The structure of an undergraduate major and student learning: A cross-institutional study of political science programs at thirty-two colleges and universities

Is there a relationship between the way an undergraduate major in the social sciences is structured and student learning? In this paper, I address the relationship between the structure of the undergraduate major and student learning using data from the political science discipline. To assess the impact of the structure of the major on student achievement, a 29-item electronic questionnaire was employed. I find a very strong relationship between the degree to which a political science major program is structured and student knowledge, even when controlling for plausible alternative explanations for student performance. The results support the notion that majors that are characterized by a sequenced set of courses, the existence of a senior seminar or capstone course, and a required research methodology course taken early on in a Student's career, better prepare political science students than do relatively unstructured majors.Is there a relationship between the way an undergraduate major in the social sciences is structured and student learning? This is an extremely important and central question for social scientists in higher education for two reasons: (1) in this era of “assessment,” social science disciplines are coming under increasing pressure to demonstrate their utility in undergraduate education; (2) unlike other factors that affect student success (such as student ability and ambition) departments can more easily manipulate the structure of undergraduate majors (at least relatively speaking). Thus, understanding the relationship between the structure of the undergraduate major and student development is potentially a key element in instituting effective reforms in the undergraduate curriculum at colleges and universities across the country.In this paper, I address the relationship between the structure of the undergraduate major and student learning using data from the political science discipline. Indeed, there has been considerable interest in recent years in political science as to whether the structure of the undergraduate major has an impact on student learning. Some scholars have argued that the way a major is structured directly affects student development. For instance Wahlke (1991) criticized those political science undergraduate programs that had only a few required courses and other courses were offered as electives without any effort at sequencing them. Indeed, both the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) report on the Liberal Arts and Sciences, and the report produced by the APSA Task Force on Political Science (Wahlke, 1991), noted that unstructured programs are incapable of promoting the necessary skills required of political science students. The AACU report argued that only a consciously structured major that promotes sequential learning creates the “building blocks of knowledge that lead to more sophisticated understanding and … leaps of the imagination and efforts at synthesis” (AACU, 1985, p. 24). The development of thinking skills cannot be accomplished “merely by cumulative exposure to more and more … subject matter”. Majors which emphasize breadth at the expense of depth result in “shallow learning unless students also grasp the assumptions, arguments, approaches, and controversies that have shaped particular claims and findings” (Wahlke, 1991, p. 49).Thus, how a political science major is structured is posited to be related to student learning. However, despite this assertion, relatively little empirical work has been done that systematically examines the relationship between the structure of the major and the development of political science undergraduates. Some works have described programs that seek to emulate the recommendations made by the APSA Task Force and AACU reports, but do not offer evidence that such programs have a positive impact on student learning (Breuning, Parker, & Ishiyama, 2001). Other works have sought to establish a connection between the structure of the major and student reasoning styles by comparing two institutions (Ishiyama & Hartlaub, 2003). However, no studies to date have systematically compared across a number of institutions to demonstrate an empirical connection between the structure of the political science major and student learning. This paper seeks to investigate the purported connection between the structure of the political science major and some aspects of student learning by analyzing data collected from a survey of (32) colleges and universities from across the United States.     

The Utility of Allport's Conditions of Intergroup Contact for Predicting Perceptions of Improved Racial Attitudes and Beliefs

We test the predictive power of perception as it relates to Allport's (1954/1979) classic articulation of the conditions of contact conducive to reducing intergroup prejudice and increasing tolerance. After summarizing theories of prejudice and models of prejudice reduction, as well as recently published reviews of evidence relating to the Contact Hypothesis, we present results of an evaluation of a prejudice reduction program that trains and places college student facilitators in middle and high school classrooms to lead discussions about race. We show that a composite of five classroom climate conditions that the Contact Hypothesis suggests are conducive to prejudice reduction predicts teachers' and college student facilitators' perceptions of change in three aspects of middle and high school student racial attitudes. Students' perceptions of the school interracial climate are modestly predictive of their changes in these three aspects of racial attitudes. However, teacher and facilitator estimates of student outcomes are uncorrelated with actual student outcomes. Implications of these results for prejudice reduction theory and practice are discussed.     

Student School Engagement Among Sexual Minority Students: Understanding the Contributors to Predicting Academic Outcomes

ABSTRACT

Hierarchical multiple regression is used to examine whether student school engagement predicts grade point average (GPA) and fear-based truancy among 315 sexual minority youth aged 13 to 24 years. Results indicate that student school engagement is a significant predictor of GPA, and this relationship is strongest in the presence of a gay–straight alliance. Having an adult ally at school is associated with a decrease in fear-based truancy, while student school engagement predicts a decrease in fear-based truancy only for youth who have higher levels of subjective fear at school. Implications for future research and for practice among school-based helping professionals are discussed.     

