Sample records for experiencing academic difficulty

  1. Guiding People to Interpret Their Experienced Difficulty as Importance Highlights Their Academic Possibilities and Improves Their Academic Performance

    PubMed Central

    Oyserman, Daphna; Elmore, Kristen; Novin, Sheida; Fisher, Oliver; Smith, George C.

    2018-01-01

    Does experiencing difficulty bolster or undermine future self-images, strategies to get there and actual performance? We build on four insights from prior research to predict that accessible interpretation-of-experienced-difficulty mindset shapes identity and performance. First, people have two different interpretation-of-experienced-difficulty mindsets available in memory; their difficulty-as-impossibility mindset focuses attention on difficulty as implying low odds and their difficulty-as-importance mindset focuses attention on difficulty as implying high value. Second, people are sensitive to contextual cues as to which mindset to apply to understand their experienced difficulty. Third, people apply the mindset that comes to mind unless they have reason to question why it is “on-the-mind.” Fourth, social class can be thought of as a chronic context influencing how much people endorse each interpretation-of-experienced-difficulty mindset. We used subtle primes to guide participants’ attention toward either a difficulty-as-importance or a difficulty-as-impossibility mindset (N = 591). Participants guided toward a difficulty-as-importance mindset performed better on difficult academic tasks (Studies 1, 2) than participants guided toward a difficulty-as-impossibility mindset; whether they had more school-focused possible identities and linked strategies depended on sample (Studies 3, 4). For college students, the effect of guided interpretation-of-experienced-difficulty mindset was not moderated by how much participants agreed with that mindset (Studies 1, 3, 4). College students mostly disagreed with a difficulty-as-impossibility mindset, but making that mindset accessible undermined their performance and sometimes their possible identities anyway. In contrast, middle school students (a younger and lower social class sample) were more likely to agree with a difficulty-as-impossibility mindset. In this sample (Study 2), we found an effect of mindset endorsement: agreeing that difficulty implies importance and disagreeing that difficulty implies impossibility improved performance. This study had a control group. Control group participants not guided to use a particular interpretation-of-experienced-difficulty mindset performed no differently than participants guided toward a difficulty-as-impossibility mindset. Results suggest that people may chronically act as if they are using a difficulty-as-impossibility mindset and may benefit from being guided to consider that experienced difficulty might imply task importance. Effect of accessible mindset on salience of academic possible selves was not stable, accessible mindset mattered in one university sample but not the other. PMID:29887819

  2. Story Comprehension and Academic Deficits in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: What Is the Connection?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berthiaume, Kristen S.

    2006-01-01

    Based on the reliable findings that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have both attentional and academic difficulties, it is assumed that the attentional deficit contributes to the academic problems. In this article, existing support for a link between the attentional and academic difficulties experienced by children…

  3. Risk factors associated with academic difficulty in an Australian regionally located medical school.

    PubMed

    Malau-Aduli, Bunmi S; O'Connor, Teresa; Ray, Robin A; van der Kruk, Yolanda; Bellingan, Michelle; Teague, Peta-Ann

    2017-12-28

    Despite the highly selective admission processes utilised by medical schools, a significant cohort of medical students still face academic difficulties and are at a higher risk of delayed graduation or outright dismissal. This study used survival analysis to identify the non-academic and academic risk factors (and their relative risks) associated with academic difficulty at a regionally located medical school. Retrospective non-academic and academic entry data for all medical students who were enrolled at the time of the study (2009-2014) were collated and analysed. Non-academic variables included age at commencement of studies, gender, Indigenous status, origin, first in family to go to University (FIF), non-English speaking background (NESB), socio-economic status (SES) and rurality expressed as Australian Standard Geographical Classification-Remoteness Area (ASGC-RA). Academic variables included tertiary entrance exam score expressed as overall position (OP) and interview score. In addition, post-entry mid- and end-of-year summative assessment data in the first and second years of study were collated. The results of the survival analysis indicated that FIF, Indigenous and very remote backgrounds, as well as low post-entry Year 1 (final) and Year 2 (mid-year and final) examination scores were strong risk factors associated with academic difficulty. A high proportion of the FIF students who experienced academic difficulty eventually failed and exited the medical program. Further exploratory research will be required to identify the specific needs of this group of students in order to develop appropriate and targeted academic support programs for them. This study has highlighted the need for medical schools to be proactive in establishing support interventions/strategies earlier rather than later, for students experiencing academic difficulty because, the earlier such students can be flagged, the more likely they are able to obtain positive academic outcomes.

  4. Academic Difficulties Encountered by East Asian International University Students in New Zealand

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lee, Boram; Farruggia, Susan P.; Brown, Gavin T. L.

    2013-01-01

    The study focused on learning difficulties experienced by East Asian International (EAI) students. Participants were 117 EAI students undertaking tertiary study at a major university, all were surveyed and 21 students were interviewed. The findings suggest that language limitations, academic content and learning styles were associated with…

  5. Level of self-esteem and contingencies of self-worth: unique effects on academic, social, and financial problems in college students.

    PubMed

    Crocker, Jennifer; Luhtanen, Riia K

    2003-06-01

    The unique effects of level of self-esteem and contingencies of self-worth assessed prior to college on academic, social, and financial problems experienced during the freshman year were examined in a longitudinal study of 642 college students. Low self-esteem predicted social problems, even controlling for demographic and personality variables (neuroticism, agreeableness, and social desirability), but did not predict academic or financial problems with other variables controlled. Academic competence contingency predicted academic and financial problems and appearance contingency predicted financial problems, even after controlling for relevant personality variables. We conclude that contingencies of self-worth uniquely contribute to academic and financial difficulties experienced by college freshmen beyond level of self-esteem and other personality variables. Low self-esteem, on the other hand, appears to uniquely contribute to later social difficulties.

  6. Multigenerational Learning for Expanding the Educational Involvement of Bilinguals Experiencing Academic Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martínez-Álvarez, Patricia

    2017-01-01

    Focusing on two bilingual children experiencing learning difficulties, I explore the scientific representations these students generate in an afterschool programme where they have opportunities to exercise agency. In the programme, children use a digital camera to document science in their lives and engage in conversations about the products they…

  7. A brief randomized controlled intervention targeting parents improves grades during middle school.

    PubMed

    Destin, Mesmin; Svoboda, Ryan C

    2017-04-01

    Despite a growing number of brief, psychosocial interventions that improve academic achievement, little research investigates how to leverage parents during such efforts. We designed and tested a randomized controlled intervention targeting parents to influence important discussions about the future and responses to academic difficulty experienced by their adolescent during eighth grade in the United States. We recruited experienced parents to convey the main messages of the intervention in a parent panel format. As expected, current parents who were randomly assigned to observe the parent panel subsequently planned to talk with their adolescents sooner about future opportunities and to respond more positively to experiences of academic difficulty than parents who were randomly assigned to a control group. The intervention also led to a significant increase in student grades, which was mediated by parents' responses to academic difficulty. We suggest an increase in experimental research that utilizes parents to influence student achievement. Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  8. Art Therapy with a Child Experiencing Sensory Integration Difficulty. Brief Report

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kearns, Diane

    2004-01-01

    An increasing number of students diagnosed with difficulties such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Asperger?s syndrome are being seen in schools. Sensory integration difficulties may be part of the symptomatology of these disorders. These difficulties may result in difficulties with both classroom behaviors and academic performance.…

  9. Difficulties Experienced by University Students with Severe Mental Illness Who Participate in Supported Education Programs.

    PubMed

    Shor, Ron

    2017-04-01

    Knowledge about the difficulties students with severe mental illness (SMI) encounter is essential to helping them meet the challenges of studying in universities. Therefore, a study was conducted in Israel with 80 university students with SMI to ascertain their difficulties and the relationship between these difficulties and their level of recovery. The two subscales of an instrument measuring students' difficulties that were ranked the highest were "Learning Skills and Management of Academic Tasks" and "Social Inclusion Difficulties." Inverse relationships were found between the students' difficulties and their perceived level of recovery. The findings illuminate that one of the major challenges that students with SMI experience is to meet academic requirements while coping with mental illness. They also indicate that students' difficulties may not be limited to academic functioning. Therefore, there is a need to broaden the view of students' difficulties to include social and contextual factors in the university environment.

  10. Social, emotional, and behavioral functioning of secondary school students with low academic and language performance: perspectives from students, teachers, and parents.

    PubMed

    Joffe, Victoria L; Black, Emma

    2012-10-01

    Adolescence is a time of transition when young people with language difficulties are at increased risk of experiencing social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties (SEBD). Most studies of social, emotional, and behavioral functioning (SEBF) in individuals with language difficulties focus on children with a clinical diagnosis of language impairment. This study explores SEBF in a nonclinical group of 12-year-old students with low educational and language performance from their own perspectives and those of their parents and teachers. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire ( Goodman, 1997) was given to 352 mainstream secondary school students who were underperforming academically and had poor language performance. Two hundred and twenty-five of their parents and 230 of their teachers also completed the questionnaire. Students with low educational attainment and poor language showed significantly greater SEBD than a normative sample as reported by themselves, their parents, and their teachers. Significant differences were found across informants, with students identifying more overall difficulties than parents or teachers. Secondary school students with low academic and language performance are more vulnerable to experiencing SEBD compared to typically developing peers. The extent of their difficulties varied depending on the informant, emphasizing the importance of gaining views from multiple perspectives.

  11. Academic achievement in children with epilepsy: a review.

    PubMed

    Reilly, Colin; Neville, Brian G R

    2011-11-01

    To examine published studies which have focussed on academic achievement in children with epilepsy with respect to prevalence rates of academic difficulties and possible correlates of academic achievement. This review examines studies which have focussed on prevalence rates of academic difficulties and correlates of academic achievement in children with epilepsy from 1990 to 2010. Prevalence rates of low academic achievement and academic underachievement are reported and correlates of academic achievement including seizure/epilepsy variables, demographic variables, and child/family variables are examined with respect to published studies. Published studies suggest that low academic achievement is more common than academic underachievement (achievement below that expected on basis of IQ scores) and it is not clear from published studies if rates of academic underachievement are significantly higher than in the general population. Clear patterns with regard to the identification of correlates of academic underachievement have not emerged although low achievement may be influenced in many cases by lower than average levels of cognitive functioning. Most studies have not focussed on the IQ-achievement discrepancy definitions of (specific) learning disability. Children with epilepsy who are experiencing academic difficulties may not qualify for formal educational supports to address these difficulties if eligibility criteria for such supports stress an IQ-achievement discrepancy. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  12. Profiles of Academic Achievement and Cognitive Processing in College Students with Foreign Language Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prevatt, Frances; Proctor, Briley; Swartz, Stacy L.; Canto, Angela I.

    2003-01-01

    This study evaluated the cognitive and achievement profiles of college students experiencing difficulties in foreign language (FLD group). Because past research appears to have generated different results based on the type of comparison groups utilized, we attempted to obtain a better representation of students with foreign language difficulties.…

  13. Daily Life Mechanisms of Stress Spillover among Early Adolescents Experiencing Academic Difficulty

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Salamon, Reda; Johnson, Elizabeth I.; Swendsen, Joel

    2011-01-01

    Research has suggested that academic stress may "spillover" into other life domains and have negative psychological or social consequences for children and adolescents outside of school settings, but relatively few investigations have examined mediators and moderators of spillover. The current study explored the mediating role of state…

  14. Exploring Faculty Perceptions toward Working with Academically Vulnerable College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Quick, Robin L.

    2013-01-01

    This study is an exploratory study of faculty members' knowledge and perceptions toward of with academically vulnerable college students who are specifically experiencing reading and writing difficulties. Data were gathered from 174 college faculty at six higher education institutions throughout northwestern Pennsylvania via an online electronic…

  15. School Competence and Fluent Academic Performance: Informing Assessment of Educational Outcomes in Survivors of Pediatric Medulloblastoma.

    PubMed

    Holland, Alice Ann; Hughes, Carroll W; Stavinoha, Peter L

    2015-01-01

    Academic difficulties are widely acknowledged but not adequately studied in survivors of pediatric medulloblastoma. Although most survivors require special education services and are significantly less likely than healthy peers to finish high school, measured academic skills are typically average. This study sought to identify potential factors associated with academic difficulties in this population and focused on school competence and fluent academic performance. Thirty-six patients (ages 7-18 years old) were recruited through the Departments of Neurosurgery and Neuro-Oncology at Children's Medical Center Dallas and Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth, TX. Participants completed a neuropsychological screening battery including selected Woodcock-Johnson III Tests of Achievement subtests. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist. School competence was significantly correlated with measured academic skills and fluency. Basic academic skill development was broadly average, in contrast to significantly worse fluent academic performance. School competence may have utility as a measure estimating levels of educational success in this population. Additionally, academic difficulties experienced by childhood medulloblastoma survivors may be better captured by measuring deficits in fluent academic performance rather than skills. Identification of these potential factors associated with educational outcomes of pediatric medulloblastoma survivors has significant implications for research, clinical assessment, and academic services/interventions.

  16. University Students' Perceptions of Teacher Effectiveness and Emotions in Lectures: The Role of Socio-Cognitive Factors, and Academic Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stephanou, Georgia; Kyridis, Argyris

    2012-01-01

    This study examined (a) students' ability self-perceptions, perceptions of domain-difficulty, value beliefs, experienced emotions in lectures and performance in the courses taught by the perceived as extremely effective and ineffective teachers, (b) the role of ability self-perceptions, perceived domain-difficulty and value beliefs in the…

  17. Use of Treatment and Counseling Services and Mind-Body Techniques by Students with Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jayawardene, Wasantha; Erbe, Ryan; Lohrmann, David; Torabi, Mohammad

    2017-01-01

    Background: School-based treatment and counseling services (TCSs) can integrate mind-body techniques (MBTs) to improve children's health, wellness, and academic performance. We aimed to describe the effect of school-based TCS on MBT-use among students experiencing difficulties with concentration, emotions, behaviors, and getting along (DCEBG).…

  18. Learning approaches and learning difficulties: a comparison of Indian and Nepali dental science students.

    PubMed

    Mayya, Shreemathi S; Rao, A Krishna; Ramnarayan, K

    2002-11-01

    This study explored the difference in learning approaches and difficulties of Nepali and Indian undergraduate students of dental science. A locally developed inventory was used to measure learning approach and learning difficulties. Data collected from 166 Indians and 69 Nepalis were compared. The scores on various scales of the inventory indicate that Nepalis are more fearful and less confident regarding examination and course completion and have significantly less positive perception about academic capability. Indian students scored significantly higher on motivation, interest, and deep processing. The language problem was significantly greater for Nepali students. Higher percentages of Nepalis experienced various academic and nonacademic problems. The study highlights the need to consider difference in learning approach among the students of health science courses that admit students from different academic, nonacademic, and cultural backgrounds.

  19. High Expectations for Higher Education? Perceptions of College and Experiences of Stress Prior to and through the College Career

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Krieg, Dana Balsink

    2013-01-01

    Increasing numbers of students are experiencing difficulty adjusting to college. Violated expectations of college may increase the stress experienced across the college career. Therefore, 36 college students were assessed prior to matriculation, during the first year and during the senior year. Expectations and experiences of academics, social…

  20. The Persistence and Functional Impact of English Language Difficulties Experienced by Children Learning English as an Additional Language and Monolingual Peers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Whiteside, Katie E.; Norbury, Courtenay Frazier

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: This study explored whether a monolingual-normed English language battery could identify children with English as an additional language (EAL) who have persistent English language learning difficulties that affect functional academic attainment. Method: Children with EAL (n = 43) and monolingual English-speaking children (n = 46)…

  1. Childhood Maltreatment and Educational Outcomes.

    PubMed

    Romano, Elisa; Babchishin, Lyzon; Marquis, Robyn; Fréchette, Sabrina

    2015-10-01

    Children (0-18 years) with maltreatment histories are vulnerable to experiencing difficulties across multiple domains of functioning, including educational outcomes that encompass not only academic achievement but also mental well-being. The current literature review adopted Slade and Wissow's model to examine (1) the link between childhood maltreatment and academic achievement, (2) the link between childhood maltreatment and mental health outcomes (i.e., emotional and behavioral difficulties), and (3) the bidirectional relationship between childhood academic achievement and mental health. In addition, we reviewed variables that might influence or help explain the link between childhood maltreatment and educational outcomes, drawing on developmental perspectives and Bronfenbrenner's ecological model. Finally, whenever possible, we presented findings specific to maltreated children in out-of-home care to highlight the unique challenges experienced by this population. Results indicated that children with maltreatment histories often experience impairments in both their academic performance (e.g., special education, grade retention, lower grades) and mental well-being (e.g., anxiety, low mood, aggression, social skills deficits, poor interpersonal relationships). These impairments appeared to be particularly pronounced among maltreated children in out-of-home care. Findings, albeit sparse, also indicated that mental health difficulties are negatively associated with children's academic achievement and, similarly, that academic achievement deficits are linked with mental health problems. The link between childhood maltreatment and educational outcomes may be partly explained through the disruption of key developmental processes in children, such as attachment, emotion regulation, and sense of agency. As well, maltreatment characteristics and the functioning of various systems in which children are embedded (e.g., family, school, child welfare) can serve to positively or negatively influence the educational outcomes of maltreated children. The theoretical, research, and applied implications stemming from the findings are considered. © The Author(s) 2014.

  2. Difficulties faced by university students with self-reported symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: a qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Kwon, Soo Jin; Kim, Yoonjung; Kwak, Yeunhee

    2018-01-01

    Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) persists into adolescence and adulthood; however, few studies have analyzed the experiences of university students with ADHD. This study explored the difficulties experienced by university students with ADHD symptoms. Between December 2015 and February 2016, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 12 university students with self-reported ADHD symptoms. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Difficulties in university life were classified into four main themes (lack of daily routine, unsatisfactory academic performance and achievement, reduced interpersonal skills, and continuing worries) and analyzed. University students with ADHD symptoms had difficulties coping with repeated cycles of negative thoughts and worries, irregular lifestyles due to poor time management, dissatisfaction with academic performance and interpersonal relationships, self-dissatisfaction, and decreased self-esteem. To improve their university experience, students with ADHD should receive education about ways to stop worrying, to express emotions healthily, and to manage time efficiently.

  3. Helping Struggling Middle School Literacy Learners Achieve Success

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Palumbo, Anthony; Sanacore, Joseph

    2009-01-01

    Teachers can help minority children close the academic achievement gap in intermediate and middle school by combining literacy instruction and content-area material. This connection improves reading achievement and increases curriculum knowledge, even if students have previously experienced difficulty with primary school reading. Fortunately,…

  4. Creative Behavior Modification Strategies That Work.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kalishman, Arline

    This paper describes a discipline plan at Brentwood (Missouri) Junior High School based on firm and consistent enforcement of rules and regulations that have been developed cooperatively by principal, faculty, and students. The principal holds monthly faculty meetings where all students who are experiencing academic or behavioral difficulties are…

  5. Recognizing and Treating Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prevatt, Frances; Young, Joel L.

    2014-01-01

    Traditionally diagnosed in children, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is now regarded as a life span condition. The academic difficulties experienced by children and adolescents with ADHD have been observed to continue into young adulthood. Treatment outcome studies demonstrate that behavioral and pharmacotherapeutic interventions…

  6. Response to Intervention: A Research-Based Summary

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hughes, Charles A.; Dexter, Douglas D.

    2011-01-01

    Response to Intervention (RTI) is an instructional framework through which schools can provide early intervention for students experiencing academic and behavioral difficulties. It is also promoted as an alternative to the IQ-discrepancy model for identifying students with learning disabilities. Most states have developed, or are developing,…

  7. Academic Procrastination in Non-Traditional College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Garzón-Umerenkova, Angélica; Gil-Flores, Javier

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: Procrastination is the act of delaying necessary tasks to the extreme of experiencing discomfort and negative consequences for the individuals. The presence of nontraditional students at universities is a phenomenon which has increased remarkably over the last decades. This type of university students finds some difficulties during…

  8. Supporting Educational Success for Aboriginal Students: Identifying Key Influences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Whitley, Jessica

    2014-01-01

    The academic difficulties experienced by many Aboriginal (First Nations, Métis, Inuit) students in Canada have been well-documented. Indicators such as school persistence and post-secondary enrollment are typically far lower for Aboriginal students as a group compared to non-Aboriginal students. Identifying facilitators of success is key to…

  9. Designing Strategies That Meet the Variety of Learning Styles of Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lopez, Doreen M.; Schroeder, Linda

    2008-01-01

    This action research project was designed to maximize learning for all students by addressing different learning styles and implementing various strategies. The students in the targeted school exhibited difficulty in experiencing academic success while exposed to conventional teaching strategies. The two target schools consisted of an intermediate…

  10. Marijuana Use in Suburban Schools among Students with Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Finn, Kristin V.; Lopata, Christopher; Marable, Michele

    2010-01-01

    Although much research exists on adolescent marijuana use, few studies have examined marijuana use in school settings. Students experiencing academic and social difficulties at school, such as those receiving special education services, may be more at risk for school-related substance use. Nevertheless, virtually no research has examined this…

  11. Accessing Substance Abuse Prevention Programs for Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schroeder, Jennifer L.; Johnson, Gail E.

    2009-01-01

    Current estimates indicate that over 6 million children live with at least one parent who is a substance abuser or is substance dependent. Children who are exposed to drug and alcohol abuse are at a greater risk of experiencing academic and behavior difficulties. Additionally, several studies have shown that students with emotional and behavioral…

  12. Teachers' perceptions of remediation possibilities of Dutch students in special education.

    PubMed

    Bakker, Joep T A; Bosman, Anna M T

    2006-12-01

    Research suggests that referral practices of teachers in regular education are not only affected by the level of learning difficulties but also by student behaviour and the level of students' parental involvement in education. It was hypothesized that teachers maintain a notion of the 'ideal' student, who has relatively good academic skills, is well behaved and has highly involved parents. The main question of this study was whether special-education teachers' perceptions regarding remediation possibilities are similarly affected by student behaviour and the level of students' parental involvement. Nineteen experienced Dutch school teachers in special education each evaluated four students: two with relatively high and two with relatively low academic performance. Three questionnaires to assess learning difficulties, behavioural problems and the level of parental involvement were developed. Teachers' perceptions of remediation possibilities were related to the severity of the learning difficulties and academic skill. Academic skill, in turn, was strongly related to the perception of the children's behavioural problems and parental involvement, which, in turn, links the perception of remediation possibilities indirectly to children's behavioural problems and parental involvement. Special education teachers may also hold an image of the 'ideal' student. Students with high academic achievement levels are perceived as having fewer behavioural problems and more highly involved parents than students with low academic achievement levels. Whether this is due to justified or unjustified teachers' perceptions is a matter for future research. What is important is that stereotyping of students (justly or not) poses a serious problem for the Dutch reintegration policy.

  13. Integrated Occupational Program: Information Manual for Administrators, Counsellors, and Teachers. Interim 1988.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Forest, Jan

    The Integrated Occupational Program (IOP) was designed for students in grades 8-12 who have experienced prolonged difficulty with the regular elementary and secondary school programs, who demonstrate a significant lag in one or more of their academic courses, and who typically fall into the intelligence band of 75-95 IQ. The IOP enables students…

  14. Viewing Response-to-Intervention through an Educational Change Paradigm: What Can We Learn?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sansosti, Frank J.; Noltemeyer, Amity

    2008-01-01

    Response-to-Intervention (RtI), a framework for improving academic and behavioral outcomes for all students, can be viewed as a current example of an educational change initiative. Given the difficulties that some schools may be experiencing when implementing RtI effectively, it is important to examine prior educational change conceptualizations…

  15. An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Mindfulness on Perceived Levels of Stress among School-Children from Lower Socioeconomic Backgrounds

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Costello, Elizabeth; Lawler, Margaret

    2014-01-01

    Children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are at increased risk of experiencing stress and associated social-emotional difficulties and behavioural problems, which can undermine academic performance and lead to school drop-out. Previous studies investigating the effects of mindfulness have evidenced positive outcomes among children pertaining…

  16. Age, Marital Status and Time in U.S. as Correlates to English Language Proficiency of Male Arab University Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Addou, Ibrahim Hassan; Hodinko, Bernard A.

    A study examined the difficulties that 400 male Arab students, attending five universities in the District of Columbia, experienced with academic English while seeking college degrees. A survey investigated problems with nine aspects of English language proficiency: (1) expressing ideas correctly, (2) understanding lectures, (3) taking class…

  17. Features of State Response to Intervention Initiatives in Northeast and Islands Region States. Issues & Answers. REL 2009-No. 083

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bocala, Candice; Mello, Daniel; Reedy, Kristin; Lacireno-Paquet, Natalie

    2009-01-01

    Response to intervention (RTI) is an approach to instruction, assessment, and intervention that enables early identification of students who are experiencing academic or behavioral difficulties. The jurisdictions served by the Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands expressed interest in a study of whether and how state education…

  18. Academic Studies amid Violent Conflict: A Study of the Impact of Ongoing Conflict on a Student Population

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ben-Tsur, Dalia

    2009-01-01

    This paper explores the impact of violent conflict on undergraduate students. In order to strengthen student resilience during periods of heightened insecurity, teachers and institutions must identify the difficulties that their students may be experiencing. Based on a case study of students in Israel, this paper identifies specific difficulties…

  19. School Performance, Status Relations, and the Structure of Sentiment: Bringing the Teacher Back In. Report No. 9.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alexander, Karl L.; And Others

    Previous research has failed to support the widely held assumption that the academic difficulties experienced by many minority and low socioeconomic status youth are due to their "outsider" standing vis-a-vis the middle class culture thought to govern the social relations of schooling. This analysis suggests that this proposition errs in…

  20. Evaluation of a School-Based Transition Program Designed to Facilitate School Reentry Following a Mental Health Crisis or Psychiatric Hospitalization

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    White, Henry; LaFleur, Jennifer; Houle, Katherine; Hyry-Dermith, Paul; Blake, Susan M.

    2017-01-01

    In recent decades, increasing attention has been paid to the number of adolescents experiencing extended absences from school due to mental health crises. Upon returning to school, these students often face difficulties in functioning, risk of relapse, and vulnerability to academic failure and social isolation. This paper presents results of a…

  1. Technology, attributions, and emotions in post-secondary education: An application of Weiner’s attribution theory to academic computing problems

    PubMed Central

    Hall, Nathan C.; Goetz, Thomas; Chiarella, Andrew; Rahimi, Sonia

    2018-01-01

    As technology becomes increasingly integrated with education, research on the relationships between students’ computing-related emotions and motivation following technological difficulties is critical to improving learning experiences. Following from Weiner’s (2010) attribution theory of achievement motivation, the present research examined relationships between causal attributions and emotions concerning academic computing difficulties in two studies. Study samples consisted of North American university students enrolled in both traditional and online universities (total N = 559) who responded to either hypothetical scenarios or experimental manipulations involving technological challenges experienced in academic settings. Findings from Study 1 showed stable and external attributions to be emotionally maladaptive (more helplessness, boredom, guilt), particularly in response to unexpected computing problems. Additionally, Study 2 found stable attributions for unexpected problems to predict more anxiety for traditional students, with both external and personally controllable attributions for minor problems proving emotionally beneficial for students in online degree programs (more hope, less anxiety). Overall, hypothesized negative effects of stable attributions were observed across both studies, with mixed results for personally controllable attributions and unanticipated emotional benefits of external attributions for academic computing problems warranting further study. PMID:29529039

  2. Technology, attributions, and emotions in post-secondary education: An application of Weiner's attribution theory to academic computing problems.

    PubMed

    Maymon, Rebecca; Hall, Nathan C; Goetz, Thomas; Chiarella, Andrew; Rahimi, Sonia

    2018-01-01

    As technology becomes increasingly integrated with education, research on the relationships between students' computing-related emotions and motivation following technological difficulties is critical to improving learning experiences. Following from Weiner's (2010) attribution theory of achievement motivation, the present research examined relationships between causal attributions and emotions concerning academic computing difficulties in two studies. Study samples consisted of North American university students enrolled in both traditional and online universities (total N = 559) who responded to either hypothetical scenarios or experimental manipulations involving technological challenges experienced in academic settings. Findings from Study 1 showed stable and external attributions to be emotionally maladaptive (more helplessness, boredom, guilt), particularly in response to unexpected computing problems. Additionally, Study 2 found stable attributions for unexpected problems to predict more anxiety for traditional students, with both external and personally controllable attributions for minor problems proving emotionally beneficial for students in online degree programs (more hope, less anxiety). Overall, hypothesized negative effects of stable attributions were observed across both studies, with mixed results for personally controllable attributions and unanticipated emotional benefits of external attributions for academic computing problems warranting further study.

  3. Self-efficacy as a predictor of academic performance in science.

    PubMed

    Andrew, S

    1998-03-01

    Nursing students have traditionally experienced difficulties with the science subjects in nursing curricula, and irrespective of the institution conducting a nursing programme, this trend appears to be continuing. A satisfactory means of predicting academic performance in these subjects will facilitate the development of educational strategies designed to assist students overcome their difficulties. In this study, an instrument called the Self-Efficacy for Science (SEFS) was developed and tested. The SEFS was designed to predict academic performance in the science areas of a first-year undergraduate nursing course. A cohort of first-year students enrolled in a bachelor of nursing course were surveyed by questionnaire. Students' academic scores for two first-year science subjects were obtained and used as the criterion measure for the study. Principal component factor analysis revealed the SEFS contained six instead of the hypothesized four factors. These six factors could explain 70% of students' self-efficacy for science. Cronbach alpha of the SEFS was 0.9. The SEFS could predict 24% of the cohort's academic performance in a physical science subject and 18.5% for a bioscience subject. Studying science in the final year at high school was not statistically significantly related to the SEFS. Implications for students and future research are discussed.

  4. Emerging Realities of Text-to-Speech Software for Nonnative-English-Speaking Community College Students in the Freshman Year

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baker, Fiona S.

    2015-01-01

    This study explores the expectations and early and subsequent realities of text-to-speech software for 24 nonnative-English-speaking college students who were experiencing reading difficulties in their freshman year of college. The study took place over two semesters in one academic year (from September to June) at a community college on the…

  5. A Study on the Implementation of the Ecotran Systems, Inc. Computerized Routing and Scheduling Pupil Transportation System. San Diego Unified School District, Superintendent's Organizational Study Team.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carriedo, Ruben; And Others

    The San Diego Unified School District (California) began operating a computerized routing and scheduling system for its pupil transportation services at the beginning of the 1985-86 academic school year. The computerized system, provided by Ecotran Systems, Inc. (ECO) of Cleveland, Ohio experienced an inordinate number of difficulties. A…

  6. Formal appraisal of undergraduate medical students: is it worth the effort?

    PubMed

    Murdoch-Eaton, Deborah G; Levene, Malcolm I

    2004-02-01

    Medical student stress is most often related to difficulties of adjusting to university academic standards, and work-social life balance. Faculty systems identify academically failing students for counselling, whilst the majority of students do not have opportunities for individual discussion about progress. This study reports a pilot formal appraisal process for first-year undergraduates. Preparatory material required students to reflect on their academic performance, factors contributing to their university life and satisfaction with career choice. Individual appraisal sessions were held with trained, experienced senior faculty staff, with completion of an appraisal record to document agreed outcomes. Individualized study skills advice was the commonest documented outcome on appraisal records. Students were overwhelmingly positive about the experience, reporting both enhanced perceptions of faculty and reduced anxiety about academic performance. Medical schools have responsibilities to consider ways to optimize students' performance; attainment can be related more to personal and motivational factors than academic ability.

  7. Linking learning and health: a pilot study of medical students' perceptions of the academic impact of various health issues.

    PubMed

    Kernan, William D; Wheat, Mary E; Lerner, Burton A

    2008-01-01

    To assess medical students' experience with a wide variety of health concerns and their perceptions of the impact of these health concerns on their academic performance. The National College Health Assessment (NCHA) was administered to all students enrolled at a single medical school during the spring term of 2005. Students reported the greatest perceived negative academic impact related to experiencing interpersonal concerns (concerns about troubled friends or family members, death of a friend or family member, and relationship difficulty) and mental health concerns (depression/anxiety/seasonal affective disorder and stress). A total of 315 students participated (48% response rate). Medical students perceive their experiences with social and psychological concerns as negatively influential to their academic well-being. Strategies that assist students in coping with these issues support the learning mission of the academic medical center.

  8. Implementing a centralized institutional peer tutoring program.

    PubMed

    Gaughf, Natalie White; Foster, Penni Smith

    2016-01-01

    Peer tutoring has been found to be beneficial to both students and peer tutors in health sciences education programs. This article describes the implementation of a centralized, institutional peer tutoring program at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, an academic health science center in the U.S. The Program: This multispecialty peer tutoring program paired students experiencing academic difficulties with peer tutors who showed prior academic success, professionalism and effective communication skills. The program allowed students and peer tutors to coordinate their own tutoring services. Evaluations by both students and peer tutors showed satisfaction with the program. Recommendations for developing and implementing an effective peer tutoring program are presented, including utilization of an online system, consistent program policy with high professionalism expectations, funding, program evaluation and data tracking.

  9. The Persistence and Functional Impact of English Language Difficulties Experienced by Children Learning English as an Additional Language and Monolingual Peers

    PubMed Central

    Whiteside, Katie E.

    2017-01-01

    Purpose This study explored whether a monolingual-normed English language battery could identify children with English as an additional language (EAL) who have persistent English language learning difficulties that affect functional academic attainment. Method Children with EAL (n = 43) and monolingual English-speaking children (n = 46) completed a comprehensive monolingual-normed English language battery in Year 1 (ages 5–6 years) and Year 3 (ages 7–8 years). Children with EAL and monolingual peers, who either met monolingual criteria for language impairment or typical development on the language battery in Year 1, were compared on language growth between Year 1 and Year 3 and on attainment in national curriculum assessments in Year 2 (ages 6–7 years). Results Children with EAL and monolingual peers who met monolingual criteria for language impairment in Year 1 continued to display comparably impaired overall language ability 2 years later in Year 3. Moreover, these groups displayed comparably low levels of academic attainment in Year 2, demonstrating comparable functional impact of their language difficulties. Conclusion Monolingual-normed language batteries in the majority language may have some practical value for identifying bilingual children who need support with language learning, regardless of the origin of their language difficulties. PMID:28617919

  10. Clinical and psychoeducational profile of children with borderline intellectual functioning.

    PubMed

    Karande, Sunil; Kanchan, Sandeep; Kulkarni, Madhuri

    2008-08-01

    To document the clinical profile and academic history of children with borderline intellectual functioning ("slow learners"); and to assess parental knowledge and attitudes regarding this condition. From November 2004 to April 2005, 55 children (35 boys, 20 girls) were diagnosed as slow learners based on current level of academic functioning and global IQ scores (71-84) done by the WISC test. Detailed clinical and academic history; and physical and neurological examination findings were noted. The parents were counseled about the diagnosis and the option of special education. The mean age of slow learners was 11.9 years (+/-SD 2.3, range 8-17). Eighteen (32.7%) children had a significant perinatal history, 15 (27.3%) had delayed walking, 17 (30.9%) had delayed talking, 17 (30.9%) had microcephaly, 34 (61.8%) had presence of soft neurologic signs, and 10 (18.2%) were on complementary and alternative medication therapy. There were no differentiating features between the two gender groups. Their chief academic problems were difficulty in writing (92.7%), overall poor performance in all subjects (89.1%), and difficulty in mathematics (76.4%). Forty-six (83.6%) children had failed in examinations, 34 (61.8%) had experienced grade retention, and 32 (58.2%) had behavior problems. Most parents (83.3%) were reluctant to consider the option of special education. Slow learners struggle to cope up with the academic demands of the regular classroom. They need to be identified at an early age and their parents counseled to understand their academic abilities.

  11. Interpersonal relationship quality mediates the association between military-related posttraumatic stress and academic dysfunction among student veterans.

    PubMed

    Fredman, Steffany J; Marshall, Amy D; Le, Yunying; Aronson, Keith R; Perkins, Daniel F; Hayes, Jeffrey A

    2018-05-03

    Large numbers of United States service members and veterans are enrolling in colleges and universities. Many are experiencing posttraumatic stress symptoms secondary to their military service, and these symptoms are associated with academic dysfunction. However, little is known about the mechanism(s) through which posttraumatic stress increases risk for academic difficulties. The goal of the current study was to evaluate perceived interpersonal relationship quality as a mediator of this association. The current study investigated the indirect effect of posttraumatic stress on academic dysfunction through three indices of perceived interpersonal relationship quality (i.e., family distress, family support, and social network support) in a clinical sample of 2,120 student service members and veterans. Participants were further divided into four groups based on relationship status and gender (i.e., partnered women, nonpartnered women, partnered men, and nonpartnered men), and moderation by group was examined. For all four groups, there were significant indirect effects of posttraumatic stress on academic dysfunction through greater family distress and lower social network support. Further, the overall indirect effect of posttraumatic stress on academic dysfunction was stronger for partnered women compared with the three other groups and was attributable to the stronger path from family distress to academic dysfunction for partnered women. Poor perceived relationship quality may be a modifiable risk factor for academic dysfunction among student service members and veterans experiencing military-related posttraumatic stress. Partnered women may be especially well-suited to interventions that enhance the interpersonal context of posttraumatic stress as a way to optimize academic outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved).

  12. Burnout in Female Faculty Members.

    PubMed

    Cassidy-Vu, Lisa; Beck, Keli; Moore, Justin B

    2017-04-01

    Despite approximately equal numbers of male and female medical school graduates, women are entering academic medicine at a lower rate than their male colleagues. Of those who do assume a faculty position, female faculty members report higher levels of burnout, often attributable to gender-specific difficulties in clinical expectations and maintenance of work-life balance. Many of these struggles are attributable to issues that are amenable to supportive policies, but these policies are inconsistent in their availability and practice. This commentary presents evidence for inconsistencies in the day-to-day experience of female faculty members, and proposes solutions for the mitigation of the challenges experienced more often by female faculty members with the goal of diversifying and strengthening academic medicine.

  13. Burnout in Female Faculty Members

    PubMed Central

    Cassidy-Vu, Lisa; Beck, Keli; Moore, Justin B.

    2016-01-01

    Despite approximately equal numbers of male and female medical school graduates, women are entering academic medicine at a lower rate than their male colleagues. Of those who do assume a faculty position, female faculty members report higher levels of burnout, often attributable to gender-specific difficulties in clinical expectations and maintenance of work-life balance. Many of these struggles are attributable to issues that are amenable to supportive policies, but these policies are inconsistent in their availability and practice. This commentary presents evidence for inconsistencies in the day-to-day experience of female faculty members, and proposes solutions for the mitigation of the challenges experienced more often by female faculty members with the goal of diversifying and strengthening academic medicine. PMID:27650035

  14. Determinants of HMO success: the case of Complete Health.

    PubMed

    Widra, L S; Fottler, M D

    1992-01-01

    The health maintenance organization (HMO) industry has experienced a variety of difficulties and criticisms in recent years. Various hybrid models have been proposed to alleviate these problems. This article presents an in-depth case study of factors associated with the success of one such hybrid: an individual practice association (IPA)-model HMO affiliated with an academic health center. The major success factors identified include the plan design/structure, the strategic orientation/practices, and the stakeholder management orientation practices.

  15. The impact of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder on preadolescent adjustment may be greater for girls than for boys.

    PubMed

    Elkins, Irene J; Malone, Steve; Keyes, Margaret; Iacono, William G; McGue, Matt

    2011-01-01

    Whether gender differences exist in the impairment associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is still largely unknown, because most samples have few affected girls or include only one sex. The current study evaluated whether ADHD affects adjustment differently for girls than boys in a population-based cohort of 11-year-olds (520 girls, 478 boys). Those with a DSM-IV diagnosis of ADHD (predominantly inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, or combined) were compared to those without ADHD on teacher, parent, and child reports of academics, peer relationships, self-concept, clinical symptoms, and treatment. Although boys and girls with ADHD experienced difficulties in all areas, girls with ADHD, especially the inattentive subtype, were more negatively affected in academics and peer relationships. Inattentive girls were less popular and more likely to be bullied than girls without ADHD, whereas inattentive boys were not. The social isolation experienced by many girls with ADHD deserves greater attention.

  16. QuickSmart: a basic academic skills intervention for middle school students with learning difficulties.

    PubMed

    Graham, Lorraine; Bellert, Anne; Thomas, Jenny; Pegg, John

    2007-01-01

    QuickSmart is a basic academic skills intervention designed for persistently low-achieving students in the middle years of schooling that aims to improve the automaticity of basic skills to improve higher-order processes, such as problem solving and comprehension, as measured on standardized tests. The QuickSmart instructional program consists of three structured, teacher- or teacher aide-directed, 30-minute, small-group lessons each week for approximately 26 weeks. In this study, 42 middle school students experiencing learning difficulties (LD) completed the QuickSmart reading program, and a further 42 students with LD took part in the QuickSmart mathematics program. To investigate the effects of the intervention, comparisons were made between the reading and mathematics progress of the intervention group and a group of 10 high-achieving and 10 average-achieving peers. The results indicated that although the standardized reading comprehension and mathematics scores of QuickSmart students remained below those of comparison students, they improved significantly from pretest to posttest. In contrast, the standardized scores of comparison students were not significantly different from pretest to posttest. On measures of response speed and accuracy gathered using the Cognitive Aptitude Assessment System (CAAS), QuickSmart students were able to narrow the gap between their performance and that of their high- and average-achieving peers. Implications are drawn regarding the importance of interventions that emphasize the automaticity of basic academic skills for students with learning difficulties.

  17. School performance of childhood cancer survivors in Korea: a multi-institutional study on behalf of the Korean Society of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology.

    PubMed

    Park, Meerim; Park, Hyeon Jin; Lee, Jae Min; Ju, Hee Young; Park, Byung Kiu; Yu, Eun-Seung; Yang, Hyung-Kook; Kim, Ji Yoon; Park, Sang Kyu; Lee, Young Ho; Shim, Ye Jee; Kim, Heung Sik; Lee, Jun Ah; Lim, Yeon-Jung; Cheuh, Hee Won; Park, Ji Kyoung; Lee, Mee Jeong; Kim, Soon Ki; Choi, Hyoung Soo; Hah, Jeong Ok; Park, Kyung Duk; Kang, Hyoung Jin; Shin, Hee Young

    2018-06-21

    To investigate school performance of childhood cancer survivors focusing on the child's functioning, including peer relationships, school attendance, and academic achievement METHODS: We studied 241 children from 15 institutions in Korea between 2015 and 2016. The self-reported paper-and-pencil questionnaires were used. Approximately 22% of the survivors suffered from lack of friends. Bullying was reported by 30% of survivors. Survivors who returned to primary school reported a higher incidence of bullying compared to survivors who returned to middle or high school (P=0.03). The percentage of children who missed classes more than 4 days in a month was higher in survivors with brain tumors than those with other tumors (P=0.04). Approximately 41% of children reported learning difficulty. After returning to school, 53% of the patients reported that they had lower overall mark averages than they had before. Patients who returned to high school showed the highest rate of repeating a grade and the lowest rate of achieving high academic marks. The school marks in the Korean (P=0.03), English (P=0.04), and physical education (P=0.04) were worse for the children with brain tumors than for the children with other tumors. We found that 20-25% of survivors experienced peer-related difficulties upon returning to school. Patients who return to school, especially high school, should be provided more educational support to overcome low academic achievement. Particular concern is needed to the patients with brain tumors, who are at risk for significant academic and social difficulties and therefore may require more intensive support in school. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  18. Career success after flexible training in psychiatry: a survey of former flexible trainees in the Thames regions.

    PubMed

    Etchegoyen, A; Stormont, F; Goldberg, I

    2001-06-01

    This article outlines the findings of a study which indicate that flexible training in psychiatry was considered adequate to prepare doctors for both full-time and part-time work and that those wishing to work part time had no difficulty in finding jobs after accreditation. However, there was evidence to suggest that part-time consultants experienced more problems and less job satisfaction and that part-time training and working may restrict opportunities for an academic career.

  19. Challenges of Dental Assisting Students in Their Pursuit of Academic Success.

    PubMed

    Leong, Nancy; Laughter, Lory; Rowe, Dorothy J

    2017-04-01

    The aim of this study was to identify the challenges encountered by dental assisting students, especially those from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups (UREG), that affected their achieving academic success. In 2016, directors of the nine northern California dental assisting programs were contacted via email to explain the study and request an opportunity to administer the 26-item survey to their currently enrolled students. Student responses were entered into a survey research program, which tabulated the data and calculated the frequency of responses to each item. All nine programs participated, and the overall student response rate was 98%. Most (71%) of the 215 respondents agreed that they had experienced challenges in achieving academic success. Respondents reported the following challenges that made it difficult to perform well at school: financial responsibilities (41%), family responsibilities (33%), and language challenges (21%). These challenges, as well as difficulty understanding the language and vocabulary of instructional materials and cost of tuition and supplies, were statistically related to respondents' perceptions of their challenges to academic success. Most (83%) of the respondents perceived that faculty members supported their academic success. One-third of the respondents were from UREG: Hispanic, African American, and Native American. Higher percentages of UREG than non-UREG participants worked more hours/week (p=0.03) and tended to perceive financial (52%/32%) and family (42%/28%) responsibilities as challenges. Since both UREG and non-UREG respondents experienced these challenges, all students should be informed of institutional and programmatic resources that can assist them in achieving academic success.

  20. Mind-set interventions are a scalable treatment for academic underachievement.

    PubMed

    Paunesku, David; Walton, Gregory M; Romero, Carissa; Smith, Eric N; Yeager, David S; Dweck, Carol S

    2015-06-01

    The efficacy of academic-mind-set interventions has been demonstrated by small-scale, proof-of-concept interventions, generally delivered in person in one school at a time. Whether this approach could be a practical way to raise school achievement on a large scale remains unknown. We therefore delivered brief growth-mind-set and sense-of-purpose interventions through online modules to 1,594 students in 13 geographically diverse high schools. Both interventions were intended to help students persist when they experienced academic difficulty; thus, both were predicted to be most beneficial for poorly performing students. This was the case. Among students at risk of dropping out of high school (one third of the sample), each intervention raised students' semester grade point averages in core academic courses and increased the rate at which students performed satisfactorily in core courses by 6.4 percentage points. We discuss implications for the pipeline from theory to practice and for education reform. © The Author(s) 2015.

