Over the past forty years, scholars have been studying students’ choice of higher education programmes to unravel the complexity of the choice process. Recent studies have shown that students may... Show moreOver the past forty years, scholars have been studying students’ choice of higher education programmes to unravel the complexity of the choice process. Recent studies have shown that students may commit to a programme, i.e. they make a choice to enrol in that programme, when they find a programme that attunes well with their interests. Students may nonetheless decide to switch from one programme to another before final enrolment and research has not yet sufficiently explained why they do that. The present study therefore focused on the mechanisms underlying students changing their minds after they had previously committed to a higher education programme. Eighteen semi-structured interviews with Dutch pre-university students in their final year at school were held just before final enrolment: students retraced their higher education programme choice process over time with the help of a timeline and a storyline. Interviews were thematically analysed. We identified two mechanisms whereby students, sometimes quite suddenly, switched in their commitment from one programme to another and two mechanisms that could hold them back from committing to another programme despite having doubts. This paper provides detailed theoretical insight into how students make higher education programme choices over time and concludes with practical recommendations on how to support students. Show less
Keijzer, R.; Rijst, R.M. van der; Schooten, E. van; Admiraal, W.F. 2021
The way at-risk students see themselves as workers, their vocational identity, is important for their career development. Special programs for heterogeneous groups of at-risk students in the... Show moreThe way at-risk students see themselves as workers, their vocational identity, is important for their career development. Special programs for heterogeneous groups of at-risk students in the Netherlands aim to foster students’ vocational identity and their task may be eased by stimulating resilience. Therefore this cross-sectional study explored whether differences in at-risk students’ individual characteristics moderate the relationship between their resilience and vocational identity. In general, resilient students often have strong vocational identities compared to less resilient students. However, the strength of the relationships vary with varying personal characteristics. Results enable educational programs to attune to at-risk students with the strongest relationships between resilience and vocational identity: males, younger subgroups, and those experiencing less motivation and low school engagement. Show less
Ottenhoff, M.W.; Hoeven, I. van der; Gesundheit, N.; Rijst, R.M. van der; Kramer, A.W.M. 2021
Background: The educational beliefs of medical educators influence their teaching practices. Insight into these beliefs is important for medical schools to improve the quality of education they... Show moreBackground: The educational beliefs of medical educators influence their teaching practices. Insight into these beliefs is important for medical schools to improve the quality of education they provide students and to guide faculty development. Several studies in the field of higher education have explored the educational beliefs of educators, resulting in classifications that provide a structural basis for diverse beliefs. However, few classification studies have been conducted in the field of medical education. We propose a framework that describes faculty beliefs about teaching, learning, and knowledge which is specifically adapted to the medical education context. The proposed framework describes a matrix in which educational beliefs are organised two dimensionally into belief orientations and belief dimensions. The belief orientations range from teaching-centred to learning-centred; the belief dimensions represent qualitatively distinct aspects of beliefs, such as ‘desired learning outcomes’ and ‘students’ motivation’.Methods: We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 26 faculty members, all of whom were deeply involved in teaching, from two prominent medical schools. We used the original framework of Samuelowicz and Bain as a starting point for context-specific adaptation. The qualitative analysis consisted of relating relevant interview fragments to the Samuelowicz and Bain framework, while remaining open to potentially new beliefs identified during the interviews. A range of strategies were employed to ensure the quality of the results.Results: We identified a new belief dimension and adapted or refined other dimensions to apply in the context of medical education. The belief orientations that have counterparts in the original Samuelowicz and Bain framework are described more precisely in the new framework. The new framework sharpens the boundary between teaching-centred and learning-centred belief orientations.Conclusions: Our findings confirm the relevance of the structure of the original Samuelowicz and Bain beliefs framework. However, multiple adaptations and refinements were necessary to align the framework to the context of medical education. The refined belief dimensions and belief orientations enable a comprehensive description of the educational beliefs of medical educators. With these adaptations, the new framework provides a contemporary instrument to improve medical education and potentially assist in faculty development of medical educators. Show less
Ottenhoff-de Jonge, M.W.; Hoeven, I. van der; Gesundheit, N.; Rijst, R.M. van der; Kramer, A.W.M. 2021
