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Feminist classrooms employ a variety of teaching strategies that empower students and inspire equity and justice. In this paper, we argue that integrating student-made documentary filmmaking into the college classroom is a powerful and effective form of feminist teaching. Specifically, feminist pedagogy views students as knowledge creators and demands collaborative, non-hierarchical learning experiences. These outcomes suggest that documentary filmmaking is a compelling and effective way to engage students in our increasingly visual and video-based culture. Based on our experiences teaching sociology at a women's college in the U.S., we illustrate the impact that documentary filmmaking has for student learning, empowerment, and justice work. We also develop and strengthen students' technical, multi-media skills, arguing this outcome expands feminist pedagogy to meet contemporary culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As American colleges and universities become more diverse, expanding our vision and working around what it means to be a legacy, especially at Predominately White Institutions, will be essential. This paper examines Black families' experiences at Churchill, a small liberal arts PWI in the Northeast. With the aid of Yosso's community cultural wealth and Bourdieu's notions of cultural and social capital, it examines how parents' experiences at Churchill and exposing their child to Churchill shaped and informed their child's decision to attend their parent's alma mater and the passing of social and cultural capital between the generations. Findings suggest that while navigational and familial capital passes between generations, Black cultural capital does not pass smoothly and impacts their child's experience at Churchill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

College algebra fulfills general education requirements at many colleges in the United States. The study reported here investigated differences in mathematics achievement between undergraduates in college algebra classes using one of two homework methods:WeBWorK, an open-source system for web-based homework, or traditional paper-and-pencil homework. We assessed learning for 439 students in 19 college algebra classes at a large public university in the United States. Twelve classes usedWeBWorKand seven had traditional paper-and-pencil homework. Analysis of covariance revealed no significant differences in algebra performance or achievement gain by homework group, ethnicity or gender when statistically controlling for previous mathematics achievement. Results support the conjecture thatWeBWorKis at least as effective as traditionally graded paper-and-pencil homework for students learning college algebra in moderately sized lecture-based classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Building on empirical research that examines the mentoring experiences of minoritized postdocs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, the researchers conceptualized a framework to cultivate inclusive, supportive, and mutually beneficial mentoring relationships among faculty mentors or Principal Investigators (PIs) and postdocs. The paper begins with an introduction to the STEM postdoc landscape, reviews relevant literature, and leverages data from 31 STEM postdocs at a research-intensive university in the southeast United States to introduce a conceptual framework that sheds light on and expands our understanding of STEM faculty-postdoc mentoring. The paper concludes with practical implications for improving STEM postdoc mentoring in research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faculty book clubs are one way to engage in discussion and promote action with colleagues around topics that impact our classrooms. One of the many benefits of book clubs is that the format and process can be altered to fit the needs of the intended audience. This paper describes one faculty group's use of three different models of a book club process, which all capitalize on the utility of book clubs to both identify and implement practical strategies for student engagement. The book club resulted from an interdisciplinary college-wide initiative focused on increasing student engagement within a College of Education and Human Services in a large midwestern public university in the United States. The purpose of this paper is to provide a model for book clubs to be used as a professional development opportunity for faculty. Concrete ideas for implementing similar efforts in the university or college setting are shared. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we employ Punctuated Equilibrium Theory to consider institutions' shifting goals, priorities, and constraints, and to explore the nature of change at colleges and universities in the United States. By exploiting annual changes in institutional budget decisions over a 29-year period, we seek to understand the extent to which institutions exhibit patterns of punctuated equilibrium, which are characterized by long periods of relative equilibrium (stasis) and of occasional extreme changes (punctuations). Broadly, we find that institutions of higher education allocate funds in a pattern characteristic of Punctuated Equilibrium, and that certain types of institutions are more likely than others to exhibit this pattern. Taken in whole, this paper calls into question a prevailing perspective on change in higher education — that change is slow-moving, moderate, and incremental. Instead, we posit that a framework of Punctuated Equilibrium may better describe how researchers and practitioners should consider institutional change within higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Across the globe, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken an extraordinary toll on racially minoritised and economically disadvantaged communities. The United States has been no exception. In the U.S., serious illness and death are two- to three-times more common among Black, Latinx, and Native American populations than among white people. In the summer of 2020, growing outrage over the racialised impact of the pandemic coincided with weeks-long protests of police killings of Black Americans—George Floyd in Minnesota, Breonna Taylor in Kentucky, and Tony McDade in Florida, among others. The convergence of two racialised phenomena, a public health crisis and police violence, intensified public scrutiny of the practices that sustain racial inequalities, including within higher education. Even as U.S. colleges and universities issue statements decrying the burden of the pandemic and the concomitant racialised violence on communities of colour, racial inequalities persist in higher education and pedagogical practices centring racial justice remain largely uncommon. In this paper, we argue that U.S. institutions of higher education are complicit in the perpetuation of fallacies surrounding race and racism when their curricula fail to prepare students to understand and address these issues. Using survey data from two