  1. Perception of difficulty and glucose control: Effects on academic performance in youth with type I diabetes.

    PubMed

    Potts, Tiffany M; Nguyen, Jacqueline L; Ghai, Kanika; Li, Kathy; Perlmuter, Lawrence

    2015-04-15

    To investigate whether perceptions of task difficulty on neuropsychological tests predicted academic achievement after controlling for glucose levels and depression. Participants were type 1 diabetic adolescents, with a mean age = 12.5 years (23 females and 16 males), seen at a northwest suburban Chicago hospital. The sample population was free of co-morbid clinical health conditions. Subjects completed a three-part neuropsychological battery including the Digit Symbol Task, Trail Making Test, and Controlled Oral Word Association test. Following each task, individuals rated task difficulty and then completed a depression inventory. Performance on these three tests is reflective of neuropsychological status in relation to glucose control. Blood glucose levels were measured immediately prior to and after completing the neuropsychological battery using a glucose meter. HbA1c levels were obtained from medical records. Academic performance was based on self-reported grades in Math, Science, and English. Data was analyzed using multiple regression models to evaluate the associations between academic performance, perception of task difficulty, and glucose control. Perceptions of difficulty on a neuropsychological battery significantly predicted academic performance after accounting for glucose control and depression. Perceptions of difficulty on the neuropsychological tests were inversely correlated with academic performance (r = -0.48), while acute (blood glucose) and long-term glucose levels increased along with perceptions of task difficulty (r = 0.47). Additionally, higher depression scores were associated with poorer academic performance (r = -0.43). With the first regression analysis, perception of difficulty on the neuropsychological tasks contributed to 8% of the variance in academic performance after controlling for peripheral blood glucose and depression. In the second regression analysis, perception of difficulty accounted for 11% of the variance after accounting for academic performance and depression. The final regression analysis indicated that perception of difficulty increased with peripheral blood glucose, contributing to 22% of the variance. Most importantly, after controlling for perceptions of task difficulty, academic performance no longer predicted glucose levels. Finally, subjects who found the cognitive battery difficult were likely to have poor academic grades. Perceptions of difficulty on neurological tests exhibited a significant association with academic achievement, indicating that deficits in this skill may lead to academic disadvantage in diabetic patients.

  2. Increasing Therapist Productivity: Using Lean Principles in the Rehabilitation Department of an Academic Medical Center.

    PubMed

    Johnson, Diana; Snedeker, Kristie; Swoboda, Michael; Zalieckas, Cheryl; Dorsey, Rachel; Nohe, Cassandra; Smith, Paige; Roche, Renuka

    The Department of Rehabilitation Services, within the University of Maryland Medical Center's 650-bed academic medical center, was experiencing difficulty in meeting productivity standards. Therapists in the outpatient division believed they were not spending enough time performing billable patient care activities. Therapists in the inpatient division had difficulty keeping pace with the volume of incoming referrals. Collectively, these issues caused dissatisfaction among referral sources and frustration among the staff within the rehabilitation department. The department undertook a phased approach to address these issues that included examining the evidence, using Lean process improvement principles, and employing transformational leadership strategies to drive improvements in productivity and efficiency. The lessons learned support the importance of having meaningful metrics appropriate for the patient population served, the use of Lean as an effective tool for improving productivity in rehabilitation departments, the impact of engaging staff at the grassroots level, and the importance of having commitment from leaders. The study findings have implications for not only rehabilitation and hospital leadership, but CEOs and managers of any business who need to eliminate waste or increase staff productivity.

  3. The Receipt of Special Education Services Following Elementary School Grade Retention

    PubMed Central

    Silverstein, Michael; Guppy, Nicole; Young, Robin; Augustyn, Marilyn

    2009-01-01

    Objective To estimate the proportion of children who receive an Individualized Education Program (IEP) following grade retention in elementary school. Design/setting Descriptive analysis of a nationally representative, longitudinal cohort. Participants Children retained in K/1 and 3rd grade for presumed academic reasons, followed through fifth grade. Outcome measure Presence or absence of an IEP. Results 300 children retained for presumed academic reasons in K/1, and 80 in 3rd grade were included in the study. Of the K/1 retainees, 68% never received an IEP over the subsequent four to five years; of the 3rd grade retainees, 73% never received an IEP. K/1 retainees in the highest SES quintile and suburban K/1 retainees were less likely to receive an IEP than retained children in all other SES quintiles (aOR 0.17; 95% CI 0.05-0.62) and in rural communities (aOR 0.16; 95% CI 0.06-0.44), respectively. Among K/1 retainees with persistent low academic achievement in reading and math (as assessed by standardized testing), 37% and 28%, respectively, never received an IEP. Conclusions The majority of children retained in K/1 or 3rd grade for academic reasons, including a many of those who demonstrate sustained academic difficulties, never receive an IEP during elementary school. Further studies are important to elucidate whether retained elementary school children are being denied their rights to special education services. In the meantime, early grade retention may provide an opportunity for pediatricians to help families advocate for appropriate special education evaluations for children experiencing school difficulties. PMID:19487611

  4. Mentors also need support: a study on their difficulties and resources in medical schools.

    PubMed

    Gonçalves, Marina de Castro Nascimento; Bellodi, Patricia Lacerda

    2012-01-01

    Mentors have been recognized as important elements in the personal and professional development of medical students. However, few investigations have sought to understand their development, needs and difficulties. Our objective was to investigate the perceptions of a group of mentors regarding difficulties experienced over time and the resources used to face up to them. Qualitative exploratory study on mentors at Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo (FMUSP). In the FMUSP Mentoring Program, mentors follow and guide students throughout the course, and are responsible for heterogeneous group of students, in relation to the academic year. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 FMUSP mentors. For many of the mentors, the difficulties related to initial doubts about the role, frustration with the students' attendance and overloading of daily tasks. To address such difficulties, these mentors used external resources and their own life experience and personal way of dealing with situations. Some mentors did not perceive difficulties for themselves or for students. Like in other mentoring programs, many difficulties perceived by mentors seem to be derived from the context of medical education itself. However, unlike in other experiences, FMUSP mentors do not feel that there is lack of support for their role, since this is regularly provided in the structure and dynamics of the program. The "difficulty in perceiving difficulties", presented by some mentors, demands further investigation for better and greater understanding.

  5. Difficulties experienced by young people with Tourette syndrome in secondary school: a mixed methods description of self, parent and staff perspectives.

    PubMed

    Wadman, Ruth; Glazebrook, Cris; Beer, Charlotte; Jackson, Georgina M

    2016-01-20

    Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by motor and vocal tics. These involuntary movements and vocalizations can have a negative impact in the school environment. The paper presents a mixed methods description of the difficulties experienced by UK students with TS in secondary school, drawing on multiple perspectives. Thirty-five young people with TS (11 to 18 years), their parents (n = 35) and key members of school staff (n = 54) took part in semi-structured interviews about TS-related difficulties in secondary school. Theme analysis was used to identify school difficulties reported by the young people, before moving on to analysis of the parents' and staff members' transcripts. The most frequently occurring themes from the young people's accounts were then quantified in order to examine the level of agreement between informants and the association with clinical symptom severity. A range of TS-related difficulties with academic work, and social and emotional well-being in school were reported by young people, parents and staff. Three superordinate themes are described: 1) TS makes school work more difficult, 2) Negative response to TS from staff and fellow students and 3) TS makes it more difficult to manage emotions in school. The three difficulties most frequently reported by the young people were problems concentrating in class, unhelpful responses by school staff to tics and difficulties with other students such as name-calling and mimicking tics. Additional difficulties reported by more than a quarter of young people related to homework, examinations, writing, anxiety and managing anger in school. Having more severe motor tics was associated with reporting difficulties with homework and handwriting, whereas having more severe phonic tics was associated with reporting unhelpful responses from staff. Young people and parents agreed more strongly with each other than they did with staff regarding school difficulties faced by individuals, and staff generally reported fewer TS-related difficulties. TS can present a barrier to learning in several ways and can also affect interactions with others and emotional experiences in secondary school. Implications for supporting secondary school-aged students with TS are considered.

  6. [Academic future of children treated for brain tumors. Single-center study of 27 children].

    PubMed

    Zucchinelli, V; Bouffet, E

    2000-09-01

    Brain tumours constitute the most common type of solid malignancy in childhood. Despite intensive efforts developed since the mid-1970s in paediatric neuro-oncology, survivors still have a wide range of sequelae leading to frequent failure in academic achievements. Very few studies have detailed the educational outcome of these children. The study was based on a questionnaire sent to the parents of children diagnosed with a brain tumour and treated at the Centre Léon-Bérard between 1987 and 1993. Children had to be under 12 years old at the time of diagnosis and with at least three years of follow-up since diagnosis. Questions focused on the child's education before diagnosis, his progress during and after treatment, the measures taken when the child experienced learning difficulties and their consequences on the child's socioprofessional integration. Twenty-seven responses were obtained out of 34 questionnaires. Twenty-six children were reported to experience learning difficulties. Only four children had a normal education. The main problems are associated with slowness, memory and comprehension difficulties. The main disciplines affected are mathematics, reading and spelling. Fifteen children did benefit from extra support, with large interindividual variations in the amount and the quality of this support. Half of the parents play an active role in their child's extra support. This study provides additional information to previous reports on progressive I.Q. decline following the treatment of a brain tumour in childhood. Learning difficulties are nearly constant and adversely influence the child's curriculum. They also affect the parents who experience questions about the future of their ideal child. The severity and complexity of these learning difficulties urge for an early multidisciplinary educational and psychological management. The main characteristics of these remedial efforts should be assessed in prospective studies.

  7. "I Don't Believe in Leading a Life of My Own, I Lead His Life": A Qualitative Investigation of Difficulties Experienced by Informal Caregivers of Stroke Survivors Experiencing Depressive and Anxious Symptoms.

    PubMed

    Woodford, Joanne; Farrand, Paul; Watkins, Edward R; LLewellyn, David J

    2018-01-01

    Health and social care services are increasingly reliant on informal caregivers to provide long-term support to stroke survivors. However, caregiving is associated with elevated levels of depression and anxiety in the caregiver that may also negatively impact stroke survivor recovery. This qualitative study aims to understand the specific difficulties experienced by caregivers experiencing elevated symptoms of anxiety and depression. Nineteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with caregivers experiencing elevated levels of depression and anxiety, with a thematic analysis approach adopted for analysis. Analysis revealed three main themes: Difficulties adapting to the caring role; Uncertainty; and Lack of support. Caregivers experienced significant difficulties adapting to changes and losses associated with becoming a caregiver, such as giving up roles and goals of importance and value. Such difficulties persisted into the long-term and were coupled with feelings of hopelessness and worry. Difficulties were further exacerbated by social isolation, lack of information and poor long-term health and social care support. A greater understanding of difficulties experienced by depressed and anxious caregivers may inform the development of psychological support targeting difficulties unique to the caring role. Improving caregiver mental health may also result in health benefits for stroke survivors themselves.

  8. Academic Responding during Instruction and Reading Outcomes for Kindergarten Students At-Risk for Reading Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wanzek, Jeanne; Roberts, Greg; Al Otaiba, Stephanie

    2014-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the academic responding of students at-risk for reading difficulties in beginning reading instruction. Opportunities for kindergarten students at-risk for reading difficulties to respond academically during teacher-facilitated reading instruction in the general education classroom were examined in…

  9. Support for learning goes beyond academic support: Voices of students with Asperger's disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

    PubMed

    Bolic Baric, Vedrana; Hellberg, Kristina; Kjellberg, Anette; Hemmingsson, Helena

    2016-02-01

    The purpose of this study was to describe and explore the experiences of support at school among young adults with Asperger's disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and also to examine what support they, in retrospect, described as influencing learning. Purposive sampling was used to enroll participants. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 13 young adults aged between 20 and 29 years. A qualitative analysis, based on interpreting people's experiences, was conducted by grouping and searching for patterns in data. The findings indicate that the participants experienced difficulties at school that included academic, social, and emotional conditions, all of which could influence learning. Support for learning included small groups, individualized teaching methods, teachers who cared, and practical and emotional support. These clusters together confirm the overall understanding that support for learning aligns academic and psychosocial support. In conclusion, academic support combined with psychosocial support at school seems to be crucial for learning among students with Asperger's disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. © The Author(s) 2015.

  10. Identity-based motivation: Implications for intervention

    PubMed Central

    Oyserman, Daphna; Destin, Mesmin

    2010-01-01

    Children want to succeed academically and attend college, but their actual attainment often lags behind; some groups (e.g., boys, low-income children) are particularly likely to experience this gap. Social structural factors matter, influencing this gap in part by affecting children's perceptions of what is possible for them and people like them in the future. Interventions that focus on this macro-micro interface can boost children's attainment. We articulate the processes underlying these effects using an integrative culturally sensitive framework entitled identity-based motivation (IBM, Oyserman, 2007, 2009a, 2009b). The IBM model assumes that identities are dynamically constructed in context. People interpret situations and difficulties in ways that are congruent with currently active identities and prefer identity-congruent to identity-incongruent actions. When action feels identity-congruent, experienced difficulty highlights that the behavior is important and meaningful. When action feels identity-incongruent, the same difficulty suggests that the behavior is pointless and “not for people like me.” PMID:21516204

  11. Receipt of special education services following elementary school grade retention.

    PubMed

    Silverstein, Michael; Guppy, Nicole; Young, Robin; Augustyn, Marilyn

    2009-06-01

    To estimate the proportion of children who receive an Individualized Education Program (IEP) following grade retention in elementary school. Longitudinal cohort study. Children retained in kindergarten or first (K/1) grade and third grade, presumably for academic reasons, were followed up through fifth grade. Presence or absence of an IEP. A total of 300 children retained in K/1 and 80 retained in third grade were included in the study. Of the K/1 retainees, 68.9% never received an IEP during the subsequent 4 to 5 years; of the third-grade retainees, 72.3% never received an IEP. Kindergarten/first-grade retainees in the highest quintile for socioeconomic status and those with suburban residence were less likely to receive an IEP than retained children in all other socioeconomic status quintiles (adjusted odds ratio, 0.17; 95% confidence interval, 0.05-0.62) and in rural communities (0.16; 0.06-0.44). Among K/1 retainees with persistently low academic achievement in math and reading, as assessed by standardized testing, 38.2% and 29.7%, respectively, never received an IEP. Most children retained in K/1 or third grade for academic reasons, including many of those who demonstrated sustained academic difficulties, never received an IEP during elementary school. Further studies are important to elucidate whether retained elementary schoolchildren are being denied their rights to special education services. In the meantime, early-grade retention may provide an opportunity for pediatricians to help families advocate for appropriate special education evaluations for children experiencing school difficulties.

  12. Strategies used by nurses, academics and students to overcome intercultural communication challenges.

    PubMed

    Henderson, Saras; Barker, Michelle; Mak, Anita

    2016-01-01

    Nurse clinicians and academics need to understand intercultural communication challenges to improve their communication skills and better support students' learning. Gaps exist in the literature regarding intercultural communication resources for students, academics and clinicians. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences of clinical nurses, nurse academics, and student nurses regarding intercultural communication challenges. Data were collected using focus group interviews with nineteen clinical facilitators (nurses who supervise nursing students in clinical practice), five clinical nurses, and ten nursing students. Seven nurse academics were interviewed via telephone. The purposive sample was drawn from a tertiary hospital and a university in Australia. Participants were invited to discuss challenging intercultural scenarios they had experienced including strategies they used to overcome such challenges. Using qualitative content analysis data were analysed resulting in four categories which were: 1) prejudice based on cultural diversity; 2) unfamiliarity with cultural boundaries; 3) stereotyping cultural behaviours; and 4) difficulty understanding English. Strategies participants used to mitigate challenges included resorting to cultural validation through alliance building, proactively seeking clarification, and acquiring cultural awareness knowledge. This study highlights intercultural challenges students, clinicians and academics face and signpost the way forward with useful strategies to better inform nurse education. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Academic Responding During Instruction and Reading Outcomes for Kindergarten Students At-risk for Reading Difficulties

    PubMed Central

    Wanzek, Jeanne; Roberts, Greg; Al Otaiba, Stephanie

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the academic responding of students at-risk for reading difficulties in beginning reading instruction. Opportunities for kindergarten students at-risk for reading difficulties to respond academically during teacher-facilitated reading instruction in the general education classroom were examined in relation to student reading achievement as well as social behaviors. Student academic responding during teacher-facilitated instruction significantly predicted end of year reading achievement. Teacher perceptions of students’ social skills (positive correlation) and problem behaviors (negative correlation) were significantly correlated with academic responding. When academic responding and teacher perceptions of social behaviors were examined together, only teacher perceptions of academic competence and problem behaviors predicted spring outcomes. PMID:24665162

  14. Psychological disturbance in atopic eczema: the extent of the problem in school-aged children.

    PubMed

    Absolon, C M; Cottrell, D; Eldridge, S M; Glover, M T

    1997-08-01

    Although psychological factors are widely considered to be important in atopic eczema, there have been few controlled studies to assess the extent of disturbance in affected children and the problems experienced by their parents. This study was designed to find out the degree of psychological difficulty experienced by children with atopic eczema, whether their mothers show higher levels of mental distress than a comparison group, and whether the families of children with atopic eczema have less social support than the comparison group. We investigated 30 school-aged children with atopic eczema for psychological problems using the Rutter parent scale and compared them with 30 children with relatively minor skin lesions such as viral warts. Mental distress in mothers was assessed using the General Health Questionnaire. The Family Support Scale was used to get a measure of the social support experienced by the families. We found twice the rate of psychological disturbance in children in the eczema group compared with the control group. This difference was statistically significant for children with moderately severe eczema and severe eczema, but not for children with very mild eczema. Levels of mental distress were no greater in mothers of children with eczema than in parents of the control group and there was no difference in the degree of social support experienced by their families. These findings indicate that school-aged children with moderate and severe atopic eczema are at high risk of developing psychological difficulties, which may have implications for their academic and social development.

  15. Metacognitive Reading and Study Strategies and Academic Achievement of University Students With and Without a History of Reading Difficulties.

    PubMed

    Bergey, Bradley W; Deacon, S Hélène; Parrila, Rauno K

    2017-01-01

    University students who report a history of reading difficulties have been demonstrated to have poorer word reading and reading comprehension skills than their peers; yet, without a diagnosed learning disability, these students do not have access to the same support services, potentially placing them at academic risk. This study provides a comprehensive investigation of first-year academic achievement for students with a history of reading difficulties (n = 244) compared to students with no such history (n = 603). We also examine reported use of metacognitive reading and study strategies and their relations with GPA. Results indicate that students with a history of reading difficulties earn lower GPA and successfully complete fewer credits compared to students with no history of reading difficulty. These patterns varied somewhat by faculty of study. Students with a history of reading difficulties also reported lower scores across multiple metacognitive reading and study strategy scales, yet these scores were not associated with their academic performance. Together, these results demonstrate the importance of identifying students with a history of reading difficulties and that commonly used study strategy inventories have limited value in predicting their academic success. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2015.

  16. Sleep difficulties and academic performance in Norwegian higher education students.

    PubMed

    Hayley, Amie C; Sivertsen, Børge; Hysing, Mari; Vedaa, Øystein; Øverland, Simon

    2017-12-01

    Sleep difficulties are common among university students and may detrimentally affect academic outcomes. Despite this, remarkably little information is currently available during this critical developmental period of early adulthood, and thus, the direct effect on measurable domains of academic ability and proficiency is equivocal. To evaluate the associations between difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep (DIMS) and subjective and objective academic performance in a large sample of university students. A total of 12,915 students who participated in large student survey in Norway from 24 February 2014 to 27 March 2014. DIMS was assessed by the Hopkins Symptoms Checklist (HSCL-25), and academic outcomes included failed examinations, delayed study progress, and school-related self-efficacy (General Self-Efficacy Scale). Difficulties initiating and maintaining sleep was independently associated with increased odds for poor school performance for all academic outcomes. Reporting 'extreme' DIMS was associated with increased odds of reporting delayed study progress (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 1.25, 95% CI 1.01-1.57, p < .05), increased odds for having failed several examinations (adjusted OR = 1.91, 95% CI 1.56-2.34, p < .001), and being in the lowest self-efficacy quartile (adjusted OR = 4.94, 95% CI: 4.04-6.03, p < .001). Self-reported sleep difficulties are associated with poorer objective markers of academic outcomes as well as poorer self-rated academic proficiency among higher education students. Amelioration of sleep difficulties may improve overall academic performance and health outcomes in affected students. © 2017 The British Psychological Society.

  17. Enhancing Academic Achievement for Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Evidence from School-Based Intervention Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jitendra, Asha K.; DuPaul, George J.; Someki, Fumio; Tresco, Katy E.

    2008-01-01

    Although children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) exhibit significant academic difficulties in school settings, considerably less attention is devoted to remediating their academic problems when compared to behavioral and social difficulties. The purpose of this article is to review empirically supported academic interventions…

  18. Stress and suicidal ideation among adolescents having academic difficulty.

    PubMed

    Arun, Priti; Garg, Rohit; Chavan, Bir Singh

    2017-01-01

    Academically typically achieving adolescents were compared with students having academic difficulty on stress and suicidal ideas. In a cross-sectional study, 75 academically typically achieving adolescents were compared with 105 students with academic difficulty and 52 students with specific learning disability (SLD). Academic functioning was assessed using teacher's screening instrument, intelligence quotient, and National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences index for SLD. Stress and suicidal ideas were assessed using general health questionnaire, suicide risk-11, and Mooney Problem Checklist (MPC). Appropriate statistical methods were applied. Three groups were comparable on age, gender, mother's working status, being only child, nuclear family, self-reported academic decline, and type of school. About half of adolescents reported psychological problems on General Health Questionnaire (mean score >3 in all the groups). Academically typically achieving adolescents showed higher stressors in peer relationships, planning for future and suicidal ideation compared to adolescents with academic difficulty. Adolescents face stress regarding worry about examinations, family not understanding what child has to do in school, unfair tests, too much work in some subjects, afraid of failure in school work, not spending enough time in studies, parental expectations, wanting to be more popular, worried about a family member, planning for the future, and fear of the future. Significant positive correlation was seen between General Health Questionnaire scores and all four subscales of MPC. Suicidal ideas showed a negative correlation with MPC. Adolescents experience considerable stress in multiple areas irrespective of their academic ability and performance. Hence, assessment and management of stress among adolescents must extend beyond academic difficulties.

  19. Stress and suicidal ideation among adolescents having academic difficulty

    PubMed Central

    Arun, Priti; Garg, Rohit; Chavan, Bir Singh

    2017-01-01

    Background and Objectives: Academically typically achieving adolescents were compared with students having academic difficulty on stress and suicidal ideas. Materials and Methods: In a cross-sectional study, 75 academically typically achieving adolescents were compared with 105 students with academic difficulty and 52 students with specific learning disability (SLD). Academic functioning was assessed using teacher's screening instrument, intelligence quotient, and National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences index for SLD. Stress and suicidal ideas were assessed using general health questionnaire, suicide risk-11, and Mooney Problem Checklist (MPC). Appropriate statistical methods were applied. Results: Three groups were comparable on age, gender, mother's working status, being only child, nuclear family, self-reported academic decline, and type of school. About half of adolescents reported psychological problems on General Health Questionnaire (mean score >3 in all the groups). Academically typically achieving adolescents showed higher stressors in peer relationships, planning for future and suicidal ideation compared to adolescents with academic difficulty. Adolescents face stress regarding worry about examinations, family not understanding what child has to do in school, unfair tests, too much work in some subjects, afraid of failure in school work, not spending enough time in studies, parental expectations, wanting to be more popular, worried about a family member, planning for the future, and fear of the future. Significant positive correlation was seen between General Health Questionnaire scores and all four subscales of MPC. Suicidal ideas showed a negative correlation with MPC. Interpretations and Conclusions: Adolescents experience considerable stress in multiple areas irrespective of their academic ability and performance. Hence, assessment and management of stress among adolescents must extend beyond academic difficulties. PMID:29456324

  20. Academic Difficulty and Vision Symptoms Children with Concussion

    PubMed Central

    Swanson, Mark W.; Weise, Katherine K.; Dreer, Laura E.; Johnston, James; Davis, Richard D.; Ferguson, Drew; Hale, M. Heath; Gould, Sara J.; Christy, Jennifer; Busettini, Claudio; Lee, Sarah D.; Swanson, Erin

    2016-01-01

    Purpose Academic difficulty is reported in children with prolonged post-concussive symptoms. Despite growing evidence that vestibular-ocular and vision-specific dysfunction are common in children following concussion, vision is rarely mentioned in return-to-learn protocols. The purpose of this project was to evaluate a cohort of children with prolonged post-concussive symptoms to determine if vision symptoms are associated with those reporting academic difficulty. Methods Data was obtained from the Children’s of Alabama Concussion Clinic REDCap dataset from the period January 2007 to October 2013. From this dataset of 1,033 concussion events, a cohort of 276 children aged 5–18 years with three or more concussion-related symptoms present for 10 days or more was identified. A cross-sectional cohort study was undertaken to evaluate the association of concussion symptoms, SCAT2 scores, demographic and concussion severity markers to reported educational difficulty among children with prolonged post-concussive symptoms. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression techniques were used to model the association of reported educational difficulty to self-reported vision abnormalities. Results Mean age was 13.8 years. Median time since the concussive event was 21 days, with 33% (95/276) reporting their concussion more than thirty days prior to data collection. Academic difficulty was reported by 29% (79/270) and vision abnormalities in 46% (128/274). After model reduction, vision symptoms (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.02, 4.62), hearing disturbance (OR 2.39, 95% CI 1.06, 5.36) and concentration difficulty (OR 21.62, 95% CI 9.50, 44.47) remained associated with academic difficulty. For those with symptoms 30 days or more after concussion, only vision (OR 3.15, 95% CI 1.06, 9.38) and concentration difficulty (OR 15.33, 95% CI 4.99, 47.05) remained statistically significant. Conclusions Vision problems were commonly reported in children with concussions and were independently associated with those reporting academic difficulty. Comprehensive vision assessment should be considered in children reporting academic difficulty and in the development of return-to-learn protocols. PMID:27668641

  1. Trajectories of emotional-behavioral difficulty and academic competence: A 6-year, person-centered, prospective study of affluent suburban adolescents.

    PubMed

    Ansary, Nadia S; McMahon, Thomas J; Luthar, Suniya S

    2017-02-01

    This longitudinal study of affluent suburban youth (N = 319) tracked from 6th to 12th grade is parsed into two segments examining prospective associations concerning emotional-behavioral difficulties and academic achievement. In Part 1 of the investigation, markers of emotional-behavioral difficulty were used to cluster participants during 6th grade. Generalized estimating equations were then used to document between-cluster differences in academic competence from 6th to 12th grade. In Part 2 of the study, indicators of academic competence were used to cluster the same students during 6th grade, and generalized estimating equations were used to document between-cluster differences in emotional-behavioral difficulty from 6th to 12th grade. The results from Part 1 indicated that patterns of emotional-behavioral difficulty during 6th grade were concurrently associated with poorer grades and classroom adjustment with some group differences in the rate of change in classroom adjustment over time. In Part 2, patterns of academic competence during 6th grade were concurrently associated with less emotional-behavioral difficulty and some group differences in the rate of change in specific forms of emotional-behavioral difficulty over time. These results suggest that the youth sampled appeared relatively well adjusted and any emotional-behavioral-achievement difficulty that was evident at the start of middle school was sustained through the end of high school.

  2. Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: Impacts on Academic and Emotional Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Daki, Julia; Savage, Robert S.

    2010-01-01

    This randomized control trial study evaluated the effectiveness of the solution-focused approach in addressing academic, motivational, and socioemotional needs of 14 children with reading difficulties. The intervention group received five 40-min solution-focused sessions. The control group received academic homework support. Results showed…

  3. Sleep Difficulties and Academic Performance in Norwegian Higher Education Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hayley, Amie C.; Sivertsen, Børge; Hysing, Mari; Vedaa, Øystein; Øverland, Simon

    2017-01-01

    Background: Sleep difficulties are common among university students and may detrimentally affect academic outcomes. Despite this, remarkably little information is currently available during this critical developmental period of early adulthood, and thus, the direct effect on measurable domains of academic ability and proficiency is equivocal.…

  4. Cross-sectional study on the relationship between life events and mental health of secondary school students in Shanghai, China.

    PubMed

    Zhou, Linlin; Fan, Juan; Du, Yasong

    2012-06-01

    The relationship of demographic factors and negative life events to the mental health of mainland Chinese school students has not been fully explored. Assess the prevalence of different types of life stressors among secondary school students and identify the demographic characteristics and types of life events that are most closely associated with perceived psychological difficulties in these students. This cross-sectional study administered two self-completion questionnaires to a stratified random cluster sample of 1818 students from four secondary schools in two districts of Shanghai: the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and an abbreviated version of the Adolescent Self-rating Life Events Checklist (ASLEC) that assesses 11 negative life events. Academic stress (74%), criticism from others (66%), family conflict (29%) and peer bullying & discrimination or interpersonal conflict (26%) were the most frequently reported negative life events, but their prevalence varied significantly by gender, type of school and urban versus rural residence. Similarly the level of reported psychological stress associated with life events, the total perceived psychological difficulty, and the level of pro-social behavior in the students varied significantly between different groups of students. Multivariate linear regression analysis identified the following independent predictors of high perceived psychological difficulty in the prior 6 months (in order of importance): high total stress score from negative life events in the prior year, experiencing peer bullying & discrimination or interpersonal conflict, not experiencing the death of a family member, male gender, attending a school in a rural district, and not suffering from a major disease or physical impairment. The independent predictors of a high level of pro-social behavior were high total stress score from negative life events, attending an urban school, female gender, attending a regular-tier school (vs. a high-tier school), experiencing peer bullying & discrimination or interpersonal conflict, not experiencing the death of a family member, and attending a middle school (vs. a high school). Negative life events are one of many factors associated with perceived stress and level of pro-social behavior in secondary school students. Prospective studies are needed to clarify the causal pathways that connect stress with negative life events in students and to develop and test cohort-specific interventions aimed at decreasing stress and increasing pro-social behaviors.

  5. Cross-sectional study on the relationship between life events and mental health of secondary school students in Shanghai, China

    PubMed Central

    Zhou, Linlin; Fan, Juan; Du, Yasong

    2012-01-01

    Background The relationship of demographic factors and negative life events to the mental health of mainland Chinese school students has not been fully explored. Aim Assess the prevalence of different types of life stressors among secondary school students and identify the demographic characteristics and types of life events that are most closely associated with perceived psychological difficulties in these students. Methods This cross-sectional study administered two self-completion questionnaires to a stratified random cluster sample of 1818 students from four secondary schools in two districts of Shanghai: the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and an abbreviated version of the Adolescent Self-rating Life Events Checklist (ASLEC) that assesses 11 negative life events. Results Academic stress (74%), criticism from others (66%), family conflict (29%) and peer bullying & discrimination or interpersonal conflict (26%) were the most frequently reported negative life events, but their prevalence varied significantly by gender, type of school and urban versus rural residence. Similarly the level of reported psychological stress associated with life events, the total perceived psychological difficulty, and the level of pro-social behavior in the students varied significantly between different groups of students. Multivariate linear regression analysis identified the following independent predictors of high perceived psychological difficulty in the prior 6 months (in order of importance): high total stress score from negative life events in the prior year, experiencing peer bullying & discrimination or interpersonal conflict, not experiencing the death of a family member, male gender, attending a school in a rural district, and not suffering from a major disease or physical impairment. The independent predictors of a high level of pro-social behavior were high total stress score from negative life events, attending an urban school, female gender, attending a regular-tier school (vs. a high-tier school), experiencing peer bullying & discrimination or interpersonal conflict, not experiencing the death of a family member, and attending a middle school (vs. a high school). Conclusion Negative life events are one of many factors associated with perceived stress and level of pro-social behavior in secondary school students. Prospective studies are needed to clarify the causal pathways that connect stress with negative life events in students and to develop and test cohort-specific interventions aimed at decreasing stress and increasing pro-social behaviors. PMID:25324621

  6. Criminological research in contemporary China: challenges and lessons learned from a large-scale criminal victimization survey.

    PubMed

    Zhang, Lening; Messner, Steven F; Lu, Jianhong

    2007-02-01

    This article discusses research experience gained from a large-scale survey of criminal victimization recently conducted in Tianjin, China. The authors review some of the more important challenges that arose in the research, their responses to these challenges, and lessons learned that might be beneficial to other scholars who are interested in conducting criminological research in China. Their experience underscores the importance of understanding the Chinese political, cultural, and academic context, and the utility of collaborating with experienced and knowledgeable colleagues "on site." Although there are some special difficulties and barriers, their project demonstrates the feasibility of original criminological data collection in China.

  7. Understanding the Phenomenon of Overcoming Academic Challenges and Failure to Achieve Academic Goals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jama, Sam

    2017-01-01

    This study explored the experiences of 10 adults who had experienced academic challenges during their studies, yet were able to return to academic studies and complete one or more graduate degrees. The participants were separated into two groups. "Group A" participants experienced academic failure and were asked to withdraw from their…

  8. Nursing student profiles and occurrence of early academic failure: Findings from an explorative European study.

    PubMed

    Dante, Angelo; Ferrão, Sónia; Jarosova, Darja; Lancia, Loreto; Nascimento, Carla; Notara, Venetia; Pokorna, Andrea; Rybarova, Lubica; Skela-Savič, Brigita; Palese, Alvisa

    2016-03-01

    In the European context regulated by the Bologna Process principles, there is little evidence to date on the different profiles, if any, of nursing students enrolled in the 1st academic year and their academic outcomes. To describe and compare the nursing student profiles and their academic outcomes at the end of the 1st year across European Bachelor of Nursing Science (BNS) courses. An exploratory multicentre cohort study involving five countries: Nursing students who were enrolled in nursing programmes for the academic year 2011/2012 in the participating BNS courses, willing to participate and regularly admitted to the 2nd academic year, were included in this study undertaken in 2013. Individual and faculty level variables were collected after having ensured the validity of the tools developed in English and then appropriately translated into the language of each participating country. A total of 378/710 (53.2%) students participated in the study. They attended from 390 to 810h of lessons, while clinical experience ranged from 162 to 536h. The students reported a mean average age of 21.4 (Confidence of Interval [CI] 95%, 21.0-22.3) and foreign students were limited in number (on average 3.7%). The students reported adopting mainly individual learning strategies (92.9%), duplicating notes or lecture notes prepared by professors (74.4%), and concentrating their study before exams (74.6%). The majority reported experiencing learning difficulties (49.7%) and a lack of academic support (84.9%). Around 33.2% reported economic difficulties and the need to work while studying nursing on average for 24h/week. Personal expectations regarding the nursing role were different (45.6%) than the role encountered during the 1st year, as learning workloads were higher (57.2%) with regard to expectations. Around one-third of students reported the intention to leave nursing education while the proportion of those reporting early academic failure was on average 5.6%. More strategies aimed at harmonising nursing education across Europe, at supporting nursing students' learning processes during 1st year, and identifying factors influencing their intention to leave and their academic failure, are recommended. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Using a Multidimensional Measure of Resilience to Explain Life Satisfaction and Academic Achievement of Adults With Reading Difficulties.

    PubMed

    Stack-Cutler, Holly L; Parrila, Rauno K; Torppa, Minna

    2015-01-01

    We assessed the impact of intrapersonal and interpersonal resilience, persistence, and number of difficulties in addition to reading problems on life satisfaction (general, social, and self) and academic achievement. A total of 120 adults with reading difficulties who either were completing a university degree or were recent graduates responded to an in-lab or online survey. Results indicated that intrapersonal resilience correlated positively with interpersonal resilience and persistence, and both resilience factors were negatively associated with number of difficulties. Using structural equation modeling, intrapersonal resilience explained general satisfaction, intrapersonal resilience and number of difficulties explained self satisfaction, and interpersonal resilience explained social satisfaction. Academic achievement did not correlate with any of the included variables. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2014.

  10. Falls and Hospitalizations Among Persons With Dementia and Associated Caregiver Emotional Difficulties.

    PubMed

    Leggett, Amanda N; Polenick, Courtney A; Maust, Donovan T; Kales, Helen C

    2018-03-19

    Falls and hospitalizations are adverse health events commonly experienced by persons with dementia (PWDs). These events often require urgent care from a family caregiver and may increase caregiver stress. We examine falls and hospitalizations among PWDs as predictors of caregivers' reported care-related emotional difficulty, in addition to care-related stressors. Cross-sectional telephone survey of 652 informal caregivers for PWDs. A multinomial logistic regression examined falls (last month) and hospitalizations (prior year) experienced by PWDs as predictors of caregivers' care-related emotional difficulty, accounting for demographic characteristics and primary and secondary caregiving stressors. Over 20% of caregivers reported high levels of care-related emotional difficulty. Controlling for demographic characteristics and primary and secondary caregiving stressors, the PWD's prior month fall was significantly associated with greater care-related emotional difficulty; the PWD's hospitalizations were not associated with care-related emotional difficulty. Approximately 30% of PWDs had experienced a past year hospitalization and prior month fall, and one in five caregivers reported high emotional difficulty related to care. Although secondary strains and resources of caregiving were strong predictors of care-related emotional difficulty, PWDs' falls represent a significant stressor that increases odds of caregiver emotional difficulty over and above other strains. Consequently, a fall experienced by a PWD may represent a key time for clinicians to assess caregiver well-being.

  11. Difficulties in Academic Writing: From the Perspective of King Saud University Postgraduate Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Al Fadda, Hind

    2012-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine what difficulties King Saud University students encounter when learning to write academic English and to differentiate between students' learning needs and objectives. The sample consisted of 50 postgraduate students enrolled in King Saud University during the academic year 2009-2010. Analysis of the data…

  12. "Do We Make Ourselves Clear?" Developing a Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD) Support Service's Effectiveness in Detecting and Supporting Children Experiencing Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties (SLCD)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stiles, Matthew

    2013-01-01

    Research has identified a significant relationship between social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) and speech, language and communication difficulties (SLCD). However, little has been published regarding the levels of knowledge and skill that practitioners working with pupils experiencing SEBD have in this important area, nor how…

  13. Latina and European American Girls' Experiences with Academic Sexism and their Self-Concepts in Mathematics and Science During Adolescence.

    PubMed

    Brown, Christia Spears; Leaper, Campbell

    2010-12-01

    The study investigated Latina and European American adolescent girls' (N = 345, M = 15.2 years, range = 13 to 18) experiences with academic sexism in mathematics and science (M/S) and their M/S perceived competence and M/S value (liking and importance). M/S academic sexism was based on girls' reported experiences hearing sexist comments about girls' abilities in math and science. Older European American adolescents, and both younger and older Latina adolescents, who experienced several instances of academic sexism felt less competent in M/S than girls who experienced less sexism (controlling for M/S grades). In addition, among older girls (regardless of ethnicity), those who experienced several instances of academic sexism valued M/S less than girls who experienced less sexism.

  14. Latina and European American Girls’ Experiences with Academic Sexism and their Self-Concepts in Mathematics and Science During Adolescence

    PubMed Central

    Leaper, Campbell

    2010-01-01

    The study investigated Latina and European American adolescent girls’ (N = 345, M = 15.2 years, range = 13 to 18) experiences with academic sexism in mathematics and science (M/S) and their M/S perceived competence and M/S value (liking and importance). M/S academic sexism was based on girls’ reported experiences hearing sexist comments about girls’ abilities in math and science. Older European American adolescents, and both younger and older Latina adolescents, who experienced several instances of academic sexism felt less competent in M/S than girls who experienced less sexism (controlling for M/S grades). In addition, among older girls (regardless of ethnicity), those who experienced several instances of academic sexism valued M/S less than girls who experienced less sexism. PMID:21212810

  15. [Procedural Motor Skills and Interference in the Academic Life Routine of a Group of Schoolchildren With Signs and Symptoms of ADHD].

    PubMed

    Rubio-Grillo, María Helena; Salazar-Torres, Lenis Judith; Rojas-Fajardo, Aida

    2014-03-01

    There is a rising prevalence of attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in educational institutions. Difficulties in academic development manifest as: slow information processing, difficulty in planning and working memory, difficulty staying focused, struggle selecting data or stimuli relevant to the implementation and completion of tasks. If adequate educational measures and specialized intervention are not established, the characteristics may affect instrumental learning. The aim of this study is to identify procedural motor skills that interfere with academic activities in a group of elementary school children, with signs and symptoms of ADHD. Descriptive study including children from 2nd to 4th grade of elementary school in which teachers detected signs and symptoms of ADHD by using questionnaires and observing school behavior. Procedural motor skills were identified and it was evidenced which skills interfered in the execution of academic activities. The population that showed inattention and hyperactivity behaviors manifested behavioral problems, low academic performance, and in turn, greater difficulty in postural skills and skill related with organization of space and objects, which interfered with the activities of daily living academic routine, as expected. The assessment of procedural motor skills allowed to determine specific difficulties in routine activities, and to agree on intervention strategies in the classroom. Copyright © 2014 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

  16. Using a Multidimensional Measure of Resilience to Explain Life Satisfaction and Academic Achievement of Adults with Reading Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stack-Cutler, Holly L.; Parrila, Rauno K.; Torppa, Minna

    2015-01-01

    We assessed the impact of intrapersonal and interpersonal resilience, persistence, and number of difficulties in addition to reading problems on life satisfaction (general, social, and self) and academic achievement. A total of 120 adults with reading difficulties who either were completing a university degree or were recent graduates responded to…

  17. A Model of Academic Self-Concept: Perceived Difficulty and Social Comparison among Academically Accelerated Secondary School Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wilson, Hope E.; Siegle, Del; McCoach, D. Betsy; Little, Catherine A.; Reis, Sally M.

    2014-01-01

    Academic self-concept predicts students' future goals and is affected by a student's relative success compared with his or her peer group. This exploratory study used structural equation modeling to examine the contributions of the perceived level of difficulty of the curriculum, in addition to the contributions of social comparison and…

  18. Teenage motherhood: its relationship to undetected learning problems.

    PubMed

    Rauch-Elnekave, H

    1994-01-01

    This study describes characteristics of a group of 64 adolescent mothers and their infants who participated in a program for teenage mothers run by a local health department. A majority of the girls for whom California Achievement Test (CAT) scores were available scored one or more years below grade level in reading and in language skills. Relative delays in infant development (language and social domains) were also documented. High levels of self-esteem as well as general social acceptance (by adults and peers) of early out-of-wedlock parenting suggest that early motherhood may represent an alternative avenue to experiencing success for girls who are having academic difficulties. These findings, which suggest the likelihood of a high incidence of undetected learning problems in this population, indicate that these difficulties may have a significant relationship to the high rate of school dropout associated with adolescent motherhood. The findings bring into question the notion of "unintended pregnancies" and the wisdom of current federal policies for preventing adolescent parenthood that rely on the promotion of abstinence.

  19. Personalized Outreach to University Students with a History of Reading Difficulties: Early Screening and Outreach to Support Academically At-Risk Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Deacon, S. Hélène; Tucker, Rebecca; Bergey, Bradley W.; Laroche, Annie; Parrila, Rauno

    2017-01-01

    We examined whether identification of and personalized outreach to a group of students with a history of reading difficulties would impact their use of support services and academic outcomes. Using a brief self-report questionnaire, we identified students with a history of reading difficulties (n = 175) and a comparison group of university…

  20. Profiles of Kindergarten Classroom and Elementary School Contexts: Associations with the First-Grade Outcomes of Children Transitioning from Head Start

    PubMed Central

    Lee, Phyllis; Bierman, Karen L.

    2018-01-01

    Poor quality classroom and school contexts may impede the academic and behavioral adjustment of low-income students when they transition into kindergarten. Several studies have examined the impact of teacher-student interactions on student progress, whereas others have explored the impact of school-level adversity (e.g., student poverty, school achievement levels). Expanding on prior findings, this study used latent profile analysis to characterize kindergarten contexts in terms of both classroom teacher-student interaction quality and school-level adversity. Following 164 children longitudinally and accounting for functioning in Head Start prior to kindergarten entry, associations between kindergarten context profiles and first grade outcomes revealed that children who experienced dual-risk contexts in kindergarten (classrooms with poor quality teacher-student interactions in schools with high levels of adversity) demonstrated the greatest aggression and social difficulties in first grade. Associations between kindergarten context profiles and first grade academic outcomes were less clear. PMID:29731516

  1. Moderating effect of communication difficulty on the relationship between depression and pain: a study on community-dwelling older adults in Hong Kong.

    PubMed

    Chan, Wallace Chi Ho; Kwan, Chi Wai; Chi, Iris

    2015-01-01

    This study examined the relationship between depression and pain, and the moderating effect of communication difficulty on this relationship, among community-dwelling older adults in Hong Kong. We used logistic regression to analyze secondary data regarding 12,402 Chinese older adults applying for long-term care service in Hong Kong in 2012. Approximately 30% of participants were depressed and 37% experienced communication difficulty. Depression was associated with increased pain. Communication difficulty was found to moderate the relationship between depression and pain. Pain scores increased more when individuals who experienced communication difficulty reported being depressed, compared to those who did not experience communication difficulty. The moderating effect of communication difficulty may be explained by the interaction between depression and communication difficulty. Participants who were depressed and concurrently experienced communication difficulty may be more likely to catastrophize their pain and may tend to report or experience more pain. Health care professionals need to be aware of the different effects of communication difficulty on the pain experiences of older adults. Psychosocial intervention may be provided to minimize older adults' communication barriers to pain management.

  2. The Chameleon on a Tartan Rug: Adaptations of Three Academic Developers' Professional Identities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kensington-Miller, Barbara; Renc-Roe, Joanna; Morón-García, Susan

    2015-01-01

    This paper builds on discussions of academic developers' identity experienced as a discomfiting, troubled, and often marginal space. Three experienced academic developers, located in research-intensive institutions in three different countries, using auto-ethnographic writing and a shared narrative inquiry, explore moments of congruence and…

  3. A Review of the Historical, Criminological, and Theoretical Understandings of the Cambodian American Population: A Call for More Comprehensive Research.

    PubMed

    Chheang, Dany; Connolly, Eric J

    2017-09-01

    The collective view of Asian Americans as model minorities is evident with the extensive amount of statistical data showing support for the academic and socioeconomic success of Asian Americans in the United States. This perception, however, often presents an inaccurate portrayal of Asian Americans, in general, as it overlooks many of the difficulties and hardships experienced by Asian American ethnic groups such as Southeast Asians. Within this group, Cambodian Americans are at the highest risk for experiencing socioeconomic hardships, behavioral health problems, substance use disorders, and contact with the criminal justice system, with deportation also being a prevailing issue. Unfortunately, research in this area is scant and contemporary research on Cambodian Americans has several limitations. To begin to address this issue, the present article merges information from existing research on this population from a sociohistorical, criminological, and theoretical standpoint to call for more comprehensive research on Cambodian Americans.

