Dataset Information

Educational Leave as a Time Resource for Participation in Adult Learning and Education (ALE).

ABSTRACT: The study investigates effects of the implementation of a law authorizing educational leave in Germany on individual participation in adult learning and education (ALE). In 2015, the federal state of Baden-Württemberg introduced the so-called Bildungszeitgesetz, legitimating an exemption for eligible employees of up to 5 days per year with continued payment of salary. Explaining participation in ALE is a central subject of educational research at national and international level. Current theoretical assumptions of rational choice and empirical findings of educational and socio-statistical research suggest that within the general population, individuals' availability of time affects the decision to participate and therefore lastly determines participation in ALE. However, current academia mainly discusses time as either a prerequisite for learning activities or as an observable outcome of participation and not as an explanatory factor. Furthermore, since recent studies remain on a descriptive level regarding influences of time on participation in ALE, no causal effects of the availability of time on participation are estimated. Hence, our study addresses this research gap by investigating effects of educational policy interventions such as the Bildungszeitgesetz on participation in ALE. Policy interventions are ideally suited to examine the significance of time resources for participation, as the implementation of the Bildungszeitgesetz provides a specific timeframe for employees to participate in ALE outside of their working time. Drawing on data from the German National Educational Panel Study, we employ a difference-in-differences estimation strategy with propensity score matching and instrumental variable to identify the direct causal effect of the implementation of the Bildungszeitgesetz on participation in ALE (N = 709). This combination toward causal inference controls for observed and unobserved baseline differences as well as heterogeneous treatment effects. The results reveal a non-significant but heterogeneous treatment effect of the implementation of the Bildungszeitgesetz on individual participation in ALE. Contrary to our theoretical assumptions derived from rational choice approaches, we cannot confirm the hypothesis that the availability of time resources due to the implementation of the Bildungszeitgesetz causes a positive effect on participation in ALE. Furthermore, the results reveal that the implementation causes decreasing participation rates for younger adults, women and significantly for migrants.

SUBMITTER: Ruter F

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6987466 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Educational Leave as a Time Resource for Participation in Adult Learning and Education (ALE).

Rüter Fabian F Martin Andreas A Schrader Josef J

Frontiers in psychology 20200122

The study investigates effects of the implementation of a law authorizing educational leave in Germany on individual participation in adult learning and education (ALE). In 2015, the federal state of Baden-Württemberg introduced the so-called <i>Bildungszeitgesetz</i>, legitimating an exemption for eligible employees of up to 5 days per year with continued payment of salary. Explaining participation in ALE is a central subject of educational research at national and international level. Current ...[more]

PMID: 32038373

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Project description:ObjectivesChildren born preterm are at higher risk for special educational needs and poor academic attainment compared with term-born peers, yet education professionals receive limited training and have poor knowledge of preterm birth. We have developed an interactive e-learning resource and evaluated its efficacy in improving teachers' knowledge of preterm birth and their confidence in supporting the learning of children born preterm.SettingEight primary, infant or junior schools in England.Participants61 teachers of children aged 4-11?years, of which 55 (90%) were female.InterventionInteractive e-learning resource designed to improve education professionals' knowledge of long-term outcomes following preterm birth and strategies that can be used to support children's learning (www.pretermbirth.info). In a repeated measures design, participants were given up to 30?days access to the e-learning resource, before and after which they completed the Preterm Birth Knowledge Scale (PB-KS; scores 0-33; higher scores indicate greater knowledge) to assess knowledge of outcomes of prematurity. Four Likert scale items were used to assess confidence in supporting children's learning and 10 items were used to evaluate the utility of the resource. PB-KS scores and responses on confidence item were compared pre-resource and post-resource use.ResultsPB-KS scores significantly increased after accessing the e-learning resource (median (95%?CI): pre-resource 13 (11 to 14); post-resource 29 (28 to 30)), equating to a 2.6 SD increase in PB-KS scores. Teachers' confidence in supporting children born preterm was also significantly improved after using the resource. The utility of the resource was evaluated positively by participants with 97% reporting that they would recommend its use to others.ConclusionsThe e-learning resource substantially improved teachers' knowledge of preterm birth and their confidence in supporting preterm children in the classroom. Use of this resource may represent a key advance in improving educational outcomes for children born preterm.