undergraduate courses taught at an elite, predominantly white institution in Fall 2020, this paper examines how specific pedagogical approaches led to increases in students' self-reported confidence and capacity to discuss race and racism. Based on our findings, we demonstrate that undergraduates benefit from teaching that specifically develops their capacity to understand, discuss, and address racism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While most of the discourse surrounding high-impact educational practices is laudatory, the current manifestation of these practices is not above scrutiny. The benefits of integrating high-impact educational practices into the United States college experience are well-documented, especially for students from groups that have been historically underserved by higher education; however, relative to their more traditionally advantaged counterparts, these populations face greater barriers in accessing these beneficial learning experiences. This paper synthesizes existing high-impact educational literature in the United States, highlights the importance of using an equity-minded framework when exploring the often-overlooked pitfalls in their implementation, and focuses on equal access and outcomes for historically underserved populations. In order to rectify inequities, this paper suggests an ambitious new direction that should systematically catalog existing, more accessible, modified high-impact practices and, subsequently, evaluate their effectiveness. Without this research agenda, high-impact educational practices may continue to perpetuate inequity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we explain changes made in an introductory Real Analysis classroom that address common challenges and that may allow for all levels of students to meet a high standard of learning and written work. We aim for this goal by fusing elements of a hybrid course with scaffolded collaborative work to improve student learning. The hybrid structure allows students to engage new material at their pace, while the scaffolding allows for more challenging coursework and models for students some typical arguments in analysis. As a result, students that initially submitted proofs needing significant improvement in coherence and organization show positive gains in self-confidence and are enabled to progress quickly to submitting mathematical writing of a high calibre. Our case study occurred at a large institution serving many underrepresented and non-traditional student populations. The approach may be effective at schools with similar goals and challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Micro-credentials vis a vis competency-based certifications of skill domains have existed for decades across vocational-technical education and the professions. What appears to be changing is the priority ascribed to different micro-credentials along a credentials continuum that has focused on formal degrees and certificates. This paper will provide a descriptive analysis of the emerging trend toward micro-credentials by colleges, universities, and other public-private providers in the United States. A major question that emerges for institutional leaders is: Can micro-credentials help position the institution's academic, public service, and economic and workforce development market positions for the future? Driven by student graduates unable to find good jobs, by employers who cannot find the skill-based workforce they need, by increasing competition, by insurmountable student debt, and by a need for faster pathways from school to work, this aggregate 'credentials rethink" is forcing colleges and universities to consider reframing their traditional credentials arsenal. The paper will conclude with some observations and key considerations for leaders to navigate their institutions during this period of "strategic reset" for potentially shifting institutional directions to adapt and compete in this new higher education landscape. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This phenomenological study explored the experiences of students in a macro practice social work elective, which integrated critical service-learning and creative placemaking. In a community-university partnership, twenty-four students from a variety of disciplines worked with a university Artist in Residence and social work professor to create a participatory mosaic mural in an ethnically diverse and rapidly gentrifying area. Of the 21 students in the class, eight participated in the study and completed hour-long semi-structured interviews. Analysis revealed three primary themes: (1) role and power of art, (2) importance of relationships, and (3) impact of this community engagement class. The findings support the importance of art and community- embedded learning in engaging students. Especially relevant to social work education, student learning focused on cultivating communication and collaboration skills across individuals, groups, and communities. This paper will contribute to the growing body of literature which supports the value of critical service-learning, creative placemaking, and community-based collaborations in social work education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study investigates perceived stress and coping styles among undergraduate students using a mixed-methods design. The quantitative study data came from a cross-section of 210 undergraduate social work students from two large public universities in the United States, using paper survey questionnaires. Thirty students from the same quantitative study participated in a follow-up qualitative focus group. Our mixed data revealed that most students are stressed, and primary factors related to stress include academic demands, personal and family-related issues, and financial concerns. Students in senior year, and female students, reported higher perceived stress than students in junior year and their male counterparts. Results of hierarchical regression analyses revealed that problem-focused coping was negatively associated with perceived stress. In contrast, avoidant coping and the sum of life events experiences were positively associated with perceived stress. Notably, students who utilized avoidant coping strategies and reported experiencing more significant life events also reported higher perceived stress. Our study results demonstrate the importance of enhancing positive coping strategies among students to cope with the stress and pressure of academic demands. Implications for educators and administrators are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents findings from a scale validation study of discussion engagement using data from multiple in-person courses from a public flagship university in the United States. The Discussion Engagement scale conceptualizes discussion as a collective inquiry that requires an inclusive classroom climate and individual contributions that promote the engagement of others. The scale measures individual behaviors and experiences along four dimensions: skills, confidence, openness