This study examines the influence of parenting on alcohol and drug use among teacher trainees in Nigerian universities. The sample includes students who leave home after secondary school (residential-students on campus) as well as those who continue to live at home after secondary school (non-residential). Seventy-nine residential and 124…

This study sought to empirically assess the relation of marital status, ethnicity and academic achievement in relation to the adjustment strains experienced by international graduate students. One hundred and forty nine international students attending five universities in the United States participated in the study. Correlational and multiple…

This paper reports a phenomenographic investigation into students' experiences of learning through discussion--both online and face to face (F2F). The study context was a second-year undergraduate course in psychology for social work in which the teacher had designed discussion tasks to begin in F2F mode and to continue online. A combination of…

For almost three decades we have optimized our organizations for efficiency and quality. We now look to innovation as the source of competitive advantage--for individuals, for organizations and for society. This paper examines the three components of an innovation ecosystem and their implications for corporations, universities and public policy.…

The intent of this study was to investigate how to maximize the chances of success of an educational innovation--specifically one based on the implementation of the educational modeling language called EML. This language is both technically and organizationally demanding. Two different implementation cases were investigated, one situated in an…

The teaching portfolio has been proposed as a useful management tool for monitoring and improving teaching. It is one of the accountability mechanisms that universities have introduced in a market-oriented environment. However, there has been considerable resistance to the compulsory introduction of teaching portfolios from a wide range of…

This article is a response to S. Elizabeth Bird and Jonathan P. Godwin's article "Film in the Undergraduate Anthropology Classroom: Applying Audience Response Research in Pedagogical Practice." The intention of my response is to expand the dialogue on film use to promote cultural understanding in university classes and campus-wide. Through…

This paper describes how information and communication technology (ICT) is used in the modular Open University course "T209 Information and Communication Technologies: People and Interactions", first presented in 2002. In this course ICT is used to provide students with practical experience and to support an active and collaborative approach to…

Biology students in their first year at university have difficulty understanding the abstract concepts of photosynthesis. The traditional didactic lecture followed by practical exercises that show various macroscopic aspects of photosynthesis often do not help the students visualise or understand the submicroscopic (molecular-level) reactions that…

Storysack projects (in which sacks including books and artefacts to help children learn through play are made and distributed), are proliferating in the UK and beyond, often involving work with parents. However, little of this work has been reported. One way to find out about new storysack project ideas is to talk with those directly involved.…

In response to Cochran-Smith and Lytle's (1998) call for Other ways of researching and thinking about educational research and the recent call by the US Secretary of Education to reform "teacher-training" programs (Schoicet 2002), this article presents a research study focusing on a reform effort in teacher education. The study moved…

In a university setting, there is a great diversity in terms of socio-cultural, political, religious and racial backgrounds among students and lecturers. This diversity, with the presence of an appropriate lecturer-student relationship creates a campus environment that prepares students and lecturers to live and work amicably in a socio-culturally…

This article provides an overview of a 6-university collaborative project, "Roadmap to Effective Distance Education Instructional Design." This project developed instructional materials and innovative approaches to better prepare instructional designers at land-grant universities and other universities with agricultural academic programs…

The role tradition played in preindustrial societies has been supplanted by the decisions of countless specialists organized by means of an intellectual and professional division of labor shaping a knowledge infrastructure that sustains these decisions. Three limitations of this knowledge system are discussed: (a) on the macrolevel, it imposes an…

This paper argues that in the information age the closed book, invigilated final examination has become an anachronism. Most significantly, it is an assessment instrument that does not assess deep conceptual understanding and process skills. Indeed, the anecdotal evidence one often hears from students is that "cramming" the night before…