Students In France Research Articles

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on diet among university students in France

Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on diet among university students in France

Social-Class Inequalities in Distance Learning During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Digital Divide, Cultural Mismatch, and Psychological Barriers

The COVID-19 pandemic forced universities to move towards distance learning, requiring increased use of digital tools and more independent learning from students. In this context, the present study examined two previously documented barriers that contribute to social-class disparities in universities: the digital divide and the experience of cultural mismatch. Cultural mismatch refers to the disconnect between the highly independent cultural norms of universities and the interdependent cultural norms common among working-class students. Our goals are to (1) replicate the findings related to these barriers in a European context (2) provide pandemic-specific data related to these barriers, and (3) examine how the digital divide and cultural mismatch relate to psychological factors and learning behaviors necessary for academic success. Two thousand two hundred and seventy-five students in France answered questions about their digital access/use, self-construal, psychological factors (i.e., sense of belonging, self-efficacy, intentions to drop-out from the university), and learning behaviors (e.g., attending class, asking questions). Results showed that working-class students have less digital access and value interdependence more than their middle/upper-class peers, suggesting they are more likely to experience a cultural mismatch. Structural equation modeling revealed that both the digital divide and the experience of cultural mismatch undermines working-class students’ psychological experience (e.g., belonging), which, in turn, hinders their learning behavior. The distance learning required by the pandemic led to increased needs for digital access and independence, and therefore more negatively affected working-class students, which could fuel and widen the social-class achievement gap.

Utilizing ICT and Folklore as Cultural Content in Turkish Lessons of Bilingual Students in France

Bu araştırmanın amacı Fransa’da iki dilli öğrencilerin Türkçe derslerinde öğretmenlerin kültürel içerik olarak hangi halk bilimi unsurlarından ve somut olmayan kültürel miras unsurlarından yararlandıklarını tespit etmektir. Bu çerçevede halk bilimi kadroları listesi uzman görüşleri alınarak sadeleştirilmiş ve listeye son hâli verilmiştir. Ayrıca Türkiye’nin UNESCO Dünya Mirası Listesindeki Alanları, Karma (Doğal ve Kültürel) Miraslar ve Doğal Miras alanları listelerindeki alanlar öğretmenlerin görüşlerine sunularak derslerde kullanılan unsurların belirtilmesi istenmiştir. Araştırmada nitel araştırma desenlerinden betimleyici fenomenoloji yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Yapılandırılmış görüşme formu aracılığıyla elde edilen veriler betimsel analiz tekniği ile analiz edilmiştir. Elde edilen veriler “UNESCO Türkiye’nin Dünya Mirası Listeleri” ve “Halk Bilimi Kadroları Listesi” doğrultusunda analiz edilmiştir. Araştırma verilerinin iç tutarlılığının artırılması için görüşme formu Fransa’da en az bir yıllık mesleki tecrübeye sahip öğretmenlere uygulanmıştır. Araştırmanın sonuçlarına göre öğretmenler halk bilimi kadroları listesindeki sözlü gelenekler başta olmak üzere diğer kültür sahalarından hedef kitlenin ve kazanımlara uygun olan kültürel içeriklerden yararlandığı belirlenmiştir.

Young adult caregivers in higher education: a study of prevalence in France

ABSTRACT Young adult caregivers are people aged 18–25 years who care for a relative with an illness/disability. They are an understudied population. In France, there are currently no data and no public services specifically targeting them while literature showed that caregiving has consequences on academic development. As the pursuit of higher education is a societal expectation, the aim of this study was to examine the prevalence, characteristics, and mental health of young adult caregiver students in France to promote policy and practice development. Between February 2019 and April 2021, 6767 students (77.28% women; Mage = 20.14, SDage=1.87) answered a self-report questionnaire assessing sociodemographic-academic characteristics, relative’s illness/disability, caregiving activities, perceived support, and mental health. Results showed that 63.17% of participants were confronted with the illness/disability of a relative, and 15.86% provided a high level of support and could thus be classified as young adult caregivers. They were generally females from low-income families who experienced financial hardship, and they mostly cared for a mother or grandparent with a physical or mental illness. Regarding academic characteristics, they were mostly enrolled on a care-related course, in some cases via a distance learning program. They reported current and previous academic difficulties. They reported poorer mental health than noncaregivers. The identification procedure based on the extent of caregiving activities should be tailored to the characteristics of emerging adults. Considering the high prevalence of young adult caregivers in France, there is an urgent need to enhance awareness to better identify and support those in higher education.

