Examined the constructs of connectedness and autonomy in relation to 5-year-olds' relational competence, including socioemotional orientation, friendship, and peer acceptance. Found that connectedness was correlated with children's socioemotional orientations, number of mutual friendships, and peer acceptance, and that the relation between…

Identifies the dual development of independence and interdependence as a template for thinking about social and emotional education for children. Suggests integrating social, emotional, and academic learning to foster the child's individuality. Discusses Montessori's belief that personal freedom and responsibility are built on a foundation of…

Discusses information technology criteria for preservice teacher education in the United Kingdom. Topics include government's role; functionalist and constructivist epistemologies; a process model of curriculum; an enquiry-based model of teacher professional development; and two project examples, the Pupil Autonomy in Learning with Microcomputer…

This discussion of the developmental underpinnings of self-determination for students with disabilities considers metacognition, self-perception, social problem solving, and autonomous decision making. It urges developing school policies contributing to self-sufficiency; ameliorating curricular, instructional, and service delivery systems…

This article uses recent developments in United Kingdom services as a case study to identify challenges facing the provision of residential supports to people with intellectual disabilities. It discusses responding to existing levels of unmet needs and increasing demand, reducing inequalities in access and service quality, and obtaining and…

This article describes how self-management instruction with a curriculum-based assessment monitoring component was used with middle school students who had learning disabilities and emotional disturbances. The strategy, "SPIN," can be used with a variety of student behaviors to promote more independence and self-determination skills for students.…

This article describes an afterschool program called "Poetic High" in which the author shares insights on the transformation of oneself as a teacher into more of a guide and a mentor. It outlines the process of transforming the attitudes of students from being passive learners into being poets of learning and life. The Poetic High created by this…

A key factor in the transition to university is the enculturation of new students into both the discipline they are studying and effective study practices. Most significantly, students, whatever their chosen discipline, must learn to become autonomous learners. Too often this process is either left to chance or seen as a natural attribute of the…

An evaluation of Chesapeake Bay Foundation's environmental education programs provides context for this study exploring the role of student self-determination in service-learning. Research questions include (1) How do self-determination-related characteristics of service-learning programs affect students' attitudes toward service-learning (ASL),…

This study examined the effects of a recreation activity staged according to self-determination theory (SDT) principles on in-situ vitality and in-situ affinity toward nature of teen-age male students (age 14-17) enrolled in a residential treatment program. Procedures involved staging snowshoe tours for three groups of students. Each of these…

This investigation reviews published empirical studies that attempted to support or to validate transactional distance theory (Moore, 1993). It was found that either data only partially supported the theory or, that if they apparently did so, the studies lacked reliability, construct validity, or both. It was concluded that the basic propositions…

Premature autonomy describes a developmental dynamic where parents of high-risk adolescents reduce their involvement and guidance when confronted with challenges of problem behaviour and the influence of deviant friendships. This dynamic was tested on the sample of Oregon Youth Study boys (N=206), whose family management practices and friendships…

This paper stems from the ESRC TLRP Learning How to Learn--in Classrooms, Schools and Networks Project, and explores how Assessment for Learning (AfL) relates, conceptually, to learning how to learn (LHTL). The term LHTL was intended to draw attention to a primary focus on learning practices, and we have related the processes of AfL to LHTL. A…

Children's rights to nurturance and self-determination have been included in social policy agendas for many years. Children's and parents' attitudes concerning children's rights are likely an important determinant of whether rights on paper actually serve to protect the well-being of children, yet there is little research on factors associated…

This article traces key competences that are necessary to master as teachers are increasingly obliged to orchestrate learning as initiation into individual autonomy. The context is one that acknowledges that learning increasingly dissipates out into cyberspace. Inspired by Gilles Deleuze and Michel Foucault, the article explores preconditions for…