within classroom discussions, and perception of an inclusive classroom climate. The methodology included: conceptual development of the construct, expert reviews, cognitive interviews, data collection of the target group, exploratory factor analysis, data collection of the target group using a revised scale, confirmatory factor analysis, and comparison with an existing scale. EFA and CFA find that the scale has a strong factor structure that parallels the theoretical framework. The subscales have strong reliability, as well as evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. The Discussion Engagement scale has potential for measuring student-reported experiences with discussion in university courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a research project conducted with international doctoral students documenting student and faculty members' experiences in a writing workshop. The purpose of this study was to understand the complexities associated with international students' academic writing competencies and develop a supportive culture as they pursue their education in the US. Participation in the writing workshop aided students in progressing through the four stages of Burch's learning model. The findings suggest that, intensive writing experiences improve writing abilities, perceptions of writing, and knowledge of when to pursue writing assistance. In addition, the workshop supported the researchers in gaining insight into their international students' experiences leading towards improved pedagogy for this student population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work's (SW) goal of preparing a workforce more representative of the diversity of people served by the profession requires the use of theories that actively confront long-held assumption of White hegemony. This paper centers the discussion of race for its simultaneous invisibility and its power to transform SW educational spaces in the United States (US) context. An overview of the cultural competence (CC) model, a theoretical framework often used to prepare SW practitioners, is provided with a critique of its avoidance of any analysis of race and racism. The ways in which this "color-blind" approach severely limits the CC model's ability to both recognize and meet the needs of Black SW students as they navigate their dual-identities as professionals-in-training and members of a racial group who has endured historical oppression are explored. Critical race theory (CRT) is offered as an alternative conceptual framework which centers discussions of race and racism, offering opportunities to both recognize and support the learning needs and experiences of Black SW students. Guidelines for adapting SW curricula and assignments to utilize CRT in ways that support the development of critical analytic skills for SW practice are provided. Global implications for this work beyond the American context are discussed throughout. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is increasing recognition that social work educators must do more to ensure that social work students transitioning into the profession are prepared to engage in adept self-care practices. However, documented curricular efforts targeted at meeting this aim are few. This paper documents the impact of a credit-bearing self-care course on student (N = 40) competency about self-care. The course occurred in a social work education program at a large public institution in the United States. The researcher used a pre-experimental (e.g. pre/post) design to assess course outcomes. Results indicate significant improvements in student knowledge about self-care, skills related to engaging in self-care practices, and value related to self-care. After a review literature, this paper will provide a foundational overview of the course, delineate outcome variables and measures, explicate evaluative findings, and discuss salient implications derived from this endeavor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social reproduction theory names at least two distinct traditions, one of which has a long history in educational research. Social reproduction theory in education emerged out of a concern with education's relationship to capitalist inequalities. By contrast, social reproduction feminism developed out of feminist interventions regarding the role of women's unpaid care-work in the reproduction of capitalism. In this paper, we suggest that the renewed energy surrounding social reproduction feminism provides an opportunity to revisit social reproduction theorizing in education. We review the fields' histories and ready the ground for an integrated framework. At the heart of this integration is a feminist analysis of reproductive labor in its contradictory relationship to capitalism. Expanding the analysis from the reproduction of capitalist relations to the reproduction of life under capitalism, this approach avoids the pitfalls of determinism and attends to students' participation and teachers' work in the contested labor of social reproduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using collective biography, this paper examines the ways that rural identity mediates the leadership of two women working as administrators in higher education in the United States. We, the authors, examine our own leadership, as college administrators raised in rural environments, and seek to describe how the notion of rurality manifests in our administrative roles. Our collective biography reveals that rural identity influences our definitions of home, fear of irrelevancy, relationships with others, and work ethic. At the same time, our interesting identities as rural, women leaders are fluid and constantly shifting, manifesting themselves in both implicit and explicit ways. As women from rural America, we find our own geographic identities under-researched and under-theorized within our own field. This research bridges the gap between the intellectual work we do, the identities we hold, and the physical spaces we inhabit, addressing a void in current higher education research and providing an opportunity to weave our scholarship with practice for leaders in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local-level, place-based scholarships – synonymous with "promise" scholarships – are a policy strategy to improve college completion in the United States by directing financial aid to students in a particular school, district, or geographical area. There are currently upwards of 90 place-based scholarship programs across the US, most of which share three broad goals: to increase postsecondary access by making college more affordable, to build a college-going culture, and to catalyse economic development by drawing middle- and upper-class families to an area and retaining existing residents. As place-based scholarships grow in popularity and more communities, especially ones seeking economic revitalisation, consider investing resources in their own scholarships, there is interest in what impact, if any, these programs have. This paper reviews the research on