning in the context of the introduction of new construction technologies and structural materials.

Promoting Computational Thinking Skills in Non-Computer-Science Students: Gamifying Computational Notebooks to Increase Student Engagement

Computational thinking (CT) skills are becoming increasingly relevant for future professionals across all domains, beyond computer science (CS). As such, an increasing number of bachelor's and master's programs outside of the CS discipline integrate CT courses within their study program. At the same time, tools such as notebooks and interactive apps designed to support the teaching of programming concepts are becoming ever more popular. However, in non-CS majors, CT might not be perceived as essential, and students might lack the motivation to engage with such tools in order to acquire solid CT skills. This article presents a field study conducted with 115 students during a full semester on a novel computational notebook environment. It evaluates computational notebooks and CT skills in an introductory course on information technology for first-year undergraduates in business and economics. A multidimensional evaluation approach makes use of pre- and post-test surveys, lectures, and self-directed laboratory sessions tracking analytics. Our findings suggest that, in the process of learning CT for non-CS students, engagement in active learning activities can be a stronger determinant of learning outcomes than initial knowledge. Furthermore, gamifying computational notebooks can serve as a strong driver of active learning engagement, even more so than initial motivational factors.

To the Question of Updating the Educational Programs of the Light and Engineering Profile at Ogarev Mordovia State University Taking into Account Professional Standards

Light and engineering education in Russia is now bringing forward new priorities, which are reflected in the updated major professional educational programs both bachelor’s and master’s degree. The modern labour market in the field of light and engineering today requires the training of highly qualified specialists who possess modern information technologies, are technically literate, who know regulatory regulations and environmental requirements.This trend is observed not only in Russia, but also noted by European researchers. In the labour market, the most in demand are engineering and technical workers with knowledge of intelligent lighting control systems, the Internet of Things technologies, with ability to implement energy saving measures, as well as specialists who are able to develop and implement lighting design projects, both indoor and outdoor. The analysis of the major professional educational programs implemented in Ogarev Mordovia State University showed that the timely release of professional standards (PS) 29.013 and 29.014 allowed us to formulate professional competencies (PC) of graduates of the lighting profile, which are relevant today and will contribute to the successful career building of young professionals. Much attention is paid to the formation and development of digital competencies of specialists in the lighting industry when updating major professional educational programs. Disciplines that allow engineering and technical specialists to develop artistic and aesthetic skills and imaginative thinking are introduced. Students learn through a project-based approach, consider multi-variant solutions, getting acquainted with the current nomenclature and databases of lighting devices (LD) from various manufacturers. By creating projects, they not only learn to develop lighting installations (LI) in accordance with the regulatory quantitative and qualitative parameters, but also gain practical design skills, taking into account the visual light and colour comfort, style design. They learn to implement intelligent lighting control systems, design LD based on LED light sources. In order to further improve the educational process, it is necessary to involve more practitioners, to involve students in the implementation of real projects. Strengthening the interdisciplinary nature of graduate training, whose planned activities are related to the development of lighting design projects, requires the preparation of educational and methodological support.

“Learning Nomad” in Higher Education: Students’ Learning Patterns from Three Self-Designed Major Programs in Taiwan

As higher education struggles to catch up with the constantly shifting social climate, many modern students are being left overwhelmed by the sheer volume of choices they are being offered in a phenomenon known as the “tyranny of freedom”. This issue is exacerbated when they do not have the appropriate guidance from either their parents or universities to build their own identity and find a suitable position in a functional society. Following the innovative education trend, a few top-ranking universities have started self-designed major programs, making themselves pioneers of experimental education in the traditional university system. The purpose of this study aims at discovering how Taiwanese self-designed major students organize their study maps from human and identity capital perspectives. 
 
 Fifteen research participants were recruited from the three universities providing self-designed major bachelor programs and asked to participate in a semi-structured interview. The content analysis result outlines those students as “learning nomads” who break department or field boundaries to do interdisciplinary learning with clear goals by tracing their learning resources across borders. Three crucial outcomes have been found: first, identity capital mainly influences college entrance channel choices in regards to motivation and has a minor influence on how self-designed major students arrange their learning maps. Second, in regards to human capital, modularized and self-directed learning and the arrangement of theoretical and experiential knowledge do not work alone but together. Finally, learning guidance was found to be essential under the stress of tyranny of freedom.

