ABSTRACT

Neoliberalism is ubiquitous in higher education. In its dedication to efficiency and measurement, neoliberalism poses threats to the arts and humanities, especially their least measurable, most human qualities. Guided by an institutional logics framework, this multiple case study gauged how arts and humanities faculty can navigate this tension as they develop new academic majors and minors. Findings detail collaborative and top-down decision-making and the importance to faculty of supporting students and advancing academic fields. Faculty showed how they employed hybrid logics by striking balances and compartmentalizing actions. Their actions emphasized adaptations to neoliberalism while advancing academic and democratic logics.

Background

Sleep deprivation is a prevalent problem among adolescents which is closely related to various adverse outcomes. The lack of efficacy of current sleep education programs among adolescents argues for the need to refine the content and format of the intervention. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a group-based sleep intervention using motivational interviewing plus text reminders in changing adolescent sleep habits.

Methods

This study is a randomized controlled trial comparing motivational group-based sleep intervention with nonactive control group. The primary outcomes were the sleep–wake patterns measured by both sleep diary and actigraphy at postintervention, 3 and 6 months after the intervention. The trial was registered with the Clinical Trial Registry (NCT03614572).

Results

A total of 203 adolescents with school day sleep duration of <7 hr (mean age: 15.9 ± 1.0 years; males: 39.9%) were included in the final analysis. Sleep diary and actigraphy data both showed that adolescents in the intervention group had earlier weekday bedtime at postintervention (sleep diary: estimated mean difference: 33.55 min, p = .002; actigraphy: 33.02 min, p = .009) and later wake-up time at 3-month follow-up compared to the control group (sleep diary: −28.85 min, p = .003; actigraphy: −30.03 min, p = .01), and the changes in diary measured weekday bedtime were sustained up to 6-month follow-up. In addition, adolescents in the intervention group had longer sleep diary reported weekday sleep duration at 3- (35.26 min, p = .003) and 6-month follow-up (28.32 min, p = .03) than the controls. Adolescents in the intervention group also reported improved daytime alertness postintervention, which was maintained at the 6-month follow-up.

Conclusions

The motivational group-based sleep intervention is effective in advancing bedtime with improved sleep duration and daytime alertness in sleep-deprived adolescents.

Abstract

Using multigroup structural equation modelling, this study investigated the relationships between paternalistic leadership, emotional labour and teacher efficacy, as well as the moderating roles of gender and region among a group of Chinese primary school teachers. The overall results revealed that both authoritarianism and benevolence dimensions of paternalistic leadership have positive impacts on teachers’ emotional labour, albeit with different strengths. Stronger connections were found between authoritarianism and surface acting, and between benevolence and deep acting/the expression of naturally felt emotions. Surface acting was found to have more negative effects, while deep acting and the expression of naturally felt emotions were more positively associated with teacher efficacy. The results of multigroup structural equation modelling supported the invariant measurement models across gender and region, revealing notable differences subgroups. Theoretical contributions and practical implications are also discussed.

ABSTRACT

Background

Despite their high prevalence and significant burden, mental disorders remain grossly under-diagnosed and under-treated. In low-and-middle-income countries, such as Mali, integrating mental health services into primary care is the most viable way of closing the treatment gap. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of a mental health e-learning program on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of primary healthcare professionals in Mali.

Methods

An e-learning platform including 12 interactive modules was used to train 46 healthcare professionals. Changes in knowledge, attitudes and practices, as well as in satisfaction with knowledge and in ability to diagnose and manage patients were evaluated by comparing data collected pre and post e-learning.

Outcomes

Knowledge and practices scores increased significantly post e-learning for all modules, except the practices score for anxiety disorders. Similarly, scores regarding satisfaction with knowledge and ability to diagnose and manage patients increased significantly, and more so than the knowledge and practices scores. Changes in attitudes however were not significant.

Conclusion

Despite the difficult conditions of implementation in isolated areas of rural Mali, preliminary results suggest a positive effect of the e-learning.

