Using social realist theory and critical discourse analysis, this article examines a number of discourses which construct academic staff attitudes to teaching and learning in their disciplines. It seeks to explain academics' resistance to engaging in activities aimed at professionalising academic practice. The research described in the article…

There has been much media speculation and general conversation about the crisis of masculinity, the lack of male role models--in particular, the lack of fathers, and how many boys are becoming a "lost" generation. An 2002 Australian House of Representatives report "Boys: Getting it right" investigated this issue in depth and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe and compare the views of nurses of different ages on continuing professional development (CPD). The authors were interested in possible differences in the use of formal and especially informal CPD practices between nurses of different ages, and likewise in possible differences in attitudes of…

It is important to focus attention on the pre-entry competencies of new organization members and to identify the competencies needed by Extension agents to determine adequate education curricula and training, and to improve retention. Current professional development models disregard the competencies needed by agents entering Extension. This…

This paper describes the findings of a one-year collaborative research project funded by the Standing Conference on Teacher Education North and South (SCoTENS). The paper is derived from a Short Report on this study prepared for SCoTENS on 16th May 2012. The study examined the role of physical education (PE) teachers as mentors to new members of…

Conservation and environmental education share similar goals with Extension and thus holds partnership potential for Extension. The study reported here compared the needs and barriers faced by environmental educators and Extension agents in West Virginia using a mail survey. Results indicated there were both similarities and differences in the…

Due to the changing nature of learning and teaching in universities, there is a growing need for professional development for lecturers and tutors teaching in disciplines in the mathematical sciences. Mathematics teaching staff receive some training in learning and teaching but many of the courses running at university level are not tailored to…

Purpose: Online programs rely on the use of educational technology for knowledge sharing in academic virtual communities of practice (vCoPs). This poses the question as to which factors influence technology acceptance. Previous research has investigated the inter-relationship between educational technology acceptance (ETA) and the vCoP context…

Although students today will need to rely on text more than in the past, American students are struggling to read and comprehend text. Research has supported the ability of content area reading strategies (CARS) to increase students' ability to read and comprehend text. The purpose of this research was to assess agriscience educators'…

Continuing professional development for teaching is important for institutional renewal, teacher development and student learning improvement. However, our longitudinal research into provision of continuing professional development has shown that the majority of educators who attend professional development workshops do not put what they have…

Many professions require members to be involved in continuing education in order to maintain skill levels, to remain current on issues, and often to remain licensed or certified in that field. The same level of continuous professional development does not always occur in student affairs, and there exists no system for documenting such activities…

The Office of Institutional Research at Johnson County Community College (JCCC), Kansas, conducted a survey to help determine the level of interest in Internet training courses. Surveys were mailed in November 1998 to 9,982 individuals selected from six lists representing the JCCC Business and Industry Division's current and potential clients. A…

The authors draw on data from weekly e-mail responses to a questionnaire completed by beginning teachers placed in one-year, paid, internships. Interns were assigned mentors who responded every several weeks, also via e-mail, to a questionnaire about the interns and their development. Data from 23 interns were analyzed. Seven themes were…

This newsletter presents a brief summary of central findings of a national survey designed to gather a systematic profile of the range and type of telecommunications activities being conducted by teachers for professional development or student learning. Responses were received from 550 of the 1,100 educators who were contacted through…

This study addresses attrition in the teaching profession, a major problem in Florida's schools. The study's target population was a random sample of 10% of the teachers from a Florida metropolitan school district employing 5,500 teachers. Data were gathered through a mailed questionnaire--the Survey of Teacher Characteristics and Activities. The…