Forging Connections
Asynchronous Session
Does Procrastination Dave a Cultural or a Neurological Source?: Evidence of Its Mediating Role in the Relationship between Psychological Capital and Academic Adjustment View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Batel Hazan Liran
The study examines the relations between psychological capital (PsyCap), academic adjustment, and tendency toward procrastination in three groups of students in higher education: an ethnocultural minority group (Israeli Arabs), a neurotypical ethnocultural majority group (Israeli Jews), and an ethnocultural majority group diagnosed with learning disabilities (Israeli Jews with learning disabilities). The goal was to deepen and expand our understanding of the factors that affect academic adjustment. Four hundred and forty-nine post-secondary students enrolled in various academic institutions in Israel participated in the study. The data were collected using an online Qualtrics questionnaire. First, it was hypothesized a positive relationship between PsyCap and academic adjustment and a negative relationship between those two variables and academic procrastination. This hypothesis was fully corroborated. Second, it was hypothesized that students from an ethnic minority group and majority students with a diagnosed neurological disability would present lower levels of PsyCap and academic adjustment and higher levels of academic procrastination than a majority neurotypical group. The hypothesis was only partially confirmed. Third, it was hypothesized that the higher the PsyCap, the lower the degree of academic procrastination and, in turn, the higher the academic adjustment. The hypothesis was confirmed. The findings can help support the design of academic assistance programs to improve the integration into higher learning of students who belong to special groups.
How 'Mothering' Affords Learning for Students in Boma Girls' School: Construction of Positional Identities as a Mediator for Learning View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Serah Kivuti
Informal learning has a significant impact on formal learning spaces despite the changes in its content, mode, and focus over time. In this context, I examine the case of Boma Girls High School, where informal learning takes place through a peer mentoring program that involves senior students mentoring new students and helping them adjust to school life. Through interviews and observations, I explore how 'mothering' creates a fertile space for learning and identity development. I discuss how students use cultural artifacts to perform various positional identities, which leads to changes in their behavior and knowledge. By modifying their actions and speech to reflect the expected image of a 'good' mother, students learn and grow. I argue that on the one hand, learning occurs for mothers (also known as mother guides) as they perform these positional identities, which are characterized by mothering processes and acts. Upon their assignment of a daughter, students take on the roles of caretakers, advisors, role models, comforters, and sometimes providers, which bolsters their sense of responsibility and provides more learning opportunities, including academic content. On the other hand, daughters look up to their mothers and assume certain positions that allow for guidance and assistance from their mentors, leading enhancement of the learning space. Through this process, students claim various positions marked by changes in how they speak and act. Educators can greatly benefit from this study as it will provide insight on how to effectively utilize cultural artifacts for learning purposes.
Exploring the Connections Between Co-Teaching and Self-Efficacy in Higher Education View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Raquel Fernández Fernández, Lyndsay R. Buckingham
The present study is part of an official research project funded by Universidad Pontificia Comillas (PP2021-11, Madrid, Spain) on co-teaching at the university level. It involves the analysis of personal diaries and interview transcripts produced by 27 lecturers from 2 universities located in Madrid, collected over five consecutive years (2019 to 2023). Evidence of self-efficacy, positive or negative, was categorized according to Bandura’s framework of four sources (1997) and then further analyzed. The results indicate that co-teaching may be a potential catalyst for the development of positive self-efficacy, primarily because it boosts self-reflection and metacognitive skills. Researchers found fewer instances of negative self-efficacy, which were often related to the use of ICT or connected to new experiences in co-teaching. The primary conclusion is that engagement in a co-teaching partnership prompts teachers to reflect on themselves and become aware of their beliefs and performance. For this reason, co-teaching may be a valuable practice in teacher professional development.
The Learning of Foreign Languages from the Perspectives of Mexican Indigenous Languages Speakers View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Juan Francisco López Gutiérrez
The pedagogy and acquisition of second languages represent significant actions in Mexican curricula. In this regard, the current preschool, primary and secondary education programmes emphasise the need to build communicative and interactive competences in international languages, such as English, French and Spanish, the latter being widely spoken in Mexico. Additionally, the recent curricular changes underline the importance of teaching Mexican indigenous languages given their relevance in knowledge diffusion and decolonisation. Similarly to other academic institutions, Normal Schools or Teachers’ Colleges have included foreign language courses which are aimed at the learning of both language and pedagogical abilities required to fulfil teaching positions in Mexican Schools. This grounded-theory research analyses the impact of English and French learning in a group of students, enrolled in a Normal School, in Xalapa, who speak Tutunaku and Popoluca, two endangered languages of Mexico. The data obtained from open-ended questionnaires and semi-structured interviews revealed some benefits of foreign language learning, such as the access to academic, working and cultural interchange opportunities. Nevertheless, other participants attributed the reduction of Mexican indigenous languages speakers to the acquisition and use of foreign and local languages, particularly Spanish.
