Predictors of positive development in first-year college students

ABSTRACT

Objective: Emerging adulthood is an important phase in the transition to adulthood. Emerging adults experience minimal social control and incomplete development of executive functioning leaving this age-group at risk for misusing this newfound independence. Hence, it is important to understand pathways to support positive development (PD) outcomes. In this study, we examined the relationship between participation in civically engaged learning and PD among first-year college students. Participants: First-year college students (N = 225) were surveyed during the 2012–2013 academic year. Methods: Students were surveyed on measures of PD and engaged learning prior to the beginning (initial survey) and at the end of the first year (final survey) of their undergraduate education. Stepwise linear regression was used to examine the influence of engaged learning on PD outcomes. Results: Engaged learning during the academic year predicted flourishing and students' civic frequency. Also, faith-affiliation and parents' civic frequency contributed to students' civic frequency. Conclusions: Our interpretation of the findings suggests that engaged learning and family role modeling may promote PD among first-year undergraduate students.     

Productive Engagement Among Older Americans: Prevalence,Patterns, and Implications for Public Policy

This study estimates the prevalence of productive engagement among adults aged 60 and over residing in the United States over a nine-year period. We analyze three waves of data from the Americans' Changing Lives Study, which allows the findings to describe the non-institutionalized older American population. Focusing upon five activities—formal paid employment, irregular paid work, unpaid volunteerism, caregiving, and informal assistance to others—we identify changes in the engagement rates, examine the extent to which engagement occurs through single or multiple concurrent activities, and document intra-individual patterns of engagement within and across forms of productive activity, including the continuity, initiation, and cessation of involvement. The findings reveal that late-life productive engagement is widespread, with the majority of older individuals involved in multiple forms of activity concurrently. Non–market-based activities such as caregiving, informal assistance, and volunteering are most prevalent. Initiation and cessation of activities are common and yield more complex patterns and lower rates of non-participation than are revealed in cross-sectional analyses. Time spent in productive engagement is highly variable and exhibits an overall decline across time. We conclude by highlighting policy strategies to increase the availability and quality of opportunities for productive engagement and promote planning for engagement in late life.     

公民守法道德的向度及其养成

公民守法道德作为实现法律的德性保证,其对法治建设具有不可或缺的意义.在向度上,公民守法道德表现为强制守法、自觉守法和信仰法律三个层面.就实现条件而言,公民守法道德的养成离不开公民意识和保障机制的确立,也需要政府切实有效地履行自身应尽的责任.     

公共领域建构中的公民参与机制研究——基于公共服务型政府职能转变的视角

哈贝马斯的公共领域是介于国家和市民社会之间具有批判精神和监督功能的弹性第三空间,在两者之间建构良性互动的公共领域是非常必的。在中国社会加速转型背景下,通过建构现代公共领域,以此为切人点培育公民精神、提升公民参与能力、健全公民参与机制是实现政治现代化的重基础。这一过程的实现,既有赖于政府职能的转变,同时也推动了公共服务型政府的建设。通过建立政府管理与公民参与之间的良性互动机制,使政府在公共事务管理中充分发挥善治功能,提升公民参与能力、培育社会中介组织、构建网络公共领域,成为向公共服务型政府转变的现实路径。     

民族主义中的道义法则——泰戈尔的民族主义思想解析

泰戈尔的民族主义思想主要是倡导民族之间的道义法则,正确认识民族的自我与他者之间的关系,则是泰戈尔倡导的民族之间的道义法则的内在核心。泰戈尔在其所生活的时代就断言西方民族主义已到黄昏时刻,在于泰戈尔认为西方民族主义违背了民族之间的道义法则,对于东方民族主义的发展方向,泰戈尔认为应该遵循民族之间的道义法则．彰显民族的道义之光。道义法则不仅构成了泰戈尔评判民族主义走向的重要标准,同时在近现代以来的民族主义思想发展过程中也有着诸多具体表现。     

论道德模范评选表彰活动的社会道德价值导向

道德模范评选表彰活动是对公民进行道德教育的重要形式,是推进公民道德建设的有效载体.这项活动在中国社会中产生了积极广泛而深远的影响,它体现了社会主义社会的道德价值导向：坚持了社会主义道德的核心和原则;弘扬了中华民族传统美德和时代精神;宣传了道德模范先进事迹和高尚品德;树立了社会主义荣辱观和社会新风尚;构建了道德教育新机制和有效途径.     

对“道德生产力论”的两点质疑

由王小锡先生提出和论证的“道德生产力”理论,被夸大到了无所不能的地步,实在是言过其实。以王小锡先生为代表的“道德生产力论”者没有搞清楚道德概念的真正含义,不了解追求自身利益最大化是符合每一个主体生存和发展的客观规律,因而属于“经济人”道德。王小锡先生的“道德生产力论”是建立在对马克思生产力理论曲解基础之上的。马克思在不同场合所说的“××生产力”,实际上指的是在生产力中包含着“××”要素。因而,从马克思的“××生产力”的概念中,不能逻辑地推导出王小锡先生的“道德生产力”概念和他的“道德生产力”理论。     

《大学》政德修养思想与当代领导干部的以德养廉

作为中国古代政治、道德教育大纲的儒学经典《大学》,建构了为政官员政德修养的完整思想体系,强调“修身”为根本,修身以“明明德,亲民,止于至善”为理想目标,以“齐家、治国、平天下”为使命,对当代领导干部加强政德修养、实行以德养廉具有积极的借鉴意义。     

论“三江源”地区生态道德教育

三江源地区生态道德教育具有教育内容民族性、教育对象多元性、教育任务艰巨性等基本特征,加强该地区生态道德教育必须进一步更新教育理念,注重生态道德认知和实践教育,倡导绿色生活方式,引导人们树立正确的生态道德观,促使该地区人与自然和谐发展。．     

Index

Drawing on a three-year multimethod study of civic engagement within “Dewey Elementary,” this article identifies the contextual supports of civic efficacy. In particular, it works to map the role of the teacher in supporting the civic action and efficacy of six fifth-grade girls who requested changes to the school's existing lunch plan. An analysis presents four supports for the development of civic efficacy: building curriculum from life, asking questions, working in a diverse group, and practicing skills of civic activism. The author's conclusions point to particular social spaces and processes that facilitate civic efficacy, which can lead to better practices and policies for civic education in the younger years.