  4. Determination of school-related problems in children treated for cancer.

    PubMed

    Yilmaz, Medine C; Sari, Hatice Yildirim; Cetingul, Nazan; Kantar, Mehmet; Erermis, Serpil; Aksoylar, Serap

    2014-10-01

    This descriptive and case-control study was carried out in a pediatric oncology outpatient clinic to determine the school-related physical, social, and psychological problems and problems experienced in academic achievement of children treated for cancer. The sample of the study consisted of 56 Turkish patients with cancer, aged 7-18 years, who were in remission and attending school as well as their parents, a control group of patients who did not have cancer, and their teachers. A Child Information Form, a Child Health Questionnaire Parent's Form of 50 questions, a Behavior Evaluation Scale for Children, and Young People and a Teacher's Report Form were used as data collection tools in the study. Of the children, 30.3% experienced various physical difficulties stemming from cancer therapy that affected their school life. The number of late enrollments, the number of children repeating a grade, and the rates of school absenteeism were also found to be higher in the survivors than in the controls. © The Author(s) 2013.

  5. The Effects of a Growth Mindset Intervention on the Beliefs about Intelligence, Effort Beliefs, Achievement Goal Orientations, and Academic Self-Efficacy of LD Students with Reading Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baldridge, Mary Caufield

    2010-01-01

    The overall purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a "growth mindset" intervention on the beliefs about intelligence, effort beliefs, achievement goals, and academic self-efficacy of learning disabled (LD) students with reading difficulties. The treatment group consisted of 12 high school LD students with reading difficulties. This…

  6. A systematic review of the emotional, behavioural and cognitive features exhibited by school-aged children experiencing neglect or emotional abuse.

    PubMed

    Maguire, S A; Williams, B; Naughton, A M; Cowley, L E; Tempest, V; Mann, M K; Teague, M; Kemp, A M

    2015-09-01

    Interventions to minimize the long-term consequences of neglect or emotional abuse rely on prompt identification of these children. This systematic review of world literature (1947-2012) identifies features that children aged 5-14 years experiencing neglect or emotional abuse, as opposed to physical or sexual abuse, may exhibit. Searching 18 databases, utilizing over 100 keywords, supplemented by hand searching, 13,210 articles were identified and 111 underwent full critical appraisal by two independent trained reviewers. The 30 included studies highlighted behavioural features (15 studies), externalizing features being the most prominent (8/9 studies) and internalizing features noted in 4/6 studies. Four studies identified attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) associated features: impulsivity, inattention or hyperactivity. Child difficulties in initiating or developing friendships were noted in seven studies. Of 13 studies addressing emotional well-being, three highlighted low self-esteem, with a perception of external control (1), or depression (6) including suicidality (1). A negative internal working model of the mother increased the likelihood of depression (1). In assessing cognition or academic performance, lower general intelligence (3/4) and reduced literacy and numeracy (2) were reported, but no observable effect on memory (3). School-aged children presenting with poor academic performance, ADHD symptomatology or abnormal behaviours warrant assessment of neglect or emotional abuse as a potential underlying cause. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. A medical student in private practice for a 1-month clerkship: a qualitative exploration of the challenges for primary care clinical teachers

    PubMed Central

    Muller-Juge, Virginie; Pereira Miozzari, Anne Catherine; Rieder, Arabelle; Hasselgård-Rowe, Jennifer; Sommer, Johanna; Audétat, Marie-Claude

    2018-01-01

    Purpose The predicted shortage of primary care physicians emphasizes the need to increase the family medicine workforce. Therefore, Swiss universities develop clerkships in primary care physicians’ private practices. The objective of this research was to explore the challenges, the stakes, and the difficulties of clinical teachers who supervised final year medical students in their primary care private practice during a 1-month pilot clerkship in Geneva. Methods Data were collected via a focus group using a semistructured interview guide. Participants were asked about their role as a supervisor and their difficulties and positive experiences. The text of the focus group was transcribed and analyzed qualitatively, with a deductive and inductive approach. Results The results show the nature of pressures felt by clinical teachers. First, participants experienced the difficulty of having dual roles: the more familiar one of clinician, and the new challenging one of teacher. Second, they felt compelled to fill the gap between the academic context and the private practice context. Clinical teachers were surprised by the extent of the adaptive load, cognitive load, and even the emotional load involved when supervising a trainee in their clinical practice. The context of this rotation demonstrated its utility and its relevance, because it allowed the students to improve their knowledge about the outpatient setting and to develop their professional autonomy and their maturity by taking on more clinical responsibilities. Conclusion These findings show that future training programs will have to address the needs of clinical teachers as well as bridge the gap between students’ academic training and the skills needed for outpatient care. Professionalizing the role of clinical teachers should contribute to reaching these goals. PMID:29344003

  8. A medical student in private practice for a 1-month clerkship: a qualitative exploration of the challenges for primary care clinical teachers.

    PubMed

    Muller-Juge, Virginie; Pereira Miozzari, Anne Catherine; Rieder, Arabelle; Hasselgård-Rowe, Jennifer; Sommer, Johanna; Audétat, Marie-Claude

    2018-01-01

    The predicted shortage of primary care physicians emphasizes the need to increase the family medicine workforce. Therefore, Swiss universities develop clerkships in primary care physicians' private practices. The objective of this research was to explore the challenges, the stakes, and the difficulties of clinical teachers who supervised final year medical students in their primary care private practice during a 1-month pilot clerkship in Geneva. Data were collected via a focus group using a semistructured interview guide. Participants were asked about their role as a supervisor and their difficulties and positive experiences. The text of the focus group was transcribed and analyzed qualitatively, with a deductive and inductive approach. The results show the nature of pressures felt by clinical teachers. First, participants experienced the difficulty of having dual roles: the more familiar one of clinician, and the new challenging one of teacher. Second, they felt compelled to fill the gap between the academic context and the private practice context. Clinical teachers were surprised by the extent of the adaptive load, cognitive load, and even the emotional load involved when supervising a trainee in their clinical practice. The context of this rotation demonstrated its utility and its relevance, because it allowed the students to improve their knowledge about the outpatient setting and to develop their professional autonomy and their maturity by taking on more clinical responsibilities. These findings show that future training programs will have to address the needs of clinical teachers as well as bridge the gap between students' academic training and the skills needed for outpatient care. Professionalizing the role of clinical teachers should contribute to reaching these goals.

  9. Development of a 'toolkit' to identify medical students at risk of failure to thrive on the course: an exploratory retrospective case study

    PubMed Central

    2011-01-01

    Background An earlier study at Nottingham suggested that 10-15% of the medical student intake was likely to fail completely or have substantial problems on the course. This is a problem for the students, the Faculty, and society as a whole. If struggling students could be identified early in the course and additional pastoral resources offered, some of this wastage might be avoided. An exploratory case study was conducted to determine whether there were common indicators in the early years, over and above academic failure, that might aid the identification of students potentially at risk. Methods The study group was drawn from five successive cohorts. Students who had experienced difficulties were identified in any of four ways: from Minutes of the Academic Progress Committee; by scanning examination lists at key stages (end of the first two years, and finals at the end of the clinical course); from lists of students flagged to the Postgraduate Deanery as in need of extra monitoring or support; and from progress files of those who had left the course prematurely. Relevant data were extracted from each student's course progress file into a customised database. Results 1188 students were admitted over the five years. 162 (14%) were identified for the study, 75 of whom had failed to complete the course by October 2010. In the 87 who did graduate, a combination of markers in Years 1 and 2 identified over half of those who would subsequently have the most severe problems throughout the course. This 'toolkit' comprised failure of 3 or more examinations per year, an overall average of <50%, health or social difficulties, failure to complete Hepatitis B vaccination on time, and remarks noted about poor attitude or behaviour. Conclusions A simple toolkit of academic and non-academic markers could be used routinely to help identify potential strugglers at an early stage, enabling additional support and guidance to be given to these students. PMID:22098629

  10. Remediation plans in family medicine residency

    PubMed Central

    Audétat, Marie-Claude; Voirol, Christian; Béland, Normand; Fernandez, Nicolas; Sanche, Gilbert

    2015-01-01

    Abstract Objective To assess use of the remediation instrument that has been implemented in training sites at the University of Montreal in Quebec to support faculty in diagnosing and remediating resident academic difficulties, to examine whether and how this particular remediation instrument improves the remediation process, and to determine its effects on the residents’ subsequent rotation assessments. Design A multimethods approach in which data were collected from different sources: remediation plans developed by faculty, program statistics for the corresponding academic years, and students’ academic records and rotation assessment results. Setting Family medicine residency program at the University of Montreal. Participants Family medicine residents in academic difficulty. Main outcome measures Assessment of the content, process, and quality of remediation plans, and students’ academic and rotation assessment results (successful, below expectations, or failure) both before and after the remediation period. Results The framework that was developed for assessing remediation plans was used to analyze 23 plans produced by 10 teaching sites for 21 residents. All plans documented cognitive problems and implemented numerous remediation measures. Although only 48% of the plans were of good quality, implementation of a remediation plan was positively associated with the resident’s success in rotations following the remediation period. Conclusion The use of remediation plans is well embedded in training sites at the University of Montreal. The residents’ difficulties were mainly cognitive in nature, but this generally related to deficits in clinical reasoning rather than knowledge gaps. The reflection and analysis required to produce a remediation plan helps to correct many academic difficulties and normalize the academic career of most residents in difficulty. Further effort is still needed to improve the quality of plans and to support teachers.

  11. Selecting Students at Risk of Academic Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cummings, Kelli D.; Smolkowski, Keith

    2015-01-01

    This paper aims to translate for practitioners the principles and methods for evaluating screening measures in education, including benchmark goals and cut points, from our technical manuscript "Evaluation of Diagnostic Systems: The Selection of Students at Risk of Academic Difficulties" (this issue). We offer a brief description of…

  12. Transporting Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness. McKinney-Vento Law into Practice Brief Series

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    National Center for Homeless Education at SERVE, 2015

    2015-01-01

    Changing schools may greatly impede the academic achievement and social development of students experiencing homelessness. Students who transfer to a new school often experience educational discontinuity and, as a result, lose academic credits. Moreover, the mobility experienced by these students separates them from their social network and from…

  13. [Difficulties/suffering experienced by nurses : strategies for maintaining their mental health, the calling of the profession and their job performance].

    PubMed

    Boivin-Desrochers, Camille; Alderson, Marie

    2014-10-01

    The nursing profession is faced with an issue of growing concern, that of the mental health of its practitioners. The many difficulties that nurses experience in the workplace may prove to be detrimental to the maintenance of an optimal mental state. With respect to these difficulties, several strategies can be implemented and used by nurses and managers. The present literature review aims to identify the difficulties and suffering experienced by nurses and the strategies employed to ensure the preservation of mental health, as well as maintaining the calling of the profession and job performance. It also aims to provide nurses and managers of the health care system with ideas to promote optimal mental health for nurses. In this context, « psychodynamique du travail » was chosen as the framework to structure the analysis of the literature dealing with elements surrounding the suffering and difficulties experienced by nurses. The use of this theoretical framework deepens and supports the relationship between the suffering experienced at work and the mental health of nurses.

  14. The effects of perfectionism on academic achievement in medical students.

    PubMed

    Kyeon, Yeong-Gi; Cho, Sung-Myeong; Hwang, Hwyeon-Guk; Lee, Kang-Uk

    2010-09-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore the differential effects of multi-dimensional perfectionism on academic achievement, depression, engagement, and burnout in medical students. Also, the mediating effects of engagement on perfectionism and academic achievement, as well as the effects of burnout on perfectionism and depression, were examined. Two hundred eight medical students participated, and 167 students completed questionnaires, including the Frost Multi-dimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS), Hewitt & Flett Multi-dimensional Perfectionism Scale (HFMPS), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Schaufeli Engagement Scale (SES), and Malslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS). Academic achievement was measured as the grade point average (GPA) of the previous semester. Data were analyzed by correlation analyses, independent t-tests, and Structural Equation Model (SEM) for path analysis. Adaptive perfectionism (personal standard, self-oriented perfectionism) was associated with GPA (r=0.164, p<0.05; r=0.173, p<0.05) and engagement (r=0.394, p<0.01; r=0.449, p<0.01), and maladaptive perfectionism (parental criticism, concern over mistakes, socially prescribed perfectionism) was associated with depression (r=0.208, p<0.01; r=0.254, p<0.01; r=0.234, p<0.01) and burnout (r=0.218, p<0.01; r=0.236, p<0.01; r=0.280, p<0.01). Engagement had mediating effects on adaptive perfectionism and GPA, and burnout had mediating effects on maladaptive perfectionism and depression. Students who experienced academic failure had lower engagement than those who did not. This study demonstrates that academic achievement and emotional difficulties such as depression are determined by adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, respectively, in medical students.

  15. Overcoming Executive Function Deficits with Students with ADHD

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Johnson, Joseph; Reid, Robert

    2011-01-01

    Academic problems are common among students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). One reason for academic problems is the difficulties in executive functions (EF) that are necessary for complex goal-oriented behaviors. Students with ADHD often exhibit EF deficits and as a result have difficulties with tasks that require planning,…

  16. Academic Reading Difficulties Encountered by International Graduate Students in a Malaysian University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Alghail, Ali Abdullah Ali; Mahfoodh, Omer Hassan Ali

    2016-01-01

    This study examines how international graduate students in a Malaysian public university perceive and overcome academic reading difficulties. The target population included all graduate students from Yemen, an Arab country, studying at Universiti Sains Malaysia. Data were collected using questionnaires, focus group interviews, and journal writing.…

  17. Academically Successful Students with Serious Mental Health Difficulties: A Psychodynamic Developmental Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nath, Sanjay R.

    2008-01-01

    This article examines some common assumptions made by clinicians about the relationship between intelligence and mental health difficulties. Drawing on work by Thomas Ogden (1976) and Alex Coren (1997) on academically successful students who present with serious mental health concerns, it aims to provide a psychodynamic, developmental…

  18. The Power of Stories: Facilitating Social Communication in Children with Limited Language Abilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brinton, Bonnie; Fujiki, Martin

    2017-01-01

    Children with limited language expression and comprehension abilities are at risk for academic failure, particularly in literacy acquisition. In addition, these children often have poor social outcomes, including difficulty forming friendships, social exclusion, withdrawal, and victimization. The academic and social difficulties that these…

  19. The Difficulties Experienced by Teacher Candidates in Their Own Process of Elementary Reading and Writing Education, and Their Current Solution

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gündogmus, Hatice Degirmenci

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of the current research is to identify the difficulties which teacher candidates studying elementary school teaching experienced in their past elementary reading and writing education and which cannot be forgotten, and to find out their solution for eliminating these difficulties. The study group of the research is composed of 118…

  20. Why and when is ethnic harassment a risk for immigrant adolescents' school adjustment? understanding the processes and conditions.

    PubMed

    Bayram Özdemir, Sevgi; Stattin, Håkan

    2014-08-01

    Ethnically harassed immigrant youth are at risk for experiencing a wide range of school adjustment problems. However, it is still unclear why and under what conditions experiencing ethnic harassment leads to school adjustment difficulties. To address this limitation in the literature, we examined two important questions. First, we investigated whether self-esteem and/or depressive symptoms would mediate the associations between ethnic harassment and poor school adjustment among immigrant youth. Second, we examined whether immigrant youths' perception of school context would play a buffering role in the pathways between ethnic harassment and school adjustment difficulties. The sample (n = 330; M age = 14.07, SD = .90; 49% girls at T1) was drawn from a longitudinal study in Sweden. The results revealed that experiencing ethnic harassment led to a decrease in immigrant youths' self-esteem over time, and that youths' expectations of academic failure increased. Further, youths' relationships with their teachers and their perceptions of school democracy moderated the mediation processes. Specifically, when youth had poor relationships with their teachers or perceived their school context as less democratic, being exposed to ethnic harassment led to a decrease in their self-esteem. In turn, they reported low school satisfaction and perceived themselves as being unsuccessful in school. Such indirect effects were not observed when youth had high positive relationships with their teachers or perceived their school as offering a democratic environment. These findings highlight the importance of understanding underlying processes and conditions in the examination of the effects of ethnic devaluation experiences in order to reach a more comprehensive understanding of immigrant youths' school adjustment.

  1. Enhancing academic achievement for children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: evidence from school-based intervention research.

    PubMed

    Jitendra, Asha K; Dupaul, George J; Someki, Fumio; Tresco, Katy E

    2008-01-01

    Although children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) exhibit significant academic difficulties in school settings, considerably less attention is devoted to remediating their academic problems when compared to behavioral and social difficulties. The purpose of this article is to review empirically supported academic interventions for children with ADHD. Specific evidence-based academic interventions are described under the categories of reading and mathematics, with examples that illustrate teacher-mediated interventions focusing on basic skills (e.g., phonological awareness in reading, mathematics computation) and higher-level cognitive skills (e.g., collaborative strategic reading, CSR; schema-based instruction, SBI). Finally, implications for educational practice and directions for future research on school-based academic interventions for students with ADHD are discussed.

  2. Associations between sports participation and psychological difficulties during childhood: a two-year follow up.

    PubMed

    Vella, Stewart A; Cliff, Dylan P; Magee, Christopher A; Okely, Anthony D

    2015-05-01

    This paper assessed the associations between sports participation and the development of psychological strengths and difficulties during childhood. Two-year follow up study of a sample of 4042 Australian children who were followed from age 8 years to 10 years. Parents reported children's participation in organised sports, and completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Univariate general linear models were used to examine the association between changes in sports participation and psychological strengths and difficulties at 10 years, adjusting for psychological strengths and difficulties at age 8. Children who maintained participation in sport had lower rates of parent-reported psychological difficulties at 10 years compared with children who dropped out of sport. Less internalising problems were also reported for children who participated in organised sports compared to children who dropped out of sports and children who did not participate in sports. These relationships did not differ by BMI, socioeconomic status, or parental education. Greater psychological difficulties are experienced by children who drop out of sports, and greater social and emotional problems are experienced by children who drop out of sports and who do not participate in organised sports. Due consideration should be given to the quality and implementation of sporting programs to ensure that they provide benefits to mental health. Due consideration should also be given to the potential psychological difficulties being experienced by children who drop out of organised sports as a higher level of psychological difficulties may be experienced prior to or subsequent to dropout. Copyright © 2014 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Students' Motivation to Access Academic Advising Services

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Henning, Marcus A.

    2009-01-01

    The interrelationships between motivation for choosing a program of study, intention to access academic advisors, academic difficulty, and actual appointments with academic advisors were based on student self-reports of motivation and intentions. In addition, academic achievement measures and data on student access to academic advisors were…

  4. Are all risks equal? Early experiences of poverty-related risk and children's functioning.

    PubMed

    Roy, Amanda L; Raver, C Cybele

    2014-06-01

    Using cumulative risk and latent class analysis (LCA) models, we examined how exposure to deep poverty (income-to-needs ratio <0.50) and 4 poverty-related risks (i.e., single-parent household, residential crowding, caregiver depression, and multiple life stressors) in preschool is related to children's future difficulty in school in a longitudinal sample of 602 Head Start-enrolled, low-income families. Results from the LCA revealed 4 risk profiles: low risk, deep poverty and single, single and stressed, and deep poverty and crowded household. Tests of measurement invariance across racial/ethnic groups established that, although patterns of risk are similar across groups (i.e., risks covary in the same way), the prevalence of risk profiles differs. African American families were overrepresented in the "deep poverty and single" profile while Latino and White families were overrepresented in the "deep poverty and crowded" profile. Finally, children's third grade functioning in 3 domains (i.e., academic performance, behavior problems, and self-regulatory skills) was predicted using a cumulative risk index and LCA-identified risk profiles. Both approaches demonstrated that children who experienced higher levels of risk in preschool had worse school performance than children with low levels of risk. However, LCA also revealed that children who experienced "single and stressed" family settings had more behavior problems than low-risk children while children who experienced "deep poverty and crowded" family settings had worse academic performance. The results indicate that all risks are not equal for children's development and highlight the utility of LCA for tailoring intervention efforts to best meet the needs of target populations. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved

  5. Are All Risks Equal? Early Experiences of Poverty-Related Risk and Children’s Functioning

    PubMed Central

    Roy, Amanda L.; Raver, C. Cybele

    2014-01-01

    Using cumulative risk and latent class analysis (LCA) models, this research examines how exposure to deep poverty (income-to-needs ratio <.50) and four poverty-related risks (single-parent household, residential crowding, caregiver depression, and multiple life stressors) in preschool is related to children’s future difficulty in school in a longitudinal sample of 602 Head-Start enrolled, low-income families. Results from the LCA revealed four risk profiles: low risk, deep poverty and single, single and stressed, and deep poverty and crowded household. Tests of measurement invariance across racial/ethnic groups established that although patterns of risk are similar across groups (i.e. risks co-vary in the same way), the prevalence of risk profiles differ. African American families were over-represented in the ‘deep poverty and single’ profile while Latino and White families were over-represented in the ‘deep poverty and crowded’ profile. Finally, children’s third grade functioning in three domains (academic performance, behavior problems, self-regulatory skills) was predicted using a cumulative risk index and LCA identified risk profiles. Both approaches demonstrated that children who experienced higher levels of risk in preschool had worse school performance than children with low levels of risk. However, the LCA also revealed that children who experienced ‘single and stressed’ family settings had more behavior problems than low risk children while children who experienced ‘deep poverty and crowded’ family settings had worse academic performance. The results indicate that all risks are not equal for children’s development and highlight the utility of LCA for tailoring intervention efforts to best meet the needs of target populations. PMID:24749652

  6. The Role of Metacognitive Reading Strategies, Metacognitive Study and Learning Strategies, and Behavioral Study and Learning Strategies in Predicting Academic Success in Students with and without a History of Reading Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chevalier, Thérèse M.; Parrila, Rauno; Ritchie, Krista C.; Deacon, S. Hélène

    2017-01-01

    We examined the self-reported use of reading, study, and learning strategies in university students with a history of reading difficulties (HRD; n = 77) and with no history of reading difficulties (NRD; n = 295). We examined both between-groups differences in strategy use and strategy use as a predictive measure of academic success. Participants…

  7. A cluster-randomised, controlled trial of the impact of Cogmed Working Memory Training on both academic performance and regulation of social, emotional and behavioural challenges.

    PubMed

    Hitchcock, Caitlin; Westwell, Martin S

    2017-02-01

    We explored whether school-based Cogmed Working Memory Training (CWMT) may optimise both academic and psychological outcomes at school. Training of executive control skills may form a novel approach to enhancing processes that predict academic achievement, such as task-related attention, and thereby academic performance, but also has the potential to improve the regulation of emotion, social problems and behavioural difficulties. Primary school children (Mean age = 12 years, N = 148) were cluster-randomised to complete active CWMT, a nonadaptive/placebo version of CWMT, or no training. No evidence was found for training effects on task-related attention when performing academic tasks, or performance on reading comprehension and mathematics tasks, or teacher-reported social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. CWMT did not improve control of attention in the classroom, or regulation of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. © 2016 Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health.

  8. Academic Achievement Profiles of Children with High Functioning Autism and Asperger Syndrome: A Review of the Literature

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Whitby, Peggy J. Schaefer; Mancil, G. Richmond

    2009-01-01

    High functioning autism (HFA) and Asperger syndrome (AS) are foremost social disorders (Church, Alisanski, & Amanullah, 2000; Myles & Simpson, 2001) yet many students with HFA/AS experience difficulties with academic functioning. Educators report difficulties in teaching and identifying appropriate educational interventions for children with…

  9. History of Not Completing Courses as Predictor of Academic Difficulty among First-Year Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jackson, Evelyn W.; Dawson-Saunders, Beth

    1987-01-01

    A study found that variables significant in predicting minority students with academic difficulty include science grade-point average, Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) reading subtest score, and number of course withdrawals. For majority students, they include MCAT biology subtest score and number of incompletes taken in courses. (MSE)

  10. A Randomized Trial of Two Promising Computer-Based Interventions for Students with Attention Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rabiner, David L.; Murray, Desiree W.; Skinner, Ann T; Malone, Patrick S.

    2010-01-01

    Few studies have examined whether attention can be improved with training, even though attention difficulties adversely affect academic achievement. The present study was a randomized-controlled trial evaluating the impact of Computerized Attention Training (CAT) and Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) on attention and academic performance in 77…

  11. Assessing Wellbeing at School Entry Using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire: Professional Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    White, Jane; Connelly, Graham; Thompson, Lucy; Wilson, Phil

    2013-01-01

    Background: Emotional and behavioural disorders in early childhood are related to poorer academic attainment and school engagement, and difficulties already evident at the point of starting school can affect a child's later social and academic development. Successful transfer from pre-school settings to primary education is helped by communication…

  12. Asperger Syndrome and the Elementary School Experience: Practical Solutions for Academic & Social Difficulties.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Moore, Susan Thompson.

    This book provides educators with an understanding of Asperger syndrome (AS) and how it affects a student academically and socially, and provides specific strategies for helping elementary school students with AS function successfully. Following an introductory chapter, chapter 2 presents the major areas of difficulty for individuals with AS with…

  13. Academic Difficulties and Early Literacy Deprivation: The Case of Ethiopians in Israel.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Barkon, Elisheva; Avinor, Eleanor

    1995-01-01

    Investigates a possible link between academic difficulties and early literacy deprivation among the immigrant Ethiopian population in Israel. Findings suggest that such deprivation can affect the person after he becomes literate and multilingual and that literacy exposure in early childhood and first-language maintenance is important. (11…

  14. Timing of Academic Difficulties for Neglected and Nonmaltreated Males and Females.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kendall-Tackett, Kathleen

    1997-01-01

    Neglected or abused/neglected children (N=420) were compared with matched, nonmal-treated children on measures of school performance. Differences between the sexes in timing of academic difficulties was found for both math and English. Grades of neglected and abused/neglected students paralleled that of nonmal-treated students but were lower at…

  15. Depressive symptoms and negative life events: What psycho-social factors protect or harm left-behind children in China?

    PubMed

    Guang, Yu; Feng, Zhengzhi; Yang, Guoyu; Yang, Yaling; Wang, Lifei; Dai, Qin; Hu, Chaobing; Liu, Keyu; Zhang, Rui; Xia, Fan; Zhao, Mengxue

    2017-12-15

    In China, children under 18 years old who are left at rural residences for at least 6 months by either one or both of their parents migrating to work in cities are called "left-behind children (LBC)". Due to restricted family support, they are at a greater risk of developing depressive symptoms than non-left-behind children (NLBC). The objective of this study is to explore how depressive symptoms and stress induced by negative life events such as interpersonal conflicts, punishment and loss, as well as their relationships vary for LBC with different left-behind-related characteristics. Using data from a large school-based survey conducted in Chongqing between December 2012 and June 2013, we first identified the differences in depressive symptoms and negative-event-induced stress between LBC and NLBC, and then analyzed the variances among LBC with different left-behind-related characteristics. The data was analyzed with Chi-square test, MANCOVA, ANCOVA, ANOVA, T-test and hierarchical multiple regression analyses. We found that LBC were more stressed when experiencing negative events and had more depressive symptoms than NLBC. Children left behind by both parents were most depressed. Negative-event-induced stress and communication on life difficulties with migrant parents were risk factors for depressive symptoms, whereas adequate communication on academic performance or children's feelings was a protective factor against depressive symptoms. Communication duration and frequency, communication by visiting, communication on academic performance, life difficulties and children's feelings moderated the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms, respectively. Duration of separation, communication duration and frequency, communication on academic performance, learning difficulties and children's feelings moderated the relation between the type of parental migration and depressive symptoms, respectively. Our findings suggest that children left behind by both parents should be the focus of public attention for their higher susceptibility to stress-related depression. To help LBC stay mentally healthy, governments need to formulate regulations contributing to LBC's family reunion, communities need to involve more residents to attend LBC as "surrogate parents" and teach migrant parents to communicate with LBC properly, and schools need to teach LBC how to deal with stress and communicate with migrant parents.

  16. Risks Factors and Treatment Use Related to Infertility and Impaired Fecundity Among Reproductive-Aged Women

    PubMed Central

    Crawford, Sara; Smith, Ruben A.; Kuwabara, Sachiko A.; Grigorescu, Violanda

    2017-01-01

    Introduction Population-level data on infertility and impaired fecundity are sparse. We explored the use of self-reported information provided by reproductive-aged women participating in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). Materials and Methods Three out of 12 questions on reproductive history, family planning, and infertility that seven states included in the 2013 BRFSS were used for this study. In addition to descriptive statistics, we used multinomial logistic regression to identify factors associated with ever experiencing infertility only, difficulty staying pregnant only, and neither infertility nor difficulty staying pregnant. We also explored the association between healthcare coverage and type of treatment received among women ever experiencing infertility only or difficulty staying pregnant only. Results Compared with women reporting having never experienced either infertility or difficulty staying pregnant, women who reported ever experiencing difficulty staying pregnant only were significantly more likely to report a history of depressive disorders and smoking (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.69, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.07–2.68 and aOR = 1.98, 95% CI = 1.22–3.20, respectively). Women who ever experienced infertility only were also more likely to report a history of depressive disorders (aOR = 2.02, 95% CI = 1.14–3.59), but less likely to report healthcare coverage (aOR = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.14–0.46). Only 18.9% (95% CI = 11.4–29.9) of women who ever experienced difficulty staying pregnant only reported seeking infertility treatment compared with 49.6% (95% CI = 34.9–64.4) of women who ever experienced infertility only. Conclusions Ongoing public health surveillance systems of state-specific self-reported data, such as BRFSS, provide the opportunity to explore preventable risk factors and treatment use related to infertility and impaired fecundity. PMID:28186831

  17. Opportunity Costs in Paediatric Training: The Specialist Registrars Experience.

    PubMed

    O'Neill, M B; Nabialek, T; Kandamany, N

    2017-08-08

    In the training process, there is a tension between the work life and home life of trainees. This study explored both the personal impact and the opportunity costs of training from the Specialist Paediatric Registrar (SPR) perspective. The survey explored 1) career progression, 2) perceived functional effectiveness at work, 3) psychological impact of hospital based training, and 4) the personal and social cost of training. Fifty-three (71%) SPRs responded of whom 47 (89%)were married or in long term relationships. Seventy-five percent of trainees had a definite career plan with 86% intending to undertake fellowship training. Seventy percent believed they were efficient time managers but 53% had difficulty in making time for academic pursuits and fifty percent experienced negative feelings, which lingered after work and interfered with their relationships at home. Seventy-four percent stated training was undertaken at significant personal cost with only 21% achieving a very satisfactory work/life balance. To address these difficulties trainee wellbeing should be addressed at the Basic Specialist Training (BST) level and the career path clearly explained outlining the challenges that are likely to be encountered.

  18. Using a Brief Preschool Early Numeracy Skills Screener to Identify Young Children with Mathematics Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Purpura, David J.; Reid, Erin E.; Eiland, Michael D.; Baroody, Arthur J.

    2015-01-01

    A critical component in enhancing academic success is identifying children at risk of later academic difficulties. Although significant efforts have been devoted to design effective assessment processes in elementary school, fewer efforts (particularly for mathematics) have been made for preschool. The focus of this study was to design and…

  19. Meeting Multicultural Needs in School Libraries: An Examination of Mexican Migrant Families and Factors that Influence Academic Success

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Plocharczyk, Leah

    2005-01-01

    The children of Mexican migrants face a number of hardships and difficulties that greatly hamper their ability to succeed in American schools. This paper examines some of the major difficulties and suggests multicultural programs that school librarians can implement in order to help migrant children achieve academic success.

  20. The Impact of Academic Self-Efficacy, Acculturation Difficulties, and Language Abilities on Procrastination Behavior in Chinese International Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lowinger, Robert Jay; He, Zhaomin; Lin, Miranda; Chang, Mei

    2014-01-01

    This study examined the role of academic self-efficacy, acculturation difficulties, and language abilities on procrastination behavior using a convenience sample of 264 Chinese international students studying at three public universities in the United States. While there were no significant mean gender differences on any of the measures, results…

  1. Do Learning Difficulties Differentiate Elementary Teachers' Attributional Patterns for Students' Academic Failure? A Comparison between Greek Regular and Special Education Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vlachou, Anastasia; Eleftheriadou, Dimitra; Metallidou, Panayiota

    2014-01-01

    This study aimed to (a) investigate whether the presence of learning difficulties (LD) in primary school children differentiates Greek teachers' attributional patterns, emotional responses, expectations and evaluative feedback for the children's academic failures and (b) to examine possible differences between regular and special education…

  2. Academic and Social Functioning Associated with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: Latent Class Analyses of Trajectories from Kindergarten to Fifth Grade.

    PubMed

    DuPaul, George J; Morgan, Paul L; Farkas, George; Hillemeier, Marianne M; Maczuga, Steve

    2016-10-01

    Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are known to exhibit significantly lower academic and social functioning than other children. Yet the field currently lacks knowledge about specific impairment trajectories experienced by children with ADHD, which may constrain early screening and intervention effectiveness. Data were analyzed from a nationally representative U.S. cohort in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K) for 590 children (72.7 % male) whose parents reported a formal diagnosis of ADHD. Children's math, reading, and interpersonal skills were assessed at 5 time points between kindergarten and fifth grade. Growth mixture model analyses indicated 4 latent trajectory classes for reading, 8 classes for math, and 4 classes for interpersonal skills. Membership in reading and math trajectory classes was strongly related; overlaps with interpersonal skills classes were weaker. Trajectory class membership was correlated with demographic characteristics and behavioral functioning. Children with ADHD display substantial heterogeneity in their reading, math, and interpersonal growth trajectories, with some groups of children especially likely to display relatively severe levels of academic and social impairment over time. Early screening and intervention to address impairment, particularly reading difficulties, among kindergarten students with ADHD is warranted.

  3. Anxiety and inattention as predictors of achievement in early elementary school children.

    PubMed

    Grills-Taquechel, Amie E; Fletcher, Jack M; Vaughn, Sharon R; Denton, Carolyn A; Taylor, Pat

    2013-01-01

    The objective of this study was to examine the relations among anxiety, inattention, and math/reading achievement, as well as the mediating/moderating role of inattention in the anxiety-achievement association both concurrently and longitudinally. Participants included 161 ethnically diverse children (aged 6-8) and their teachers. At the middle and end of first grade (approximately 5 months apart), students completed measures of anxiety and achievement while their teachers completed a measure of inattention. For the concurrent analyses, greater harm avoidance anxiety was associated with better attention, which was in turn related to better achievement. For the longitudinal analyses, mid-year inattention interacted with harm avoidance and separation anxiety to predict end of year reading fluency. For those rated as more attentive, greater separation anxiety symptoms were associated with decreased fluency performance while greater harm avoidance symptoms were associated with increased performance. Findings were discussed in terms of the importance of considering socioemotional variables in the study of children's academic achievement and the potential utility of early anxiety prevention/intervention programs, especially for children experiencing academic difficulties who also show internalizing behaviors.

  4. Anxiety and Inattention as Predictors of Achievement in Early Elementary School Children

    PubMed Central

    Fletcher, Jack M.; Vaughn, Sharon R.; Denton, Carolyn A.; Taylor, Pat

    2012-01-01

    The objective of this study was to examine the relations among anxiety, inattention, and math/reading achievement, as well as the mediating/moderating role of inattention in the anxiety-achievement association both concurrently and longitudinally. Participants included 161 ethnically diverse children (aged 6–8) and their teachers. At the middle and end of first-grade (approximately 5 months apart), students completed measures of anxiety and achievement while their teachers completed a measure of inattention. For the concurrent analyses, greater harm avoidance anxiety was associated with better attention, which was in turn related to better achievement. For the longitudinal analyses, mid-year inattention interacted with harm avoidance and separation anxiety to predict end of year reading fluency. For those rated as more attentive, greater separation anxiety symptoms were associated with decreased fluency performance while greater harm avoidance symptoms were associated with increased performance. Findings were discussed in terms of the importance of considering socioemotional variables in the study of children’s academic achievement and the potential utility of early anxiety prevention/intervention programs, especially for children experiencing academic difficulties who also show internalizing behaviors. PMID:22764776

  5. Analysis of junior high school students' difficulty in resolving rectangular conceptual problems

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Utami, Aliksia Kristiana Dwi; Mardiyana, Pramudya, Ikrar

    2017-08-01

    Geometry is one part of the mathematics that must be learned in school and it has important effects on the development of creative thinking skills of learners, but in fact, there are some difficulties experienced by the students. This research focuses on analysis difficulty in resolving rectangular conceptual problems among junior high school students in every creative thinking skills level. This research used a descriptive method aimed to identify the difficulties and cause of the difficulties experienced by five students. The difficulties are associated with rectangular shapes and related problems. Data collection was done based on students' work through test, interview, and observations. The result revealed that student' difficulties in understanding the rectangular concept can be found at every creative thinking skills level. The difficulties are identifying the objects rectangular in the daily life except for a rectangle and square, analyzing the properties of rectangular shapes, and seeing the interrelationships between figures.

  6. [Integral assessment of learning subjects difficulties].

    PubMed

    Grebniak, N P; Shchudro, S A

    2010-01-01

    The integral criterion for subject difficulties in senior classes is substantiated in terms of progress in studies, variation coefficient, and subjective and expert appraisals of the difficulty of subjects. The compiled regression models adequately determine the difficulty of academic subjects. According to the root-mean-square deviation, all subjects were found to have 3 degrees of difficulty.

  7. Children on the homefront: the experience of children from military families.

    PubMed

    Chandra, Anita; Lara-Cinisomo, Sandraluz; Jaycox, Lisa H; Tanielian, Terri; Burns, Rachel M; Ruder, Teague; Han, Bing

    2010-01-01

    Although studies have begun to explore the impact of the current wars on child well-being, none have examined how children are doing across social, emotional, and academic domains. In this study, we describe the health and well-being of children from military families from the perspectives of the child and nondeployed parent. We also assessed the experience of deployment for children and how it varies according to deployment length and military service component. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS. Data from a computer-assisted telephone interview with military children, aged 11 to 17 years, and nondeployed caregivers (n = 1507) were used to assess child well-being and difficulties with deployment. Multivariate regression analyses assessed the association between family characteristics, deployment histories, and child outcomes. After controlling for family and service-member characteristics, children in this study had more emotional difficulties compared with national samples. Older youth and girls of all ages reported significantly more school-, family-, and peer-related difficulties with parental deployment (P < .01). Length of parental deployment and poorer nondeployed caregiver mental health were significantly associated with a greater number of challenges for children both during deployment and deployed-parent reintegration (P < .01). Family characteristics (eg, living in rented housing) were also associated with difficulties with deployment. Families that experienced more total months of parental deployment may benefit from targeted support to deal with stressors that emerge over time. Also, families in which caregivers experience poorer mental health may benefit from programs that support the caregiver and child.

  8. Implications of Overlapping Difficulties in Mathematics and Reading on Self-Concept and Academic Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holopainen, Leena; Taipale, Airi; Savolainen, Hannu

    2017-01-01

    In this study, the relationship between adolescents' difficulty in mathematics and reading and the influence on academic self-concept and school grades was examined. The participants (N = 585; 299 girls, 286 boys) were one age group of ninth-graders whose mathematics and reading skills were assessed at the end of comprehensive school at age…

  9. Profiles of Emergent Literacy Skills among Preschool Children Who Are at Risk for Academic Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cabell, Sonia Q.; Justice, Laura M.; Konold, Timothy R.; McGinty, Anita S.

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore patterns of within-group variability in the emergent literacy skills of preschoolers who are at risk for academic difficulties. We used the person-centered approach of cluster analysis to identify profiles of emergent literacy skills, taking into account both oral language and code-related skills.…

  10. Metacognitive Reading and Study Strategies and Academic Achievement of University Students with and without a History of Reading Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bergey, Bradley W.; Deacon, S. Hélène; Parrila, Rauno K.

    2017-01-01

    University students who report a history of reading difficulties have been demonstrated to have poorer word reading and reading comprehension skills than their peers; yet, without a diagnosed learning disability, these students do not have access to the same support services, potentially placing them at academic risk. This study provides a…

  11. The Effectiveness of Project-Based Learning on Pupils with Learning Difficulties Regarding Academic Performance, Group Work and Motivation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Filippatou, Diamanto; Kaldi, Stavroula

    2010-01-01

    This study focuses upon the effectiveness of project-based learning on primary school pupils with learning difficulties regarding their academic performance and attitudes towards self efficacy, task value, group work and teaching methods applied. The present study is a part of a larger one that included six Greek fourth-grade primary school…

  12. Making Their Voices Count: Using Students' Perspectives to Inform Literacy Instruction for Striving Middle Grade Readers with Academic Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Groff, Carolyn

    2014-01-01

    The consequences of lack of reading and poor reading skills are problematic for all students, regardless of background; however, for middle grade striving readers with academic difficulties these problems can lead to lower self-efficacy and motivation to engage in literacy tasks. Using the perspectives of urban, middle grade special education…

  13. Courage in the Classroom: Exploring a New Framework Predicting Academic Performance and Engagement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Andrew J.

    2011-01-01

    In the context of 7,637 high school students, the present study explored an hypothesized formulation of academic courage (defined as perseverance in the face of academic difficulty and fear) and its role in predicting academic performance (literacy and arithmetic) and various academic engagement measures (planning, task management,…

  14. Predicting Academic Achievement and Attainment: The Contribution of Early Academic Skills, Attention Difficulties, and Social Competence

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rabiner, David L.; Godwin, Jennifer; Dodge, Kenneth A.

    2016-01-01

    Research predicting academic achievement from early academic, attention, and socioemotional skills has largely focused on elementary school outcomes and rarely included peer assessments of social competence. We examined associations between these early child characteristics and academic outcomes into young adulthood using the Fast Track normative…

  15. Which Environmental Factors Have the Highest Impact on the Performance of People Experiencing Difficulties in Capacity?

    PubMed

    Loidl, Verena; Oberhauser, Cornelia; Ballert, Carolina; Coenen, Michaela; Cieza, Alarcos; Sabariego, Carla

    2016-04-12

    Disability is understood by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the outcome of the interaction between a health condition and personal and environmental factors. Comprehensive data about environmental factors is therefore essential to understand and influence disability. We aimed to identify which environmental factors have the highest impact on the performance of people with mild, moderate and severe difficulties in capacity, who are at risk of experiencing disability to different extents, using data from a pilot study of the WHO Model Disability Survey in Cambodia and random forest regression. Hindering or facilitating aspects of places to socialize in community activities, transportation and natural environment as well as use and need of personal assistance and use of medication on a regular basis were the most important environmental factors across groups. Hindering or facilitating aspects of the general environment were the most relevant in persons experiencing mild levels of difficulties in capacity, while social support, attitudes of others and use of medication on a regular basis were highly relevant for the performance of persons experiencing moderate to higher levels of difficulties in capacity. Additionally, we corroborate the high importance of the use and need of assistive devices for people with severe difficulties in capacity.

  16. Difficulties experienced by the ostomate after hospital discharge.

    PubMed

    Richbourg, Leanne; Thorpe, Joshua M; Rapp, Carla Gene

    2007-01-01

    This descriptive study used a mailed survey to identify difficulties related to the stoma that ostomates experience after discharge from the hospital, who they sought help from, and if the advice was perceived as helpful. Ostomates who are 18 years or older and have undergone a urinary or fecal diversion at a North Carolina hospital between January 1, 2003 and June 30, 2005, were asked to respond to a survey about the difficulties related to their ostomy. The survey gathered demographic and anthropometric data, information regarding stomal complications, self-evaluation of emotional state, and contact with clinicians and support groups. Of the 140 surveys mailed, 43 were returned, demonstrating a return rate of 31%. Thirty-four returned surveys were useable for statistical analysis. The top 5 difficulties experienced by the respondents were peristomal skin irritation (76%), pouch leakage (62%), odor (59%), reduction in previously enjoyed activities (54%), and depression/anxiety (53%). Twenty percent of the ostomates who experienced difficulties after surgery did not seek help. Ostomates primarily sought help from nurses when they experienced problems related to the stoma and its maintenance. For mental health, sleep, and sexual problems, a medical doctor was the practitioner of choice. Ostomates were satisfied with most of the help they received from an ostomy nurse; satisfaction was lower for home health nurses and surgeon or primary care physician practices. Average wear time for a stoma pouch was 4 days. The majority of the ostomates experienced difficulty with pouch leakage, skin irritation, odor, depression or anxiety, and uneven pouching surfaces. Ostomates desire assistance with these problems and will benefit from long-term follow-up by an ostomy nurse.

  17. Personality correlates of study difficulty and academic performance in university students. I. The Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire and Dynamic Personality Inventory.

    PubMed

    Stringer, P; Crown, S; Lucas, C J; Supramanium, S

    1977-09-01

    The personality correlates of study difficulty and academic performance in university students have been measured in terms of psychiatric symptomatology and premorbid characteristics. The UCLSQ, MHQ and DPI were administered to two groups of male and female students presenting at an health centre: one (n = 72) of patients seeking psychological help, the other (n = 73) a control group. Significant differences between the two groups were formed on the MHQ, confirming previous results; and these were supplemented by differences on the DPI. Motivational and psychoneurotic components of study difficulty were significantly related to MHQ scores in both groups. DPI scores were more closely related to study difficulty in the patients than controls; and served particularly to characterize their sylbism and work satisfaction. The DPI added to the picture of a subgroup of students observed both in an earlier and the present study: academically successful patients scoring high on phobic anxiety.

  18. The Role of Metacognitive Reading Strategies, Metacognitive Study and Learning Strategies, and Behavioral Study and Learning Strategies in Predicting Academic Success in Students With and Without a History of Reading Difficulties.

    PubMed

    Chevalier, Thérèse M; Parrila, Rauno; Ritchie, Krista C; Deacon, S Hélène

    2017-01-01

    We examined the self-reported use of reading, study, and learning strategies in university students with a history of reading difficulties (HRD; n = 77) and with no history of reading difficulties (NRD; n = 295). We examined both between-groups differences in strategy use and strategy use as a predictive measure of academic success. Participants completed online questionnaires regarding reading history and strategy use. GPA and frequency of use of academic support services were also obtained for all students. University students with HRD reported a different profile of strategy use than their NRD peers, and self-reported strategy use was differentially predictive of GPA for students with HRD and NRD. For students with HRD, the use of metacognitive reading strategies and the use of study aids predicted academic success. Implications for university student services providers are discussed. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2015.

