College is a significant time for moral development. This research examines how undergraduate students at two U.S. universities, one faith-based and one independent, understand the meaning of living an ethical or moral life. Findings reveal that moral and ethical questions are relevant to students' lives and suggest that many have a fairly…

This project provided baseline risk communication practices to the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) for its consideration in developing new policies and management direction for outdoor recreation. This essay provides a summary of the project with a discussion of the practice recommendations. The CWS manages 54 National Wildlife Areas and 92…

Building communicative competence in textual and multimodal literacies has become a linchpin of learning, of engagement with the world, and of participation in online and blended spaces. Young creators now compose online and with digital tools, often in what we call "user-generated content affinity spaces" -- interest-based spaces that…

The National Assessment Program -- Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) in Australia is a series of literacy and numeracy tests that are used for purposes of school comparison. This paper argues that a key question for this use lies in whether or not this is a reasonable, or valid, use of the test data. Using Kane's argumentative approach to validity,…

Increasingly, policymakers seek to improve the quality of teaching through curriculum innovations and continuing professional development (CPD) programmes. However, engagement by schools and teachers varies owing to mediating influences of neoliberal policies. In this article, we contribute to understanding how these tendencies affect…

The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether and through what mechanisms vulnerable adults are empowered through a second-chance education programme. At the same time, the paper aims at unveiling the obstacles hindering learners' empowerment process and making suggestions for the improvement of the educational programme fostering further…

Social justice--oriented evaluation approaches are described as participatory, culturally and contextually responsive, and self-empowering. These evaluation approaches call for the genuine participation of stakeholders for sound evaluations, particularly those outside of decision-making and service providing. Similarly, hip-hop is commonly…

Portable touch-screen devices have been the focus of a notable amount of intervention research involving individuals with autism. Additionally, popular media has widely circulated claims that such devices and academic software applications offer tremendous educational benefits. A systematic search identified 19 studies that targeted academic…

While there is a growing body of research concerning the well-being of music students, burnout and engagement remain largely unexplored. Likewise, cross-national variations in approaches to music education, and different educational experiences of men and women may influence burnout and engagement. This preliminary study aimed to inform further…

Although higher education scholars are increasingly exploring disparities within institutions, they have yet to examine how parental involvement contributes to social-class variation in students' experiences. We ask, what role do parents play in producing divergent college experiences for students from different class backgrounds? Relying on…

This study explored educational persistence in the narratives of students re-engaging in secondary school, specifically relating to the messages they received from their families motivating them to succeed in school. Framed in Yosso's (2005) theory of community cultural wealth, students described the methods their families used to support them…

Context: Employers note that new athletic training graduates are not able to effectively communicate. To date no studies have determined what topics new graduates need to be able to communicate. Objective: To explore the opinions of athletic training preceptors as to what topics need to be communicated with a variety of stakeholders. Specifically,…

This dissertation presents three papers, each focus on a different aspect of the nature of learning in a specific hybrid community of practice, an undergraduate Living-Learning Community (LLC). A hybrid community of practice is initially established to address an institutional goal, yet membership is voluntary and members have autonomy in…

This dissertation-in-practice case study aimed to assess internships opportunities at the University of Mississippi (UM) to determine potential barriers for access among African American students and students with low socioeconomic backgrounds. Internships are a high impact practice, as identified by the American Association for Colleges and…

In this mixed methods study we examined students' science engagement in relation to classroom opportunities to participate in science practices in a sample of middle school (N = 1613) students from 28 socioeconomically diverse schools in the western region of the United States. Students from high socioeconomic status (SES) schools reported…