This action research study explored if changes in the reading curriculum, specifically implementation of critical literacy approaches that acknowledge bicultural students, increase student learning as perceived by teachers and students in a Catholic elementary school, where students have been chronically performing at the lowest level in the…

This study analyzed the instructional practices of more versus less effective U.S. History teachers identified by a multiple regression model. Using surveys, observations, and focus-group interviews, the study found that the most effective teachers had a more complete package of rigor, relevance, and relationship strategies than less effective…

The purpose of this investigation was to quantitatively and qualitatively identify the study methods and learning strategies that veterinary students used to study anatomy during their first year of professional school and to correlate these with their academic achievement and long-term recall of information. It was surmised that active study…

This article describes a participatory action research (PAR) project conducted in a large urban, co-educational secondary school. The project focused on two senior pupils with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who, seemingly as a result of feeling stressed or anxious, displayed behaviours that inhibited communication. Using questionnaires,…

In this article I explore the ethical terrain of experiential learning activities drawing on my experiences leading college students on field trips into criminal justice settings. Though there are numerous educational benefits to adopting experiential learning activities, the rewards must be evaluated in light of the potential harms to nonstudent…

This paper examines some intersections among school literacy events and practices, identity formation, and the institutional practice known in the US as tracking. During a year-long, critical ethnographic study to examine how a team-taught, interdisciplinary curriculum impacted the development of students' literacies, it was found that not only…

Worldwide surveys indicate that the number of women studying undergraduate-level Computer Science is constantly decreasing. Based on data collected in Israel, significant differences were found in the percentages of female high school students studying advanced-level Computer Science among different sectors. More specifically, while the percentage…

As the incomes of affluent and poor families have diverged over the past three decades, so too has the educational performance of their children. But how exactly do the forces of rising inequality affect the educational attainment and life chances of low-income children? In "Whither Opportunity?" a distinguished team of economists,…

This pocket folder of instructional materials is designed to introduce youths aged 9 to 12 to the nature and needs of wildlife and to give children the opportunity to search for wildlife and their signs. The document includes a member's guide, a leader's guide, field record forms, and wildlife project materials. The illustrated 4-H member's guide…

This paper summarizes the results of a study examining the implementation of a computer-based trainer in a U.S. Army Advanced Individual Training center. Interviews, document analysis, and participant-observation were used to identify factors that influenced potential adopters to accept or resist the new trainer. Comments from planners and…

This study investigated the extent to which data collected on play behavior differ when two different data collection methods, observation alone and observation plus interview, were used. A secondary objective was to compare data collected using both methods in an indoor and outdoor play environment. The social and cognitive play behavior for a…

How children use language affects the likelihood that a request will be granted. This study explored children's requests in a natural setting, by analyzing unedited letters to Santa from 824 children (20% age 6 and under; 41% age 7 and 8; and 39% age 9 and over) in the newspapers of a southeastern metropolitan area. Letters were examined for…

Adult sensitivity toward young children has long been considered an important component of quality caregiving. Because most studies of child caregiver sensitivity have measured behavior toward a group of children, knowledge of important differences in behavior toward individual children, as well as a way to compare mother and "other"…

Reflecting on the practice of qualitative literacy research, this book presents 14 essays that address the most pressing questions faced by qualitative researchers today: how to represent others and themselves in research narratives; how to address ethical dilemmas in research-participant relations; and how to deal with various rhetorical,…

This descriptive study examined children's drawings and related language episodes to differentiate drawings exhibiting play from those exhibiting exploratory behavior. Drawings categorized as play were further analyzed to identify constructive and imaginary play. The play theory used as the basis of the study proposes that exploration and…