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This study aims to explore how e-textbooks with emotional design affect students' emotion, cognitive load and learning achievement. There were 147 freshman students in total: the experimental group I, II and control group consisted of 49, 47 and 51 students, using e-textbooks with emotional design, without emotional design and traditional paper textbooks. The results reveal the following: Students' emotion after using e-textbooks with emotional design is more positive than those using e-textbooks without emotional design and paper textbooks. Students' cognitive load after using e-textbooks with emotional design is significantly lower than those using etextbooks without emotional design. Students' learning achievement after using two types of e-textbooks is better than after using paper textbooks. Comparing all types of textbooks altogether, emotion has a significantly positive correlation with learning achievement, and both emotion and learnng achievement are significantly and negatively correlated with cognitive load. For the three types of textbooks, the relationship between emotion and learning achievement all becomes not significantly correlated. For two types of e-textbooks, cognitive load and learning achievement become not significantly correlated, disturbed by the digitalization of textbooks. Instructors are suggested to firstly adopt e-textbooks with emotional design, those without emotional design secondly, and paper textbooks rank last. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, as more and more people enroll to higher education, educational authorities, and institutions continually need to update their curricula and to find alternative and innovative ways to support the active participation of learners. Student Response Systems (SRSs) have become one of the most common tools used in today's classrooms. Along with the development of technology, several online tools were provided to a sample of teachers in order to conduct an assessment within the classroom environment as an alternative to classic SRSs. "Kahoot!" is one such tool used within the educational setting. The purpose of this study was to reveal the effects of using Kahoot! on preservice teachers' academic achievement, as well as on their retention when Kahoot! was used as a formative assessment tool. This quasi-experimental study was conducted with 91 preservice teachers during the fall semester of the 2019–2020 academic year. Data were collected via three quizzes, a midterm exam, and a retention test. The study's results indicate that the students who were applied paper-based quizzes had higher exam and retention test scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classifying papers according to the fields of knowledge is critical to clearly understand the dynamics of scientific (sub)fields, their leading questions, and trends. Most studies rely on journal categories defined by popular databases such as WoS or Scopus, but some experts find that those categories may not correctly map the existing subfields nor identify the subfield of a specific article. This study addresses the classification problem using data from each paper (Abstract, Title, Keywords, and the KeyWords Plus) and the help of experts to identify the existing subfields and journals exclusive of each subfield. These "exclusive journals" are critical to obtain, through a pattern detection procedure that uses machine learning techniques (from software NVivo), a list of the frequent terms that are specific to each subfield. With that list of terms and with the help of optimization procedures, we can identify to which subfield each paper most likely belongs. This study can contribute to support scientific policy‐makers, funding, and research institutions—via more accurate academic performance evaluations—, to support editors in their tasks to redefine the scopes of journals, and to support popular databases in their processes of refining categories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The German school system employs centrally organized performance assessments (some of which are called "VERA") as a way of promoting lesson development. In recent years, several German federal states introduced a computer-based performance testing system which will replace the paper-pencil testing system in the future. Scores from computer-based testing are required to be equivalent to paper-pencil testing scores so that the new testing medium does not lead to disadvantages for students. Therefore, the current study aimed at investigating the size of the mode effect and the moderating impact of students' gender, academic achievement and mainly spoken language in everyday life. In addition, the variance of the mode effect across tasks was investigated. The study was conducted in four German federal states in 2019 using a field experimental design. The test scores of 5140 eighth-graders from 165 schools in the subject German were analysed. The results of multi-level modelling revealed that students' test scores in the computerized version of the VERA test were significantly lower than in the paper-pencil version. Students with a lower academic achievement were more disadvantaged by the VERA computerized test. The results were inconsistent regarding the interactions between testing mode and students' gender and mainly spoken language in everyday life. The variance of the mode effect across tasks was high. Research into different subjects and in other federal states and countries under different testing conditions might yield further evidence about the generalizability of these results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ChatGPT could allow students to plagiarize the content of their coursework with little risk of detection. Little is known about undergraduate willingness to use AI tools. In this study, psychology undergraduates (N = 160) from the United Kingdom, indicated their willingness to use, and history of using, ChatGPT to write university assignments. Almost a third (32%) indicated that they would use such tools; 15% indicated that they had used them already. Neither personality (conscientiousness, agreeableness, Machiavellianism, narcissism), academic performance, nor study skills self-efficacy could predict future use of AI tools. A novel Degree Apathy Scale was the only significant predictor. Willingness to use AI tools was greater when the risk of getting caught was low, and punishment was light, particularly for those high in degree apathy. Findings suggest that degree apathy is a key risk factor in academic misconduct. Wider research and pedagogical applications of degree apathy are discussed. • Thirty-two percent of students surveyed reported that they would use ChatGPT on future academic assignments. • Future use of AI tools was significantly predicted by a new Degree Apathy Scale. • Big Five and Dark Triad scores were not significant predictors, nor was previous academic performance. • Likelihood of cheating using ChatGPT was reduced with increasing risk of detection or severity of punishment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Conference on Theoretical and Computational Algebra 2023 (TCA 2023) took place in Pocinho, Portugal, attracting over 80 researchers from Europe, Australia, Brazil, Canada, and the USA. The conference covered various topics in algebra and automated reasoning, with a significant focus on semigroup theory. As a result, the editors of 'Semigroup Forum' decided to dedicate a special issue to selected papers from TCA 2023. This issue includes 11 papers that underwent a rigorous refereeing process, with additional papers still under review for future publication. The conference also honored Dr. Gracinda M. S. Gomes, a retired professor from the University of Lisbon, who made significant contributions to semigroup theory and fostered collaboration between Portugal and the UK. [Extracted from the article]

