It is now half a century since Joey explained to Paul Willis: 'Vandalising […] that's the opposite of boredom -- excitement, defying the law', one of many similar comments subsequently recorded in "Learning to Labour" (34). The book rapidly became an academic best-seller, and has since become an academic 'national treasure'. But, before…

This article enters the debate about the complex and dynamical nature of second language acquisition (SLA) by discussing and commenting on Pallotti's critique of Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST). Pallotti's critique brings to the fore the argument that, due to its anti-reductionist stance, CDST research fails to observe three fundamental…

This commentary critiques Ambridge's radical exemplar model of language acquisition using research from the Longitudinal Study of Early Language, which has tracked the language development of 30+ children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) since 2002. This research has demonstrated that the children's capacity for abstraction at the grammatical…

Design-based case studies address research questions that involve instructional innovations within a bounded system. This blend of case study and design-based research provides a systematic approach to examining instructional innovations that are bounded by perspective, context, and time. Design-based case studies provide a framework for engaging…

The "Motor-Free Visual Perception Test-fourth edition" (MVPT-4) is a revised version of the "Motor-Free Visual Perception Test-third edition." The MVPT-4 is used to assess the visual-perceptual ability of individuals aged 4.0 through 80+ years via a series of visual-perceptual tasks that do not require a motor response. Test…

Evidence-based reform in education refers to policies that enable or encourage the use of programs and practices proven to be effective in rigorous research. This article discusses the increasing role of evidence in educational policy, rapid growth in availability of proven approaches, and development of reviews of research to summarize the…

Educators aim to equip students with learning strategies they can apply when approaching new problems on their own. Teaching design-thinking strategies may support this goal. A first test would show that the strategies are good for learning and that students spontaneously transfer them beyond classroom instruction. To examine this, we introduce…

This paper presents protests from academically successful students who privately conveyed to the researchers their feelings of personal discontent with schools. The criterion to select this "sample" was that these students, dissatisfied with school but having good marks, would reveal what others, academically less successful, could not…

Past studies of the treatment of Milgram's obedience experiments in social psychology textbooks from the 1960s to the 1990s discovered an evolving "Milgram-friendly" coverage style (dealing with criticisms of his experiments either summarily, in a pro-Milgram manner, or not at all). We examined 10 current social textbooks to determine…

The objective of this article is to present a critical analysis of the research outlines used in empirical studies published between the years 2000 and March of 2007 about social anxiety disorder and its associations with social skills. Seventeen papers were identified and grouped into two classes for analysis, namely: Characterization of Social…

The goal of any behavioral program is to facilitate lasting change. A significant criticism of behavioral programs is that they work in the clinical setting but do not generalize once the clinical program is stopped. The authors suggest that behavioral programs often do not generalize because clinicians fail to plan for generalization to occur…

A number of studies have used mindfulness-based interventions to influence the behavior of people with intellectual disabilities, to improve their quality of life, and to reduce challenging behavior. The present review critically evaluates 18 studies and assesses the clinical and academic impact of their findings. Strengths identified included…

Twelve empirical studies published since 1996 regarding the effects of gender on the supervisory relationship are reviewed. Each study was reviewed and critiqued in relation to its methodology, research design, critical findings, and limitations. The results of these studies indicate that (a) gender influences the openness and affiliation one…

The objective of this article is to present a critical analysis of the research outlines used in empirical studies published between the years 2000 and March of 2007 about social anxiety disorder and its associations with social skills. Seventeen papers were identified and grouped into two classes for analysis, namely: Characterization of Social…

This study with 213 South Korean college students (113 men) examined the cross-cultural generalizability of (a) the factor structure of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (F-MPS) and (b) the existence of adaptive perfectionists, maladaptive perfectionists, and nonperfectionists. A confirmatory factor analysis did not support the…