Kym Cowley

On the Effectiveness of Supplemental Instruction: A Systematic Review of Supplemental Instruction and Peer-Assisted Study Sessions Literature Between 2001 and 2010

Supplemental instruction (SI)—variously known as peer-assisted learning, peer-assisted study sessions, and other names—is a type of academic support intervention popular in higher education. In SI sessions, a senior student facilitates peer learning between undergraduates studying a high-risk course. This article presents a systematic review of the literature between 2001 and 2010 regarding the effectiveness of SI. Twenty-nine studies met the inclusion criteria. Due to methodological heterogeneity and lack of consistency defining the SI treatment, qualitative synthesis methods were applied. For seven included studies, however, an effect size of SI participation on final grades was calculated, ranging from d = 0.29 to d = 0.60. The findings of the review are consistent with claims validated by the U.S. Department of Education in the 1990s that participation in SI is correlated with higher mean grades, lower failure and withdrawal rates, and higher retention and graduation rates.

Market Orientation in Australian SME’s: A Size Based Comparison

Abstract Market orientation theory highlights the role of information acquisition, dissemination and utilisation in meeting customer needs. Prior studies have examined the relationship between market orientation and performance as well as other consequences and requirements. Market orientation activities of a sample of Australian firms are examined to observe whether there are size-related differences. The consistency of market orientation between firms in different size groups and the relationship to performance differences is examined. The survey instrument is based on a conceptualisation of market orientation that includes intelligence gathering, dissemination and responsiveness. Businesses located in the Newcastle and Lower Hunter Region of Australia were surveyed, resulting in responses from 249 firms that were allocated to two size groups based on a size-based definition of small business. A positive relationship between market orientation, firm performance and esprit de corps in both the small and larger firms was found. There was no significant difference in the levels of the three individual components of market orientation between the two groups. Small and larger firms gathered intelligence, disseminated it and responded similarly. Sensitivity tests confirmed the results. Hypotheses proposing positive consequences for market oriented businesses were supported, regardless of firm size. Further analysis of the survey data will examine whether other firm demographics, such as line of business, influence market orientation and performance.