  19. Barriers to Specialty Care and Specialty Referral Completion in the Community Health Center Setting

    PubMed Central

    Zuckerman, Katharine E.; Perrin, James M.; Hobrecker, Karin; Donelan, Karen

    2013-01-01

    Objective To assess the frequency of barriers to specialty care and to assess which barriers are associated with an incomplete specialty referral (not attending a specialty visit when referred by a primary care provider) among children seen in community health centers. Study design Two months after their child’s specialty referral, 341 parents completed telephone surveys assessing whether a specialty visit was completed and whether they experienced any of 10 barriers to care. Family/community barriers included difficulty leaving work, obtaining childcare, obtaining transportation, and inadequate insurance. Health care system barriers included getting appointments quickly, understanding doctors and nurses, communicating with doctors’ offices, locating offices, accessing interpreters, and inconvenient office hours. We calculated barrier frequency and total barriers experienced. Using logistic regression, we assessed which barriers were associated with incomplete referral, and whether experiencing ≥4 barriers was associated with incomplete referral. Results A total of 22.9% of families experienced incomplete referral. 42.0% of families encountered 1 or more barriers. The most frequent barriers were difficulty leaving work, obtaining childcare, and obtaining transportation. On multivariate analysis, difficulty getting appointments quickly, difficulty finding doctors’ offices, and inconvenient office hours were associated with incomplete referral. Families experiencing ≥4 barriers were more likely than those experiencing ≤3 barriers to have incomplete referral. Conclusion Barriers to specialty care were common and associated with incomplete referral. Families experiencing many barriers had greater risk of incomplete referral. Improving family/community factors may increase satisfaction with specialty care; however, improving health system factors may be the best way to reduce incomplete referrals. PMID:22929162

  20. The Role of Multidimensional Attentional Abilities in Academic Skills of Children with ADHD

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Preston, Andrew S.; Heaton, Shelley C.; McCann, Sarah J.; Watson, William D.; Selke, Gregg

    2009-01-01

    Despite reports of academic difficulties in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), little is known about the relationship between performance on tests of academic achievement and measures of attention. The current study assessed intellectual ability, parent-reported inattention, academic achievement, and attention in 45…

  1. Academic Impairment and Impact of Treatments among Youth with Anxiety Disorders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nail, Jennifer E.; Christofferson, Jennifer; Ginsburg, Golda S.; Drake, Kelly; Kendall, Philip C.; McCracken, James T.; Birmaher, Boris; Walkup, John T.; Compton, Scott N.; Keeton, Courtney; Sakolsky, Dara

    2015-01-01

    Background: Global academic difficulties have often been reported in youth with anxiety disorders, however, little is known about the specific academic deficits in this population. Objective: To (a) evaluate the prevalence of seven specific academic impairments in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders, (b) determine whether these…

  2. Academic Buoyancy and Academic Resilience: Exploring "Everyday" and "Classic" Resilience in the Face of Academic Adversity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Andrew J.

    2013-01-01

    Academic buoyancy has been defined as a capacity to overcome setbacks, challenges, and difficulties that are part of everyday academic life. Academic resilience has been defined as a capacity to overcome acute and/or chronic adversity that is seen as a major threat to a student's educational development. This study is the first to examine the…

  3. Knowledge Management and Academic Libraries.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Townley, Charles T.

    2001-01-01

    The emerging field of knowledge management offers academic libraries the opportunity to improve effectiveness, both for themselves and their parent institutions. This article summarizes knowledge management theory. Current applications in academic libraries and higher education are described. Similarities and difficulties between knowledge…

  4. Nurse to educator? Academic roles and the formation of personal academic identities.

    PubMed

    Duffy, Richelle

    2013-06-01

    This aim of this research was to investigate the academic role of the nurse educator and its contribution to the formation of personal academic identity. Data was gathered using in-depth interviews (n=14) with experienced nurse educators employed within pre-1992 and post-1992 universities. Prolonged analysis, reflection and theorisation of the findings indicated that participants experienced multiple challenges when seeking to assimilate personal academic identity, adopting, and adapting a variety of identities over time. A conceptual model of identity transformation encompassing five stages: pre-entry, reaffirming, surmounting, stabilising and actualising, provides a useful analytical framework to inform and shape the professional development of nurse educators. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  5. University Students with Reading Difficulties: Do Perceived Supports and Comorbid Difficulties Predict Well-being and GPA?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stack-Cutler, Holly L.; Parrila, Rauno K.; Torppa, Minna

    2016-01-01

    We examined the impact of the number of comorbid difficulties, social support, and community support on life satisfaction and academic achievement among 120 university students or recent graduates with self-reported reading difficulties. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing perceived social support, perceived community support, the…

  6. The Relationship among Parenting Styles Experienced during Childhood, Anxiety, Motivation, and Academic Success in College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Silva, Marc; Dorso, Erin; Azhar, Aisha; Renk, Kimberly

    2008-01-01

    The current study examined the relationships among parenting styles experienced in childhood, anxiety, motivation, and academic success in college students. Results suggested that fathers' authoritative parenting was related to decreases, whereas mothers' authoritarian parenting was related to increases, in college students' anxiety. Further,…

  7. Inclusion of Pupils Perceived as Experiencing Social and Emotional Behavioural Difficulties (SEBD): Affordances and Constraints

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mowat, Joan Gaynor

    2010-01-01

    This paper takes as its principal theme barriers to the inclusion of pupils perceived as experiencing social and emotional behavioural difficulties (SEBD) and how these might be overcome. It draws upon an evaluative case study of an initiative, devised by the author, to support pupils--the Support Group Initiative (SGI)--which was conducted over a…

  8. The Role of ADHD in Academic Adversity: Disentangling ADHD Effects from Other Personal and Contextual Factors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Andrew J.

    2014-01-01

    Students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) experience significant academic difficulties that can lead to numerous negative academic consequences. With a focus on adverse academic outcomes, this study seeks to disentangle variance attributable to ADHD from variance attributable to salient personal and contextual covariates.…

  9. Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Academic Interventions and Modifications on Student Behavior Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Warmbold-Brann, Kristy; Burns, Matthew K.; Preast, June L.; Taylor, Crystal N.; Aguilar, Lisa N.

    2017-01-01

    The current study examined the effect of academic interventions and modifications on behavioral outcomes in a meta-analysis of 32 single-case design studies. Academic interventions included modifying task difficulty, providing instruction in reading, mathematics, or writing, and contingent reinforcement for academic performance. There was an…

  10. Intended Persistence: Comparing Academic and Creative Challenges in High School

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoffmann, Jessica D.; Ivcevic, Zorana; Zamora, Gabriele; Bazhydai, Marina; Brackett, Marc

    2016-01-01

    How do high school students approach academic and creative challenges? This study compares the content of academic and creative challenges for 190 high school students, and examines students' intentions to persist. Students reported experiencing academic and creative challenges in different areas: academic challenges were described primarily in…

  11. A Neuropsychological Profile for Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum? Cognitive, Academic, Executive, Social, and Behavioral Functioning in School-Age Children.

    PubMed

    Siffredi, Vanessa; Anderson, Vicki; McIlroy, Alissandra; Wood, Amanda G; Leventer, Richard J; Spencer-Smith, Megan M

    2018-05-01

    Agenesis of the corpus callosum (AgCC), characterized by developmental absence of the corpus callosum, is one of the most common congenital brain malformations. To date, there are limited data on the neuropsychological consequences of AgCC and factors that modulate different outcomes, especially in children. This study aimed to describe general intellectual, academic, executive, social and behavioral functioning in a cohort of school-aged children presenting for clinical services to a hospital and diagnosed with AgCC. The influences of age, social risk and neurological factors were examined. Twenty-eight school-aged children (8 to 17 years) diagnosed with AgCC completed tests of general intelligence (IQ) and academic functioning. Executive, social and behavioral functioning in daily life, and social risk, were estimated from parent and teacher rated questionnaires. MRI findings reviewed by a pediatric neurologist confirmed diagnosis and identified brain characteristics. Clinical details including the presence of epilepsy and diagnosed genetic condition were obtained from medical records. In our cohort, ~50% of children experienced general intellectual, academic, executive, social and/or behavioral difficulties and ~20% were functioning at a level comparable to typically developing children. Social risk was important for understanding variability in neuropsychological outcomes. Brain anomalies and complete AgCC were associated with lower mathematics performance and poorer executive functioning. This is the first comprehensive report of general intellectual, academic, executive social and behavioral consequences of AgCC in school-aged children. The findings have important clinical implications, suggesting that support to families and targeted intervention could promote positive neuropsychological functioning in children with AgCC who come to clinical attention. (JINS, 2018, 24, 445-455).

  12. Processing speed, executive function, and academic achievement in children with dextro-transposition of the great arteries: Testing a longitudinal developmental cascade model

    PubMed Central

    Cassidy, Adam R.; White, Matthew T.; DeMaso, David R.; Newburger, Jane W.; Bellinger, David C.

    2016-01-01

    Objective To establish executive function (EF) structure/organization and test a longitudinal developmental cascade model linking processing speed (PS) and EF skills at 8-years of age to academic achievement outcomes, both at 8- and 16-years, in a large sample of children/adolescents with surgically-repaired dextro-transposition of the great arteries (d-TGA). Method Data for this study come from the 8-(n = 155) and 16-year (n = 139) time points of the Boston Circulatory Arrest Study and included WISC-III, Trail Making Test, Test of Variables of Attention, and WIAT/WIAT-II tasks. Results A 2-factor model (Working Memory/Inhibition and Shifting) provided the best fit for the EF data, χ2(3) = 1.581, p = .66, RMSEA = 0, CFI = 1, NNFI = 1.044). Working Memory/Inhibition and Shifting factors were not correlated. In the structural equation model, PS was directly related to both EF factors and Reading at 8 years, and was indirectly related to Math and Reading achievement, both concurrently and longitudinally, via its effects on Working Memory/Inhibition. Shifting at 8 years was significantly associated with Math (but not Reading) at 16 years. Conclusions The academic difficulties experienced by children and adolescents with d-TGA may be driven, at least in part, by underlying deficits in processing speed and aspects of executive function. Intervention efforts aimed at bolstering these abilities, particularly if implemented early in development, may prove beneficial in improving academic outcomes and, perhaps by extension, in reducing the stress and diminished self-confidence often associated with academic underachievement. PMID:27077787

  13. Individual and Relationship Factors Associated With the Self-Identified Inability to Experience Orgasm in a Community Sample of Heterosexual Men From Three European Countries.

    PubMed

    Carvalheira, Ana; Santana, Rita

    2016-01-01

    The inability to reach orgasm is probably the least common and least understood of all male sexual dysfunctions. The present study aims to investigate the incidence of the inability to reach orgasm, and the psychological and interpersonal factors associated with this sexual difficulty. A total of 3,672 heterosexual men from three European countries (1,937 Portuguese, 1,215 Croats, 520 Norwegians) participated in this web survey (M age = 36.6 years, SD = 18-75 years). A total of 354 (9.6%) reported the inability to reach orgasm. Among those men, 89.8% reported moderate to extreme distress regarding this sexual difficulty. A multivariate assessment revealed that men in short-term relationships and taking antidepressants were more likely to report inability to reach orgasm. Men who reported having difficulties getting or maintaining an erection were 4 times more likely to have experienced the inability to reach orgasm than were those who did not report this difficulty. Men who experienced difficulty "'letting go' and surrendering to sexual pleasure during sex" were 2.7 times more likely to have experienced the inability to reach orgasm than were those who did not report this difficulty. This difficulty of "letting go" might reflect the unwillingness to give oneself, an idea presented in previous research.

  14. Symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and social and school adjustment: the moderating roles of age and parenting.

    PubMed

    Kawabata, Yoshito; Tseng, Wan-Ling; Gau, Susan Shur-Fen

    2012-02-01

    This study examined the associations between symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and social and school adjustment (academic performance, peer relationships, school social problems) and the moderating roles of children's age and maternal parenting (affection and overprotection) in these associations. The sample consisted of 2,463 students who were in the first to ninth grade in northern Taiwan. Results from the linear mixed models demonstrated that ADHD symptoms were inversely associated with academic performance and positively associated with social adjustment problems. Further, children's age and maternal parenting moderated the associations between ADHD symptoms and school and social adjustment. For example, maternal overprotection moderated the relation between hyperactivity and negative peer relationships (i.e., difficulty forming and maintaining friendships), such that this relation was stronger for children who experienced higher levels of overprotection than children who did not. Moreover, children's age moderated the association between attention problems and decreased academic performance, such that this association was stronger for older children and adolescents than for younger children. Furthermore, children's age and maternal affection interacted to influence the association between attention problems and school social problems (i.e., bullying, aggression, and peer rejection) with maternal affection acting as a buffer for older children (grades 4-6) only. These findings are discussed from a developmental psychopathology perspective.

  15. Avoidant/ambivalent attachment style as a mediator between abusive childhood experiences and adult relationship difficulties.

    PubMed

    McCarthy, G; Taylor, A

    1999-03-01

    The role of attachment style, self-esteem, and relationship attributions as possible mediators between abusive childhood experiences and difficulties in establishing supportive love relationships in adulthood were investigated in a sample of women known to be at risk of experiencing relationship problems. Measures of child abuse, the quality of love relationships, and the three potential mediators were made concurrently in adulthood. Participants who had experienced child abuse were found to be six times more likely to be experiencing difficulties in the domain of adult love relationships than those who had not. Self-esteem and relationship attributions were not found to be related to child abuse. When both child abuse and avoidant/ambivalent attachment style were considered together avoidant/ambivalent attachment style, but not child abuse, was found to be related to relationship difficulties. These findings indicate that avoidant/ambivalent attachment style, but not self-esteem and relationship attributions, is a mediating factor in the route from child abuse to adult relationship abilities.

  16. Long-term classroom functioning and its association with neuropsychological and academic performance following traumatic brain injury during early childhood.

    PubMed

    Treble-Barna, Amery; Schultz, Hanna; Minich, Nori; Taylor, H Gerry; Yeates, Keith Owen; Stancin, Terry; Wade, Shari L

    2017-07-01

    The present study utilized ecobehavioral assessment to examine classroom functioning several years following early childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) or orthopedic injury (OI) and its association with injury factors, neuropsychological abilities, and academic performance. Participants included 39 children with moderate to severe TBI and 51 children with OI sustained between ages 3 and 7 years. At 7.2 (± 1.3) years post injury, ecobehavioral assessment was used to examine classroom functioning. Additional outcomes included neuropsychological tests, parent and teacher ratings of dysexecutive behavior, and teacher ratings of academic performance. Groups were compared on measures controlling for demographic characteristics, and associations among outcomes were examined using linear regression. Children with TBI showed lower academic engagement relative to children with OI, as well as more frequent individual teacher attention for children with more severe injuries. For children with TBI, difficulties in classroom functioning were associated with lower cognitive flexibility and higher parent and teacher ratings of dysexecutive behavior. Lower scores on a test of fluid reasoning and a greater frequency of individual teacher attention were also associated with lower academic performance in children with TBI. Difficulties in classroom functioning are evident several years after early childhood TBI and were associated with greater injury severity, neuropsychological weaknesses, and poorer academic performance. Children with impaired cognitive flexibility and fluid reasoning skills were at greatest risk for these difficulties and associated weaknesses in academic performance. Instructional interactions may be a potential target for intervention to promote academic progress in at-risk children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  17. Breaking new ground: the story of Dagmar Berne.

    PubMed

    Moorhead, Robert

    2008-01-01

    In 1885 a young country girl enrolled in medicine at Sydney University. She was the first woman in Australia to enroll in a medical school. The medical school at this time was heavily influenced by academics who had graduated from the University of Edinburgh. At one point in her medical education she experienced difficulties with her examinations, the reasons for which are a point for debate. Under the mentorship of a famous British female medical practitioner who was visiting Australia at the time, she continued her studies in the United Kingdom. Here she was successful and returned to practice in New South Wales in 1895. Her experience of medical education was not without suffering. This young woman became part of an international group of women who at the time were trying to break into a field dominated by men.

  18. Transportation and socioemotional well-being of urban students with and without disabilities.

    PubMed

    Graham, Benjamin C; Keys, Christopher B; McMahon, Susan D

    2014-01-01

    This study explored the extent to which transportation difficulties were associated with social, psychological, and academic experiences of urban, at-risk students who recently experienced a school transition. Participants included 165 predominantly African American and Latino/a high school youth with and without disabilities, a critical population for community psychology to address given their likelihood of multiple marginalizations. Results suggested transportation problems within school predicted more school stressors and aggressive behavior. Transportation problems to and from school predicted fewer school resources, less school belonging, and more school stressors, anxiety, and depression. Greater time to get to school predicted fewer school resources, less school belonging, and more depressive symptoms. This study demonstrates the importance of including transportation in how the school day is conceptualized, and offers several implications for how transportation services can be best addressed.

  19. Measuring Consortium Impact on User Perceptions: OhioLINK and LibQUAL+[TM

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gatten, Jeffrey N.

    2004-01-01

    What is the impact of an academic library consortium on the perceptions of library services experienced by users of the member institutions' libraries? What is the impact of an academic library consortium on the perceptions of library services experienced by users of the member institutions libraries? In 2002 and 2003, OhioLINK (Ohio's consortium…

  20. Academic Buoyancy and Academic Outcomes: Towards a Further Understanding of Students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Students without ADHD, and Academic Buoyancy Itself

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, Andrew J.

    2014-01-01

    Background: Academic buoyancy is students' capacity to successfully overcome setback and challenge that is typical of the ordinary course of everyday academic life. It may represent an important factor on the psycho-educational landscape assisting students who experience difficulties in school and schoolwork. Aims: This study investigated the…

  1. Intimate partner violence, health, sexuality, and academic performance among a national sample of undergraduates.

    PubMed

    Brewer, Nathan; Thomas, Kristie A; Higdon, Julia

    2018-03-22

    To determine the association between intimate partner violence (IPV) and academic performance among heterosexual and sexual minority undergraduates, including whether health mediates this relationship. A national sample of undergraduate students aged 18-24 years old who completed the 2011-2014 National College Health Assessment IIb (N = 85,071). We used structural equation modeling to create a latent variable of IPV victimization (stalking, physical, sexual, and emotional violence) in order to test its relationship with health (physical and mental) and two indicators of academic performance (GPA and perceived academic difficulties), according to participants' sexual identity (heterosexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and unsure). Regardless of sexual identity, undergraduates who reported IPV were more likely to have lower GPA and increased academic difficulties. Health mediates this relationship, such that IPV reduces health, which negatively affects performance. IPV poses a serious threat to undergraduates' health and educational success. Findings warrant universal prevention and intervention.

  2. An Analytical Framework for Analysing Secondary EFL Writing Curriculum: Approaches for Writing and Preparation for Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Al-Hammadi, Fatima; Sidek, Harison Mohd

    2015-01-01

    Academic writing is perhaps the most important skill required in higher education learning for the purposes of academic communication, academic performance, as well as academic achievement and success. However, many studies carried out in an EFL context showed that the majority of students face difficulties and challenges in acquiring effective…

  3. Genetics - Are There Inherent Learning Difficulties?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Longden, Bernard

    1982-01-01

    Sources of misconceptions and learning difficulties were identified by interviewing academically sound A-level students (N=10) who were having difficulties with genetics. Indicates misconceptions were related to nature of concepts used in genetics, such as frequent representation of meiosis by fixed inanimate stage diagrams and to instructional…

  4. Access to digital library databases in higher education: design problems and infrastructural gaps.

    PubMed

    Oswal, Sushil K

    2014-01-01

    After defining accessibility and usability, the author offers a broad survey of the research studies on digital content databases which have thus far primarily depended on data drawn from studies conducted by sighted researchers with non-disabled users employing screen readers and low vision devices. This article aims at producing a detailed description of the difficulties confronted by blind screen reader users with online library databases which now hold most of the academic, peer-reviewed journal and periodical content essential for research and teaching in higher education. The approach taken here is borrowed from descriptive ethnography which allows the author to create a complete picture of the accessibility and usability problems faced by an experienced academic user of digital library databases and screen readers. The author provides a detailed analysis of the different aspects of accessibility issues in digital databases under several headers with a special focus on full-text PDF files. The author emphasizes that long-term studies with actual, blind screen reader users employing both qualitative and computerized research tools can yield meaningful data for the designers and developers to improve these databases to a level that they begin to provide an equal access to the blind.

  5. Experiences of violence and deficits in academic achievement among urban primary school children in Jamaica.

    PubMed

    Baker-Henningham, Helen; Meeks-Gardner, Julie; Chang, Susan; Walker, Susan

    2009-05-01

    The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between children's experiences of three different types of violence and academic achievement among primary school children in Kingston, Jamaica. A cross-sectional study of 1300 children in grade 5 [mean (S.D.) age: 11 (0.5) years] from 29 government primary schools in urban areas of Kingston and St. Andrew, Jamaica, was conducted. Academic achievement (mathematics, reading, and spelling) was assessed using the Wide Range Achievement Test. Children's experiences of three types of violence - exposure to aggression among peers at school, physical punishment at school, and exposure to community violence - were assessed by self-report using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Fifty-eight percent of the children experienced moderate or high levels of all three types of violence. Boys had poorer academic achievement and experienced higher levels of aggression among peers and physical punishment at school than girls. Children's experiences of the three types of violence were independently associated with all three indices of academic achievement. There was a dose-response relationship between children's experiences of violence and academic achievement with children experiencing higher levels of violence having the poorest academic achievement and children experiencing moderate levels having poorer achievement than those experiencing little or none. Exposure to three different types of violence was independently associated with poor school achievement among children attending government, urban schools in Jamaica. Programs are needed in schools to reduce the levels of aggression among students and the use of physical punishment by teachers and to provide support for children exposed to community violence. Children in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean experience significant amounts of violence in their homes, communities, and schools. In this study, we demonstrate a dose-response relationship between primary school children's experiences of three different types of violence and their academic achievement. The study points to the need for validated violence prevention programs to be introduced in Jamaican primary schools. Such programs need to train teachers in appropriate classroom management and discipline strategies and to promote children's social and emotional competence and prevent aggression.

  6. Community Violence Exposure and Children's Academic Functioning.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schwartz, David; Gorman, Andrea Hopmeyer

    2003-01-01

    Reports a cross-sectional investigation of the link between community violence exposure and academic difficulties for 237 urban elementary school children. Analyses indicated that community violence exposure was associated with poor academic performance. These relations appear to be mediated by symptoms of depression and disruptive behavior.…

  7. The Effectiveness of Academic Boards in University Governance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rowlands, Julie

    2013-01-01

    Despite considerable international literature acknowledging issues associated with the effectiveness of university academic boards (also known as academic senates or faculty senates), there is little current empirical research exploring why difficulties might exist and what (if anything) might be done about them. This article reports the findings…

  8. Disciplinary versus Academic Sanctions in Higher Education: A Doomed Dichotomy?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dutile, Fernand N.

    2003-01-01

    Explains that courts have generally subjected disciplinary action to procedural due process under the Fourteenth Amendment, while academic sanctions have garnered greater deference. Examines the judicial history of this dual track, establishes the difficulty of characterizing as either disciplinary or academic the countless situations reflecting…

  9. The Early Entrance Option: Academic and Social/Emotional Outcomes.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Braymen, Rebecca K. F.; Piersel, Wayne C.

    1987-01-01

    Examines how early kindergarten entrants fare academically and socially/emotionally in their schooling. Screening procedures are used to identify children with exceptional ability and to eliminate from early entrance children likely to have adjustment difficulties. The screening battery includes measurements of academic readiness, social/emotional…

  10. Student Mobility, Qualifications and Academic Recognition in the EU

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    West, Anne; Barham, Eleanor

    2009-01-01

    This paper explores the relationship between student mobility, qualifications and academic recognition within Europe. It provides an outline of supranational legal instruments and policies in relation to academic recognition and student mobility. It then examines some of the difficulties associated with the different concepts underpinning the…

  11. Challenges in oral communication for internationally educated nurses.

    PubMed

    Lum, Lillie; Dowedoff, Penny; Bradley, Pat; Kerekes, Julie; Valeo, Antonella

    2015-01-01

    Achieving English language proficiency, while key to successful adaptation to a new country for internationally educated nurses (IENs), has presented more difficulties for them and for educators than previously recognized. Professional communication within a culturally diverse client population and maintaining collaborative relationships between nurses and other team members were perceived as new challenges for IENs. Learning an additional language is a long-term, multistage process that must also incorporate social and cultural aspects of the local society and the profession. This article provides a descriptive review of current research literature pertaining to English language challenges, with a focus on oral language, experienced by IENs. Educational strategies for teaching technical language skills as well as the socio-pragmatics of professional communication within nursing programs are emphasized. Bridging education programs must not only develop students'academic language proficiency but also their ability to enter the workforce with the kind of communication skills that are increasingly highlighted by employers as essential attributes. The results of this review are intended to facilitate a clearer understanding of the English language and communication challenges experienced by IENs and identify the implications for designing effective educational programs. © The Author(s) 2014.

  12. Community perceptions of developmental and behavioral problems experienced by children living with epilepsy on the Kenyan coast: A qualitative study.

    PubMed

    Abubakar, Amina; Kariuki, Symon M; Tumaini, Judith Dzombo; Gona, Joseph; Katana, Khamis; Owen, Jacqueline A Phillips; Newton, Charles R

    2015-04-01

    Childhood epilepsy is common in Africa. However, there are little data on the developmental and behavioral problems experienced by children living with epilepsy, especially qualitative data that capture community perceptions of the challenges faced by these children. Identifying these perceptions using qualitative approaches is important not only to help design appropriate interventions but also to help adapt behavioral tools that are culturally appropriate. We documented the description of these problems as perceived by parents and teachers of children with or without epilepsy. The study involved 70 participants. Data were collected using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions and were analyzed using NVIVO to identify major themes. Our analysis identified four major areas that are perceived to be adversely affected among children with epilepsy. These included internalizing and externalizing problems such as aggression, temper tantrums, and excessive crying. Additionally, developmental delay, especially cognitive deficits and academic underachievement, was also identified as a major problematic area. There is a need to supplement these findings with quantitative estimates and to develop psychosocial and educational interventions to rehabilitate children with epilepsy who have these difficulties. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  13. Motivational Factors of Student Nurse Athletes Attributing to Academic Success.

    PubMed

    Forst, Kimberly A

    Student nurse athletes experience difficulties achieving academic success in nursing programs. The purpose of this study was to identify facilitators, barriers, and motivators of student nurse athletes that attribute to their academic success. Athletes ranked time management and prioritization as critical skills to success in the nursing program. This study reinforced the importance of academic support services for student nurse athletes to assist in their academic success.

  14. Who helps the leaders? Difficulties experienced by cancer support group leaders.

    PubMed

    Kirsten, Laura; Butow, Phyllis; Price, Melanie; Hobbs, Kim; Sunquist, Kendra

    2006-07-01

    Cancer support groups are an important source of support for cancer patients, yet little is known about the challenges and training needs of both professionally trained and untrained leaders. The aim of this study was to discover the difficulties experienced and training desired by cancer support group leaders. Twenty-seven leaders of 34 cancer support groups participated in focus groups or individual interviews. Groups were purposively selected as representative of 173 support groups identified in New South Wales which were for adults with cancer and/or their adult carers and were not therapeutic or education-only groups. Difficulties identified included dealing with people's different communication styles and needs; dealing with recurrence, metastases and death; practical issues, including resources, setting the programme and funding security; maintaining personal balance and preventing burn out; establishing group credibility; dealing with group cycles; and leading groups in rural areas. Leaders also identified benefits and rewards from group leadership such as contributing to others' well-being, self-development and insight into others' lives. Non-professionally trained leaders experienced more difficulties, particularly in dealing with group process and practical issues. Difficulties identified were related both to working with a cancer population specifically and to working with groups in general. While some issues were common to both health professionals and non-health professionals, non-health professionals reported greater supportive needs. Clear guidelines, targeted training and development of better methods of support to reduce the stress and burn out experienced by group leaders are needed.

  15. Dentist's distress in the management of chronic pain control

    PubMed Central

    Yokoyama, Yoko; Kakudate, Naoki; Sumida, Futoshi; Matsumoto, Yuki; Gordan, Valeria V.; Gilbert, Gregg H.

    2018-01-01

    Abstract We aimed to obtain greater understanding of dentists’ distress when they diagnose and treat patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD), and to explore ways in which TMD can be better treated. We conducted a cross-sectional study based on a questionnaire survey of dentists (n = 148). Dentists were queried using an open-ended questionnaire about distress they experienced when treating patients with TMD. Survey responses were analyzed using mixed methods. Associations between specific dentist and patient characteristics and types of distress were analyzed by one way analysis of variance and residual analysis. One hundred thirteen clinicians responded to the questionnaire, giving a 76% response rate. Thematic analysis identified 6 major themes: difficulty in predicting therapeutic effect and prognosis; difficulty in diagnosis; difficulty in the decision about whether to do occlusal adjustment; difficulty in specifying a cause; difficulty in communicating with patients and mental factors; and health insurance system barriers. Clinicians who reported difficulty in deciding whether to do occlusal adjustment saw significantly more patients who experienced shoulder stiffness and headache (P = .008 and P = .022, respectively). Dentists’ knowledge of TMD guidelines was associated with a lower percentage of difficulty in predicting therapeutic effect and prognosis (residual analysis; P = .010). These findings provide important insights into clinician's perception of difficulties with patients experiencing TMD-related pain. Knowledge of the existence of TMD clinical practice guidelines may lower dentist distress, particularly with regard to prognosis. Further studies are needed to decrease dentist's distress and to overcome the evidence-practice gap in TMD treatment. PMID:29505535

  16. Academic Freedom Revisited

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Doughty, Howard A.

    2010-01-01

    One of the author's enduring concerns about the concept of academic freedom is with semantics. It has seemed to him that one of the biggest difficulties with discussions of academic freedom (as with many conversations about "value-laden" terms such as "democracy," "equity," and "justice") is that people begin from different positions and with…

  17. Attention and Language as Mediators of Academic Outcomes Following Early Psychosocial Deprivation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Merz, Emily C.; McCall, Robert B.; Wright, Amanda J.

    2013-01-01

    Children adopted from institutions at older ages are at increased risk of persistent attention problems, lower cognition, and academic difficulties. This study examined cognitive and behavior problems as mediators of the association between early psychosocial deprivation and academic functioning. Participants were 8-17-year-old children adopted…

  18. Subject Indexes vs. Original Documents as Research Sources: A Comparative Account of Text Construction and Use for Academic Libraries.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eichman, Thomas Lee

    An adaptation of Heilprin's model of the path of propagation of human messages is used to explore the truism that more experienced academic researchers tend to go directly to the published literature, while less experienced researchers may rely more on such secondary sources as indexes and other library reference and bibliographic services. The…

  19. Role of School Employees' Mental Health Knowledge in Interdisciplinary Collaborations to Support the Academic Success of Students Experiencing Mental Health Distress

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Frauenholtz, Susan; Mendenhall, Amy N.; Moon, Jungrim

    2017-01-01

    Children with mental health disorders are at elevated risk of deleterious academic outcomes. The school, acting as a bridge between home and community, is a key site for identification and intervention with children experiencing mental health distress. Yet survey research has indicated that many teachers and other school staff have limited…

  20. Very low birth weight children: behavior problems and school difficulty in a national sample.

    PubMed

    McCormick, M C; Gortmaker, S L; Sobol, A M

    1990-11-01

    We addressed three questions concerning the behavioral and academic status of low and very low birth weight infants through a secondary analysis of the 1981 National Health Interview Survey--Child Health Supplement: (1) in children born with very low birth weight, what is the risk of behavior problems and school difficulty compared with that in heavier low birth weight and normal birth weight children? (2) What are the correlates of school difficulty? (3) Are behavior problems associated with school difficulty when variables are controlled for these correlates? The analysis revealed that 34% of very low birth weight children could be characterized as having school difficulty, compared with 20% and 14% of the other groups, respectively, and that they were more likely to have higher scores on the hyperactive subscale of the Behavior Problems Index. Although a broad array of sociodemographic factors correlated with school difficulty, very low birth weight and hyperactivity scores contributed independently to the risk of academic problems. We conclude that very low birth weight infants are at risk of having school problems that are in part associated with hyperactive behavior.

  1. The long-term significance of teacher-rated hyperactivity and reading ability in childhood: findings from two longitudinal studies.

    PubMed

    McGee, Rob; Prior, Margot; Willams, Sheila; Smart, Diana; Sanson, Anne

    2002-11-01

    The aims of this study were twofold: first, to examine behavioural and academic outcomes of children with hyperactivity, using data from two longitudinal studies; and second, to examine comparable psychosocial outcomes for children with early reading difficulties. Measures of teacher-rated persistent hyperactivity, and reading ability obtained during early primary school were available for children from the Australian Temperament Project and the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study. Both samples were followed up to assess behavioural and academic outcomes during the adolescent and early adult years. Family background, antisocial behaviour and literacy were controlled in the first set of analyses to examine the influence of early hyperactivity. There were strong linear relationships between early hyperactivity and later adverse outcomes. Adjustment for other childhood variables suggested that early hyperactivity was associated with continuing school difficulties, problems with attention and poor reading in adolescence. Early reading difficulties, after controlling for early hyperactivity, predicted continuing reading problems in high school and leaving school with no qualifications. The findings suggest that there are dual pathways from early inattentive behaviours to later inattention and reading problems, and from early reading difficulties to substantial impairments in later academic outcomes.

  2. Australian employer usage of the practice of offering reduced working hours to workers close to retirement: Extent and determinants.

    PubMed

    Taylor, Philip; Earl, Catherine; McLoughlin, Christopher

    2016-06-01

    This study aimed to determine factors associated with the implementation by employers of the practice of offering reduced working hours for workers nearing retirement. Data came from a survey of 2000 employers of more than 50 employees each (30% response rate). A minority (33%) of employers offered reduced working hours to older workers nearing retirement. Factors associated with offering reduced working hours were: expecting workforce ageing to cause a loss of staff to retirement; being a large employer; being a public/not-for-profit sector employer; not experiencing difficulties recruiting labourers; having a larger proportion of workers aged over 50; experiencing national competition for labour; not experiencing difficulties recruiting machinery operators/drivers; not expecting workforce ageing to increase workplace injuries; and experiencing difficulties with the quality of candidates. A minority of employers were found to offer reduced working hours to those nearing retirement. Factors associated with their propensity to do so included industry sector, size of employer, concerns about labour supply and the effects of workforce ageing. © 2016 AJA Inc.

  3. Entry and Transition to Academic Leadership: Experiences of Women Leaders from Turkey and the U.S.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hacifazlioglu, Ozge

    2010-01-01

    Academics who aspire to become academic leaders experience a number of changes as they move into administration. New academic leaders find themselves immersed in a transition that demands personal development and creates new learning settings. The purpose of this study is to examine initial challenges experienced by women academic leaders in the…

  4. Visual Attention and Math Performance in Survivors of Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.

    PubMed

    Richard, Annette E; Hodges, Elise K; Heinrich, Kimberley P

    2018-01-24

    Attentional and academic difficulties, particularly in math, are common in survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Of cognitive deficits experienced by survivors of childhood ALL, attention deficits may be particularly responsive to intervention. However, it is unknown whether deficits in particular aspects of attention are associated with deficits in math skills. The current study investigated relationships between math calculation skills, performance on an objective measure of sustained attention, and parent- and teacher-reported attention difficulties. Twenty-four survivors of childhood ALL (Mage = 13.5 years, SD= 2.8 years) completed a computerized measure of sustained attention and response control and a written measure of math calculation skills in the context of a comprehensive clinical neuropsychological evaluation. Parent and teacher ratings of inattention and impulsivity were obtained. Visual response control and visual attention accounted for 26.4% of the variance observed among math performance scores after controlling for IQ (p < .05). Teacher-rated, but not parent-rated, inattention was significantly negatively correlated with math calculation scores. Consistency of responses to visual stimuli on a computerized measure of attention is a unique predictor of variance in math performance among survivors of childhood ALL. Objective testing of visual response control, rather than parent-rated attentional problems, may have clinical utility in identifying ALL survivors at risk for math difficulties. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. The association of early childhood cognitive development and behavioural difficulties with pre-adolescent problematic eating attitudes.

    PubMed

    Richmond, Rebecca C; Skugarevsky, Oleg; Yang, Seungmi; Kramer, Michael S; Wade, Kaitlin H; Patel, Rita; Bogdanovich, Natalia; Vilchuck, Konstantin; Sergeichick, Natalia; Smith, George Davey; Oken, Emily; Martin, Richard M

    2014-01-01

    Few studies have prospectively investigated associations of child cognitive ability and behavioural difficulties with later eating attitudes. We investigated associations of intelligence quotient (IQ), academic performance and behavioural difficulties at 6.5 years with eating attitudes five years later. We conducted an observational cohort study nested within the Promotion of Breastfeeding Intervention Trial, Belarus. Of 17,046 infants enrolled at birth, 13,751 (80.7%) completed the Children's Eating Attitude Test (ChEAT) at 11.5 years, most with information on IQ (n = 12,667), academic performance (n = 9,954) and behavioural difficulties (n = 11,098) at 6.5 years. The main outcome was a ChEAT score ≥ 85th percentile, indicative of problematic eating attitudes. Boys with higher IQ at 6.5 years reported fewer problematic eating attitudes, as assessed by ChEAT scores ≥ 85th percentile, at 11.5 years (OR per SD increase in full-scale IQ = 0.87; 0.79, 0.94). No such association was observed in girls (1.01; 0.93, 1.10) (p for sex-interaction = 0.016). In both boys and girls, teacher-assessed academic performance in non-verbal subjects was inversely associated with high ChEAT scores five years later (OR per unit increase in mathematics ability = 0.88; 0.82, 0.94; and OR per unit increase in ability for other non-verbal subjects = 0.86; 0.79, 0.94). Behavioural difficulties were positively associated with high ChEAT scores five years later (OR per SD increase in teacher-assessed rating = 1.13; 1.07, 1.19). Lower IQ, worse non-verbal academic performance and behavioural problems at early school age are positively associated with risk of problematic eating attitudes in early adolescence.

  6. Halal Logistics Implementation in Malaysia: A Practical View

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Sham, Rohana; Zuraidah Rasi, Raja; Abdamia, Noranita; Mohamed, Suhana; Thahira Bibi, TKM

    2017-08-01

    Concept of halal is not only acceptable world wide by the Muslim society but also to the non Muslim. However, the implementing of halal logistics in daily operation experience a few difficulties especially on the implementation part. Although there are many academic research paper that highlight the issue of halal logistics and the critical success factor, until today, halal logistics in Malaysia is still experiencing a hiccup. This paper try to highlight a few simple ways of implementation of halal logistics that could enhance the total implementation concept at the very least cost to create benefit to all society. The Paper deals with a few aspect of possible implementation and practice to facilitate the halal logistics approach in daily operation. The main objective is to look at the possible method of implementation and critical success factors towards the implementation of halal logistics operation in daily goods movement in Malaysia.

  7. Talking to children matters: Early language experience strengthens processing and builds vocabulary

    PubMed Central

    Weisleder, Adriana; Fernald, Anne

    2016-01-01

    Infants differ substantially in their rates of language growth, and slower growth predicts later academic difficulties. This study explored how the amount of speech to infants in Spanish-speaking families low in socioeconomic status (SES) influenced the development of children's skill in real-time language processing and vocabulary learning. All-day recordings of parent-infant interactions at home revealed striking variability among families in how much speech caregivers addressed to their child. Infants who experienced more child-directed speech became more efficient in processing familiar words in real time and had larger expressive vocabularies by 24 months, although speech simply overheard by the child was unrelated to vocabulary outcomes. Mediation analyses showed that the effect of child-directed speech on expressive vocabulary was explained by infants’ language-processing efficiency, suggesting that richer language experience strengthens processing skills that facilitate language growth. PMID:24022649

  8. Mentored residential writing retreats: a leadership strategy to develop skills and generate outcomes in writing for publication.

    PubMed

    Jackson, Debra

    2009-01-01

    There is an increasing expectation that academic and clinical nurses will contribute to disciplinary and professional discourses through scholarly writing. However, the difficulties and challenges associated with writing for publication mean that many papers will never be written. This current paper describes an innovative approach developed to support skill development and outcomes in writing for publication. Intensive residential writing retreats informed by the principles of servant leadership and incorporating strategies such as mentoring and peer learning were conducted in 2005 and 2007. Positive outcomes and benefits included publications submitted to peer-reviewed journals, as well as positive effects on collegial relationships, and team building. Novice writers benefited from intensive and sustained support and coaching by experienced writers. Organisational benefits included increased participation by staff and research higher degree students in publication activities, enhanced collegial relationships and opportunities for senior established writers to work with inexperienced writers.

  9. Developing a Student Conception of Academic Rigor

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Draeger, John; del Prado Hill, Pixita; Mahler, Ronnie

    2015-01-01

    In this article we describe models of academic rigor from the student point of view. Drawing on a campus-wide survey, focus groups, and interviews with students, we found that students explained academic rigor in terms of workload, grading standards, level of difficulty, level of interest, and perceived relevance to future goals. These findings…

  10. Internalizing and Externalizing in Adolescence: The Roles of Academic Self-Efficacy and Gender

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rocchino, Gabrielle H.; Dever, Bridget V.; Telesford, Alana; Fletcher, Kristen

    2017-01-01

    This study examines academic self-efficacy and gender as predictors of internalizing and externalizing behaviors in adolescence. In addition, the role of gender was considered as a moderator in the relationship between academic self-efficacy and internalizing/externalizing difficulties. Participants were 4,318 predominantly African American,…

  11. Writing Abilities Longitudinally Predict Academic Outcomes of Adolescents with ADHD

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Molitor, Stephen J.; Langberg, Joshua M.; Bourchtein, Elizaveta; Eddy, Laura D.; Dvorsky, Melissa R.; Evans, Steven W.

    2016-01-01

    Students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience a host of negative academic outcomes, and deficits in reading and mathematics abilities contribute to these academic impairments. Students with ADHD may also have difficulties with written expression, but there has been minimal research in this area and it is not clear…

  12. The Effectiveness of Academic Workload Models in an Institution: A Staff Perspective

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kenny, John D. J.; Fluck, Andrew E.

    2014-01-01

    The demands on academic staff are increasing to the point where effective mechanisms for the allocation of their work are now necessary. Despite the inherent difficulties of categorising academic work, nearly all enterprise agreements at Australian universities include a clause designed to avoid work overload. Through a questionnaire, the…

  13. Cognitive and Noncognitive Predictors of Academic Difficulty and Attrition.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cariaga-Lo, Liza D.; Enarson, Cam E.; Crandall, Sonia J.; Zaccaro, Daniel J.; Richards, Boyd F.

    1997-01-01

    A study investigated when medical students are at greatest risk of academic failure and which cognitive or noncognitive factors place them at risk. Subjects were 658 medical students matriculating at Wake Forest University (North Carolina) over five years. Results suggest the majority of academic delays occur in the first two years. Specific…

  14. Systematic Academic Instruction for Students with EBD: The Construction and Use of a Tool for Teachers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    van der Worp-van der Kamp, Lidy; Pijl, Sip Jan; Post, Wendy J.; Bijstra, Jan O.; van den Bosch, Els J.

    2017-01-01

    Educating students with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties requires a thorough systematic approach with the focus on academic instruction. This study addresses the development of a tool, consisting of two questionnaires, for measuring systematic academic instruction. The questionnaires cover the Plan-Do-Check-Act cycle and academic…

  15. Maltreatment, Academic Difficulty, and Systems-Involved Youth: Current Evidence and Opportunities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stone, Susan; Zibulsky, Jamie

    2015-01-01

    Youth involved in child-serving systems of care (e.g., child welfare and juvenile justice) often exhibit specific academic performance problems. The magnitude of academic risk among these students is a serious concern given that school attachment, performance, and attainment closely relate to indicators of well-being across the lifespan. It is…

  16. Academic Outcomes for Children Born Preterm: A Summary and Call for Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Keller-Margulis, Milena; Dempsey, Allison; Llorens, Ashlie

    2011-01-01

    The developmental outcomes for children born preterm have been examined by many, with results unequivocally indicating that children born preterm tend to have poorer cognitive outcomes and more developmental difficulties. Less attention has been paid to academic outcomes. The purpose of this paper is to review the academic skills assessment of…

  17. Predicting the Academic Functioning of Youth Involved in Residential Care

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Griffith, Annette K.; Trout, Alexandra L.; Epstein, Michael H.; Garbin, Calvin P.; Pick, Robert; Wright, Tanya

    2010-01-01

    Youth involved in residential care programs present with significant difficulties across behavioral and mental health domains. Although this is a group that is also at considerable risk for academic failure, very little research has been done to understand the academic functioning of this population. The current study sought to expand what is…

  18. Evaluating Academic Workplaces: The Hyper-Expansive Environment Experienced by University Lecturers in Professional Fields

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Boyd, Pete; Smith, Caroline; Ilhan Beyaztas, Dilek

    2015-01-01

    Academic developers need to understand the situated workplaces of the academic tribes they are supporting. This study proposes the use of the expansive--restrictive workplace learning environment continuum as a tool for evaluation of academic workplaces. The tool is critically appraised through its application to the analysis of workplace…

  19. Reducing Intellectual Poverty of Outsiders within Academic Spaces through Informal Peer Mentorship

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    De Four-Babb, Joyanne; Pegg, Jerine; Beck, Makini

    2015-01-01

    Academia is changing and a growing number of academics are finding themselves in non-tenure-track positions, experiencing increasing numbers of career transitions, or following alternative career trajectories. Academics in these positions often find themselves positioned as outsiders within their institutions and/or the broader academic community.…

  20. Evaluation of a cognitive remediation intervention for college students with psychiatric conditions.

    PubMed

    Mullen, Michelle G; Thompson, Judy L; Murphy, Ann A; Malenczak, Derek; Giacobbe, Giovanna; Karyczak, Sean; Holloway, Katherine E; Twamley, Elizabeth W; Silverstein, Steven M; Gill, Kenneth J

    2017-03-01

    Given the poor educational outcomes associated with psychiatric conditions, we developed Focused Academic Strength Training (FAST), a 12-week strategy-focused cognitive remediation intervention designed to improve academic functioning among college students with psychiatric conditions. Here we report initial results from a randomized controlled trial of FAST. Seventy-two college students with mood, anxiety, and/or psychotic disorders were randomized to receive FAST or services as usual and were assessed at baseline and 4 months (posttreatment). Repeated-measures analyses of variance indicated FAST-associated improvements in self-reported cognitive strategy use (p < .001), self-efficacy (p = .001), and academic difficulties (p = .025). There were no significant treatment-related improvements in neuropsychological performance. FAST may lead to an increase in self-efficacy and cognitive strategy use, as well as a reduction in academic difficulties among students with psychiatric conditions. Future analyses with follow-up data through 12 months will address the potential of FAST to improve academic functioning among this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

  1. Difficulties of Diabetic Patients in Learning about Their Illness.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bonnet, Caroline; Gagnayre, Remi; d'Ivernois, Jean Francois

    2001-01-01

    Examines the difficulties experienced by diabetic patients in learning about their illness. Diabetic people (N=138) were questioned by means of a closed answer questionnaire. Results reveal that patients easily acquired manual skills, yet numerous learning difficulties were associated with the skills required to solve problems and make decisions,…

  2. Difficulties for University Students with Mental Health Problems: A Critical Interpretive Synthesis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Markoulakis, Roula; Kirsh, Bonnie

    2013-01-01

    Postsecondary institutions are witnessing an increase in the number and severity of student mental health problems, necessitating an understanding of the difficulties these students encounter in striving for higher education. The authors conducted a critical interpretive synthesis of 10 articles pertaining to difficulties experienced by students…

  3. Dentist's distress in the management of chronic pain control: The example of TMD pain in a dental practice-based research network.

