Teaching physical education involves more than overseeing what happens on the field, court or in the swimming pool. Physical educators also need to control the locker room, where students hazing other students may be common practice at certain schools. This case is a good example of what happens when teachers and coaches fail to supervise athletes…

Nearly every student today is coming into informal education programs with some form of trauma. This is especially true as we examine the long-lasting impacts of climate change, the pandemic, and identity-based prejudice on children. In response, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has undertaken a transformative journey in its education programs. This…

This article describes "Dark Ride: Disneyland" - a mobile game that encourages Disneyland guests to critically consider Disney's representations of history, culture, and technology. The game was the creation of a group of faculty, students and professionals associated with Brigham Young University. The article contextualizes the game and…

Background: A promising method for improving physical inactivity among women is to increase their engagement in group-based exercise programs. Fitness communities are exercise groups that practice the principles of group dynamics and promote a lifestyle of physical activity by engaging members through social media and hosting social event/hangouts…

For many years, research has supported the value of using real-life experiences as teaching opportunities (Noobanjong & Louhapensang, 2017; Powell, 2015). This is just as true of teaching writing as of anything else. In fact, when learners use writing (such as journaling) to share their experiences, they benefit in several ways, including…

This article invokes a neoliberal and disciplinary governmentality lens in a political ecology of education framework to analyze educational programming at Long Beach, California's Aquarium of the Pacific. I begin by briefly describing governmentality as Foucault and neo-Foucauldian scholars have theorized the concept, followed by a discussion of…

The study of Disney is not new to higher education. For decades, Walt Disney has been studied in history courses. The Disney version of customer service excellence has been touted as a best practice in business courses, and film/media courses have analyzed Disney's animated classics (Duncan 2012, Wantasen n.d.). In U.S. higher education, there has…

This paper aims to unstick domination narratives embedded in Disneyland by using creative imagination and futurecast cultural imaginaries in which the earth system reinhabits agentic powers. I seek to open up alternative understandings of non-dominated, regenerative creativities in order to begin to heal the colonized imagination of Disneyland and…

An important element of the California State University Channel Islands (CI) mission is to promote cross-disciplinary thinking in its graduates. This is accomplished in part by requiring each student to complete three upper division interdisciplinary general education (UDIGE) courses. The CI faculty worked across disciplines to create and offer…

Research has demonstrated that conversations among museum, aquarium, and zoo visitors can be a clear indication of active learning, engagement, and participation in scientific reasoning. This descriptive study sought to determine the extent of talk about ecology-related topics exhibited by family groups visiting marine touch tanks at four Pacific…

This dissertation examines the architecture and social intent of Student Union buildings. The narrative reaches back to the first quarter of the twentieth century when students and college leaders in the Midwest and Northeast formed the Association of College Unions, but focuses on the postwar period in California when Student Unions became…

California's Smoke-Free Workplace Act--CA Labor Code Sec. 6404.5(a)--was extended to bars in 1998. This article analyzes changes in normative beliefs and behaviors related to bar smoking in the decade following the adoption of the Act. In a series of studies evaluating the smoke-free workplace law in bars, researchers conducted extensive…

Around Scout Island Education Center, a site used by schools in Fresno County to explore the area's natural environment, a total of 200 cylinder-shaped concrete stools display tiles representing small mammals, flying insects, birds, wildflowers, and more. Twenty sets have been created by elementary, middle, and high-school art students as part of…

While the opportunity to engage in scientific reasoning has been identified as an important aspect of informal science learning (National Research Council, 2009), most studies have examined this strand of science learning within the context of physics-based science exhibits. Few have examined the presence of such activity in conjunction with live…

The conservation and well-being of exotic animals is core to the mission of zoos, aquariums and many small nonprofit wildlife groups. Increasingly, these organizations are committed to scientific research, both basic and applied. To ascertain the current state of the libraries that support their efforts, librarians at the San Diego Zoo conducted…