Student Government Research Articles

Facilitating critical consciousness and advocacy through a textbook case study

Unaffordable textbooks highlight neoliberal regimes in higher education, whereby privatization and profit undermine student success. The cost of textbooks has risen more than 1,000% since 1977 (Popken, B. 2015, Aug. 6. College textbook prices have risen 1,041 percent since 1977. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/freshman-year/college-textbook-prices-have-risen-812-percent-1978-n399926), outranking inflation in other sectors, and “students are suffering because they cannot afford to purchase their textbooks” (Stark, G. 2018. Library, student government hoping for solution to expensive book prices. Daily Toreador. http://www.dailytoreador.com/news/library-student-government-hoping-for-solution-to-expensive-book-prices/article_490647b8-36d1-11e8-a857-9325559e8187.html). Public speaking offers avenues for students to advocate for themselves and communities critically. Because students experience the material fallout of neoliberal cultural regimes, including unaffordable textbooks, we believe that critical public speaking practices can “afford students the opportunity to ready, write, and learn from a position of agency” (Giroux, H. A. 2020. On critical pedagogy. Bloomsbury Publishing, p. 178). This unit-specific activity uses a textbook case study that foregrounds critical consciousness and advocacy skills in students by focusing on persuasive argument construction aimed at audience-centered values. Courses Public Speaking, Persuasion, Advanced Public Speaking. Learning goals By the end of this activity, students should be able to: (1) analyze audience values and beliefs; (2) craft a persuasive advocacy based on research and experience; and (3) interrogate neoliberal educational norms as sites of potential advocacies.

Student governments in Chinese higher education: reflection on college students\u2019 and student cadres\u2019 political trust

This paper documents the structure and operations of student governments in contemporary Chinese higher education and their effect on college students’ political trust and party membership. We first investigate the structure and power distribution within student governments in Chinese universities, specifically focusing on the autonomy of student governments and the degree to which they represent students. Second, using a large sample of college students, we examine how participating in student government affects their political trust and party membership. Our results show that student government in Chinese higher education possesses a complex, hierarchical matrix structure with two main parallel systems—the student union and the Chinese Communist Party system. We found that power distribution within student governments is rather uneven, and student organisations that are affiliated with the Chinese Communist Party have an unequal share of power. In addition, we found that students’ cadre experience is highly appreciated in student cadre elections, and being a student cadre significantly affects their political trust and party membership during college.

Are Schools Becoming More Equally Funded? Evidence from a Western Province in China

Existing literature on educational inequality in China has been preoccupied with large regional disparities. Inter-school inequalities at the local level have been, however, largely ignored. The authors present clear and strong evidence that such inequalities are also large and more entrenched than expected, despite reform efforts since 2006 to increase transfers from the central and provincial governments for schools in poorer areas. Using school-level data from a province in western China, the authors have found that immense inter-school disparities exist in per student government funding within rural counties and urban districts, and that the disparities are considerably larger in more developed counties or districts. More surprisingly, inter-school disparities increased between 2009 and 2013 in nearly every selected county and district. This study highlights the imperative to bring the issue of locally maintained educational inequality to the forefront of academic research and the policy agenda.

Creating a Sustainable and Reliable Emergency Preparedness Program to Promote Appropriate Health Care Resources Use.

