Degree In Social Sciences Research Articles

Graduation Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Degree Programs: Outline of a Typical Undergraduate Research Style in Japan

Graduation Research in Humanities and Social Sciences Degree Programs: Outline of a Typical Undergraduate Research Style in Japan

Recent American Library School Graduate Disciplinary Backgrounds are Predominantly English and History

A Review of:
 Clarke, R. I., & Kim, Y.-I. (2018). The more things change, the more they stay the same: educational and disciplinary backgrounds of American librarians, 1950-2015. School of Information Studies: Faculty Scholarship, 178. https://surface.syr.edu/istpub/178
 Abstract
 Objective – To determine the educational and disciplinary backgrounds of recent library school graduates and compare them to librarians of the past and to the general population.
 Design – Cross-sectional.
 Setting – 7 library schools in North America.
 Subjects – 3,191 students and their 4,380 associated degrees.
 Methods – Data was solicited from every ALA-accredited Master of Library Science (MLS) program in the United States of America, Canada, and Puerto Rico on students enrolled between 2012-2016 about their undergraduate and graduate degrees and areas of study. Data was coded and summarized quantitatively. Undergraduate degree data were recoded and compared to the undergraduate degree areas of study for the college-educated American population for 2012-2015 using the IPEDS Classification of Instructional Programs taxonomic scheme. Data were compared to previous studies investigating librarian disciplinary backgrounds.
 Main Results – 12% of schools provided data. Recent North American library school graduates have undergraduate and graduate degrees with disciplinary backgrounds in humanities (41%), social sciences (22%), professions (17%), Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) (11%), arts (6%), and miscellaneous/interdisciplinary (3%). Of the humanities, English (14.68%) and history (10.43%) predominate. Comparing undergraduate degrees with the college-educated American population using the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classification schema, recent library school graduates have a higher percentage of degrees in social sciences and history (21.37% vs. 9.24%), English language and literature/letters (20.33% vs. 2.65%), computer and information science (6.54% vs. 2.96%), and foreign languages, literatures, and linguistics (6.25% vs. 1.1%). Compared to librarians in the past, there has been a decline in recent library school graduates with English language and literature/letters, education, biological and physical sciences, and library science undergraduate degrees. There has been an increase in visual and performing arts undergraduate degrees in recent library school graduates. 
 Conclusion – English and history disciplinary backgrounds still predominate in recent library school graduates. This could pose problems for library school students unfamiliar with social science methodologies, both in school and later when doing evidence-based practice in the work place. The disciplinary backgrounds of recent library school graduates were very different from the college-educated American population. An increase in librarians with STEM backgrounds may help serve a need for STEM support and provide more diverse perspectives. More recent library school graduates have an arts disciplinary background than was seen in previous generations. The creativity and innovation skills that an arts background provides could be an important skill in librarianship.

What is the Point of a Political Science Degree?

Political science majors are down nation-wide as a proportion of all degrees and as a proportion of social science degrees. To explain to undergraduate students why they ought to major in political science, we should emphasize what they can do with the degree rather than reflecting from our own past experience or the wide range of careers one can get with such a degree. I argue for three models of political science education that focus on what students can do with the degree, including the researcher, activist, and leader models. I posit that the third, which should involve instruction in career preparation, ethics, and conflict resolution, is the most flexible and useful and should be emphasized in political science curricula.