As obesity and physical inactivity rates continue to rise in the United States, Kentucky ranks third in childhood obesity rates (10‐17 year olds) and 50th in physical inactivity. The public school environment is a logical place to examine practices and closely discern how time is spent. Federal legislation over the past 50 years has largely dictated the emphasis and priority of our public education system and how schools are funded and assessed. Recently, new federal legislation, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015, moved more power, flexibility, and accountability to the states allowing for additional funding opportunities surrounding not just reading and mathematics standardized test scores. Kentucky made promising steps toward including a well‐rounded education in their accountability plan, however; ultimately removed those measures in their revised submission to the US Education Department. We must reexamine our current priorities and policies based on evidence‐based best practices regarding health, physical activity, and academic achievement. This report outlines history, issues, and policy solutions which will move Kentucky's youth toward better opportunities for quality physical activity in our public schools within our current resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses how the William G. Squires Library conducted a usability study on their LibGuides to identify student design preferences. The results of the study support previous research concerning best practices for LibGuide creation. This paper offers insight into how librarian-centric design hinders student success and provides suggestions for how to best develop a student-centric template design that offers consistency and increased user proficiency across all guides. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The attitude of teachers is effective in improving the quality of life and academic achievement of students with stuttering. The Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Stuttering (TATS) inventory is a tool for evaluating teachers’ opinions and attitudes toward stuttering. The purpose of this study is to validate the Persian version of the TATS (TATS-Persian) and a preliminary study of the attitude of elementary teachers towards stuttering. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, which is of validation and instrumentation type, 32 teachers from elementary schools in Tehran were recruited by the available sampling method. To examine the content validity of TATS-Persian, 12 teachers were surveyed, and for the test-retest reliability of it, 12 teachers re-completed the TATS-Persian after one week. The statistical methods included the Cronbach alpha coefficient calculation and the Spearman correlation test. Results: The content validity, test-retest reliability, and internal consistency of TATS-Persian were 0.92, 0.93, 0.96, respectively. The Mean±SD scores of teacher’s attitudes were 78.09 ±11.9. Also, the teachers’ attitudes score had a significant positive correlation with the number of stuttering students experienced in their teaching history. Conclusion: The Persian version of the TATS inventory is a valid and simple tool for evaluating teachers’ attitudes toward stuttering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since its establishment in 1972, the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has been providing improved access to education and certification for both in-school and out-of-school students in the Caribbean. In order to optimize the benefits of its courses of study and examinations to out-of-school students, CXC had to treat with the challenge of the School-Based Assessment which must be undertaken under the guidance of the teacher and is therefore designed for in-school students. In response, CXC developed the Alternative Paper to School-Based Assessment which is an external examination paper. This article examines the value of the Alternative Paper in the examinations of CXC. It explains how the Alternative Paper provides an alternative path for the completion and certification of a secondary school education. The author argues that the Alternative Paper opens up, for the out-of-school person, opportunities that are similar to those from which the in-school student benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, China emerged as one of the world’s largest producers of academic research papers contributing massively to national and international journals annually. This prolific output serves as evidence to the dedicated efforts of Chinese universities to foster research activities among their teaching staff. However, the role of academic leaders, particularly that of school deans, on research productivity within these institutions remains an important and unresolved question. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of the academic achievements of deans on the research output of business schools of China prestigious 985/211project universities. For this purpose, we manually collected data on the deans of business schools of 985/211 project universities from 2000 to 2018 as well as data on published research papers by each school. Empirical results show that during the tenure of an ‘academic dean’, the average number of papers published by business schools increased by about 10.6% annually. After being converted into standard ‘Economic Research Journal’ articles, this effect increased by as much as 28%. The above results are robust with several different model specifications and definitions for academic deans. Our research findings hold significant policy implications, not only for China's education system but extends to various knowledge-intensive institutions, such as hospitals, research labs, and consultancy organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the last two decades, universities around the world have increased the adoption of English-medium instruction (EMI) as a way to enhance internationalisation and global competitiveness. EMI adoption presents a wide range of opportunities, but it also presents some challenges, being one of them the potential impact on students' academic performance. This paper analyses the impact of EMI on the academic performance of the students in a Spanish university. The objective is to extend previous research, that shows contradictory conclusions. In the first part of the paper, using a multiple linear regression model to control key covariates, we have compared the performance of 229 EMI vs 635 Non-EMI students, corresponding to cohorts 2013–2014 to 2017–2018, considering the average grade in the 10 subjects of the first course. In the second part, we focus on the 2017–2018 cohort (49 EMI vs 116 Non-EMI students), carrying out a longitudinal study of its behaviour during two academic years in four different subjects. The results show that there are no statistically significant differences in academic performance between EMI and non-EMI students, ie language of instruction does not play a relevant role in academic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This paper examines the use of augmented reality (AR) as a concept‐association tool in schools, with the aim of enhancing primary school students' learning outcomes and engagement. Conflicting findings exist in previous studies regarding the cognitive load of AR‐enriched learning, with some reporting reduced load and others indicating increased demand and poorer performance. Understanding these implications is essential for effectively leveraging AR in education. The study offers a fresh perspective on the potential of AR technology in improving educational experiences. Objectives: The primary goal of this research was to evaluate the effectiveness of an AR‐assisted concept‐association strategy for improving essential knowledge acquisition and skills outcomes, increasing cognitive load, and increasing self‐efficacy and learning motivation among primary school students. Methods: A quasi‐experimental design with a control group was employed to investigate the effectiveness of the intervention. Results and Conclusions: The results demonstrate that the implementation of the AR‐assisted concept‐association strategy effectively enhanced essential knowledge acquisition and skills outcomes, increased cognitive load, and increased self‐efficacy and learning motivation among primary school students. These findings highlight the potential of AR technology to improve the learning experience and engagement of primary school students. The study contributes to the existing literature on the effectiveness of AR technology in education, suggesting future research directions. Ultimately, it offers a practical solution for improving the learning experience by presenting a new approach for teaching using AR technology. Lay Description: What is currently known about this topic: Augmented reality (AR) technology has been increasingly explored in educational settings.Previous research has shown that AR can enhance learning outcomes and engagement among students.AR applications have the potential to serve as concept‐association tools to improve the learning experience. What this paper adds: This paper investigates the effectiveness of using an AR application as a mobile concept‐association tool in school settings.The study demonstrates that the AR‐assisted concept‐association strategy effectively enhances knowledge acquisition, skills outcomes, cognitive load, self‐efficacy, and learning motivation among primary school students.The findings highlight the potential of AR technology in improving learning experiences and engagement for primary school students.The study offers practical implications for integrating AR technology into educational settings, and suggests avenues for future research in this area. Implications for practice and/or policy: Incorporating AR applications as concept‐association tools can enhance learning outcomes and engagement in primary school settings.AR technology can be used to increase cognitive load, and to increase self‐efficacy and motivation among students.Educators and policymakers should consider integrating AR technology into teaching practices to improve the overall learning experience.Future research and exploration should be conducted to understand the full potential and limitations of AR technology in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Behavioural intention (BI) has been predicted using other variables by adopting the technology acceptance model (TAM). However, few studies have examined whether BI can predict learning performance. Objectives: The present study used an extended TAM to investigate whether students' BI