Abstract

This mixed-methods study sought to determine the effectiveness of assessment hubs in re-integrating children at risk of school exclusion into mainstream school. First, the assessment hubs provided attendance and exclusion data for 39 children who attended the hubs (KS2, n = 11 and KS3, n = 28) between January 2020 and January 2022. Second, 23 semi-structured interviews adopting a hermeneutic phenomenological approach were conducted with caregivers of children who attended a hub. Third, three theographs depicting children's schooling were created. Quantitative data showed that 2/11 KS2 and 10/28 KS3 children successfully reintegrated into mainstream secondary school after attending an assessment hub. The remaining children were in alternative provision, either permanently or awaiting an EHC plan for specialist provision. Three themes were developed through thematic analysis of the interviews: a perfect storm; it's not rocket science; and hang on. The caregivers needed confidence in the ability of mainstream secondary schools to provide the right support at the right time in the right environment. The study found that the assessment hubs were effective in building positive relationships and supporting caregivers to understand reasons for their children's behaviours. In some cases, the assessment hubs effectively secured the most appropriate provision to meet children's needs. Most of the children needed to remain in AP permanently or await an EHC needs assessment to secure a place in specialist provision.

ABSTRACT

Background

The Needs Assessment Framework (NAF) stimulates awareness of care staff to consider perspectives of clients with intellectual disabilities in decisions on involuntary care. We explored the effect of implementers' participation in a Virtual Community-of-Practice (VCoP) for designing implementation plans, on NAF implementation and staff awareness.

Method

A quasi-experimental design was used to compare implementation and awareness by care staff (n = 54) between organisations that implemented NAF with VCoP participation (N = 4) and organisations that implemented NAF as usual (N = 3). The ItFits toolkit work routine in the VCoP was qualitatively analysed to understand choices regarding implementation plans.

Results

No statistical differences in implementation and awareness among care staff were found between the intervention and control groups. Implementers evaluated collaboration on implementation and the ItFits toolkit as helpful.

Conclusions

Evaluation of implementation effectiveness and process are both needed to offer unique insights for iteratively changing daily practice around involuntary care.

Background

The associations between the characteristics of the home literacy environment (HLE) and children's language and literacy skills have been established in first languages. This study investigated the longitudinal interplay between the father–child and mother–child HLE and children's English language skills as L2.

Methods

In this study, 176 second-year kindergarten children (Mean = 55.06 months, SD = 4.30; 96 boys, 54.5%) were followed into their third year and were assessed on their English vocabulary and word reading. The child's father and mother completed a questionnaire on their independent HLE with their child.

Results

The cross-lagged panel analysis showed that previous father–child formal HLE predicted subsequent activity levels of mother–child and father–child informal HLE. The mother–child formal HLE positively predicted the development of English word reading. A child's prior English vocabulary was positively associated with subsequent father–child informal HLE.

Conclusions

The crossover effects between the father–child and mother–child HLE emphasize that the behaviours of one parent's HLE could influence one another. Family-based interventions could consider promoting both fathers' and mothers' roles in fostering children's language learning and reading development in a positive home learning environment. The implications for the effectiveness of the HLE in supporting children's English language learning as L2 are discussed.

Abstract

This essay by René Arcilla examines Jean-Luc Nancy's understanding of the “spirit of 1968.” It argues that Nancy's concept can guide a humanist approach to educating citizens for participation in democratic self-government, one that responds to the political challenges facing us today. In particular, it develops a critique of factionalizing identity politics and seeks to renew what it means to address, and be addressed by, “we the people.” The essay proposes an idea of what democracy seeks to affirm: our social being.

Abstract

Over the past decade, teacher autonomy has become increasingly significant due to its positive impact on educational outcomes. The study explores the mediating role of teachers' academic optimism in the relationship between school principals' empowering leadership and teacher autonomy. In this study, we proposed teachers' academic optimism as a mediator in the relationship between empowering leadership and teacher autonomy. Data obtained from a sample of 384 teachers in Türkiye were analysed according to structural equation modelling. The results showed that school principals' empowering leadership positively and directly predicted both teachers' autonomy and their academic optimism. The results also indicated that teachers' academic optimism positively and directly predicted teacher autonomy. In addition, academic optimism was found to significantly mediate the relationship between empowering leadership and teacher autonomy. The findings highlight the importance of empowering teachers and strengthening their academic optimism as a means to enhancing their independent actions and decision-making capabilities. Our findings provide practical recommendations for developing principals' empowering leadership behaviours and in the enhancement of their academic optimism.