Tourism students’ Attitudes Toward Statistics

Since tourism entered in higher education, statistical skills have frequently been included in tourism curricula, with due recognition of their importance in student training. But apart from acknowledgement of that fact, the motivation of this paper was the conviction that tourism students need to have statistical literacy; this is understood not only as the acquisition of knowledge about tools of statistical analysis, but as the development of statistical reasoning, since that is relevant for the students' career. However, the majority of tourism students do not have strong mathematical training, and they do not show an inclination for quantitative methods. In this context, attitudes are crucial for the learning process. Negative attitudes towards a subject of study can often become an obstacle to effective learning, and there is a common belief that attitudes towards Statistics are negative. This paper focuses on evaluating the attitudes of university students enrolled in Tourism management studies, using a self-administered survey to students of the Degree in Tourism at the University of the Balearic Islands. To our knowledge, there are no other studies of this type related to this university major, despite the importance of acquiring statistical skills for tourism professionals. The survey instrument includes the Survey of Attitudes towards Statistics (SATS©), along with some questions regarding demographic and academic characteristics of the respondents. An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) has been conducted on the SATS© items, seeking to identify the underlying dimensions of tourism students’ attitudes towards Statistics. The relationship between attitudinal components and the demographic and academic characteristics of students has also been investigated. From the results, recommendations emerge for teaching and learning, as well as for the improvement of attitudes towards Statistics in Tourism studies in particular, and in Social Science degrees in general.

Gilda de Mello e Souza e a emergência do campo da moda no Brasil (1800-1990)

O objetivo deste artigo é recompor a história de uma obra: a tese-ensaio que, em 1950, conferiu a Gilda de Mello e Souza grau de doutoramento em Ciências Sociais, situando-a no contexto acadêmico e da geração intelectual da época em que foi escrita, assim como no desenvolvimento do campo da moda no Brasil. Lançada em livro 37 anos depois, com o título O espírito das roupas - a moda no século XIX, ganhou reconhecimento e se tornou uma obra-monumento para o campo da moda ou, pelo menos, para a produção histórica da moda no Brasil. Para além de suas qualidades intrínsecas, só é possível alcançar sua significação revisitando as fontes que lhe deram sustentação, sua temporalidade e as circunstâncias que circundaram sua elaboração; sobretudo, localizando-a no âmbito da emergência do campo – conforme conceituou o sociólogo Pierre Bourdieu.

Glete de Alcântara: legado centenario de la enfermería brasileña

The aim was to identify relevant points in the bibliography of the Brazilian nurse Glete de Alcântara. It is a historical study of biography, which used documentary analysis. A vast documentary corpus was located, with emphasis on her memorial (1963 resume), 54 publications, as well as articles and books mentioning her career. Through the Rockefeller Foundation, she graduated as a nurse at the University of Toronto-Canada. She initially taught at the University of Sao Paulo's School of Nursing, Brazil, received her BS degree in Social Sciences, at the same university and with a grant from the Kellogg Foundation, in 1951, obtained a Master of Arts degree from Teachers College, Columbia University, New York. In 1952 she was chosen to create and manage the University of Sao Paulo at Ribeirao Preto College of Nursing, where she remained for almost two decades as its dean. Her outstanding performance as president of the Brazilian Nursing Association, only ended with her death in 1974, while in the second term as national president of the entity, where she contributed to the scientific and legal advancement of Brazilian nursing. As a leadership model and dedication for the Nursing class Glete de Alcântara has left a great legacy of struggle for Nursing.

What (and who) works in widening participation? Supporting direct entrant student transitions to higher education

ABSTRACTThis article considers support programmes for direct entrant (DE) student transitions as a widening participation strategy. We reflect upon one induction and support project with 27 students transitioning from further education into the second year of undergraduate social science degree programmes in a Scottish university. We use focus group data to discuss what works (barriers to successful transitions, project successes and limitations) and primarily who works; how responsibility for supporting DE student transitions is distributed and which students benefit. Original findings confirm existing evidence that becoming an ‘independent learner’ is a challenge for DE students. However, analysis problematizes and significantly expands existing understandings of relationships with staff and peer support, and contributes new insight into how the materiality and everyday logistics of the university relate to DE student transitions. We argue for more institutionally embedded approaches to supporting student transitions, including resourcing academic staff to develop and provide this support.

