Educational Tracks Research Articles

Educationally Tracked Democratic Equalizers: How Citizenship Education Moderates the Effect of a Political Home Environment on Internal Political Efficacy Across Educational Tracks

AbstractCitizenship education aims to compensate for the lack of a stimulating political home environment. However, not all scholars are convinced that schools are great equalizers, as citizenship education might reinforce rather than reduce socioeconomic inequalities. This paper investigates whether citizenship education compensates, reproduces, or accelerates inequality in students’ internal political efficacy (IPE) and how this relationship differs across educational tracks. IPE is considered a key political attitude that predicts political participation and taps into self-confidence in a political setting. This political attitude is especially interesting considering the stigmatizing effects of educational tracks. We study the effect of citizenship education among senior high school students in Flanders. We examine three kinds of citizenship education: civic learning experiences, an open classroom climate, and active student participation at school. We conduct three-way interactions in multilevel models to study the moderating effect of these types of citizenship education at school on the relationship between a political home environment and IPE across educational tracks. We show compensating effects for the three citizenship education types. However, looking across educational tracks, there is a clearer compensation in the academic track compared to the technical and vocational tracks. Our findings indicate that citizenship education contributes to a democratic society where all citizens feel confident participating in the political arena. Still, technical and vocational tracked students not only receive less citizenship education, but the reduction of socioeconomic inequalities in feelings of IPE when receiving higher amounts is also less articulated than in the academic track.

Introducing the TISMIR Education Track: What, Why, How?

Introducing the TISMIR Education Track: What, Why, How?

Academic Medicine and Rural Health System Partnerships: Enhancing Education While Advancing Physician Workforce Priorities.

A worsening shortage of rural physicians paralleling increasing health disparities demands attention. Past and ongoing efforts to address this shortage have had positive effects and can inform new strategies to achieve even greater impact. Interventions have included the development of regional medical school campuses and rural-focused tracks to recruit medical students from rural areas, expansion of rural-based graduate medical education (GME) programs and tracks, and use of institutional and individual financial incentives for rural-based training and/or practice. National policy has also taken aim at this challenge with provisions aimed at expanding rural GME in the Medicare, Medicaid, and State Children's Health Insurance Program Balanced Budget Refinement Act of 1999 and the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Additionally, several states have funded growth in GME, and supportive pathways for Medicare reimbursement and for Veterans Administration funding have been implemented. The authors recommend a new strategy for bolstering the rural physician workforce, focused on using academic-rural partnerships to incorporate rural rotations as a routine part of GME. They explain how the current health care landscape supports this approach and outline additional steps toward implementation. Centralized data collection and analysis are noted as essential to guide future efforts.

Teaching Adolescents about Stress Using a Universal School-Based Psychoeducation Program: A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial

Psychoeducation programs may increase knowledge about stress and help adolescents cope with stress. However, research about the effectiveness of psychoeducation programs about stress for adolescents is limited. The present study aimed to fill this gap by evaluating the effect of a brief school-based universal psychoeducation program about stress, the Stress Lessons, in terms of knowledge and experienced stress. A total of 1613 adolescents (M = 13.41 years) from Dutch secondary schools participated. A cluster randomised controlled design was employed: classes were randomly assigned to an experimental or control condition. The experimental condition received three Stress Lessons between pre- and post-test. The Stress Lessons provided information about stress, how to recognize stress, and how to cope with and prevent stress. Questionnaires were used to assess knowledge about stress as well as experienced stress. Multilevel analyses were conducted to examine the effectiveness of the Stress Lessons and the moderating effect of gender, educational track, and ethnic background. Results showed that knowledge gain was significantly greater in the experimental than in the control condition. Experienced stress did not change due to the Stress Lessons. Moderator analyses revealed a larger effect of the Stress lessons in terms of knowledge about stress for girls compared to boys and for adolescents who followed academic compared to vocational education. Overall, the findings show that a brief psychoeducation program leads to a better understanding of stress. Therefore, it may be useful for schools to implement such programs to enhance adolescents’ awareness.