is a predictor of their listening learning performance (LLP) through vocabulary learning performance (VLP) in the context of mobile vocabulary‐assisted listening learning by using two mobile learning tools. Methods: A total of 129 college students with a pre‐intermediate level of English were recruited as participants, and a 10‐week mobile vocabulary‐assisted, listening‐learning course was conducted in 2022. In each task of this course, the students had to learn target words from a listening passage on Quizlet and then engage in listening activities on Randall's ESL Cyber Listening Lab. Quantitative responses obtained through an online questionnaire were analysed through partial‐least‐squares structural equation modelling. Results: The analysis results indicated that BI significantly predicted LLP through VLP. Perceived ease of use (PEU) and perceived usefulness (PU) were significant antecedents of BI. However, PEU did not significantly predict PU because of the difficulty of navigating between the two technological tools used in this study. The extended model demonstrated its effectiveness in explaining listening learning performance, as evidenced by an explained variance (R2) of 69%. Conclusion: The extended model validates the influence of BI on learning performance and it can also draw teachers' focus toward the significance of enhancing students' BI to improve their listening learning performance. Pedagogical implications based on the results are provided in this paper. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic?: TAM was used to study learners' acceptance of mobile‐assisted language learning.TAM incorporates latent variables to explore mobile‐assisted language learning.Investigating factors influencing BI is a primary research focus in extended TAM literature.Mobile tools could improve listening learning and vocabulary retention. What this paper adds to that: Learning performance was considered as a dependent variable in an extended TAM.BI might predict students' learning performance in vocabulary and listening in an extended TAM.Teachers used two mobile tools to design mobile vocabulary‐assisted listening tasks.Pre‐learning the target words facilitate students' listening learning performance. Implications for practice and/or policy: We show the importance of BI on predicting listening learning performance.The impact of BI on other factors became another focus of TAM research.Results highlight pre‐learning target words' importance for better listening performance.Existing mobile tools improve listening performance, avoiding new system development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social annotation has emerged as a promising educational technology that fosters collaborative reading and discussion of digital resources among learners. While the positive impact of social annotation on students' learning process and performance is widely acknowledged, students' behavioural patterns in social annotation are underexplored. Objectives: This study investigated patterns in students' use of annotation and response behaviours in social annotation activities. We also explored how students' performance in the behavioural, cognitive, emotional, and social dimensions varied based on their behavioural patterns. Methods: We recruited 93 undergraduates who were enrolled in an elective course at a large North American University. Students were tasked with collaboratively annotating the class readings uploaded to Perusall, a social annotation platform, over 7 weeks. We used metaclustering to determine the optimal number of clusters pertaining to student behaviours. We compared the differences among clusters across multiple performance dimensions. Results and Conclusions: Two distinct clusters were identified and defined as initiators and responders. We found that responders had significantly longer active reading time and exhibited greater social annotation effort compared to initiators. However, initiators received more peer acknowledgement, as evidenced by higher upvotes. No significant difference was found in cognitive insight between initiators and responders, but responders demonstrated significantly higher cognitive discrepancy. Additionally, there were no significant differences in positive and negative tones between initiators and responders; however, responders displayed higher levels of prosocial behaviours than initiators. This study has significant practical implications regarding promoting students' collaborative learning experience in social annotation. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Annotation and response behaviours are two primary actions in social annotation.Understanding how students navigate through annotations and respond to their peers' contributions is essential for optimizing their learning experience.Social annotation outcomes can be assessed in the behavioural, cognitive, emotional, and social dimensions. What this paper adds: This paper revealed students' behavioural patterns in social annotation activities.This study offered a comprehensive understanding of the various dimensions of performance among students with different behavioural tendencies. Implications for practice and/or policy: The two student clusters, initiators and responders, revealed distinct engagement patterns in social annotation and informed the design of targeted scaffoldings.Responders were not passive learners since they demonstrated significantly longer active reading time, greater social annotation effort, and higher level of prosocial behaviours.Educators might not need to place significant emphasis on monitoring participants' emotional expressions in social annotation.Social annotation platforms should incorporate features that encourage and reward both initiation and response behaviours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Poverty's impact on children's academic outcome is a cause for concern in most urban Asian cities as education is viewed as one of the main channels of social mobility. Few studies examined how poor children's hope could be enhanced through school social support. Objective: This paper examines how children from low-income families' perceived frequencies and importance of social support from teachers and classmates, influence their levels of hope in academic achievement. Method: Utilizing a partially-mixed sequential design—first, with survey data from a larger study on low-income children (n = 513), this paper explores if perceived frequency of social support is associated with level of hope as well as the role of perceived importance in moderating the frequencies of school social support on sense of hope; second, to enrich the child-reported results, two in-depth focus group discussions with elementary school teachers (n = 10) were conducted. Results: Statistical analysis reveals that the frequency of social support from teachers and classmates is associated with the level of hope in low-income children. Furthermore, when teacher's support was rated important by children, there was a positive association between social support and hope. Integrating statistical results and qualitative insights, this paper extends extant literature on social support typologies with a novel category; 'support in providing opportunities for success'. Conclusion: This paper underscores the important role schools play as a source of social support for children. Such social support aids higher hope levels in low-income children which could translate into better academic outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As academic research evolves into distinct identities of specialised knowledge, institutional and paradigmatic barriers are formed between research teams, which demand enhanced research collaboration and cross-fertilisation of ideas. Drawing on the concept of cross-fertilisation, this paper adds original contributions to literature on research collaboration in three ways. First, it underlines key barriers facing academics in undertaking research. Second, it demonstrates why research collaboration helps to drive research output and enrich research cultures. Third, it offers valuable insights into technological and social initiatives supporting research collaboration. This paper reports on a study within the University of Portsmouth's School of Criminology and Criminal Justice – the UK's largest criminology department. It reveals universities must address four key issues to enhance research collaboration. These involve managing researchers' workload pressures, fostering positive research cultures, improving knowledge of and access to research and funding processes, and exploring collaborative technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, the intentional promotion of student and staff wellbeing (i.e., positive states of psychological, cognitive, social and physical being) has become recognized as an essential dimension of quality schooling. This development has coincided with a growing body of research that demonstrates significant correlations between wellbeing and positive school outcomes (i.e., attendance, academic achievement, classroom engagement, disciplinary absences). While this body of literature identifies why wellbeing is important to school improvement, it is not necessarily clear whether it provides insight into