Stakeholders in career and technical education declare the value of applied learning through corresponding co-curricular student organizations. However, there is limited empirical evidence to support the notion that student organizations help participants to achieve academic gains. This study examined the levels of engagement in DECA's…

The system currently deployed to assess research outputs in higher education can influence what, how and for whom academics write; for some it may determine whether or not they write at all. This article offers a framework for negotiating this performative context--the writing meeting. This framework uses the established theoretical underpinning…

Although previous research has investigated men in feminized sports, we took a different approach in this study and examined men in ballet. Because ballet is one of the most highly gendercodified sports, male ballet dancers must negotiate their identities as men while performing a dance form that is highly stigmatized as effeminate. We…

This essay is a personal reflection on the implementation of "Creating Critical Viewers," a national media literacy program sponsored by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), an industry association, in 1995. The television industry's decision to develop a media literacy curriculum in the 1990s was a powerful…

The Alhambra district, along with 11 other districts in Maricopa County, have forged an alliance to implement a performance-based evaluation system that supports teachers in attaining, maintaining, and enhancing core competencies aligned to a common vision of instructional improvement. At the heart of the system is the Learning Observation…

In this article we compare students' understanding of vector concepts in problems with no physical context, and with three mechanics contexts: force, velocity, and work. Based on our "Test of Understanding of Vectors," a multiple-choice test presented elsewhere, we designed two isomorphic shorter versions of 12 items each: a test with no…

The number and range of problems associated with academies and "free" schools is worrying and can be attributed to the lack of ability of central Government to oversee the increasingly fragmented education provision. In this article, the author looks at just a few of those problems which have been reported since she started to log them…

In the behavioral science literature, successful childhood socialization is termed Positive Youth Development (PYD). Young people themselves are active agents in charting their own life course (Jackson, in press). However, the responsibility for socialization begins with families and is shared by neighbors, faith communities, educators, youth…

The goals of this study were to explore the deficits in working memory associated with literacy disorders (i.e. developmental disorders of reading and/or spelling) and the developmental trajectories of these working memory deficits. The performance of 28 children with literacy disorders was compared to a non-disabled control group with the same…

Traditional multimedia learning is primarily based on the cognitive load concept of information processing theory. Recent digital game-based learning (DGBL) studies have focused on exploring content support for learning motivation and related game characteristics. Motivation, volition, and performance (MVP) theory indicates that cognitive load and…

This paper intends to highlight the issues in thinking skills development and efforts made in addressing these issues in Malaysia. The education system in Malaysia has undergone a huge transformational progress particularly in the field related to the development of thinking skill. Traditionally, thinking skill was not specifically cultivated in…

Goal instability and its relation to career thoughts, decision state, and performance in an undergraduate career course in a large university were investigated in this study. Participants completed six instruments measuring the nature of goals, career thinking, occupational decision making, satisfaction with career choice, tension associated with…

Undergraduate student perspectives regarding specific factors associated with self-directed learning were collected through eight focus groups. A total of 80 upperclassmen provided input revealing three emergent themes in the focus groups responses: (1) Student-Controlled, (2) Faculty-Controlled, and (3) Administration-Controlled Facilitators and…

This phenomenological study explored 6 new counselors' experiences working in community mental health centers and their experiences of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs-accredited training received in preparation for such work. Three themes from the interviews were identified to provide implications…

In this study, we investigated the impact of teaming school-based instructional coaches with science or mathematics middle school teachers to build a community of practice around inquiry instruction. This professional development model began with a 2-week summer institute and continued with four follow-up sessions during the academic school year…