The aim of this study was to learn from students' frame of reference how they experience foreign language classes. Data include learning diaries written during 2005 for more than 35 weeks (March to November). Subjects were 95 Argentine, Caucasian, mostly female, middle-class, Spanish-speaking College students between 19 and 21 years of age who…

The present study was conducted to describe the developmental skills of a national sample of infants and toddlers at entry into early intervention services. Caregivers were asked about their child's skills during a telephone interview. Summary values were derived from descriptions of motor, communication, independence, and cognitive skills. More…

Purpose: The aim of this work is to examine the relationship between aspects of objective and perceived housing and aspects of healthy aging, defined as independence in daily activities and subjective well-being. Furthermore, this research examined the comparability of relationships between housing and healthy aging in the five European countries.…

The paper presents a study investigating the net-based learner autonomy of the first-year non-English major students studying in West Anhui University (WAHU). Through questionnaires and interviews, the study shows the problems in learner autonomy and presents a new perspective for the development of an auto-learning environment. The study reveals…

This study compared dimensions of independence and interdependence in parents' beliefs about daily child-rearing practices across four ethnic groups. Two questionnaires were completed by 310 parents of preschool-age children, and three belief constructs were identified. "Conformity" was least valued by European Americans. "Autonomy" was equally…

This study compared perceptions of mentoring relationships among early adolescents, middle adolescents, and emerging adults. In ten focus groups, 56 middle school, high school, and college students described relational experiences that were analyzed thematically. Differences in the characteristics of the mentors nominated by the youth across the…

Over the past few years, considerable research has highlighted the challenges posed by the need for social reinsertion of youth who leave placement. For youth who leave an alternative living environment at the outset of adulthood, this integration is made all the more difficult by psychosocial and health factors and a lack of support in preparing…

Student motivation within the classrooms is a widely recognized problem and will remain so in the foreseeable future. Literature suggests that students' motivation for learning and performance can be enhanced by creating an appropriate classroom environment, which is again determined by the design of various structural characteristics of a course,…

In 1996, the US Congress passed the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act, changing the culture of welfare from a system of dependency to one of personal responsibility and economic self-sufficiency through workplace participation. Through the expert views of case managers and area employers of Wisconsin, this research…

This article reports on a study into the ideological beliefs of first year prospective teachers. Here ideologies are understood as expressions of specific "world views" and certain collective interests. Data were drawn from tasks that attempted to get students to position themselves relative to and reflect upon questions and propositions…

The relation of attachment security to multiple domains of psychosocial functioning was examined in a community sample of 167 early adolescents. Security of attachment organization, assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview, was linked to success in establishing autonomy while maintaining a sense of relatedness both with fathers and with…

This study explored the combined influences of daily activities and autonomy in activity engagement on adolescent daily positive and negative moods. Ecological momentary assessments (EMA) were used to obtain information about 8th- and 10th-grade students' (N = 517) mood, activities, and situation throughout the day. Participants responded to…

This case study explored asynchronous online discussions, assessment processes, and the meaning students derived from their experiences in five online graduate courses at the Colleges of Education of two Midwestern higher education institutions. The findings suggest that asynchronous online discussions facilitate a multidimensional process of…

The purpose of this qualitative study is to analyze how potential college-bound and current college students make meaning about the higher education experience from the legendary film that is pivotal in the American college culture, sets the trend for future college-themed films, and is a national phenomenon--"National Lampoon's Animal…

People often reason that since disasters facing them are potentially global, then the proper solutions must come from global structures, such as governments and multinationals. But such reasoning is inadequate. The answers are not to be found in the hazy otherness of corporate and political structures, which people are all-too-quick to imbue with…