Research shows most teachers teach as they were taught. However, distance educators lack a model or benchmark for online teaching because many of them have not taken online courses as students. Indeed, many studies on teaching online point to the importance of training for online instructors. Few studies go into specifics about exactly what that…

The research into personal tutoring in higher education from a tutor's perspective suggests that tutors lack training in tutoring and may lack clarity as to the purpose and boundaries of the role. This article explores personal tutors' perceptions of their confidence and competence in relation to personal tutoring and identifies strategies that…

Social studies education is designed to provide a foundation for civic society. In this study we consider immigrant optimism theory within the context of U.S. secondary social studies to examine the civic potential of immigrant youth. Using a mixed-methods approach, we complement analyses of teacher and immigrant young adult interviews with…

Objective: Increasing degree completion in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, particularly engineering, is a national priority. With an aspiration to increase the number of STEM graduates by one million in the next 10 years, more research is needed to understand the role of community colleges in achieving this…

This article discusses the second-language literacy practice of an ESL student in Australia. It firstly explores the literacy practices (reading and writing) exercised both in China (the subject's home country) and in Sydney, Australia, where the subject was taking an academic preparation course prior to her master study. Secondly, this article…

Purpose: Howard Gardners' concept of multiple intelligence (MI) offers an alternative perspective on intelligence which highlights the importance of acknowledging learner diversity, individual talents and the development of human potentials. MI has been used as a basis for the construction of modular enrichment activities to facilitate the…

Higher education institutions, including medical schools, still grapple with the challenge of poor academic performance of students. Some studies report the positive results of providing academic guidance for common challenges such as poor and/or ineffective time management, study methods, test- and exam-taking techniques and management, and the…

Substance use amongst learners in South Africa has become a significant problem, with relationships between educators and learners being seriously challenged. Educators are often in a position to notice changes in the behaviour of learners and are able to provide support and assistance. A phenomenological, explorative study was undertaken and…

Although the goal of developing school students' understanding of nature of science (NOS) has long been advocated, there is still a lack of research that focuses on probing how science teachers, a kind of major stakeholder in NOS instruction, perceive the values of teaching NOS. Through semi-structured interviews, this study investigated the views…

This paper discusses the fundamental issue of why small group activities are utilized in the language learning classroom. Although these activities have gained popularity in the field of Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL), supported by a sound theoretical base, few studies have so far examined the reasons why language teachers are…

This report describes the findings from a new study of the teacher selection process in Washington, DC public schools. In 2009, the district created a centralized application process to streamline hiring by screening out less desirable candidates. Following the collection of standard information, applicants are asked to complete up to three…

We investigated how pre-service and first-year teachers engaged with the pedagogy textbooks from their mathematics methods courses. Sixteen participants--seven pre-service teachers and nine first-year teachers--were interviewed about their interactions with mathematics methods texts and their perceptions about the texts. This paper focuses on…

The aim of this research was to analyze the opinions of teachers working in High Schools on informal learning regarding if they had any informal learning in school environment, which informal learning activities took place, and if this learning had a contribution to their professional development. The research was a qualitative study with a…

Despite the increasing biracial and multiracial population in the United States, there are few studies on the identity development of people with racially mixed backgrounds. This study examines eleven biracial Korean American university students using participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis. In particular, it…

The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the effects of war on Syrian students' academic success. No one can deny the fact that wars have direct and indirect effects on children. Besides, no one can deny the fact that not only soldiers are targets in wars, but also children, women, and even old people are, who altogether make a society.…