Students In Fields Of Study Research Articles

Gender bias in university student mobility: a cohort analysis in Italy

PurposeThis paper aims to assess gender bias in Italian university student mobility controlling for the field of study. It uses data from the Italian National Student Archive (Anagrafe Nazionale degli Studenti – ANS) for the cohort of freshmen enrolled in the 2017 academic year. The macro-regional comparison unfolds across the following areas: North and Centre, Southern Italy and main Islands (Sicily and Sardinia).Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is firstly carried out at the national level, and secondly, it focusses on macro-geographical areas. University mobility choices are thus investigated from a gender perspective, conditioning upon other theoretically relevant characteristics collected for the prospective first-year university student population enrolled in 2017. The authors analyse data in a regression setting (logit models) within the multilevel framework, which considers students at level 1 and the field of study at level 2. Gender differences in the propensity to be a mover – conditional upon the choice of the field of study – were captured by introducing random intercepts to account for clustering of students in fields of study and random slopes to allow the gender effect to differ among them.FindingsFindings show that university student mobility in Italy leads evidence of gender bias. This has been detected using a multilevel random slope approach that allowed the authors to jointly estimate a slope parameter for gender within each field of study. Moreover, using a regression setting allowed the authors to control for heterogeneity in geographical, educational and socio-demographic characteristics across students. In line with previous empirical findings, the authors' data highlight the presence of a relevant mobility flow of university students from the South toward the North-Centre of Italy and lower mobility of female students compared to male students from the South and Islands.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, there are no studies in Italy, which investigate if families' investment in higher education in terms of selection of no-local universities are affected by gender bias and if geographical differences in this behaviour between macro-areas are in place. Thus, investigating students' choices in tertiary education allows the authors to shed light on the presence of gender bias in families' education strategies addressed to increase the endowment of students' assets for future job opportunities.

From Community College Attendants to Baccalaureate Recipients: A Planned Behavior Model for Transfer Students in STEM Fields of Study

ABSTRACTGuided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) (Fishbein & Ajzen, 2010), our study aims to understand how community college transfer students’ STEM degree attainment behavior is shaped by their beliefs, intentions, contextual factors and social-demographic characteristics. This study drew upon data from the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS: 2002). The sample includes 1,761 students who began postsecondary education at a 2-year institution and attended a 4-year university later in their academic career. We employed structural equation modeling (SEM) to develop a fully specified model of STEM baccalaureate degree attainment for the transfer students. The findings of the study highlight the significant impact of gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic status on STEM degree attainment. Additionally, we distinguished transfer students’ intention to pursue a STEM field of study from intention to obtain a bachelor’s degree and found both intentions had significant effects on STEM baccalaureate degree attainment. Finally, the study findings show that college variables, such as taking remedial math courses, college GPA, and student loans, have significant effects on STEM degree attainment.

Evaluation of a Behavioral Self-Care Intervention for Public Health Students

ABSTRACTBackground: Postgraduate education is recognized as a time of intense stress. Rates of anxiety and depression are elevated among graduate students, and longitudinal studies have documented increases in clinical symptoms over the course of training. Purpose: The current study was to evaluate whether an academically sponsored self-care intervention would increase engagement in health promotion activities. The primary goal was to determine whether self-care behaviors completed in the midst of a challenging academic program would prevent the worsening of student mental health. Methods: The self-care intervention included behavior change projects designed to increase health-promoting behaviors within 4 domains (nutrition, physical activity, mental health, social support). Students received incentives in the way of bonus points for maintaining health behaviors for the duration of the 12-week semester. Results: Results revealed significant increases in health-promoting behaviors. Importantly, mental health symptoms did not worsen over the course of the semester. Discussion: The study provides preliminary support for the utility of a brief self-care intervention for students in the health sciences. Translation to Health Education Practice: Future studies should examine the applicability of this intervention to students in other fields of study and through online education formats.

