Purpose: Considering current debates on ecosystem services' effectiveness and the AIS/AKIS functioning, in this study we suggest a new, systemic way to evaluate extension systems (ESs). Using this model, we compared the effectiveness of ESs in three countries with essential differences but also characteristic similarities in their agricultural…

This article illuminates major features of high-quality leadership programmes across different education systems. We do so by focusing on capturing commonalities and variations in high-quality pre-service programmes from five differing societies, all of which are high-performing education systems. To this end, we first delineate key profiles of…

The purpose of this study was to examine procedures for analyzing ratings of large-group festivals and provide data with which to compare results from similar events. Data consisted of ratings from senior division concert band contests sponsored by the South Carolina Band Directors Association from 2008 to 2010. Three concert-performance and two…

This paper describes changes in students' geometrical knowledge and their creativity associated with implementation of Multiple Solution Tasks (MSTs) in school geometry courses. Three hundred and three students from 14 geometry classes participated in the study, of whom 229 students from 11 classes learned in an experimental environment that…

Purpose: Most past research on formal mentoring has investigated its antecedents, outcomes and benefits with little attention given to what goes on inside the dyadic relationship. The purpose of this paper is to explore the types of mentor and mentee behaviours that are perceived as critical factors contributing to either a positive or negative…

In many European countries and in North America, home education is a viable alternative for education at school. Parents who want to home school their child are legally allowed to do so, although some countries impose rather strict conditions. This article concentrates on the way authorities supervise or inspect the quality of home education. A…

I define a treatment effect in terms of a comparison of outcomes and provide a typology of all possible comparisons that can be used to estimate treatment effects, including comparisons that are relatively unknown in both the literature and practice. I then assess the relative merit, worth, and value of all possible comparisons based on the…

This article analyzes the practice of information dissemination regarding pesticide usage in floating gardening in a rural area. The analysis reveals reasons why the current information dissemination methods employed by relevant stakeholders do not work. It then puts forward a proposition that information sharing within organizations of and among…

This paper presents findings from the first national randomized study of the impacts of charter schools on student achievement, which included 36 charter middle schools across 15 states. The paper compares students who applied and were admitted to these schools through randomized admissions lotteries with students who applied and were not…

This study examines reviewer practices at 11 marketing journals. The results for the top three journals are compared to eight comparable journals that are typically considered to be non-top-tier journals. The results suggest that the reviewers and the review processes at the top journals differ significantly from those of the non-top-tier…

Purpose: We compared the rates of specialized care for residents with Alzheimer's disease or dementia in special care units (SCUs) and other nursing home (NH) units and examined the associations of SCU residence with process of care and resident outcomes. Design and Methods: Data came from the 2004 National Nursing Home Survey. The indicators of…

This paper presents the response of the technology teacher education programmes at the University of Limerick to the assessment challenge created by the shift in philosophy of the Irish national curriculum from a craft-based focus to design-driven education. This study observes two first year modules of the undergraduate programmes that focused on…

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional strategy that is poised for widespread application in the current, growing, on-line digital learning environment. While enjoying a track record as a defensible strategy in face-to-face learning settings, the research evidence is not clear regarding PBL in on-line environments. A review of the…

Traditional modes of chemistry education in schools focus on imparting chemistry knowledge to students via instruction. Consequently, students often acquire the mistaken understanding that scientific knowledge comprises a fixed body of "proven" facts. They fail to comprehend that the construction of scientific understanding is a human…

In this study, the authors examined the demographic characteristics of students entering the new small high schools in New York City and contrasted them with the characteristics of students entering the large high schools that closed. They also determined whether these high school reforms altered how different types of students are distributed…