An Open-Ended Blended Approach to Teaching Interaction Designers to Code

This article reports on a three and a half year design-led project investigating the use of open-ended learning to teach programming to students of interaction design. Our hypothesis is that a more open-ended approach to teaching programming, characterized by both creativity and self-reflection, would improve learning outcomes among our cohort of aspiring HCI practitioners. The objective of our design-led action research was to determine how to effectively embed open-endedness, student-led teaching, and self-reflection into an online programming class. Each of these notions has been studied separately before, but there is a dearth of published work into their actual design and implementation in practice. In service of that objective we present our contribution in two parts: a qualitatively-derived understanding of student attitudes toward open-ended blended learning, as well as a matching set of design principles for future open-ended HCI education. The project was motivated by a search for better educational outcomes, both in terms of student coding self-efficacy and quantitative metrics of cohort performance (e.g., failure rates). The first year programming course within our interaction design-focussed Bachelors program has had the highest failure rate of any core unit for over a decade. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic confounded any year-to-year quantitative comparison of the learning efficacy of our successive prototypes. There is simply no way to fairly compare the experiences of pre-pandemic and pandemic-affected student cohorts. However, the experience of teaching this material in face-to-face, fully online, and hybrid modalities throughout the pandemic has aided our qualitative exploration of why open-ended learning helps some students but seems to harm others. Through three sets of student interviews, platform data, and insights gained from both the instructional and platform design process, we show that open-ended learning can empower students, but can also exacerbate fears and anxieties around inadequacy and failure. Through seven semesters of iterating on our designs, interviewing students and reflecting on our interventions, we've developed a set of classroom-validated design principles for teaching programming to HCI students without strong computational backgrounds.

Needs Analysis of Nursing Students in English Online Learning

Needs analysis is a compulsory procedure in formulating the syllabus. Since the Covid-19 has forcefully changed traditional learning into online learning, it is necessary to reanalyse students’ needs in formulating an appropriate English online learning syllabus. This quantitative study employs descriptive analysis method. The participants are 85 sophomore students of nursing bachelor program at STIKes YPIB Majalengka. This study aims to describe the needs of students that are categorized into six aspects with the following results: 1) the students’ current situation, shows that the students need more support to facilitate internet networks and online learning devices (n=52,61%). 2) The skills and prior knowledge, this shows that numerous students tremendously need to develop their vocabulary, structures and the four basic skills (n=66,76%). 3) The learning difficulties, it describes that many students need assistance in finding their online learning styles (n=44,52%). 4) The motivation, many students need strong initiation to find their online learning motives (n=53,62%). 5) The perception, they need strong encouragements to increase their self-esteem in an online classroom setting (n=51,60%). The last, 6) the expectation, almost all students need online learning methods that more varied and interesting (n=83,98%).

Å tilrettelegge for elevenes yrkesinteresser: En surveystudie av yrkesfaglærernes kompetanse i yrkesdifferensiert opplæring

In Norway there exist two different educational pathways for vocational teachers, a bachelor programme and a postgraduate programme in education. This article reports on a comparison of teacher preparation in these two programmes that qualify vocational teachers for work in schools. The purpose is to explore the competence vocational teachers develop during teacher education that is particularly relevant for the broad introductory courses in vocational education and training (VET). Previous research has found that teachers should choose authentic learning activities relevant for working life, as well as developing students’ interests in a vocation. Cross-sectional survey data were collected among vocational teacher graduates (n = 279). Tests of mean differences indicated that the bachelor sample reported being significantly better prepared for teaching in broad courses than the postgraduate sample. However, the same difference could not be found in teachers’ report of different learning activities in school. The discussion points to how differences and similarities between content and practice arenas in teacher education can explain teachers' experiences and whether both teacher programmes develop the competence needed to teach in the broad structure of Norwegian VET.

Is self-esteem increasing during emerging adulthood? A two-wave case from Russia

The current study investigates stability and change in self-esteem among Russian emerging adults. Self-esteem of 1004 undergraduates (Mage = 19.50, SDage = 1.25) was assessed during their bachelor's program (T1). Eight years later, 242 of them took part in an online follow-up (T2). Self-esteem was measured with the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. We conducted a longitudinal confirmatory factor analysis with strict measurement invariance constraints. Self-esteem showed substantial mean-level stability and rank-order consistency, both for women and men. No sex differences, effects of parenthood and change in the place of residence were found. Those participants who had had higher self-esteem at T1 were more likely married by T2 compared to singles, and those who cohabited with their partner by T2. Although individual differences in the self-esteem change cannot be excluded, the findings support the idea of self-esteem stability during emerging adulthood, both in the mean-level and rank-order terms.