Evaluation of an Autism Training in a Much-Needed Context: The Case of France.

Autistic people in France have called for community education to reduce autism stigma. As such, training is needed to help university students appreciate autistic peers and autistic people they may work with in their future careers. We adapted an autistic-affirming training from a training developed in other cultural contexts and evaluated it with 107 university students in France using a pretest-post-test design. Questionnaire responses suggested that our brief online training helped improve attitudes toward inclusion, autism knowledge, and stigma among future educators and psychologists in France. Participants' open-ended definitions of autism revealed increased alignment with the neurodiversity movement after training. Findings suggest that wider-scale autistic-led adaptations of autism trainings like the one described in this report could begin to ameliorate autism stigma in France.

Pre-Professional International Mobility of European Pharmacy Students—A French Example

Internationalisation, as well as the need to interact with international partners in academia and in the pharmaceutical industry, brings an international experience to the pharmacist's career, which is essential. The objective of present work is to provide a preliminary study of the current situation of the pre-professional mobility of pharmacy students. It represents the first case study of the international pre-professional mobility of pharmacy students in France, and in north-eastern France in particular. The study is based on a recent preliminary survey among pharmacy students, conducted in 2020 at the University of Lorraine's Faculty of Pharmacy, reflecting the impact of international mobility programmes, such as the European Union educational and training mobility programme Erasmus+, on the pharmacy curriculum. The results of the present work tend to show that, despite a number of barriers to the international mobility of pharmacy students, the outcomes of international pre-professional mobility are rather positive in their globality.

‘It’s not the same to live in a house as to a small hall of residence’: housing conditions, psychological distress and academic success of students in France during the first COVID-19 lockdown

ABSTRACT On 17 March 2020, the population in France entered into a strict lockdown due to the critical spreading of COVID-19. Students could no longer go to their learning institutions. The initial 2-week-lockdown lasted overall 10 weeks and higher education institutions remained closed until the end of the academic year, affecting then even longer students’ study situation. Many students chose to leave the accommodation they occupied during the study period if they had the opportunity. Our paper explores the effects of the housing situation on students’ academic success during this lockdown using two quantitative national surveys (one on students’ living and studying conditions before the pandemic and the other on the situation during this lockdown to which 5994 students responded) and 33 semi-structured interviews conducted amongst students living in university halls of residence in the North of France. Our study confirms that in a period of lockdown, housing plays a pivotal and active role in influencing students’ psychological distress, study success, and orientation.

Objective structured clinical examination versus traditional written examinations: a prospective observational study

