The Force Concept Inventory was designed to poll the Newtonian conception of force. While there are many in-depth studies analyzing response data that look at the structure of the correct answers, we believe that the incorrect answers also carry revealing information about the students' worldview. The inventory was originally designed so that the…

This study examined longitudinal changes in peer network selection and influence associated with self-reported antisocial behavior (AB) and violent behavior (VB) over the course of middle school in a sample of ethnically diverse adolescents. Youth and families were randomly assigned to a school-based intervention focused on the prevention of…

A fundamental objective of environmental education (EE) and education for sustainable development (ESD) is the promotion of critical thinking, through which learners could resist messages (e.g., from TV), leading to unsustainable lifestyles and practices. The analysis of messages from media was used for: identifying influencing techniques;…

This paper studies the social side of pre-service teacher education and draws on social network analysis to explore the relation between the social capital of pre-service teachers and their academic and professional success. An online survey was applied to a sample of 321 students enrolled full time either in Preschool Education or Primary…

This collected papers dissertation explores students' academic interactions in an active learning, introductory physics settings as they relate to the development of physics self-efficacy and interest. The motivation for this work extends from the national call to increase participation of students in the pursuit of science, technology,…

This article explores the relationship between educational outcomes and anti-school attitudes at different levels of social organization in schools. Data were collected in St. Petersburg, Russia (104 schools, 7300 students) and analyzed using multi-level regression models that included three levels: individual, clique of friends and school. A…

This paper examines how learning happened in an interactive studio setting using the theories and methods of educational ethnography. The study begins with a review of the education literature on the acquisition of professional education and identity, particularly epistemic frame theory. Using a case study approach, we examine students' learning…

Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often experience peer conflict and social challenges, which likely relate to compounded characteristics of both the child with ASD and his or her peers. However, few studies have experimentally investigated these associations to inform prevention and intervention efforts. The present study used social…

Drawing from an ecological framework, there has been growing attention on the role of peers in accounting for adolescents' homophobic behavior. In this study, we considered whether individuals' homophobic behavior could be attributed to their peers' collective levels of aggression, sexual prejudice, and importance placed on their sexual…

This paper explores PhD students' perceptions of their entrepreneurial and commercial capabilities, their attitude towards university supports and the extent to which they engage in external collaboration. The study concentrated on current PhD researchers at one university in Ireland as a unit of analysis and provides encouraging evidence from the…

With much attention being placed on the use of Twitter and other social media in the classroom, educators are grappling with the question, "Is Twitter a valid tool to increase classroom effectiveness?" Yet, many responses to this question come from anecdotal and case-study-based information. The present study offers a preliminary quantitative…

This study uses social network analysis (SNA) in an innovative way to describe interaction and explain how interaction influences sense of community of students in online learning environments. The findings reveal differences on sense of community between two similarly structured online courses, and show unique interaction patterns for students in…