place-based scholarships, which demonstrates generally positive effects on district enrolment, postsecondary enrolment and persistence, and housing prices. While there is some evidence of improvement in teacher expectations and school climate, the scholarships have not been associated with fundamental changes inside schools. Although most programs have not been empirically studied, the 33 studies included in this review indicate that place-based scholarships have the potential to foster change within school districts and struggling cities and promote positive student outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the student population in higher education has become more ethnically diverse the professoriate in universities remain predominantly of European descent. Reflecting this disparity of representation within the context of higher education in the United States, women faculty of color continue to experience tokenization, among other dissolutions. Within this inequitable context, we continue to find ways to resist these moments of fragmentation. We draw upon an analogy of spider weaving as a way to re-member the fragmented parts of being Women of Color scholar activists in the academy. In this paper, two Xicana Indigenous scholars highlight moments of resistance and transformation in the past 20 years of engagement with higher education. We begin with an undergraduate summer research experience and continue to the present moment as assistant professors. We share the context, our narratives of growth and resilience to unveil effects of the lived realities for Women of Color invested in social transformative justice. We offer a reflective opportunity for those who enter and continue struggling to survive and thrive within academia while navigating the shoals of privilege and marginalization. This awareness can offer a starting point for further discussions focused on the recruitment and retention of Women of Color faculty in the academy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic libraries face periodic accreditation review, usually on a 10-year cycle in the United States. Being successful at accreditation is a milestone achievement and it takes careful and strategic planning for action items leading up to the review visit. This paper reviews the key activities undertaken by an academic library in a small sized college as it prepared for accreditation visit by Middle States Commission on Higher Education. Focus areas of activities include librarians’ collaboration with teaching faculty, information literacy and student learning outcomes, and library program review. A few recommendations are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article reports a mixed-methods study about using virtual reality (VR) tools (Google Cardboard and Expeditions) for developing students' oral proficiency in learning Chinese as a second language. Twelve students role-played as tour guides for six locations throughout a semester: four of them with VR tools and two without. Data collection included oral presentations recorded at four different times of the semester (for Presentations 1, 3, 4, and 6), class observations, participants' reflection papers, and individual interviews at the end of the semester. Results revealed that the content and vocabulary of participants' oral presentations when using VR tools scored statistically significantly higher than when not using VR tools. Qualitative data showed that participants felt that VR tools facilitated preparation and encouraged active learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the potential negative consequences of the internationalisation of American higher education from the perspective of positional competition theory. This analysis suggests that internationalisation efforts undertaken by colleges and universities contribute to positional competition between students vying for admission, between graduates competing for prestigious, well-paying jobs, and between higher education institutions themselves, who compete for prestige. As positional competition necessarily involves displacing other in obtaining advantage for one's self, the paper further describes how the positional competition engendered in part by the internationalisation of higher education contributes to the replication of social patterns of inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how U.S. Latina college students can attain leadership roles in college athletics. The theoretical framework used in this paper is Cultural Identity Theory (CIT). CIT posits that people carry and communicate several kinds of cultural characteristics (e.g., ethnic, national, and social class traits). While these cultural identities can remain strong over time, they can also fluctuate in significant situations, relationships, and life phases. In this paper, several case studies of successful U.S. Latina college athletes are included to demonstrate how CIT can support those athletes' embracing of their identity (so as to gain pathways to sports leadership). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students at America’s most renowned private universities face different acceptance rates, college wealth, class sizes, and potential graduate earnings even in comparison with students at the nation’s highest-ranking public institutions. The analyses that led to these findings frequently focused on national or state-wide comparisons of public versus private universities. This paper contrasts these studies by analysing a fixed group of colleges, those regularly listed in the global top 50 of research and reputation rankings. It argues that even within this small subset of colleges, the highest-ranking public universities have more in common with their similarly positioned private counterparts than with lower ranking public institutions; a finding reflected in assessments of private colleges. Subsequently, the paper finds that student experiences are more likely defined by a college’s reputational rank than by an institution’s public or private status, endowment, or acceptance rates, however, the same was found not to be true of potential graduate earnings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conferment of tenure at a United States university provides substantial job security to its recipients. Tenure is designed to allow a professor the ability to explore new and risky research questions without fear of losing their position due to lack of publications. At the same time, this policy creates an incentive system with an ambiguous effect on how the professor performs in the classroom. Professors may no longer care about teaching evaluations since future evaluations are unlikely to affect their job security. Alternatively, tenured professors, no longer having strenuous research priorities, may devote more resources to the teaching component of their job. This paper investigates the impact of the conferment of tenure on student evaluations of teaching. Data comes from a large, flagship state university and spans 22 semesters (2006–2017). We use an instructor-level fixed effects