Gender stereotypes in musical instrument selection have been studied for over 40 years. However, little research has been conducted on the importance of reducing the impact of factors that affect the stereotyping of musical instruments within the framework of sociology. Gender stereotypes of musical instruments emerge in early childhood and have…

Teaching is an important mechanism of social learning. In industrialized societies, 3-year-olds tend to teach through demonstrations and short commands, while 5-year-olds use more verbal communication and abstract explanations. However, it remains unclear whether this generalizes to other cultures. This study presents results from a peer teaching…

Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) present enormous opportunity for potential learners, especially those in developing countries who may be lacking access to quality higher education. However, participation in MOOCs is still significantly low among those in developing countries, while those in developed countries are continually being…

Introduction: Somali American adolescent tobacco use has increased over the past decade amid a high prevalence of tobacco use among Somali American adults. While established adolescent tobacco use determinants may apply for Somali youth, a deeper understanding of these influences is imperative to the development of effective prevention strategies…

The dramatic decline of rural industries (such as coal mining, millwork, or farming) over the last several decades coupled with most jobs requiring some sort of postsecondary education in today's U. S. economy means postsecondary credential attainment has taken on increased importance for rural social mobility. College accessibility appears to be…

The purpose of this review was to synthesize the literature on attrition and retention in instrumental music and to identify strategies to encourage students' continued participation in school bands and orchestras. Retaining members from 1 year to the next is a key factor in building ensembles and helping individual musicians reach their full…

Internships are increasingly promoted as a high impact practice to improve students' post-graduation employment outcomes, and educators often encourage students to participate in multiple internships. Yet, there is a lack of research on the sociocultural contexts associated with multiple internship participation. We present findings about the…

We surveyed 196 individuals who study or work in STEM regarding the role models and inspirations that had an influence on them pursuing STEM education and careers. The data showed that role models influenced around 30% of the sample. These role models can then be divided into three overarching types, teachers, family, and well-known scientists,…

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to explore sharing behavior among college students who use e-cigarettes. Methods: A convenience sample of current e-cigarette users answered questionnaire items regarding sharing behavior (e.g., the number of people that have shared e-cigarettes, the settings that sharing takes place, reasons for…

The overarching aim of this dissertation is to expand evidence and theory of adult identity processes in the context of environmental stewardship, as well as to provide knowledge and recommendations to environmental stewardship and environmental education professionals. The intent is to better understand variation in how adult environmental…

While most teachers in U.S. classrooms are women, most superintendents, the highest-ranking position in school districts, are men. Somewhere during educators' trajectory to superintendent positions, the representation of women diminishes. One might think that women, who make up most of the teachers, should be at least equally represented to men as…

In an era where many states' postsecondary education governance dynamics are evolving, we set out to understand whether state-level governing boards with centralized governance functions affected institutions' decisions to engage in in-person instruction during the fall of 2020, the first fall of the COVID-19 pandemic. We examined sociopolitical…

Imposter phenomenon (IP) is characterized by an internal perception of one's intellectual fraudulence despite having objective and consistent accomplishments in a career. IP is prevalently observed among high-achieving, successful, and accomplished individuals, including students heading toward high-achieving careers. The current study explored…

Nearly half the world's people are bilingual, but many have no clear understanding of what--aside from being fluent in more than one language--bilingualism means. This lively introduction by linguist Penelope Gardner-Chloros covers everything a bilingual (or curious monolingual) individual might want to know. The book discusses how bilingualism…

This research explores the social-cultural factors influencing learners' preferences for Open and Distance Learning (ODL). Specific objectives were to investigate the social-cultural factors influencing learners' choice of ODL, and the role of higher education in promoting preference for ODL and to identify challenges facing ODL. Case study design…