我国专业学位硕士研究生奖助体系：理论探讨和策略完善

专业学位是相对于学术性学位而言的学位授予类型,为培养高层次应用型专门人才而设置,具有职业性、实践性和应用性等特征。现阶段我国研究生资助采用奖、助、贷、减、补并存的多元化模式。当前,我国专业学位研究生教育正处于起步阶段,尽管全日制专业学位硕士生的规模不断扩大,但是由于我国研究生教育的体制结构尚不成熟、全社会对专业学位的认识不足、专业学位硕士生在奖助激励体系中处于弱势地位等原因,在资助过程中出现了资助对象无差别化、资助理念和目标不明确、评估指标缺乏多维性、激励机制不完善等问题。完善我国全日制专业学位硕士生资助体系,要明确多元化的研究生奖助体系,建立长效机制,拓展奖学金来源渠道,建构科学的动态评估体系,规范人性化的管理体制,培养适应特定行业或职业实际工作需要的具有创新能力和实践能力的综合型人才。     

Typologies of student experiences and constructed meanings of learning in international placements

This article discusses findings from a three-year British Council-funded project into social work student placements in Malaysia. Processes of student learning in unfamiliar cultural contexts were examined in relation to three cohorts of students. Here typologies of experience influencing learning, elicited from student-recorded data, are discussed. Analysis suggests that students undergo a process of liminality, adjustment or resistance to the contexts of community, culture and placements encountered in international settings. Emergent themes are identified as naive acceptance, critical revelation, critical observation, epiphany, critical reactionary, professional rejection and antagonistic response. Implications for international placements are discussed based on the data.     

中学生心理问题的家庭原因分析

在中学生个案心理咨询工作中,我们发现中学生的心理问题产生的最主要原因是家长的主观性教育和不合理的家庭教育方式。“成也父母,败也父母”已成为当前青少年学生家庭教育中的普遍现象。     

Student debt and wellbeing: a research agenda

ABSTRACT

With levels of student debt unprecedented and rising in many democracies, growing attention has been given by academics and practitioners to its possible effects for student wellbeing. This article makes three contributions to this debate. First, it offers a critical review of literature that considers the relationship of student debt and wellbeing to open up discussion about the dimensions, limitations and possibilities of the field. Second, the paper points to potential avenues for future research about student debt and wellbeing by considering indicative comments made by New Zealand university students as part of a series of in-depth interviews. Third, the article makes a practical contribution to current debates about the tuition ‘fees free’ policy in New Zealand. We argue that developing a more robust understanding of how student debt affects wellbeing may help to broaden and reinvigorate academic and public debate about student debt.     

大学生团体意识缺失的原因与对策思考

本文是对广东部分高校大学生团体意识状况调研的结果。在市场经济大潮中,大学生思想品德表现出一些值得重视的问题,团体意识的缺失是其中重要原因之一。社会发展需要团体合作,团体意识、团队精神越来越受重视。本文从社会工作角度探讨大学生的团体意识缺失的原因并提出对策。     

Culture and context in Chinese field supervision: a case study from Shanghai

Supervision that provides supports helps students to develop intervention skills and forms a strong professional identity. Yet, the literature on supervision largely stems from Western countries. Less is known about supervisory relationships in countries such as China. This article presents a qualitative case study of three MSW students and two supervisors in Mainland China focusing on how the practice context and Chinese cultural norms intersect with student expectations over a 10-month period. Findings demonstrate important differences between student expectations for supervision and the reality of their experience. These differences are based in current realities but reinforced by cultural norms.     

Strengthening aging content in the baccalaureate social work curricula: what students have to say

Encouraging student's interest and preparing them for social work practice with older adults is increasingly important in view of the demographic changes that are taking place. This article describes a study that engages BSW students in a discussion of best models for promoting gerontological social work curriculum infusion. Using two focus groups, the authors explore barriers to student interest and potential strategies to recruit students for gerontological social work. Fear of their own decline and mortality, lack of exposure to older adults and aging issues emerge as the primary reasons for aversion to working with older adults. Strategies to promote student interest, organize curricula, and create an inclusive learning context are discussed.     

Evaluating a Scale to Measure Student Competencies in Macro Social Work Practice

ABSTRACT

This article outlines the development of an evaluation tool for measuring student competency in macrolevel social work practice. Researchers followed a multistage process that incorporated the wisdom of experienced field instructors in identifying key competencies for practice, ranking performance levels in each competency, and evaluating the reliability and validity of the scale. The resulting Macro Practice-Based Evaluation tool includes six skill domains (learning and growth; behavior and relationships; leadership; critical thinking, analysis, planning, and implementation; professional communication; and values and ethics), each of which has five levels of student competence ranging from unsuitable for practice to exemplary. Evaluation in an experimental setting, by comparing student evaluations on the new tool and previous tools, demonstrated promising reliability and validity. Implications for social work education and future research in actual practice environments are discussed.     