Over the past decade, the number of natural disasters, health care emergencies, and epidemics has increased significantly. These unpredictable and sometimes devastating events tax already stretched health care systems. The goal of this process paper is to share the experience of a pharmacy school in the development and implementation of a sustainable emergency preparedness and response support network (EPRSN) using an established student government infrastructure to support information sharing among community pharmacies, state emergency response teams, and community members. There are more than 140 accredited pharmacy schools/colleges across the United States, employing more than 6,500 pharmacy faculty members and teaching more than 63,000 student pharmacists. The majority of schools/colleges provide free and volunteer-based health care services and collaborate with local, regional, and national entities, such as state boards of pharmacy and national and state professional pharmacy organizations. Student pharmacists are positioned across the country with reach to rural and underserved communities and have student organizational structures in place to manage student volunteers and support health care service opportunities. To address gaps in emergency and preparedness response, pharmacy students assessed and operationalized steps to develop the EPRSN. Pharmacies were identified and contacted by student pharmacists. Student leaders created student organization flowcharts and call charts with up-to-date pharmacist contact information. Organizational structure for collecting, capturing, updating, and sharing pharmacy data with state emergency response teams was developed and trialed. Student pharmacists represent a sustainable resource, uniquely positioned to identify community needs, support emergency efforts, coordinate with local pharmacies, and work with pharmacists and others to ensure that patients receive the care they need during pandemics and other emergencies.

FORMATION OF SOCIAL ACTIVITY OF STUDENT YOUTH BY MEANS OF STUDENT SELF-GOVERNMENT IN THE COURSE OF PROJECT ACTIVITY


 The article considers the essence and ways of solving an important task of a modern secondary school - the formation of social activity of student youth. Possibilities of student self-government in the context of solving this problem are analyzed. One of the ways of social activation of schoolchildren is considered - their involvement in work on various projects, during the implementation of which students learn to identify socially significant problems and make fruitful efforts to solve them.
 The purpose of the article is to substantiate the feasibility of using student government projects to form the social activity of student youth.
 The results of the research are given, which give grounds to consider student self-government as an actual and perspective means of activating schoolchildren as members of society, young citizens of Ukraine. One of the activities of student government, which is comprehensive and contributes to its effectiveness and influence in the school and out-of-school environment, is a project activity, which today has a wider scope and deserves further study, in particular in the context of solving educational problems of secondary school .

The Role of Student Self-Government in Ensuring the Quality of Higher Education

The current state of development of the Ukrainian state requires further reform of all spheres of life of the Ukrainian community. The democratization of the principles of higher education needs special attention. Since students are the driving force of society, the developer of unique ideas of the present and future, a factor in the formation and development of civil society, so the democratization of student life, active participation of students in different organizations, leadership skills and teamwork, making the right decisions and responsibility for their implementation becomes especially relevant during educational transformations. Student governments have a significant impact on youth. The range of such influence primarily extends to the realization of the student in the modern world, meeting his/her needs, both in education and in other areas, including volunteer, artistic, managerial, social and more. Therefore, membership in student organizations gives a young person a valuable life experience, which can later be implemented in practice. Participation in student self-government contributes to the development of students' leadership qualities, the formation of their active civic life positions. That is, the activities of student government in higher education institutions are aimed at forming the values of the younger generation. At the same time, student self-government is a unique factor in reforming the modern system of the educational process in higher education institutions. Applicants are actively involved in the development, implementation, and accreditation of educational programs, are experts in the accreditation of the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Education. The article demonstrates the effectiveness of student self-government bodies in higher education institutions on specific examples, substantiates the need for their development as one of the factors that contributes to the improvement of quality assurance processes in education.

Is There a Digital Divide Between Urban Students and Migrant Students in China?

The digital divide is an important issue that has been addressed in the world for several decades. However, little attention has been paid to the special population that emerged in cities of developing countries: rural migrant workers. Previous studies have shown that family background is a potential determinant of digital inequality among schoolchildren. The study aims to explore whether the disadvantaged conditions of rural migrant workers have an impact on their children (i.e., migrant students). A questionnaire survey and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) were conducted to examine the digital divide in information and communication technology (ICT) access, ICT usage, and ICT skill between urban and migrant students. We draw upon 1,230 fifth and eighth grade students from six urban public schools in China. Results indicate that all the indicators of the digital divide are statistically non-significant between the two groups, and the predictor of parental education level is invalid to an extent. Additional analyses suggest that providing equal opportunities like Chinese government for disadvantaged migrant students to enroll in urban public schools would reduce the digital divide between migrant students and urban students.