Bronislovo Bitino intelektinis palikimas hodegetikoje

The article discusses the intellectual heritage of Professor Bronislovas Bitinas in the context of contemporary education and social situation in Lithuania. Prof. B. Bitinas is one of the most prominent contemporary educology scholars who holds the degrees in humanities, social sciences and mathematics and has a wide scientific interest in multi-ethnicity, his scientific activity was mainly related to diagnostics and methodology of educational research, education theory and education, deep analytical and systematic thought. His contribution both to the training of pedagogues and to the field of science of pedagogy is not only prominent, but also special. This is revealed by abundant and original fundamental works, which consolidate the basic ideas of mathematical statistics and methodology in educational science. Based on the results of many years of theoretical and empirical research, the works define the fundamentals of scientific knowledge and scientific research of educational objects, which describe specific aspects of educational reality and help to establish the science of education in the modern system of sciences.

Inclusión del alumnado con discapacidad en los estudios superiores. Ideas y actitudes del colectivo estudiantil

La inclusión socioeducativa del alumnado con discapacidad en los estudios superiores ha comenzado a ser objeto de investigación en los últimos años. En este trabajo analizamos esta situación de inclusión en la Universidad Pública de Navarra (UPNa) desde la perspectiva de quienes cursan titulaciones de las ramas de Ciencias Humanas y Sociales, Económicas y Jurídicas, por cuanto en ellas se concentra la mayoría de estudiantes con discapacidad. En colaboración con la Sección de Acción Social y del profesorado se ha obtenido información por medio de una encuesta sobre qué ideas y actitudes tiene el alumnado de la UPNa hacia sus iguales con discapacidad.

MAGISTRANTŪROS STUDIJŲ PROGRAMA KARJEROS EDUKOLOGIJA: MODERNUS POŽIŪRIS Į KARJEROS VALDYMĄ [MASTER’S DEGREE STUDY PROGRAMME CAREER EDUCATION: MODERN POSITION TO CAREER MANAGEMENT

Lithuanian economic success mostly depends not on how much of the youth graduate studies in higher education, but on that, if each of them in their activity and working world finds a place corresponding mostly to their demands and abilities. Therefore, effectively provided professional orientation, information, consultation and career projection and planning services become important both for education system and for labour market and their interaction. Namely, these services help to better use human resources, because favourable conditions are formed for people ability and interest compatibility with current learning and occupation possibilities. Professional consultation and orientation, career planning services have to be the most important element of learning and occupation policy at national, regional and local levels, also a constitutive part of labour market policy. Second stage (master’s degree) study programme in social sciences Career Education carried out in Siauliai university prepares career specialists, able to understand career process in a modern way and provide professional orientation, information, consultation and planning services. During the studies it is sought to form conditions for the person to acquire university master’s degree in social sciences (education) based on direction related scientific research, assuring educational culture continuation, conforming to the newest technology level, corresponding to lifelong learning and harmonious development attitudes. Keywords: career education, professional orientation, study programme, vocational guidance.

Effects of Different Types of Rubric-Based Feedback on Learning Outcomes

Nowadays in Higher Education, the teaching procedures that lead to better Learning Outcomes (LO) require continuous analysis. Rubrics such as teaching feedback procedures have demonstrated their effectiveness at heightening the reflection of university students on their own practice. The aims were: 1) to study the effects of different types of rubric-based feedback [from process-oriented feedback to traditional feedback] on LO and on student perceptions of subject matter knowledge (SPKI) in a comparison between students in engineering and students in the social sciences; 2) to analyze the relation between metacognitive skills and motivation with LO and SPKI; 3) to validate the results with structural equation modeling (SEM). The study comprised a total of 171 university students (n = 80 from the mechanical engineering degree and n = 91 from social sciences degree). A quasi-experimental design with a control group was used to test aim 1 and a descriptive correlational design to test aim 2. SEM was applied to validate the results (aim 3). Significant differences were found between both types of rubric-based feedback (process-oriented v. traditional) in relation to LO, though not in relation to SPKI. The effects of the degree type were noted in LO but no in SPKI. Likewise, a relation between SPKI and motivation skills was found in engineering students. Accordingly, the type of degree and the characteristics of the subject modules appear to be determining factors in successful learning, while SPKI is directly linked to motivation skills. The SEM results validated these conclusions.

