Second language anxiety has a debilitating effect on the oral performance of speakers of English as a second language. This article describes a research project concerning the conceptualization of second language speaking anxiety, the relationship between anxiety and second language performance, and the major reported causes of second language…

In this paper we discuss how online seminar participants experience dimensions of embodiment, virtual space, interpersonal relations, and temporality; and how interacting through reading-writing, by means of online technologies, creates conditions, situations, and actions of pedagogical influence and relational affectivities. We investigate what…

Helping children with disabilities has become a part of American education with varying degrees of acceptance and tolerance over the years, and efforts to provide special education have become controversial. Much of the concern is about paying for "extra" services, but the debate is not just about money. Many professionals question the…

The spread and utilization of information technology in the human services is examined using innovation diffusion theory. This examination is contextualized within the values basis of social work. Literature from the human services, the business sector, and the social sciences regarding the role of information technology is used to promote a…

The realities of a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and multi-ability student population demand a unique and nontraditional approach characterized by an individualization sensitive to group identity. The primary goal of this alternative Early Childhood Studies/Education Program with a degree of Bachelor of Science is to provide a comprehensive…

As Estonia has moved from a centrally planned towards a market-based economy, there has been a broad-based push to create an "egalitarian but innovative, "future-oriented" system of education, which would help to develop flexible, lifelong learning citizens open to new ideas." A national research and development strategy,…

Over the past decade there has been increased pressure in the public discourse for accountability in educational outcomes. There has been a growing sense that ESL students are not being well served by the delivery of supports meant to facilitate their development of English language acquisition and enable them to participate with their classmates…

This study examined activities used during elementary school math and reading instruction. Teachers reported their use of cooperative, competitive, and individual activities in math and reading, their subjective evaluations of teaching each subject, and their level of focus on promoting students' interests. Analyses indicated that teachers used…

This article describes a series of studies that examine the development of literacy in elementary school Spanish-speaking second-language learners. Findings from the research that addresses our first question-regarding cross-language relationships-indicate that first-language reading skills are related to second-language reading skills, but that…

This paper examines reading achievement when the maternal/paternal language has become a de facto second language. The performance of a cohort of Greek-Australian high school students (N = 270) on a diagnostic Greek reading test was significantly below that of pupils in second to fourth grades in Greece. The mean item difficulty for…

With the advent of the knowledge era, teacher education needs to prepare teachers to face the changing technological contexts and to model pedagogies and tools for better forms of learning. Despite much enthusiasm about the roles of technology in education, its role in transforming teacher learning, in ways aligned with advances in the learning…

This paper examines a US foreign aid project to promote use of new technologies in Egyptian education. Though the project sought to improve teaching and learning, an examination of implementation indicates how goals of Westernization ended up taking precedence. These included a focus on bringing Egyptian educators to the US and on showcasing US…

The conditions, processes and consequences of technology implementation were explored in order to develop a holistic view of technology use in a typical elementary school (ages 6-11 years). This qualitative case study employed a symbolic interactionist conceptual framework, an interpretivist research paradigm and analytic induction strategies.…

This study was conducted in the framework of a project that sought to change the school learning and teaching environment and adapt it to current reality through the proactive use of technology in the search for knowledge. It is an exploratory, longitudinal, case study of a single school, in one city in central Israel, which examines changes in…

An online writing center developed at the University of Antwerp, Belgium, called Calliope, provides a modular platform aimed at enhancing learners' professional writing skills in five different languages: Dutch, English, French, German, and Spanish. It supports courses in business and technical communication. The current version includes modules…