Andrew F. Wall

The Impact of Preservice Preparation and Early Career Support on Novice Teachers’ Career Intentions and Decisions

A rationale for providing high-quality support during teachers’ early years is to develop further the skills teachers acquire during preparation and to help overcome weaknesses that might lead them to abandon the profession. Yet, almost no consideration has been given to potential interactions between preservice preparation and induction support received. This study utilizes survey and administrative data to examine the effects, including interactions, of preservice preparation and early career support on new teachers’ career intentions and decisions. Consistent with previous research, we find a direct association between perceived preparation quality and leaving teaching. Moreover, we find the quality and comprehensiveness of mentoring and induction to be related to teachers’ intentions and decisions. Our results also suggest that comprehensive support moderates the relationship between preservice preparation and intentions to leave. The findings point to the importance of considering preservice preparation in combination with induction support in efforts to address teacher attrition.

Do reasons for attending college affect academic outcomes? A test of a motivational model from a self-determination theory perspective.

A survey of 2,520 college students was conducted to test relationships between academic success and college student motivational orientation, conceptualized from a self-determination theory (SDT) perspective, while also considering the moderating effects of background characteristics such as gender, socioeconomic status, race/ ethnicity, and institutional type. Findings indicated that going to college to fulfill intrinsic motivation needs for autonomy and competence was positively associated with intention to persist and GPA but that motivation geared toward the fulfillment of relatedness needs had a more nuanced relationship to the outcome variables. Implications for recognizing the importance of motivational orientation in student affair research, theory, and practice are provided.

Community College Student Alcohol Use: Developing Context-Specific Evidence and Prevention Approaches.

The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence of heavy alcohol use, related harm, and implications for prevention among community college students. We used data from 7,965 students at 19 community colleges who responded to the Core Alcohol and Other Drug Survey. This secondary analysis of the survey data found heavy consumption among 47% of 17- to 24-year-old community college students, a figure that reflects national trends at 4-year colleges, and a significant heavy consumption rate (23%) among students who are 25 or older. Similarly, the study found that consumption and harm varied by individual background, environment, and student attitudes. Community colleges are challenged to consider the role alcohol plays in student health and learning, and whether new efforts to ameliorate the harm from heavy alcohol use are warranted in an era of limited institutional resources.

Promoting Student Support for Alcohol Misuse Prevention on Campus: The Role of Secondhand Consequence Expectancies.

One hundred and eighty-four undergraduate students participated in a discussion on common secondhand consequences of alcohol use, including concerns about personal safety and impact on living environments. Students participating in this discussion prior to completing an assessment of their support for change indicated significantly more support for education- and policy-based alcohol misuse prevention strategies than students completing the same assessment before the discussion. This easy-toimplement and brief intervention may strengthen student resolve to be more proactively involved in prevention of alcohol abuse for their campus community.

Repoliticizing Higher Education Assessment within Neoliberal Globalization

This article shows how universities, like education and social services in general, are increasingly pressured to adopt neoliberal principles that encourage privatization, entrepreneurship, standardization, assessment, and accountability. The authors examine recent efforts in the United States to develop measurement and accountability systems that commodify higher education, and show how they reflect a neoliberal rationale that undermines the historical purposes of higher education, reduces faculty autonomy, and harms the common good. However, they propose ways in which assessment and accountability might be implemented in higher education so as to promote teaching and learning responsive to the interests of students, faculty, the university, and wider communities.