    PubMed

    Yokoyama, Yoko; Kakudate, Naoki; Sumida, Futoshi; Matsumoto, Yuki; Gordan, Valeria V; Gilbert, Gregg H

    2018-01-01

    We aimed to obtain greater understanding of dentists' distress when they diagnose and treat patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD), and to explore ways in which TMD can be better treated.We conducted a cross-sectional study based on a questionnaire survey of dentists (n = 148). Dentists were queried using an open-ended questionnaire about distress they experienced when treating patients with TMD. Survey responses were analyzed using mixed methods. Associations between specific dentist and patient characteristics and types of distress were analyzed by one way analysis of variance and residual analysis.One hundred thirteen clinicians responded to the questionnaire, giving a 76% response rate. Thematic analysis identified 6 major themes: difficulty in predicting therapeutic effect and prognosis; difficulty in diagnosis; difficulty in the decision about whether to do occlusal adjustment; difficulty in specifying a cause; difficulty in communicating with patients and mental factors; and health insurance system barriers. Clinicians who reported difficulty in deciding whether to do occlusal adjustment saw significantly more patients who experienced shoulder stiffness and headache (P = .008 and P = .022, respectively). Dentists' knowledge of TMD guidelines was associated with a lower percentage of difficulty in predicting therapeutic effect and prognosis (residual analysis; P = .010).These findings provide important insights into clinician's perception of difficulties with patients experiencing TMD-related pain. Knowledge of the existence of TMD clinical practice guidelines may lower dentist distress, particularly with regard to prognosis. Further studies are needed to decrease dentist's distress and to overcome the evidence-practice gap in TMD treatment. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

  4. [Mothers' difficulty in childrearing classified in terms of their children's behavioral characteristics].

    PubMed

    Sakata, Sachi; Naruse, Takashi; Taguchi, Atsuko; Murashima, Sachiyo

    2014-01-01

    Mothers who experience difficulty in childrearing are becoming increasingly more prevalent in Japan. This study described and classified mothers' childrearing difficulty in terms of their children's behavioral characteristics and related factors. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to 818 mothers at their children's 3-year-old health checkup in eight suburban cities in Japan. The questionnaire consisted of items assessing the mother's experience of difficulty in childrearing for the child undergoing the checkup. The subjects were classified into four groups according to their children's behavioral characteristics: "low needs," "internalizing behavior," "externalizing behavior," and "comorbid internalizing-externalizing behavior." Multiple regression analysis was performed to examine the relationships between mothers' difficulty in childrearing and related factors. A total of 775 respondents were divided as follows: 332 mothers had children with low needs, 104 had those with internalizing behavior, 230 had those with externalizing behavior, and 109 had those with comorbid internalizing-externalizing behavior. Mothers in the low needs group showed less childrearing difficulty than did mothers in the other groups. Childrearing difficulty increased by group in the following order: internalizing, externalizing, and comorbid internalizing-externalizing. In all four groups, mothers with low self-efficacy and less appraisal support from their family encountered greater childrearing difficulty. In the low needs group, experiencing childrearing difficulty with another child was related experiencing childrearing difficulty with the child undergoing the checkup. In the internalizing behavior group, mothers who had experienced greater difficulty in childrearing were more likely to be housewives and of younger age, and were more likely to have had boys as the child undergoing the checkup. In the externalizing behavior group, mothers with more difficulty in childrearing were more likely to be younger and less healthy, have less appraisal support from their friends, and live in apartments. In the comorbid internalizing-externalizing group, if the mothers were housewives, they were more likely to have difficulty in caring for their other children, receive less appraisal support from their friends, and experience more difficulty in childrearing. The results showed that mothers' difficulty in childrearing and the factors related to this difficulty differed according to their children's behavioral characteristics. Public health nurses could provide more effective care and support to mothers by considering children's behavioral characteristics.

  5. Neurotological symptoms and academic performance of university students.

    PubMed

    Marques, Marcia Mattos; Ganança, Mauricio Malavasi; Marques, Carolina Mattos; Ganança, Fernando Freitas; Caovilla, Heloisa Helena

    2010-02-01

    To compare the academic performance of university students with or without neurotological symptoms. 100 students enrolled in the Biomedical Sciences Graduate School - Medical Modality of UNIFESP-EPM in 2007 and answered a neurotological screening questionnaire. The symptoms presented once, sometimes, many times or always, in a decreasing order of prevalence, were headache (74.0%), difficulty with concentration (57.0%), lack of memory (45.0%), physical indisposition, nausea /dizziness when in moving vehicle (37.0%), fainting (27.0%), nausea (26.0%), sensation of fullness in the ear (26.0%), hypersensitivity to sounds (26.0%), tinnitus (22.0%), vertigo and other kinds of dizziness (21.0%), imbalance when walking (21.0%), difficulty in hearing (21.0%), imminent sensation of fainting (11.0%) and vomiting (8.0%), alone or in different associations; convulsion was not mentioned. The final academic performance score ranged from 5.1 to 10.0. University students with or without neurotological symptoms have manifested similar academic performance.

  6. Predicting United States Medical Licensure Examination Step 2 clinical knowledge scores from previous academic indicators.

    PubMed

    Monteiro, Kristina A; George, Paul; Dollase, Richard; Dumenco, Luba

    2017-01-01

    The use of multiple academic indicators to identify students at risk of experiencing difficulty completing licensure requirements provides an opportunity to increase support services prior to high-stakes licensure examinations, including the United States Medical Licensure Examination (USMLE) Step 2 clinical knowledge (CK). Step 2 CK is becoming increasingly important in decision-making by residency directors because of increasing undergraduate medical enrollment and limited available residency vacancies. We created and validated a regression equation to predict students' Step 2 CK scores from previous academic indicators to identify students at risk, with sufficient time to intervene with additional support services as necessary. Data from three cohorts of students (N=218) with preclinical mean course exam score, National Board of Medical Examination subject examinations, and USMLE Step 1 and Step 2 CK between 2011 and 2013 were used in analyses. The authors created models capable of predicting Step 2 CK scores from academic indicators to identify at-risk students. In model 1, preclinical mean course exam score and Step 1 score accounted for 56% of the variance in Step 2 CK score. The second series of models included mean preclinical course exam score, Step 1 score, and scores on three NBME subject exams, and accounted for 67%-69% of the variance in Step 2 CK score. The authors validated the findings on the most recent cohort of graduating students (N=89) and predicted Step 2 CK score within a mean of four points (SD=8). The authors suggest using the first model as a needs assessment to gauge the level of future support required after completion of preclinical course requirements, and rescreening after three of six clerkships to identify students who might benefit from additional support before taking USMLE Step 2 CK.

  7. Academic Self-Concept and Academic Achievement of African American Students Transitioning from Urban to Rural Schools

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bacon, La Shawn Catrice

    2011-01-01

    The relationship between academic self-concept and academic achievement in African American students who have experienced geographic mobility was the focus of this study. Specifically, this study used quantitative methods to assess African American students from counties in Iowa to obtain information about the students' relocation from urban to…

  8. [Language and semantic memory impairment in a patient with motor neuron disease and semantic dementia: a case report].

    PubMed

    Kito, Yumiko; Kazui, Hiroaki; Yoshida, Tetsuhiko; Kubo, Yoshihiko; Takaya, Masahiko; Tokunaga, Hiromasa; Takeda, Masatoshi

    2010-06-01

    We report the rare case of a 59-year-old man with motor neuron disease and semantic dementia (SD-MND); SD-MND was in a very early stage, and its clinical progression, especially with regard to language impairment, and abnormalities on neuroimages were evaluated for 3 years. The patient complained only of difficulties in recalling names of acquaintances and in writing kanji characters. After 1 year, he experienced difficulty in describing common objects. He developed two-way anomia only in some words, which varied from day to day. His anomia was not category-specific and was noted even with respect to words that describe color. In addition to experiencing difficulty in writing kanji characters, he experienced difficulty in writing kana characters. Muscle atrophy was observed, and he experienced weakness in his limbs, especially in the right upper limb; however, bulbar symptoms were not observed. At this point, he fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for MND. In the next year, semantic memory impairment became apparent, and he was subsequently diagnosed with SD. Deterioration in his ability to name objects in all categories, except body parts, was noted. Further, the ability of writing both kana and kanji characters was increasingly impaired. He developed bulbar symptoms and experienced increased muscle weakness. The characteristics of this patient differed from those of SD patients without MND with regard to the difficulty in writing kana characters and naming colors even though the SD-MND was in the early stage. Further, the pattern of brain hypoperfusion was different from that observed for SD patients without MND. In the case of this patient, brain hypoperfusion was found not only in the left anterior temporal lobe but also in the frontal lobe. The characteristics of his language symptoms might be related to the specific pattern of brain hypoperfusion, which might be commonly observed in patients with dementia and MND.

  9. Is severity of motor coordination difficulties related to co-morbidity in children at risk for developmental coordination disorder?

    PubMed

    Schoemaker, Marina M; Lingam, Raghu; Jongmans, Marian J; van Heuvelen, Marieke J G; Emond, Alan

    2013-10-01

    Aim of the study was to investigate whether 7-9 year old children with severe motor difficulties are more at risk of additional difficulties in activities in daily living, academic skills, attention and social skills than children with moderate motor difficulties. Children (N=6959) from a population based cohort, the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), were divided into three groups based on their scores on the ALSPAC Coordination Test at age 7: control children (scores above 15th centile; N=5719 [82.1%]); children with moderate (between 5th and 15th centile; N=951 [13.7%]); and children with severe motor difficulties (below 5th centile N=289 [4.2%]). Children with neurological disorders or an IQ<70 were excluded. Logistic regression was used to compare children with moderate and severe motor coordination difficulties with each other and with control children regarding their risk of co-morbidity defined as significant (<10th centile) difficulties with activities of daily living (ADL); academic skills (reading, spelling and handwriting); attention; social skills (social cognition and nonverbal skills). Children with severe motor difficulties demonstrated a higher risk of difficulties in ADL, handwriting, attention, reading, and social cognition than children with moderate motor difficulties, who in turn had a higher risk of difficulties than control children in five out of seven domains. Screening and intervention of co-morbid problems is recommended for children with both moderate and severe motor difficulties. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  10. Mobility as a Mediator of the Effects of Child Maltreatment on Academic Performance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Eckenrode, John; And Others

    1995-01-01

    Examined the effect of residential and school mobility in the academic performance of 5- to 15-year-old maltreated children. Found that maltreated children encounter more academic difficulties in part because they experience relatively high levels of residential mobility and school transfer. Found little evidence to support the role of mobility in…

  11. The Effectiveness of Adopting E-Readers to Facilitate EFL Students' Process-Based Academic Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hung, Hui-Chun; Young, Shelley Shwu-Ching

    2015-01-01

    English as Foreign Language (EFL) students face additional difficulties for academic writing largely due to their level of language competency. An appropriate structural process of writing can help students develop their academic writing skills. This study explored the use of the e-readers to facilitate EFL students' process-based academic…

  12. Effects of Computer-Based Early-Reading Academic Learning Time on Early-Reading Achievement: A Dose-Response Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heuston, Edward Benjamin Hull

    2010-01-01

    Academic learning time (ALT) has long had the theoretical underpinnings sufficient to claim a causal relationship with academic achievement, but to this point empirical evidence has been lacking. This dearth of evidence has existed primarily due to difficulties associated with operationalizing ALT in traditional educational settings. Recent…

  13. Research Success and Structured Support: Developing Early Career Academics in Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Geber, H.

    2009-01-01

    Entry into a successful academic career is often an arduous process. From career preparation through to doctoral studies and beyond, the journey can be fraught with trials. Why do many academics find difficulty in completing their studies in the minimum time and publishing afterwards? As the University of the Witwatersrand has a strategic goal of…

  14. Superstorm Sandy and the academic achievement of university students.

    PubMed

    Doyle, Matthew D; Lockwood, Brian; Comiskey, John G

    2017-10-01

    Much of the literature on the consequences of natural disasters has focused on their physical and psychological ramifications. Few researchers have considered how the impacts of a natural disaster can influence academic achievement. This study analyses data collected from nearly 300 students at a mid-sized, private university in the northeast United States to determine if the effects of Cyclone Sandy in 2012 are associated with measures of academic achievement. The findings reveal that experiencing headaches after the event resulted in a higher likelihood of students suffering a loss of academic motivation. In addition, experiencing headaches and a loss of academic motivation were correlated with a lower grade point average (GPA) during the semester in which Sandy made landfall. However, the more direct effects of the superstorm, including displacement and a loss of power, did not have a significant bearing on academic achievement. Lastly, the paper examines the implications for higher education policy and future research. © 2017 The Author(s). Disasters © Overseas Development Institute, 2017.

  15. Starting of rocket engine at conditions of simulated altitude using crude monoethylaniline and other fuels with mixed acid

    NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

    Ladanyi, Dezso J; Sloop, John L; Humphrey, Jack C; Morrell, Gerald

    1950-01-01

    Experiments were conducted at sea level and pressure altitude of about 55,000 feet at various temperatures to determine starting characteristics of a commercial rocket engine using crude monoethylaniline and other fuels with mixed acid. With crude monoethylaniline, ignition difficulties were encountered at temperatures below about 20 degrees F. With mixed butyl mercaptans, water-white turpentine, and x-pinene, no starting difficulties were experienced at temperatures as low as minus 74 degrees F. Turpentine and x-pinene, however, sometimes left deposits on the injector face. With blends containing furfuryl alcohol and with other blends, difficulties were experienced either from appreciable deposits or from starting.

  16. Value Conflicts Experienced by Mexican-American Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ramirez, Manuel, III

    The object of this study, conducted in a Northern California city school district, was to find evidence of cultural value conflicts experienced by Mexican American secondary school students of low socioeconomic background. Those students experiencing the most difficulty in adjusting to the school setting and thus most likely to be dropouts were…

  17. Psychological Distress of Fathers Attending an Australian Early Parenting Service for Early Parenting Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Giallo, Rebecca; Cooklin, Amanda; Zerman, Nikki; Vittorino, Renzo

    2013-01-01

    Background: Early parenting centres are in a unique position to identify and provide support to fathers experiencing mental health difficulties. However, the extent to which fathers attending these services experience mental health difficulties is not known. This study aimed to assess fathers' mental health, identify specific clinical profiles…

  18. Who is At Risk for Persistent Mathematics Difficulties in the U.S?

    PubMed Central

    Morgan, Paul L.; Farkas, George; Hillemeier, Marianne M.; Maczuga, Steve

    2015-01-01

    We analyzed two nationally representative, longitudinal datasets of U.S. children to identify risk factors for persistent mathematics difficulties (PMD). Results indicated that children from low socioeconomic households were at elevated risk of PMD at 48 and 60 months of age, as were children with cognitive delays, identified developmental delays or disabilities, or those with vocabulary difficulties. In contrast, children attending preschool either in Head Start or non-Head Start classrooms are at initially lower risk of PMD. Kindergarten-aged children experiencing either low socioeconomic status or mathematics difficulties are at greatest risk for PMD across 3rd, 5th, and 8th grade. Also at risk for PMD between 3rd–8th grade are children displaying reading difficulties or inattention and other learning-related behaviors problems, children with identified disabilities, and those who are retained. Educationally relevant and potentially malleable factors for decreasing young children’s risk for PMD may include increasing children’s access to preschool, decreasing their risk of experiencing vocabulary or reading difficulties, and avoiding use of grade retention. PMID:25331758

  19. Chronic bullying victimization across school transitions: The role of genetic and environmental influences

    PubMed Central

    Bowes, Lucy; Maughan, Barbara; Ball, Harriet; Shakoor, Sania; Ouellet-Morin, Isabelle; Caspi, Avshalom; Moffitt, Terrie E.; Arseneault, Louise

    2013-01-01

    We investigated the antecedents and consequences of chronic victimization by bullies across a school transition using a genetically sensitive longitudinal design. Data were from the Environmental Risk Longitudinal Twin Study (E-Risk), an epidemiological cohort of 2,232 children. We used mothers’ and children’s reports of bullying victimization during primary school and early secondary school. Children who experienced frequent victimization at both time points were classed as “chronic victims” and were found to have an increased risk for mental health problems and academic difficulties compared to children who were bullied only in primary school, children bullied for the first time in secondary school, and never-bullied children. Biometric analyses revealed that stability in victimization over this period was influenced primarily by genetic and shared environmental factors. Regression analyses showed that children’s early characteristics such as preexistent adjustment difficulties and IQ predicted chronic versus transitory victimization. Family risk factors for chronic victimization included socioeconomic disadvantage, low maternal warmth, and maltreatment. Our results suggest that bullying intervention programs should consider the role of the victims’ behaviors and family background in increasing vulnerability to chronic victimization. Our study highlights the importance of widening antibullying interventions to include families to reduce the likelihood of children entering a pathway toward chronic victimization. PMID:23627948

  20. The ways parents cope with stress in difficult parenting situations: the structural equation modeling approach

    PubMed Central

    Dobrenko, Kamila Anna

    2017-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to verify a theoretical model of parents’ responses to difficulties they experienced with their child. The model presents relationships between seven variables: (a) discrepancy between parental goal and the child’s current level of development, (b) parental experience of a difficulty, (c) representation of the child in the parent’s mind, (d) parent’s withdrawal from the parenting situation, (e) seeking help, (f) distancing oneself from the situation, and (g) applying pressure on the child. The study involved 319 parents of preschool children: 66 parents of three-year-olds, 85 parents of four-year-olds, 99 parents of five-year-olds and 69 parents of six-year-old children. Structural equations modeling (SEM) was used to verify the compounds described in the theoretical model. The studies revealed that when a parent is experiencing difficulties, the probability increases that the parent will have one of two reactions towards that type of stress: withdrawal from the situation or applying pressure on the child. Experiencing difficulties has no connection with searching for help and is negatively related to distancing oneself from the situation. PMID:28626606

  1. Academic Resilience among Undocumented Latino Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Perez, William; Espinoza, Roberta; Ramos, Karina; Coronado, Heidi M.; Cortes, Richard

    2009-01-01

    This study examined the academic resilience of undocumented immigrant Latino students. It was hypothesized that due to their legal and social marginalization, students who experienced high risk accompanied by high levels of both personal and environmental protective factors would have higher academic outcomes than students with lower levels of…

  2. Learning Self-Evaluation: Challenges for Students.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    MacGregor, Jean

    1993-01-01

    Self-evaluation is unfamiliar to most college students. Teachers can use varied approaches to support students in overcoming unfamiliarity with self-evaluation, lack of confidence in describing learning, writing difficulties, evaluation difficulties, discomfort discussing academic problems, cultural bias against self-evaluation, emotional…

  3. The association of ADHD and depression: Mediation by peer problems and parent-child difficulties in two complementary samples

    PubMed Central

    Humphreys, Kathryn L.; Katz, Shaina J.; Lee, Steve S.; Hammen, Constance L.; Brennan, Patricia A.; Najman, Jake M.

    2013-01-01

    Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at increased risk for the development of depression, with evidence that peer and academic difficulties mediate predictions of later depression from ADHD. The present study hypothesized that parent-child relationship difficulties may be an additional potential mediator of this association. Academic, peer, and parent-child functioning were tested as mediators of the association of attention problems and depression in two distinctly different, yet complementary samples. Study 1 was a cross-sectional sample of 230 5–10 year-old children with and without ADHD. Study 2 was a prospective longitudinal sample of 472 youth followed prospectively from birth to age 20 at risk for depression. Despite differences in age, measures, and designs, both studies implicated peer and parent-child problems as unique mediators of depressive symptoms, although academic difficulties did not uniquely mediate the ADHD-depression association. Further, inattention symptoms, but not hyperactivity, predicted depressive symptoms via the disruption of interpersonal functioning. The inclusion of oppositional defiant disorder into models impacted results, and supported its independent role in parent-child problems. Implications include support for interventions that target interpersonal competence, which may effectively reduce the risk of depression among children with ADHD. PMID:24016021

  4. The Difficulties Experienced by Teachers in the Process of Primary Reading and Writing Instruction and Their Solution Offers for Eliminating These Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gündogmus, Hatice Degirmenci

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of the current research is to identify the difficulties that primary school teachers experience in the primary reading and writing instruction, and to find out their solution offers for eliminating these difficulties. The study group of the research is composed of 51 primary school teachers selected by criterion sampling as a type of…

  5. [Returning students' perspectives on adjusting to medical graduate school in Korea: an interview study].

    PubMed

    Park, So Youn; Kwon, Oh Young; Yoon, Tai Young

    2015-03-01

    The recent trend of switching from medical graduate school to medical school in Korea raises questions about the adjustments that students must make in medical education. We examined the perceptions of medical graduate students with regard to their adaptation in medical education. Sixteen semistructured, in-depth interviews were administered to medical graduate students who received their first degrees in foreign countries. The interviews addressed their perceptions of their experience in medical graduate school and on how well they adjusted to medical education. Students perceived their adaptation to medical graduate school in two dimensions: academic achievement and cultural adjustment. In academic achievement, a limited student-teacher relationship was recognized by students. Students tended to be passive in the classroom due to an uncomfortable atmosphere. They also reported witnessing culture shock in relation to the paucity of information on entrance into medical graduate school. Freshmen voiced many difficulties in adjusting to the unique culture in medical graduate school, in contrast to upper classmen. However, only 32% of students experienced helpful mentoring for their problems. Students' perspectives should guide all decisions made about medical education in an altered educational system.Self-regulated learning and a good mentoring program can help prepare students for medical education and professional life.

  6. A person-centred segmentation study in elderly care: towards efficient demand-driven care.

    PubMed

    Eissens van der Laan, M R; van Offenbeek, M A G; Broekhuis, H; Slaets, J P J

    2014-07-01

    Providing patients with more person-centred care without increasing costs is a key challenge in healthcare. A relevant but often ignored hindrance to delivering person-centred care is that the current segmentation of the population and the associated organization of healthcare supply are based on diseases. A person-centred segmentation, i.e., based on persons' own experienced difficulties in fulfilling needs, is an elementary but often overlooked first step in developing efficient demand-driven care. This paper describes a person-centred segmentation study of elderly, a large and increasing target group confronted with heterogeneous and often interrelated difficulties in their functioning. In twenty-five diverse healthcare and welfare organizations as well as elderly associations in the Netherlands, data were collected on the difficulties in biopsychosocial functioning experienced by 2019 older adults. Data were collected between March 2010 and January 2011 and sampling took place based on their (temporarily) living conditions. Factor Mixture Model was conducted to categorize the respondents into segments with relatively similar experienced difficulties concerning their functioning. First, the analyses show that older adults can be empirically categorized into five meaningful segments: feeling vital; difficulties with psychosocial coping; physical and mobility complaints; difficulties experienced in multiple domains; and feeling extremely frail. The categorization seems robust as it was replicated in two population-based samples in the Netherlands. The segmentation's usefulness is discussed and illustrated through an evaluation of the alignment between a segment's unfulfilled biopsychosocial needs and current healthcare utilization. The set of person-centred segmentation variables provides healthcare providers the option to perform a more comprehensive first triage step than only a disease-based one. The outcomes of this first step could guide a focused and, therefore, more efficient second triage step. On a local or regional level, this person-centred segmentation provides input information to policymakers and care providers for the demand-driven allocation of resources. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Self-Concept, Self-Esteem and Academic Achievement: Strategies for Maintaining Self-Esteem in Students Experiencing Academic Failure

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Peixoto, Francisco; Almeida, Leandro S.

    2010-01-01

    Previous research into the relationship between self-esteem and academic achievement shows that despite differences in academic self-evaluation, students' global self-representations do not differ as a result of their grades at school. In this study, we will analyse the strategies that underachievers used to maintain their self-esteem at an…

  8. Walking the Tightrope between Work and Non-Work Life: Strategies Employed by British and Chinese Academics and Their Implications

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ren, Xiaoni; Caudle, Darren

    2016-01-01

    Drawing on in-depth interviews with 30 academics from various disciplines in both UK and Chinese universities, this comparative study aims to offer new insights into how academics in British and Chinese universities maintained work-life balance and the similarities and differences experienced between academics of both countries. This study finds…

  9. Working Memory Profiles in HIV-Exposed, Uninfected and HIV-Infected Children: A Comparison with Neurotypical Controls

    PubMed Central

    Milligan, Robyn; Cockcroft, Kate

    2017-01-01

    This study compared the working memory profiles of three groups of children, namely HIV-infected (HIV-I; n = 95), HIV-exposed, uninfected (HIV-EU; n = 86) and an HIV-unexposed, uninfected, (HIV-UU; n = 92) neurotypical control group. Working memory, an executive function, plays an important role in frontal lobe-controlled behaviors, such as motivation, planning, decision making, and social interaction, and is a strong predictor of academic success in school children. Memory impairments have been identified in HIV-I children, particularly in visuospatial processing. Verbal working memory has not been commonly investigated in this population, while it is unknown how the working memory profiles of HIV-EU children compare to their HIV-I and HIV-UU peers. Of interest was whether the working memory profiles of the HIV-EU children would be more similar to the HIV-I group or to the uninfected control group. The results revealed no significant differences in working memory performance between the HIV-I and HIV-EU groups. However, this does not mean that the etiology of the working memory deficits is the same in the two groups, as these groups showed important differences when compared to the control group. In comparison to the controls, the HIV-I group experienced difficulties with processing tasks irrespective of whether they drew on a verbal or visuospatial modality. This appears to stem from a generalized executive function deficit that also interferes with working memory. In the HIV-EU group, difficulties occurred with verbally based tasks, irrespective of whether they required storage or processing. For this group, the dual demands of complex processing and using a second language seem to result in demand exceeding capacity on verbal tasks. Both groups experienced the greatest difficulties with verbal processing tasks for these different reasons. Thus, disruption of different cognitive abilities could result in similar working memory profiles, as evidenced in this study. This has implications for the underlying developmental neurobiology of HIV-I and HIV-EU children, as well the choice of appropriate measures to assist affected children. PMID:28729828

  10. Influence of burnout and sleep difficulties on the quality of life among medical students.

    PubMed

    Pagnin, Daniel; de Queiroz, Valéria

    2015-01-01

    This study assessed the influence of burnout dimensions and sleep difficulties on the quality of life among preclinical-phase medical school students. Data were collected from 193 students through their completion of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Instrument, the Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey, the Mini-Sleep Questionnaire, the Social Readjustment Rating Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory. This survey performed hierarchical multiple regressions to quantify the effects of emotional exhaustion, cynicism, academic efficacy, and sleep difficulties on the physical, psychological, social, and environmental components of an individual's quality of life. The influence of confounding variables, such as gender, stress load, and depressive symptoms, were controlled in the statistical analyses. Physical health decreased when emotional exhaustion and sleep difficulties increased. Psychological well-being also decreased when cynicism and sleep difficulties increased. Burnout and sleep difficulties together explained 22 and 21 % of the variance in the physical and psychological well-being, respectively. On the other hand, physical health, psychological well-being, and social relationships increased when the sense of academic efficacy increased. Physical and psychological well-being are negatively associated with emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and sleep difficulties in students in the early phase of medical school. To improve the quality of life of these students, a significant effort should be directed towards burnout and sleep difficulties.

  11. The influence of classroom peers on cognitive performance in children with behavioural problems.

    PubMed

    Bevington, J; Wishart, J G

    1999-03-01

    Identifying factors linked to underachievement is fundamental to understanding the associated academic difficulties and crucial to the development of effective intervention strategies. Underachievement in a number of academic domains has been shown to be associated with behavioural problems in the classroom but the nature of the association and direction of any causal link has yet to be clarified. This study explored the association between poor academic achievement and behavioural problems by examining the direct effects of peer presence on classroom performance in children with identified behavioural difficulties. Specifically, it was hypothesised that independent performance on a cognitive task would decrease as number of classroom peers present increased. A total of 24 children attending two special schools for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties participated in the study. Age range was 9-14 years. A within-subjects design was used in which performance on a set of perceptual/conceptual matching tasks was assessed under three conditions: the child working alone, alongside one other peer, or within a group of six. Measures of non-verbal intelligence and academic attainment were collected, along with teacher ratings of the severity of each child's problem behaviour. Performance was found to be significantly influenced by peer presence, both in terms of number of correct responses and time taken to complete the matching tasks. Direction of effects on these two performance indicators differed according to number of peers present. Findings highlight the importance of contextual factors in determining classroom performance in children with behavioural difficulties. Given the current pressure to educate all children in mainstream classes, findings have implications for classroom management.

  12. Can Low-Cost Support Programmes with Coaching Accelerate Doctoral Completion in Health Science Faculty Academics?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Geber, Hilary; Bentley, Alison

    2012-01-01

    Career development for full-time Health Sciences academics through to doctoral studies is a monumental task. Many academics have difficulty completing their studies in the minimum time as well as publishing after obtaining their degree. As this problem is particularly acute in the Health Sciences, the PhD Acceleration Programme in Health Sciences…

  13. Burnout among Accounting and Finance Academics in Ireland

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Byrne, Marann; Chughtai, Aamir; Flood, Barbara; Murphy, Evelyn; Willis, Pauline

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to assess the levels of burnout experienced by accounting and finance academics in Ireland. Design/methodology/approach: Data for this cross-sectional survey study were collected from 100 accounting and finance academics teaching in Irish third level institutions. Independent sample "t"-tests, one…

  14. Continuing Challenges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fitzgerald, Tanya

    2012-01-01

    As the chapters in this book have identified, the academy and academics have experienced significant radical transformations across the past three decades. In many ways, academics have been eyewitnesses to these changes, and while there is much to mourn about what has been "lost", this is not the time for academic ambivalence towards the effects…

  15. Internationalization in German Academic Libraries: Moving beyond North American Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bordonaro, Karen; Rauchmann, Sabine

    2015-01-01

    This paper explores how internationalization is understood and experienced in German academic libraries. Its main purpose is to move the discussion of internationalization in academic libraries beyond the boundaries of English-speaking North America by investigating a European perspective. Its secondary purpose is to investigate the role of…

  16. Defense.gov Special Report: DOD Welcomes Ashton Carter - Secretary of

    Science.gov Websites

    with disabilities experiencing difficulties accessing content on archive.defense.gov, please use the ,' Secretary Says Focusing on the difficulties that lie ahead of the Defense Department is easy, but now is

  17. A Review of the Approaches Investigating the Post-16 Transition of Young Adults with Learning Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Carroll, Catherine

    2015-01-01

    Investigations into the lives and transition from compulsory schooling of young adults with a disability, including a learning difficulty (LD), are increasing. The emerging consensus is one which points to this group of young people experiencing greater difficulties and poorer outcomes compared to the general population. How these investigations…

  18. International Students' Confidence and Academic Success

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Telbis, Nicola Miky; Helgeson, Lars; Kingsbury, Cheryl

    2014-01-01

    Research shows that the international student population is showing significant growth. This article deals with issues affecting a growing international student population. Studies show that foreign students are encountering difficulties in social adaptability, language barriers, academic ability, and financial need. There is evidence that a…

  19. Answering the Call: Facilitating Responsive Services for Students Experiencing Homelessness

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grothaus, Tim; Lorelle, Sonya; Anderson, Kie; Knight, Jasmine

    2011-01-01

    After a review of the literature elucidating the status quo for students experiencing homelessness, this article shares the results of a mixed methods study. With a phenomenological qualitative emphasis, the mixed methods study explored the perceptions of parents and children experiencing homelessness regarding their academic needs and the…

  20. 77 FR 24746 - Proposed Collection; Comment Request

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-04-25

    ... SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION Proposed Collection; Comment Request Upon Written Request... that are experiencing financial or operational difficulties to provide notice to the Commission, the... difficulties and to obtain any additional information necessary to gauge the broker-dealer's financial or...

  1. The Globalisation of Higher Education and the Sojourner Academic: Insights into Challenges Experienced by Newly Appointed International Academic Staff in a UK University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walker, Patricia

    2015-01-01

    The increasingly diverse nature of the higher education academic community in the United Kingdom is under-researched and under-theorised. This article presents an exploratory study of the lived experiences of newly appointed international academic staff as expressed in their written reflections on their professional practice and interpreted by the…

  2. Maternal Filicide among Women Admitted to Forensic Psychiatric Institutions in Malaysia: Case Series.

    PubMed

    Razali, S; Salleh, R M; Yahya, B; Ahmad, S H

    2015-06-01

    To examine the characteristics of maternal filicide and describe the adverse life events experienced by women who have committed filicide and been hospitalised in forensic psychiatric institutions in Malaysia. Registration records from 2000 through 2012 of female patients from 2 main forensic psychiatric institutions in Malaysia were reviewed. The medical records of patients who had committed maternal filicide were selected and descriptively evaluated. A total of 18 cases of maternal filicide were identified. Family dysfunction that presented with marital discord, domestic violence, or husband with substance abuse was the main stress experienced by the women. Three social circumstances, including an adolescent who became a victim of date rape; immigrants who experienced sexual abuse; and filicide-suicide precipitated by financial difficulties were highlighted. Women who committed filicide had experienced various difficulties in their life. The presence of such life events might alert mental health professionals to investigate the possibility of filicide among their patients.

  3. Early emotional and behavioral difficulties and adult educational attainment: an 18-year follow-up of the TEMPO study.

    PubMed

    Zbar, Ariella; Surkan, Pamela J; Fombonne, Eric; Melchior, Maria

    2016-10-01

    Children who experience behavioral difficulties often have short and long-term school problems. However, the relationship between emotional difficulties and later academic achievement has not been thoroughly examined. Using data from the French TEMPO study (n = 666, follow-up 1991, 1999, 2009, mean age = 10.5, sd = 4.9 at baseline), we studied associations between internalizing and externalizing symptoms in: (a) childhood and (b) adolescence and educational attainment by young adulthood (< vs. ≥ high school degree), accounting for participants' age, sex, juvenile academic difficulties, and family income. High levels of childhood (but not adolescent) internalizing and externalizing symptoms were associated with low educational attainment; however, in multivariate models only the association with childhood internalizing symptoms remained statistically significant (OR = 1.75, 95 % CI 1.00-3.02). Supporting children with internalizing problems early on could help improve their long-term educational attainment.

  4. A Multilevel Model of Child- and Classroom-Level Psychosocial Factors that Support Language and Literacy Resilience of Children in Head Start

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Maier, Michelle F.; Vitiello, Virginia E.; Greenfield, Daryl B.

    2012-01-01

    Early exposure to the multiple risk factors associated with poverty is related to an elevated risk for academic difficulty. Therefore, it is important to promote academic resilience as early as possible and to identify factors that support resilience. Given the positive relation between early language skills and later academic outcomes, examining…

  5. A case-control study of the difficulties in daily functioning experienced by children with depressive disorder.

    PubMed

    Usami, Masahide; Iwadare, Yoshitaka; Watanabe, Kyota; Ushijima, Hirokage; Kodaira, Masaki; Okada, Takashi; Sasayama, Daimei; Sugiyama, Nobuhiro; Saito, Kazuhiko

    2015-07-01

    The parent-assessed children-with-difficulties questionnaire (Questionnaire-Children with Difficulties; QCD) is designed to evaluate a child׳s difficulties in functioning during specific periods of the day. This study aimed to use the QCD to evaluate the difficulties in daily functioning experienced by children with depressive disorders. A case-control design was used. The cases comprised 90 junior high school students with depressive disorder, whereas a community sample of 363 junior high school students was enrolled as controls. Behaviors were assessed using the QCD, Depression Self-Rating Scale (DSRS), Tokyo Autistic Behavior Scale (TABS), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder-rating scale (ADHD-RS), and Oppositional Defiant Behavior Inventory (ODBI). We then analyzed the effects of sex and diagnosis on the QCD scores as well as the correlation coefficients between the QCD and the other questionnaires. We included 90 cases (33 boys, 57 girls) with depressive disorders and 363 controls (180 boys, 183 girls). The QCD scores for the children with depressive disorders were significantly lower compared with those from the community sample (P<0.001). The morning, school-time, and night subscores of the QCD were lower for the children with both depressive disorders and truancy problems than for those with depressive disorders alone (P<0.001). Significant correlations were observed between the following: the night QCD subscore and the DSRS scores among boys, the morning QCD subscore and ADHD-RS inattention scores for all groups, and the evening QCD subscore and the TABS score. Parents reported that children with depressive disorders experienced greater difficulties in completing basic daily activities compared with community controls. These difficulties were dependent on sex, symptoms, and the time of day. The use of QCD to assess children with depressive disorders enables clinicians to clarify the time periods at which the children face difficulties. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Can improving working memory prevent academic difficulties? A school based randomised controlled trial.

    PubMed

    Roberts, Gehan; Quach, Jon; Gold, Lisa; Anderson, Peter; Rickards, Field; Mensah, Fiona; Ainley, John; Gathercole, Susan; Wake, Melissa

    2011-06-20

    Low academic achievement is common and is associated with adverse outcomes such as grade repetition, behavioural disorders and unemployment. The ability to accurately identify these children and intervene before they experience academic failure would be a major advance over the current 'wait to fail' model. Recent research suggests that a possible modifiable factor for low academic achievement is working memory, the ability to temporarily store and manipulate information in a 'mental workspace'. Children with working memory difficulties are at high risk of academic failure. It has recently been demonstrated that working memory can be improved with adaptive training tasks that encourage improvements in working memory capacity. Our trial will determine whether the intervention is efficacious as a selective prevention strategy for young children at risk of academic difficulties and is cost-effective. This randomised controlled trial aims to recruit 440 children with low working memory after a school-based screening of 2880 children in Grade one. We will approach caregivers of all children from 48 participating primary schools in metropolitan Melbourne for consent. Children with low working memory will be randomised to usual care or the intervention. The intervention will consist of 25 computerised working memory training sessions, which take approximately 35 minutes each to complete. Follow-up of children will be conducted at 6, 12 and 24 months post-randomisation through child face-to-face assessment, parent and teacher surveys and data from government authorities. The primary outcome is academic achievement at 12 and 24 months, and other outcomes include child behaviour, attention, health-related quality of life, working memory, and health and educational service utilisation. A successful start to formal learning in school sets the stage for future academic, psychological and economic well-being. If this preventive intervention can be shown to be efficacious, then we will have the potential to prevent academic underachievement in large numbers of at-risk children, to offer a ready-to-use intervention to the Australian school system and to build international research partnerships along the health-education interface, in order to carry our further studies of effectiveness and generalisability.

  7. Embedding the Scholarship of Engagement at a Regional University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Crookes, Patrick A.; Else, Fabienne C.; Smith, Kylie M.

    2015-01-01

    Despite receiving growing international recognition and regard, the scholarship of engagement remains undervalued internally at academic institutions, especially in relation to career development and academic promotion. This form of scholarship presents difficulties relating to evaluation, assessment, and evidencing that are not generally present…

  8. A Token Economy Made Easy through ClassDojo

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Robacker, Cassie M.; Rivera, Christopher J.; Warren, Sandra H.

    2016-01-01

    Students with behavioral and emotional disabilities spend less time on academic instruction due to their behavioral disruptions, contributing to the academic difficulties these students face. Classroom management strategies, in the form of positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS), incorporate principles of applied behavior analysis to…

  9. Project Pandora: Student Teaching and Learning (Resources) Tool Box

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Loves, Mark

    2009-01-01

    Feedback from post graduate domestic and international students has highlighted the difficulties many have in coping with academic expectations of critical analytical thinking, reading and writing skills, academic language, referencing and expectations surrounding plagiarism and assessment. Many international students indicate that these concepts…

  10. Response to Intervention and Math Instruction

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hinton, Vanessa; Flores, Margaret M.; Shippen, Margaret

    2013-01-01

    Response to intervention (RTI) is a framework in which interventions are implemented mostly in general education classes to resolve academic difficulties and help to mitigate contextual variables (i.e., lack of instruction, socio economic status, cultural differences, etc.) as an explanation for academic failure. The implementation of…

  11. International Students' Confidence and Academic Success

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Telbis, Nicola Miky

    2013-01-01

    Research shows that the international student population is showing significant growth. Studies also show that foreign students are encountering difficulties such as social adaptability, language barriers, academic ability, and financial need. There is compelling evidence that establishes a correlation between a person's self-efficacy and his or…

  12. Academic Work: The Changing Labour Process in Higher Education.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Smyth, John, Ed.

    This collection of papers examines what academics do as a work process and how that is changing dramatically with the fiscal crises being experienced by most governments around the world. It explores how academic work is organized, how it is enacted, in whose interests, and with what ultimate effects. Papers include: "Markets in Higher…

  13. Making Academic OER Easy: Reflections on Technology and Openness at Oxford University

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Highton, Melissa; Fresen, Jill; Wild, Joanna

    2011-01-01

    Due to its stringent entry requirements, academic reputation and world ranking, Oxford University in the United Kingdom is perceived by some as being a closed, exclusive, and elitist institution. As learning technologists working in the institution, we have experienced an enthusiasm amongst academic colleagues for openness in publication and…

  14. Academic Libraries and Quality: An Analysis and Evaluation Framework

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Atkinson, Jeremy

    2017-01-01

    The paper proposes and describes a framework for academic library quality to be used by new and more experienced library practitioners and by others involved in considering the quality of academic libraries' services and provision. The framework consists of eight themes and a number of questions to examine within each theme. The framework was…

  15. The Construction of the Chinese Academic System: Its History and Present Challenges

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yan, Guangcai

    2009-01-01

    The rise and development of China's academic system is a process that started from "passively accepting Western Learning" to today's "catching up with Western Learning and even exceeding it". In the last century, China experienced a turbulent and unstable social environment in which academics and politics have always been…

  16. Effects of a Classroom Intervention on Academic Engagement of Elementary School Students with Anxiety

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leatham, Lychelle

    2017-01-01

    This study evaluated the impact of anxiety reduction on academic engagement for eight students experiencing significant anxiety in grades three through five. All participating students showed high anxiety levels that appeared to be impacting performance on at least one academic task in the classroom, according to teacher report. Student…

  17. Dispositional mindfulness mediates the relationships of parental attachment to posttraumatic stress disorder and academic burnout in adolescents following the Yancheng tornado.

    PubMed

    An, Yuanyuan; Yuan, Guangzhe; Liu, Zhen; Zhou, Yuyang; Xu, Wei

    2018-01-01

    Background : Previous studies have shown that parental attachment is associated with low severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and low academic burnout in individuals who have experienced traumatic events. Objective : The present study investigated the ways in which parental attachment is related to PTSD symptoms and academic burnout in Chinese traumatized adolescents by considering the role of dispositional mindfulness. Method : A total of 443 Chinese adolescents who had experienced a severe tornado one year prior to this study completed measures of parental attachment, dispositional mindfulness, PTSD and academic burnout. Results : The results showed that our model fitted the data well [ χ 2 /df  = 2.968, CFI = 0.971, TLI = 0.955, RMSEA (90% CI) = 0.067 (0.052-0.082)] and revealed that dispositional mindfulness partially mediates the relationship between parental attachment, PTSD severity and academic burnout. Conclusions : The findings suggested that dispositional mindfulness and parental attachment may be two critical resources in dealing with traumatization and academic burnout.

  18. Dispositional mindfulness mediates the relationships of parental attachment to posttraumatic stress disorder and academic burnout in adolescents following the Yancheng tornado

    PubMed Central

    An, Yuanyuan; Liu, Zhen; Xu, Wei

    2018-01-01

    ABSTRACT Background: Previous studies have shown that parental attachment is associated with low severity of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and low academic burnout in individuals who have experienced traumatic events. Objective: The present study investigated the ways in which parental attachment is related to PTSD symptoms and academic burnout in Chinese traumatized adolescents by considering the role of dispositional mindfulness. Method: A total of 443 Chinese adolescents who had experienced a severe tornado one year prior to this study completed measures of parental attachment, dispositional mindfulness, PTSD and academic burnout. Results: The results showed that our model fitted the data well [χ2/df = 2.968, CFI = 0.971, TLI = 0.955, RMSEA (90% CI) = 0.067 (0.052–0.082)] and revealed that dispositional mindfulness partially mediates the relationship between parental attachment, PTSD severity and academic burnout. Conclusions: The findings suggested that dispositional mindfulness and parental attachment may be two critical resources in dealing with traumatization and academic burnout. PMID:29805781

  19. Measuring mobbing experiences of academic nurses: development of a mobbing scale.

    PubMed

    Ozturk, Havva; Sokmen, Serap; Yilmaz, Fatma; Cilingir, Dilek

    2008-09-01

    The aims of this study were to develop a mobbing scale for academic nurses and to determine their mobbing experiences. Data were collected between January and June 2006 with a 60-item mobbing scale and a questionnaire composed of 6 questions concerning demographics and 10 questions regarding nurses' opinions about mobbing. For the Mobbing Scale for Academic Nurses, the content validity index was 88%, item-to-total correlations ranged from .41 to .73, Cronbach alpha was .97, and Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure of sampling adequacy was .72. Barlett's test yielded quite significant results (chi2= 7905.47, p = .000). The scale was composed of eight subscales. One fifth of the academic nurses experienced mobbing, and there was evidence of mobbing at university nursing schools. The mobbing scale for academic nurses can be used to collect reliable and accurate data about mobbing experienced by academic nurses. If there is mobbing in nursing faculties and schools, appropriate precautions should be taken to protect people against mobbing, and a safe and comfortable atmosphere must be created in nursing faculties and schools.