FROM THE CLASSROOM TO THE WORKPLACE: HOW SOCIAL SCIENCE STUDENTS ARE LEARNING TO DO DATA ANALYSIS FOR REAL

In British social science degree programmes, methods courses have a bad press, and statistics courses in particular are not well-liked by most students. A nationally-coordinated, strategic investment in quantitative skills training, Q-Step, is an attempt to address the issues affecting the shortage of quantitatively trained humanities and social science graduates. Pedagogic approaches to teaching statistics and data analysis to social science students are starting to indicate positive outcomes. This paper contributes to these debates by focusing on the perspective of the student experience in different learning environments: first, we explain the approach taken at the University of Manchester to teaching a core quantitative research methods module for second-year sociology students; and second, we introduce case studies of three undergraduates who took that training and went on to work as interns with social research organisations, as part of a Manchester Q-Step Centre initiative to take learning from the classroom into the workplace. 
 First published May 2017 at Statistics Education Research Journal Archives

Solidarity and support: feminist memory work focus groups with working-class women studying social science degrees in Australia

This paper reports on our use of a two-phased, feminist memory work in a project conducted with 11 women, social science students at an Australian university. We begin by describing government-led attempts to widen participation in Australian universities because 10 of the 11 women who participated in our project were from non-traditional backgrounds. We discuss qualitative group research, identifying some of the benefits and limitations of focus groups, before differentiating them from feminist memory work and analysing key findings. Using excerpts from participants’ written stories and oral discussions, we analyse some of the obstacles the women faced trying to complete their studies. Our attention then turns to methodological concerns where we examine memory work as a feminist inquiry method. As second-wave feminists understood several decades ago through their use of consciousness-raising groups, we describe how we derived many benefits from using feminist memory work. The method invites deep reflection on the intersections between the personal and political and can be productive of insights about how people feel, not just think, about their experiences. A sense of solidarity can stem from this awareness amongst participants who have a chance to workshop and thus reinterpret their own stories and those of others, which can mean a growth in self-confidence and a reduction in self-blame.

Students' views of, and motivations for, studying A-level Further Mathematics

In response to recently-announced reforms to A-level Mathematics and Further Mathematics, a large-scale study was undertaken regarding current undergraduates’ views of those qualifications. Students of Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Mathematics (STEMM) and Social Science degrees who had Further Mathematics were surveyed regarding their experiences of the subject and motivations for studying it. Results were positive, across students of a range of degree disciplines, highlighting the benefits of its study as preparation for mathematically-demanding degrees. Whilst access to studying Further Mathematics is poor in some schools, we suggest that more is done by universities to promote its study as a means of better-preparing students for their future degree courses.

Uniforme escolar e os processos de construção das identidades estudantis: entre a obrigatoriedade e o símbolo de prestígio

O presente trabalho objetiva analisar as relacoes entre o uso do uniforme escolar e os processos de construcao das identidades estudantis. Tal analise decorre do acompanhamento e do relato de uma experiencia formativa na figura de oficina desenvolvida no Projeto Pibid (Programa Institucional de Bolsa de Iniciacao a Docencia), do curso de Licenciatura em Ciencias Sociais da Universidade Federal da Fronteira Sul, no ano de 2014. A oficina foi realizada na Escola Estadual de Ensino Medio Erico Verissimo, no municipio de Erechim, RS, e abordou as tematicas “Identidade e Acao Coletiva”, a partir de uma mobilizacao dos estudantes para o uso do uniforme escolar. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.35700/ca.2016.ano3n4.p84-91.1915

Uniforme escolar e os processos de construção das identidades estudantis: entre a obrigatoriedade e o símbolo de prestígio

This paper aims to analyze the relationship between the use of school uniforms and the processes of construction of student identities. This analysis stems from the monitoring and reporting of a formative experience in the figure of workshop developed in Project Pibid (Institutional Program for Initiation of Teaching Experience), of the Degree in Social Sciences at the Federal University of Southern Frontier, in 2014. The workshop was held at the State High School Erico Verissimo, in the municipality of Erechim, RS, and addressed the theme Identity and Collective Action, from a mobilization of students to use the school uniform.