BackgroundRecently, Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) became an official evaluation modality for 6-year medical students in France. Before, standard examination modalities were: written progressive clinical cases (PCC), written critical reading of scientific articles (CRA), and internship evaluation (IE). The aim of this study was to assess the performances of 6-year medical students in their final faculty tests by comparing OSCE-exams with standard examination modalities.MethodsThis was a prospective observational study. We included all 6-year medical students in our university from 2020 to 2021. The endpoints were the scores obtained at the following final faculty tests during the 6th year of medical studies: OSCE-training, OSCE-exams, written PCC, written CRA, and IE. All scores were compared in a paired-analysis.ResultsA total of 400 students were included in the study. No student was excluded in the final analysis. The mean scores obtained at the OSCE-exams were significantly different from those obtained at OSCE-training, PCC, CRA, and IE (12.6 ± 1.7, 11.7 ± 1.7, 13.4 ± 1.4, 13.2 ± 1.5, 14.7 ± 0.9, respectively; p < 0.001). OSCE-exams scores were moderately and significantly correlated with OSCE-training and PCC (Spearman rho coefficient = 0.4, p < 0.001); OSCE examination scores were lowly but significantly correlated with CRA and IE (Spearman rho coefficient = 0.3, p < 0.001). OSCE-scores significantly increased after an OSCE training session.ConclusionIn our faculty, 6-year medical students obtained lower scores at OSCE exams compared to other standard evaluation modalities. The correlation was weak to moderate but significant. These results suggest that OSCE are not redundant with the other evaluation modalities. Interestingly, a single OSCE training session led to an improvement in OSCE scores underlining the importance of a specific training.

Formal education and Blatant‐subtle prejudice: Intercultural education and contact theory in French educational system

AbstractAccording to the intercultural paradigm, prejudice reduction is a way of promoting positive interactions among people and preventing discriminatory behaviours. This paper focuses on the role of teacher interventions in reducing student prejudices. We carried out a quantitative survey, which was administered to middle and high school students in France, to identify the role played by individual, school and sociocultural variables on ‘flagrant’ and ‘subtle’ prejudices. The findings show that when students perceive that their teachers are discussing racism and discrimination during formal education, manifestations of both types of prejudice decline. In addition, this perceived engagement creates a multiplicative effect on intergroup contacts among students, and this is an important condition for decreasing prejudice. The study highlights the potential of formal education to deconstruct stereotypes and encourage interculturalism, even in a context which is quite hostile to any reference to cultural identities. It also underlines that intercultural practices can start at the micro level without any formal institutional support.

Mental Health Symptoms of University Students 15 Months After the Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic in France

The Conséquences de la pandémie de COVID-19 sur la santé mentale des étudiants (COSAMe) survey was conducted among university students in France during the COVID-19 pandemic and found that although there was a slight decrease in anxiety, depression, and stress between the first lockdown (T1) and 1 month after it ended (T2), the prevalence of suicidal ideation had increased between these periods and 1 in 5 students had probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at T2. These results emphasize the need to explore the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. To measure the prevalence of mental health symptoms among university students in France 15 months after the first lockdown (T3) and to identify factors associated with outcomes. This cross-sectional study reports data from the third measurement time of the repeated COSAMe survey, which took place from July 21 to August 31, 2021, through an online questionnaire sent to all French university students. The prevalence of suicidal thoughts, PTSD (PTSD Checklist for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [Fifth Edition] [PCL-5]), stress (Perceived Stress Scale), anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), and depression (Beck Depression Inventory) at T3 were gender- and degree-standardized and compared with prevalence rates at T1 and T2. Multivariable logistic regression analyses identified risk factors. A total of 44 898 students completed the questionnaires. They were mainly women (31 728 [70.7%]), and the median (IQR) age was 19 (18-21) years. Standardized prevalence rates of stress, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and PTSD were 20.6% (95% CI, 20.2%-21.0%), 23.7% (95% CI, 23.3%-24.1%), 15.4% (95% CI, 15.1%-15.8%), 13.8% (95% CI, 13.5%-14.2%), and 29.8% (95% CI, 29.4%-30.2%), respectively. Compared with the decreased prevalence rates at T2, there was an increase at T3 for stress (2.5% increase), anxiety (13.9% increase), and depression (22.2% increase). The prevalence of suicidal ideation continued to increase from T1 (10.6%) to T3 (13.8%), and the prevalence of probable PTSD increased from 1 in 5 students to 1 in 3 students between T2 and T3. Female and nonbinary participants; participants without children and living in an urban area; and those with financial difficulties, a chronic condition, psychiatric history, COVID-19 history, social isolation, and low perceived quality of information received were at risk of all poor outcomes at T3 (eg, stress among women: adjusted OR, 2.18; 95% CI, 2.05-2.31; suicidal thoughts among nonbinary respondents: adjusted OR, 5.09; 95% CI, 4.32-5.99; anxiety among students with children: adjusted OR, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.56-0.81; depression among students living in a rural area: adjusted OR, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.75-0.85). These results suggest severe long-lasting consequences associated with the pandemic on the mental health of students. Prevention and care access should be a priority.