structure to compare end-of-semester course survey scores before and after an instructor receives tenure. We find that conditional on being granted tenure, professors experience a small, but persistent, decrease in student course evaluations. This effect is driven by professors in the top half of the course evaluation distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Elite higher education institutions work hard to secure diverse classes, and students seek out these institutions in part because they believe that diversity will enhance their own educational experiences. Institutional theories would predict that practices set by the elite institutions in the field would isomorphically trickle down, however, case studies of individual institutions indicate that higher education structures and cultures vary significantly across the spectrum of selectivity. Do all higher education institutions market their ethno-racial diversity to prospective students in the same ways as elite institutions? Are higher education institutions trying to send similar messages about their ethno-racial diversity or does this vary by selectivity level? This paper provides an examination of higher education at the organizational field level in order to answer questions that have previously been at the institutional level. Through analyzing the admissions webpages at 278 universities across the United States, we find that more selective institutions are more likely to represent their diversity, and more likely to engage in practices that emphasize their traditionally under-represented minority student populations than less selective institutions, though it is the less selective institutions that have higher populations of these students. We argue that variations in institutional habitus across selectivity help to explain these differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I use interview data drawn from ethnographic work on a Division 1 collegiate cross country team at a large midwestern university in the United States to demonstrate the ways that possessive individualistic discourses around hard work are embodied in classed subjectivities. I find that middle class women, the products of concerted cultivation, tend to focus on the display of hard work, and have anxiety around the value of their production of a hard-working identity. Working class women tend to treat the experience of being disciplined as an athlete as a fortunate opportunity to build physical capital, using the hard work to benefit them as athletes rather than to build their identities. These different attitudes, affected by social class, interact with a dominant discourse around hard work demonstrating the interaction between agency and structure when it comes to forming identities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement awards help prepare high-achieving but economically disadvantaged and underrepresented minority students for graduate research. This paper discusses the results of a survey of the 2016-2017 institutional recipients of these awards, about curricula and pedagogy employed in their program's research course, especially elements specifically created to assist students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. This paper also reviews librarian-led instruction for McNair scholars in STEM at Rutgers University during 2016 and 2017, designed using the Framework for Information Literacy in Higher Education, that explores the disciplinary as well as societal, ethical, and financial contexts of research that are relevant to McNair scholars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) represents a significant development concerning the teaching mission of the university in the UK. This paper considers the background to, and the development of, the TEF. It explains the context from which the TEF emerged and unpacks a series of rationales which illustrate the need for, and the role of, the new framework. The TEF is presented as an instrument to fulfil a range of functions, including: a mechanism to determine tuition fee rises and inform student choices in a reconfigured higher education market; a means of updating the quality and regulatory regime; and a way of raising the esteem of teaching within the academy, and the importance institutions place on student education. The paper explains how the contested idea of “teaching excellence” is defined within the framework, and the metrics and methodology used to assess this. An overview of the submission process and results illustrates how the TEF works in practice. How the TEF embeds two agendas in higher education is discussed: the use of quantitative measures to capture and convey performance, and the role of the student as a consumer not just a learner. The paper concludes the TEF can be viewed as a multi-purpose evaluation tool, not merely designed by the imperatives of teaching excellence or quality assurance, but also by the need for a measure to provide market information to consumers and allocate fee increases to institutions, and this is reflected in its content and character. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A growing number of public colleges and universities in the United States have hired management consulting firms to help develop strategies aimed at increasing institutional effectiveness and efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to explore the frames and strategies of consultants in US public higher education reform efforts. Drawing upon a range of documentary evidence, the paper examines four consulting firms (Accenture, Bain & Company, Deloitte and McKinsey & Company) and their perspectives on higher education reform. The paper analyses the consultative process with two public universities and two state higher education systems to determine possible avenues by which consultants exert influence. Through reference to theory on academic capitalism and new institutionalism, the paper reveals the ways in which consultants circulate crisis narratives and diffuse private sector management ideas among public colleges and universities that are seeking both financial solvency and legitimacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This qualitative study examines Latina/o/x parents' perceptions and involvement in the pre-college process from the South Texas border region. Researchers have expressed student success and the likelihood of students pursuing postsecondary education is dependent on the level of parent involvement. As student demographics and enrollment rates continue to shift in education, parent involvement has received attention from policymakers, practitioners, and researchers as a discussion topic to advance educational outcomes for students of color, specifically for Latina/o/x students. Although existing literature on parent involvement is not new, Latina/o/x parents' experiences and contribution to their student's success have been absent from the literature. In which has constructed a deficit perspective in which places the responsibility on Latina/o/x parents for their student's success. This