An eLearning module is comparable to face-to-face teaching in a nursing human pathophysiology subject

BackgroundHuman pathophysiology is important in undergraduate nursing education to help students develop clinical reasoning skills. Traditionally pathophysiology education in undergraduate nursing is taught face-to-face. However, eLearning in nursing curricula may provide flexible delivery options. ObjectiveWith increased inclusion of technology enhanced learning in nursing curricula, a hematology eLearning module was evaluated in a pathophysiology subject to determine whether it was comparable to face-to-face learning. DesignSingle-blind randomized pre-test/post-test controlled trial. SettingSchool of Health and Behavioural Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast. ParticipantsA total of 271 second-year undergraduate students enrolled in Human Pathophysiology were included in the study. Students were from three bachelor programs: Nursing Science; Paramedic Science; and Clinical Exercise Physiology. Students were randomly allocated to either the experimental group (n = 85) or the control group (n = 186). MethodsA hematology eLearning module was designed to be self-directed and learner-centered, guided by constructivist learning theories for delivery in the human pathophysiology subject. The experimental “eLearning” group completed the module independently, and the control “face-to-face” group completed equivalent paper-based activities facilitated by a tutor. All students completed a pre-test assessment and two post-test assessments two weeks after the intervention and at the end of the subject. ResultsThere was no significant difference in assessment scores between the experimental and control groups, or between nursing and other programs. ConclusioneLearning was comparable to face-to-face teaching in this study. We recommend further research to strengthen the links between pathophysiology theory to clinical reasoning skills using eLearning.

Beginning student teachers’ motivations for becoming teachers and their educational ideals

ABSTRACT Research on beginning student teachers’ motivations for becoming teachers has shown that they want to contribute to the lives of their students and to society; however, few of these studies have addressed beginning student teachers’ views on what education is for in relation to the development of both their future students and society. To examine their motivations and ideals, we conducted a survey among 498 secondary student teachers of history and English language at three Dutch teacher education institutes. The student teachers entered a four-year bachelor programme. The results of the factors influencing teaching (FIT)-choice scale show that motivations representing social utility value were rated the highest. Regarding social development, the highest-rated ideals were autonomy and social commitment, and of the ideals focussed on qualification, subject matter knowledge was rated the highest. We found some differences in motivation between student teachers of history and those of the English language; for example, the former’s subject matter motivation was higher than that of the latter. A correlational analysis revealed significant moderate correlations between motivations and educational ideals. In the discussion, we address the implications of our findings for teacher education.

The potential of digital technologies in problem-based forensic learning activities

Forensic practice is the concluding practical course of the forensic science bachelor program at the School of Criminal Justice of the University of Lausanne. Learning activities are constructed around five main objectives for the resolution of simulated forensic case problems: 1) select relevant traces and items to be collected at the scene and perceive their potential value in the reconstruction process, 2) apply appropriate detection techniques in sequence to obtain clues of good quality, 3) process traces using Analysis, Comparison, Evaluation and Verification (ACE-V) methodology, 4) produce and summarise information in oral and written forms to help an investigation, and 5) work collaboratively to benefit from the diversity of group members. Simulating and supervising realistic activities is a complex task that became more and more challenging with a continuously increasing number of students over the years (from ca. 30 in 2016 to more than 60 in 2021). Thus, an educational innovation project was launched and aimed at implementing digital technologies to support the teaching staff. A computer-based crime scene simulation tool (allowing students to visualize 360° crime scenes and relevant items) and a communication tool (to simplify and centralise the communication between the students and the teaching staff) were implemented. This article describes the implementation, added value and limitations of these digital technologies in problem-based learning activities. Prior to 2020, the practical course forensic practice was delivered entirely on-site without specific technologies, and entirely on-line in 2020 (due to the sanitary restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic). Finally, in 2021, on-line and on-site activities were implemented with success, combining the best of both approaches in a blended teaching mode. An overall increase in the satisfaction of students and teaching staff was observed with the implementation of these tools. Limiting presence on-site allowed students to take a step back from the activities and collected items. This promoted critical thinking, and together with an increase in structured (on-line and on-site) interactions allowed for a positive, continuous learning experience. While the evaluations of these novel technologies were very positive, students still expressed their willingness to perform certain tasks on-site and a preference for face-to-face interactions.

Why do nursing students leave bachelor program? Findings from a qualitative descriptive study

BackgroundOver the past few years, the phenomenon of “nursing student attrition” has been unevenly studied. Investigators often focused on independent predictors as age, family obligations, final grade of high school, demanding physical and mental workload and others. Specifically, just a few studies applied qualitative methods to better comprehend the very needs of first year students enrolled in a bachelor’s degree in nursing sciences (BSN), to sustain their learning process and define effective strategies to reduce student drop-out.MethodsWe conducted a qualitative descriptive study. Thirty-one nursing students at Verona University were interviewed using a semi-structured guide. Data analysis was performed according to a descriptive approach by Sandelowski & Barroso (2000).ResultsA total number of 31 students were interviewed. The most recurrent themes regarding the reasons behind BSN drop-out were: understanding that they were not suited to be nurses, perception of missing/lack of psychological, physical and practical resources needed to successfully cope with both nursing school and the nursing profession, inconsistencies between the image of the profession and the reality of the job, feelings of disappointment for the experiences of internship, perceived lack of support from the clinical teacher while going through difficult experiences.ConclusionsWe can consider a part of these drop-out decisions normal, even physiological when students come to realise that they are not suited for the nursing profession. However, it’s important to guide nursing students with adequate counselling in order to give them the essential tools to cope with the training and the future as health professionals.