A cultural analysis of the activity bulletins used in Turkish education of bilingual students in France

Bu araştırmada Fransa’da Türkçe dersleri için hazırlanmış olan EILE Programı ve etkinlik bültenleri, dil öğretiminde kültürden yararlanılması açısından incelenmiştir. EILE programı ve bültenler (proje temelli 9 adet, ve etkinlik temelli 14 adet) kültürel açıdan incelemeye tabi tutulmuştur. Kültür, sınırları çok geniş bir terim olduğu için bulguların tespit edilmesinde kültürel bir standarda ihtiyaç duyulmuştur. Bu nedenle veri toplama araçları olarak UNESCO’nun somut olmayan kültürel miras listeleri ve halk bilimi kadroları kullanılmıştır. Araştırmada nitel araştırma desenlerinden doküman analizi yöntemi kullanılmıştır. İlk olarak EILE Programı’nın Türkçe öğretiminde hangi kültürel unsurları önerdiği ve kültüre nasıl bir işlev yüklediği tespit edilmiştir. Ardından EILE Programı çerçevesinde hazırlanan kitaplar incelenmiştir. Kitaplarda bulunan metinler, etkinlikler ve görseller taranarak hangi kültürel unsurlardan Türkçe öğretiminde yararlanıldığı tespit edilmiştir. Veri toplama araçlarından biri olan halk bilimi listesi beş alt sınıflandırmadan oluşmaktadır. Kitaplar kültürden yararlanılma durumu hakkında her kültür sınıfına göre ayrı ayrı analiz edilmiştir. Bu analizlerin sonucunda kitaplarda genel olarak dil öğretiminin kültürle desteklenmeye çalışıldığı sonucuna varılmıştır ancak edebî türler, kelime varlığı, halk sanatları, halk sporları, halk mutfağı başta olmak üzere pek çok açıdan kitapların kültürel unsurlarla desteklenebileceği sonucuna varılmıştır. Kitapların hazırlandığı yaş grubunun (2-5. sınıf) ilgi ve ihtiyaçları dikkate alınarak hem somut olmayan kültürel mirastan hem de halk bilimindeki kültürel unsurlardan nasıl yararlanılacağı hakkında tavsiyelerde bulunulmuştur. Bu tavsiyeler kitaplardaki EILE programındaki temalarla ilişkilendirilerek kültürel unsurların hangi temada nasıl kullanılacağı hakkında da bilgiler verilmiştir.

Linkages between literary response, aesthetic competence, and literary competence in the EFL classroom

Developing students' literacy skills and intercultural competence via literary works has become a key component of foreign language (FL) curricula at the primary, secondary, and tertiary levels in many countries. In FL classrooms, the use of textual literature can also sometimes be complemented by multimodal literature like graphic novels and picture books, which are useful in enhancing the ability of students to interpret, synthesize, and analyze information from multiple media simultaneously. This article reports the findings from an online questionnaire-based study involving 265 university students in France who were studying English as an FL alongside their degree programs. The study explored their reported literary reading response, literary competence when reading textual and multimodal literature, aesthetic competence, and the extent to which their aesthetic competence and literary response predicted their literary competence. The findings indicated that participants’ literary response drew strongly from Story-Driven Reading while their literary competence was significantly lower for textual literature than for multimodal literature. Moreover, their literary competence was statistically significantly predicted by certain components of their literary response and, to some extent, their aesthetic competence.