  20. Career Decision-Making Difficulties among High School Students: From the Perception of Career Counselors and High School Principals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Williams, Kellie

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this comparative research study was to determine the perceptions of career counselors and principals on the types of career decision-making difficulties experienced by high school students and the extent to which a large-scale high school technology-based career development program addresses these difficulties, using the…

  1. Masculine Discrepancy Stress, Emotion-Regulation Difficulties, and Intimate Partner Violence

    PubMed Central

    Berke, Danielle S.; Reidy, Dennis E.; Gentile, Brittany; Zeichner, Amos

    2018-01-01

    Research suggests that masculine socialization processes contribute to the perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) by men. Although this research has traditionally focused on men who strongly adhere to traditional gender norms, men who negatively evaluate themselves as falling short of these norms (a construct termed masculine discrepancy stress) have proven to be at increased risk of IPV perpetration. Likewise, men experiencing problems with emotion regulation, a multidimensional construct reflecting difficulties in effectively experiencing and responding to emotional states, are also at risk of IPV perpetration. In the present research, we tested the hypothesis that the link between discrepancy stress and IPV perpetration is mediated via difficulties in emotion regulation. Three hundred fifty-seven men completed online surveys assessing their experience of discrepancy stress, emotion-regulation difficulties, and history of IPV perpetration. Results indicated that discrepancy-stressed men's use of physical IPV was fully mediated by emotion-regulation difficulties. In addition, emotion-regulation difficulties partially mediated the association between discrepancy stress and sexual IPV. Findings are discussed in terms of the potential utility of emotion-focused interventions for modifying men's experience and expression of discrepancy stress and reducing perpetration of IPV. PMID:27226013

  2. Masculine Discrepancy Stress, Emotion-Regulation Difficulties, and Intimate Partner Violence.

    PubMed

    Berke, Danielle S; Reidy, Dennis E; Gentile, Brittany; Zeichner, Amos

    2016-05-24

    Research suggests that masculine socialization processes contribute to the perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) by men. Although this research has traditionally focused on men who strongly adhere to traditional gender norms, men who negatively evaluate themselves as falling short of these norms (a construct termed masculine discrepancy stress) have proven to be at increased risk of IPV perpetration. Likewise, men experiencing problems with emotion regulation, a multidimensional construct reflecting difficulties in effectively experiencing and responding to emotional states, are also at risk of IPV perpetration. In the present research, we tested the hypothesis that the link between discrepancy stress and IPV perpetration is mediated via difficulties in emotion regulation. Three hundred fifty-seven men completed online surveys assessing their experience of discrepancy stress, emotion-regulation difficulties, and history of IPV perpetration. Results indicated that discrepancy-stressed men's use of physical IPV was fully mediated by emotion-regulation difficulties. In addition, emotion-regulation difficulties partially mediated the association between discrepancy stress and sexual IPV. Findings are discussed in terms of the potential utility of emotion-focused interventions for modifying men's experience and expression of discrepancy stress and reducing perpetration of IPV. © The Author(s) 2016.

  3. Mathematical Difficulties and ADHD

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lucangeli, Daniela; Cabrele, Silvia

    2006-01-01

    Most of the research on academics and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has focused on reading disorders in children with ADHD rather than difficulties in mathematics. In this article, we provide a comprehensive review of studies focusing on students with attention deficit disorders with or without hyperactivity and 1 area of…

  4. New Start Program Report: September 1985--June 1989.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Winchell, Anne

    In 1985, Kingsborough Community College (KCC) in Brooklyn, established the New Start Program to assist students who began their post-secondary education at cooperating senior colleges, but encountered academic difficulties there. The program offers individual and group counseling to help participants overcome previous difficulties and work toward…

  5. A "ton of feathers": gender discrimination in academic medical careers and how to manage it.

    PubMed

    Carr, Phyllis L; Szalacha, Laura; Barnett, Rosalind; Caswell, Cheryl; Inui, Thomas

    2003-12-01

    To evaluate the experience of gender discrimination among a limited sample of women in academic medicine, specifically, the role of discrimination in hindering careers, coping mechanisms, and perceptions of what institutions and leaders of academic medicine can do to improve the professional workplace climate for women. In-depth, semistructured telephonic individual interviews of 18 women faculty who experienced or may have experienced discrimination in the course of their professional academic medical careers from 13 of the 24 institutions of the National Faculty Survey. A consensus taxonomy for classifying content evolved from comparisons of coding. Themes expressed by multiple faculty were studied for patterns of connection and grouped into broader categories. Forty percent of respondents ranked gender discrimination first out of 11 possible choices for hindering their career in academic medicine. Thirty-five percent ranked gender discrimination second to either "limited time for professional work" or "lack of mentoring." Respondents rated themselves as poorly prepared to deal with gender discrimination and noted effects on professional self-confidence, self-esteem, collegiality, isolation, and career satisfaction. The hierarchical structure in academe is perceived to work against women, as there are few women at the top. Women faculty who have experienced gender discrimination perceive that little can be done to directly address this issue. Institutions need to be proactive and recurrently evaluate the gender climate, as well as provide transparent information and fair scrutiny of promotion and salary decisions. According to this subset of women who perceive that they have been discriminated against based on gender, sexual bias and discrimination are subtly pervasive and powerful. Such environments may have consequences for both women faculty and academic medicine, affecting morale and dissuading younger trainees from entering academic careers. Medical schools need to evaluate and may need to improve the environment for women in academe.

  6. Academic potential and cognitive functioning of long-term survivors after childhood liver transplantation.

    PubMed

    Ee, L C; Lloyd, O; Beale, K; Fawcett, J; Cleghorn, G J

    2014-05-01

    This cross-sectional study assessed intellect, cognition, academic function, behaviour, and emotional health of long-term survivors after childhood liver transplantation. Eligible children were >5 yr post-transplant, still attending school, and resident in Queensland. Hearing and neurocognitive testing were performed on 13 transplanted children and six siblings including two twin pairs where one was transplanted and the other not. Median age at testing was 13.08 (range 6.52-16.99) yr; time elapsed after transplant 10.89 (range 5.16-16.37) yr; and age at transplant 1.15 (range 0.38-10.00) yr. Mean full-scale IQ was 97 (81-117) for transplanted children and 105 (87-130) for siblings. No difficulties were identified in intellect, cognition, academic function, and memory and learning in transplanted children or their siblings, although both groups had reduced mathematical ability compared with normal. Transplanted patients had difficulties in executive functioning, particularly in self-regulation, planning and organization, problem-solving, and visual scanning. Thirty-one percent (4/13) of transplanted patients, and no siblings, scored in the clinical range for ADHD. Emotional difficulties were noted in transplanted patients but were not different from their siblings. Long-term liver transplant survivors exhibit difficulties in executive function and are more likely to have ADHD despite relatively intact intellect and cognition. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  7. Teasing and social rejection among obese children enrolling in family-based behavioural treatment: effects on psychological adjustment and academic competencies.

    PubMed

    Gunnarsdottir, T; Njardvik, U; Olafsdottir, A S; Craighead, L W; Bjarnason, R

    2012-01-01

    The first objective was to determine the prevalence of psychological maladjustment (emotional and behavioural problems), low academic competencies and teasing/social rejection among obese Icelandic children enrolling in a family-based behavioural treatment. A second objective was to explore the degree to which teasing/social rejection specifically contributes to children's psychological adjustment and academic competencies when controlling for other variables, including demographics, children's physical activity, parental depression and life-stress. Participants were 84 obese children (mean body mass index-standard deviation score=3.11, age range=7.52-13.61 years). Height and weight, demographics and measures of children's psychological adjustment, academic competencies, teasing/social rejection and physical activity were collected from children, parents and teachers. Parental depression and life-stress was self-reported. Over half the children exceeded cutoffs indicating concern on at least one measure of behavioural or emotional difficulties. Children endorsed significant levels of teasing/social rejection, with almost half acknowledging they were not popular with same-gender peers. Parent reports of peer problems were even higher, with over 90% of both boys and girls being rated by their parents as having significant peer difficulties. However, rates of low academic competencies as reported by teachers were not different from those of the general population. In regression analyses controlling for other variables, self-reported teasing/social rejection emerged as a significant contributor to explaining both child psychological adjustment and academic competencies. The results indicate that among obese children enrolled in family-based treatment, self-reported teasing/social rejection is quite high and it is associated with poorer psychological adjustment as well as lower academic competencies. Parent reports corroborate the presence of substantial peer difficulties, supporting the need to address peer relations with overweight children both in clinical practice and in public health interventions.

  8. Self-reported learning difficulties and dietary intake in Norwegian adolescents.

    PubMed

    Øverby, Nina Cecilie; Lüdemann, Eva; Høigaard, Rune

    2013-11-01

    The academic performance of children impacts future educational attainment which may increase socioeconomic status which again influences their health. One of several factors that might affect academic performance is the diet. The aim of this study was to investigate the cross sectional relation between diet and self-reported reading-, writing-, and mathematical difficulties in Norwegian adolescents. In total, 475 ninth- and tenth-grade students out of 625 eligible ones from four different secondary schools in three different municipalities in Vest-Agder County, Norway, participated, giving a participation rate of 77%. The students filled in a questionnaire with food frequency questions of selected healthy and unhealthy food items, questions of meal frequency and different learning difficulties. Regular breakfast was significantly associated with decreased odds of both writing and reading difficulties (OR: 0.44 (0.2-0.8), p = 0.01) and mathematical difficulties (OR: 0.33 (0.2-0.6), p ≤ 0.001). In addition, having lunch, dinner and supper regularly were associated with decreased odds of mathematical difficulties. Further, a high intake of foods representing a poor diet (sugar-sweetened soft drinks, sweets, chocolate, savory snacks, pizza and hot dogs) was significantly associated with increased odds of mathematical difficulties. Having a less-frequent intake of unhealthy foods and not skipping meals are associated with decreased odds of self-reported learning difficulties in Norwegian adolescents in this study. The results of this study support the need for a larger study with a more representative sample.

  9. Childhood Cancer and Vulnerability for Significant Academic Underachievement.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ott, Jeanne S.; And Others

    1982-01-01

    Learning difficulties related to childhood cancer were examined by comparison of 22 oncology patients and 22 children (6 to 17 years old) referred for psychiatric/psychological evaluation. Findings demonstrated, among children undergoing treatment of cancer, some academic vulnerabilities for which psychosocial aspects may not fully account.…

  10. Student Perceptions of School Climate as Predictors of Office Discipline Referrals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gage, Nicholas A.; Larson, Alvin; Sugai, George; Chafouleas, Sandra M.

    2016-01-01

    Research indicates that school climate influences students' academic, social, and behavioral outcomes. Therefore, improving school climate provides a promising avenue for preventing academic, social, and behavioral difficulties. Research has examined school-level measurement of school climate, but few studies have examined student-level responses…

  11. Tuning History: The French Experience

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lamboley, Jean-Luc

    2017-01-01

    The paper shows that Tuning Project has generated indifference more than resistance within the French academic community. It proposes an analysis of the reasons of this situation: difficulties arising from Tuning itself, the resistance of the French academic tradition, the institutional inhibitors and facilitators. The impact of Tuning on French…

  12. The Changing Purposes of University Libraries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Evans, G. R.

    2013-01-01

    This article explores recent developments in national policy for academic libraries. It considers the shift from traditional to managerial academic librarianship; the move to "social space" and multi-use systems; changes in the balance between meeting teaching and research needs and in public funding priorities; the difficulty of making…

  13. The social and learning environments experienced by underrepresented minority medical students: a narrative review.

    PubMed

    Orom, Heather; Semalulu, Teresa; Underwood, Willie

    2013-11-01

    To review the literature on the social and learning environments experienced by underrepresented minority (URM) medical students to determine what type of interventions are needed to eliminate potential barriers to enrolling and retaining URM students. The authors searched MEDLINE, PubMed, Ovid HealthStar, and Web of Science, and the reference lists of included studies, published between January 1, 1980, and September 15, 2012. Studies of the learning and social environments and of students' satisfaction, experiences with discrimination or unfair practices, and academic performance or progress, as well as assessments of programs or interventions to improve URM students' academic performance, were eligible for inclusion. The authors identified 28 studies (27 unique data sets) meeting the inclusion criteria. The results of the included studies indicated that URM students experienced less supportive social and less positive learning environments, were subjected to discrimination and racial harassment, and were more likely to see their race as having a negative impact on their medical school experiences than non-URM students. Academic performance on standardized exams was worse, progress less timely, and attrition higher for URM students as well. For URM students, an adverse climate may be decreasing the attractiveness of careers in medicine, impairing their academic performance, and increasing attrition. Improvements to the social and learning environments experienced by URM students are needed to make medicine a more inclusive profession. The current environment of health care reform creates an opportunity for institutions to implement strategies to achieve this goal.

  14. Racial/ethnic disparities in US college students' experience: Discrimination as an impediment to academic performance.

    PubMed

    Stevens, Courtney; Liu, Cindy H; Chen, Justin A

    2018-03-22

    Using data from 69,722 US undergraduates participating in the spring 2015 National College Health Assessment, we examine racial/ethnic differences in students' experience of discrimination. Logistic regression predicted the experience of discrimination and its reported negative effect on academics. Additional models examined the effect of attending a Minority Serving Institution (MSI). Discrimination was experienced by 5-15% of students, with all racial/ethnic minority groups examined- including Black, Hispanic, Asian, AI/NA/NA, and Multiracial students- more likely to report discrimination relative to White students. Of students who experienced discrimination, 15-25% reported it had negatively impacted their academic performance, with Hispanic and Asian students more likely to report negative impacts relative to White students. Attending an MSI was associated with decreased experiences of discrimination. Students from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds are disproportionately affected by discrimination, with negative impacts for academic performance that are particularly marked for Hispanic and Asian students.

  15. The right to be forgotten: a change in access to insurance and loans after childhood cancer?

    PubMed

    Dumas, Agnès; Allodji, Rodrigue; Fresneau, Brice; Valteau-Couanet, Dominique; El-Fayech, Chiraz; Pacquement, Hélène; Laprie, Anne; Nguyen, Tan Dat; Bondiau, Pierre-Yves; Diallo, Ibrahima; Guibout, Catherine; Rubino, Carole; Haddy, Nadia; Oberlin, Odile; Vassal, Gilles; de Vathaire, Florent

    2017-08-01

    Access to insurance for a loan or a mortgage is an important issue for childhood cancer survivors. The aim of this study was to describe difficulties experienced by adult survivors. A total of 1920 survivors treated before the age of 18 in five French cancer centers responded to a questionnaire in 2010. Survivors who had tried to obtain a loan were asked if they had experienced difficulties, which were defined as experiencing rejection, higher premiums, or exclusions. The questionnaire investigated health problems related to the circulatory, respiratory, digestive, urinary, endocrine, hormonal, and nervous systems. Second tumors, diabetes mellitus, cardiac disease, and stroke were ascertained from a physician's report or medical records. Multivariable analyses were conducted to identify the characteristics of survivors reporting difficulties. Difficulties were experienced by 10.4% of those who had tried to obtain a small loan (n = 787) and by 30.1% of those who had tried to obtain a home loan (n = 909). Disclosure of childhood cancer to the insurer and amputation surgery were negatively associated with insurance accessibility, even when controlling for age, gender, education, health-related unemployment, familial situation, and severe or life-threatening conditions such as cardiovascular diseases, second cancers, or diabetes. This study showed that the financial burden of cancer can extend decades after diagnosis. Thanks to a 2016 law, French cancer survivors no longer have to disclose their cancer to insurers after a fixed number of years. This law will probably lessen the socioeconomic burden of cancer.

  16. The Expected Adjustment and Academic Outcomes of Honors College Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Washington, Christina R.

    2012-01-01

    The transition to an institution of higher education can present challenges and difficulties, but it is a student's expectations that can ultimately predict adjustment (Jackson, Pancer, Pratt, & Hunsberger, 2000). A larger number of students who experience difficulties in their adjustment end up withdrawing from the institution (Baker…

  17. Assessing, Understanding, and Supporting Students with ADHD at School: Contemporary Science, Practice, and Policy

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    DuPaul, George J.; Jimerson, Shane R.

    2014-01-01

    Students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) exhibit chronic behavior difficulties that deleteriously impact their academic and social functioning in school settings. These difficulties not only impair student performance, but also present significant challenges to teachers, school psychologists, and other school professionals…

  18. Take the Pencil out of the Process

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Broun, Leslie

    2009-01-01

    In classrooms, it is not unusual to see students who struggle to produce legible print. In actuality, many students have difficulty with the physical printing and writing processes ("handwriting")--difficulty that is significant enough to interfere with their academic performance. Some students grow out of this, and some, with extra practice,…

  19. ADHD Coaching with College Students: Exploring the Processes Involved in Motivation and Goal Completion

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Prevatt, Frances; Smith, Shannon M.; Diers, Sarah; Marshall, Diana; Coleman, Jennifer; Valler, Emilee; Miller, Nathan

    2017-01-01

    College students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience increased academic difficulties, which can negatively impact graduation rates, employment, self-esteem, and mental health. ADHD coaching assists students with ADHD to reduce such difficulties. The present study evaluated the processes involved in ADHD coaching…

  20. Writing Characteristics of Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder: A Meta-Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Graham, Steve; Fishman, Evan J.; Reid, Robert; Hebert, Michael

    2016-01-01

    Students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders (ADHD) frequently experience significant difficulty mastering basic academic skills. This meta-analysis focuses on one specific potential area of learning difficulties for these students: namely, writing. To identify the extent and depth of the potential writing challenges faced by students…

  1. A Case History in the Treatment of Academic Failure: Some Suggestions for Professionals in Work/Training Programs for the Disadvantaged.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hodell, Louise

    A case history of a 16-year-old Puerto Rican male high school dropout is presented to illustrate the visual-perception difficulties resulting in illiteracy and academic failure. The boy had had a number of years of formal schooling without learning any of the basic skills. Neither the academic nor the work training programs at Mobilization for…

  2. How Does Gender Relate to Social Skills? Exploring Differences in Social Skills Mindsets, Academics, and Behaviors among High-School Freshmen Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tan, Kevin; Oe, Jin Shin; Hoang Le, Minh Dung

    2018-01-01

    Boys struggle academically and behaviorally more than girls and are more likely to have difficulty with social skills. It seems likely that boys and girls do not perceive social skills in the same light. Past research has not investigated this or its relationship to academic and behavioral performance. Using data from a cohort of 9th-grade…

  3. Challenges Experienced by One Academic Mother Transitioning from Maternity Leave Back to Academia

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Craft, Christy Moran; Maseberg-Tomlinson, Jo

    2015-01-01

    While many scholars have written about the experience of academic motherhood in higher education, with their research revealing a number of challenges faced by academic mothers, none have presented an in-depth view of the transition of returning to work after maternity leave. For this reason, the authors used a narrative inquiry approach to…

  4. Exploring the Relationship between Time Management Skills and the Academic Achievement of African Engineering Students--A Case Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Swart, Arthur James; Lombard, Kobus; de Jager, Henk

    2010-01-01

    Poor academic success by African engineering students is currently experienced in many higher educational institutions, contributing to lower financial subsidies by local governments. One of the contributing factors to this low academic success may be the poor time management skills of these students. This article endeavours to explore this…

  5. Constructing an Academic Identity in Australia: An Autoethnographic Narrative

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ai, Bin

    2017-01-01

    This paper examines the process of academic identity construction experienced by a Chinese PhD student in an Australian university from 2010 to 2014. The researcher draws on his diaries written in Australia and uses some stories of the relationships with his supervisors and other scholars to unfold the process of his academic identity construction…

  6. Academic Commitment and Self-Efficacy as Predictors of Academic Achievement in Additional Materials Science

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vogel, F. Ruric; Human-Vogel, Salomé

    2016-01-01

    A great deal of research within science and engineering education revolves around academic success and retention of science and engineering students. It is well known that South Africa is experiencing, for various reasons, an acute shortage of engineers. Therefore, we think it is important to understand the factors that contribute to attrition…

  7. Interdisciplinary Programs Focused Populations: The Case of Health Management Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Davidovitch, Nitza; Yavich, Roman

    2015-01-01

    The Ariel University has a unique interdisciplinary program in healthcare management that targets experienced healthcare professionals who wish to earn an academic degree. Only one academic study has been held so far on the integration of graduates of an academic university-level school in healthcare management in the field. In the current study,…

  8. Pre-Employment Laboratory Training. A Guide for Coordinated Vocational-Academic Education Shop and Laboratory Instructors. Revised.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    East Texas State Univ., Commerce. Occupational Curriculum Lab.

    This guide is designed to serve as a reference for both beginning and experienced teachers in a preemployment laboratory that is part of a coordinated vocational-academic education program. Addressed in the individual sections of the guide are the following topics: student eligibility and approved coordinated vocational-academic programs, safety…

  9. Illinois Prekindergarten Program for Children At Risk of Academic Failure. FY 93 Summary Report.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Illinois State Board of Education, Springfield, Dept. of Planning, Research and Evaluation.

    The Illinois Prekindergarten Program for Children at Risk of Academic Failure was a grant program for public school districts to enhance growth and development of children ages 3 to 5 who are at risk of academic failure. The program has experienced significant growth since its initial implementation, and the number of participating projects…

  10. The Impact of International Mobility as Experienced by Spanish Academics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Groves, Tamar; López, Estrella Montes; Carvalho, Teresa

    2018-01-01

    The objective of this research is to explore the experiences of the first generations of Spanish academics that carried out research stays in foreign institutions. The analysis of 30 semi-structured interviews shows the interviewees' evaluation of their stay abroad, the impact that this had on their academic career and how the return to the home…

  11. The System of the Learner Experiencing Difficulty: Some Reflections on the Use of a Simulation as a Tool for Investigating and Analysing Elements of a Complex System.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thatcher, Donald; Robinson, June

    1990-01-01

    Discusses learning systems and learning difficulties, and describes the use of a simulation to help professionals better understand people with learning difficulties. The General Systems Theory and a systems approach are discussed, the role of debriefing is considered, and theoretical perspectives on the development of learning disabilities are…

  12. The Role of Self-Regulatory and Metacognitive Competence in the Motor Performance Difficulties of Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder: A Theoretical and Empirical Review

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jokic, Claire Sangster; Whitebread, David

    2011-01-01

    Children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) experience difficulty coping with everyday demands due to difficulties in performing motor tasks. Recently, a cognitive learning paradigm has been applied to studying the nature of the problems experienced by children with DCD, which assumes that these children have fewer cognitive and…

  13. 78 FR 31571 - Announcement of Requirements and Registration for the “Technology-based Products to Prevent High...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2013-05-24

    ..., injury, assault, sexual abuse, unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, academic difficulties... among college students will save lives, improve academic success, and decrease other risks to students... as depression or emotional stress; and combining alcohol and medications, such as tranquilizers...

  14. Strategies and Resources for Enhancing the Achievement of Mobile Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Titus, Dale N.

    2007-01-01

    Because studies reveal a relationship between high student mobility and low academic achievement, school administrators are faced with the challenge of raising academic achievement in an era of increased student mobility. Wide variations in state requirements create additional difficulties for mobile students, who tend to be disadvantaged in other…

  15. The Middle School Transition in Private Schools: Student Perceptions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Atkinson, Eileen Irby

    2010-01-01

    Students transitioning into the middle school often experience difficulty adjusting to their new environment. During this transition, declines in academic motivation, academic achievement, and connectedness have been noted. Most research on this transition has taken place in public school settings. This research investigated the impact of the…

  16. Rough Way for Academics: Distance Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gursul, Fatih

    2010-01-01

    This study aims to compare the academics' perceptions about face to face and distance education, beside finding out the contributions of distance education to them, difficulties they experience in synchronous and asynchronous distance education environments and suggestions for possible solutions of the existing problems. The sample consists of 52…

  17. The Effects of Assignment Format and Choice on Task Completion

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hua, Youjia; Lee, David; Stansbery, Samuel; McAfee, James

    2014-01-01

    Modifying task presentation format and providing opportunities to choose are two effective procedures teachers can use to improve academic productivity for students with learning difficulties. Combining the two procedures may result in academic interventions that teachers can use without significantly changing the curriculum. The present study…

  18. Computer Assisted Instruction to Promote Comprehension in Students with Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stetter, Maria Earman; Hughes, Marie Tejero

    2011-01-01

    Reading comprehension is a crucial skill for academic success of all students. Very often, students with learning disabilities struggle with reading skills and since students learn new information in school by reading; these difficulties often increase the academic struggles students with learning disabilities face. The current study examined…

  19. Transforming the Dysfunctional Academic Department: Dialoguing the Disabling Past, Collaborating Positivity for the Future

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sanders, Mark E.

    2013-01-01

    Leaders new to academic departments that possess dysfunctional histories due to ineffective "management" face many difficulties in the transformation of department dynamics. Indeed, the challenge for transformational department leaders is fostering positive and proactive attitudes among faculty where previous management was hostile,…

  20. Research Leadership in Writing for Publication: A Theoretical Framework

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Murray, Rowena; Steckley, Laura; MacLeod, Iain

    2012-01-01

    Academics experience difficulty in managing competing tasks, particularly in relation to writing for publication. In a study conducted on a writing retreat, analysis of data obtained from academic writers revealed that facilitative leadership provided at a writing retreat was central to managing task complexity and writing-related anxiety. The…

  1. Academic Library Consortium in Jordan: An Evaluation Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ahmed, Mustafa H.; Suleiman, Raid Jameel

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: Due to the current financial and managerial difficulties that are encountered by libraries in public universities in Jordan and the geographical diffusion of these academic institutions, the idea of establishing a consortium was proposed by the Council of Higher Education to combine these libraries. This article reviews the reality of…

  2. Access and Perceived ICT Usability among Students with Disabilities Attending Higher Education Institutions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Heiman, Tali; Fichten, Catherine S.; Olenik-Shemesh, Dorit; Keshet, Noam S.; Jorgensen, Mary

    2017-01-01

    An increasing number of students with disabilities are attending higher education. These students might face various difficulties coping with academic skills and with learning methods compared to students without disabilities. Integrating information and communication technologies (ICTs) in academic studies may be effective and constructive for…

  3. The Teacher-Pupil Observation Tool (T-POT): Development and Testing of a New Classroom Observation Measure

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martin, P. A.; Daley, D.; Hutchings, J.; Jones, K.; Eames, C.; Whitaker, C. J.

    2010-01-01

    Teacher-pupil relationships do not solely impact children's academic development; they also influence emotional and behavioural development. Positive teacher-pupil relationships help reduce maladaptive behaviour while negative ones can lead to increased academic, social and behavioural difficulties. Identifying and measuring teacher-pupil…

  4. Mastery, Maladaptive Learning Behaviour, and Academic Achievement: An Intervention Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ranellucci, John; Hall, Nathan; Muis, Krista; Lajoie, Susanne; Robinson, Kristy

    2017-01-01

    The effects of three interventions designed to boost academic achievement among mastery-oriented students were evaluated on interest-based studying, social desirability, and perceived goal difficulty. Undergraduate students (N = 177) completed relevant self-report measures at the beginning and the end of the semester and were randomly assigned to…

  5. Enhancing Academic Achievement through Direct Instruction of Social Skills.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bendt, Lori; Nunan, Jan

    This paper examines the impact of the explicit teaching of social skills to enhance academic achievement. The targeted population comprised kindergarten and second grade students in a middle-class community located in central Illinois. The problem of inappropriate behaviors and difficulties interacting with peers and how this may affect academic…

  6. The Role of Informal Parent and Teacher Assessment in Diagnosing Learning Disabilities.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sikora, Darryn M.; Plapinger, Donald S.

    1997-01-01

    This study compared parent and teacher perceptions of academic performance and cognitive deficits with the standardized test performance of 19 students (ages 7-13) with hearing impairments. Results indicate that parents and educators were equally skilled in predicting academic performance, but had greater difficulty predicting specific cognitive…

  7. Another Look at the Language Difficulties of International Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhang, Yanyin; Mi, Yinan

    2010-01-01

    International students encounter language-related problems in their academic studies. Specific problem areas have been identified and possible underlying causes have been explored. The present study investigates the impact of two variables--length of study and academic disciplines--in relation to the problems. The findings from a survey and…

  8. Achievement Goals, Motivational Self-Talk, and Academic Engagement among Chinese Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Cen; Shim, Sungok Serena; Wolters, Christopher A.

    2017-01-01

    The present study investigated the mediating role of motivational self-talk strategies (i.e., mastery self-talk, extrinsic self-talk, and efficacy enhancement self-talk) in the relationships between achievement goals and academic engagement (i.e., involvement, withdrawal in the face of difficulties, avoidance of challenges, and disruptive…

  9. Are K-12 school environments harming students with obesity? A qualitative study of classroom teachers.

    PubMed

    Kenney, Erica L; Redman, Morgan T; Criss, Shaniece; Sonneville, Kendrin R; Austin, S Bryn

    2017-03-01

    Weight bias can negatively impact health, and schools may be risky environments for students with obesity. We aimed to explore teachers' perceptions of the school experiences and academic challenges of students with obesity. We conducted interviews with 22 teachers in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, and Midwest in July-August 2014. All interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed for important themes by two researchers using the immersion/crystallization approach. Most teachers felt that students with obesity were more likely to have academic difficulties. Two main perceptions of the reasons for these difficulties emerged: (1) obesity led to lower self-esteem that caused students to participate less, and (2) poorer nutrition, increased screen time, and reduced physical activity were simultaneously causing obesity and poorer academic performance. A few teachers described colleagues who felt students with obesity were not as motivated to work hard in school as their peers. Many teachers described school health promotion efforts focused on weight reduction that could exacerbate weight stigma and risk of disordered eating. Students with obesity, particularly girls, may be at risk for negative social and academic experiences in K-12 schools and may be perceived as struggling academically by their teachers.

  10. Difficulties Associated with the Diagnosis of Emotional Disturbance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Welch, Frances C.

    School psychologists have traditionally experienced difficulty in assessing children referred for special services. In order to determine if the diagnosis of emotional disturbance in South Carolina schools follows the guidelines provided by the South Carolina Department of Education publication "Procedures for the Survey, Screening,…

  11. Life-span adjustment of children to their parents' divorce.

    PubMed

    Amato, P R

    1994-01-01

    Children who experience parental divorce, compared with children in intact two-parent families, exhibit more conduct problems, more symptoms of psychological maladjustment, lower academic achievement, more social difficulties, and poorer self-concepts. Similarly, adults who experienced parental divorce as children, compared with adults raised in continuously intact two-parent families, score lower on a variety of indicators of psychological, interpersonal, and socioeconomic well-being. However, the overall group differences between offspring from divorced and intact families are small, with considerable diversity existing in children's reactions to divorce. Children's adjustment to divorce depends on several factors, including the amount and quality of contact with noncustodial parents, the custodial parents' psychological adjustment and parenting skills, the level of interparental conflict that precedes and follows divorce, the degree of economic hardship to which children are exposed, and the number of stressful life events that accompany and follow divorce. These factors can be used as guides to assess the probable impact of various legal and therapeutic interventions to improve the well-being of children of divorce.

  12. Instability versus quality: residential mobility, neighborhood poverty, and children's self-regulation.

    PubMed

    Roy, Amanda L; McCoy, Dana Charles; Raver, C Cybele

    2014-07-01

    Prior research has found that higher residential mobility is associated with increased risk for children's academic and behavioral difficulty. In contrast, evaluations of experimental housing mobility interventions have shown moving from high poverty to low poverty neighborhoods to be beneficial for children's outcomes. This study merges these disparate bodies of work by considering how poverty levels in origin and destination neighborhoods moderate the influence of residential mobility on 5th graders' self-regulation. Using inverse probability weighting with propensity scores to minimize observable selection bias, this work found that experiencing a move during early or middle childhood was related to negative child outcomes (as indicated by increased behavioral and cognitive dysregulation measured via direct assessment and teacher-report) in 5th grade. However, these relationships were moderated by neighborhood poverty; moves out of low poverty and moves into high poverty neighborhoods were detrimental, while moves out of high poverty and moves into low poverty neighborhoods were beneficial. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. The Framing of Women and Health Disparities: A Critical Look at Race, Gender, and Class from the Perspectives of Grassroots Health Communicators.

    PubMed

    Vardeman-Winter, Jennifer

    2017-05-01

    As women's health has received significant political and media attention recently, I proposed an expanded structural theory of women's communication about health. Women's health communication and critical race and systemic racism research framed this study. I interviewed 15 communicators and community health workers from grass-roots organizations focused on women's health to learn of their challenges of communicating with women from communities experiencing health disparities. Findings suggest that communicators face difficulties in developing meaningful messaging for publics because of disjunctures between medical and community frames, issues in searching for health among women's many priorities, Whiteness discourses imposed on publics' experiences, and practices of correcting for power differentials. A structural theory of women's health communication, then, consists of tenets around geographic, research/funding, academic/industry, and social hierarchies. Six frames suggesting racial biases about women and health disparities are also defined. This study also includes practical solutions in education, publishing, and policy change for addressing structural challenges.

  14. The diphtheria vaccine debacle of 1940 that ushered in comprehensive childhood immunization in the United Kingdom.

    PubMed

    Mortimer, P P

    2011-04-01

    In January 1940 British Ministry of Health circular 1307 proposed the introduction of mass childhood diphtheria immunization. This was a policy reversal after a decade during which opportunities for diphtheria prophylaxis were ignored, or resisted on grounds of cost. Diphtheria toxoid was to be the first of many centrally funded childhood immunizations in the UK and it set a pattern that has now held good for over 70 years. The circumstances in 1940 were particularly fortuitous, and diphtheria toxoid has since given successive generations of children a lifetime's protection from the disease; but difficulties have been experienced in introducing and evaluating some of the more recent immunizations, and in maintaining and justifying them in the face of parental scepticism and academic or pressure-group opposition, however ill-founded this may have been. The task of decision-making with regard to new candidate vaccines demands a careful balancing against the costs of the expected benefits during the recipient's lifespan.

  15. Instability Versus Quality: Residential Mobility, Neighborhood Poverty, and Children’s Self-Regulation

    PubMed Central

    Roy, Amanda L.; McCoy, Dana Charles; Raver, C. Cybele

    2015-01-01

    Prior research has found that higher residential mobility is associated with increased risk for children’s academic and behavioral difficulty. In contrast, evaluations of experimental housing mobility interventions have shown moving from high poverty to low poverty neighborhoods to be beneficial for children’s outcomes. This study merges these disparate bodies of work by considering how poverty levels in origin and destination neighborhoods moderate the influence of residential mobility on 5th graders’ self-regulation. Using inverse probability weighting with propensity scores to minimize observable selection bias, this work found that experiencing a move during early or middle childhood was related to negative child outcomes (as indicated by increased behavioral and cognitive dysregulation measured via direct assessment and teacher-report) in 5th grade. However, these relationships were moderated by neighborhood poverty; moves out of low poverty and moves into high poverty neighborhoods were detrimental, while moves out of high poverty and moves into low poverty neighborhoods were beneficial. PMID:24842459

  16. Longitudinal Pathways from Cumulative Contextual Risk at Birth to School Functioning in Adolescence: Analysis of Mediation Effects and Gender Moderation.

    PubMed

    January, Stacy-Ann A; Mason, W Alex; Savolainen, Jukka; Solomon, Starr; Chmelka, Mary B; Miettunen, Jouko; Veijola, Juha; Moilanen, Irma; Taanila, Anja; Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta

    2017-01-01

    Children and adolescents exposed to multiple contextual risks are more likely to have academic difficulties and externalizing behavior problems than those who experience fewer risks. This study used data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (a population-based study; N = 6961; 51 % female) to investigate (a) the impact of cumulative contextual risk at birth on adolescents' academic performance and misbehavior in school, (b) learning difficulties and/or externalizing behavior problems in childhood as intervening mechanisms in the association of cumulative contextual risk with functioning in adolescence, and (c) potential gender differences in the predictive associations of cumulative contextual risk at birth with functioning in childhood or adolescence. The results of the structural equation modeling analysis suggested that exposure to cumulative contextual risk at birth had negative associations with functioning 16 years later, and academic difficulties and externalizing behavior problems in childhood mediated some of the predictive relations. Gender, however, did not moderate any of the associations. Therefore, the findings of this study have implications for the prevention of learning and conduct problems in youth and future research on the impact of cumulative risk exposure.

  17. Longitudinal Pathways from Cumulative Contextual Risk at Birth to School Functioning in Adolescence: Analysis of Mediation Effects and Gender Moderation

    PubMed Central

    January, Stacy-Ann A.; Mason, W. Alex; Savolainen, Jukka; Solomon, Starr; Chmelka, Mary B.; Miettunen, Jouko; Veijola, Juha; Moilanen, Irma; Taanila, Anja; Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta

    2016-01-01

    Children and adolescents exposed to multiple contextual risks are more likely to have academic difficulties and externalizing behavior problems than those who experience fewer risks. This study used data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (a population-based study; N = 6,961; 51% female) to investigate (a) the impact of cumulative contextual risk at birth on adolescents’ academic performance and misbehavior in school, (b) learning difficulties and/or externalizing behavior problems in childhood as intervening mechanisms in the association of cumulative contextual risk with functioning in adolescence, and (c) potential gender differences in the predictive associations of cumulative contextual risk at birth with functioning in childhood or adolescence. The results of the structural equation modeling analysis suggested that exposure to cumulative contextual risk at birth had negative associations with functioning 16 years later, and academic difficulties and externalizing behavior problems in childhood mediated some of the predictive relations. Gender, however, did not moderate any of the associations. Therefore, the findings of this study have implications for the prevention of learning and conduct problems in youth and future research on the impact of cumulative risk exposure. PMID:27665276

  18. The Effects of Different Types of Environmental Noise on Academic Performance and Perceived Task Difficulty in Adolescents With ADHD.

    PubMed

    Batho, Lauren P; Martinussen, Rhonda; Wiener, Judith

    2015-07-28

    To examine the effects of environmental noises (speech and white noise) relative to a no noise control condition on the performance and difficulty ratings of youth with ADHD (N = 52) on academic tasks. Reading performance was measured by an oral retell (reading accuracy) and the time spent reading. Writing performance was measured through the proportion of correct writing sequences (writing accuracy) and the total words written on an essay. Participants in the white noise condition took less time to read the passage and wrote more words on the essay compared with participants in the other conditions, though white noise did not improve academic accuracy. The participants in the babble condition rated the tasks as most difficult. Although white noise appears to improve reading time and writing fluency, the findings suggest that white noise does not improve performance accuracy. Educational implications are discussed. © 2015 SAGE Publications.

  19. Response to Intervention: Preventing and Remediating Academic Difficulties

    PubMed Central

    Fletcher, Jack M.; Vaughn, Sharon

    2009-01-01

    We address the advantages and challenges of service delivery models based on student response to intervention (RTI) for preventing and remediating academic difficulties and as data sources for identification for special education services. The primary goal of RTI models is improved academic and behavioral outcomes for all students. We review evidence for the processes underlying RTI, including screening and progress monitoring assessments, evidence-based interventions, and schoolwide coordination of multitiered instruction. We also discuss the secondary goal of RTI, which is to provide data for identification of learning disabilities (LDs). Incorporating instructional response into identification represents a controversial shift away from discrepancies in cognitive skills that have traditionally been a primary basis for LD identification. RTI processes potentially integrate general and special education and suggest new directions for research and public policy related to LDs, but the scaling issues in schools are significant and more research is needed on the use of RTI data for identification. PMID:21765862

  20. The Same Term but Different Connotations: Cultural and Historical Perspectives on Studying the Academic Profession in China and Other Asian Countries

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yan, Fengqiao

    2013-01-01

    Through experiencing and reviewing multiple-country endeavors in academic profession study and participating in a new project regarding the academic profession in Asia, the author pinpoints and anticipates the shortcomings of study alone or dominantly questionnaire-based and ignoring the broader social context. The author proposes a new…

  1. Challenges and Difficulties to Teaching Engineering to Generation Z: A Case Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Correia Barreiro, Suamit; Bozutti, Daniel Fernando

    2017-01-01

    Many people from generation Z are at the beginning of their academic activities. This generation has peculiar characteristics that might be a challenge in the labor market. Thus, instructors have a great role in their preparation. However, professors might face difficulties dealing with their specific characteristics. The research aims to carry…

  2. School-Based Assessment of ADHD: Purpose, Alignment with Best Practice Guidelines, and Training

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ogg, Julia; Fefer, Sarah; Sundman-Wheat, Ashley; McMahan, Melanie; Stewart, Tiffany; Chappel, Ashley; Bateman, Lisa

    2013-01-01

    Youth exhibiting symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are frequently referred to school psychologists because of academic, social, and behavioral difficulties that they face. To address these difficulties, evidence-based assessment methods have been outlined for multiple purposes of assessment. The goals of this study were to…

  3. Changing How We Think, Changing How We Learn: Scaffolding Executive Function Processes for Students with Learning Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rosen, Sonia M.; Boyle, Joseph R.; Cariss, Kaitlyn; Forchelli, Gina A.

    2014-01-01

    Students with learning disabilities have been reported to have difficulty in a number of different executive function processes that affect their academic performance (Singer & Bashir, 1999). Executive function difficulties for students with learning disabilities have been implicated as the reason why these students struggle with complex…

  4. Multiple-Choice Tests with Correction Allowed in Autism: An Excel Applet

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Martinez, Elisabetta Monari

    2010-01-01

    The valuation of academic achievements in students with severe language impairment is problematic if they also have difficulties in sustaining attention and in praxic skills. In severe autism all of these difficulties may occur together. Multiple-choice tests offer the advantage that simple praxic skills are required, allowing the tasks to be…

  5. Developmental Origins of Infant Emotion Regulation: Mediation by Temperamental Negativity and Moderation by Maternal Sensitivity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Thomas, Jenna C.; Letourneau, Nicole; Campbell, Tavis S.; Tomfohr-Madsen, Lianne; Giesbrecht, Gerald F.

    2017-01-01

    Emotion regulation is essential to cognitive, social, and emotional development and difficulties with emotion regulation portend future socioemotional, academic, and behavioral difficulties. There is growing awareness that many developmental outcomes previously thought to begin their development in the postnatal period have their origins in the…

  6. The Problems of Translating Oriental Texts into Arabic

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sakarna, Ahmad Khalaf; Ma'Abrah, Mohamdd Akash

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to investigate the problems and difficulties that face the students of Arabic Language at Mu'tah University when translating oriental texts from English into Arabic in the academic year 2011-2012. The difficulties facing Arabic students when translating oriental texts has never been studied, rising an urgent need to…

  7. Multiple Goals Perspective in Adolescent Students with Learning Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nunez, Jose Carlos; Gonzalez-Pienda, Julio Antonio; Rodriguez, Celestino; Valle, Antonio; Gonzalez-Cabanach, Ramon; Rosario, Pedro

    2011-01-01

    In the present work, the hypothesis of the existence of diverse motivational profiles in students with learning difficulties (LD) and the differential implications for intervention in the classroom are analyzed. Various assessment scales (academic goals, self-concept, and causal attributions) were administered to a sample of 259 students with LD,…

  8. The Difficulties That the Undergraduate Students Face about Inner Product Space

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Burhanzade, Hülya; Aygör, Nilgün

    2016-01-01

    In this qualitative research, we studied difficulties that undergraduate students face while learning the concept of inner product space. Participants were 35 first-year mathematics students from Yildiz Technical University in the 2011 and 2012 academic years. We asked participants to solve 5 inner product space questions. Data were jointly…

  9. Effect of Task Presentation on Students' Performances in Introductory Statistics Courses

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tomasetto, Carlo; Matteucci, Maria Cristina; Carugati, Felice; Selleri, Patrizia

    2009-01-01

    Research on academic learning indicates that many students experience major difficulties with introductory statistics and methodology courses. We hypothesized that students' difficulties may depend in part on the fact that statistics tasks are commonly viewed as related to the threatening domain of math. In two field experiments which we carried…

  10. Anatomy of Process-Based Writing Center Tutorials with NNES Writers: What Writers Take Away

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vickers, Jason C.

    2012-01-01

    Non-native English speaking (NNES) students in higher educational settings face difficulties writing academic papers and, in response to these difficulties, often seek assistance in understanding cultural, rhetorical, linguistic aspect of writing in English (Harris & Silva, 1993; Powers & Nelson, 1995). One resource available to them is…

  11. How University Students with Reading Difficulties Are Supported in Achieving Their Goals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stack-Cutler, Holly L.; Parrila, Rauno K.; Jokisaari, Markku; Nurmi, Jari-Erik

    2015-01-01

    We examine (a) what social ties university students with a history of reading difficulty (RD) report assisting them to achieve their goals, (b) outlets available for developing social ties, (c) resources mobilized within these relationships, and (d) the impact of social ties' status on academic achievement. Participants were 107 university…

  12. [Academic burnout and selection-optimization-compensation strategy in medical students].

    PubMed

    Chun, Kyung Hee; Park, Young Soon; Lee, Young Hwan; Kim, Seong Yong

    2014-12-01

    This study was conducted to examine the relationship between academic demand, academic burnout, and the selection-optimization-compensation (SOC) strategy in medical students. A total of 317 students at Yeungnam University, comprising 90 premedical course students, 114 medical course students, and 113 graduate course students, completed a survey that addressed the factors of academic burnout and the selection-optimization-compensation strategy. We analyzed variances of burnout and SOC strategy use by group, and stepwise multiple regression analysis was conducted. There were significant differences in emotional exhaustion and cynicism between groups and year in school. In the SOC strategy, there were no significant differences between groups except for elective selection. The second-year medical and graduate students experienced significantly greater exhaustion (p<0.001), and first-year premedical students experienced significantly higher cynicism (p<0.001). By multiple regression analysis, subfactors of academic burnout and emotional exhaustion were significantly affected by academic demand (p<0.001), and 46% of the variance was explained. Cynicism was significantly affected by elective selection (p<0.05), and inefficacy was significantly influenced by optimization (p<0.001). To improve adaptation, prescriptive strategies and preventive support should be implemented with regard to academic burnout in medical school. Longitudinal and qualitative studies on burnout must be conducted.

  13. Assimilating South African medical students trained in Cuba into the South African medical education system: reflections from an identity perspective.

    PubMed

    Donda, B M; Hift, R J; Singaram, V S

    2016-10-24

    In terms of the Nelson Mandela Fidel Castro Medical Collaboration programme, an agreement between the governments of South Africa and Cuba, cohorts of South African students receive their initial five years medical training at a Cuban university before returning to South Africa for a six to twelve months orientation before integration into the local final year class. It is common for these students to experience academic difficulty on their return. Frequently this is viewed merely as a matter of a knowledge deficit. We argue that the problem arises from a fundamental divergence in the outcomes of the Cuban and South African medical curricula, each of which is designed with a particular healthcare system in mind. Using the discrepancy theory of identity proposed by Higgins in 1987, we discuss the challenges experienced by the returning Nelson Mandela Fidel Castro Medical Collaboration students in terms of a potential crisis of identity and suggest interventions which may prove valuable in promoting academic success and successful integration. Though providing additional training to address the gap in skills and knowledge in returning students is an important part of their successful reintegration, this could be insufficient on its own and must be complemented by a range of measures designed to ameliorate the discrepancies in identity which arise from the transition from one educational model to another.

