Background: Teacher self-efficacy beliefs are known to be a predictor of future teaching practices and are related to teacher effectiveness and student learning. Science teaching self-efficacy beliefs are especially important in elementary school teacher preparation where candidates are traditionally less confident and interested in science.…

Short-term international study experiences, or study tours, aim to increase students' global awareness, educate and empower them to be productive global citizens, and contribute to their future employability. Learning outcomes from study tours often include intangible personal characteristics or soft skills, as opposed to specific disciplinary…

Life in the 21st century is increasingly complex, paradoxical, and ambiguous, bringing into question the ways that graduate adult education programs function. In this article, we describe an action research study involving the method of collaborative developmental action inquiry conducted with key stakeholders of a program in adult education at a…

It is within the overlap of three gaps in the literature on feminist classrooms (lack of initiation, student representation, and evaluation) that the authors situate this paper. In conceptualizing this paper, they wanted not only to describe a context from which others can consider their own present or future offerings of feminist,…

In 2010-2011, urban high schools across New Jersey reported suspension rates that ranged between 10 and 20%. This rate translated into increased dropout rates and low graduation rates. The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influenced suspension rates, dropout rates and graduation rates of an urban New Jersey high school. More…

Adventure-based learning (ABL) consists of highly structured physical activity with periods of reflection (i.e., debrief) that help promote personal and social development. It can be used as a valid curriculum in physical education to promote intrapersonal and interpersonal relationships. This type of curriculum can also help physical educators…

Qualitative research was conducted with undergraduate nutrition majors at the University of Central Arkansas to explore the impact of service-learning on personal and professional development. After participating in the program, the dietetic students (n 20) wrote reflection papers. The personal impact sections of the reflections were coded and…

This article reports on a study of 21 Australian and United States (US) tertiary/university students involved in training to become professional music therapists. The study aimed to identify the learning outcomes--musical, professional, and personal--that occurred when students participated in collaborative peer songwriting experiences. Student…

An important goal of nursing education is to produce graduates who are problem solvers and competent clinical practitioners able to practice in a very complicated health care environment; reflection and inquiry are two ways to accomplish this goal. This qualitative study explored how eight senior baccalaureate nursing students developed in their…

In this exploratory scholarship of teaching and learning study, we describe the development, over time, of engagement in the discipline, the ability to use the sociological imagination and other learning, an identity as a sociologist, and a sense of being an autonomous learner in a group of sociology majors. We followed 18 students who completed…

Colleges and universities across the United States seek new, creative, and impactful ways to enhance student engagement. The study of student engagement has led to the identification of several "high-impact" educational practices that appear to generate higher levels of student performance, learning, and development than the traditional…

The formative merits of university education are at risk of being reduced from graduateness in the sense of broad academic cultivation to professional training with a strong emphasis on employability. The difficulty in opposing this trend is the absence of a clear framework for academic cultivation. The aim of this study is to construct a model…

The purpose of this investigation was to explore students' epistemic beliefs and conceptual understanding of biotechnology. Epistemic beliefs can influence reasoning, how individuals evaluate information, and informed decision making abilities. These skills are important for an informed citizenry that will participate in debates regarding areas in…

Development defined as increasingly complex and adaptive forms of seeing, knowing, and caring sheds light on how to identify aims of educational programs designed to foster development. Educators who aspire to promote development as well as content mastery help students understand the basis for their decisions, explore alternative bases and…

This paper makes the case for a shift of undergraduate education towards the development of meaningful life skills that are of value to the graduates as well as to the communities they live in. First, relevant connections between student learning, meaning, and wisdom will be made. Second, the article will explore how undergraduate education can…