Why do adolescents and young adults lack a full and coherent understanding of a religion? This is a phenomenon of wide-ranging proportions. Using a cultural, theological, and philosophical analysis, the author argues that one important reason behind the lack of religious content knowledge is the reluctance of teachers to move beyond the…

Compared with standard arithmetic word problems demanding only the direct use of number operations and computations, realistic problems are harder to solve because children need to incorporate "real-world" knowledge into their solutions. Using the realistic word problem testing materials developed by Verschaffel, De Corte, and Lasure…

This study explored and documented Taiwanese students' alternative conceptions of animal classification. We examined the understanding of the "animal", "vertebrate" and "invertebrate", "fish", "amphibian", "reptile", "bird", and "mammal" concepts among elementary,…

In this ethnographic study of family life, intergenerational video and computer game activities were videotaped and analysed. Both children and adults invoked the notion of a digital divide, i.e. a generation gap between those who master and do not master digital technology. It is argued that the digital divide was exploited by the children to…

This study evaluates the efficacy of Keepin' It Safe, a theory-based, gender-specific, CD-ROM-mediated HIV prevention program for urban, early adolescent girls. Intervention effects were examined in a randomized, pretest-posttest wait-list control-group design. Changes in HIV/AIDS knowledge, protective attitudes, and skills for reducing HIV…

Adaptive inferential feedback (AIF) partner training is a cognitive technique that teaches the friends and family members of depressed patients to respond to the patients' dysfunctional thoughts in a targeted manner. These dysfunctional attributions, which AIF addresses, are a common residual feature of depression amongst remitted patients, and…

This study examined how well cognitive abilities predict high school students' science achievement as measured by traditional content-based tests. Students (n = 1,651) from four high schools in three states were assessed on their science knowledge, reading skill, and reading strategy knowledge. The dependent variable, content-based science…

Introduction: There is little known about the learning that is undertaken by physicians who graduate from a World Health Organization-listed medical school outside Canada and who migrate to Canada to practice. What do physicians learn and what resources do they access in adapting to practice in Alberta, a province of Canada? Methods: Telephone…

The purpose of this qualitative exploratory study was to investigate the perceived state of civics education as viewed by practicing teachers in three large high schools (each with a student enrollment of at least 2,200) in the midwestern and southeastern United States, in an effort to discover what teachers in different geographical regions deem…

The job analysis study described in this report was conducted to serve as one of the bases for documenting the content validity of the Praxis II: Subject Assessment in Elementary Education, one of a series of assessments for beginning teachers being developed by the Educational Testing Service. Two inventories of knowledge elementary school…

Definitions of dyslexia provided by general and special educators, support personnel, parents, and administrators were compared and contrasted to currently accepted definitions found in the literature. In addition, the effects of symposium attendance on changing participants' perceptions of the definition of dyslexia were assessed. Surveys were…

This practicum was designed to give parents of preschool children with autism an understanding of the disorder and appropriate skills to manage their children's challenging behaviors. A curriculum-based training series involving weekly 2-hour sessions was implemented during a 12-week period for 25 participants. Goals included increasing the…

In 1991 the New Zealand Fire Service planned a primary school fire-safety education program for children from new entrants to form 2. The program introduces a new module to the children each year of their primary education. This study was undertaken in an attempt to measure the effectiveness of the program. A sample of 1,089 children completed…

The purpose of this ongoing study was to assess attitudes, knowledge and behaviors in college students toward Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS). The researchers wanted to asses students' knowledge, attitudes, and behavior for utilization in educational and skill building programs for college students.…

The view of learning that underlies standard test theory is inconsistent with the view rapidly emerging from cognitive and educational psychology. Learners become more competent not simply by learning more facts and skills, but by reconfiguring their knowledge; by "chunking" information to reduce memory loads; and by developing…