Report on the Condition of Education 2023. NCES 2023-144

The "Report on the Condition of Education" is a congressionally mandated annual report from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Using the most recent data available (at the time this report was written) from NCES and other sources, the report contains key indicators on the condition of education in the United States at all levels, from prekindergarten through postsecondary, as well as labor force outcomes and international comparisons. There are core indicators that are updated every year and spotlight indicators that provide in-depth analyses on topics of interest to education agencies, policymakers, researchers, and the public. At the broadest level, the Condition of Education Indicator System is organized into five sections: family characteristics;preprimary, elementary, and secondary education;postsecondary education;population characteristics and economic outcomes;and international comparisons. The Report on the "Condition of Education 2023" encompasses key findings from the Condition of Education Indicator System. The full contents of the Indicator System can be accessed online through the website or by downloading PDFs for the individual indicators. [For "The Condition of Education 2023": At a Glance, see ED628291. For the "Report on the Condition of Education 2022. NCES 2022-144," see ED619870.]

Key aspects of teaching that affect perceived preparedness of medical students for transition to work: insights from the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: The self-perceived preparedness of medical students to transition into practising junior doctors has implications for patient safety, graduate well-being and development of professional identity. AIMS: To examine the impact of changes to final-year education and placements and determine key elements that contribute to self-perceived preparedness for transition to work. METHODS: An online survey among final-year medical students at one Australian medical school in 2020 (the cohort most affected by the coronarvirus disease 2019 [COVID-19] pandemic), exploring overall self-perceived preparedness and specific competencies, including questions in previous Australian Medical Council/Medical Board of Australia annual national surveys. Quantitative and qualitative content analyses were performed. RESULTS: Thirty-three percent of eligible participants completed the survey. There was a significant decline in overall self-perceived preparedness among participants (mean preparedness, 3.55 ± 0.88) compared with 2019 graduates from the same medical school (mean preparedness, 4.28 ± 0.64, P < 0.001) and the national average (mean preparedness, 3.81 ± 0.93, P = 0.04). There was a decline in self-perceived preparedness for all specific competencies, with complex competencies more greatly affected. Qualitative content analysis of free text responses identified limitations of an online compared with a face-to-face formal education program and specific aspects of placements, which contribute to perceived preparedness. CONCLUSION: The current study highlights key aspects of clinical placements and formal teaching programs that contribute to perceptions of preparedness for transition to clinical practice. Relevant experiential learning in the clinical setting, opportunities for deliberate practice of necessary skills (in simulation and the clinical setting) and reflective opportunities from formal teaching programs contribute to perceived preparedness and are important elements to be included in the final phase of any medical program.

Students as co-creators of the education process-assessment of the impact of selected factors on shaping the culture of knowledge sharing at universities

The aim of the study is to analyze the relationship between 1) perceived organizational support from the university, and 2) student involvement in the study process described from the perspective of the concept of knowledge-sharing culture. In addition, we analyze the impact of these factors on the student's average grade obtained in the last academic year. The study presented here focuses on the interaction of the following factors: 1) perceived organizational support from the university, and 2) student involvement in the study proc-ess. The concept of the culture of knowledge-sharing is a theoretical basis for the analysis. As a result, the research explores the impact of the factors (1 and 2) mentioned above on the effectiveness of the student's academic development. Based on the literature review, it is being assumed that the culture of knowledge-sharing is built in a two-way process: on the one hand, the university is to support the students in their development, and on the other hand, students themselves are to show commitment to this process. However, the available literature does not clearly indicate the strength of the relationship or the directions of influence between the elements of the model.The study conducted to create this analysis consisted of two stages: the first was carried out in June 2019, the second in May 2020, after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This allowed for more complete conclusions regarding the interaction of factors responsible for building the academic culture of sharing knowledge. Regardless of whether students work in a classroom or in an e-classroom (remotely), the results show that the basis for their involvement is the support they perceive from universities, setting ambitious tasks for them, and accompanying them in overcoming emerging challenges. The factor modifying the relationship between university support and the effectiveness of academic develop-ment turned out to be the student's involvement in the study process.

WHAT WE WISH WE KNEW BEFORE GOING ONLINE: Lessons Learned From Implementing an Online MBA

Montclair State University (MSU) is New Jerseys second-largest public institution. As online education continues its rapid-paced growth, MBA programs have been some of the most common online degrees. In 2016, Montclairs Feliciano School of Business entered this crowded online MBA market. After a false start and sometimes rocky development, the online MBA was successfully launched in the fall of 2016. The program grew so fast that the leadership team needed to find innovative ways to handle the number of students. The lessons learned by the online MBA leadership team are detailed below.