创新大学生第二课堂的研究与实践——以机械品牌专业为例

随着教育体制改革和创新教育的提出,大学生第二课堂活动在提高大学生的综合素质和创新能力方面的地位和作用更加突出,高校应将大学生第二课堂活动纳入整体教学环节,丰富活动内容,创新活动形式,更好地服务于大学生的成长成才。     

大学生的角色认同状况研究——以钱江学院为例

角色认同是个人对自己身份的知觉和体验过程,大学生的角色认同既是个体心理问题,也是社会问题。本研究采用问卷调查法对468名大学生进行调查,主要探讨大学生的角色认同状况及其影响因素,研究的结果表明：大学生的角色认同的总体状况较为积极;性别、政治面貌、年级、是否独生子女等因素对大学生的角色认同的影响呈现不同程度的显著差异。     

Teaching qualitative research to BSW students through exposure to aging

This article describes one rural program's efforts to expose students to gerontology through teaching qualitative research methodology. A collaborative research pilot project was developed with a local nursing home. BSW students worked in two groups to conduct and present qualitative research projects by the course's completion. This article describes the research project and evaluates the project's success from student and instructor viewpoints. Significant differences were found in self-reported student knowledge of key concepts at the project's completion, compared with pre-test knowledge. Student comments revealed value in this teaching approach. Implications for further engaging students in gerontological research are discussed.     

Seeing Eye to Eye: Predicting Teacher–Student Agreement on Classroom Social Networks

This study examines the association between classroom characteristics and teacher–student agreement in perceptions of students' classroom peer networks. Social network, peer nomination, and observational data were collected from a sample of second through fourth grade teachers (N = 33) and students (N = 669) in 33 classrooms across five high‐poverty urban schools. Results demonstrate that variation in teacher–student agreement on the structure of students' peer networks can be explained, in part, by developmental factors and classroom characteristics. Developmental increases in network density partially mediated the positive relationship between grade level and teacher–student agreement. Larger class sizes and higher levels of normative aggressive behavior resulted in lower levels of teacher–student agreement. Teachers' levels of classroom organization had mixed influences, with behavior management negatively predicting agreement, and productivity positively predicting agreement. These results underscore the importance of the classroom context in shaping teacher and student perceptions of peer networks.     

多维度下高校学生工作研究综述

社会转型下高校学生工作备受关注。研究综述发现:历史维度下高校学生工作从工具性向价值性转型;现实维度下"高级保姆"式方式存在诸多问题;跨文化维度下的专业性与服务性为我国学生工作发展提供了借鉴意义。构建乡土视野下的高校学生工作需要实现社会工作的理念、方法及角色介入。     

论社会工作介入大学生社会化问题——以桂林市高校为例

大学生在社会化过程中出现了道德和价值观念模糊、心理素质不高、知识技能不扎实、人际交往和角色扮演能力不足、缺乏参与社会的目标和信心等问题。笔者试图用社会工作方法介入,如建立高校社会工作者队伍,在高校建立社会工作服务中心,加强大学社区和周边社区的建设以及把社会工作引入课堂教学等,以弥补高校学生工作的不足,推进大学生社会化进程。     

Observed Emotions as Predictors of Quality of Kindergartners’ Social Relationships

This study evaluated whether positive and anger emotional frequency (the proportion of instances an emotion was observed) and intensity (the strength of an emotion when it was observed) uniquely predicted social relationships among kindergarteners (N = 301). Emotions were observed as naturally occurring at school in the fall term and multiple reporters (peers and teachers) provided information on quality of relationships with children in the spring term. In structural equation models, positive emotion frequency, but not positive emotion intensity, was positively related to peer acceptance and negatively related to peer rejection. In contrast, the frequency of anger provided unique positive prediction of teacher–student conflict and negative prediction of peer acceptance. Furthermore, anger intensity negatively predicted teacher–student closeness and positively predicted teacher–student conflict. Implications for promoting social relationships in school are discussed.     

The Higher Education White Paper: The Good,the Bad,the Unspeakable – and the Next White Paper1

This article argues that reforms of higher education finance for undergraduates in England introduced by the Blair government in 2006 provided a progressive strategy for achieving the central objectives of higher education of quality (better), access (wider) and size (larger). Reforms in 2012 are a not a strategy but a collection of ad hoc arrangements. They include the good (a higher fees cap, a higher interest rate on student loans, better information and improved support for part‐time study), the bad (abolishing most taxpayer support for teaching in the arts and humanities and the social sciences, and raising excessively the threshold at which loan repayments start) and the unspeakable (abolishing Education Maintenance Allowances and AimHigher). The reforms are fiscally costly and hence perpetuate the central problem of capped student numbers, and will not stand the test of time. The concluding section outlines the next White Paper.     

Alone and adrift: The association between mass school shootings,school size,and student support

Background

School shootings have approached epidemic levels in recent years. While mental illness is undoubtedly involved in nearly all cases of mass school violence, we sought to determine how environmental context may exacerbate preexisting personal factors. The present study investigated the associations between mass school shootings, school enrollment size, student–teacher ratios, and student transitions.