East-Asian teaching practices through the eyes of Western learners

Many East-Asian countries are actively positioning themselves as receiving countries of international students. Consequently, the number of international students in these countries is steadily growing. Given the differences between Eastern and Western conceptions of teaching and learning, it could be expected that Western learners studying in the region may encounter educational practices that are foreign to them. This study sought to understand contemporary East-Asian teaching practices as experienced by Western students. Specifically, it explored Anglo and Hispanic students' perceptions of the pedagogic approaches they encountered at a Taiwanese university. In-depth interviews were conducted with 22 degree-seeking students in different fields of study. The findings indicate that despite the government's continuous initiatives to foster less traditional pedagogic approaches, a transmission model of instruction still looms large in Taiwan's higher education context. It was also found that the students in this study were ill-adapted to this form of teaching practice.

Look Beyond Textbooks: Information Literacy for First-Year Science Students.

This paper describes classroom activities to help students understand the publication cycle and the characteristics of major publication channels (textbooks, books, encyclopedias, and periodicals) for first-year physics students. When designing these activities, the author considered the intellectual development characteristics and the epistemological view of first-year students. These activities help students appreciate how information is refined and repackaged along the publication cycle. Through understanding the varieties of information sources, they learn how to choose the appropriate sources to meet their information needs. Although the activities were created for physics students, they can easily be modified for students in other fields of study. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.

African-American Students' Perceptions of Their Majors, Future Professions, and the Dietetics Major and Profession: A Qualitative Analysis

African-American professionals are underrepresented in the profession of dietetics. This preliminary qualitative study identified African-American students' perceptions of their majors, future professions, and the dietetics major/profession to understand why they did or did not enter dietetics. It was hypothesized that dietetics students chose dietetics primarily for altruistic reasons, whereas students in other fields of study did not choose dietetics due to lack of awareness of dietetics. To learn students' views, African-American college students engaged in elicitation interviews or focus group discussions. Twenty-eight women and 12 men participated. Phenomenologic analysis identified common themes and meanings: African-American students selected their majors for a variety of reasons, including desire to help people, interest in the field, recommendation from an adult, and family influence. African-American students in fields of study other than dietetics believed that the dietetics major was not selected due to lack of awareness about dietetics. Both dietetics students and students in other fields of study perceived versatility, ability to work with/help people, and to have an influence as positive qualities about their future professions. Advanced degree and training requirements, lack of diversity, and low salary were identified as negative qualities about future professions. African-American students in fields of study other than dietetics had not been exposed to the dietetics major, careers, and profession. Recruitment efforts should begin early to increase the number of African-American students in dietetics.

Enhancing Learning in Statistics Classes through the Use of Concrete Historical Examples: The Space Shuttle Challenger, Pearl Harbor, and the RMS Titanic

A HOST OF SCHOLARS have acknowledged the difficulties experienced by students learning research methods and statistics, especially those in the social sciences who may not be as mathematically inclined as students in other fields of study (Blalock 1987; Bridges, Pershing, Gillmore, and Bates 1998; Potter 1995; Rushing and Winfield 1999; Salkind 2000; Watts 1991; Wybraniec and Wilmoth 1999). Students' anxieties may cause them to delay taking methods courses, adversely affecting their ability to understand material in other classes that incorporate these tools (Bridges et al. 1998:15). Many suggestions for easing student anxiety have been offered, including the use of humor (Schacht and Stewart 1990), small group work (Borreson 1990; Longmore, Dunn, and Jarboe 1996), MM Longmore et al. 1996), and active learning or learning by doing (Potter 1995; Rushing and Winfield 1999; Takata and Leiting 1987; Wright 2000). Generally, active or collaborative learning has been suggested as a key method for improving learning in the area of research methodology. The senior author has been teaching research methods classes for over twenty years, with generally favorable student ratings. He incorporated the use of computers into classroom assignments and classroom work, as recommended by other scholars (Fischer 1996; Kain 1987; Karp 1995; Wilmoth and Wybraniec 1998). However, despite favorable student-teacher ratings and student comments of various kinds, as well as successful collaborations with students on

Use of mental health care services in Finland by students in different fields of study.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree of utilization of mental health care services by students in different fields of study and to look into the reasons for any differences found. The material consisted of the records of all the students who used the mental health care services of the Finnish Student Health Service Health Center in Helsinki during the period from September 1, 1980 to August 31, 1981. This basic population was divided into two groups: humanists (students of the arts, theology, and art) and scientists (students of technology, science, human and veterinary medicine, and commerce). There were a total of 672 students in the two groups. The degree of utilization of mental health care services was higher in humanists than in scientists. Similarly, it was higher in female than in male students in both groups.