Research on the Influence of Teacher-Student Education Expectation Consistency on Students’ Physical Exercise: Based on Polynomial Regression and Response Surface Analysis

Students' physical exercise has important practical significance in enhancing students' physical health and promoting the health construction. Based on the expectation effect theory, this study explores the influence of teacher-student expectation consistency on students' physical exercise from a binary perspective. Using China Education Tracking Survey (CEPS) data, through polynomial regression and response surface analysis, it is found that: (1) There are four combinations of teacher-student educational expectation. Compared with the combination of "high-low", "low-high" and "low-low", when teacher-student educational expectation is consistent with "high-high", students' cognitive ability and students' physical exercise are higher; (2) Cognitive ability mediates the relationship between teacher-student educational expectation consistency and students' physical exercise; (3) The class atmosphere moderates the consistency of teacher-student education expectation and cognitive ability. This study employs computer technology to validate the impact of the teacher-student duality interaction on students' physical exercise through polynomial regression and response surface analysis. Through the design and development of intelligent auxiliary education system, teachers can gain better insight into students' educational expectations while promoting their engagement in physical exercise.

School health promotion and fruit and vegetable consumption in secondary schools: a repeated cross-sectional multilevel study

BackgroundWorldwide, recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption are not met, which can cause chronic diseases. Especially adolescence is an important phase for the development of health behaviours. Therefore, in the Netherlands, the Healthy School program was established to aid schools in promoting healthy lifestyles among their students. We examined to what extent the variation between secondary schools regarding students’ fruit and vegetable consumption could be explained by differences between schools regarding Healthy School certification, general school characteristics, and the school population. Additionally, we examined whether Healthy School certification was related to the outcomes, and whether the association differed for subgroups.MethodsWe performed a repeated cross-sectional multilevel study. We used data from multiple school years from the national Youth Health Monitor on secondary schools (grades 2 and 4, age ranged from approximately 12 to 18 years) of seven Public Health Services, and added data with regard to Healthy School certification, general school characteristics and school population characteristics. We included two outcomes: the number of days a student consumed fruit and vegetables per week. In total, we analysed data on 168,127 students from 256 secondary schools in the Netherlands.ResultsResults indicated that 2.87% of the variation in fruit consumption and 5.57% of the variation in vegetable consumption could be attributed to differences at the school-level. Characteristics related to high parental educational attainment, household income, and educational track of the students explained most of the variance between schools. Additionally, we found a small favourable association between Healthy School certification and the number of days secondary school students consumed fruit and vegetables.ConclusionsSchool population characteristics explained more variation between schools than Healthy School certification and general school characteristics, especially indicators of parental socioeconomic status. Nevertheless, Healthy School certification seemed to be slightly related to fruit and vegetable consumption, and might contribute to healthier dietary intake. We found small differences for some subgroups, but future research should focus on the impact in different school contexts, since we were restricted in the characteristics that could be included in this study.

Comparing labor market performance of vocational and general school graduates in Indonesia: insights from stable and crisis conditions

This study seeks to investigate the association between distinct tracks of secondary education—namely, vocational school (Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan, SMK) and general school (Sekolah Menengah Atas, SMA)—and two key labor market outcomes: the duration required for graduates to attain their initial employment and their resilience in the face of pandemic, as measured by changes in average monthly income. While the former sheds light on the outcome under typical circumstances, the latter offers valuable insights into the outcome during periods of crisis. Focused on Indonesia, this research employs Heckman two-step model alongside ordinary least square (OLS) for the first outcome and ordered probit regression for the second. The research draws upon data extracted from the 2021 National Labor Force Survey (Survey Angkatan Kerja Nasional, SAKERNAS). Our results suggest that SMK provides an advantage in securing initial employment compared to SMA, with SMK graduates entering the workforce earlier than their counterparts. Moreover, in terms of resilience during the pandemic, as evidenced by changes in income, SMK graduates exhibit greater resilience, with a higher likelihood of maintaining or even increasing their income compared to SMA graduates. These findings offer valuable implications for both theoretical understanding and practical considerations.