Tata Kelola Stakeholder dalam Meningkatkan Mutu Pendidikan Pada Madrasah Tsanawiyah

This study aims to determine stakeholder governance in improving the quality of education at Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) Negeri 1 Sukoharjo. This governance includes the management of teaching staff and education personnel in improving the quality of secondary education at MTs Negeri 1 Sukoharjo, student management in improving the quality of secondary education at MTs Negeri 1 Sukoharjo, governance of partner communities and graduate users in improving the quality of secondary education at MTs Negeri 1 Sukoharjo. The methodology in this study uses a qualitative approach. Data collection techniques in this study include observation, in-depth interviews, FGD (Focus Group Discussion), and document review. Data analysis in this study was carried out in 4 (four) steps, namely: 1) performing data management, 2) writing memos on the edge of field notes or transcripts to assist database exploration, 3) delineation, classification, and interpretation, and 4) visualization and representation findings. The results showed that the governance of stakeholders in improving the quality of education at Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) Negeri 1 Sukoharjo which includes the management of teachers and education personnel, student governance, and how madrasahs manage the role of stakeholders in improving the quality of secondary education at Madrasah Tsanawiyah ( MTs) Negeri 1 Sukoharjo is done very well so that the quality of education at Madrasah Tsanawiyah (MTs) Negeri 1 Sukoharjo is very good.

Journalism Civic Self-Efficacy: Predicting Political Participation Among Secondary-School Journalism Students

ABSTRACT This study builds on the communication mediation model of political socialization and self-efficacy research, and focuses on journalism civic self-efficacy, an individual’s confidence in using journalistic skills to promote the awareness of a community issue. The study tests the premise that journalism civic self-efficacy explains, in part, how journalism education supports individuals’ political participation, by examining links between political interest, journalism civic self-efficacy, school and classroom contexts, and future political participation with data from U.S. high school journalists (n = 769) and their teachers (n = 42). The study’s key results are: (1) journalism civic self-efficacy partially mediates the relationship between political interest and prospective political participation, and (2) journalism civic self-efficacy increases when students feel a supportive school climate and when their instructors exert little control over students’ journalistic output. These results can inform the design of journalism education and outreach initiatives, prioritizing activities and settings that cultivate journalism civic self-efficacy among participants. The findings also highlight the value of such initiatives regardless of whether or not participants pursue newsroom careers. The study contributes empirical evidence to civic development literature of a pathway between journalism education and political participation, distinct from other school-sponsored activities (i.e., debate, student government).

STUDENT GOVERNMENT AS A VEHICLE FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE

AbstractThe author relates her leadership experiences centered around student government, beginning as a class president at the age of 10, in elementary school. These experiences defined her mission for the rest of her life, “a commitment to equity, community, and social justice,” and as a vehicle for change. She was later elected student body president at Loyola Marymount University and then made history at Harvard Medical School as the first Black woman elected student council president. At Loyola Marymount University, she was the first African American student body president elected in 30 years. At Harvard Medical School, she is a first‐generation medical student, who was raised by a single mother and the first in her family to obtain a bachelor of science degree. She discusses leading a successful effort to rename an academic society in honor of Dr. William Augustus Hinton, “a renowned public health expert and the first Black full professor at both Harvard College and Harvard Medical School.” In 2020, she was named a “Young Futurist” by The Root magazine. Her hope is that the next generation of these futurists “take each leadership opportunity as their own fresh canvas, and paint boldly, always in the name of justice.”

Presidents as practitioners: The lived experience(s) of former student body presidents working in higher education and student affairs.

A student body president’s work involves addressing emerging crises and challenging institutional decision-makers to respond to the cost of higher education, campus sexual assault, mental health, free speech, and student safety (Student Voice Index, 2018). This phenomenological study unearths the experiences of individuals who previously served as student body president of their institution’s student government and who now work in higher education and student affairs. Three themes emerged as a result of multiple interviews with eight former student body presidents, including having a reserved “seat” at “the table,” pre-exposure to a career in higher education and student affairs, and a whiplash-like transition following their term. As a result, implications involve the importance of student elections and attention to a retirement-like experience for former student body presidents.