Changes in university student health behaviors since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract Background The COVID-19 pandemic lead many upheavals in the life habit whith lockdowns and curfews since March 2020 and possibly in the health behaviours of university students could be impacted. The objective of the study was to assess the evolution of the health behaviors of university students between before the COVID-19 period and May 2021. Methods Two retrospectives online studies of a university students in France were in May 2020 and May 2021 were conducted. Socio demographics and academics environment data, tobacco smoking, binge drinking, cannabis use, and vigorous physical activity were collected in a declarative way. Results In 2020, 3483 (72.5% of women, mean age 20.9 (SD = 2.46)) and in 2021, 3504 (74.4 of women, mean age 20.73 (SD = 2.32)) university students were included. After logistic regression, in 2020 compared to the pre-COVID19 period, the regular vigorous physical activity didn't change significantly while there appears to be a study period effect with a decrease of the regular binge drinking (AOR=0.24 IC95% [0.20,0.29]). In 2021 compared to the pre-COVID19 period, the regular vigorous physical activity and the regular binge drinking decreased respectively, (AOR=0.53; IC95% [0.48,0.59]) and (AOR=0.60 IC95% [0.52,0.70]). Regular tobacco smoking and cannabis use didn't change significantly in 2020 and 2021 compared to the pre-COVID period. Discussion: The decrease of binge drinking and physical activity between preCOVID-19 and 2021 could be attribute by the restricting mobility and social interactions. We did not observe an increase in risky health behaviors as smoking and cannabis use. These behaviors remain to be monitored in the future to assess the long-term effects of the pandemic COVID-19 on student health behaviors Key messages • Health-promotion strategies directed at adopting or maintaining positive mental health should be developed for university students to better manage future lockdown periods. • Recommendations to maintain health during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic specifically target university student populations are needed.

Is transition an (adult) problem? – experiences of autistic students during the transition from primary to secondary school

Recent research indicates that the transition from primary to secondary school is an important step in students' lives. Although this step is often expected to be even more challenging for autistic students, there are new hints that the transition could also be an opportunity and not necessarily a negative period. Sixteen autistic students in France were interviewed three times during their first year of secondary school (6th grade) regarding their transition to secondary school. They presented a positive self‐image and preferred secondary school over primary school for various reasons. They focused on their everyday life in secondary school rather than problematising the transition, which in most cases had been planned and prepared by the adults in their life. Their positive experiences and unique views on the transition and the first year of secondary school could contribute to a more optimistic and inclusive transition planning. Therefore, the study provides original accounts from a group of participants who are often neither involved in transition planning nor in transition research.

Effect of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Healthy Components of Diet and Factors Associated with Unfavorable Changes among University Students in France

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns have affected many aspects of university students’ daily lives, including their dietary habits. This study aimed to evaluate the change of diet quality of university students before and during the COVID-19 period, and the factors associated with unfavorable changes in diet quality. Methods: An online cross-sectional study was performed in May 2021 among Rouen (France) university students. Socio-demographic characteristics, body mass index, depression, academic stress, risk of eating disorders and food security were collected. The French “Programme National Nutrition Santé-Guidelines Score 2” (PNNS-GS2) was used to access diet quality. Results: A total of 3508 students were included, 74.4% were female, the mean age was 20.7 (SD = 2.3), and 7.0% were in a situation of food insecurity. The PNNS-GS2 score decreased between the pre- and the COVID-19 pandemic period for 33.1% of university students. The associated factors with the decrease in the PNNS-GS2 score were food insecurity, financial insecurity, not living with parents, depression, academic stress, eating disorders, being in the two first years of study and having been infected by COVID-19. Conclusions: Diets with healthy components decreased for one-third of university students since the COVID-19 pandemic, and this was shown to be associated with food insecurity, poor mental health and eating disorder. This study provides important information to help public health authorities and universities give better support to student health feeding programs during pandemics and lockdowns.