Study on the Mechanism of the Impact of Non cognitive Abilities on Academic Achievement: The Chain Mediating Role of Teacher Support and Parent Participation

Based on the China Education Tracking Survey (CEPS) data, a structural equation model was used to study the mechanism of non cognitive abilities on academic achievement of middle school students. The results showed that: (1) there was a significant correlation between non cognitive ability, parental involvement, teacher support, and academic achievement variables; (2) Non cognitive abilities have a significant positive impact on student academic achievement, with pleasant traits in non cognitive abilities having a greater direct impact on academic achievement compared to learning perseverance traits; (3) Parental involvement plays an independent mediating role in the impact of non cognitive abilities on the academic achievement of junior high school students; (4) Teacher support and parental involvement play a chain mediating role in the impact of non cognitive abilities on the academic achievement of middle school students. The results of this study indicate that non cognitive abilities not only have a significant positive impact on the academic achievement of middle school students, but can also have an indirect impact on their academic achievement through two pathways: the mediating effect of parental involvement and the chain mediating effect of teacher support and parental involvement.

Path of Physical Exercise's Impact on Deviant Behavior Among Chinese Adolescents.

Physical exercise is an important predictor of deviant behavior in adolescents; however, the paths and mechanisms underlying this relationship remain understudied. This cross-sectional study used education tracking data of 8725 Chinese adolescents (4453 males, 4240 females, average age 14 ± 0.73) to construct a chain mediation model to explore whether sleep quality and mental health mediated the relationship between physical exercise and adolescent deviant behavior. The results show that physical exercise cannot directly predict adolescent deviant behavior; however, it can indirectly affect deviant behavior through the mediating effect of sleep quality and mental health as well as the chain mediating benefit of "sleep quality-mental health". Sleep quality and mental health are important internal factors of physical exercise that inhibit deviant adolescent behavior. The lack of physical activity and poor sleep quality should be prioritized in interventions regarding deviant behavior among Chinese adolescents.

The Relationship Between Family Education and Students' Academic Performance

Using the China Education Tracking Survey 2014 data (CEPS 2014) and the Logit regression model, the relationship between family education and students' academic performance was analyzed, and different parenting styles should be adopted for different students. Research has found that there is no significant relationship between parental control over students' computer usage time and their academic performance; Similarly, whether parents have strict control over students' social interactions is not significantly related to whether students' academic performance is good.

Eye-Tracking Technology in Dentistry: A Review of Literature.

This narrative review explores the integration of eye-tracking technology in dentistry, aiming to provide a comprehensive overview of its current applications and potential benefits. The review begins by elucidating the fundamental principles of eye tracking, encompassing the various eye-tracking methods and devices commonly used in dental research. It then delves into the role of eye tracking in dental education, where the technology offers a unique perspective on students' visual attention during training and skill acquisition. Moreover, the review examines how eye tracking can aid in assessing and improving dental practitioners' clinical performance, shedding light on areas of improvement and expertise. In patient care, the application of eye-tracking technology offers significant potential. By analyzing patients' gaze patterns and visual focus during dental procedures, clinicians can gain valuable insights into their experiences, identifying sources of anxiety and discomfort. This newfound understanding can pave the way for more patient-centric care and optimized treatment plans. The review also explores the application of eye-tracking technology in designing and evaluating dental interfaces and equipment. By assessing visual ergonomics and usability, researchers can develop user-friendly instruments that enhance dental professionals' workflow and efficiency. However, despite its promise, integrating eye tracking in dentistry is not without challenges. Technical limitations, data analysis complexities, and ethical considerations require careful attention to ensure this technology's ethical and responsible use. In conclusion, this narrative review highlights the growing significance of eye-tracking technology in dentistry. Its applications span dental education, clinical practice, and patient care, holding immense potential to revolutionize how dental procedures are conducted, evaluated, and experienced. Nevertheless, further research and collaboration between dental professionals and eye-tracking experts are necessary to unlock the technology's benefits and ensure its seamless integration into dental practices.

Use of eye tracking in medical education

Eye tracking has become increasingly applied in medical education research for studying the cognitive processes that occur during the performance of a task, such as image interpretation and surgical skills development. However, analysis and interpretation of the large amount of data obtained by eye tracking can be confusing. In this article, our intention is to clarify the analysis and interpretation of the data obtained from eye tracking. Understanding the relationship between eye tracking metrics (such as gaze, pupil and blink rate) and cognitive processes (such as visual attention, perception, memory and cognitive workload) is essential. The importance of calibration and how the limitations of eye tracking can be overcome is also highlighted.

