The instructional practices used in introductory college courses often differ dramatically from those used in high school courses, and dissatisfaction with these practices is cited by students as a prominent reason for leaving science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) majors. To better characterize the transition to college course…

University enrollment rates have increased substantially both in the U.S. and internationally over the past 40 years. Unfortunately, university completion rates have not kept pace, causing scholars to project that international labor markets may face a deficit in qualified (i.e., bachelors-degree or equivalent) workers. In the U.S., this could…

This paper critically examines shifts in emphasis in Australian education from expectations and belief that teachers not only make a difference to student achievement, but they are the difference. In moving from social class relations accounts to self-managing school accounts, latest shifts (teacher effectiveness accounts) over-emphasize teacher…

This survey sought to establish how performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), social influence (SI) and facilitating conditions (FC) related to the use of ICT by undergraduate students in the School of Education at Makerere University. Descriptive analysis was done using percentages and means, while hypotheses were tested using Multiple…

Within the last three decades there has been a surge of interest in how teacher beliefs affect the teaching and learning process. A major focus of the research in teacher beliefs has been in understanding the nature of teacher self-efficacy beliefs and how it affects the choices, decisions, and effectiveness of teachers. Bandura's work (1982,…

The purpose of this study was to determine if faculty teaching behaviors differed as a function of demographic variables including academic discipline, years of experience making accommodations, academic rank, and/or gender. College faculty from three universities completed and submitted the Faculty Inventory, a questionnaire containing seven…

This study investigated the relationships and mean-level changes of middle school students' motivation (expectancy-related beliefs, task values, self-efficacy, and outcome expectancy) toward physical education over time, and how gender affected students' motivation. Participants (N = 206) completed questionnaires over a 1-year period: once in the…

The purpose of this dissertation is to better understand scientific training within clinical and counseling psychology doctoral programs. A primary goal is to extend previous research by expanding the scientific training outcome variables from research interest and productivity to include additional characteristics of scientific mindedness such as…

Explored with a causal modeling approach were relationships among (1) student socioeconomic status (SES), (2) students', teachers', and principals' expectations for and attributed responsibility for students' learning, and (3) students' achievement. Participants were 76 principals, 250 teachers, and 5,289 third-grade students included in a sample…

This study contributes to the field by identifying a broad range of traditional and newer middle grade policies and practices, and determining in California which of these differentiate higher- from lower-performing schools serving similar student populations, with performance measured by the state's standards-based tests. Based on a sample of 303…

In the 2008-09 school year researchers from EdSource and Stanford University conducted a large-scale study of 303 middle grades schools in California. The team surveyed 303 principals, 3,752 English Language Arts (ELA) and math teachers in grades 6-8, and 157 superintendents of the districts and charter management organizations that oversee the…

The variables that are related to teachers' use of computers were studied using 2 groups: 170 practicing elementary school teachers and 167 undergraduate education majors (preservice teachers). Computer use was classified into nonuse, utilization, and integration using the Levels of Use Scale developed by the author and others. Expectancy was…