Increasingly, researchers, teacher educators and governmental agencies underline the need for early childhood professionals to be able to conduct and use relevant research in their practice. In contrast, early childhood teachers tend to draw exclusively on practical advice rather than research evidence to evaluate and develop their teaching. To…

Based on the results of Phase I of a reading skills project in 2000 ("SAJHE" 16(3) 2002), Phase II was undertaken to set up a reading intervention programme on a voluntary basis for students enrolled in a mathematics access module, to determine whether explicit attention given to reading would improve their reading skills and academic…

Concern about the effects of counseling on ethnic minority clients has been repeatedly raised. Before embarking on a formal course of multicultural counseling sensitivity for counseling center staff, baseline client outcome data were sought as a method for evaluating the effects of this intervention. Archival data from a university counseling…

The case study described in this paper investigates the relationship among some pre-instructional knowledge, the learning gain and the final physics performance of computing engineering students in the introductory physics course. The results of the entrance engineering test (EET) have been used as a measurement of reading comprehension, logic and…

Background: The present paper reviews staff stress, burnout and job satisfaction. Methods: A longitudinal, quasi experimental study was carried out among staff working with people with intellectual disabilities in two municipalities in Norway. The purpose was to measure mean differences of stress, burnout and job satisfaction after different…

Cross-cultural skills are a major criterion for success in the global business environment. For students pursuing careers in international business, this means learning to manage cultural difference on three levels: self, interpersonal, and organizational. This paper describes five related and synergistic exercises that give college students…

In this study, we investigated the effect of type of positive interdependence (roles, rewards, roles-plus-rewards, or no structure) and affiliation motives (high vs. low) in an asynchronous, collaborative learning environment. College reentry students worked together in small, fully online discussion groups that lasted for seven days. Results…

According to the aims of the current junior science curriculum for Hong Kong, students are expected to master inquiry skills for problem-solving, understand the nature of scientific knowledge, and appreciate the limitations of science. These aims are, however, difficult to achieve because available science textbooks focus mainly on the…

The purpose of this study was to measure pre-service teachers' attitudes toward information technology (IT) after completing a discrete IT course taught in a student centred-learning (SCL) environment during laboratory sessions. Evidence from this study suggests that there was a positive shift in the participants' attitudes toward IT. Pre-test…

In addition to acquiring an appropriate undergraduate degree and passing a subject area ExCET exam, preservice teachers in Texas are required to pass the Professional Development Examination for the Certification of Educators in Texas (ExCET PD) to become certified teachers. This study was designed to examine the effects of a 5-week WebCT online…

Political participation is critical for the legitimacy of democracy, yet we know surprisingly little about how political competencies develop and can be promoted in young adults. Many studies show low levels of political activity among young Americans, including college students and recent graduates. Although this is widely recognized as a…

Recognising the key role of the teacher for the application of technology in education, this study investigated the nature of the "epistemological obstacles" that hinder the acquisition of information and communication technology (ICT) skills by teachers. The research was implemented among a group of teachers who participated in a…

One of the factors affecting students' learning in science is their existing knowledge prior to instruction. The students' prior knowledge provides an indication of the alternative conceptions as well as the scientific conceptions possessed by the students. This study is concerned primarily with students' alternative conceptions and with…

The present study used a within-subjects design to examine the effect of the type of written exercise on L2 vocabulary retention. Using input for the meaning and usage of the new words from a specially prepared minidictionary, university intensive English program students (n = 154) practiced target vocabulary in three types of written exercises…

Seven-year-olds who had difficulty understanding 1st-grade work received one of two forms of small-group instruction. Half of the children were randomly assigned to receive four months of instruction in recognizing, comprehending, and reproducing both logical and arbitrary patterns (sequences) involving numbers, letters, shapes, colors,…