Student Perception Of Traditional Versus Alternative Textbook Value
In today’s environment of rising tuition and textbook costs, we surveyed business majors concerning their preferences regarding various text options that are available for their academic studies. Specifically, we surveyed 329 students enrolled in upper-level business courses at a midlevel Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited Midwestern university. Students were asked to report the variety of classroom texts that they have utilized in the past and their text preferences based on their text experiences From the sample of students, 67% reported that they had used an online e-text for one or more of their classes. However, only 41 of the 220 students, or 19%, believed that the online e-text was a better learning vehicle or more convenient than the traditional text they used in their other classes. The entire sample of 329 students was also asked if they had a preference for a course text mode based on whether the course was a part of their major, involved extensive reading, analytical work, or was terminology oriented. In all areas, the students indicated a slight or strong preference for the traditional hard text.
Reading Behavior and Compliance Among Ecuadorian University Students: A National Study
A study into reading behavior and reading compliance among 2,600 students in five universities in Ecuador found that their reading behavior and reading compliance were better than among students in the United States, despite the challenges that exist in Ecuadorian higher education. Suggestions for future research, in particular with regard to improving students’ time management skills as a way to enhance their reading compliance, are included.
Initial Teacher Training: the French view
ABSTRACT This paper, against the background of trends in the development of initial teacher training in Europe as a whole, identifies and explains some of the recent, radical reforms which were introduced in France by a socialist government. These include the need to raise the status and the competence of the teaching profession; the creation of new teacher‐training institutions of university status (Instituts universitaires de formation des maitres); the introduction of common entry qualifications at degree level for both primary and secondary levels; the harmonisation and the extension to 2 years of the post‐degree teacher‐training course and the increase in emphasis placed on professional training, both theoretical and practical. These reforms provoked a storm of protest and an examination of the reasons for this reveals a multiplicity of crucial questions which have far‐reaching implications.