Computer games are very popular among children and adolescents. In this respect, they could be exploited by educational software designers to render educational software more attractive and motivating. However, it remains to be explored what the educational scope of educational software games is. In this paper, we explore several issues concerning…

Reformed preparation of science teachers is indeed vital for the vision of science teaching reform to be accomplished. Typically, a critical component of a preservice science teacher preparation program is the science teaching methods course. The usual intent of this course is to help preservice science students develop an understanding of various…

Purpose: The European Commission and social partner organisations at EU level encourage the lifelong development of qualifications and competence. This is reflected in many policy reports and reviews. This paper seeks to show the involvement of social partner organisations at the level of EU-funded competence development projects.…

Though the continuum of care model has been adopted in HIV/AIDS intervention, there is little empirical work documenting the experiences of caregiving families. Addressing this gap, a study on family caregiving and care receiving was undertaken in Mumbai, India. In-depth interviews were conducted with seven seropositive caregivers, seven…

This paper describes findings from a 2002-03 research project which sought to establish what the barriers were to the adoption or extended use of the centrally supported online learning management and content creation system by academic staff at the University of Adelaide. The research was conducted using semi-structured interviews and a survey…

This article presents the findings of a research study on the quality of the learning experiences of youth with disabilities who participated in Wisconsin's Youth Apprenticeship (YA) Program--a rigorous two-year work-based learning program for high school juniors and seniors. The researchers identify key factors that enhance the capacity of youth…

Just as technology-enhanced teaching and learning has evolved over the past 50 or so years--from overhead projectors and reading machines to PowerPoint presentations, discipline-specific simulations, and Web-based databases--so has support for instructional technology evolved at institutions. The changing rubric of librarian, media specialist,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using problem-solving strategies in middle school mathematics classes. Participants were seventh grade Pre-algebra students from a school located in Maryland. Sixty-nine students participated in the study. Using math attitudinal surveys, exit tickets, observations and interviews as…

This study juxtaposes current approaches to intercultural communication competence (ICC) with Chinese students' learning and communication experiences in a New Zealand pluricultural classroom. Fifteen first-year Chinese university students were interviewed and participated in focus groups. The findings indicated that the Chinese students' rules…

This paper is concerned with the impact that public and political discourses on the issues of language and ethnicity in Germany have on integration. It suggests that a combined effect of factors such as the traditional concept of "Germanness", peculiarities of Russian Germans' "cultural identity" and certain aspects of German…

Recent research suggests that a youth development framework emphasizing youth assets may be a promising intervention strategy for preventing adolescent risk behaviors. Understanding how neighborhood and community resources relate to youth assets may aid in identifying environmental strategies to complement individually oriented asset-building…

This study investigates the development of prospective teachers' observation skills and understanding of assessment in two teacher education programs that integrate information about performance assessment in varying degrees into their preparation and field experiences. Focusing on eight student teachers, we used interview data to investigate the…

Patterns of educational achievement and employment indicate that Native American students face considerable barriers to career development. This is particularly true for those who live on reservations. This study used a hermeneutic analysis of qualitative interview data to identify and describe these barriers from the perspective of 29 Native…

This phenomenological inquiry looked at 28 preservice teachers as they participated in a field-based curricula restructuring initiative that connected the disciplines of creative arts, science, and reading. The preservice teachers offered weekly interdisciplinary lessons to kindergarten and first grade students. A survey, teaching cases, and a…

This study reports a small-scale experiment that was set up to estimate the extent to which (i) the use of formulaic sequences (standardized phrases such as collocations and idiomatic expressions) can help learners come across as proficient L2 speakers and (ii) an instructional method that emphasizes "noticing" of L2 formulaic sequences can help…