Service-Learning Through Community-Based Exercise Teaching Enhances Medical Students’ Exercise Knowledge, Counseling Confidence, and Habits

Exercise is a pivotal tool in the prevention and management of chronic disease, a cornerstone of primary care. Yet, there is little formal exercise education in medical school and many medical students feel unprepared to effectively counsel patients about exercise. Since 2019, medical students in the Primary Care Program (PCP), a primary care-focused educational track, at the Keck School of Medicine (KSOM) of the University of Southern California (USC) have taught exercise classes to the local community as part of a service-learning experience. Students receive lectures on exercise from faculty and then deliver curated bilingual English/Spanish presentations and lead exercise classes for the community. Post participation in this program, students reported (1) increased knowledge of exercise principles, (2) increased predicted likelihood of counseling patients about exercise, (3) increased confidence in providing exercise counseling, and (4) intent to make positive changes in their own exercise habits. This curriculum provides a replicable lifestyle medicine model for other medical schools seeking to enhance exercise education and train the next generation of primary care physicians.

Worlds apart? An empirical assessment of education as a social boundary among young people in Flanders

ABSTRACT Educational tracking refers to the grouping of students based on their academic abilities. Although tracking has been intensively debated in terms of its impact on academic outcomes, this study assesses whether educational tracks effectively constitute a social boundary between youth. Data from 11 surveys (Total N = 38,372) gathered among pupils enrolled in secondary education in Flanders were used to assess to what extent young people’s educational track position relates to a wide range of opinions and behavior in general (471 outcomes) and the potential moderating role of gender and migration status. Subsequently, we focused on indicators that refer to intergroup processes (i.e. cross-track friendships and perceived contempt). Educational differences are especially large for tastes, indicators of lifestyle, and societal attitudes. Moreover, we find that differences in educational track position are connected with perceived status differences and constitute an important structuring factor regarding their friendships.

Digital Campus as a tool for teaching English in the era of digital education

Introduction. The digital transformation of higher education in Russia has caused the need to revise the approaches to language training of university graduates. Aim. The present research aimed to model a Digital Campus with its services and functions as a tool for language training of students in the era of digital transformation of education. Methodology and research methods. The strategic approach was employed as the leading methodological approach, which in the framework of this study is considered as a potential possibility to implement language education at the university using the “Digital Campus” as an important tool for digital transformation of universities. The research was conducted in three stages, involving 2–3 year students of Togliatti State University (113 participants) and school students of Togliatti (157 participants) from July 2022 to January 2023. Empirical research methods were used: analysis, comparison, generalisation, synthesis, modelling. Stage 1 – collection and analysis of the information presented on the websites of the universities in order to highlight the indicators of the digital development of universities. Stage 2 – a survey of schoolchildren to identify their attitude to university admission; a survey of students to determine their motivation to receive language training through digital tools. Stage 3 – modelling of a Digital Campus, its services and functions for students’ language training. Results. The authors defined the Digital Campus as an environment based on information and educational digital resources and technologies, computer equipment, telecommunication technologies and software, organisational and methodological support, connecting participants in the learning process (teachers, applicants and students, graduates, enterprises/businesses) for distant educational activities and business operations in accordance with personalised request. The data available on universities’ websites were analysed and grouped into seven indicators. The most represented are the services: additional professional education, the use of interactive forms to work with applicants, online support of student and graduate career development, and the project office. Services for the implementation of personalised educational tracks and the digital footprints accumulation during the learning process were less prominent in the course of the research. The results of the survey were the following: there was a general readiness for “applicant – university” interaction through the online environment; a small percentage of divergence of schoolchildren and student opinion regarding their expectations to learn a foreign language online was observed. The Digital Campus and its functions were modelled. Each of the campus services – a student personal account (applicants/students), a teacher personal account, and an employer personal account (enterprises/businesses) – has its own interface and access to the following functional units: “Recruitment and Project System”, “Language Courses”, “Course Designer”, “Resource Management”, “E-Learning System”, “Courses Expertise Centre”. The environment creates unified information and educational space for student language training. Scientific novelty. The approaches to understanding the digital transformation of higher education were systematised, and the indicators of higher education institutions use of digital solutions in the educational process were analytically presented. The article provides the authors’ definition of the Digital Campus. The theoretical significance of the article is in the outline and analytical presentation of existing approaches and trends in the digital transformation of higher education. Practical significance. The Digital Campus is an important tool for the implementation of language training and, unlike the common university website, allows real-time interaction between all participants in the educational process: universities – students – enterprises/businesses. The prospects for the study may be aimed at the development of a Digital Campus for engineering students.

