This doctoral research work explores the quality of educational experiences and access to opportunities for girls with disabilities in selected rural primary schools in Malawi. The context for this study lies within four of the six goals contained within the World Declaration on Education for All doctrine, a document which lays out a framework for…

This paper describes a study of success factors in high enrollment courses in a K-12 virtual school learning environment. The influence of variables: time student spent in the learning management system (LMS), number of times logged into the LMS, teacher comment, participation in free or reduced lunch programs, student status in the virtual school…

Background: Vocational education in Australia and elsewhere has a history of being gendered and classed, thereby limiting the post-school options of students undertaking this form of study. Drawing on Foucauldian theory, the authors used Gore's eight techniques of power to examine the micro-functioning of power relations at two case sites.…

The authors used the data from the "Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study" survey (BPS:04/06) to (a) examine the characteristics of the national sample of college students with disabilities and (b) identify the factors that influenced their first-to-second-year persistence in U.S. postsecondary institutions. Students with…

Colleges and employers are growing increasingly concerned that high school students lack the knowledge and skills needed for success after graduation. To find out whether the expectations of the Central Region states match the expectations of colleges and the workplace, state standards for what students should know and be able to do in English…

Background: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neuropsychiatric disorder in childhood with established problems in cognitive control and associated fronto-striatal circuitry. More recently, fronto-cerebellar circuits have been implicated in this disorder. Both of these circuits are important in predicting the occurrence…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB), with its emphasis on standards-based accountability, has put educators under considerable pressure to improve student academic outcomes. Much of the funding for after-school programs comes from education budgets and is administered by state and local education agencies. Consequently, after-school programs are often…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a full semester of wellness instruction on student perceptions, choices and self-reported behavioral outcomes as measured by eight factors associated with student success. A mixed-method study design was employed. The pre-test/post-test design was used for the quantitative portion of the…

The current research represents an initial step into the analysis of the effect of self-esteem, others' (peers and teachers) expectations and family support on academic achievement through learning approaches (deep processing, surface processing and effort). Data were gathered from 553 university students from different faculties of a Spanish…

This article addresses the issue of falling response rates in telephone surveys. To better understand and maintain respondent goodwill, concepts of psychological contract and respondent expectations are introduced and explored. Results of the qualitative study show that respondent expectations are not only socially contingent but also…

This exploratory study represents an analysis of 15 exit portfolios of students enrolled in a program to prepare teachers for urban schools. Portfolios were analyzed holistically across entries to determine the degree to which students integrated multiple concepts related to teaching in urban schools, including: asset/deficit perspectives,…

Proponents of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) hail it as vital legislation that supports a civil rights agenda because of explicit recognition that achievement gaps are unacceptable. One way to make sense of NCLB's impact on school divisions and to understand whether NCLB recognizes the complexity of why minority and low-socioeconomic-background…

This article describes the rationale for and use of a class innovation the authors call "professor delight." This inexpensive, high-yield concept allows students and professors to enact their understanding of citizenship throughout the term, and often beyond. The authors explain the concept, describe its implementation in class, and link it to the…

This paper explores the influence of parenting beliefs and practices on children's talent development through a specific perspective of several Chinese American families with gifted children. In-depth interviews were employed to collect data from the parents, and research questions focused on the daily practice of parenting and parents' beliefs…

The purpose of the present study was to examine the perspectives of Turkish mothers of their children with developmental disabilities. A descriptive study was conducted via collecting data using semi-structured interviews. 39 mothers of children with developmental disabilities who were enrolled in a university unit. The data analysis has shown…