paper aims to examine how Latina/o/x parents are involved and contribute to their student's success to identify how school settings can leverage and include parents in collective efforts that support students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International students encounter challenges while transitioning into a new environment with unfamiliar academic and social expectations. The situation is especially complicated for international dual-diploma students, who complete certain parts of their undergraduate education in their home and host countries. Challenges faced in communication in academic and social contexts doubled by meeting the course requirements in the new academic environment creating pressure for international dual-diploma students. This paper explores how Turkish international dual-diploma students' academic experiences are influenced during their first semester of study in the USA by their previous language learning experiences back in their home country. It reports on findings from a qualitative study which employed a case study methodology to explore the influence of prior language learning experiences on academic life in the USA. Data was collected through in-depth face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 15 Turkish international dual-diploma students, three American professors, seven American English instructors and four American teaching assistants. Findings indicate that Turkish international dual-diploma students' language learning experiences in primary and secondary education as well as higher education in Turkey have a significant influence on their academic experiences in the USA. This influence is manifested in students' listening, speaking, academic writing and reading skills, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immediately following the attacks of 9/11 in New York, mainstream media outlets echoed the notion of Muslims as strangers who are unable to assimilate into American culture. The purported difficulty in the assimilation of Muslims in America was linked with their religious affiliation, an indelible marker of their ideology, and one that supersedes any national identity. Given the paucity of research on the assimilation of Muslims in America, this paper sought to explore if-and-how this group is assimilating into American culture. Utilizing a mixed-method design, we conducted focus groups, followed by a multi-state survey. Using segmented assimilation theory, we found evidence that Muslims with higher educational attainment and household incomes are well-assimilated. We also found that respondents who identify themselves strongly as Muslim are less likely to assimilate, preferring instead to maintain close in-group ties. We discuss the implications of these findings in greater detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How do we teach and learn with our students about data literacy, at the same time as Biesta (2015) calls for an emphasis on 'subjectification' i.e. 'the coming into presence of unique individual beings'? (Good Education in an Age of Measurement: Ethics, Politics, Democracy. Routledge) Our response to these challenges and the datafication of higher education, is a hands-on approach to building an open, collaborative pedagogy of data literacy, based on Bayesian Networks (BNs) (Pearl, J. 1985. Bayesian Networks: A Model of Self–Activated Memory for Evidential Reasoning. Los Angeles: University of California (Computer Science Department)). BNs can be used to merge subjective views of the learning process with objective data analysis from the learning environment; BNs are visual data constructs and, unlike other Machine Learning approaches that obfuscate and complexify, BNs can be developed to reveal relationships from observations. In this paper, we share ways in which teachers and students can work together in a praxis approach to use data to 'read the world' around them (Freire, P. 1970. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Continuum. 125). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese and Indian students represent over half of all international students in the United States. This study explores the study abroad journey of Chinese and Indian international students by connecting their pre-consumption decision-making factors, service experience, and post-consumption consumer marketing engagement (CME) behaviors. The results show that consumer decision-making factors and service experiences have more influence on Chinese international students' post-acquisition CME than on Indian international students. The prestige and value of a U.S. degree have a positive impact on CME of both Chinese and Indian international students but in different ways. Interestingly, the influence factor inhibits the interactive, persuasive and benevolent aspects of CME behaviors among Chinese international students, while it positively impacts the persuasive aspect of CME among Indian international students, that is, their effort to spread good word of mouth about the U.S. University and their willingness to recommend the university to people in their home country. Besides, international student satisfaction with social opportunities encourages them to promote positive interactive and affective engagement with host universities. Finally, satisfaction with campus quality promotes interactive, cognitive and persuasive aspects of CME. Implications and limitations of the study conclude the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social work practice faculty have an important role in socializing MSW students to the field and practice of social work. This study, based on interviews with 15 faculty teaching an advanced clinical practice course in the United States, examines how faculty conceptualize teaching and learning. Faculty were asked about the theories or frameworks that guided their teaching, their own journeys to teaching and the resources that support their teaching. The study found that participants drew largely on their own experiences as student learners and social work practitioners and did not have much formal training in teaching and student learning. Furthermore, while half of the participants were able to identify a learning theory that guided their teaching, the other half were not. Finally, while participants articulated the need for support regarding their own teaching, many of the schools did not have formal faculty development opportunities. The paper ends with recommendations for supporting current and new faculty regarding teaching and student learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we, a collective of wāhine ʻŌiwi (Native Hawaiian women), reflect on how we may hoʻokō (fulfill) our kuleana lāhui (nation-building responsibilities) through our positions in the academy. While doing this work has always already been tenuous given the occupied state of ka Lāhui Hawaiʻi (the Hawaiian nation), this tenuousness and the stakes of this work are perhaps even higher within the current political climate of the United States. Through dialogue, we consider the ways that we