how wellbeing may be effectively incorporated into the praxis of school improvement. This paper reports on a scoping review that sought to identify how the construct of wellbeing is presented as an imperative within the school improvement (SI) literature. The review identified that promoting wellbeing in schools as a means of improving school outcomes can be understood through three core concepts: (a) the development of personal wellbeing and academic capability are complementary; (b) significant cultural and structural reform is necessary in schools to enable effective approaches to promoting wellbeing; and (c) a nurturing style leadership is a determining factor in a school's capability to substantively promote wellbeing. The paper also provides recommendations for further research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Extensive research has been conducted treating burnout as an independent variable and performance as a dependent variable to proffer possible solutions to burnout and job performance among academics. Despite this, the burnout crises persist and are exacerbated by the ongoing global proliferation of higher education. Acknowledging this, the current study explored whether performance may contribute to the emergence of burnout. Methods: The study's sample population comprised 689 academics from Jiangsu province, China. Key Performance Indicator (KPI) results served to measure performance. Psychological counselling and Burnout were calculated using mental health results garnered from the universities. Data was collected on respondents' demographic characteristics and work situations. The mean scores were 0.517 (SD = 0.5) for gender and 1.586 (SD = 1.103) for age. The relationship among performance, job burnout, and psychological counselling was analysed via a cross-sectional survey deploying grouped regression. Results: Academics' job performance was found to regulate their burnout (β = -0.058, P < 0.01). Higher performance of academics was significantly associated with lower job burnout and psychological counselling. Furthermore, psychological counselling significantly moderated job burnout (β = -0.012, P < 0.05) among academics without regulating their job performance. Conclusion: The paper supplements the discourse on job burnout and academic performance by suggesting a pre-counselling measure as a strategy to address the crises of burnout. The paper argued that the continued competence of employees should prevent burnout in Higher education and ensure better job performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) education in solving real-world problems is challenging. To tackle this challenge, a project-based learning approach that integrates robots with cost-effective self-made toys to problem-solving was adopted to assist rural primary school students to apply STEM skills. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the project-based learning approach which includes lecturing and hands-on activities on primary school students' STEM learning outcomes and attitudes. An experiment was conducted with 25 primary school students who voluntarily participated in a STEM summer-camp programme. Students were asked to assemble a paper house equipped with an IoT control module and LED light switches, and write and edit robot scripts to produce a robot-based storytelling narrative using the paper house they made as a context. The results show that the project-based learning approach was an effective approach for cultivating primary school students' STEM knowledge and skills as evidenced from the post-written test. The relationships between the students' STEM learning outcomes and attitudes were also confirmed by a clustering analysis. Students who had higher learning attitudes also achieved higher STEM learning outcomes; the findings are also supported by the feedback from the open-ended questionnaire items. This study suggests that integrating low-cost self-made toys and robots in project-based learning activities is an effective and practical approach to enhance primary school students' learning outcomes and learning attitudes in STEM education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The few existing studies in international literature about students with learning disabilities' postsecondary persistence and academic performances show varied outcomes. Rigorous research has been limited. Moreover, in Italy there is a dearth of public data on students' careers and clearly a deficiency regarding literature on this topic. To tackle this situation, propensity score matching techniques were used in this paper to compare data about persistence and academic success of students who reported a learning disability with those who did not, all enrolled in a large University in Northern Italy. Once potential confounders were taken into account, our findings indicated that students with an attested learning disability were as likely to persist in academic context as peers without any LD. However, for what concerns academic performances, the outcomes varied according to the measures being used. Although there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of the number of course credits (ECTS) earned, students with learning disabilities continued to lag behind their counterparts without disabilities concerning first-year grade point average achieved. This paper includes final recommendations for future research, in order to fill existing gaps in methodology and area of study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to determine the effect of parental education, as an important measure of social origin, on the expectations of 15 year olds to complete higher education in the Netherlands. More importantly, the paper tests specific explanations for this effect. For the empirical analysis, Dutch data from the PISA 2018 survey were used. The results revealed that there is a considerable impact of parental education on the likelihood of expecting to complete higher education in the Netherlands. To a large extent, this social origin effect refers to secondary effects of stratification: students with the same school performance have different expectations regarding higher education that are strongly correlated with their social origin. Parental resources explain only a small part of the direct social origin effect net of school performance. The secondary effects remain largely unexplained after taking parents' economic, cultural and educational resources into account, suggesting that relative risk aversion drives social differentials in educational expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: A practical test that measures the information and communication technology (ICT) skills students need for effectively using ICT in primary education has yet to be developed (Oh et al., 2021). This paper reports on the development, validation, and reliability of a test measuring primary school students' ICT skills required for effectively using ICT (the ECC‐ICT test). Objectives: Based on existing literature, three ICT use domains were identified for effectively using ICT: Effective, collaborative, and creativeuse of ICT. For these three domains, 24 corresponding teaching objectives were identified from a widely used digital literacy framework. Thirty‐four test items cover these teaching objectives in an online test. Methods: A mixed‐method approach was used for the ECC‐ICT test. Four pilot rounds (n=25) implemented qualitative interviews for cognitive validity and refining the test items, followed by a qualitative usability study(n=6). Confirmatory factor analysis and ANOVA provided quantitative insight into the large‐scale test administration(n=575). Results and Conclusions: Composite reliability of our conceptual 3‐factor confirmatory model showed that the test reliably measured primary school effective use of ICT (ω = 0.82), collaborative use of ICT (ω = 0.80) and creative use of ICT (ω = 0.64). Convergent validity (ranging from 0.41 to 0.46) was acceptable. Internal consistency (ranging from 0.84 to 0.91) and discriminant validity (HTMT values below 0.90) are good. ANOVA results show that mean test scores are higher for students in higher grade levels (p < 0.001). The post hoc Bonferroni results show that most grade‐by‐grade comparisons are significant (p < 0.001). Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Information and communication technology (ICT) skills are finding their way into national curriculums as teachers implement more digital learning environments.Teachers currently do not have a measurement instrument for the ICT skills primary education students need to learn in a personalised way. What this paper adds: This paper gives teachers a test that reliably measures the effective, collaborative, and creative ICT skills required for primary school students to learn using ICT.To our knowledge, this test is the first of its kind.Al materials to reproduce the test are available digitally for teachers. The implications of study findings for practitioners: For policy, this test can be used to check if a student is ready to use ICT in a self‐regulated setting.With this test, teachers can assess and support students' growth on the effective, collaborative, and creative ICT skills required for primary school students using ICT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online software systems are extensively used to give students practice on course content, especially in mathematics and physics courses. They offer instant feedback, and several of these systems are open source or very economical compared with hiring graders for traditional paper-and-pencil-based homework (PPH). In this article, the authors evaluate WeBWorK (WW), an online software tool, in an introductory course on probability over two semesters. WW is compared with PPH by measuring student perception, average time spent on a problem, collaborative work outside of classroom, resilience, self-efficacy, and exam performance. The authors find that except for working in groups on homework, students perform similarly on all the aforementioned aspects in both PPH and WW. The authors also suggest potential strategies to improve student understanding and learning while using WW and recommend the use of WW in mathematics-oriented courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tablets can be used to facilitate systematic testing of academic skills. Yet, when using validated paper tests on tablet, comparability between the mediums must be established. Comparability between a tablet and a paper version of a basic math skills test (HRT: Heidelberger Rechen Test 1-4) was investigated. Five samples with second and third grade students participated. The associations between the tablet and paper version of HRT showed that these modes of administration were comparable for three arithmetic scales, but unacceptable for a pictorial counting scale. Scores were lower on tablet. Test-retest reliability for arithmetic scales on tablet was satisfactory, but was inferior for a low-performing sample. The overall convergent validity was satisfactory. No effect of test administrator was found. Arithmetic scales can potentially be transferred to tablet with good comparability and maintained test-retest reliability. Precautions are necessary when transferring pictorial scales into tablet. Separate norms for tablet are needed when interpreting scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academics have a duty towards peers and scholars alike to engage in research work and to publish their findings. This also assists in establishing personal academic success as well as the attainment of research grants. In the past, authors used to publish their research articles for free but access to these articles was restricted to subscription users only. Recently, open access publishing has gained momentum, whereby such articles are made freely accessible online. However open access publishing comes with a price tag for the author through article processing charges. Open access may also question a journal's credibility within the academic world if improperly implemented. This is particularly so following the unsolicited bombardment of researchers' email accounts with invitations for submissions to predatory open access journals. For these reasons, authors needs to rigorously weigh the pros and cons of whether to choose a subscription based or an open access journal for publication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Cognitive abilities are necessary for successful learning. Children with different cognitive ability levels may have diverse performances. The current study aimed at investigating the cognitive profile in children and its relationship with Academic Performance. Methods: The population of the current cross sectional study consisted of all students in Jajarm City, Iran. The subjects were selected using multi-stage cluster sampling; and 289 students aged 6 to 13 years were included in the study. Data were collected using the Rey- Osterrieth complex figure test, coding subtest from Wechsler intelligence scale and behavioral rating inventory of executive functions. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient and the Scheffe post hoc test were used for data analysis. Results: The obtained results showed that 'processing speed', 'perceptual organizational ability', 'monitoring', 'planning', 'working memory', 'initiate', 'emotional regulation', 'shifting', and 'inhibit ' were significantly correlated with Academic Performance (P<0.001). Conclusion: There was a significant relationship between cognitive profile and Academic Performance. Thus, teachers need to consider the variable of cognitive abilities in academic success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: The cohort of students enrolled in the discipline‐specific bioscience paper reflects a structural diversity in that it includes students of multiple ethnicities, varied age groups, differing scholastic and life experiences. These divergent identities of students are known to influence academic performance. The purpose of this retrospective quantitative study was to determine the ability of a set of variables such as age, gender, ethnicity, level of prior education, the place from which prior education was obtained, work experience and prior academic achievement to predict academic performance in the discipline‐specific bioscience paper. Method: The sample for this study was a purposive sample of all oral health students who had enrolled in the paper at the Auckland University of Technology from 2011 to 2014. The desensitised empirical data of 116 students from the University's database were subject to multivariable regression analysis. Pearson's correlation coefficients were calculated. Results: Prior academic achievement was a statistically significant predictor variable (P < 0.001) for the academic performance in the discipline‐specific bioscience paper and was also positively correlated (r = 0.641, P < 0.001) to the grades in the discipline‐specific bioscience paper. Conclusion: Prior academic achievement was the only variable that was demonstrated to be correlated to and predictive of the academic performance in the discipline‐specific bioscience paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of core academic vocabulary plays a major role in many gate keeping tests for higher education and is critical to successful academic performance. While researchers have described the linguistic characteristics of academic language use from a variety of perspectives, including the use of academic vocabulary, many of the investigations focus on the texts that students are exposed to or discuss how to teach those words. Yet, relatively few studies explore how students actually use these words in their scholarly papers. The goal of the present study is to investigate academic vocabulary use by non-native English speaker writers situated in a higher educational classroom setting. First, we explore relationships between the amount of academic vocabulary employed and the perceived quality of student writing. Second, we examine differences in the use of academic words across assignments, drafts, and levels of instruction. Results showed significant relationships between academic vocabulary use and essay scores in some text-types, and differences in the way academic vocabulary is used across text-types and levels of instruction, independent of the drafts. A closer analysis showed that rhetorical purposes have a strong impact on the amount of academic vocabulary used. Also, no difference between drafts calls for pedagogical considerations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research addresses the issue of how to support students' representational fluency—the ability to create, move within, translate across, and derive meaning from external representations of mathematical ideas. The context of solving linear equations in a combined computer algebra system (CAS) and paper‐and‐pencil classroom environment is targeted as a rich and pressing context to study this issue. We report results of a collaborative teaching experiment in which we designed for and tested a functions approach to solving equations with ninth‐grade algebra students, and link to results of semi‐structured interviews with students before and after the experiment. Results of analyzing the five‐week experiment include instructional supports for students' representational fluency in solving linear equations: (a) sequencing the use of graphs, tables, and CAS feedback prior to formal symbolic transpositions, (b) connecting solutions to equations across representations, and (c) encouraging understanding of equations as equivalence relations that are sometimes, always, or never true. While some students' change in sophistication of representational fluency helps substantiate the productive nature of these supports, other students' persistent struggles raise questions of how to address the diverse needs of learners in complex learning environments involving multiple tool‐based representations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: The aim of undergraduate dental education is to provide competent dentists to serve societal needs and improve population oral healthcare. Competency‐based education has influenced the development of dental education for decades but this term is problematic. This article explores components of competency‐based undergraduate health professional education in order to help the dental profession have a better understanding of the context and purposes of undergraduate dental education. Methods: This is