Student engagement is a key predictor of academic performance, persistence and retention in higher education. While many studies have identified how aspects of the college environment influence engagement, fewer have specifically focused on emotional intelligence (EI). In this study, we sought to explore whether EI could predict cognitive and/or affective engagement in a sample of undergraduate psychology students in Ireland. Ninety-one students completed two forms of the student engagement instrument, rating current engagement and retrospective secondary school engagement, along with the trait EI (TEI) questionnaire. After controlling for academic ability, gender and school engagement, multiple regression analyses found TEI to be a positive predictor of both cognitive and affective engagement. Previous academic performance acted as an additional predictor of cognitive engagement, while retrospective affective school engagement predicted current affective engagement. These results suggest that interventions aimed at increasing EI may have positive implications for many aspects of student engagement, and hence performance at third level.

There is an abundance of literature highlighting the need to focus on enhancing students' creativity in higher education. However, currently there is a gap in awareness of evidencebased initiatives being employed in institutions to address this need. The debate on how to best characterise creativity has not yet reach consensus therefore, we present a protocol for a new review that will identify the characteristics of the frameworks as well as the tools being used by educators to formally develop students' creativity in higher education. It will also provide insight into how these educators are defining creativity. This knowledge will enhance understanding of how creativity, a necessary skill for 21st century learners is being harvested, valued, and described in higher education.

Objectives. This study sought to investigate the psychometric properties of the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory (PTCI; Foa et al., 1999, Psychol. Assess., 11, 303) among a cohort of older adolescents and to determine the relationship between posttraumatic cognitions and a variety of psychological outcomes including depression, anxiety, stress, and loneliness.Methods. The PTCI was investigated among a large sample (N = 785) of Northern Irish adolescents. Confirmatory factor analysis and composite reliability analysis were conducted to assess the psychometric properties of the scale.Results. The familiar three-factor solution of negative cognitions of self, negative cognitions of the world and others, and self-blame was supported; however, it was necessary to remove eight items from the original 33-item scale. The three-factor structure was subsequently demonstrated to be factorially invariant across gender and to possess satisfactory internal reliability. The three PTCI factors were found to correlate with depression, anxiety, stress, and three dimensions of loneliness.Conclusion. These results provide the first piece of evidence that older adolescents cognitively respond to trauma in a similar manner to adults, that the PTCI is factorially invariant between genders, and that trauma cognitions are correlated with feelings of loneliness. The contextual dependent nature of the structure of the PTCI factors is discussed in relation to future research efforts. Practitioner pointsThe PTCI is a valid and reliable measure of trauma-related cognitions among adolescents and works equally well for male adolescents and female adolescents. Trauma cognitions are associated with a range of mental health problems beyond post-traumatic stress disorder including depression, anxiety, stress, and various aspects of loneliness. Reductions in trauma cognitions in survivors of trauma will have wide-scale clinical benefits to patient well-being. The exact structure and make-up of items in the PTCI may well be dependent on culture, context, and the nature of the trauma.

No abstract

No abstract