Sustainability-related learning objectives in university curricula are becoming increasingly popular. While knowledge gain is usually a prevalent metric of success, this study assessed whether a project-based learning assignment could lead to attitudinal shifts in students regarding sustainability. After performing both primary…

While feedback in education is important, formative feedback that leads to improvement in students' learning outcomes and emotional disposition is vital. This argument has been made repeatedly in the Western literature, both by researchers and by students participating in their research in higher education. This paper presents both affective and…

This article reports findings from a qualitative study of adults' perceptions and experiences of learning musical instruments. Conducted in the south-east United States, 15 adults who were learning instruments were recruited via community music groups and private instrumental teachers. Analysis of transcripts of semi-structured interviews…

This investigation uses an ethnographic case study approach to explore the benefits and challenges of including a variety of goals within a high school Environmental Science curriculum. The study focuses on environmental education (EE) goals established by the Belgrade Charter (1975), including developing students' environmental awareness and…

In extant research, the concept of student engagement refers to individual behavioural patterns and traits. Recent research indicates that engagement not only should be related to the individual but also should be anchored in the social context. This ethnographic field study of students and teachers in a Danish vocational education and training…

Background: The pedagogical and status implications of assessment in physical education (PE) have been recognised in the past. How students perceive being assessed and graded is a neglected area, however. While some studies have garnered students' perceptions of assessment when no grade is awarded or the stakes are relatively low, we know less…

This article explores music conservatoire undergraduates' career aspirations and notions of their pedagogical training, through biographical interviews with 16 students from the School of Wind and Percussion, Royal Northern College of Music. Findings suggest that pedagogical training, which begins in the second college year, serves as a catalyst…

This study sought to extend previous research on ethnographic interviews as a method of culture learning in foreign language classes by employing a qualitative case study methodology. Fifty-four university students in a first-year Spanish course worked in pairs to conduct a series of three ethnographic interviews with a native speaker of Spanish.…

Learning outcomes are statements of intended learning within a module. In practice, students may consider various options when undertaking assessments. They may feel they can meet the stated learning outcomes by demonstrating other aspects of study which are termed "distractions." Thirty-three undergraduate students' constructed scientific posters…

The present study sets out to examine motivation to learn English by Chinese research students in an informal setting. Data were collected, using semi-structured interviews, from four research students at two points in time during their first year in the UK. The main findings are: they believed that learning English was important; their main goal…

To effectively teach young children, early childhood teachers must be prepared to collaborate with families of diverse backgrounds. Studying the unique cultural contexts of children and families in American early care and education programs and communities will offer early educators information needed to develop empathy for the families with whom…

Explores the importance that teachers place on affective goals, how they integrate them into their teaching, and how they plan the integration process, based on interviews during inservice teacher training. Instructional goals relating to students' motivation, anxiety, attitudes, and values are discussed, and implications for further research are…

"The Metropolitan Life Survey of the American Teacher, 2000: Are We Preparing Students for the 21st Century?" examines teachers', students', and parents' views on where students are headed and how prepared they will be to reach their future goals. This report is part of an annual series of national surveys conducted since 1984 for MetLife by…

This course of instruction contains materials designed to provide the trainee in an adult manpower training program with job-seeking and job-survival skills. Contents include a listing of course objectives and competencies by instructional units, a pre- and post-course test, and lesson plans for the two-section course. The ten units of the…