Comparison of the Attitude of Nursing Students towards their Clinical Learning Environment in Selected Private and Government Colleges of Nursing

A comparative study was conducted to assess the attitude of B.Sc. nursing 4th year students towards theirClinical Learning Environment in selected Private and Government Colleges of Nursing. 160 Samples wereselected from Private and Government Colleges of Nursing. The structured questionnaire was used to assessthe demographic variables among nursing students while Clinical Learning Environment Scale was usedto assess the Attitude of Nursing Students towards their Clinical Learning Environment. The data wereanalyzed by using descriptive statistics (mean, frequency, percentage and standard deviation) and inferentialstatistics (unpaired ‘t’ test, ANOVA).The study indicated that students of Private Colleges were having higher Attitude than the Students ofGovernment Colleges of Nursing which was compared by using unpaired ‘t’ test which project ‘t’ valueof 1.975 which was statistically significant at p < 0.005. The calculated ‘t’ value was greater than the tablevalue. The study also shows the comparison of mean, SD, mean % and mean difference of Attitude scoreof nursing Students towards their CLE in selected Private and Government Colleges of Nursing in terms ofcertain areas i.e. pedagogical environment, work culture, clinical assignment, method of evaluation. Thiswas compared by using unpaired ‘t’ test which showed ‘t’ value 1.98 of which was statistically significantat p < 0.005. The calculated ‘t’ value was greater than the table value. The study concluded that the studentsof B.Sc. Nursing 4th year studying in Private colleges are having more positive attitude then the studentsstudying in Government colleges of Nursing.

E-Learning Platform: A Sustainable Approach for Students’ Learning during and after Coronavirus Pandemic in Oyo State Secondary Schools, Oyo State, Nigeria

E-learning approach cannot be underrated in sustaining teaching-learning activities in the schools. This paper reports a survey done that assessed the E-learning approach organized by organized by Oyo State government for Oyo State secondary school students. The study adopted quantitative approach of descriptive survey. The target populations of the study comprised only Senior Secondary School students in class three (SSS 3) within Oyo State Secondary Schools. The sample of 200 students was selected using simple random, purposive and convenience sampling techniques respectively. An instrument was used for the study. The data were analysed using frequencies, percentage scores, pie charts, mean and standard deviation (SD). The findings showed students were highly aware e-learning programmes (60%) and highly participated during the programmes (62.5%). The study equally indicated that e-learning programmes on radio and television organized by Oyo State government was very highly efficient (57%). The study further indicated that inadequate power supply (x=3.45) and high cost of subscriptions to the satellite television stations (x=3.45) were factors hindering the students’ participation during the E-learning programmes on radio and television. The study recommended that Government should continue the e-learning programmes during and after CONVID-19 might have fully eradicated and they should equally incorporate other electronic devise for teaching-learning activities such as Zoom, Google Classroom and social media.

THE INFLUENCE OF STUDENT GOVERNMENT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE TEACHERS’ LEADERSHIP QUALITIES

The article theoretically substantiates the influence of participation in student government on the development of leadership qualities of future teachers. The complex of leadership qualities of a modern teacher, which is formed in higher education students during their studies in the higher education institution (HEI), namely initiative, organization, communication, responsibility, creativity, critical thinking, research qualities, emotional intelligence, social activity, strategic vision, ability to work in a team, social adaptability, ability to lead, tolerance, willingness to come to the rescue, honesty and reliability, has been defined. These qualities will help a future teacher to carry out their own professional activities at a high level; will promote the development of skills to quickly establish contacts; direct class work; find quick and unusual solutions to problems; feel and understand the inner world of others; set short and long life goals and achieve them; work in a team; etc. This indicates that the graduate of the HEI must have a full set of leadership qualities that will contribute to his successful professional activity and will actively influence the development of relevant qualities in his students. Student government is emphasized as a self-organized activity that develops the leadership qualities of students, skills to work in a team, plan and predict their own team activities, creativity, critical thinking. An example of the implementation of the role-playing game «Day of Student Government», tested by us at Bar Humanitarian and Pedagogical College named after Mykhailo Hrushevskyi, as a component of interactive technology aimed at developing leadership qualities of future teachers in the process of attracting to the activities of student government bodies, is proposed.