When the Party for Some Becomes a Problem for Others: The Effect of Perceived Secondhand Consequences of Drinking Behavior on Drinking Norms

The authors examined the influence of fraternity mens expectancies regarding secondhand consequences of excessive drinking behavior on normative standards regarding alcohol use and consumption levels. Participants were 381 men from 26 chapters of 2 national fraternities. One organization participated in a brief intervention involving discussion of secondhand consequences of excessive drinking. Immediate influence of the intervention on perceived secondhand consequences of alcohol use was assessed using a posttest-only, randomized groups design. Results supported a hypothesized measurement model with 1 overall secondhand consequence expectancy construct and 4 subfactors: (a) Noise Disruptive of Sleep and Study, (b) Violence, (c) Sexual Assault, and (d) Property Damage. Cross-sectional analysis at the chapter and individual levels demonstrated that secondhand expectancies had an indirect effect on alcohol consumption, mediated by personal consumption standards for limiting alcohol consumption. The intervention had an effect on secondhand expectancies. Findings suggest that interventions with intact groups can increase secondhand expectancies regarding excessive drinking and may lead to a reduction in excessive alcohol consumption.

Evaluating a Health Education Website: The Case of AlcoholEdu

Building on the promise of interactive, multimedia education, this evaluation study examines an alcohol abuse prevention program, AlcoholEdu, delivered through an interactive Web-based format for the purpose of reducing the harm associated with student alcohol abuse. The study uses a clustered, randomly assigned post-test only evaluation design with 20,150 individuals to examine differences between individuals who have and have not yet received the educational program. Analyses examined the efficacy of the intervention among different groups of students: those who are members of Greek letter organizations, those referred because of judicial sanctions, or those entering their first year of study. Findings hint toward evidence that interactive health-related Web tools can contribute to preventing high-risk student health behaviors in the campus environment, with self-reported evidence suggesting implementation among first-year students to be the most promising.

Tobacco Control at Community Colleges: Context and Opportunities

Introduction Tobacco use among United States college-aged students remains higher than that of the national average. While a majority of public health literature has explained smoking programs and policies at traditional four-year colleges and universities, little research exists on programs and policies at two-year community colleges. It is important to understand such efforts at these institutions as they have vastly different infrastructures and enroll a more diverse and at-risk student body compared to traditional four-year colleges. Methods The role of community colleges in health efforts aimed at smoking was examined at four community colleges. Qualitative research methods included 18 interviews and four focus groups (N=55), document review, and direct environmental observation. Results Community colleges offered a limited number of smoking cessation and secondhand smoke prevention initiatives. All colleges provided cessation literature, though additional programming varied by college. Indoor and outdoor smoking policies existed on all campuses though enforcement was problematic. Little evidence was found that current program and policy approaches are based upon best practices or are being employed successfully. Conclusions Future tobacco control initiatives at community colleges need to require little infrastructure and minimal staffing, and be low cost. Cessation tools for students must be convenient, understandable, and accessible from multiple locations. Feasible approaches for future initiatives could include testing low cost technology such as Web Assisted Tobacco Interventions (WATI) and outside partnerships with community organizations and health agencies. Policy enforcement could be improved with tobacco policy education at orientation for students, faculty and staff.

Responding to Fiscal Tensions and a Changing Educational Context: A Librarian Entrepreneur.

This case explores various entrepreneurial initiatives introduced by Dr. Ron Dow, dean of libraries, at a private, research-extensive institution in the northeastern United States. The case serves as an example of how entrepreneurial ideas can be applied within educational contexts, specifically, the academic support context of the university library. The accompanying teaching notes facilitate analysis of the potential and limits of entrepreneurial practice for educational leaders who operate within the ever-changing fiscal landscape of academe.

Do The Best Parts Equal The Best Whole? A Critique of Online Teaching and Learning

As online teaching and learning grows in higher education (Allen & Seamen, 2012, p. 5), assessment in this area grows in importance as well. A persistent question as to the impact of online learning on student learning, development and satisfaction persists. Research to date suggests that online learning is successful in achieving identified learning goals (Johnson, et. Al., 2000). In this paper, we examine online learning essentially examining two questions. First, we consider the fallacy of composition. What this logical fallacy states is that simply because you have the best parts, does not mean you will have the best whole (Pirie, 2007, p. 31). Toward this, we ask whether existing examinations of the parts of online learning make a logic leap to the composition of the whole. The second issue we engage is examining whether online learning in effect creates an Abstract