College Graduates' Negative Life Experiences, Coping Strategies and Enlightenment During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study in China.

Objective: The current study aimed to explore comprehensively college graduates' negative life experiences, coping strategies, and enlightenment in a qualitative way. Methods: This was a qualitative study. Purposeful sampling was used to select 31 college graduates majoring in various subjects from a Chinese University. The one-on-one semi-structured interviews were conducted online through Tencent QQ/WeChat and were recorded and transcribed verbatim. A phenomenological approach was used to guide this research in the data collection and analysis. Thematic analysis was used to identify themes across interviews around their negative life experiences, coping strategies, and enlightenment. Results: College graduates' negative life experiences were mainly focused on three aspects: negative work experience (eg, lack of adaptation, busy schedule, low salary), negative personal life experience (eg, multiple pressure, psychological problems, the hardship of life), and negative social life experience (eg, the incomprehension of those around you, complex interpersonal relationship, social complexity). The coping strategies they used can be classified into two categories: emotion-focused strategies (eg, accepting reality, self-persuasion, keeping a positive attitude), and problem-focused strategies (eg, goal-setting, asking for help to solve the problem, persistence). As for life enlightenment, six themes emerged: accept life, strive to life, love life, cherish life, recognize life, and learn to live. Conclusion: College graduates' negative experiences came from multiple levels, and they use multiple coping strategies to deal with the challenges. Our results provide important guidance for researchers and policymakers to design effective and targeted intervention programs to improve college graduates' coping abilities in response to negative life experiences and help them better transition from school to work. Specifically, future research and intervention to promote college graduates' mental health should target various social-ecological levels, focus on promoting coping from an ecological perspective, as well as facilitate post-traumatic growth to help them grow from negative life experiences and cope positively.

Relationship between social support and employment anxiety among art education students: Self-efficacy as a mediator

We investigated the effect of social support on employment anxiety among 217 art education college students in China and assessed the mediating role of self-efficacy in this relationship. The results showed that social support was significantly negatively correlated with employment anxiety. In addition, self-efficacy mediated the relationship between social support and employment anxiety. Our findings enhance understanding of the relationships between social support, employment anxiety, and self-efficacy among students in the context of higher education in China. The results also provide practical insights for educators to prevent students' employment anxiety. Directions for future research are suggested.

Education Remains Critical with Unemployment, Employment, and Participation Rates in 2020 Being the Worst in Many Years for Aboriginals and Non-Aboriginals

The higher the level of education completed the higher the wage rates, the lower the rate of unemployment, and the higher the employment rates. Unemployment rates were significantly higher and participation and employment rates were significantly lower for Aboriginals and non-Aboriginals in Canada in 2020. This may be attributed to the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic. The rate of unemployment increased more for nonAboriginals than for Aboriginals in 2020. However, participation and employment rates decreased more for Aboriginals than for non-Aboriginals. Employment, unemployment, and participation rates are and historically have been more favourable for non-Aboriginals than for Aboriginals. As educational levels increase, employment measures and wage rates improve. Employment measures are examined by gender, age, province, and education, and for Métis, Inuit, and First Nations.

Does Higher Education Provide the Necessary Skills and Competencies to Succeed in the Job Market and Life?

There is a crisis in higher education. One troublesome issue is the sharp drop in higher education enrollments as well as the decline in the number of colleges in the United States. There is evidence that some college degrees are not worth the time and the money, and students would have earned more had they joined the workforce immediately after graduating high school. The authors discuss some of the problems and posit that some higher education institutions in the United States have done a poor job of teaching crucial skills, including critical thinking, ethical thinking, collaboration skills, and character development. The most vital competency of all might be inculcating in students a passion for lifelong learning, which is necessary to develop the ability to adapt swiftly to changing business conditions. Without these skills, it should be no surprise that there has been a disconnect between higher education and employability.

The COVID-19 pandemic, well-being, and transitions to post-secondary education.