Project description:BackgroundThe aim of this study was to determine whether engagement in more physical education (PE) classes during one high school year is associated with change in physical activity (PA) from adolescence to young adulthood.MethodsData were from 1774 participants in Waves 2 (high school, 1996) and 4 (young adulthood, 2008) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. The predictor was number of PE classes/week in high school (daily, some, or none). The outcome was change in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (ΔMVPA) over the 12-year period. ΔMVPA was based on differences in MVPA scores derived at each wave from responses to a physical activity behavior recall (range, -9 to 9 scale score or -15 to 15 MVPA episodes/week). Multivariable generalized linear models examined the association between PE participation and ΔMVPA, adjusting for sociodemographics, weight status, and school clustering.ResultsIn high school, 34.7% participated in daily PE, whereas 50.1% participated in none. Participation in more PE classes was associated with greater MVPA in high school (mean MVPAW2none = 3.11, standard deviation [SD] = 1.99; mean MVPAW2some = 3.70, SD = 2.00; mean MVPAW2daily = 4.31, SD = 1.95; p < 0.0001). Overall, MVPA decreased over the 12 years (median ΔMVPA = -1.0, or 1-2 MVPA episodes/week). MVPA decreased more for males (median ΔMVPAmale = -1.0, interquartile range [IQR] = -3.0 ± 1.0; median ΔMVPAfemale = 0.0, IQR = -2.0 ± 2.0; p < 0.0001) and those who had participated in some/daily PE (median ΔMVPAsome = -1.0, IQR = -3.0 ± 1.0; median ΔMVPAdaily = -1.0, IQR = -3.0 ± 1.0) than those not in PE (median ΔMVPAnone = 0.0, IQR = -2.0 ± 2.0; p < 0.0001). The relationship between PE and ΔMVPA was maintained in multivariable analyses (βsome = -0.58, standard error [SE] = 0.18; p = 0.002; βdaily = -0.93, SE = 0.16; p < 0.001).ConclusionsHigh school PE participation did not prevent declining PA from adolescence to young adulthood.

Project description:This article investigates the educational participation of refugee adolescents in Germany as a main European destination country of refugee migration. Opportunities and restrictions for school participation vary not only across countries-, but in the case of the Federal Republic of Germany, also within countries. The influence of different regional educational policies on refugees' educational participation and the extent to which they limit or enable individual agency, are however, widely understudied. We thus aim to analyze how different regional educational policies within Germany influence refugee students' educational participation regarding four central indicators: the duration until school enrollment, the type of class attended (newcomer vs. regular class), the type of school attended, and whether they are enrolled in settings appropriate for their age. We rely on a theoretical model which sees educational decisions as the result of rational cost-benefit calculations. The individual educational investments depend on individual motivations and resources within a given opportunity structure. We integrate the legal regulations via the opportunity structures into the theoretical model. Our analyses are based on data from 2,415 adolescents who were interviewed in the "ReGES-Refugees in the German Educational System" study. Our results show significant correlations between different regional educational policies and the four domains of educational participation. These effects remain stable when considering family and individual resources, as well as further control variables that previous research on social and ethnic educational inequality has shown to be relevant. Family and individual resources only partially influence educational participation. This indicates that refugee students and their parents have only limited options for action concerning their educational participation. Thus, our study shows that educational policies in fact matter: the assignment to a federal state plays a significant role in determining the duration until school enrollment, whether one is placed to a grade level age-appropriately, and whether one attends a newcomer class. Most significantly, legal regulations strongly influence refugees' chances of attending a higher school track (Gymnasium). Due to the low permeability of the German education system, this creates path dependencies for the further education and career paths of new immigrant students.

Project description:The availability of time is a deciding factor for participation of adults in continuing vocational education and training (CVET). In view of the importance of time for participation, the present study investigates the impact of employer offered leave of work on employees' participation behavior in CVET. Leave of work provides a specific timeframe for CVET by enabling the use of working time as learning time. The rationale of the intention-behavior relation as theorized by the theory of planned behavior provides the theoretical framework for the study. The theory allows the integration of individual and contextual factors (e.g., the work environment) in explaining individual behavior and the underpinning decision-making process. The theory conceptualizes time as an element of behavioral control that is required to act on an intention. Behavioral control is theorized to moderate the intention-behavior relation. Two modes of behavioral control are distinguished. We use employer offered leave of work as a proxy for actual behavioral control and the degree of perceived behavioral control regarding the availability of temporal resources to participate in CVET to investigate the theorized moderating role of behavior control on the intention-behavior relation. To test the hypotheses, two waves of panel data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) are used. Aiming at causal inferences, hybrid logit models are employed. We find that a participation intention is a significant predictor of CVET participation. However, the results provide no evidence regarding the theorized moderating role of actual behavioral control in terms of an employer offered leave of work on the intention-behavior relation. Furthermore, the results provide evidence that the degree of perceived behavioral control regarding the availability of temporal resources to participate in CVET does neither moderate the intention-behavior relation nor is a proxy for actual behavioral control. Finally, we discuss possible future developments of the theory of planned behavior by integrating action-theoretical assumptions from the value-expectancy theory.

Dataset Information

Educational Leave as a Time Resource for Participation in Adult Learning and Education (ALE).

Publications

Educational Leave as a Time Resource for Participation in Adult Learning and Education (ALE).

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