Extracurricular Types and Academic Success

Previous research has already determined that there is a positive correlation between extracurriculars and academic performance. Extracurriculars establish personal connections with others and increase motivation for many. However, there is limited research on the individual types of extracurriculars. Not all extracurriculars are the same. Therefore, I have decided to examine this issue through my research question: “Which extracurricular types were the most beneficial to academic success for 9th through 12th graders in School X in the 2020-2021 school year?” To ensure that I do not explain connections between variables, I establish an explore approach through a non-experimental survey. I ask students to list their top three extracurriculars to prevent an influx of data. After collecting my data, I organize my results into ten categories and explore recurring trends and themes. I examine mean GPA, mean class rank, personal connections with peers and adults, time spent, skills, passion, and correlating academic classes. In the end, I conclude that activities focused on leadership resulted in the highest scores overall. Student government and youth development programs may have been the most beneficial to overall academic success due to this leadership. I also determined that academic or professional organizations, the arts, and school sports may have been the most beneficial to academic success in correlating academic courses due to increased knowledge and passion. Overall, this is an essential issue to consider because over half of American students today are involved in at least one extracurricular. By establishing which extracurriculars are the most beneficial to one’s success, they can better understand which activities they should be joining to make the best use of their time.

СТУДЕНТСЬКЕ САМОВРЯДУВАННЯ ЯК СПОСІБ ФОРМУВАННЯ ЛІДЕРСЬКОГО СТИЛЮ ПОВЕДІНКИ ТА ЗАСАД УПРАВЛІНСЬКОЇ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ

The article examines the stages of implementation of the main aspects of university autonomy, in particular the organization of student governance in domestic higher education institutions. It is necessary to realize that the creation of effective student government is a key condition for building a domestic system of higher education in accordance with the best practices of the European educational space. It is determined that in the process of restructuring higher education through the formation of university autonomy, students should be considered as a full partner in the process of modernization of the domestic higher education system. It is established that the work of student government should significantly expand its scope and be more active in developing key issues of organization and content of university education. The main points of formation of student self-governance in Ukrainian HEIs are determined and a comparative analysis of the key principles under which European universities operate is carried out. The authors analyzed the Law of Ukraine «On Higher Education», in particular in terms of organizing the work of student government. The main issues of student self-governance, which are reflected in the statutes of higher education institutions, are summarized. The article shows the results of the study conducted during the research «Implementation of university autonomy in the context of decentralization of HEIs, the democratization of the educational process, increasing responsibility for the quality of education». The stance of the students to the process of the autonomy of educational institutions in general is studied. The information on the respondents’ awareness of the regulatory framework is summarized. The degree of activity of student self-government bodies in solving issues of improving the educational process is analyzed. The proposals of the participants of the online survey on the next stages of activity for the successful implementation of university autonomy have been studied.