have striven to kūʻē (resist, stand up) through our research, teaching, and service and express our hopes for the students and broader community we hope to serve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the United States, the academic discipline of higher education has emerged as a site in which transgender scholars have begun to engage. Transgender scholars have begun to disrupt the normative logics of epistemological trans oppression, forcing those in higher education to contend with us, our work, and the possibilities therein. And yet, the ways some of us have been accepted into the field and scholarly sites (e.g., academic conferences), and have had our work published, has caused us to wonder: are we disruptors or docile subjects? In our paper, we explore the machinations of institutional power as they relate to our developing community within the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE). Situating our manuscript in a public dialogue that occurred at the 2017 ASHE Annual Meeting in the United States, we discuss the limitations and possibilities of leveraging academic conferences as potent(ial) sites of disruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

JSTOR has become a standard offering at most U.S. universities and colleges, as well as a growing number of higher education institutions outside the U.S. This paper will track the growth of JSTOR since its inception in 1995 as an experimental digitization project to today as an archive of over 500 scholarly titles in 40 disciplines. We will consider the two threads of JSTOR's mission—to safeguard titles in a digital form, and to provide access to them as broadly as possible—and assess the value the project has provided to the academic community. In addition, there will be some discussion of future directions and challenges for JSTOR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The population of English learners (ELs) continues to grow in schools across the United States and around the world. In this article, we share one urban university's collaborative approach to building educational capacity for cultural and linguistic diversity through professional development efforts that brought together stakeholders from classrooms, schools, communities, and districts. This grant-funded project aimed to build educator expertise to effectively support and positively influence students' language development and disciplinary learning. Grounded in sociocultural theory, we used an apprenticeship framework of teacher development, strategically planning and implementing collaborative capacity building efforts to foster learning across individual, interpersonal, and institutional planes. In this paper, we share the results of professional development efforts across three years of this project, drawing from observation, interview, and focus group data. Findings indicate that classroom-, school-, and district-level educators developed knowledge of discipline-specific language development, pedagogical skills for effective EL teaching and learning, and leadership abilities to positively shape institutional responses to their culturally and linguistically diverse student populations. Implications focus on fostering teacher professionalism through bottom-up development of EL-specific expertise and expanded opportunities for leadership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On September 5, 2017, the Trump Administration announced that it would rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Initiated in 2012 via an Executive Order, DACA sought to provide a provisional fix to the legal status of the nation’s growing number of “Dreamers” - the approximately 1.2 million young adults who have lived the majority of their lives in the United States, but were brought into the country without proper entry documentation. The termination of DACA has presented unique challenges for the 241,000 Dreamers currently enrolled in US colleges and universities. While several institutions proudly declared themselves to be “sanctuary campuses,” this paper focuses on a restrained if not conservative, land-grant university, detailing how two faculty members incorporated scholar-activist and community organizing strategies to support a Dreamer-driven institutional response. Abbreviation DACA:- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, ICE:- Immigration and Customs Enforcement, USCIS:- United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, CR:- continuing resolution, CHIP:- Children's Health Insurance Program, DHS:- Department of Homeland Security, TPS:- temporary protected status, NMSU:- New Mexico State University, ORS:- Oregon Revised Statues, CSU:- Colorado State University, FTFT:- first-time, full-time [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using nine years of student evaluation of teaching (SET) data from a large US research university, we examine whether changes to the SET instrument have a substantial impact on overall instructor scores. Our study exploits four distinct natural experiments that arose when the SET instrument was changed. To maximise power, we compare the same course/instructor before and after each of the four changes occurred. We find that switching from inclass, paper course evaluations to online evaluations generates an average change of -0.14 points on a five-point scale, or 0.25 standard deviations (SDs) in the overall instructor ratings. Changing labelling of the scale and the wording of the overall instructor question generates another decrease in the average rating: -0.15 of a point (0.27 SDs). In contrast, extending the evaluation period to include the final examination and offering an incentive (early grade release) for completing the evaluations do not have a statistically significant effect on the overall instructor rating. The cumulative impact of these individual changes is -0.29 points (0.52 SDs). This large decrease shows that SET scores are not comparable over time when instruments change. Therefore, administrators should measure and account for such changes when using historical benchmarks for evaluative purposes (e.g. appointments and compensation). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At Florida Polytechnic University, a STEM University founded in 2014, Calculus I is the first mathematics course required by students in every major. In order to ensure students received the support necessary for Calculus I, an online Primer course was developed. The course, which is housed in the online platform CANVAS, targets specific topics and skills necessary for students to achieve success in Calculus I. In this paper, we present the positive effect of the Primer on the retention rate for Calculus I, on pass rate, and on average grade received. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the ways in which information about course pedagogy has been represented to potential students through national descriptors and specifications such as the United Kingdom’s Key Information Set. It examines the extent to which such descriptors provide helpful information about pedagogy, for example innovative uses of technology. The paper starts by exploring the wider context within which these descriptors have been developed, including a comparison of similar descriptions internationally. This is followed by a comparative analysis, in which two courses (one single honours undergraduate degree, one Massive Open Online Course) are classified and compared. This serves to illustrate the blind spots in classifications such as the Key Information Set. The paper concludes by arguing that further work is needed to develop classification schemes that both address explicitly the interests of potential students and are able to represent the pedagogic decisions that differentiate teaching in contemporary higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper we bring together the literatures on frame analysis, the meaning of race and campus racial climate to analyse the race frames – lenses through which individuals understand the role of race in society – held by white students attending elite US universities. For most, the elite university experience coincides with a strengthening or emergence of the diversity frame, which emphasizes the positive benefits of cultural diversity. Still, many also hold a colour-blind frame, which sees race groups as equivalent and racial identities as insignificant. We highlight the ambivalence that these divergent frames create for student perspectives on affirmative action and interracial contact on campus. Our findings demonstrate the mutability of race frames. We also highlight the impact that institutions may have on individuals' race frames. The paper is based on in-depth interviews with forty-seven US-born white undergraduates attending Brown University and Harvard University. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents perspectives and controversies surrounding the use of milestones to assess competency in outcomes-based medical education. Global perspectives (Canada, Europe, and the United States) and developments supporting their rationales are discussed. In Canada, there is a significant movement away from conceptualizing competency based on time, and a move toward demonstration of specific competencies. The success of this movement may require complex (rather than reductionist) milestones that reflect students' progression through complexity and context and a method to narrate their journey. European countries (United Kingdom, France, and Germany) have stressed the complexity associated with time and milestones for medical students to truly achieve competence. To meet the changing demands of medicine, they view time as actually providing students with knowledge and exposure to achieve various milestones. In the United States, milestones are based on sampling throughout professional development to initiate lifelong learning. However, the use of milestones may not imply overall competence (reductionism). Milestones must be developed alongside outcomes-based curriculum with use of faculty and competency committees. The perspectives outlined in this paper underscore emerging challenges for implementing outcomes-based medical education and call for new conceptualizations of competence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Universal design (UD) educational frameworks provide useful guidelines for designing accessible learning environments with the intention of supporting students with and without disabilities. This article describes how one university instructor defined and applied the principles of Universal Instructional Design (UID) to pedagogy, while designing three online courses. The paper presents the course design process, detailing how UD principles can be operationalised to increase ‘cognitive access’ through a variety of pedagogical practices. The paper illustrates ways in which instructors can consider UID during the five phases of instructional design (analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation). The courses highlighted in this study incorporated varied assignment formats, flexible options, a highly structured format and regular interactions with peers and instructors. Results of the study show that students valued the organisation, instructor interaction and flexible options provided. Implications for practice are presented for instructors seeking to design inclusive course environments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores the value of participatory action research in a community college developmental mathematics course. The authors used the framework of critical mathematics education in order to understand the critical conversations of students about their learning experiences, and also to help the instructor of the course develop the curriculum that attended to student experiences. The authors also draw on Michel de Certeau's ideas about strategies and tactics to understand how students responded to their past learning experiences. Data results from the study show that students can gain a better understanding of their own learning and subsequently develop deeper content knowledge when they are more involved in the teaching and learning process. Lastly, the authors conclude that as adult learners grow in their understanding of the learning processes and of the content being presented, participatory action research can play an important role in the entire development of thinking and intellectual engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the summer of 2014, students from universities in the contiguous United States (Lower 48) and Inupiat youth from Alaska carried out a pilot project as participants/co-researchers in a process called Intergenerational Dialog, Exchange, and Action (IDEA). This action-oriented, community-based, and participatory research method was first developed in 2008, as a platform for structuring dialog between adults, Elders and youth within a community, and for extending resonant ideas emerging from these discussions through Photovoice and digital storytelling amongst youth participants. This pilot study was designed to investigate the feasibility and potential of university students from the Lower 48 and Indigenous youth from Alaska to carry out the IDEA process together as co-researchers. The results of the pilot suggest that it is both possible and meaningful for IDEA to be conducted by a team of youth co-researchers. We found that participation in IDEA expanded the perspectives of youth co-researchers from both Alaska and the Lower 48 in parallel, yet different ways. Exploring the strengths of older community members, being exposed to different ways of living and being, and having opportunities to reflect on and build narratives around these ideas, allowed all the co-researchers to develop a new understanding of their own communities and their roles and responsibilities within them. This paper shares youth co-researcher reflections of the process and the ways in which the process prompted these new perspectives about themselves, their respective communities and their roles within them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]