Abstract

This paper uses examples from Australia and England to explore subject English with regard to the multiple metaphors inherent in the terms ‘settling’ and ‘unsettling’. In doing so we are concerned with imagining a future for a subject English curriculum which dislodges it from its imperial, colonial roots. In the first instance, we outline the existing approaches to unsettling English in England and Australia and the challenges and limitations of these approaches and strategies. We also discuss some of the structures and agents which are invested in maintaining the status quo: namely, curriculum and assessment; teacher practices and disciplinary norms; teacher knowledge and CPD; and student context and the purposes of English. We conclude with the implications for a systemic and multi-layered approach to unsettling. We see this as an opening up of a comparative conversation about subject English across the Anglophone world, the different contexts of unsettling and what that subject might look like if it is to enact the justice imperatives of education in the twenty-first century.

Background

The associations between the characteristics of the home literacy environment (HLE) and children's language and literacy skills have been established in first languages. This study investigated the longitudinal interplay between the father–child and mother–child HLE and children's English language skills as L2.

Methods

In this study, 176 second-year kindergarten children (Mean = 55.06 months, SD = 4.30; 96 boys, 54.5%) were followed into their third year and were assessed on their English vocabulary and word reading. The child's father and mother completed a questionnaire on their independent HLE with their child.

Results

The cross-lagged panel analysis showed that previous father–child formal HLE predicted subsequent activity levels of mother–child and father–child informal HLE. The mother–child formal HLE positively predicted the development of English word reading. A child's prior English vocabulary was positively associated with subsequent father–child informal HLE.

Conclusions

The crossover effects between the father–child and mother–child HLE emphasize that the behaviours of one parent's HLE could influence one another. Family-based interventions could consider promoting both fathers' and mothers' roles in fostering children's language learning and reading development in a positive home learning environment. The implications for the effectiveness of the HLE in supporting children's English language learning as L2 are discussed.

Abstract

Children continue to comprise a significant portion of refugees and migrants worldwide and may be impacted by challenges or trauma prior to or during their journey, or after arrival in the host country. School serves as a constant place in the lives of many of these newly arrived children, and a potential setting for wellbeing support. However, there is a gap in understanding how young newcomers are supported at school and by whom; this is especially unclear in an education system like England's, which has a default policy of directly mainstreaming non-English-speaking students, which many young newcomers are. We interviewed 29 school staff members at eight secondary schools to gather their perspectives on who provides wellbeing support to young newcomers and the nature of such support. Using thematic analysis, we found that the majority of wellbeing support for young newcomers is performed by English as an additional language (EAL) staff and that the main form of support provided is through individualised relationship building, which in turn mutually fosters other types of support. Using Gholami's framework of moral care and caring pedagogy as central to teachers' praxis, we discuss how care is at the core of EAL staff actions in supporting newcomer wellbeing and how these staff members at times prioritise care over learning. Our findings have important implications for both school staff and newcomer students, for which we provide several recommendations.

ABSTRACT

How can we provide a quality student experience, cultivate human connections, and create learning and working environments in which all members of an institution can thrive? The purpose of this chapter is to highlight how the Appreciative Education theory-to-practice framework can help guide institutions in becoming Appreciative Campuses by providing a fully human-centered approach for rehumanizing, recentering, and reinvigorating college campuses. We highlight the strides and strategies by which institutions may become Appreciative Campuses, to ultimately address postsecondary challenges through an intentional, human-centered approach.

ABSTRACT

This New Directions in Teaching and Learning issue has focused on rehumanizing higher education. Authors have highlighted a wide array of important topics that are relevant to ensuring the humanizing purposes of higher education are met by today's and tomorrow's colleges and universities. The author highlights reminds us that higher education is part of a larger system, including communities near and far that shape and are shaped by tertiary institutions. The author highlights central principles and practices (Mutuality, Asset-based, and Relationship Stewardship) that should inform humanizing work. The author highlights also includes an admonishment for members of the higher education communities to recognize and embrace the wisdom that exists outside of the ivory tower.