НАГЛЯДОВІ РАДИ У СТРУКТУРІ ПРОФЕСІЙНО-ТЕХНІЧНОЇ ОСВІТИ: ОГЛЯД ІСНУЮЧИХ ПРАКТИК В УКРАЇНІ

The problems of formation and activity of supervisory boards at vocational education institutions in Ukraine is insufficiently disclosed in the theoretical and practical aspects. The government's initiatives to establish supervisory boards in the Lviv region of Ukraine update the study of existing practices with the identification of problematic aspects for further improvement. The legal support for the functioning of supervisory boards in the education system of Ukraine in the article is analysed. The main focus is on the drafts of the Strategy for the Development of Vocational Education 2023, as well as the Standard Regulations on the Supervisory Board of Vocational Education. The essence of supervisory boards is determined – as advisory-consulting, controlling and coordination-communication formations at educational institutions (including vocational), which operate on a permanent basis and unite stakeholders in the field of strategic development of this institution. The main disadvantagesof the current supervisory boards at vocational education institutions in Ukraine are summarized. There are the lack of information about their results, the uncertain practice of institutional representation. In this regard, it is proposed to vary the inclusion of representatives of the internal and external environment of the institution in the supervisory board. The internal environment should be formed by a representative of the teaching staff who do not hold a managerial position, a representative of the student government, a representative of the trade union organization. The external environment of the supervisory board should be maximally represented by different spheres. It is recommended that the supervisory board include representatives of the central and regional authorities, a representative of the local government, a representative of the educational and methodological center of vocational education of the region, representatives of a public organization, employer or its supervisory board, higher education institution with related specialization, foreign organization, as well as the scientific environment. The recommendations emphasize the need to form the legal basis for the activities of supervisory boards in the system of strategic development of vocational education in Ukraine.

The use of modern remote communication tools in improving processes of a non-profit organization based on the example of the student government of the Wroclaw University of Economics and Business

The use of modern remote communication tools in improving processes of a non-profit organization based on the example of the student government of the Wroclaw University of Economics and Business

SOCIOMIMIC ASPECT IN ORGANIZATIONAL FORM OF STUDY IN AMERICAN DALTON-SCHOOL

Objective. The objective of the article is to analyze the architecture of the Dalton school community; to formulate the concept of “sociomimicry”, “sociomimic aspect”; to determine the sociomimic aspect in the context of the form of organization of education according to Dalton-plan, which is characterized as interaction within social laboratories, in the construction of structural units of Dalton-school and in student government.. Methods. The main scientific results are obtained using the method of theoretical generalization, which allowed to determine the ideas and principles of the Dalton-School; the comparative and pedagogical method is used to compare historical and pedagogical phenomena, events and facts of socio-cultural life of the research topic; the problem-genetic method is applied to substantiate the provisions of historical experience and the introduction of the sociomimic aspect of the Dalton-School in the practice of modern alternative educational institutions. Results. Having considered an architecture as a structure or project of anything, and society as an object of imitation, we assume that the so-called sociomimicry is an imitation of social life, using its structure, which is created artificially. The features of sociomimicry in the American Dalton-School can be traced in the following components: the organization of the educational process; construction of structural subdivisions of the Dalton-School; Dalton student power vertical. There is an imitation of the social structure of the school community within the school, which we can consider a social laboratory, created artificially, which can be considered the so-called «sociomimic» aspect when speaking about the mechanism of organization of the school student community Dalton-School. Theoretical analysis of the form and content of the architecture of the student community of the American Dalton-School allows us to highlight the sociomimic aspect of the construction of the form of school organization.

The Role of Medical Student Government in Responding to COVID-19.

The COVID-19 outbreak has sown clinical and administrative chaos at academic health centers throughout the country. As COVID-19-related burdens on the health care system and medical schools piled up, questions from medical students far outweighed the capacity of medical school administrators to respond in an adequate or timely manner, leaving students feeling confused and without clear guidance. In this Perspective, incoming and outgoing executive leaders of the University of Michigan Medical School Student Council and medical school deans outline the specific ways they were able to bridge the gap between medical students and administrators in a time of crisis. To illustrate the value of student government during uncertain times, the authors identify the most pressing problems faced by students at each phase of the curriculum—preclerkship, clerkship, and postclerkship—and explain how Student Council leadership partnered with administrators to find creative solutions to these problems and provide guidance to learners. They end by reflecting on the role of student government more broadly, identifying 3 guiding principles of student leadership and how these principles enable effective student representation.