Financial literacy, education and risk aversion: a survey of French students

PurposeFinancial literacy is generally seen as an important factor explaining a broader set of investment behaviors. In the context of a weak financial knowledge in France, this article focuses on the particular situation of Generation Z (individuals born after 1995) and more particularly management students likely to be involved in financial decisions in the near future.Design/methodology/approachThe analysis is based on a survey conducted in the Fall of 2019, through a questionnaire distributed to 300 students enrolled in a French business school.FindingsThe results indicate that financial knowledge is poor for students who do not follow a specialized course in finance. This research also demonstrates the importance of risk behavior, showing that risk adverse students are also those with the lowest level of financial literacy.Originality/valueThis article contributes to the academic literature by focusing on students in France. It is the first study to examine Gen Z financial literacy and its implications. It raises awareness on the importance of financial education in the education curriculum.

The Substantive Entity and Conceptual Ontology of the Object of Social Science Research and the Future of Anthropology

In this dialogue, Cai Hua and Maurice Godelier ask whether there has been a change in the research entity. This question concerns the representation of the “world of the other” and its impact on the intellectual world since the advent of postmodernism. Cai Hua states that when he was an overseas student in France in the 1980s, he could not see any traces of colonization. The postmodern movement is simply a kind of emotional catharsis and cannot be called “scientific research” in a rigorous sense. As a scientist, if your position is neutral, you cannot see the other in a dichotomous way; the other is simply what you research, and you are not part of the other.

Une année perdue ? Le parcours migratoire des étudiants internationaux en France à l’heure de la crise sanitaire

Les étudiants internationaux ont été particulièrement affectés par la crise sanitaire, avant tout du fait de leur statut d’étudiant, mais aussi de l’éloignement familial et de leurs conditions de logement. Ils ont été fortement touchés par l’isolement et le sentiment de solitude, ce qui a pu entrainer des difficultés de compréhension et d’apprentissage mais aussi des conséquences psychologiques assez lourdes. Les outils numériques ont été un facteur facilitant dans cette période mais les injonctions universitaires et familiales à la connexion permanente ont mené certains d’entre eux à un sentiment de saturation et à une volonté de déconnexion, au moins temporaire, quoique très difficile. Enfin, la crise sanitaire a poussé de nombreux étudiants à repenser leur projet et mobilité internationale, que le retour définitif soit devenu incontournable, nécessaire ou inenvisageable.

Europe’s Forgotten Students? The Historiography of 19th and early 20th century Students in France

Historians’ interest in university history of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has been more limited in the case of France than for other countries. This interest has been even weaker with regard to students, a situation that only began to change at the beginning of the twenty-first century. However, pioneering work could have launched a research dynamic from the 1980s onwards, as the first part of this article shows and explains. In its second part, this paper analyzes the main themes addressed by the historiography of students in France. After underlining some of its persistent limitations, proposals for future research will be made.

Where are you really from? Understanding misrecognition from the experiences of French and Dutch Muslim women students

We investigate experiences of misrecognition through comparative focus groups with headscarf-wearing Muslim women students in France (N = 46) and in the Netherlands (N = 32). In both countries, women reported experiencing misrecognition across four interrelated dimensions: (1) totalising misrecognition, having their Muslim identity highlighted at the expense of other group affiliations; (2) membership misrecognition, having their national belonging denied; (3) content misrecognition, having negative characteristics associated with their religious identity, and (4) invisibility, having their voices unheard in society and/or their identities excluded from (public) professions. Participants conceptualised misrecognition as a product of deficient intergroup (Muslims vs. non-Muslims) contact and as being worse in France. French women felt relatively more invisible in the public sphere than their Dutch counterparts and perceived politicians across the political spectrum as an important source of misrecognition. These findings suggest that misrecognition is present in Europe, and potentially worse in France, raising the question about what measures might be taken to counter this form of group-based exclusion.