This article discusses a qualitative research project designed to investigate processes and outcomes of learning in a first-year undergraduate course--"Introduction to conflict resolution: theory and skills" (ICR)--taught in the Department of Peace Studies at the University of Bradford. The research project was set up to help us understand how…

The multiple and conflicting identity pressures that young women in western society face have been remarked upon in the literature. Adolescence is a time when identity development activity intensifies, and this process can present young people with challenges. In this paper a social constructionist and interpretive frame is applied to such…

Many studies have been conducted to examine the predictors of fear of crime among adults, but feelings of insecurity among children and adolescents have been practically ignored. The aim of this study is to search for relevant determinants of fear of crime in a representative sample of 1,212 Flemish (Belgian) adolescents, age 14 to 18, and one of…

We introduce the need for scholars interested in literacy, geography, and cultural studies to examine the role of English language literacy in shaping assimilation experiences of recent immigrant groups. We consider a case study of English language self-efficacy among ethnic Chinese immigrants in the Philadelphia metropolitan area to suggest how…

Where the continuing professional development (CPD) process is being increasingly articulated and circumscribed by policy and central specification, the initial year of teaching may significantly shape career-long expectations of CPD. This article contrasts the early experiences of beginning secondary teachers in Scotland and Hong Kong and the…

It is a funny thing how one's perceptions are oftentimes influenced as one moves through life's journey. People that may seem totally alien become friends, mentors, and/or heroes. Exposure to a diverse society makes for a smorgasbord of opportunity and enlivens one's journey. Any public high school experience forces a mixing of personalities and…

A decade ago, before the tech boom collapsed and the digital economy bubble burst, it seemed to some that issues surrounding information technology (IT) might be central to the politics of the early 21st century. But after September 11, 2001, with so much else on everyone's minds, "digital politics" seemed a boring sideshow. Technocrats,…

The transition to middle school places many adolescents at risk for negative adjustment, especially poor and underserved ethnic minority students. In this cross-sectional study, I explored the role of student-perceived mismatch in the transition to a school with an early-college model, using a sample of predominantly African American and Latino…

The passage of time is fundamentally experienced through people's interaction with their social worlds. Life-course scholars acknowledge the multiple aspects of time-based experience but have given little attention to age identity in a dynamic context. Drawing from a stress-process model, we expected that turbulence within people's family…

That certain suicides (which can be designated as rational) ought not to be interfered with is closely tied to the notion of the "right to autonomy." Specifically it is because the individual in question has this right that interference is prohibited. A proper understanding of the right to autonomy, while essential to understanding why…

Adult self-directed learning is considered a process of self-instruction. This concept is inadequate because it fails to account for persistence in learning and excludes adults unable to plan self-instruction. These inadequacies can be addressed by studying self-directed learning as it relates to the learner's personality. (Author/CH)

The author describes the life and theories of Bertrand Russell, founder of Beacon Hill School. Russell's educational theories centered on the personal autonomy of the student and democratization of the learning process. (CH)

Examined elderly persons' preferences and expectations for advance directives and surrogate health care decision making in event of decisional incapacity. Exploratory findings from interviews with 40 older adults support view that elderly people have strong expectation for familial decision making in event of long term care and perceive this…

Suggests that good teaching, like good parenting, allows students to take responsibility for their own problems (writing, behavioral) and by extension their own ideas, the goal being maturity of thought. (JAD)

An argument that rationality is a learned behavior, rather than a natural facility, is developed vis-a-vis certain educational theories. The difficulties students face in maintaining a rational stance in an autonomous classroom are also discussed. (JL)