Blog Archives

The better you are at math, the more money seems to influence your satisfaction

The better you are at math, the more money seems to influence your satisfaction

Your grade school math teacher probably told you that being good at math would be very important to your grownup self. But maybe the younger you didn’t believe that at the time. A lot of research, though, has shown that your teacher was right. We are two researchers who study decision-making and how it relates to […] … learn more→

Future engineers need to understand their work’s human impact – here’s how my classes prepare students to tackle problems like climate change

Future engineers need to understand their work’s human impact – here’s how my classes prepare students to tackle problems like climate change

Engineers spend much of their time absorbed in the technical aspects of problems, whether they’re designing the next generation of smartphones or building a subway. As recent news stories attest, this technocentric approach has some critical limitations, and the result can end up harming rather than helping society. For example, artificial intelligence algorithms designed by software engineers […] … learn more→

Monitor or talk? 5 ways parents can help keep their children safe online

Monitor or talk? 5 ways parents can help keep their children safe online

Children have been spending more time online. A May 2020 study found that U.S. teenagers spent around seven hours a day, on average, using screens. Even before the pandemic, U.S. teens were indicating in surveys that they were “almost constantly online.” As with any venue, parents might be concerned about what dangers lurk on the internet – […] … learn more→

Turnover is high in South Africa’s higher education sector: what could turn the tide

Turnover is high in South Africa’s higher education sector: what could turn the tide

“Why are my employees leaving my organisation?”. “What can I do to make my valuable employees stay at my organisation?”. “What makes employees stay in their employment?”. Employers have been asking these questions for a long time. Let’s be honest, hiring and firing, and continuously having to recruit, select, orient and train new employees is costly on […] … learn more→

Becoming a student: the inclusive university, instructions for use

Becoming a student: the inclusive university, instructions for use

Since the law of July 22, 2013 , all universities must set up dedicated reception and support for young people suffering from chronic illness or disability, in the form of a multi-year master plan . They therefore have, at a minimum, an identified manager who carries this policy. But there are significant organizational differences from one establishment to another. Although each […] … learn more→

COVID-19 back to school Q&A: Is it safe for unvaccinated children to go to school in person? Is the harm of school closures greater than the risk of the virus?

COVID-19 back to school Q&A: Is it safe for unvaccinated children to go to school in person? Is the harm of school closures greater than the risk of the virus?

Back-to-school is here again. While we might hope that beginning the academic year with schools open for in-person learning would set the trend for the rest of the year, the presence of new variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, makes everything less certain. Some parents have already made decisions to keep their children home for […] … learn more→

Perks of studying at a global international school

Perks of studying at a global international school

Going to an international school is an enriching experience for most of the students. It may vary but is especially important for those in secondary school who are figuring out who they need to be as they enter adulthood, the kind of vocation they’d prefer to seek after, and where they wish to see themselves […] … learn more→

Mandatory COVID-19 vaccines on university campuses: An obvious solution or a problem?

Mandatory COVID-19 vaccines on university campuses: An obvious solution or a problem?

In the United States, more than 600 institutions of higher education are requiring students to be vaccinated to return to campus this fall. In Canada, Seneca College in Ontario is making vaccination mandatory for anyone attending campus. The University of Ottawa and others will require students living on campus to be vaccinated. The University of Toronto has announced that in addition to requiring vaccination for students […] … learn more→

History made the world we live in: here’s what you’ll learn if you choose it in years 11 and 12

History made the world we live in: here’s what you’ll learn if you choose it in years 11 and 12

History is for students curious about the world. It involves discovery, evaluation and imagination. Around 40% of Australian senior students chose to study year 11 and 12 history in 2016. It was more popular than other humanities subjects such as geography and psychology and more girls chose to enrol (23%) than boys (18%). Here’s what you need […] … learn more→

Educational resilience: how to get good academic results when everything is against you

Educational resilience: how to get good academic results when everything is against you

Educational resilience is the ability of students to perform well despite adverse social, economic, or family circumstances. The key question is to find out which personal, family and educational context favor the resilience of students. Knowing these protective characteristics is essential to try to help the least resilient. In our recent article, Academic resilience in European countries: The […] … learn more→