Research Competencies of Social Work Students during Remote Learning

Context: Acquiring research competencies by students is becoming more and more relevant in an evidence-based social work approach. Moving from traditional face-to-face pedagogical approach to a fully remote educational paradigm has greatly impacted universities in developing appropriate solutions for teaching and learning. Research skills and knowledge have been considered an important competence in social work training as best practice requires using available research data and best research requires understanding the context of practice. Method: Using a quantitative approach the current paper analyses how perception of remote learning and type and level of digital skills influence the development of research skills for social work students. 242 Romanian students enrolled in bachelor program filled in a questionnaire in June 2021. Results: The experience of a fully remote learning of research method did not have any significant impact on research competencies. However, the high level of operational skills influences students’ competency in research inquiry and quantitative/qualitative methodology, information-navigation skills positively influence dissemination of research and creative skills influences their level in quantitative/qualitative process, ethics and dissemination. Conclusion: In an evidence-based social work approach, research competences need to remain an important component of learning plans. However, considering the digitalisation trend higher education, it is expected that the content and format of research classes to adapt in order to assure the transferability of skills into the field of practice.

The User Experience Design Program: Applying Situated and Embodied Cognition Together With Reflective Teaching

The education of students to become competent user experience designers is a delicate matter as students need to obtain a multitude of knowledge, skills, and judgmental abilities. In this paper, our effort to manage this multiplicity in a bachelor's program in user experience design is shared along with our experiences and teaching practices influenced by theories of situated and embodied cognition together with reflective teaching. The program was followed up through interviews with eight alumni and a company representative that employs user experience designers. The results show that the program overall works well, although some of the identified issues need to be addressed in the future. The interpretation is that our program curricula and teaching practices are fruitful, which hopefully can contribute to thoughts and discussions for other teachers in the field of user experience design and human-computer interaction.

The effect of a general versus narrow undergraduate curriculum on graduate specialization: The case of a Dutch liberal arts college

Whether a broad undergraduate curriculum prepares students well for academic and professional specialization is a much-debated question. This discussion is particularly relevant in the context of European liberal arts bachelor's programmes, which recently re-emerged as an exception to the continental norm of specialized undergraduate curricula. While liberal arts proponents contend that the broad foundation of knowledge and generic skills provided by this educational model facilitate specialization rather than hindering it, critics point to the relative lack of disciplinary depth. To investigate this problem, the paper looks at three specialized master's programmes at Maastricht University—in international business, psychology, and neuroscience. It compares the academic performance of two groups of students in these programmes: graduates from University College Maastricht, a liberal arts institution, and their peers with discipline-focused bachelor's degrees in a matching field. Results from probit and OLS regression models show that there are no major differences between the two groups in terms of dropout rates, GPA, and master's thesis grades. Despite having less subject-specific knowledge, university college graduates proved to be prepared equally well for specialized master's studies as their counterparts with a matching disciplinary background. These findings suggest that an undergraduate curriculum that offers more breadth and flexibility does not represent an obstacle to further specialization.

Knowledge and Attitude Related to Cervical Cancer Prevention and Screening among Female Students in the College of Nursing, Kuwait

Objectives: To assess knowledge and attitude related to cervical cancer prevention, and screening among female students in the college of nursing in Kuwait. Subjects and Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey in which 250 female students were recruited to answer the questionnaire. Results: Mean age of the students was 20.91 ±4.28 years. Ninety percent (n = 227) of them have heard of cervical cancer, but only 25.72 % (n = 65) recognized infection with the human papilloma virus as a risk factor. Only 23.33% (n=58) of the students studied are aware of the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccination. Seventy-nine percent (n=198) of the students studied were aware of the Papanicolaou cervix smear (Pap smear), and 42% of them gave a positive response when asked about the test's necessity. When students with a history of marriage were compared to those without a history of marriage, they demonstrated a statistically significant increase in their intention to undergo cytological examination (61.5 % vs 38.5 %, p=0.036). Comparing students in years 3 and 4 of a bachelor's program to those in years 1 and 2 revealed that student in years 3 and 4 were more knowledgeable about the relationship between HPV infection and cancer cervix (23.7% Vs 16 %, p=0.003). Conclusion: Nursing students have a limited understanding of cervical cancer, HPV vaccination, and Pap smear screening as an early detection practice. Cervical cancer prevention and screening issues must be immediately integrated into nurses' existing teaching and training curricula.