Background The educational beliefs of medical educators influence their teaching practices. Insight into these beliefs is important for medical schools to improve the quality of education they... Show moreBackground The educational beliefs of medical educators influence their teaching practices. Insight into these beliefs is important for medical schools to improve the quality of education they provide students and to guide faculty development. Several studies in the field of higher education have explored the educational beliefs of educators, resulting in classifications that provide a structural basis for diverse beliefs. However, few classification studies have been conducted in the field of medical education. We propose a framework that describes faculty beliefs about teaching, learning, and knowledge which is specifically adapted to the medical education context. The proposed framework describes a matrix in which educational beliefs are organised two dimensionally into belief orientations and belief dimensions. The belief orientations range from teaching-centred to learning-centred; the belief dimensions represent qualitatively distinct aspects of beliefs, such as 'desired learning outcomes' and 'students' motivation'. Methods We conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 26 faculty members, all of whom were deeply involved in teaching, from two prominent medical schools. We used the original framework of Samuelowicz and Bain as a starting point for context-specific adaptation. The qualitative analysis consisted of relating relevant interview fragments to the Samuelowicz and Bain framework, while remaining open to potentially new beliefs identified during the interviews. A range of strategies were employed to ensure the quality of the results. Results We identified a new belief dimension and adapted or refined other dimensions to apply in the context of medical education. The belief orientations that have counterparts in the original Samuelowicz and Bain framework are described more precisely in the new framework. The new framework sharpens the boundary between teaching-centred and learning-centred belief orientations. Conclusions Our findings confirm the relevance of the structure of the original Samuelowicz and Bain beliefs framework. However, multiple adaptations and refinements were necessary to align the framework to the context of medical education. The refined belief dimensions and belief orientations enable a comprehensive description of the educational beliefs of medical educators. With these adaptations, the new framework provides a contemporary instrument to improve medical education and potentially assist in faculty development of medical educators. Show less
A central aim of university teaching is to transform students’ conceptual understanding of disciplinary knowledge. In order to achieve this, lecturers make decisions on subject matter and teaching... Show moreA central aim of university teaching is to transform students’ conceptual understanding of disciplinary knowledge. In order to achieve this, lecturers make decisions on subject matter and teaching approaches. However, there seems to be little attention for the role of subject matter pedagogy in university teaching. This study aims to explore a knowledge base of teaching through lecturers’ accounts of a relation between subject matter, theory and practice in Child and Education Studies (CES). Four narratives of the lecturers suggest that subject matter is central to how a relation between theory and practice is taught. At the same time, orientation towards teaching was relevant to teaching subject matter. Furthermore, the analysis revealed that every lecture runs into their own limits when teaching theory and practice. The findings suggest that university pedagogy is informed by specific subjects rather than the discipline. Implications for teaching and academic development are discussed Show less
The way at-risk students see themselves as workers, their vocational identity, is important for their career development. Special programs for heterogeneous groups of at-risk students in the... Show moreThe way at-risk students see themselves as workers, their vocational identity, is important for their career development. Special programs for heterogeneous groups of at-risk students in the Netherlands aim to foster students' vocational identity and their task may be eased by stimulating resilience. Therefore this cross-sectional study explored whether differences in at-risk students' individual characteristics moderate the relationship between their resilience and vocational identity. In general, resilient students often have strong vocational identities compared to less resilient students. However, the strength of the relationships vary with varying personal characteristics. Results enable educational programs to attune to at-risk students with the strongest relationships between resilience and vocational identity: males, younger subgroups, and those experiencing less motivation and low school engagement. Show less
Keijzer, R.; Rijst, R.M. van der; Schooten, E. van; Admiraal, W.F. 2021
Background: Mentors guide students in their challenges at school and in life. At-risk students in last-resort programs who are at a high risk of leaving school unqualified are especially in need of... Show moreBackground: Mentors guide students in their challenges at school and in life. At-risk students in last-resort programs who are at a high risk of leaving school unqualified are especially in need of highly competent and adaptive mentors. This study therefore aimed to identify mentor qualities as perceived by at-risk students and their mentors that meet students’ needs and mentors’ capabilities.Methods: Face-to-face individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with students and mentors of two specialized programs in the Netherlands. Sensitizing concepts, derived from literature, were used to identify themes. Data analysis was conducted using thematic analyses and was validated by performing an audit.Results: The mentor qualities that at-risk students and their mentors reported were classified in three different themes. Mentor tasks consisted of guiding and motivating students and providing them with tangible methods of support. Relationships between mentor and student were based on levels of respect, equality, and bonding.Characteristics of mentors related to empathy, care, and trust.Research implications: Emotional responsiveness deserves further exploration as it appears to be an underlying concept of being a good mentor. Future research might explore mentor qualities in the context of other last-resort programs for at-risk students.Practical implications: Findings implicate that mentors have to walk a tightrope between keeping professional distance and being sensitive, suggesting constant attention to their professional development is needed.Originality: In the context of last-resort programs, an alternative perspective on mentoring at-risk students is outlined, based on perceptions of both students and mentors Show less