This study examines the immediate and intermediate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of two high school graduation cohorts (2020 and 2021) and how changes in well-being affect students' educational plans and outcomes. Our unique panel data on 3697 students from 214 schools in 8 German federal states contain prospective survey information on three dimensions of well-being: mental health problems, self-rated health, and life satisfaction. Data is collected several months before (fall 2019), shortly before and soon after (spring 2020) as well as several months after (fall/winter 2020/21) the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Applying difference-in-differences designs, random effect growth curve models, and linear regression models, we find that school closures had a positive immediate effect on students' well-being. Over the course of the pandemic, however, well-being strongly declined, mainly among the 2021 graduation cohort. We show that a strong decline in mental health is associated with changes in educational and career plans and transition outcomes. As adverse life experiences in adolescence are likely to accumulate over the life course, this study is the first to exhibit potential long-lasting negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on education and careers of young individuals.

Escaping into a master's degree in times of crisis? Master's degree applications and enrolment over the business cycle

The consequences of graduating in a recession could be severe and long-lasting. Bachelor's graduates can, however, avoid entering the labour market by continuing their education. Using a Norwegian dataset containing information on all graduates and their applications to and enrolment in master's degree programmes over a 15-year period, we find that a one percentage point increase in the field-specific unemployment rate results in a 6.5 percentage points increase in applications and a 3.9 percentage points increase in enrolment. Moreover, using a survey of the 2020 bachelor's graduates cohort, that is, the Covid-19 cohort, we find evidence indicating that those pushed into a master's degree by conditions in the labour market differ substantially from those whose decision to enrol in a master's degree is not driven by labour market conditions.

Implications of the Covid-19 pandemic on high school graduates' plans and education path

Over the period 2020-2021, Latvian schools experienced one of the longest closure periods in Europe. Hence, Covid-19 significantly impacted high school pupils, especially those graduating in 2021, that is, half of the secondary school program they acquired was delivered remotely. Their learning and social experiences are distinct from that of previous cohorts. The findings are directly relevant for higher education institutions (HEIs) to further adapt to the background and needs of this student cohort. To examine this cohort's experience, this chapter empirically examines adolescents at the point of their graduation from high school to learn what impact the pandemic has had on their quality education and plans. The findings provide insight into how they evaluate the remote studies and their knowledge, how they perceive their mental state, and what disruption to plans it has caused. The authors learn that most students found remote studies more difficult than onsite learning and associate it with lack of knowledge behind the grades earned. They have experienced lack of motivation and miss real-life communication with their friends, even though they occasionally admit not breaking lockdown rules and meeting peers. The most common concern among graduates is lost opportunities they would otherwise have, however, the authors also notice impressive resilience when they imply that the pandemic has opened new opportunities that otherwise would not be possible, along with self-development and character growth. Overall, the stress level for adolescents was moderate to high. Covid-19 has caused disruptions to plans, some more like opportunities others like limitations. The insights may provide understanding to how these students require a very different approach from educators and staff alike. HEIs have the opportunity to adapt and innovate and to custom the content of studies and communication form to the diverse incoming generations. © 2023 by Zane Varpina, Kata Fredheim and Marija Krumina.

Shifts in the Trend and Nature of Migration in the Ethiopia-South Africa Migration Corridor

Over the past 25 years a significant (but unknown) number of migrants from Ethiopia have been migrating to South Africa through the "southern route.” This male-dominated migration is becoming more and more irregular and includes multiple transit countries, largely controlled by human smugglers. The size of the Ethiopian immigrant population in South Africa has increased. The profile of individuals on the move has also changed in terms of migrants' age, ethnicity, place of origin, gender and socioeconomic status. Youth from rural areas have joined the migration trail, and, increasingly, women are migrating for marriage in South Africa. Today, migrants from southern Ethiopia (Hadiya and Kambata) dominate Ethiopian migration to South Africa. The age and socioeconomic status of the migrants have also changed where teenagers, college graduates and civil servants are entering the migration stream in recent years. Equally changing is the nature and operation of the smuggling and settlement processes. Like the broader field of migration studies in which source and destination countries receive the overwhelming focus, the multiple transit countries Ethiopians on the move to South Africa travel through, and the migration journeys themselves, have not received adequate research attention. The effects these journeys have on the settlement processes are also largely ignored. This article, therefore, explores these emerging patterns with a view to understanding the inequalities faced by Ethiopian migrants on their journey to South Africa and the factors behind it. With the intensification of border closures due to multiple factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic, we examine the shift in the nature and trend of smuggling and how it is reflected in inequalities experienced by Ethiopian migrants in South Africa.