First-Year Non-STEM Majors’ Use of Definitions to Solve Calculus Tasks: Benefits of Using Concept Image over Concept Definition?

Six US first-year university students in humanities or social science degree programmes were interviewed while solving 4 tasks on continuity and asymptotes in a required mathematics course. The focus was on how the students referred to the definitions or to the concept images when solving the tasks and if partial understandings appeared. Partial understanding denotes when the definition or the concept image has correct parts but essential parts are missing or incoherencies occur. Some students confused continuity with differentiability or perceived it as a graph not having holes, which is also reported by other studies. Another misconception that emerged is to perceive points on the x-axis as non-continuous. The partial understandings of asymptotes were related to the vertical asymptote as it was confused with a function property. Some students referred to the definitions when correctly solving some of the tasks and some students with coherent concept images were successful solving some of the tasks even when they did not refer to the definitions.

Working-class women study social science degrees: remembering enablers and detractors

ABSTRACTIn this article, we report on a feminist memory work project conducted with 11 working-class women in Australia. Participants responded to the question: what helps and hinders working-class women study social science degrees? The women confirmed that to succeed at university, they needed opportunities, resources, support and encouragement. We called these enablers and considered the role of ‘enlightened witnesses’ [Miller, 1997. The essential role of an enlightened witness in society. Retrieved from http://www.alice-miller.com/index_en.php?page=2]. Hindering the possibility of university success were detractors of many forms including inadequate resources and social conventions that discouraged the women from study. We describe saboteurs as undermining people and forces that the women had to overcome. We found that enlightened witnesses, broadly conceptualised, go some way but not all, to mitigating detractors and saboteurs that continue to hamper fair and meritocratic access to tertiary education.

Concepções político-ideológicas e didáticopedagógicas dos participantes do IV ENESEB

The article presents the results of a survey conducted with the participants of the 4th National Meeting on the Teaching of Sociology in Basic Education (ENESEB) held in 2015. The analysis includes the profile of the participants, pedagogical as well political and ideological conceptions, perceptions about the purpose of sociology in high school, and the difficulties and challenges for the qualification of the discipline. The results point to the existence of a heterogeneous profile, as well as significant differences in educational and political views among teachers of Basic Education and Higher Education, as well as students of Social Sciences. Major difficulties that were highlighted are the lack of teaching materials and their unsuitability for the teaching of the discipline as well as the lack of legitimacy vis-a-vis traditional disciplines; on the other hand, the low percentage of teachers with a university degree in Social Sciences and the need to qualify the teaching of the discipline appear as major challenges. Finally, despite the heterogeneous profile and different pedagogical and political views that were mapped, particularly the pragmatic and emancipatory ones, the survey reveals the existence of a consensus on the important role of the National Curriculum Guidelines (OCNS) for the qualification of the teaching of sociology as a discipline. Keywords: teaching sociology, high school, didactic and education.

Relationships between alexithymia and Machiavellian personality beliefs among university students

ABSTRACTThe present study considered the relationships between alexithymia and Machiavellian personality beliefs among university students. Two hundred and thirteen students (95 women and 118 men) studying Master's degrees in psychology, education, law, political sciences, and social sciences at the University of Tehran were randomly chosen using multi-stage clustering sampling and screening. Participants completed the Kiddie Mach scale and Toronto Alexithymia scale (Persian version). Data were analysed by Pearson's correlation coefficient and multivariate regression. Results revealed a significant correlation between alexithymia and Machiavellian views. According to these findings, students with Machiavellian beliefs seemed to run into difficulty with the identification and description of others' emotions.