Promotion Criteria for Medical Educators: Are We Climbing a Ladder with Invisible Rungs?

ObjectiveIn 2006 the Association of American Medical Colleges recommended standardization of documentation of the contributions of medical educators and guidelines for their academic promotion. The authors characterized current United States (US) medical school promotion guidelines for medical educators. MethodsAuthors collected publicly available data from medical school promotion websites from March through July 2022 after determining categories by traditional-set domains as well as peer-reviewed standards. Extracted data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, and frequencies were calculated for nominal and categorical data. ResultsOf 155 medical schools identified, promotion criteria were publicly available for 143 (92%) schools. Ninety-one (64%) schools identified a distinct educator track. Of those with a defined educator track, 44 (48%) schools consider workshops or other media when evaluating candidates for promotion, and only 52 (57%) of schools with a specified educational track require additional documentation of teaching or education as part of their promotion process. Notably, 34 (37%) of the 91 schools with an educator track specifically require an Educational Portfolio, compared to 27 (52%) of the 52 schools that do not have a specific educator track for promotion. ConclusionThis study describes the current lack of clarity and consistency of the promotion criteria for medical educators and indicates that the guidelines proposed by the Association of American Medical Colleges over 15 years ago have not been widely adopted. These data amplify previous calls for a more objective set of criteria for evaluating and recognizing the contributions of medical educators.

What wages do people expect for vocational and academic education backgrounds in Switzerland?

Correctly anticipating the earnings for different education profiles is pivotal in making informed education decisions. In this paper, leveraging unique survey data, we study the wage expectations for academic and vocational education backgrounds in Switzerland. Personal reference points matter in forming these wage expectations as we find significant heterogeneity in their distributions by gender, age, socioeconomic status, region of residence, and migration background. Asymmetries exist between beliefs for academic and vocational backgrounds since relative differences in wage expectations also vary by respondents’ characteristics. These heterogeneities are vital for education policy because our analyses show that the wage expectations are associated with preferences for specific educational tracks for the own (hypothetical) child. If education decisions are ill-informed, this possibly leads to educational mismatches and related adverse effects later in life.

Educational Tracking and the Polygenic Prediction of Education

Educational Tracking and the Polygenic Prediction of Education

Data-Driven Approach to Curriculum Analysis

The choice of an educational program is momentous in young people's lives. Given the shortage of time after exams, applicants usually do not have time to analyze possible educational tracks. Furthermore, it requires a thorough study of learning plans. This research addresses the problem proposing the algorithm to data-driven curriculum analysis based on natural language processing of course names or competences listed in learning plans. Moreover, the intelligent software system architecture is described. The method is tested on the curricula scraped from university websites. In order to store the content a data warehouse has been developed. At this time, there are few studies on this topic. The existing ones are either on the early stages of development or scarce on implementation details. They are briefly discussed in this paper.

Variation in teachers’ academic optimism: Examining the impact of classroom composition and school academic optimism

Teacher academic optimism (TAO) is crucial for student achievement, even considering background variables like SES and migration. This study investigates the variation of TAO in relation to classroom composition, educational track, and teachers' perception of school-level academic optimism (SAO). Bayesian multilevel structural equation modelling, conducted on data from 1061 teachers in 37 secondary schools, reveals that educational track significantly influences TAO, regardless of students' background characteristics. Furthermore, the relationship between SAO and TAO is emphasized. To cultivate inclusive and effective learning environments, policymakers and educators should prioritize investing in SAO, particularly in vocational tracks.