Increasingly, the broader public, media and policymakers are looking to qualitative research to provide answers to our most pressing social questions. While an exciting and perhaps overdue moment for qualitative researchers, it is also a time when the method is coming under increasing scrutiny for a lack of reliability and transparency. The…

Self-efficacy, or the beliefs people hold about their ability to succeed in certain pursuits, is a long-established construct. Self-efficacy for science communication distinguishes scientists who engage with the public and relates to scientists' attitudes about the public. As such, self-efficacy for public engagement has the potential to serve as…

Most studies in headship focus on the elements of training and head teachers' capabilities in leading schools. The concept of isolation experienced by head teachers during the early years of their headship is, however, overlooked. This article attempts to explore the neglected aspect of headships' experiences with isolation that later contributes…

Mixed-mode designs are increasingly important in surveys, and large longitudinal studies are progressively moving to or considering such a design. In this context, our knowledge regarding the impact of mixing modes on data quality indicators in longitudinal studies is sparse. This study tries to ameliorate this situation by taking advantage of a…

The relative contributions of higher education and schools, and hence the conceptual and practical aspects of ITE, to student teachers' professional learning have been an issue of concern in teacher education. This article reports a mixed-methods study showing the relationship between student teachers' engagement with the practical and conceptual…

This mixed methods study examines perspectives on failure in the classroom by elementary teachers new to teaching engineering. The study participants included 254 teachers in third, fourth, and fifth grade who responded to survey questions about failure, as well as a subset of 38 of those teachers who participated in interviews about failure. The…

The purpose of this article is to describe how a mixed methods approach was employed to acquire a better understanding of Black male student athletes' experiences at a historically Black college/university in the southeastern United States. A concurrent triangulation design was incorporated to allow different data sources to be collected and…

The North Carolina Occupational Course of Study (NCOCS) program is an alternative diploma track with a vocational focus toward post school employment to assist students who would not otherwise graduate with a standard course of study. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the local causes of low post-school employment…

This study traces the development of a grounded theory of assessment in e-learning environments, a field in need of research to establish the parameters of an assessment that is both reliable and worthy of higher learning accreditation. Using grounded theory as a research method, we studied an e-assessment model that does not require physical…

The purpose of this study is to develop competencies of teachers, the coordination of the education, learning activities; in having access to innovations, developments and scientific studies in the literature. In addition, the purpose is to determine how teachers' scientific research self-efficacy and attitude towards the scientific research…

To complete any academic tasks using information from the Internet, undergraduate students first have to select the appropriate sources. However, the types of justifications that undergraduates provide for source selection and how these justifications may be impacted by task characteristics have been underexamined. This study explored…

This is a study of the development and validation of a rubric to enhance performer feedback for undergraduate vocal solo performance. In the literature, assessment of vocal performance is under-represented, and the value of feedback from the assessment of musical performances, from the point of view of the performer, is nonexistent. The research…

Combining psychological and social perspectives and using mixed methods, this 4-year longitudinal study examined the EFL learning and self-identity development of about 1,000 students from 5 universities in Beijing, China. The self-designed questionnaire, administered 5 times during the 4 years, consisted of 7 identity categories of identity…

An examination of prospective teachers' information and communication technology (ICT) integration skills development in an undergraduate program indicated that the only course available to practice these skills was the teaching practice course. However, the practice and development of these ICT integration skills in the teaching practice course…

Evidence from a handful of large-scale studies suggests that although observers can be trained to score reliably using observation protocols, there are concerns related to initial training and calibration activities designed to keep observers scoring accurately over time (e.g., Bell, et al, 2012; BMGF, 2012). Studies offer little insight into how…