Our main goal in this study was to explore whether the use of models in molecular genetics instruction in high school can contribute to students' understanding of concepts and processes in genetics. Three comparable groups of 11th and 12th graders participated: The control group (116 students) was taught in the traditional lecture format, while…

Background: Underachievement among boys and particular ethnic groups is a major challenge to the education system. Purpose: This paper reports on one local education authority's attempts to address this concern by investigating the characteristics of its schools demonstrating success with the groups causing most concern: black Caribbean, black…

Purpose: To fill the gap in theoretical and empirical knowledge on the patterns of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in school, the aim of this study was to explore the components of teacher OCB as well as its personal and contextual determinants. Research Design: Semistructured interviews were conducted with 50 schoolteachers, 10…

There is limited information on how communication barriers impact on the health of deaf individuals. The present article describes the development of a standardized interview tool to collect health-related information from deaf adults via face-to-face interviews in American Sign Language (ASL). Questions were selected largely from existing…

In November 2001, the Greek Society for the Protection of Autistic People (GSPAP) established the first residence for people with autism in Greece, following the guidelines of structured teaching and the TEACCH method with all 12 of the residents. Using interview questionnaires and systematic naturalistic observations, this case study explored the…

Using Nicholl's (1989) and Dweck's (1999, 2002) theories on ability as conceptual frameworks, this study explored teachers' and students' conceptions of ability in elementary physical education. Participants were 8 physical education specialists from five public schools and 160 students from their second- and fourth-grade classes. Teacher and…

In this article we report on one of four schools involved in a research project aiming to develop knowledge about the way in which teaching knowledge is conveyed with the help of information and communication technology. A particular interest was issues of fundamental values. Two classes in Grade 9 of Swedish compulsory school were studied, by…

The authors explored test-preparation and test-taking strategies that high school students used in algebra tests. From a pool of high school students (N = 156), 61 students participated in interviews, and of those interviewed, 26 represented those who were high achieving as well as highly interested in mathematics (n = 15) vs. those who were low…

This study assesses similarities and differences in anti-smoking socialization beliefs of White and Native American parents in a low-income, rural population in northeastern Oklahoma. Data are from a population-based, cross-sectional children's environmental health study in which in-home interviews were conducted with 356 parents (56.2% White,…

The Teacher Assessment Scheme (TAS) is a form of school-based assessment that has recently replaced the external practical examination in AL Biology of Hong Kong. This study aimed at understanding the problems encountered by teachers in implementing this innovation. Over 300 teachers expressed their concern about different aspects of the TAS in a…

Students have difficulty understanding ecosystem concepts. This article argues that the difficulty stems partly from not grasping the underlying causality that structures the concepts. We report on an intervention study designed to teach eight- and nine-year-olds to reason about domino, cyclic, and mutual causality by infusing causally focused…

This paper is drawn from an empirical, ethnographic study of information and communications technologies (ICT) use among thirteen, low-income twelfth-graders attending a large urban high school and focuses on participants' ICT access in the school library. It examines how library staff members' cultural and gendered perceptions shaped ICT…

Background: Recent government papers have expressed concern about the poor educational attainment of "looked after" children. Early reading development has been found to be significant in their subsequent academic achievement. The possibility that biosocial factors extraneous to their experiences in public care may underpin their low…

Background: An increasing number of lesbian women and single heterosexual women are bringing up children with no male involvement. This study follows up to adolescence a sample of children raised in fatherless families from birth or early infancy. Methods: Twenty-five lesbian mother families and 38 families headed by a single heterosexual mother…

With the global information boom, and rapid developments in electronic media and the World Wide Web (Web) within the last two decades, the Singapore government envisioned a need for Singapore to be Information Technology (IT) equipped and competent in every industry, beginning most importantly with the education sector. Taking its cue, the…