Research from numerous studies worldwide consistently shows that integrating social emotional learning (SEL) development into the structures and practices of schools is a path to creating safe, supportive, and inclusive environments. Researchers developed and validated an instrument to examine teachers' perceptions of SEL needs in their schools;…

Considerable research has examined the effect of response option order in ordinal bipolar questions such as satisfaction questions. However, no research we know of has examined the effect of the order of presentation of concepts in the question stem or whether stem order moderates response option order. In this article, we experimentally test the…

Researchers performed an exploratory factor analysis on the Attitudes Toward Erotica Questionnaire (ATEQ) and examined the construct and concurrent validity of the ATEQ data with a sample of practicing counselors and marriage and family therapists in the state of Florida (N = 373). The data analyses resulted in a two-factor, 10-item assessment…

Water availability issues have plagued many regions around the world and is viewed as the top issue facing the world. As a result, encouraging water conservation has become a priority for agricultural communicators. Previous research suggests strategically framed messages can impact attitudes about water conservation, but whether this change is a…

Researchers analyzed data from elementary teachers (N = 233) to further establish the psychometric soundness of the Teacher My Class Inventory-Short Form. Supporting previous psychometric research, confirmatory factor analyses findings supported the factorial validity of the hypothesized five-factor solution. Internal reliability estimates were…

Undocumented immigration has become a hot political topic. Considering the significant role undocumented immigrants play in U.S. agricultural and natural resources industry and the voting power of the undergraduate students, this study assessed undergraduate students' attitudes toward undocumented immigrant issues. Using a slightly altered…

This correlational-predictive study investigated the relationship between teacher perceptions of technology use and observed classroom technology integration level using the "Technology Uses and Perceptions Survey" (TUPS) and the "Technology Integration Matrix-Observation" (TIM-O) instruments, developed by the Florida Center…

Children's literature helps young people make sense of gender. However, while books offer children the imaginative ability to create their own worlds, normative gender can manifest in characters and stories. The study described in this article draws upon "disruptive" storytimes with 114 preschool children, interviews with 20 parents and…

Targeted agricultural education programs can play a role in solving complex water issues. This article applies importance-performance analysis to examine dimensions of water resources that may inform local water conservation campaigns in the United States. The purpose of this study was to generate a deep understanding of home irrigation users'…

Water use has become increasingly contentious as the population grows and water resources become scarcer. Recent media coverage of agricultural water use has brought negative attention potentially influencing public and decision makers' attitudes towards agriculture. Negative perceptions could result in uninformed decisions being made that impact…

The purpose of this article is to explore validity evidence and appropriate uses of the revised Technology Uses and Perceptions Survey (TUPS) designed to measure in-service teacher perspectives about technology integration in K-12 schools and classrooms. The revised TUPS measures 10 domains, including Access and Support; Preparation of Technology…

We investigated differences between field-study classrooms and traditional science classrooms in terms of the learning environment and students' attitudes to science, as well as the differential effectiveness of field-study classrooms for students differing in sex and English proficiency. A modified version of selected scales from the What Is…

Medical students begin their education inside a laboratory dissecting cadavers to learn human gross anatomy. Many schools use the course experience as a way to instill empathy and some have begun integrating video and recorded interviews with body donors to humanize the experience, but their impact has yet to be measured. This study examines the…

Opinion leaders are persuasive in convincing others within their social networks to adopt certain opinions and behaviors. By identifying and using opinion leaders, agricultural educators may be able to leverage individuals who have influence on others' opinions, thereby speeding up the adoption of new practices. In this article, we review a…

We conducted a theory-based analysis of the underlying structure of the Tripod student perception survey instrument using the Measures of Effective Teaching (MET) database (N = 1,049 middle school math class sections; N = 25,423 students). Multilevel item factor analyses suggested that an alternative bifactor structure best fit the Tripod items,…