a discussion paper based on a wide reading of the literature on the education of health professionals with a specific focus on competency‐based undergraduate education. Results and Discussion: Competence comprises an integration of knowledge, skills and attitudes indicating a capability to perform professional tasks safely and ethically. The process of becoming a competent practitioner is complex. Four characteristics of competency‐based education are: curriculum components and content shaped by societal needs; focused on student‐centred learning; learning achievement; and limited attention to time‐based training and numerical targets. Alongside a competency‐based approach, undergraduate dental education can be influenced by institutional features and external factors but these receive little consideration in the literature. Conclusion: Understanding competence, competency‐based education, and institutional and external factors will help to improve educational quality, define roles and professional development for the dental educator, and inform further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic integrity refers to the concept of ensuring moral standards and ethics in academia. The commitment and demonstration of moral values like honesty, trust and fair dealing in academic settings and contexts are the fundamentals of academic integrity. The International Center of Academic Integrity (ICAI) sets out five values to define academic integrity including honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage. This is a fact that higher levels of academic integrity consequently lead towards better academic standards and refinement of academic quality at higher education institutions (HEIs). The paper entails a qualitative approach and is based upon the past pertinent studies as well as the personal experiences of the authors in academia to discuss and evaluate the academic integrity in the context of Pakistani HEIs. The actions and practices which violate academic integrity constitute academic misconduct and adamic dishonesty. The malpractices may be done at the end of students, faculty or institutional authorities and HEIs administration. This paper discusses the problems and issues which undermine the academic integrity in HEIs encompassing the major issues including plagiarism, cheating in exams, contract cheating, collusion, facilitation and deceit among others. The paper also proposes the ways to address the issues of academic misconduct by suggesting measures and recommendations to curb the aspects of academic dishonesty by the students, faculty members and HEIs administrative staff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to systematic literature review (SLR) of the research of Born Global (BG) and Social Capital (SC). This study aims to fill gaps in the literature by discussing scientific contributions and highlighting the main issues with previous research findings regarding the role of SC as antecedents and consequences in BG. This research is SLR from the 94 reputable journals that have discussed BG and SC in Scopus journals published from 2003 to 2020 based on a topic limitation search. This study found a growing body of research on BG and SC, with heterogeneity in methodology, antecedent, and unit analysis. Most BG research has discussed the role of network, capital, and SC as antecedents to the BG performance. This paper found that there were individual firm-level SC resources that could be used as potential tools to encourage BG performance. The literature on BG associated with SC is limited, and there is still no generally accepted model linking the two. On the other hand, for academics and practitioners, this study also offers an opportunity for further empirical studies of BG and SC with multilevel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the life and educational histories of sixteen high-achieving, working-class girls applying to high-tariff universities, this paper rekindles debates about the role of agency within the decision-making process of young people who might not otherwise be expected to apply to such institutions. It draws on Margaret Archer's theorising to tease out the interplay between structure and agency in the form of reflexivity and show how this shapes the girls' educational trajectories, rather than pre-determining them. The paper highlights how social class powerfully influences working-class applicants' university plans, in the form of constraints and enablements, but also argues that the girls in this paper are not simply passive young women to whom things happen. As active agents, they are instead becoming increasingly skilled in reflexively navigating their own pathways through education and advance their applications to high-tariff universities in strategic and deliberative ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of a wider study into the educational attitudes and experiences of white, working-class male pupils in the north of England, this paper explored the ways that male pupils in years 10 and 11 navigated and experienced the six-level (A-F) academic banding system present in their British mainstream secondary school (Ayrefield Community school – ACS). Following an initial four-week period of both covert and overt observations (including guided conversations), three distinct groups of male pupils emerged. Influenced in part by Paul Willis' seminal study (1977) of males in a working-class school environment, these three 'lads' groups were representative of pupils in the top, middle, and bottom academic bands and were subsequently named Performers, Participants and Problematics respectively by the researcher. Following this initial phase of observations, a total of 74 male pupils from these top (n = 29), middle (n = 26) and lower (n = 19) academic bands were specifically selected to take part in a total of 14 group interviews with the aim being to explore the lads' experiences of, and attitudes towards, being taught in academic bands, as well as their views on education and qualifications more generally. Passages from these group interviews are combined with guided conversation responses to make up the findings presented in this paper which are then explored and explained using some key concepts from Norbert Elias's field of figurational sociology alongside key academic literature linked to the use of academic banding in schools. The paper suggests that despite the fact that all male pupils at ACS were exposed to very similar working-class upbringings and social pressures as part of their wider social figuartions, members of each of the three lads' groups became part of, and were subsequently influenced by, the specific, school-based figuartions that emerged as a result of their allocation to their respective academic group. Influenced by the increasingly diverse and complex social relations within these school-based figuartions, the lads from the three different groups seemed set to achieve relative 'success' at school, albeit on route to different destinations, for different reasons, and towards quite starkly different end goals – all whilst still being very much aware of, and influenced by, the wider social figuration of which they were inextricably a part. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of the most significant organizational factors on primary school achievements, with a note that the achievement of the school is expressed through the quality of outcome knowledge. The research was conducted on a sample of 460 employees, from 21 primary schools, of which 439 are professionals and 21 are principals in the South Bačka County, Republic of Serbia. The collected data were processed using the Gretl software and AMOS for modelling structural equations. More precisely, the research is based on the application of exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. A neural network based on a standard multilayer perceptron model was used in the paper to test the validity of the obtained results of the AMOS model. The results of the research show that school management is the most important factor in school achievement and that this influence is most pronounced through teaching staff and school infrastructure. The results, also show that teachers' competencies have the strongest direct influence on the quality of outcome knowledge. The results obtained indicate that decision-makers and creators of social policies must pay special attention to the selection of school principals as well as their professional education, while school principals to the selection of teachers. Future researchers are recommended to use the Sobel test to precisely determine the indirect influences of school management on school achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While enjoying the respect and prestige in some countries, in others, despite being a significant educational sector, vocational education continues to suffer from low status and negative societal sentiments. Vocational education in China has been positioned at the bottom of the educational hierarchy, absorbing the 'left-over' students with 'less good' academic records. Addressing the research gap concerning the limited philosophical discourses about the academic/vocational divide from non-Western traditions, this paper seeks to explore the