Abstract

School exclusion forms part of the processes that can increase young people's risk of offending and involvement in exploitation and harm. However, little is known about the education experiences of young people impacted by harm, such as child sexual and criminal exploitation. This paper presents findings from a survey with 17 children's and families' social care departments in England and Wales to understand the education experiences of children open to social care for extra-familial harm. The research was undertaken at a time of significant pressure on schools and teachers to improve academic performance. The findings evidence that 45% of young people were in mainstream settings, 85% of young people had experienced some form of exclusion and this differed across gender, disability and ethnicity. Finally, the reasons for exclusion were strongly associated with young people's experiences of exploitation and harm. Two theories of containment are used to understand school exclusion: psychosocial and geopolitical. I argue that exclusionary school practices spatially contain the perceived ‘threat’ young people impacted by extra-familial harm pose to wider school populations, to emotionally contain professional anxieties about exploitation and violence, in the absence of appropriate educational and safeguarding system responses.

Abstract

The integration of AI-based platforms, such as Poe and Gemini, into language instruction has garnered increasing attention for their potential to enhance writing skills. Despite this interest, little is known about their effects on EFL learners' positive emotions (PEs), academic self-efficacy and boredom in writing. Addressing this gap, the present study investigated the effectiveness of Poe and Gemini in developing writing skills and explored their impact on learners' PEs, academic self-efficacy and boredom among learners at the upper-intermediate level. For this purpose, a total of 519 Japanese upper-intermediate EFL learners were randomly assigned to three groups: (1) Poe-assisted writing instruction; (2) Gemini-assisted writing instruction; and (3) a control group (CG) receiving traditional instruction. The study employed a mixed-methods design, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative data collection. Writing development was assessed through pre- and post-tests, while learners' emotions, boredom and academic self-efficacy were measured using validated scales. Additionally, qualitative data were gathered through interviews and analysed using coding and thematic analysis to understand learners' attitudes and perceptions. Quantitative data were analysed using ANOVA and MANOVA to compare the outcomes across the three groups. The findings revealed that both Poe and Gemini significantly improved learners' writing skills compared to the CG, with no substantial differences in effectiveness between the two platforms. Participants in the Poe and Gemini groups reported heightened PEs and increased academic self-efficacy, alongside reduced boredom during writing tasks. The qualitative findings corroborated these results, highlighting the platforms' role in fostering greater enthusiasm, engagement, autonomy and motivation in English language learning. The study concludes by offering a range of implications for different stakeholders.

ABSTRACT

This chapter responds to the recent crisis surrounding developments in large language models (LLMs) and generative AI with a relational view of education informed by the emerging world-centered approach to education and a synthesis of personalist character formation with feminist care ethics. It proposes that the instinct to manage student use of generative AI with carceral practices, characterized by surveillance and control, undermines the project of forming students as whole persons who can evaluate and use or reject emerging technologies in a mature way. The chapter concludes with practical suggestions for the classroom that can be aligned with institutional strategic plans.

ABSTRACT

In this chapter, we reconcile vocationalist and humanist education by embracing pre-professional programs’ humanizing potential. Inspired by Freire and hooks’ critical praxes, we define “humanization” as facilitating mutual relationships and respect between people. We draw from our experiences as educators and clinical supervisors in pre-professional programs to build on Wendell Berry's notion of “work” as a humanizing endeavor. We offer concrete examples from our respective teaching practices in student affairs leadership and recreational therapy to reveal how our pedagogies invigorate professional competencies by emphasizing humanizing principles. We conclude by summarizing lessons learned as humanizing educators and offer suggestions for practice.

ABSTRACT

The push toward efficiency in higher education is occurring as increasing numbers of faculty and students are struggling with mental health concerns and the world appears progressively polarized. However, education, at its core, can foster hope and effect positive change. This chapter presents a pedagogy of authentic hope that relies on constructivist, community-engaged teaching. As students become involved in responding to community issues, they develop a first-hand understanding of societal issues that fosters self-efficacy. These experiences can ultimately inspire students to be aware that they are part of shared, collaborative efforts that have the potential to dramatically improve our societies.

ABSTRACT

Higher education institutions are facing challenging fiscal environments that require an examination of practices from the perspective of efficiency and effectiveness. While many institutions have taken similar approaches to resolving budgetary predicaments, examining the effect of these decisions on students should be one of the first considerations when evaluating a budget cut or shift in educational practice. This chapter explores the impact of extreme cost-cutting in the academy through a lens of dehumanization in an effort to identify the ways in which student learning and success are impacted. The chapter concludes with considerations for those in higher education leadership.