  14. The ADHD Concomitant Difficulties Scale (ADHD-CDS), a Brief Scale to Measure Comorbidity Associated to ADHD.

    PubMed

    Fenollar-Cortés, Javier; Fuentes, Luis J

    2016-01-01

    Although the critical feature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity behavior, the disorder is clinically heterogeneous, and concomitant difficulties are common. Children with ADHD are at increased risk for experiencing lifelong impairments in multiple domains of daily functioning. In the present study we aimed to build a brief ADHD impairment-related tool -ADHD concomitant difficulties scale (ADHD-CDS)- to assess the presence of some of the most important comorbidities that usually appear associated with ADHD such as emotional/motivational management, fine motor coordination, problem-solving/management of time, disruptive behavior, sleep habits, academic achievement and quality of life. The two main objectives of the study were (i) to discriminate those profiles with several and important ADHD functional difficulties and (ii) to create a brief clinical tool that fosters a comprehensive evaluation process and can be easily used by clinicians. The total sample included 399 parents of children with ADHD aged 6-18 years (M = 11.65; SD = 3.1; 280 males) and 297 parents of children without a diagnosis of ADHD (M = 10.91; SD = 3.2; 149 male). The scale construction followed an item improved sequential process. Factor analysis showed a 13-item single factor model with good fit indices. Higher scores on inattention predicted higher scores on ADHD-CDS for both the clinical sample (β = 0.50; p < 0.001) and the whole sample (β = 0.85; p < 0.001). The ROC curve for the ADHD-CDS (against the ADHD diagnostic status) gave an area under the curve (AUC) of.979 (95%, CI = [0.969, 0.990]). The ADHD-CDS has shown preliminary adequate psychometric properties, with high convergent validity and good sensitivity for different ADHD profiles, which makes it a potentially appropriate and brief instrument that may be easily used by clinicians, researchers, and health professionals in dealing with ADHD.

  15. The ADHD Concomitant Difficulties Scale (ADHD-CDS), a Brief Scale to Measure Comorbidity Associated to ADHD

    PubMed Central

    Fenollar-Cortés, Javier; Fuentes, Luis J.

    2016-01-01

    Introduction: Although the critical feature of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity behavior, the disorder is clinically heterogeneous, and concomitant difficulties are common. Children with ADHD are at increased risk for experiencing lifelong impairments in multiple domains of daily functioning. In the present study we aimed to build a brief ADHD impairment-related tool -ADHD concomitant difficulties scale (ADHD-CDS)- to assess the presence of some of the most important comorbidities that usually appear associated with ADHD such as emotional/motivational management, fine motor coordination, problem-solving/management of time, disruptive behavior, sleep habits, academic achievement and quality of life. The two main objectives of the study were (i) to discriminate those profiles with several and important ADHD functional difficulties and (ii) to create a brief clinical tool that fosters a comprehensive evaluation process and can be easily used by clinicians. Methods: The total sample included 399 parents of children with ADHD aged 6–18 years (M = 11.65; SD = 3.1; 280 males) and 297 parents of children without a diagnosis of ADHD (M = 10.91; SD = 3.2; 149 male). The scale construction followed an item improved sequential process. Results: Factor analysis showed a 13-item single factor model with good fit indices. Higher scores on inattention predicted higher scores on ADHD-CDS for both the clinical sample (β = 0.50; p < 0.001) and the whole sample (β = 0.85; p < 0.001). The ROC curve for the ADHD-CDS (against the ADHD diagnostic status) gave an area under the curve (AUC) of.979 (95%, CI = [0.969, 0.990]). Discussion: The ADHD-CDS has shown preliminary adequate psychometric properties, with high convergent validity and good sensitivity for different ADHD profiles, which makes it a potentially appropriate and brief instrument that may be easily used by clinicians, researchers, and health professionals in dealing with ADHD. PMID:27378972

  16. Randomized Controlled Trial of Online Expressive Writing to Address Readjustment Difficulties Among U.S. Afghanistan and Iraq War Veterans.

    PubMed

    Sayer, Nina A; Noorbaloochi, Siamak; Frazier, Patricia A; Pennebaker, James W; Orazem, Robert J; Schnurr, Paula P; Murdoch, Maureen; Carlson, Kathleen F; Gravely, Amy; Litz, Brett T

    2015-10-01

    We examined the efficacy of a brief, accessible, nonstigmatizing online intervention-writing expressively about transitioning to civilian life. U.S. Afghanistan and Iraq war veterans with self-reported reintegration difficulty (N = 1,292, 39.3% female, M = 36.87, SD = 9.78 years) were randomly assigned to expressive writing (n = 508), factual control writing (n = 507), or no writing (n = 277). Using intention to treat, generalized linear mixed models demonstrated that 6-months postintervention, veterans who wrote expressively experienced greater reductions in physical complaints, anger, and distress compared with veterans who wrote factually (ds = 0.13 to 0.20; ps < .05) and greater reductions in PTSD symptoms, distress, anger, physical complaints, and reintegration difficulty compared with veterans who did not write at all (ds = 0.22 to 0.35; ps ≤ .001). Veterans who wrote expressively also experienced greater improvement in social support compared to those who did not write (d = 0.17). Relative to both control conditions, expressive writing did not lead to improved life satisfaction. Secondary analyses also found beneficial effects of expressive writing on clinically significant distress, PTSD screening, and employment status. Online expressive writing holds promise for improving health and functioning among veterans experiencing reintegration difficulty, albeit with small effect sizes. Published 2015. This article is a US Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  17. Difficulties Encountered by Academicians in Academic Research Processes in Universities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yalçin, Sinan; Altun Yalçin, Sema

    2017-01-01

    This present research, aimed to determine the occasions, which the academicians encountered during the academic research process and how these affect the research process, was prepared as a case study pattern among the qualitative research methods. 34 academicians, who were working in a university in Turkey, participated in the research. The data…

  18. Neurofeedback as an Intervention to Improve Reading Achievement in Students with Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Inattentive Subtype

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    La Marca, Jeffry P.; O'Connor, Rollanda E.

    2016-01-01

    Research consistently demonstrates that attention deficits have a deleterious effect on academic achievement. Impairments in attention, and not hyperactivity/impulsivity, are associated with learning difficulties and academic problems in students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). To date, most studies have focused on symptoms…

  19. Plagiarism, Cultural Diversity and Metaphor--Implications for Academic Staff Development

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Leask, Betty

    2006-01-01

    Plagiarism is a complex, culturally loaded concept which causes much anxiety for both academics and students. Exactly what constitutes plagiarism is dependent on a number of contextual factors. Despite the difficulties associated with defining and detecting plagiarism, it is said to be on the increase, and students from "other cultures"…

  20. School Discipline and Social Work Practice: Application of Research and Theory to Intervention

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cameron, Mark; Sheppard, Sandra M.

    2006-01-01

    Research has identified a relationship between school disciplinary actions and poor academic and psychosocial functioning of students subjected to them. The ways in which school discipline is a direct contributor to students' academic and psychosocial difficulty needs to be further established empirically. Several theories, based in existing…

  1. Motivation and English Language Learning in a Multicultural University Context

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bensoussan, Marsha

    2015-01-01

    Israeli university students who have difficulty reading academic texts in English are required to take reading comprehension courses in English for academic purposes (EAP) in order to complete their BA degree. Whereas most students pass the courses, some repeatedly fail. Since Israel is a multilingual country, there is also a question about…

  2. The Inequality of Self-Efficacy between Junior College and Traditional University Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Morris, R. C.

    2016-01-01

    Higher education research highlights the difficulties students face when transitioning from a junior college to a traditional university. This study explored a gap between junior vs. traditional university students' academic self-efficacy beliefs. This study also controlled for the effects of the student role-identity and academic performance on…

  3. Epistemological, Artefactual and Interactional-Institutional Foundations of Social Impact of Academic Research

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Miettinen, Reijo; Tuunainen, Juha; Esko, Terhi

    2015-01-01

    Because of the gross difficulties in measuring the societal impact of academic research, qualitative approaches have been developed in the last decade mostly based on forms of interaction between university and other societal stakeholders. In this paper, we suggest a framework for qualitative analysis based on the distinction between three…

  4. Autism, Social Competence, and Academic Performance

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schriber Orloff, Susan N.

    2009-01-01

    In this article, a reader is asking for advice regarding her 10-year-old daughter who is having difficulty with her reading and focusing skills and social skills. The author recommends that her daughter should have a full evaluation of her academic skills and potentials inclusive of psychology, speech, and occupational therapy. The author also…

  5. Dyslexia, Authorial Identity, and Approaches to Learning and Writing: A Mixed Methods Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Kinder, Julianne; Elander, James

    2012-01-01

    Background: Dyslexia may lead to difficulties with academic writing as well as reading. The authorial identity approach aims to help students improve their academic writing and avoid unintentional plagiarism, and could help to understand dyslexic students' approaches to writing. Aims: (1) To compare dyslexic and non-dyslexic students' authorial…

  6. Practical Implications of Research on Referral and Opportunity to Learn. Monograph No. 22.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ysseldyke, James; And Others

    The paper summarizes findings from four studies on the referral process for students with academic and social/behavioral problems and several observational investigations on students' academic responding time. Research on referral addresses such aspects as reasons for referral, causes ascribed for difficulties, pre-referral classroom intervention,…

  7. Lessons on Plagiarism: Issues for Teachers and Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anyanwu, Regina

    2004-01-01

    While student difficulty with academic referencing is not new, it is apparent that many tertiary students are not skilled in following referencing conventions, are confused about what does and does not constitute plagiarism in the eyes of academics, and are fearful of the consequences. This paper begins by examining the cases of a number of…

  8. The Longitudinal Effect of Traumatic Stress and Attachment Difficulties on Academic Achievement for Young Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wolfgang, Jeff Drayton

    2013-01-01

    National educational achievement statistics show that academic underachievement is a significant problem for all students in the United States and for culturally diverse students in particular. The relationship of attachment and its interaction with traumatic stress has been proposed as an alternative explanation for the persistent…

  9. Behavior Bingo: The Effects of a Culturally Relevant Group Contingency Intervention for Students with EBD

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Collins, Tai A.; Hawkins, Renee O.; Flowers, Emily M.; Kalra, Hilary D.; Richard, Jessie; Haas, Lauren E.

    2018-01-01

    Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) have difficulty with academic engagement during independent seatwork tasks. The goal of the current study was to evaluate the effectiveness of Behavior Bingo, a novel interdependent group contingency intervention, on the academic engagement, off-task, and disruptive behavior of students with…

  10. The School Success Program: Improving Maltreated Children's Academic and School-Related Outcomes

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mallett, Christopher A.

    2012-01-01

    Many victims of childhood maltreatment experience difficulties in school and with academic performance. This article reviews the evidence on the connection between childhood maltreatment and school performance and presents an evaluation of a unique program established by Children's Services in Lorain County, Ohio. Since 2001, the School Success…

  11. Learned Helplessness and Students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders: Deprivation in the Classroom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sutherland, Kevin S.; Singh, Nirbhay N.

    2004-01-01

    Students with emotional or behavioral disorders (E/BD) are characterized by academic deficits and classroom behavioral problems. The relationship between problem behavior and academic difficulties is complex, and some researchers have hypothesized that the classroom behavior problems of students with E/BD are responses to aversive stimuli, namely…

  12. Differences in Errors between Students with Language and Reading Disabilities

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Avitia, Maria; Pagirsky, Matthew; Courville, Troy; DeBiase, Emily; Knupp, Tawnya; Ottone-Cross, Karen

    2017-01-01

    Children with a specific learning disability in reading/writing (LDRW) and/or language impairment (LI) are likely to have difficulties across all areas of academic achievement, as a great deal of teaching and learning depends on intact reading skill and linguistic communication. Despite a large number of studies examining academic difficulties…

  13. Parents' perspectives of life challenges experienced by long-term paediatric brain tumour survivors: work and finances, daily and social functioning, and legal difficulties.

    PubMed

    Howard, A Fuchsia; Hasan, Haroon; Bobinski, Mary Anne; Nurcombe, Wendy; Olson, Robert; Parkinson, Maureen; Goddard, Karen

    2014-09-01

    Paediatric brain tumour survivors (PBTS) are at high risk for medical, neurocognitive and psychological sequelea during adulthood. Details illustrating the types and breadth of these chronic sequelae are essential to fully comprehend their impact on daily living. This study describes Canadian parents of PBTS perspectives of life challenges experienced by their now adult son or daughter related to work and finances, daily and social functioning, and legal difficulties. Parents of PBTS completed an anonymous online exploratory survey. Forty-six of 60 invited parents completed the survey. Parents reported that PBTS experienced difficulty gaining or sustaining employment (65 %) because of their health and/or a disability and employers reticence to hire and adequately support PBTS. Independent living was considered unaffordable for PBTS who received a disability allowance (82 %) and those who were employed (50 %). Thirty percent indicated their family experienced hardship because of PBTS medical expenses, which were usually paid for out of pocket (76 %). Although the majority of PBTS were independent with daily tasks and social functioning, a subgroup required continuous support. Forty percent of employed PBTS received limited assistance to accommodate their special needs. Parents indicated their son or daughter had been the victim of theft, fraud or assault (37 %), and commonly considered them vulnerable, in need of protection and feared for their future safety. Research that further illuminates the hardships facing PBTS and informs the development of support and resources to address PBTS vulnerabilities is warranted. PBTS are at risk for unemployment, financial challenges and legal difficulties, which appear to be poorly addressed by health and social programs.

  14. The Effectiveness of Colourful Semantics on Narrative Skills in Children with Intellectual Disabilities in Sri Lanka

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hettiarachchi, Shyamani

    2016-01-01

    Background: Children diagnosed with intellectual difficulties experience difficulties with narrative skills, due to limited syntactic knowledge. The Colourful Semantics approach with thematic roles and a colour coding system may encourage syntactic development in children experiencing intellectual disabilities. Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness…

  15. Physics Teachers' Perceptions of the Difficulty of Teaching Electricity

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gunstone, Richard; Mulhall, Pamela; McKittrick, Brian

    2009-01-01

    As part of a project concerned with developing a better understanding of the detail of appropriate teaching of direct current (DC) electricity concepts, extensive individual interviews were conducted with a number of experienced senior high school physics teachers. These interviews explored teachers' perceptions of difficulties in student learning…

  16. Clinical Reasoning Skills of Speech and Language Therapy Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hoben, Kirsty; Varley, Rosemary; Cox, Richard

    2007-01-01

    Background: Difficulties experienced by novices in clinical reasoning have been well documented in many professions, especially medicine (Boshuizen and Schmidt 1992, 2000; Elstein, Shulman and Sprafka 1978; Patel and Groen 1986; Rikers, Loyens and Schmidt 2004). These studies have shown that novice clinicians have difficulties with both knowledge…

  17. 77 FR 45706 - Self-Regulatory Organizations; The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule...

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-08-01

    ... voluntary accommodation policy for claims arising from system difficulties that Nasdaq experienced during... and members that Nasdaq's system difficulties caused objective, discernible harm, and the type and... made by market participants related to systems malfunctions or errors of the Nasdaq Market Center...

  18. Roles of Mobile Devices Supporting International Students to Overcome Intercultural Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Yang, Xiaoyin; Li, Xiuyan

    2017-01-01

    Sociocultural theory emphasises the mediational role of tools in learning. International students usually find themselves in a vicious cycle, experiencing difficulties when engaging with local people and culture which might provide the mediation necessary to develop their intercultural communicative competence. Yang (2016) further points out that…

  19. Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy Are at Risk of Financial Toxicity: A Patient-based Prospective Survey Study.

    PubMed

    Palmer, Joshua D; Patel, Tejash T; Eldredge-Hindy, Harriet; Keith, Scott W; Patel, Tapas; Malatesta, Theresa; DiNome, Jessie; Lowther, Anne; Ferguson, Linda; Wagenborg, Sally; Smyles, John; Babaria, Usha; Stabile, Richard; Gressen, Eric; Rudoler, Shari; Fisher, Scot A

    2018-06-01

    Little is known about the financial burden experienced by patients receiving radiation therapy. Furthermore, currently, no financial toxicity screening tools have been validated for use in radiation oncology. Physician surveys were used to gauge provider understanding of treatment costs and their willingness to adopt the use of financial toxicity screening tools. Post-treatment patient surveys were used to investigate the covariates of treatment-induced financial risk. Of the 210 radiation oncologists who completed our survey, 53% reported being "very concerned" with treatment-related costs negatively affecting their patients, and 80% believed that a financial toxicity screening tool would be useful in practice. An analysis of patient surveys using logistic regression found age and cancer site to be the most important variables associated with financial toxicity. Thirty-four patients (22%) experienced financial toxicity related to treatment. The financial toxicities experienced were loss of job (28%), loss of income (24%), difficulty paying their rent or mortgage (20%), difficulty paying for transportation (15%), and difficulty paying for meals (13%). Financial toxicity is an important measure for patients and providers and is experienced by approximately one quarter of patients. Further studies to improve models to predict financial toxicity and how financial toxicity is related to patient outcomes and quality of life are warranted. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Factors influencing the academic motivation of individual college students.

    PubMed

    Yoshida, Masahiro; Tanaka, Masaaki; Mizuno, Kei; Ishii, Akira; Nozaki, Kumi; Urakawa, Ayako; Cho, Yuki; Kataoka, Yosky; Watanabe, Yasuyoshi

    2008-10-01

    Motivation is an important psychological concept in academic learning. Subjects performed jigsaw puzzle and square puzzle sessions (as difficulty variant task) and 80%, 50%, and 20% completion sessions (as completion variant task). After square puzzle or 20% completion sessions, subjective motivation decreased. Although baseline scores on an academic motivation scale were negatively correlated with changes in subjective motivation for the square puzzle session, a positive correlation was observed for the 20% completion session. These suggest that while continual completion of facile task trials may support the motivation of college students with lower academic motivation, attempting difficult task trials may sustain that of those with higher academic motivation.

  1. Sharing Ideas: Making Earth and Space Science Accessible

    NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

    Runyon, C. J.; Guimond, K.; Atkinson, C.

    2005-12-01

    There are nearly six million K-12 students with some form of disability in the U.S. and the majority of them are required to achieve the same academic levels as their non-impaired peers. Historically, students with disabilities have experienced difficulties in fully accessing and participating in middle school and high school science programs. With the passage of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act and increasing focus on reading and math performance, many students with exceptional needs are now being taught science by mainstream science teachers, who have little to no training on how to work with students with exceptional needs. For the past 5 years, SERCH has engaged in organizing and hosting a series of Exceptional Space Science Materials for Exceptional Students Workshops (ENWS) focused on educating students with special needs about the space sciences. Each workshop has focused on a different aspect of formal and informal education and working with the various special needs. In all of these workshops, participants experience what a person or student with special needs might encounter when working through educational activities or exhibits by experiencing it first-hand. In addition to making many of NASA's education materials accessible for all learners, a top-ten list of "best practices" has been compiled by the professional educators as a result of our working together for five years and their formal and informal educational experiences.

  2. Association between muscle power impairment and WHODAS 2.0 in older adults with physical disability in Taiwan.

    PubMed

    Chang, Kwang-Hwa; Liao, Hua-Fang; Yen, Chia-Fan; Hwang, Ai-Wen; Chi, Wen-Chou; Escorpizo, Reuben; Liou, Tsan-Hon

    2015-01-01

    To explore the association between muscle power impairment and each World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule second edition (WHODAS 2.0) domain score among subjects with physical disability. Subjects (≥ 60 years) with physical disability related to neurological diseases, including 730 subjects with brain disease (BD) and 126 subjects with non-BD, were enrolled from a data bank of persons with disabilities from 1 July 2011 to 29 February 2012. Standardized WHODAS 2.0 scores ranging from 0 (least difficulty) to 100 (greatest difficulty) points were calculated for each domain. More than 50% of subjects with physical disability had the greatest difficulty in household activities and mobility. Muscle power impairment (adjusted odds ratios range among domains, 2.75-376.42, p < 0.001), age (1.38-4.81, p < 0.05), and speech impairment (1.94-5.80, p < 0.05) were associated with BD subjects experiencing the greatest difficulty in most WHODAS 2.0 domains. But a few associated factors were identified for the non-BD group in the study. Although the patterns of difficulty in most daily activities were similar between the BD and non-BD groups, factors associated with the difficulties differed between those two groups. Muscle power impairment, age and speech impairment were important factors associated with difficulties in subjects with BD-related physical disability. Older adults with physical disability often experience difficulties in household activities and mobility. Muscle power impairment is associated with difficulties in daily life in subjects with physical disability related to brain disease. Those subjects with brain disease who had older age, a greater degree of muscle power impairment, and the presence of speech impairment were at higher risk of experiencing difficulties in most daily activities.

  3. 77 FR 45285 - Definition of Troubled Condition

    Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

    2012-07-31

    ... with assets between $250 million and $500 million that have experienced some degree of financial stress... examinations has doubled, not the number of FISCUs experiencing difficulties. Statistics indicate that in...., a ``5'' instead of a ``4''). These statistics show that disagreement between an SSA and NCUA on a...

  4. Validation of the internalization of the Model Minority Myth Measure (IM-4) and its link to academic performance and psychological adjustment among Asian American adolescents.

    PubMed

    Yoo, Hyung Chol; Miller, Matthew J; Yip, Pansy

    2015-04-01

    There is limited research examining psychological correlates of a uniquely racialized experience of the model minority stereotype faced by Asian Americans. The present study examined the factor structure and fit of the only published measure of the internalization of the model minority myth, the Internalization of the Model Minority Myth Measure (IM-4; Yoo et al., 2010), with a sample of 155 Asian American high school adolescents. We also examined the link between internalization of the model minority myth types (i.e., myth associated with achievement and myth associated with unrestricted mobility) and psychological adjustment (i.e., affective distress, somatic distress, performance difficulty, academic expectations stress), and the potential moderating effect of academic performance (cumulative grade point average). Results suggested the 2-factor model of the IM-4 had an acceptable fit to the data and supported the factor structure using confirmatory factor analyses. Internalizing the model minority myth of achievement related positively to academic expectations stress; however, internalizing the model minority myth of unrestricted mobility related negatively to academic expectations stress, both controlling for gender and academic performance. Finally, academic performance moderated the model minority myth associated with unrestricted mobility and affective distress link and the model minority myth associated with achievement and performance difficulty link. These findings highlight the complex ways in which the model minority myth relates to psychological outcomes. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  5. Faculty Self-reported Experience with Racial and Ethnic Discrimination in Academic Medicine

    PubMed Central

    Peterson, Neeraja B; Friedman, Robert H; Ash, Arlene S; Franco, Shakira; Carr, Phyllis L

    2004-01-01

    BACKGROUND Despite the need to recruit and retain minority faculty in academic medicine, little is known about the experiences of minority faculty, in particular their self-reported experience of racial and ethnic discrimination at their institutions. OBJECTIVE To determine the frequency of self-reported experience of racial/ethnic discrimination among faculty of U.S. medical schools, as well as associations with outcomes, such as career satisfaction, academic rank, and number of peer-reviewed publications. DESIGN A 177-item self-administered mailed survey of U.S. medical school faculty. SETTING Twenty-four randomly selected medical schools in the contiguous United States. PARTICIPANTS A random sample of 1,979 full-time faculty, stratified by medical school, specialty, graduation cohort, and gender. MEASUREMENTS Frequency of self-reported experiences of racial/ethnic bias and discrimination. RESULTS The response rate was 60%. Of 1,833 faculty eligible, 82% were non-Hispanic white, 10% underrepresented minority (URM), and 8% nonunderrepresented minority (NURM). URM and NURM faculty were substantially more likely than majority faculty to perceive racial/ethnic bias in their academic environment (odds ratio [OR], 5.4; P < .01 and OR, 2.6; P < .01, respectively). Nearly half (48%) of URM and 26% of NURM reported experiencing racial/ethnic discrimination by a superior or colleague. Faculty with such reported experiences had lower career satisfaction scores than other faculty (P < .01). However, they received comparable salaries, published comparable numbers of papers, and were similarly likely to have attained senior rank (full or associate professor). CONCLUSIONS Many minority faculty report experiencing racial/ethnic bias in academic medicine and have lower career satisfaction than other faculty. Despite this, minority faculty who reported experiencing racial/ethnic discrimination achieved academic productivity similar to that of other faculty. PMID:15009781

  6. Faculty self-reported experience with racial and ethnic discrimination in academic medicine.

    PubMed

    Peterson, Neeraja B; Friedman, Robert H; Ash, Arlene S; Franco, Shakira; Carr, Phyllis L

    2004-03-01

    Despite the need to recruit and retain minority faculty in academic medicine, little is known about the experiences of minority faculty, in particular their self-reported experience of racial and ethnic discrimination at their institutions. To determine the frequency of self-reported experience of racial/ethnic discrimination among faculty of U.S. medical schools, as well as associations with outcomes, such as career satisfaction, academic rank, and number of peer-reviewed publications. A 177-item self-administered mailed survey of U.S. medical school faculty. Twenty-four randomly selected medical schools in the contiguous United States. A random sample of 1,979 full-time faculty, stratified by medical school, specialty, graduation cohort, and gender. Frequency of self-reported experiences of racial/ethnic bias and discrimination. The response rate was 60%. Of 1,833 faculty eligible, 82% were non-Hispanic white, 10% underrepresented minority (URM), and 8% non-underrepresented minority (NURM). URM and NURM faculty were substantially more likely than majority faculty to perceive racial/ethnic bias in their academic environment (odds ratio [OR], 5.4; P <.01 and OR, 2.6; P <.01, respectively). Nearly half (48%) of URM and 26% of NURM reported experiencing racial/ethnic discrimination by a superior or colleague. Faculty with such reported experiences had lower career satisfaction scores than other faculty (P <.01). However, they received comparable salaries, published comparable numbers of papers, and were similarly likely to have attained senior rank (full or associate professor). Many minority faculty report experiencing racial/ethnic bias in academic medicine and have lower career satisfaction than other faculty. Despite this, minority faculty who reported experiencing racial/ethnic discrimination achieved academic productivity similar to that of other faculty.

  7. A Five-Year Follow-Up on the Role of Educational Support in Preventing Dropout From Upper Secondary Education in Finland.

    PubMed

    Hakkarainen, Airi M; Holopainen, Leena K; Savolainen, Hannu K

    2015-01-01

    In this longitudinal study, we investigated the role of word reading and mathematical difficulties measured in 9th grade as factors for receiving educational support for learning in upper secondary education in Grades 10 to 12 (from ages 16 to 19) and furthermore as predictors of dropout from upper secondary education within 5 years after compulsory education. In addition, we studied the role of school achievement in Grades 9 and 11 in this prediction. The participants of this study were members of one age group of 16-year-old ninth graders (N = 595, females 302, males 293) in a midsized Finnish city, who were followed for 5 years after completing compulsory education. The path model results, where the effects of gender, educational track, and SES were controlled, showed, first, that students with academic learning difficulties received educational support for learning particularly in the 11th grade. Second, academic learning difficulties directly affected school achievement in the 9th grade, but no longer in the 11th grade. Third, mathematical difficulties directly predicted dropout from upper secondary education, and difficulties in both word reading and mathematics had an indirect effect through school achievement in Grades 9 and 11 on dropout. © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2013.

  8. Adolescent Parent Relationships and Academic Performance.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zook, Joan M.; Repinski, Daniel J.

    This study examined associations between parent-child relationships and adolescents' academic performance. Adolescents in 7th and 10th grade completed self-report questionnaires assessing 6 features of parent-adolescent relationships: time spent together, number of activities, degree of influence, frequency of experiencing positive emotions,…

  9. Debating Values: Race, Class and Academic Achievement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Milton, Penny

    2008-01-01

    The relationships among race, class and academic achievement are complex, yet have been well documented in Canada for the last thirty years. Generations of students have experienced them--lowered expectations for achievement, gross generalizations about parents' backgrounds and aspirations, negative stereotypes of communities, and curricula that…

  10. Using Student Ability and Item Difficulty for Making Defensible Pass/Fail Decisions for Borderline Grades

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Shulruf, Boaz; Jones, Phil; Turner, Rolf

    2015-01-01

    The determination of Pass/Fail decisions over Borderline grades, (i.e., grades which do not clearly distinguish between the competent and incompetent examinees) has been an ongoing challenge for academic institutions. This study utilises the Objective Borderline Method (OBM) to determine examinee ability and item difficulty, and from that…

  11. ADHD Expressive Writing Difficulties of ADHD Children: When Good Declarative Knowledge Is Not Sufficient

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Re, Anna Maria; Cornoldi, Cesare

    2010-01-01

    A large body of evidence shows that many of the academic difficulties Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) children have may be related to their problems in executive control. However, the particular case of expressive writing has not been deeply explored. The present study examines the typical school exercise of writing a letter.…

  12. Determining the Effectiveness of Alternative Seating Systems for Students with Attention Difficulties: A Systematic Review

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Gochenour, Brittany; Poskey, Gail A.

    2017-01-01

    A student's ability to attend in the classroom is an important factor in determining academic success. This systematic review examined the effects of an alternative seating system on improving attention in students with attention difficulties. Databases searched included CINAHL, Medline, PsycINFO, OTSeeker, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar.…

  13. Utilizing a Web-Based Career Development Workshop to Address Career Decision-Making Difficulty among Community College Distance Learners

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Brown, Johanna Michele

    2011-01-01

    Career decision making difficulty, as it relates to undecided college students and career indecision, has been a concern for counselors and academic advisors for decades (Gordon, 2006; Mau, 2004). Individuals struggling with career indecision often seek assistance via career counseling, self-help tools, and/or computer-assisted career guidance…

  14. The impact of the Tulane-HCA joint venture on academic and clinical missions.

    PubMed

    Whitecloud, T S; Smathers, J E; Barrack, R L

    2001-10-01

    As with any joint venture in any given industry, positive and negative impacts are felt. Tulane University School of Medicine experienced impacts on its academic and clinical missions as a result of the joint venture between Tulane University and HCA, a for-profit public company. The laws of business had entered the halls of medicine. Although patients, personnel, and physicians experienced culture shock and inconveniences, Tulane University School of Medicine has been able to maintain viable training programs, and its faculty physicians have a hospital and corporately run clinics across the street. In addition, multidisciplinary centers of excellence, long spoken of in the academic realm, came to fruition through the corporate world. This may not have been the case, had Tulane University not entered into ajoint venture with HCA. Is it worth the effort? For Tulane University, whether one likes the entire package or not, the answer must be yes. The greatest impact is that the orthopaedic surgeons still are in a position to fulfill their academic and clinical missions.

  15. Which Way to Lean? A National Study of Women Dental Faculty Members' Career Aspirations and Choices.

    PubMed

    Gadbury-Amyot, Cynthia C; Pyle, Marsha A; Van Ness, Christopher J; Overman, Pamela R; West, Karen P

    2016-12-01

    The aim of this first national study of women in academic dentistry was to explore factors and perceived barriers for why administrative/leadership positions were or were not sought via data collected from full-time women dental faculty members in the U.S. In fall 2015, the researchers conducted a survey that employed a combination of response formats: forced choice from a menu, multiple allowable answers, and open-ended written comments. The overall response rate for the survey was 35.6% (537/1504). Respondents were from 48 of the 65 U.S. dental schools. Half of the respondents indicated their primary appointment was in clinical sciences, 22.9% were in administration, 7.3% in research, 7.1% in basic science, and 2.5% in behavioral science. While a quarter of the respondents indicated administration as their primary appointment, over half reported holding administrative positions, and nearly all (92.4%) reported currently holding leadership roles at their institutions. For those not currently in administrative/leadership roles, 52.6% indicated a desire for an administrative role and 70.7% a leadership role. Of those in administrative/leadership roles, 62.1% indicated not receiving extra remuneration for those responsibilities. Half of the respondents perceived that they were paid less in their current position than men doing the same work. The most dominant theme emerging from qualitative analysis of barriers the respondents experienced was the difficulty women in dental education have in a traditionally male-dominated profession. The results confirmed that women faculty members are "leaning in" to seek administrative/leadership roles in academic dentistry. However, pay equity remains an issue, and faculty development and mentoring are needed for the advancement of academic dentistry and ultimately the dental profession.

  16. Beyond behavior modification: Benefits of social-emotional/self-regulation training for preschoolers with behavior problems.

    PubMed

    Graziano, Paulo A; Hart, Katie

    2016-10-01

    The current study evaluated the initial efficacy of three intervention programs aimed at improving school readiness in preschool children with externalizing behavior problems (EBP). Participants for this study included 45 preschool children (76% boys; Mage=5.16years; 84% Hispanic/Latino background) with at-risk or clinically elevated levels of EBP. During the summer between preschool and kindergarten, children were randomized to receive three newly developed intervention packages. The first and most cost effective intervention package was an 8-week School Readiness Parenting Program (SRPP). Families randomized into the second and third intervention packages received not only the weekly SRPP, but children also attended two different versions of an intensive kindergarten summer readiness class (M-F, 8a.m.-5p.m.) that was part of an 8-week summer treatment program for pre-kindergarteners (STP-PreK). One version included the standard behavioral modification system and academic curriculum (STP-PreK) while the other additionally contained social-emotional and self-regulation training (STP-PreK Enhanced). Baseline, post-intervention, and 6-month follow-up data were collected on children's school readiness outcomes including parent, teacher, and objective assessment measures. Analyses using linear mixed models indicated that children's behavioral functioning significantly improved across all groups in a similar magnitude. Children in the STP-PreK Enhanced group, however, experienced greater growth across time in academic achievement, emotion knowledge, emotion regulation, and executive functioning compared to children in the other groups. These findings suggest that while parent training is sufficient to address children's behavioral difficulties, an intensive summer program that goes beyond behavioral modification and academic preparation by targeting socio-emotional and self-regulation skills can have incremental benefits across multiple aspects of school readiness. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  17. Effects of the Family Bereavement Program on Academic Outcomes, Educational Expectations and Job Aspirations 6 Years Later: The Mediating Role of Parenting and Youth Mental Health Problems

    PubMed Central

    Schoenfelder, Erin N.; Tein, Jenn-Yun; Wolchik, Sharlene; Sandler, Irwin N.

    2014-01-01

    Experiencing the death of a parent during childhood is associated with a variety of difficulties, including lower academic achievement, that have implications for functioning in childhood and adulthood. This study examines effects of the Family Bereavement Program (FBP), a preventive intervention for parentally-bereaved youth and their caregivers, on grade point averages (GPA), educational expectations and job aspirations of youths 6 years after the intervention. A total of 244 bereaved youths ages 8-16 and their caregivers were randomized to either the FBP or a comparison group that received books about bereavement. Assessments occurred at pretest, post-test, and 11-month and 6-year follow-ups. Direct program effects on educational outcomes and job aspirations 6 years later were non-significant, although the program improved educational expectations for children with fewer behavior problems at program entry, and GPA for younger children. Mediational pathways for program effects on educational outcomes were also tested. Program-induced improvements in effective parenting at 11-month follow-up were associated with higher GPAs at 6-year follow-up for youth who were younger or for whom more time had passed since the loss. Program-induced improvements in parenting and teacher-rated youth mental health problems at the 6-year follow-up mediated program effects on youths’ educational expectations for those with fewer behavior problems at program entry. The implications of these findings for understanding processes related to academic and educational outcomes following the death of a parent and for prevention efforts to help bereaved and other high-risk children succeed in school are discussed. PMID:25052624

  18. Life Histories of Three Exemplary American Physical Educators

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cazers, Gunars

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of the following article-style dissertation was to present the life histories of three exemplary physical educators, to give them voice, explore ways in which they experienced marginalization, and describe how they persevered in spite of difficulties they experienced in their careers. The participants included (a) Robin, a female…

  19. Outsourcing Student Housing in American Community Colleges: Problems and Prospects

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bekurs, Gray

    2007-01-01

    Today's community colleges are experiencing tremendous growth at a time when higher education is experiencing little success in the fierce battle for public funding. Administrators believe that providing housing on college campuses increases enrollment and improves access, but they are having difficulty meeting students' demands for both quantity…

  20. Reading Success: Validation of a Specialized Literacy Program (1978-2007)

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Idol, Lorna

    2010-01-01

    Reading Success is an individualized teacher-guided literacy program proven for 663 students who experienced difficulty with reading. The students had learning disabilities, mild mental retardation, and behavior challenges; were at risk for school failure; or were transitioning from speaking Spanish to English and experiencing literacy problems.…

  1. Characteristics of racism and the health consequences experienced by black nursing faculty.

    PubMed

    Robinson, Ora V

    2014-01-01

    Few studies have examined the health consequences of racism experienced by Black nursing professors. A cohort of nine Black nursing professors at various academic ranks responded to a series of questions on racism, coping and intervention strategies to reduce the harmful health consequences. Findings identified behavioral characteristics of racism, resiliency factors of coping, and suggested workshops to minimize the effects of racism within the nursing profession. Implications include workshops on critical self reflection and rules of engagement. A question raised for future research "how to create a racially/ethnic inclusive and psychosocial healthy academic work environment"?

  2. Faculty perceptions of gender discrimination and sexual harassment in academic medicine.

    PubMed

    Carr, P L; Ash, A S; Friedman, R H; Szalacha, L; Barnett, R C; Palepu, A; Moskowitz, M M

    2000-06-06

    Gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment are common in medical practice and may be even more prevalent in academic medicine. To examine the prevalence of gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment among medical school faculty and the associations of gender-based discrimination with number of publications, career satisfaction, and perceptions of career advancement. A self-administered mailed questionnaire of U.S. medical school faculty that covered a broad range of topics relating to academic life. 24 randomly selected medical schools in the contiguous United States. A random sample of 3332 full-time faculty, stratified by specialty, graduation cohort, and sex. Prevalence of self-reported experiences of discrimination and harassment, number of peer-reviewed publications, career satisfaction, and perception of career advancement. Female faculty were more than 2.5 times more likely than male faculty to perceive gender-based discrimination in the academic environment (P < 0.001). Among women, rates of reported discrimination ranged from 47% for the youngest faculty to 70% for the oldest faculty. Women who reported experiencing negative gender bias had similar productivity but lower career satisfaction scores than did other women (P< 0.001). About half of female faculty but few male faculty experienced some form of sexual harassment. These experiences were similarly prevalent across the institutions in the sample and in all regions of the United States. Female faculty who reported being sexually harassed perceived gender-specific bias in the academic environment more often than did other women (80% compared with 61 %) and more often reported experiencing gender bias in professional advancement (72% compared with 47%). Publications, career satisfaction, and professional confidence were not affected by sexual harassment, and self-assessed career advancement was only marginally lower for female faculty who had experienced sexual harassment (P = 0.06). Despite substantial increases in the number of female faculty, reports of gender-based discrimination and sexual harassment remain common.

  3. Returning to Study in Higher Education in Ghana: Experiences of Mature Undergraduate Women

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Adu-Yeboah, Christine; Forde, Linda Dzama

    2011-01-01

    This study was based on the assumption that in Ghana, women who return late to higher education combine domestic and academic work and, in the process, experience tensions and difficulties in the face of cultural and academic prejudice. It employed an interpretive qualitative research approach via narrative interviews with eight mature…

  4. The Relationship between American Indian Students' Cognitive Processing and Their Reading Skills

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Landeros-Thomas, Barry Ryan

    2017-01-01

    American Indian students exhibit significant delays in academic skills and are at greater risk of school leaving or dropout than mainstream peers. A core component of these academic difficulties are persistent reading deficits across grades, but little research exists on the underlying foundation of these reading deficits. The purpose of this…

  5. Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties and Academic Achievement in Immigrant Adolescents in Special Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rousseau, Cécile; Mustafa, Sally; Beauregard, Caroline

    2015-01-01

    The literature emphasizes that the school environment is a key factor for the mental health and academic achievement of immigrant and refugee children. However, few studies examined the role of school environment and peer relationships for these youth attending a special education class. The aim of this paper is to study the association between…

  6. Why It Is so Hard for Academics to Write Textbooks

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sternberg, Robert J.

    2017-01-01

    Although academics are accustomed to writing articles and books, they much less frequently write textbooks. When they do, they likely find it much harder to do well than they ever would have imagined. This difficulty is likely to surprise them, because they have considerable experience in writing research articles and in teaching. I argue in this…

  7. Perspectives of EFL Doctoral Students on Challenges of Citations in Academic Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jomaa, Nayef Jomaa; Bidin, Siti Jamilah

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: Citation is vital in academic writing but particularly challenging for novice writers who use English as a second or foreign language. While much is known about citations types and functions, scarce knowledge is available about what makes citing a complicated procedure. Hence, this study explores the difficulties in citing and integrating…

  8. "Beating the Odds": How Bi-Lingual Hispanic Youth Work through Adversity to Become High Achieving Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hassinger, Mark; Plourde, Lee A.

    2005-01-01

    The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine characteristics of academically successful Hispanic students. Despite repeated failures and early academic difficulties, some Hispanic students continue to fight through their adversity. Some children have a positive attitude toward school although there are monumental barriers for these at-risk…

  9. The Secret to Improving Attendance. Classroom Tips

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Swindell, James W., Jr.

    2011-01-01

    If students are not in the classroom, they can't learn. The author serves a dual role of teacher and administrator for middle school and high school students who are at high risk for academic failure. Their academic difficulties are mainly due to their negative behavioral patterns, which lead to frequent absences from class. Negative in-class…

  10. Teaching the Academic Argument in a University EFL Environment

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bacha, Nahla Nola

    2010-01-01

    An educational challenge that many university EFL students face is the production of written academic arguments as part of their required essays. Although the importance of argumentative writing in education is uncontested, and research shows that EFL students find difficulties in producing such texts, it is not adequately dealt with for the L1…

  11. Exploring Interpersonal Recognition as a Facilitator of Students' Academic and Professional Identity Formation in Higher Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Jensen, Dorthe Høj; Jetten, Jolanda

    2018-01-01

    A large body of work shows that the development of students' academic and professional identity positively predicts achievement in higher education. Despite this, there is also evidence that students have great difficulty developing both types of identity. Drawing from Honneth's [2003a. "Behovet for anerkendelse. En tekstsamling"…

  12. FORUM: Instructional Communication and Millennial Students: Millennial Students in the College Classroom: Adjusting to Academic Entitlement

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Goldman, Zachary W.; Martin, Matthew M.

    2016-01-01

    Academic entitlement (AE) refers to the expectation of educational success despite the input of personal effort needed to earn it (Boswell, 2012). Entitled students feel that learning should require minimal work and that difficulties encountered during the learning process should be attributed to instructors, rather than themselves. AE has become…

  13. Early Intervention to Support the Academic Recovery of First-Year Students at Risk of Non-Continuation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lizzio, Alf; Wilson, Keithia

    2013-01-01

    The widening participation agenda and related concerns about student retention require a more systematic focus on supporting student success. This paper describes a process designed with the dual goals of supporting the short-term academic recovery of students at risk of non-continuation due to early difficulties with assessment and developing…

  14. Supporting New Academics' Use of Student Centred Strategies in Traditional University Teaching

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Plush, Sally E.; Kehrwald, Benjamin A.

    2014-01-01

    Despite the perceived advantages of student centred learning (SCL) in higher education, novice teaching academics' attempts to implement such approaches may be thwarted by a lack of experience with teaching in general and with SCL in particular, difficulties locating suitable practical advice on SCL, and the demands of early career academic…

  15. Unmet Expectations: Why Is There Such a Difference between Student Expectations and Classroom Performance?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Stinson, Terrye A.; Zhao, Xiaofeng

    2008-01-01

    Past studies indicate that students are frequently poor judges of their likely academic performance in the classroom. The difficulty a student faces in accurately predicting performance on a classroom exam may be due to unrealistic optimism or may be due to an inability to self-evaluate academic performance, but the resulting disconnect between…

  16. Academic Writing at the Graduate Level: Improving the Curriculum through Faculty Collaboration

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bair, Mary A.; Mader, Cynthia E.

    2013-01-01

    This article describes a collaborative self-study undertaken to identify the source of academic writing difficulties among graduate students and find ways to address them. Ten faculty members in a college of education came together to define the problem and to analyze data gleaned from faculty and student surveys, course documents, course…

  17. The Influence of Parents, Peer Delinquency, and School Attitudes on Academic Achievement in Chinese, Cambodian, Laotian or Mien, and Vietnamese Youth

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Chang, Janet; Le, Thao N.

    2005-01-01

    Past research on academic achievement has tended to overlook the diversity among Asian American groups and the educational and socioeconomic difficulties that many Asians, particularly Southeast Asians, face. The present study addressed several shortcomings of past research by contrasting parent attachment and discipline, peer delinquency, and…

  18. Torn between Study and Leisure: How Motivational Conflicts Relate to Students' Academic and Social Adaptation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grund, Axel; Brassler, Nina K.; Fries, Stefan

    2014-01-01

    Research on motivational conflicts indicates that students' difficulties during studying may result from tempting alternatives in the leisure domain. In the present set of studies, we addressed the question of whether academic motivation inversely has negative spillover effects on students' leisure-related functioning, too. In the first 2 studies…

  19. E-Books in Academic Libraries: Challenges for Acquisition and Collection Management

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walters, William H.

    2013-01-01

    This bibliographic essay examines the difficulties associated with the selection, licensing, acquisition, and management of e-books in academic libraries. The potential advantages of e-book technology are likely to be realized only to the extent that they advance the economic goals of e-book suppliers and are consistent with the legal framework…

  20. Assessing Learning Control of English Hedges among Tertiary Cantonese-Speaking EFL Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Siu, Fiona Kwai-peng

    2014-01-01

    This project was designed to try to investigate the difficulties EFL learners would have in learning to use hedging as a rhetorical device in academic writing. The participants were 136 native Cantonese-speaking EFL students who enrolled in the one-year course "English for Academic Purposes" offered by a language centre at a university…

  1. Meta-Analysis of Math Interventions for Students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Templeton, Tran Nguyen; Neel, Richard S.; Blood, Erika

    2008-01-01

    Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) struggle in the area of academics as well as behavior, and these academic difficulties manifest a great deal in mathematics. The number of children with EBD served in general education settings is increasing, and mathematics curriculum is expanding to include additional content areas and more…

  2. Difficulties of Academic Achievement in Principles of Accounting Courses from the Student Perspective: Evidence from Libya

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Tailab, Mohamed M.