philosophical and historical heritage of the academic/vocational divide and how Confucianism may contribute to this divide and shaped the hierarchy of work in China. The Confucian literati, as 'the privileged other', determined the social rank of 'those who labour with their strength' and 'those who labour with their minds' through the Imperial Examination System. By using institutional logics theory, the paper explores how the legacy of these views may have negatively impacted on the standing of occupations and vocational education in contemporary Chinese society and argues that an alternative philosophical orientation is needed to counter the long-standing consequences for vocational education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to compare student performance on two proctored quizzes and one practice test taken in paper-based or computer-based testing mode using an equal number of algorithmic, conceptual, and definition questions to examine the effect of testing mode when students take multiple tests in class. Data were collected from 221 students enrolled in a general chemistry course at a Midwestern university. After learning the material in lecture, students completed two quizzes: Quiz 1 and Quiz 2. One quiz was delivered on paper and another quiz was taken on computer. Each quiz tested student understanding of different chemistry concepts and the quizzes were proctored on different days. Several days after Quiz 2, students took a practice test that tested the knowledge of Quiz 1 and Quiz 2 with different yet similar questions, and again, the testing mode of the practice test was either paper-and-pencil or computer. After each quiz and the practice test, students received feedback on their performance. Differences in performance between the quizzes and the practice test were measured with normalized gains and the differences between the normalized gains for each condition were analyzed using an Analysis of Variance. The results showed no significant testing mode effects among the four conditions overall, or for algorithmic, conceptual, or definition type of questions. Altogether, the results of the present study do not provide evidence to suggest that instructors need to be concerned about testing mode (paper versus computer) when designing and administering chemistry tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim A discussion of the concepts of leadership and emotional intelligence in nursing and midwifery education and practice. Background The need for emotionally intelligent leadership in the health professions is acknowledged internationally throughout the nursing and midwifery literature. The concepts of emotional intelligence and emotional-social intelligence have emerged as important factors for effective leadership in the healthcare professions and require further exploration and discussion. This paper will explore these concepts and discuss their importance in the healthcare setting with reference to current practices in the UK, Ireland and internationally. Design Discussion paper. Data sources A search of published evidence from 1990-2015 using key words (as outlined below) was undertaken from which relevant sources were selected to build an informed discussion. Implications for nursing/midwifery Fostering emotionally intelligent leadership in nursing and midwifery supports the provision of high quality and compassionate care. Globally, leadership has important implications for all stakeholders in the healthcare professions with responsibility for maintaining high standards of care. This includes all grades of nurses and midwives, students entering the professions, managerial staff, academics and policy makers. Conclusion This paper discusses the conceptual models of leadership and emotional intelligence and demonstrates an important link between the two. Further robust studies are required for ongoing evaluation of the different models of emotional intelligence and their link with effective leadership behaviour in the healthcare field internationally. This is of particular significance for professional undergraduate education to promote ongoing compassionate, safe and high quality standards of care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pursuing a graduate degree is difficult. To succeed, students must overcome a myriad of ill-defined, and often unforeseen, challenges. One major obstacle lies in publishing their work. In this perspective, I provide a detailed description of my own working system that matured late in my graduate career but still paid dividends in terms of my publication record, funding success, and work-life balance. I also include brief vignettes of other topics that were crucial to my own scientific development. While I organized this essay as a series of "rules", I don't mean to imply that graduate school nor academia has a specific formula for success. Not only does it not, but as a firstyear postdoctoral researcher, I can only speak to what works in graduate school through the lens of my own experiences. My experience is particularly relevant, however, because unlike many who have offered similar advice in the past, I drafted this perspective in the months that followed my degree. Rather, I offer these rules as a starting point for you to take, consider, and mold into your own framework. I am confident, however, that there is commonality among the ideas described here and the general habits of successful academics. In writing this perspective, I had three primary goals: (1) To add a more detailed, recent perspective to previous, more general essays on this topic. (2) To bridge an apparent disconnect between successful faculty and graduate students. Essentially, the advice in this essay may be obvious to a seasoned academic while simultaneously highly relevant, and interesting, to an early career student. And finally, (3) I hope to help dispel myths graduate students may hold about the innate talent or expertise needed to succeed in graduate school and to demystify the day-to-day work side of the equation. Simply put, I'm not a scientific outlier. But with good organizational skills, a diligent writing habit, and some invaluable mentoring, I made it to the light at the end of the tunnel (and into a careerprogressing position). You can too. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muddiest point and minute paper have been popular techniques to obtain feedback from students. However, focusing on the muddiest point too often can be discouraging for both students and instructors; in minute paper, students may often have off-topic comments. Here a cross and modified technique, the 'traffic light' card is introduced, to overcome the drawbacks in muddiest point and minute paper. About 2 minutes before the end of lecture, students "traffic light" the given topics on a notecard, in which their understanding is high (green), partial (yellow), or low (red). The results are used by the instructors to give appropriate review in the next lecture and help students gain better understanding in the content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Construct: In this study, we examine the differences in test performance between the paper-based and the computer-based version of the Berlin formative Progress Test. In this context it is the first study that allows controlling for students’ prior performance.Background: Computer-based tests make possible a more efficient examination procedure for test administration and review. Although university staff will benefit largely from computer-based tests, the question arises if computer-based tests influence students’ test performance.Approach: A total of 266 German students from the 9th and 10th semester of medicine (comparable with the 4th-year North American medical school schedule) participated in the study (paper = 132, computer = 134). The allocation of the test format was conducted as a randomized matched-pair design in which students were first sorted according to their prior test results. The organizational procedure, the examination conditions, the room, and seating arrangements, as well as the order of questions and answers, were identical in both groups.Results: The sociodemographic variables and pretest scores of both groups were comparable. The test results from the paper and computer versions did not differ. The groups remained within the allotted time, but students using the computer version (particularly the high performers) needed significantly less time to complete the test. In addition, we found significant differences in guessing behavior. Low performers using the computer version guess significantly more than low-performing students in the paper-pencil version.Conclusions: Participants in computer-based tests are not at a disadvantage in terms of their test results. The computer-based test required less processing time. The reason for the longer processing time when using the paper-pencil version might be due to the time needed to write the answer down, controlling for transferring the answer correctly. It is still not known why students using the computer version (particularly low-performing students) guess at a higher rate. Further studies are necessary to understand this finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the discussion on racial and ethnic minorities being under-represented both in terms of academic degrees and academic careers. Topics include impressive body of evidence showing females being more successful at school than males under more or less gender equal conditions; and women equipped for successful careers in science and outperforming the male peers academically.

