This article highlights various literature covering a broad range of topics that are of interest to public services librarians, from collections and user services to one's own research and professional development. Although addressing many topics, these authors have all used or advocate for solid research methods and data analysis in their works,…

Researchers conducted a study that examined the classroom reading practices of beginning special education teachers and each teacher's ability to promote student engagement. The researchers observed 14 beginning special education teachers over a 6-month period and identified the teachers as most engaging, highly engaging, moderately engaging, or…

To explore whether different balances of fiction/non-fiction reading and challenge might help explain differences in reading achievement between genders, data on 45,670 pupils who independently read over 3 million books were analysed. Moderate (rather than high or low) levels of challenge were positively associated with achievement gain, but…

Objective: The authors investigated the personality characteristics, psychopathology, parenting style, and family function among Taiwanese college students with high, moderate, and low suicidal risks. Participants: The sample included 2,919 first-year college students (1,414 men, 1,505 women) from a university in Taipei, Taiwan. Methods: A…

This article reports on the findings of a research study that was conducted to explore the types of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in use in higher education in South Africa. Specifically, the goal of the study was to explore how e-learning is being used for teaching and learning purposes. Data were collected from interviews with…

This paper tests a central implication of the theory of equalizing differences, that workers sort into jobs with different attributes based on their preferences. We present evidence from four new time-use data sets for the United States and France suggesting that workers who are more gregarious, as revealed by their behavior when they are not…

The purpose of this study was to describe the development and validation of an instrument to identify various dimensions of the computer technology literacy self-assessment scale (CTLS) for elementary school students. The instrument included five CTLS dimensions (subscales): the technology operation skills, the computer usages concepts, the…

There is a growing consensus that traditional instruction in basic science courses, in institutions of higher learning, do not lead to the desired results. Most of the students who complete these courses do not gain deep knowledge about the basic concepts and develop a negative approach to the sciences. In order to deal with this problem, a…

This paper explores the relationship between teacher testing and teacher effectiveness using a unique dataset that links teachers to their individual students. My findings show a positive relationship between some teacher licensure tests and student achievement. But they also suggest that states face significant tradeoffs when they require…

This report describes the initial employment and educational paths pursued by physics and astronomy degree recipients at the bachelor's, master's, and PhD levels for the classes of 2002-03 and 2003-04. The report includes starting salaries, primary work activities, ratings of professional challenge and other aspects of initial employment. The…

On the basis of a survey as a research method (involving from designing surveys to reporting on surveys), the author examined students' perceptions of computers and information technology. In fall 2005, a survey questionnaire was administered to students enrolled in education courses at a university in the western Pacific. Attention was given to…

This paper explores the ways in which school leaders are turning to student services staff as local experts in data analysis and use to meet the demands of high-stakes accountability. The authors have been collecting data, as part of a 5-year National Science Foundation-funded study, on how school leaders create data-driven systems to improve…

This issue brief outlines the immediate need for more accurate dropout and graduation data, while providing a snapshot of work currently underway. By drawing on two prominent methods for calculating graduation rates: the National Governors Association's endorsed longitudinal approach and the Averaged Freshman Graduation Rate (AFGR), this brief…

Little research exists on how self-disclosure is taught in social work education (Pianko, 2001). Few social work education programs include precontemplative components of exploring identity for gay male students. In this study, the data from 4 focus groups of gay male therapists, who discussed their self-disclosure, decision-making processes, were…

Beyond Crossroads is a call to action. Within this call, AMATYC has updated its 1995 Crossroads standards, developed a new set of guiding principles, and created a blueprint for implementing these revised principles and standards. The principles guiding Beyond Crossroads are a significant overhaul of their predecessors and are bold statements that…