Two case studies examining how international graduate teaching assistants built mathematical literacy knowledge within the affordances and constraints of a calculus instructional system

As universities contend with high rates of student attrition from intended STEM majors, due to many students' difficulty in passing entry-level mathematics courses, they must examine the systems they have in place and determine how best to support these students. Historically, graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) are assigned to introductory calculus classes, which serve as undergraduate-level gatekeeping courses. On one hand, this allows for additional instructors to assist mathematics faculty;however, many universities do not provide adequate training in pedagogy for their GTAs. Untrained GTAs may not have the requisite pedagogical content knowledge to teach and support struggling students. GTAs should be prepared to teach both content and disciplinary literacy, so they can help students build mathematical knowledge.This two-case qualitative study examines how GTAs trained in pedagogical content knowledge are able to build mathematical literacy knowledge within a calculus instructional system through the theoretical lenses of Knowledge Building (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2003), Ecological Systems (Bronfenbrenner, 1977) and Activity Systems (Engstrom, 1987). As acquisition of mathematical literacy and fluency in the mathematics spoken and written registers is imperative for students to progress in higher-level mathematics courses, experienced GTAs are positioned to provide supports for students who work toward achieving proficiency in calculus.Even working within system constraints, such as social distancing mandates during the covid-19 pandemic, these GTAs were able to draw on their pedagogical content knowledge to help remediate students in a hybrid classroom environment. Seven Knowledge Building principles surfaced in both the calculus system and the GTAs' classrooms. Universities should consider providing extensive training in pedagogy for their GTAs to become more effective instructors to help offset high attrition rates of their intended STEM majors. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Comparing the effects of freshman year transition programs on student engagement

High school graduation rates gradually increased to 80% until 1968, at which point there was a steady decline until 2002 when the passage of No Child Left Behind required states to measure and increase graduation rates for all students (Kamenetz, 2015). With this greater accountability in place, educators readily identified ninth grade as a critical year for improvement (Dedmond et al., 2006). On-track indicators were identified for academic and behavioral measures, as well as student engagement (Haueser & Koenig, 2011). Schools have implemented transitional programs such as peer-led programs (i.e., Link Crew or Peer Group Connection) and Freshman Academies to improve student success and subsequent graduation rates (Dedmond et al., 2006). This causal-comparative, nonexperimental study compared ninth-grade transition programs for improving academic, behavior, and student engagement of ninth-grade students in a traditional or ninth-grade transition program cohort. Results of this study did not find statistically significant differences in credits earned and discipline incidents between cohorts. Statistically significant differences were found in grade point averages (GPAs), rates of promotion to tenth grade, and attendance. The traditional ninth-grade cohort had higher GPAs and rates of promotion to tenth grade as well as fewer absences than the cohort who experienced ninth-grade transitional programs. The results of the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI) for measuring student engagement revealed statistically significant differences between cohorts, with the ninth-grade transition program having higher overall SEI scores as well as higher subscales of affective and cognitive engagement. The results of this study may have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

New graduate nursing retention in 2020: A multifactorial analysis

The issue of new graduates prematurely exiting the profession has a long- standing, complicated history in nursing. Current retention is further complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The state of the global workforce and transition shock theory situate this issue. Ray's theory of bureaucratic caring frames the analysis with proposed recommendations for individual nurses, healthcare organizations, and academia. The sociocultural and political domains of Ray's theory offer guidance for nurse leaders in academic and practice settings. The importance of a collaborative relationship between academic and practice settings is vital to mitigate the phenomenon of early exit of new graduates. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Psychological Distress of High School Graduates During Social Distancing in Croatia

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the whole world, thus also affecting the high school graduates in Croatia. Aim(s): The purpose of the study was to examine the psychological distress high school graduates experienced during the COVID-19 social distancing measures, more precisely to investigate gender and school type differences and to examine the relationship between psychological distress and self-regulated learning. Method(s): In this cross-sectional study, an online questionnaire was administered to 13,037 high school graduates across Croatia. Result(s): The results show that girls exhibit higher levels of psychological distress compared to the boys, while the art school graduates show the highest distress, followed by gymnasium (i.e., secondary grammar school, prep school) graduates, and lastly vocational school graduates. Furthermore, a moderate negative correlation was found between self-efficacy and psychological distress, and significant, but small correlations were found between regulation of effort, management of work, time and environment, self-handicapping as well as elaboration and psychological distress. These results show that higher levels of self-regulation are connected to lower levels of psychological distress. Conclusion(s): These findings demonstrate that a need exists for greater accessibility of mental health care for adolescents.Copyright © 2022 The Authors. Published by Semmelweis University, Institute of Mental Health, Budapest.