This paper takes on and explores the disturbing and perhaps counter-intuitive notion that the university is the place where the intellect goes to die. This idea is explored alongside Georges Bataille's suggestion that the death of thought might actually be a worthy pursuit and only thought which seeks its own limits is worth striving for. The deleterious effects of the university upon thought are nonetheless contrasted to Bataille's own attempts to take thought to the point of its expiration. The key difference between the 'teaching of death' that Bataille has in mind, and the enactment of the death of thinking that the university achieves is this: Bataille seeks, however impossibly, to bring death "into the field of vision". Academic knowledge production, by contrast, with its systematism, its rigor, its proceduralism and its subsumption by work, merely abandons the thinking subject to the inevitable result, which for Bataille, is unthinking servility, a premature, utterly suppressed, and domesticated, death-in-life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Participation in student peer leader roles, roles in which more senior students serve as mentors and educators to their peers, have continued to grow in their application and importance to institutions of higher education around the globe. Using a theoretical approach based in Legitimate Peripheral Participation and drawing from the International Survey of Peer Leaders, our paper explored the role of the quality and quantity of participation in important outcomes of the college experience: leadership development, skill development, and academic success. The results showed that the number of hours per week spent on peer leadership activities and the total number of peer leadership positions contributed to positive quality of engagement and enhanced students' academic outcomes, overall leadership skills, and career readiness. Moreover, findings showed that the quality of engagement moderated the influences of the quantity of participation particularly for measures of academic success. As students develop relationships with faculty, staff, and peers throughout their time in peer leader roles and feel a deepening sense of connection and belonging to the college or university, students in peer leader roles become fuller participants in the academic community and, as a result, develop the knowledge, skills, and ways of doing, thinking, knowing, and being that are critical for student success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a unified conceptual framework for understanding refugee identity construction within educational contexts, drawing on theories of social justice (Fraser, 2008), affective relations (Lynch, 2012), the resumption of ordinary life (Kohli, 2011) and ecological systems (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). Addressing a gap in the existing scholarship, the model emphasises the importance of affective relations in shaping refugee identities in education alongside other factors. The study examines the macro constructs of redistribution, recognition, representation and relational affect, highlighting their impact on refugee children's educational experiences. Further, it considers the micro constructs of safety, sense of belonging and success in integration and attainment in educational environments. The constructs are examined across various levels of Bronfenbrenner's ecological system, demonstrating the complexity of refugees' needs. This model aims to facilitate a holistic, justice‐oriented approach to refugee education, which is crucial given the rise in global displacement. The study has significant implications for refugee education research and policymaking, potentially informing targeted interventions and programmes that foster academic success, overall well‐being, and practice in refugee education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

School absences can negatively impact a child's schooling, including the loss of teacher‐led lessons, peer interactions, and, ultimately, academic achievement. However, little is known about the long‐term consequences of school absences for overall educational attainment and labour market outcomes. In this paper, we used data from the 1970 British Cohort Study to examine long‐term associations between school absences in late childhood and individuals' educational attainment, social class, unemployment and earnings at age 42 while adjusting for a comprehensive set of confounders. Our findings show that school absences are associated with lower educational attainment but are not associated with social class destination except for increasing the likelihood of being out of the labour force after adjusting for confounders. Individuals who missed five days of school at age 10 were 5.2% more likely to have obtained no qualifications and 4.1% more likely to be out of the labour force. However, we did not find a significant association between school absences and individuals' earnings or duration of unemployment. Our findings suggest that the detrimental consequences of school absences persist beyond schooling into adulthood. Overall, this study highlights the importance of addressing school absenteeism to promote educational and labour market participation over the life course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: In Australia, there is little evidence exploring why higher degrees by research (HDRs) are undertaken by surgeons. This study aims to describe the attitudes and experiences of surgical trainees and surgeons towards HDRs. Methods: A 23-question cross-sectional survey of surgical trainees and consultant surgeons from three Australian public hospitals was undertaken between August and December 2022. Data were analysed according to stage of career and HDR status and assessed using chi-squared test, with P < 0.05 considered significant. Results: Out of 270 participants, 72 (27%) completed the survey including 30 (42%) trainees and 42 (58%) consultants. Overall, 43 (60%) participants had completed or were undertaking a HDR, which was similar between trainees (n = 18) and consultants (N = 25; P = 0.968). A HDR was associated with more publications (P < 0.5). Respondents with a HDR were more likely to have a salaried academic position (50%) than those without (15%). There was no significant difference in academic appointments based on HDR attainment (P = 0.192). For surgical trainees, 93% rated the strengthening of resumes as the primary driver, compared with only 60% of consultants. For consultants, academic career aspirations and research interests were ranked the highest at 64% equally. Lack of time and competing nature of surgical training were equally ranked among all as the key barriers to completing a HDR. Conclusions: These results provide insight into the academic pursuits of surgeons with an understanding of the role HDRs play, including the different drivers for Masters and Doctorates. This is important for supporting future surgeons who seek to pursue research. What is known about the topic? The value of research is well-recognised as a crucial part of the surgical training pathway. Despite this, minimal contemporary evidence exists which explores the impact of higher degrees by research (HDR) on academic career pathways in the Australian context. What does this paper add? Contemporary evidence was obtained to understand why Australian surgeons undertake HDRs and how their completion impacts the surgical career pathway. What are the implications for practitioners? By understanding the role of HDRs in the surgical landscape, practitioners can ensure beneficial support for future academic surgeons is in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preschool education is regarded by many researchers and policymakers as a potential equalizer of educational opportunities. Yet, cross-national research shows that there exist large variations in the equalizing effects of preschool education across countries. In this paper, we study to what extent the national level of privatization of the preschool sector can explain these cross-national differences by examining its impact on the equalizing effects of preschool education. For this purpose, we use data from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2016 for 24 countries. The results show that having spent more time in preschool is more strongly associated with primary school achievements for children of disadvantaged families. We find some modest support that this compensatory pattern—in which preschool compensates for a reduced set of resources in the home environment—is somewhat weaker in societies with higher levels of privatization, though not reaching conventional standards of statistical significance. The study highlights the relevance of considering the impact of national preschool settings on the distribution of preschool benefits across children with varying socioeconomic backgrounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]