Head Start is the largest publicly funded preschool program in the U.S., and one of its primary goals is to improve the school readiness of low-income children. As has been widely reported, the first randomized trial of Head Start in the program's history found some evidence that it is achieving this goal. Receiving one year of Head Start had…

The ability to understand theory of mind and understand the emotions of others has significant consequences for the social competency of individuals. As early as the preschool years, theory of mind ability has been associated with the capacity of children to engage in and sustain pretend play with peers. Individuals on the autism spectrum…

This study examined if children who participated in prekindergarten education programs were better prepared for the kindergarten classroom. Children enter the kindergarten setting at various levels of readiness. A mixed method concurrent transformative study design was employed. Data were collected that provided clarity on how preschool…

Autism is defined as a neuro-developmental disorder and is characterized by a chronic and severe impairment in social relations. Children with autism have limited development in both verbal language and non-verbal language, relative to eye contact, gestures, facial expression, and body language. The cause of autism is not known; however, genetic…

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to give a critical assessment of a study designed to investigate the potential of a new method for teaching HRD students about performance appraisal. It is argued that this approach is in the vanguard of developments in IT and learning. Design/methodology/approach: The paper takes the form of an explorative study…

Background: The Sport Education curriculum model with its goals to develop competent, literate and enthusiastic sportspersons has been gaining popularity across the globe. To date, studies have yet to investigate the objective motivational climate of Sport Education. Aims: The purpose of this study was to measure and describe the objective…

A college degree is not what it used to be in respect to securing future employment. Constantly changing technologies in a struggling economy make it necessary for organizations to carefully balance recruitment staffing, particularly with regards to new hires. Organizations want to know that each new hire can add value immediately. In order to add…

The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to determine the value and expectations for student participation in supervised agricultural experience (SAE) programs, as expressed by first-year, agricultural education teachers in Oklahoma who were alternatively certified. This study revealed that teachers in this study value the fact that…

Equine-assisted therapies are interventions that use the unique qualities of a horse to assist persons with disabilities to improve their gross motor, language, social, and self-help skills. Programs offering these services are varied and operate on all major continents across the world. The effectiveness of equine-assisted therapies is generally…

Public funding for employment and training has dwindled over the past several decades. Yet in communities all over the United States, there has been considerable development of alternative approaches to help low-income people gain skills for particular industry sectors. In 2003, with support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Public/Private…

Current models of self-regulated learning emphasize the pervasive need for metacognitive monitoring skills at all phases of the learning process (Winne and Hadwin in "Studying as self-regulated learning." In D. J. Hacker, J. Dunlosky, & A. C. Graesser (Eds.), "Metacognition in educational theory and practice" (pp. 227-304). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum,…

This study reports on a district-wide research-based professional development (PD) that included 207 teachers and administrators. Data were collected from pre/post surveys, content analysis of the participants' wiki pages, and a follow-up questionnaire. Findings indicate that participants significantly improved their foundational and technical…

Purpose: Within the context of policies on developing the workforce of the government health sector in England, this paper aims to investigate participation in work-related continuing education and training (WRCET), its pedagogy and effectiveness. Individual and organizational characteristics associated with effective WRCET are examined.…

Digital gaming continues to be an approach for enhancing methods of pedagogy. The study evaluates the effectiveness of a gaming product of a leading technology firm in engaging graduate students in an information systems course at a major northeast institution. Findings from a detailed perception survey of the students indicate favorable…

The purpose of this quantitative comparative methods research was to compare the perceptions relative to 12 Master of Business Administration (MBA) skill sets of respondents situated in non-member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) with the findings of a prior study of United States situated respondents.…