A correlational study between high school administrators' perception of their school as a learning organization and the percentage in which students graduate under the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 crisis put more stress on students graduating from high school during the 2020-2021 school year in a myriad of ways. During regular times, this transition can already be overwhelming, disappointing, and even treacherous for some students (Hollander, 2020). In the uncertain days of COVID-19, the education landscape has been disrupted.This study examined the relationship between a high school administrator's perception of their school as a learning organization, the instructional models implemented, and the percentage in which students graduate under the COVID-19 Pandemic. Given that students may be farther behind than in a typical year due to the loss of three (3) to four (4) months of formalized instruction, high schools across the country needed to redefine their instructional delivery and adapt to the many health and safety requirements under the COVID-19 Pandemic. While the COVID-19 learning interruptions are unprecedented in modern times, there was minimal research on school systems that practice learning organization theory and their ability to adapt during significant change and maintain high graduation rates.The findings in this study suggest that high schools who adopt the learning organization framework experienced higher graduation rates. This study aligns with Peter Senge's Learning Organizational Theory and implies that when schools practice the five disciplines of a learning organization, a high graduation rate outcome is achieved.The study provides implications for school practitioners and leaders as the findings provide a basis for change in school districts. The significance that schools with high graduation rates have acquired the necessary knowledge of a learning organization and its five core disciplines is a catalyst for schools worldwide to adopt this practice. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

An EVENTful Course-University partnership

This case study describes a meaningful classroom-university Work Integrated Learning (WIL) collaboration that executed course and campus objectives in a novel peer-mentorship design and prepared future event management graduates for industry while navigating the COVID-19 pandemic.A unique collaboration between two event management university courses and the Campus Activities Team (CAT), a subsidiary of the Office of Student Engagement within University Student Affairs, was offered in Fall 2020 and Fall 2021. This WIL collaboration partnered with Senior Seminar (final year) student pairs with small groups of first-year, Introduction to Event Management students (2-5). Each Intro-Senior Seminar dyad received US$400.00 in financial support from CAT to create and implement engaging campus events. Across both semesters, 21 Intro-Senior Seminar dyads created, planned, implemented, and evaluated their campus CAT events.

Labor Market Returns to MBAs From Less‐Selective Universities: Evidence From a Field Experiment During COVID‐19

Master's degree enrollment and debt have increased substantially in recent years, raising important questions about the labor market value of these credentials. Using a field experiment featuring 9,480 job applications submitted during the early months of the COVID‐19 pandemic, I examine employers' responses to job candidates with a Master of Business Administration (MBA), which represents one‐quarter of all master's degrees in the United States. I focus on MBAs from three types of less‐selective institutions that collectively enroll the vast majority of master's students: for‐profit, online, and regional universities. Despite the substantial time and expense required for these degrees, job candidates with MBAs from all three types of institutions received positive responses from employers at the same rate as candidates who only had a bachelor's degree—even for positions that listed a preference for a master's degree. Additionally, applicants with names suggesting they were Black men received 30 percent fewer positive responses than otherwise equivalent applicants whose names suggested they were White men or women, providing further evidence of racial discrimination in hiring practices.

Career planning and workforce preparation during economic downturn: perceptions of graduating business students

Purpose: To gather insight into how graduating business students are preparing for the workplace and their future careers and how this has been impacted by COVID-19. Design/methodology/approach: In total, 144 business students at an Australian university who had recently completed an internship and were nearing graduation took part in the study. Group A was surveyed before COVID-19 had emerged and Group B undertook their internships during a COVID-19 lockdown when the related economic downturn had become apparent. The responses were analysed using career construction theory (CCT). Findings: This study concludes that graduating students do not generally place greater emphasis on career planning in times of economic downturn. However, they do devote more effort to job search and networking activities. They also display more career decisiveness and are less willing to seek out information about potential careers or their suitability for them. Their confidence in embarking on a career was not impacted. Research limitations/implications: This enables us to form a more complete picture of how graduating students perceive their work-readiness and the action they feel is important in order to improve their employability. Practical implications: This has implications for career practitioners and employers of graduates as it adds to the knowledge of employability and the decision-making process in times of economic crisis and is particularly important for the tertiary education sector as it seeks to better target initiatives to aid employability in graduates. Originality/value: The results increase the understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on early career development and argue that early-career decision-making is a specific area requiring investigation. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.