This paper develops two sets of concepts to theorize why students engage differently in Geographical Information Systems (GIS). These theoretical concepts are used as an analytical lens to explore empirical data on the experiences and engagement of students enrolled in an undergraduate GIS course in planning and management. The analysis shows that…

Policymakers know that improving teaching in our schools requires a systemic look at many policies related to educator effectiveness. For example, teacher preparation programs need to be dramatically improved and strengthened, but without accompanying reform in compensation, even highly effective and innovative schools of education are unlikely to…

Despite the large number of international students from China in U.S. higher education, little research exists on these students' perceptions of the racial climate in residence halls. This research study illuminates the experiences affecting the sense of belonging of first-year Chinese international students and provides insights on how these…

University ranking has become ritualistic in higher education. Ranking results are taken as bona fide by rank users. Ranking systems usually use large data sets from highly heterogeneous universities of varied backgrounds. This poses the problem of Simpson's Paradox and the lurking variables causing it. Using QS 2011-2012 Ranking data, the dual…

This study was designed and conducted in an educational climate in which school and teacher accountability for student learning is increasingly connected to students' performances on standardized tests. The participants in this study, 5 middle school English language arts teachers, each rejected their district-sponsored data-driven instruction…

Children and adolescents are exposed to multiple contextual influences along their development towards adulthood. Before they transition to adulthood, adolescents acquire skills and knowledge usually in schools, which are one of the most influential contexts during adolescence. During school years performing well academically can generate better…

Attention to the attitudes of preservice and inservice primary teachers toward science is of fundamental importance to research on primary science education. However, progress in this field of research has been slow due to the poor definition and conceptualization of the construct of primary teachers' attitude toward science. This poor theoretical…

Automatic imitation--the unintended copying of observed actions--is thought to be a behavioral product of the mirror neuron system (MNS). Evidence that the MNS develops through associative learning comes from previous research showing that automatic imitation is attenuated by countermirror training, in which the observation of one action is paired…

This paper examines the different contexts for leadership in children's services with a particular focus on integrated working. It reviews contemporary theories that appear to offer relevant frameworks for thinking about children's service leadership. It is argued that children's services require leadership at all levels to enable a dynamic,…

As state legislatures go to work this year, one of the overriding questions is whether 2012 will bring a reprise of last year's frenzied work on education--much of it shepherded by newly elected Republican majorities and governors--or whether elected officials will take a more deliberate and cautious approach. Last year, many governors and…

The University of British Columbia (UBC) recently celebrated the opening of its Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS), a living laboratory for researchers to teach, test, and study the long-term impact of sustainable practices and technologies. Featuring advanced building controls, sensing technology, and management software…

Using a questionnaire, the present study examined parents' beliefs regarding the development of children's beliefs about science, religion, and the paranormal. The study also investigated parental encouragement of children's beliefs, as well as parents' own beliefs within these domains. Results revealed that parents make distinctions between…

Three early career primary school teachers shared their perceptions of changes in their teaching of mathematics 8-18 months after their participation in an action research project. Comparing data collected throughout the lifetime of the project with analyses of participants' reflections written in response to three open-ended questions posed…

This article examines the effect of institutional quality on the educational attainment of community college students, a large group that has been mostly overlooked in previous work. The effect of institutional quality is generally difficult to separate from that of student ability because more capable students usually sort into better colleges. A…

The purpose of this study was to explain the process and implementation of an outcomes-based general education program at a public, doctoral/research-extensive institution from the perspective of faculty. The theory that emerged explains how different causal, intervening, and contextual conditions interact with and affect the phenomenon of general…