An increasing body of work has found higher education to be a challenging and stressful environment. Meanwhile, research on workaholism, characterised by an uncontrollable urge to work excessively, has been gaining momentum. However, few studies have explored its impact within higher education. This study addressed this gap by conducting 27…

In the difficult current socio-economic context, overqualified graduates are increasingly facing challenges in terms of entering the job market and finding jobs which fit their levels of qualifications and satisfaction. Grounded in an auto-ethnography approach, this paper reflects on the challenges that the author (a young female European PhD…

This article accounts for a renovation by enriching the existent literature regarding two major nowadays phenomena and their labor implications, which might require a rethinking regarding new career-development approaches: the overeducation phenomenon (academic graduates whose educational level exceeds the educational level required in their jobs)…

This article explores the influence of social origin on overeducation across various fields of study. With the expansion of higher education most advantaged classes seek qualitative and quantitative advantages to differentiate themselves from other graduates. Although credentials are direct signals of productivity they can also be viewed by…

The incidence of overeducation in eight European countries is here assessed by means of multiple indicators. With the exception of Spain, the results reveal that overeducation is a minor risk amongst European tertiary graduates. Yet, the contrast between different indicators reveals the existence of an overeducation of a moderate kind in countries…

In November, 2008, Colorado and Nebraska voted on amendments that sought to end race-based affirmative action at public universities. In anticipation of the vote, Colorado's flagship public institution--The University of Colorado at Boulder (CU)--explored statistical approaches to support class-based affirmative action. This paper details CU's…

The last half century has seen a dramatic expansion in access to primary, secondary, and higher education in many nations around the world. Educational expansion is desirable for a country's economy, beneficial for educated individuals themselves, and is also a strategy for greater social harmony. But has greater access to education reduced or…

A modified mastery system was developed to provide a mechanism by which a student's willingness to expend needed effort could be assessed. It was possible to demonstrate that the effort variables accounted for differences in student achievement beyond the impact of differences in student aptitude. (Author/PN)

This article reports on the characteristics of students classified as being over or underachievers. The concepts of over and underachievement are most frequently defined in terms that relate to expectations based on ability measures. During the past 30 years there have been attempts to isolate the causal determinants of achievement. Variables such…

Results indicate that the sex difference in over-achievement is probably an artifact of the sex differences in major field choice. (Author)

Provides additional evidence concerning the efficiency of Edward's need achievement scale as a supplement to standard tests of academic aptitude in predicting academic achievement and to discriminate between over- and under-achievers. Also examines an alternative to overall GPA as the criterion for studies of academic achievement. (RC)

In this study the responses of 30 colleges seniors who over-achieved in terms of predicted grade point average (GPA), were compared with those made by 38 high ability under-achievers. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores and GPA's were compared with those for two groups of students performing as predicted. Over-achievers were found to be…

Using the College Student Questionnaires (CSQ), Part I, data on student performance of two different entering classes at eight colleges were studied to identify the characteristics of freshmen women students associated with overachievement/underachievement during the first college year. Overachievers were defined as those whose overall average was…

This study examined factors contributing to under- and over-achievement in first-year college students at York University in Ontario (Canada). The difference between predicted and actual first-year grades of a sample of 1,229 students entering York University in 1994 was examined on the basis of information obtained from administrative records, a…

The status, function, and education of engineers in Britain and West Germany are compared. Status of the German engineer, engineering education in Germany, the engineer and German society, and the overachieving engineer are discussed. (Author/MLW)