Effective education at the tertiary level is one of the key conditions for the development of modern economies; it also has a substantial impact on social development. Nowadays, higher education institutions all over the world are facing numerous challenges, some of them global (e.g. funding), others local (e.g. demographic trends). Universities…

Virtue education is gaining popularity in institutions of higher education. Given this growing interest, several theoretical accounts explaining the process of virtue learning have emerged. However, there is scant empirical evidence supporting their applicability for intellectual virtue. In this study, we apply a theory of virtue learning to the…

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) offer an exciting range of opportunities to widen access and participation in education. The massive and open nature of MOOCs places the control of learning at the discretion of the learner. Therefore, it is essential to understand learner behaviour. This paper examines the psychological considerations inherent…

It was the purpose of this investigation to examine intellectual commitment as an outcome of commonly occurring interests and circumstances, and to attempt to understand some of the circumstances and conditions influencing the development of intellectual commitment. For the purposes of this study, intellectual commitment is defined as an intense…

Stresses that critical thinking is more than a set of skills; it also involves intellectual traits that should be cultivated. These traits include intellectual humility, courage, empathy, integrity, and perseverance; faith in reason; and fair-mindedness. Self-questioning is an important means of developing these traits. (SL)

This study examined the assumption that the meaning of college experience varies for different types of students by determining the relationships between measured personality characteristics and aptitude of students and their persistence at 3 University of California (UC) campuses--Davis, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles. It was hypothesized that the…

Examined the relationship between academic major, year in college, academic performance, and reflective judgment using the Reflective Judgment Interview. Analyses of results showed significant differences for year in college but not for academic major. (RC)

One of the most important purposes of a college is the development of the intellectual nature of its students. It appears that US Catholic colleges and fundamentalist Protestant colleges (representing Pentecostal, Baptist, and Lutheran sects) have failed to produce students who possess intellectual attitudes. In the case of the Catholics, students…

Grades, persistence, and academic learning have traditionally been criteria for college success. However, as a result of the increased interest during the last decade in exploring the use of nonintellective variables for academic prediction, nonintellective instruments for this purpose have been developed that are more refined than those…

Because the phenomenon of delayed graduation--the practice of prolonging the college career beyond the normal 4 years of undergraduate study--is so widespread researchers speculated that "continuers" might have certain common characteristics which would differentiate them as a group from "completers." The objective of this…

One is best able to teach when familiar with student needs and experiences. Cognitive developmental theory can enhance the "art of teaching" and understanding the cognitive stages of student development can help the advisor appreciate a student's perspective. Cognitive theory is translated into useful advising strategies. (MLW)

Theories of life cycle phases, adult development, and adult motivation to learn provide a basis for planning and developing campus activities to attract the attention of this market. (MSE)

Discusses what has been learned about students in college learning communities, and their progress and problems in the programs. Addresses topics including student attitudes and characteristics, retention, achievement, intellectual development, what students value about the communities, developmental changes occurring during the program, and life…

This study examined the influence of background characteristics, disciplinary differences, institutional context, academic library experiences, and the perceptions of the college environment on the estimated gains of critical thinking skills in undergraduate students (N=9,361). The study used data from a national, cross-sectional survey completed…