    2013-01-01

    Many studies by researchers and accounting educators explore various factors associated with the success or failure of accounting majors in college level accounting courses. This paper identifies and summarizes the main obstacles associated with low student academic achievement in introductory courses in the College of Accounting at Al-Jabal…

  3. Population Estimates, Health Care Characteristics, and Material Hardship Experiences of U.S. Children With Parent-Reported Speech-Language Difficulties: Evidence From Three Nationally Representative Surveys.

    PubMed

    Sonik, Rajan A; Parish, Susan L; Akobirshoev, Ilhom; Son, Esther; Rosenthal, Eliana

    2017-10-05

    To provide estimates for the prevalence of parent-reported speech-language difficulties in U.S. children, and to describe the levels of health care access and material hardship in this population. We tabulated descriptive and bivariate statistics using cross-sectional data from the 2007 and 2011/2012 iterations of the National Survey of Children's Health, the 2005/2006 and 2009/2010 iterations of the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs, and the 2004 and 2008 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Prevalence estimates ranged from 1.8% to 5.0%, with data from two of the three surveys preliminarily indicating increased prevalence in recent years. The largest health care challenge was in accessing care coordination, with 49%-56% of children with parent-reported speech-language difficulties lacking full access. Children with parent-reported speech-language difficulties were more likely than peers without any indications of speech-language difficulties to live in households experiencing each measured material hardship and participating in each measured public benefit program (e.g., 20%-22% experiencing food insecurity, compared to 11%-14% of their peers without any indications of speech-language difficulties). We found mixed preliminary evidence to suggest that the prevalence of parent-reported speech-language difficulties among children may be rising. These children face heightened levels of material hardship and barriers in accessing health care.

  4. Emotion Regulation in Patients with Psoriasis: Correlates of Disability, Clinical Dimensions, and Psychopathology Symptoms.

    PubMed

    Almeida, Vera; Taveira, Sofia; Teixeira, Maribel; Almeida, Isabel; Rocha, José; Teixeira, Ana

    2017-08-01

    There are known connections between emotions and psoriasis; however, we have not established a clear pathway for this association. This study aimed to explore correlates of difficulties in emotional regulation in patients with psoriasis and predict the influence of emotional regulation in psoriasis disability. Two hundred and twenty eight participants completed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, Self-administered Psoriasis Area and Severity Index, Psoriasis Disability Index, and Brief Symptom Inventory. Spearman's correlation and a hierarchical stepwise multiple regression were carried out to analyse associations. Results indicated that patients with the most recent diagnoses experienced greater difficulty in acting in accordance with goals (r = .16, p < .05) but lesser difficulty in engaging in goal-directed behaviour (r = -.15, p < .05). Those with greater satisfaction with treatment exhibited fewer difficulties in emotional regulation (r = -.23, p < .01). The patients who experienced greater difficulty in emotional regulation perceived greater psoriasis severity (r = .15, p < .05) and disability (r = .36, p < .05), reported more psychopathological symptoms (correlations between .46 and .56), and missed work/school more frequently (r = .24, p < .05). Impulse control proved to be the strongest predictor to psoriasis disability (β = .34). The results highlighted the relationship between emotional regulation difficulty, disease characteristics, and psychological variables in psoriasis disability emphasizing the importance of including a broader approach in clinical management of psoriatic patients.

  5. Helping Children with Emotional Difficulties: A Response to Intervention Investigation

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pearce, Lee R.

    2009-01-01

    This article describes a Response to Intervention (RTI) model of service delivery implemented within a rural elementary school for students in kindergarten through fifth grade experiencing significant emotional and behavioral difficulties. A multi-tiered model is presented that includes school wide interventions in Tier 1, as well as a six…

  6. Subtle Symptoms Associated with Self-Reported Mild Head Injury.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Segalowitz, Sidney J.; Lawson, Sheila

    1995-01-01

    A survey of 1,345 high school students and 2,321 university students found that 30-37% reported having experienced a head injury, with 12-15% reporting loss of consciousness. Significant relationships were found between mild head injury incidence and gender; sleep difficulties; social difficulties; handedness pattern; and diagnoses of attention…

  7. Rethinking Intervention: Changing the Cultures of Schooling

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Daniels, Harry

    2006-01-01

    In this paper I will discuss intervention in the culture of schools as part of a range of responses to the concerns expressed, the difficulties caused by and the dissatisfaction and unhappiness experienced by pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. I will discuss such intervention at the levels of staff relations and…

  8. Psychosocial Difficulties Experienced by People Diagnosed with Schizophrenia--Barriers to Social Inclusion

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Anczewska, Marta; Switaj, Piotr; Roszczynskamichta, Joanna; Chrostek, Anna; Charzynska, Katarzyna

    2013-01-01

    Schizophrenia as mental illness is defined in terms of diagnostic criteria which do not include the full range of psychosocial difficulties that shape the lived experience of persons with this diagnosis and affect their quality of life. The biopsychosocial approach found in the World Health Organization's International Classification of…

  9. Learning Difficulties Experienced by Grade 12 South African Students in the Chemical Representation of Phenomena

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ramnarain, Umesh; Joseph, Aleyamma

    2012-01-01

    This study investigated the learning difficulties of grade 12 South African students in a national chemistry examination. A quantitative analysis of students' performance in the examination revealed there was a significant difference between student performance in questions where students needed to execute a transformation across levels of…

  10. Decision-Making Difficulties Experienced by Adults with Autism Spectrum Conditions

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Luke, Lydia; Clare, Isabel C. H.; Ring, Howard; Redley, Marcus; Watson, Peter

    2012-01-01

    Autobiographical and clinical accounts, as well as a limited neuropsychological research literature, suggest that, in some situations, men and women with autism spectrum conditions (ASCs) may have difficulty making decisions. Little is known, however, about how people with ASCs experience decision-making or how they might best be supported to make…

  11. The social consequences of teenage parenthood.

    PubMed

    Furstenberg, F F

    1976-01-01

    The adolescent mothers consistently experienced great difficulty in realizing their life plans, when compared with their classmates who did not become pregnant premaritally in their early teens. Marital instability, school disruption, economic problems, and difficulty in family size regulation and child-rearing were some of the complications brought on by their premature, unscheduled childbearing.

  12. Career Decision-Making Difficulties of British and Chinese International University Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Zhou, Dingyuan; Santos, Angeli

    2007-01-01

    This study explored cultural and gender differences in career decision-making difficulties (CDMD) experienced by 109 British and 86 Chinese international university students, and the impact of cross-cultural adjustment on the CDMD of Chinese international students. Results showed no significant cultural differences in overall CDMD, and that the…

  13. Periodicals Related to College Teaching. IDEA Paper No. 28.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Cashin, William E.; Clegg, Victoria L.

    This paper presents a list of periodicals that cover issues in college teaching for experienced and novice teachers. Periodicals are listed for 75 specific academic fields and for higher education in general. The specific academic fields include accounting, agricultural engineering, agriculture, agronomy, anthropology, architecture, art,…

  14. Assessment of pediatric residents burnout in a tertiary academic centre

    PubMed Central

    Jamjoom, Roaa S.; Park, Yoon S.

    2018-01-01

    Objectives: To study burnout among pediatric residents at King Abdulazaiz University Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Methods: This is a cross-sectional survey that was administered to all pediatric residents enrolled in the Saudi Paediatric Board program (PGY1-PGY4) in a large tertiary academic hospital in the Western region of Saudi Arabia (King Abdulaziz University Hospital). The survey were sent via E-mail to 50 registered general pediatric residents. Results: Seventy percent of the pediatric residents completed the survey. More than 70% of residents experiencing severe burnout. Forty-three percent suffering emotional exhaustion, 71.8% experiencing depersonalization and 40.6% suffering from low accomplishment. Conclusion: Burnout syndrome appear to be a serious threat to resident well-being in our program. Moreover, pediatric residents in our institute experienced higher levels of depersonalization than their peers nationally and internationally. PMID:29543309

  15. Adverse Experiences in Early Childhood and Kindergarten Outcomes.

    PubMed

    Jimenez, Manuel E; Wade, Roy; Lin, Yong; Morrow, Lesley M; Reichman, Nancy E

    2016-02-01

    To examine associations between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) in early childhood and teacher-reported academic and behavioral problems in kindergarten. We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a national urban birth cohort. Subjects with primary caregiver-reported information on ACE exposures ascertained at 5 years and teacher-reported outcomes at the end of the child's kindergarten year were included. Outcomes included teacher ratings of academic skills, emergent literacy skills, and behavior. We included 8 ACE exposures on the basis of the original Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Kaiser study and created an ACE score by summing individual adversities. We examined the associations between teacher-reported academic and behavioral outcomes and ACE scores by using logistic regression. In the study sample, 1007 children were included. Fifty-five percent had experienced 1 ACE and 12% had experienced ≥ 3. Adjusting for potential confounders, experiencing ≥ 3 ACEs was associated with below-average language and literacy skills (adjusted odds ratio [AORs]: 1.8; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-2.9) and math skills (AOR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1-2.9), poor emergent literacy skills, attention problems (AOR: 3.5, 95% CI: 1.8-6.5), social problems (AOR: 2.7, 95% CI: 1.4-5.0), and aggression (AOR: 2.3, 95% CI: 1.2-4.6). In this study of urban children, experiencing ACEs in early childhood was associated with below-average, teacher-reported academic and literacy skills and behavior problems in kindergarten. These findings underscore the importance of integrated approaches that promote optimal development among vulnerable children. Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

  16. The relation of depression and anxiety to life-stress and achievement in students.

    PubMed

    Andrews, Bernice; Wilding, John M

    2004-11-01

    An apparent increase in seriously disturbed students consulting student health services in the UK has led to concern that increasing financial difficulties and other outside pressures may affect student mental health and academic performance. The current research investigated whether student anxiety and depression increases after college entry, the extent to which adverse life experiences contribute to any increases, and the impact of adversity, anxiety and depression on exam performance. 351 UK-domiciled undergraduates completed questionnaires one month before university entry and mid-course. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS: Zigmond & Snaith, 1983) was administered at both time points and a modified List of Threatening Experiences (Brugha, Bebbington, Tennant, & Hurry, 1985) was administered mid-course. By mid-course 9% of previously symptom-free students became depressed and 20% became anxious at a clinically significant level. Of those previously anxious or depressed 36% had recovered. After adjusting for pre-entry symptoms, financial difficulties made a significant independent contribution to depression and relationship difficulties independently predicted anxiety. Depression and financial difficulties mid-course predicted a decrease in exam performance from first to second year. This is the first study to confirm empirically that financial and other difficulties can increase British students' levels of anxiety and depression and that financial difficulties and depression can affect academic performance. However, university life may also have a beneficial effect for some students with pre-existing conditions. With widening participation in higher education, the results have important implications for educational and health policies.

  17. A cumulative risk factor model for early identification of academic difficulties in premature and low birth weight infants.

    PubMed

    Roberts, G; Bellinger, D; McCormick, M C

    2007-03-01

    Premature and low birth weight children have a high prevalence of academic difficulties. This study examines a model comprised of cumulative risk factors that allows early identification of these difficulties. This is a secondary analysis of data from a large cohort of premature (<37 weeks gestation) and LBW (<2500 g) children. The study subjects were 8 years of age and 494 had data available for reading achievement and 469 for mathematics. Potential predictor variables were categorized into 4 domains: sociodemographic, neonatal, maternal mental health and early childhood (ages 3 and 5). Regression analysis was used to create a model to predict reading and mathematics scores. Variables from all domains were significant in the model, predicting low achievement scores in reading (R (2) of 0.49, model p-value < .0001) and mathematics (R (2) of 0.44, model p-value < .0001). Significant risk factors for lower reading scores, were: lower maternal education and income, and Black or Hispanic race (sociodemographic); lower birth weight and male gender (neonatal); lower maternal responsivity (maternal mental health); lower intelligence, visual-motor skill and higher behavioral disturbance scores (early childhood). Lower mathematics scores were predicted by lower maternal education, income and age and Black or Hispanic race (sociodemographic); lower birth weight and higher head circumference (neonatal); lower maternal responsivity (maternal mental health); lower intelligence, visual-motor skill and higher behavioral disturbance scores (early childhood). Sequential early childhood risk factors in premature and LBW children lead to a cumulative risk for academic difficulties and can be used for early identification.

  18. Improving School Attendance: Can Participation in Outdoor Learning Influence Attendance for Young People with Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Price, Alan

    2015-01-01

    The link between good attendance in school and academic performance has been acknowledged for some time now. However, improving school attendance for young people with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) or pupils at risk of exclusion can be a challenging task for educational leaders. This paper begins with a discussion of…

  19. Understanding Test-Takers' Perceptions of Difficulty in EAP Vocabulary Tests: The Role of Experiential Factors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Oruç Ertürk, Nesrin; Mumford, Simon E.

    2017-01-01

    This study, conducted by two researchers who were also multiple-choice question (MCQ) test item writers at a private English-medium university in an English as a foreign language (EFL) context, was designed to shed light on the factors that influence test-takers' perceptions of difficulty in English for academic purposes (EAP) vocabulary, with the…

  20. An Analysis of Difficulties of Children with Stuttering Enrolled in Turkish Primary Inclusive Classes Who Encounter in Academic and Social Activities: From Their Perspectives

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sari, Hakan; Gökdag, Hatice

    2017-01-01

    Stuttering means that children have difficulties in rhythm, sound, syllable, word and phrase repetitions, or flow of speech cut in the form of extension or block form. In the "International Classification of Diseases" (1992) ("International Classification of Diseases-10" ("ICD-10"), Stuttering was defined as speech…

  1. Subjective Cognitive Complaints and Functional Disability in Patients With Borderline Personality Disorder and Their Nonaffected First-Degree Relatives

    PubMed Central

    Ruocco, Anthony C; Lam, Jaeger; McMain, Shelley F

    2014-01-01

    Objective: To examine the contributions of subjective cognitive complaints to functional disability in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and their nonaffected relatives. Method: Patients with BPD (n = 26), their first-degree biological relatives (n = 17), and nonpsychiatric control subjects (n = 31) completed a self-report measure of cognitive difficulties and rated the severity of their functional disability on the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0. Results: After accounting for group differences in age and severity of depressive symptoms, patients and relatives endorsed more inattention and memory problems than control subjects. Whereas probands reported greater disability than relatives and control subjects across all functional domains, relatives described more difficulties than control subjects in managing multiple life activities, including domestic activities and occupational and academic functioning, and participating in society. For both probands and relatives, inattention and memory problems were linked primarily to difficulties with life activities, independent of depression and other comorbid psychiatric disorders. Conclusions: Problems with inattention and forgetfulness may lead to difficulties carrying out activities of daily living and occupational or academic problems in patients with BPD, as well as their nonaffected first-degree relatives. PMID:25007408

  2. Subjective cognitive complaints and functional disability in patients with borderline personality disorder and their nonaffected first-degree relatives.

    PubMed

    Ruocco, Anthony C; Lam, Jaeger; McMain, Shelley F

    2014-06-01

    To examine the contributions of subjective cognitive complaints to functional disability in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) and their nonaffected relatives. Patients with BPD (n = 26), their first-degree biological relatives (n = 17), and nonpsychiatric control subjects (n = 31) completed a self-report measure of cognitive difficulties and rated the severity of their functional disability on the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0. After accounting for group differences in age and severity of depressive symptoms, patients and relatives endorsed more inattention and memory problems than control subjects. Whereas probands reported greater disability than relatives and control subjects across all functional domains, relatives described more difficulties than control subjects in managing multiple life activities, including domestic activities and occupational and academic functioning, and participating in society. For both probands and relatives, inattention and memory problems were linked primarily to difficulties with life activities, independent of depression and other comorbid psychiatric disorders. Problems with inattention and forgetfulness may lead to difficulties carrying out activities of daily living and occupational or academic problems in patients with BPD, as well as their nonaffected first-degree relatives.

  3. Maximizing Academic Success for Foster Care Students: A Trauma-Informed Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Berardi, Anna; Morton, Brenda M.

    2017-01-01

    Children in foster care have experienced significant trauma due to the loss of primary attachment figures and the circumstances associated with that loss. Children who have suffered trauma generally present with cognitive, social, physical, and emotional vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities are often expressed in the P-12 academic setting…

  4. Determinants of Academic Achievement: The Interaction of Children's Achievement Orientations with Skill Area.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Licht, Barbara G.; Dweck, Carol S.

    1984-01-01

    Examines the degree to which experiencing confusion during the acquisition of new academic material differentially affects classroom performance of helpless and mastery-oriented fifth-graders. Provides an initial test of a theoretical approach to understanding differences between male and female performances in different subject areas. (AS)

  5. Racial Identity and Academic Achievement in the Neighborhood Context: A Multilevel Analysis

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Byrd, Christy M.; Chavous, Tabbye M.

    2009-01-01

    Increasingly, researchers have found relationships between a strong, positive sense of racial identity and academic achievement among African American youth. Less attention, however, has been given to the roles and functions of racial identity among youth experiencing different social and economic contexts. Using hierarchical linear modeling, the…

  6. Organizational Change in Academic Programs: A Case Study of Doctoral Students' Experiences

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Frazier, Christina Coffee

    2011-01-01

    This qualitative case study explored the experiences of doctoral students at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities as they transitioned from a fairly stable academic department experiencing significant changes. To achieve the purpose of the study, I investigated the experiences of doctoral students through an organizational development…

  7. The Scholar, the Wealthy and the Powerful: Notes on Academic Culture in Elite-Focused Fieldwork

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bertron, Caroline; Kolopp, Sarah

    2017-01-01

    Drawing on our experiences of interviewing elites, this article suggests that methodological reflexivity yields insights into the construction of symbolic and social hierarchies in contextualised interactions. The paper focuses on "academic culture" as the "locus" through which power relations were experienced in interview…

  8. Academic Engagement among First-Year College Students: Precollege Antecedents

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Grabowski, Stanislaw; Sessa, Valerie

    2014-01-01

    This study describes how student characteristics and environmental influences experienced in high school (and the interactions among them) impact academic engagement of first-semester college students. Data, collected from 300 first-year students at a single university at two different times, showed that precollege student characteristics of…

  9. Exploring Statistics Anxiety: Contrasting Mathematical, Academic Performance and Trait Psychological Predictors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bourne, Victoria J.

    2018-01-01

    Statistics anxiety is experienced by a large number of psychology students, and previous research has examined a range of potential correlates, including academic performance, mathematical ability and psychological predictors. These varying predictors are often considered separately, although there may be shared variance between them. In the…

  10. Perceptions of Higher Education Quality at Three Universities in Vietnam

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pham, Huong Thi; Starkey, Louise

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Vietnam is experiencing rapid expansion in the provision of higher education that requires quality assurance appropriate for the Vietnamese-centralised Confucian cultural context. This paper aims to examine the concept of quality from the perspectives of academic leaders, quality assurance members and academics at three higher education…

  11. Academic performance of children born preterm: a meta-analysis and meta-regression.

    PubMed

    Twilhaar, E Sabrina; de Kieviet, Jorrit F; Aarnoudse-Moens, Cornelieke Sh; van Elburg, Ruurd M; Oosterlaan, Jaap

    2017-08-28

    Advances in neonatal healthcare have resulted in decreased mortality after preterm birth but have not led to parallel decreases in morbidity. Academic performance provides insight in the outcomes and specific difficulties and needs of preterm children. To study academic performance in preterm children born in the antenatal steroids and surfactant era and possible moderating effects of perinatal and demographic factors. PubMed, Web of Science and PsycINFO were searched for peer-reviewed articles. Cohort studies with a full-term control group reporting standardised academic performance scores of preterm children (<37 weeks of gestation) at age 5 years or older and born in the antenatal steroids and surfactant era were included. Academic test scores and special educational needs of preterm and full-term children were analysed using random effects meta-analysis. Random effects meta-regressions were performed to explore the predictive role of perinatal and demographic factors for between-study variance in effect sizes. The 17 eligible studies included 2390 preterm children and 1549 controls. Preterm children scored 0.71 SD below full-term peers on arithmetic (p<0.001), 0.44 and 0.52 SD lower on reading and spelling (p<0.001) and were 2.85 times more likely to receive special educational assistance (95% CI 2.12 to 3.84, p<0.001). Bronchopulmonarydysplasia explained 44% of the variance in academic performance (p=0.006). Preterm children born in the antenatal steroids and surfactant era show considerable academic difficulties. Preterm children with bronchopulmonarydysplasia are at particular risk for poor academic outcome. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

  12. Exposure to Stressors and Trajectories of Perceived Stress Among Older Adults

    PubMed Central

    Lynch, Scott M.; Glei, Dana A.; Weinstein, Maxine; Goldman, Noreen

    2015-01-01

    Objectives. Models of stress incorporate both the environmental demands experienced by individuals (stressors) and the appraisal of these life events (perceptions). Because little is known about the extent to which experience and perceptions are related, we examine this relationship in a nationally representative population of older Taiwanese adults. Method. Using growth models applied to data from 3 waves (1999, 2003, and 2007) of the Taiwan Longitudinal Study of Aging, we (a) investigate patterns of change in perceived stress in later adulthood and (b) examine how experienced stressors influence perceived stress. Participants were asked to report the presence of, and in some cases the degree of, exposure to stressors including total number of medical conditions, difficulty with activities of daily living, difficulty with mobility functions, being financially worse off compared with the prior wave, experiencing the death of a child, and experiencing a marital disruption. Items reflecting perceived stress included concerns about various domains pertaining to the respondent and his/her family member. Results. Our results indicate that exposure to stressors increases, whereas perceived stress decreases, over time. Change in exposure to stressors is not generally associated with change in perceptions of stress, with the exception of a summary measure of health-related exposure to stressors. An increase in poor health over time is related to an increase in perceived stress in all domains. Discussion. The results underscore the importance of distinguishing between perceptions of stress and exposure to stressors when studying the links between stress and health among older adults. Furthermore, the diminishing linkage between experienced stressors and perceptions of stress suggests that older adults’ appraisal may be an adaptive coping strategy that emerges to buffer some of the difficulties that are inevitable in later life. PMID:24906395

  13. Episodic Memory in Adults with Autistic Spectrum Disorders: Recall for Self- versus Other-Experienced Events

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Hare, Dougal Julian; Mellor, Christine; Azmi, Sabiha

    2007-01-01

    People with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) have difficulties in recalling recently experienced events, which is dependent upon intact functioning of several aspects of "self awareness". The current study examined impaired episodic recall in ASD and its relationship to specific impairments in aspects of "self awareness". Between-group…

  14. Preparation of Experienced Teachers to Address Teacher Shortages: A Quantitative Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Clark, Lisa Davis

    2009-01-01

    Public educational institutions are facing the problem of a shortage of experienced, certified, skilled teachers in the areas of special education, English as a Second Language, mathematics, biology or life science, bilingual education, and music. This shortage compounds difficulties in serving students in these areas. Reasons for this shortage…

  15. Experienced Teachers' Pedagogical Content Knowledge of Teaching Acid-Base Chemistry

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Drechsler, Michal; Van Driel, Jan

    2008-01-01

    We investigated the pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) of nine experienced chemistry teachers. The teachers took part in a teacher training course on students' difficulties and the use of models in teaching acid-base chemistry, electrochemistry, and redox reactions. Two years after the course, the teachers were interviewed about their PCK of (1)…

  16. Sources of stress for students in high school college preparatory and general education programs: group differences and associations with adjustment.

    PubMed

    Suldo, Shannon M; Shaunessy, Elizabeth; Thalji, Amanda; Michalowski, Jessica; Shaffer, Emily

    2009-01-01

    Navigating puberty while developing independent living skills may render adolescents particularly vulnerable to stress, which may ultimately contribute to mental health problems (Compas, Orosan, & Grant, 1993; Elgar, Arlett, & Groves, 2003). The academic transition to high school presents additional challenges as youth are required to interact with a new and larger peer group and manage greater academic expectations. For students enrolled in academically rigorous college preparatory programs, such as the International Baccalaureate (IB) program, the amount of stress perceived may be greater than typical (Suldo, Shaunessy, & Hardesty, 2008). This study investigated the environmental stressors and psychological adjustment of 162 students participating in the IB program and a comparison sample of 157 students in general education. Factor analysis indicated students experience 7 primary categories of stressors, which were examined in relation to students' adjustment specific to academic and psychological functioning. The primary source of stress experienced by IB students was related to academic requirements. In contrast, students in the general education program indicated higher levels of stressors associated with parent-child relations, academic struggles, conflict within family, and peer relations, as well as role transitions and societal problems. Comparisons of correlations between categories of stressors and students' adjustment by curriculum group reveal that students in the IB program reported more symptoms of psychopathology and reduced academic functioning as they experienced higher levels of stress, particularly stressors associated with academic requirements, transitions and societal problems, academic struggles, and extra-curricular activities. Applied implications stem from findings suggesting that students in college preparatory programs are more likely to (a) experience elevated stress related to academic demands as opposed to more typical adolescent concerns, and (b) manifest worse outcomes in the face of stress.

  17. The Evolution of Flagship Universities: From the Traditional to the New. Research & Occasional Paper Series: CSHE.11.16

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Douglass, John Aubrey

    2016-01-01

    In the face of the dominant World Class University rhetoric and ranking paradigm, most academic leaders and their academic communities have had difficulty conceptualizing and articulating their grander purpose and multiple engagements with society. Some seem to wait for the next ministerial edict to help or push them toward greater societal…

  18. Does Cognitive Behavioural Therapy in the Context of a Rural School Mental Health Programme Have an Impact on Academic Outcomes?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Michael, Kurt D.; Albright, Abby; Jameson, John Paul; Sale, Rafaella; Massey, Cameron; Kirk, Alex; Egan, Theresa

    2013-01-01

    Given the prevalence of mental health difficulties among children and adolescents, schools have become a suitable context for providing psychological services to those who may otherwise go untreated. The co-occurrence of mental health impairments and academic problems has been widely cited, and many school mental health (SMH) programmes have begun…

  19. Predictive Modeling of Student Performances for Retention and Academic Support in a Diagnostic Medical Sonography Program

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Borghese, Peter; Lacey, Sandi

    2014-01-01

    As part of a retention and academic support program, data was collected to develop a predictive model of student performances in core classes in a Diagnostic Medical Sonography (DMS) program. The research goal was to identify students likely to have difficulty with coursework and provide supplemental tutorial support. The focus was on the…

  20. Those Who Can, Teach: The Academic Quality of Preservice Students in Teacher Education Programmes in Taiwan

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Wang, Hsiou-Huai; Huang, Chin-Chun

    2016-01-01

    Difficulty in recruiting high-calibre individuals into teaching is a perennial issue in the field of teacher education. In some countries, students in teacher programmes are in general found to be lower in academic standing than their counterparts in other fields, which might lead to belief in the old saying that "those who cannot,…

  1. Detection of Common Errors in Turkish EFL Students' Writing through a Corpus Analytic Approach

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Demirel, Elif Tokdemir

    2017-01-01

    The present study aims to explore Turkish EFL students' major writing difficulties by analyzing the frequent writing errors in academic essays. Accordingly, the study examined errors in a corpus of 150 academic essays written by Turkish EFL students studying at the Department of English Language and Literature at a public university in Turkey. The…

  2. The Effect of Teacher's Invitations to Parental Involvement on Children's Externalizing Problem Behaviors: An Examination of a CBC Intervention. CYFS Working Paper No. 2012-3

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coutts, Michael J.; Sheridan, Susan M.; Kwon, Kyongboon; Semke, Carrie A.

    2012-01-01

    Behavioral problems in childhood are associated with academic difficulties including in-school suspensions, high school dropout, and low academic grades and achievement scores. Students with disruptive behavior problems demonstrate higher rates of social risk factors than their nondisruptive peers, including school maladjustment, antisocial…

  3. Action Research: Applying a Bilingual Parallel Corpus Collocational Concordancer to Taiwanese Medical School EFL Academic Writing

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reynolds, Barry Lee

    2016-01-01

    Lack of knowledge in the conventional usage of collocations in one's respective field of expertise cause Taiwanese students to produce academic writing that is markedly different than more competent writing. This is because Taiwanese students are first and foremost English as a Foreign language (EFL) readers and may have difficulties picking up on…

  4. Academic Self-Concept and Causal Attributions for Success and Failure Amongst Elementary School Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lohbeck, Annette; Grube, Dietmar; Moschner, Barbara

    2017-01-01

    A great deal of research shows that the way in which children attribute causes to their successes and failures in school has implications for the development of their academic self-concept (ASC). The most common attributions are ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck. The present study asked 68 elementary school children aged seven to eight…

  5. Exploring Barriers and Solutions to Academic Writing: Perspectives from Students, Higher Education and Further Education Tutors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Itua, Imose; Coffey, Margaret; Merryweather, David; Norton, Lin; Foxcroft, Angela

    2014-01-01

    Staff and student perceptions of what constitutes good academic writing in both further and higher education often differ. This is reflected in written assignments which frequently fall below the expected standard. In seeking to develop the writing skills of students and propose potential solutions to writing difficulties, a study was conducted in…

  6. Included or Excluded? The Dual Influences of the Organisational Field and Organisational Practices on New Female Academics

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Elg, Ulf; Jonnergard, Karin

    2010-01-01

    A number of measures have been taken by the society to ensure gender equality in higher education. Nevertheless, women still face great difficulties when pursuing an academic career. Our aim is to increase the understanding of how the society, conceptualised as the organisational field, interacts with organisational factors and personal actions as…

  7. Subgroups of Attributional Profiles in Students with Learning Difficulties and Their Relation to Self-Concept and Academic Goals

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Nunez, Jose Carlos; Gonzalez-Pienda, Julio A.; Gonzalez-Pumariega, Soledad; Roces, Cristina; Alvarez, Luis; Gonzalez, Paloma; Cabanach, Ramon G.; Valle, Antonio; Rodriguez, Susana

    2005-01-01

    The aim of this article was fourfold: first, to determine whether there are significant differences between students with (N=173) and without learning disabilities (LD; N=172) in the dimensions of self-concept, causal attributions, and academic goals. Second, to determine whether students with LD present a uniform attributional profile or whether…

  8. Salivary Cortisol, Socioemotional Functioning, and Academic Performance in Anxious and Non-Anxious Children of Elementary and Middle School Age

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Mathewson, Karen J.; Miskovic, Vladimir; Cunningham, Charles E.; McHolm, Angela E.; Boyle, Michael H.; Schmidt, Louis A.

    2012-01-01

    Research Findings: Individual and contextual variables were examined in relation to children's ability to cope with socioemotional and academic challenges in a sample of typically developing (n = 51) and anxious (n = 72) children of elementary and middle school age. Anxious children had greater social difficulties than controls and showed…

  9. Institutional Limits: Christine Ladd-Franklin, Fellowships, and American Women's Academic Careers, 1880-1920

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Spillman, Scott

    2012-01-01

    Christine Ladd-Franklin spent the first forty years of her life becoming one of the best-educated women in nineteenth-century America. She spent the rest of her life devising fellowship programs designed to enable educated women to have the same opportunities as men in their academic careers. The difficulty women had in becoming professors had a…

  10. Identifying Mechanisms through Which Preschool Problem Behavior Influences Academic Outcomes: What Is the Mediating Role of Negative Peer Play Interactions?

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bulotsky-Shearer, Rebecca J.; Bell, Elizabeth R.; Romero, Sandy L.; Carter, Tracy M.

    2014-01-01

    Given theoretical and empirical support for the importance of peer play within the preschool classroom to early learning, the present study tested the hypothesis that associations between teacher-reported problem behavior and academic skills were mediated by difficulties in peer play (disruptive and disconnected play), for a representative sample…

  11. Using Digital Media at Home to Promote Young Children's Mathematics Learning: Results of a Randomized Controlled Trial

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Silander, Megan; Moorthy, Savitha; Dominguez, Ximena; Hupert, Naomi; Pasnik, Shelley; Llorente, Carlin

    2016-01-01

    Persistent inequalities in the academic learning trajectories of underserved students have led to a growing interest in interventions for young children who are at higher risk for academic difficulties later on. This study's primary goal was to understand how the integration of video, computer games and associated hands-on activities impacts…

  12. The Influence of Culture on Parenting Practices of East Asian Families and Emotional Intelligence of Older Adolescents: A Qualitative Study

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sung, Helen Y.

    2010-01-01

    Academic success among East Asian students is well known and almost stereotypical. Yet the attention to emotional well-being continues to be minimal. The discrepancy between academic success and social/emotional difficulties appears to be a problem among East Asian adolescents. This qualitative grounded theory study examines how the cultural…

  13. Attracting Economics Majors

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Okoye, Ifeakandu

    2011-01-01

    A disturbing concern that has been expressed by academic economists is the low interest in economics as a major, as evidenced by the declining enrollment in most of the economics departments in American colleges and universities. Though some college and university economics departments are experiencing or had experienced a decline in their majors…

  14. How School Counselors Can Assist Student Near-Death Experiencers

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Bell, Kathleen E.; Holden, Janice Miner; Bedwell, James

    2010-01-01

    This article provides a thorough, literature-based review of the impact of near-death experiences on children and adolescents in the areas of social and academic functioning in school. Gleaned from the published literature about how various non-school health professionals can most effectively assist near-death experiencers, practical suggestions…

  15. The Role of Executive Function in Children’s Competent Adjustment to Middle School

    PubMed Central

    Jacobson, Lisa A.; Williford, Amanda P.; Pianta, Robert C.

    2012-01-01

    Executive function (EF) skills play an important role in children’s cognitive and social functioning. These skills develop throughout childhood, concurrently with a number of developmental transitions and challenges. One of these challenges is the transition from elementary into middle-level schools, which has the potential to significantly disrupt children’s academic and social trajectories. However, little is known about the role of EF in children’s adjustment during this transition. This study investigated the relation between children’s EF skills, assessed both before and during elementary school, and sixth grade academic and social competence. In addition, the influences of the type of school setting attended in sixth grade on children’s academic and behavioral outcomes were examined. EF assessed prior to and during elementary school significantly predicted sixth grade competence, as rated by teachers and parents, in both academic and social domains, after controlling for background characteristics. The interactions between type of school setting and EF skills were significant: parents tended to report more behavioral problems and less regulatory control in children with weaker EF skills who were attending middle school. In contrast, teachers reported greater academic and behavioral difficulty in students with poorer EF attending elementary school settings. In conclusion, children’s performance-based EF skills significantly affect adjustment to the academic and behavioral demands of sixth grade, with parent report suggesting greater difficulty for children with poorer EF in settings where children are provided with less external supports (e.g., middle school). PMID:21246422

  16. The Role of Social Relationships in the Association between Adolescents' Depressive Symptoms and Academic Achievement

    PubMed Central

    Maurizi, Laura K.; Grogan-Kaylor, Andrew; Granillo, M. Teresa; Delva, Jorge

    2013-01-01

    While research has established that depression interferes with academic achievement, less is understood about the processes by which social relationships may buffer the relationship between depression and academic outcomes. In this study we examined the role of positive relationships in the school, family and peer contexts in the association between depressive symptoms and academic achievement among 894 adolescents aged 12-17 years living in Santiago, Chile. Depressive symptoms were associated with lower levels of academic achievement; parental monitoring, school belonging, positive mother relationships, and having academically inclined peers moderated this relationship, though some interactions differed by sex and age. Implications for promoting the academic success of adolescents experiencing depressive symptoms are discussed. PMID:23667282

  17. An Investigation of Difficulties Experienced by Students Developing Unified Modelling Language (UML) Class and Sequence Diagrams

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sien, Ven Yu

    2011-01-01

    Object-oriented analysis and design (OOAD) is not an easy subject to learn. There are many challenges confronting students when studying OOAD. Students have particular difficulty abstracting real-world problems within the context of OOAD. They are unable to effectively build object-oriented (OO) models from the problem domain because they…

  18. Identifying the Challenges and Opportunities to Meet the Needs of Children with Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Dockrell, Julie E.; Howell, Peter

    2015-01-01

    The views of experienced educational practitioners were examined with respect to the terminology used to describe children with speech, language and communication needs (SLCN), associated problems and the impact of speech and language difficulties in the classroom. Results showed that education staff continue to experience challenges with the…

  19. The Opinions of Instructors Teaching Turkish to Foreigners about the Writing Skills of Syrian Students

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Sengül, Murat

    2015-01-01

    This study focuses on the difficulties experienced by the instructors while teaching writing skill to Arabians from Syria, and how these difficulties could be overcome. The study group of the research includes 11 instructors working in Turkish Teaching Centers (TTCs) of Cukurova University and Adana Science and Technology University. The data…

  20. Sharing Good Practice: Prevention and Support Concerning Pupils Presenting Social, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Lloyd, Gwynedd, Ed.; Munn, Pamela, Ed.

    This book is the result of a project to identify and disseminate examples of good practice in providing for children experiencing social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties in schools. The focus is on whole-school or classroom approaches to mainstreaming with experience from teachers of preschool to secondary grades. A major theme is providing…

  1. Performance of Children with Developmental Dyslexia on Two Skill Learning Tasks--Serial Reaction Time and Tower of Hanoi Puzzle

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Vakil, Eli; Lowe, Michal; Goldfus, Carol

    2015-01-01

    Among the various theories proposed to explain developmental dyslexia (DD), the theory of specific procedural learning difficulties has gained certain support and is the framework for the current research. This theory claims that an inability to achieve skill automaticity explains the difficulties experienced by individuals with DD. Previous…

  2. Spitting, Kicking and Stripping: Technical Difficulties Encountered in the Treatment of Deprived Children

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Canham, Hamish

    2004-01-01

    The technical difficulties posed for the child psychotherapist working with children who have themselves experienced violence and abuse are addressed. A distinction is drawn between violence in the service of communicating about such experiences and violence that arises from more perverse aspects of the patient. The therapist's need to pay close…

  3. Results of an Institutional LGBT Climate Survey at an Academic Medical Center.

    PubMed

    Chester, Sean D; Ehrenfeld, Jesse M; Eckstrand, Kristen L

    2014-12-01

    The purpose of this study was to characterize the climate and culture experienced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) employees and students at one large academic medical center. An anonymous, online institutional climate survey was used to assess the attitudes and experiences of LGBT employees and students. There were 42 LGBT and 14 non-LGBT survey participants. Results revealed that a surprisingly large percentage of LGBT individuals experienced pressure to remain "closeted" and were harassed despite medical center policies of non-discrimination. Continuing training, inclusive policies and practices, and the development of mechanisms to address LGBT-specific harassment are necessary for improving institutional climate.

  4. Longitudinal analysis of the effect of academic failure tolerance on academic achievement fluctuation in medical school students.

    PubMed

    Chae, Su Jin; Kim, Miran; Chang, Ki Hong

    2016-03-01

    Academic failure tolerance (AFT) is one of the important psychological concepts in education, but its applications in medical education are rare. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of academic failure tolerance on academic achievement fluctuation among medical school students using a longitudinal research design. The subjects were 43 medical students who responded to the AFT test. This study analyzed the longitudinal data of achievement scores up to the 2nd academic year (2012-2013) among students who were divided into academic achievement improvement and decline groups. Comparing the improvement and decline groups' mean academic achievement fluctuation scores demonstrated that behavior and preferred task difficulty showed high scores whereas feeling scores were lower in the improvement group (p<0.05). In the improvement group, despite the higher negative feeling scores during academic failure, the students favored the more difficult subjects and were more assiduous in their studies. This will form an important basis for enhancing academic achievement among medical students.

  5. Teachers' Perceptions of the Availability and Need of a Support Program for Students with Learning Difficulties Attending Elementary Schools in the Atlantic Union Conference

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Coke, Lileth Althea

    2013-01-01

    Purpose of the Study. Support programs have been known to be very effective in helping students succeed academically, socially, behaviorally, and emotionally. The purpose of this study was to investigate teachers' perceptions of the availability and need of a support program for students with learning difficulties who attend elementary schools…

  6. Differentiated Curriculum Design: Responding to the Individual and Group Needs of Students with Learning Difficulties with Self-Regulated Learning Strategies

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Pui, Winnie Sin Wai

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore special educational curriculum design at senior secondary school level and whether this helps to enhance the academic attainment and self-confidence of students with learning difficulties. An in-depth discussion focuses on lesson planning for the individual needs and group needs of students by…

  7. An Evaluation of "Number Rockets": A Tier-2 Intervention for Grade 1 Students at Risk for Difficulties in Mathematics. Final Report. NCEE 2012-4007

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Rolfhus, Eric; Gersten, Russell; Clarke, Ben; Decker, Lauren E.; Wilkins, Chuck; Dimino, Joseph

    2012-01-01

    The 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) approved schools' use of alternative methods for determining student eligibility for special education services. IDEA encourages schools to intervene as soon as there is a valid indication that a student might experience academic difficulties, rather than after…

  8. Marijuana and Pregnancy

    MedlinePlus

    ... marijuana in pregnancy have been reported in some studies. It is believed that these children might have more problems with attention, impulsive behavior, short term memory, academic performance and difficulty at ...

  9. Academic Performance in Primary School Children With Common Emotional and Behavioral Problems.

    PubMed

    Mundy, Lisa K; Canterford, Louise; Tucker, Dawn; Bayer, Jordana; Romaniuk, Helena; Sawyer, Susan; Lietz, Petra; Redmond, Gerry; Proimos, Jenny; Allen, Nicholas; Patton, George

    2017-08-01

    Many emotional and behavioral problems first emerge in primary school and are the forerunners of mental health problems occurring in adolescence. However, the extent that these problems may be associated with academic failure has been explored less. We aimed to quantify the association between emotional and behavioral problems with academic performance. A stratified random sample of 8- to 9-year-olds (N = 1239) were recruited from schools in Australia. Data linkage was performed with a national assessment of academic performance to assess reading and numeracy. Parent report assessed emotional and behavioral problems with students dichotomized into "borderline/abnormal" and "normal" categories. One in 5 grade 3 students fell in the "borderline/abnormal" category. Boys with total difficulties (β = -47.8, 95% CI: -62.8 to -32.8), conduct problems, and peer problems scored lower on reading. Numeracy scores were lower in boys with total difficulties (β = -37.7, 95% CI: -53.9 to -21.5) and emotional symptoms. Children with hyperactivity/inattention scored lower in numeracy. Girls with peer problems scored lower in numeracy. Boys with emotional and behavioral problems in mid-primary school were 12 months behind their peers. Children with emotional and behavioral problems are at high risk for academic failure, and this risk is evident in mid-primary school. © 2017, American School Health Association.

  10. Efficacy of an Internet-Based Intervention Targeted to Adolescents with Subthreshold Depression

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Makarushka, Marta Maria

    2011-01-01

    Depression during adolescence is highly prevalent with as many as 20% experiencing a major depressive episode by the age of 18. Adolescent depression causes significant impairment across life areas including school functioning, such as poor academic performance and decreased academic achievement. Despite the existence of many evidence-based…

  11. On Academic Boredom

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Baghdadchi, Amir

    2005-01-01

    The kind of boredom experienced in academia is unique. Neither a purely subjective nor objective phenomenon, it is the product of the way research is organized into papers, seminars, and conferences, as well as of a deep implicit metaphor that academic argument is a form of warfare. In this respect, the concepts of boredom and rigour are closely…

  12. Informal Learning in Academic Student Organizations: An Exploratory Examination of Student-Faculty Interactions and the Relationship to Leadership

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Holzweiss, Peggy C.; Parrott, Kelli Peck; Cole, Bryan R.

    2013-01-01

    This exploratory study examined informal learning opportunities that exist within student organizations. The researchers specifically isolated academic organizations and the interactions between students and faculty that may occur in this context. Findings indicate that 81% of participants experienced interactions with faculty within the context…

  13. Perceived Academic Control: Mediating the Effects of Optimism and Social Support on College Students' Psychological Health

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Ruthig, Joelle C.; Haynes, Tara L.; Stupnisky, Robert H.; Perry, Raymond P.

    2009-01-01

    The first year of college presents numerous challenges experienced as overwhelming by some freshmen who may become overly stressed and depressed. This longitudinal study examined perceived academic control (PAC) as a mediator of optimism and social support's buffering effects on freshman students' psychological health. Multiple regressions…

  14. Academic Executive Programs in Public Administration and Management: Some Variety across Europe

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Reichard, Christoph

    2017-01-01

    Universities and other higher education institutions in Europe offer a vast and increasing number of academic degree programs in the broad field of Public Administration. A subset of these programs is those offering postgraduate degrees to experienced students being already employed by public or private organisations. These executive programs are…

  15. Academic Careers of Immigrant Women Professors in the U.S.

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Skachkova, Penka

    2007-01-01

    The article draws on the narratives of 34 immigrant women professors from 22 different countries who teach in a major research university in the U.S. First, the article presents immigrant women professors' voices of experiencing traditional academic activities in terms of teaching, research, and administration/service. Second, the paper voices…

  16. Black Students' School Success: Coping with the "Burden of 'Acting White.'"

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Fordham, Signithia

    Black adolescents have learned a well-defined fear of "acting white": a fear of excelling in academic arenas which traditionally have been defined as the prerogative of white Americans. The focus of this analysis is the resulting conflict experienced by academically successful and unsuccessful black students in one predominantly black high school…

  17. Marketing Activities and Usage in Historically Black College and University Libraries 2000-2008

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Walsh, Janet

    2012-01-01

    The academic library has experienced overall growth and decline based on demographics, technology, and convenience, yet several problems face academic libraries today including: (a) perceived relevance, (b) market share, and (c) competition. The purpose of this study was to explore marketing activities and library usage in HBCU libraries. The…

  18. Academic Dishonesty: Assessing the Threat of Cheating Companies to Online Education

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Malesky, L. Alvin, Jr.; Baley, John; Crow, Robert

    2016-01-01

    Academic dishonesty has evolved to keep pace with changes in higher education. Websites now advertise the service of taking online courses for students. This study examined one such online company. Representatives from the company were professional and delivered the advertised services. Two experienced faculty members who co-taught the course used…

  19. Using and Experiencing the Academic Library: A Multisite Observational Study of Space and Place

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    May, Francine; Swabey, Alice

    2015-01-01

    This study examines how students are using academic library spaces and the role these spaces are playing in the campus community. Data were collected on five campuses (two community colleges, two undergraduate universities, and one technical institute) via observational seating sweeps and questionnaires. The study found remarkably similar usage…

  20. Integrating Academic Journal Review Assignments into a Graduate Business Leadership Course

    ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

    Schultz, Jennifer L.; Agrimonti, Lisa M.; Higbee, Jeanne L.

    2016-01-01

    Graduate course assignments that are pragmatic, challenging, scaffold prior learning, and support academic career aspirations can be difficult to create and even more problematic to assess for even the most experienced faculty. This paper presents a class assignment that incorporated a real-world journal reviewing assignment into an elective…

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