The relationship between higher education and vocational education and training in Australia is under discussion as a result of the Bradley Review of Higher Education. This reform process, which is intended to create a more inclusive, mass tertiary education sector, has significant implications for VET. This article examines the implications of…

The research base on the relationships among superintendents, school board members and student achievement results is strikingly small. Most research on student achievement has focused at the student-, teacher- and school-levels. This study focused at the district level, and specifically at the effects of school boards and superintendents. The…

This analysis identifies six problems with the the popular terms "rigorous academic curriculum" and "academic rigor": they bear multiple meanings, they contain negative connotations, they are survivals from the discredited learning theory called mental discipline, they have more to do with status than substance, they refer to an over-narrow…

The paper explores conceptualisations of workplace learning, knowledge and practice. It sets the discussion in its socio-economic context, one in which knowledge is seen as the route not only to societal competitiveness but also to wellbeing. Such arguments emphasise the turbulent environment in which work is set as well as the fluidity and…

Using 42 in-depth interviews with rural, Southern whites in Mississippi, I examine the intra-racial boundary work respondents use to construct their regional and racial identities in relation to other whites in their communities, particularly "rednecks". I find that "rednecks" are defined and categorized in multiple ways based…

A growing literature examines the correlates and sequelae of spiritual struggles. Particular attention has been focused on three specific types of such struggles: (a) divine, or troubled relationships with God; (b) interpersonal, or negative social encounters in religious settings; and (c) intrapsychic, or chronic religious doubting. To date,…

The Stages-of-Progress methodology helps identify context-specific reasons associated with households' movements into or out of poverty. Developed in 2002, it was used over the next seven years for examining the experiences of 35,567 households in 398 diverse communities of India, Kenya, Uganda, Peru, and North Carolina. This essay looks at the…

Background: This study examined the association between fitness change and subsequent academic performance in Taiwanese schoolchildren from 7th grade to 9th grade. Methods: The 7th graders from 1 junior high school district participated in this study (N=669). Academic performance was extracted from school records at the end of each grade.…

This study examined how "homophily" (similarity) and "propinquity" (availability) simultaneously predict both unidirectional and reciprocal cross-ethnic friendships among early adolescents in ethnically diverse classrooms. In a sample of sixth-grade students, liking nominations were used as the indicator of friendship, and both…

In an effort to better understand aggregate patterns in the way elementary school students are assigned to classes, we conduct a careful analysis of observed classroom assignment outcomes in the 5th grade in North Carolina elementary schools. First, we model the probability that a pair of students are classmates as a function of the…

Introduction: This study presents the perceptions of employed individuals with visual impairments living in one of the world's most populous developing nations, Nigeria. Methods: The researchers developed a questionnaire that assessed personal and professional experiences among a sample of 172 adults with visual impairments living and working in…

This study, employing hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), sought to investigate the student-level and school-level factors associated with the science achievement of immigrant and non-immigrant students among a national sample of 22,646 students from 896 schools in Canada. While student background characteristics such as home language, family…

Truancy is an important issue facing U.S. school systems as it is known that students who are truant are more likely to participate in criminal activity later in life (Baker, Sigmon & Nugent, 2001; Henry & Thornberry, 2010). This study examines recent data from students at 21 schools within a large midwestern school district. Survival…

Both children and adults benefit from living in communities and neighborhoods that are rich in social capital. However, the research literature is relatively silent with respect to the influence that children may play as catalysts for the formation and maintenance of community or family stocks of social capital. This article investigates whether…

In this article, we report the results of a national survey of students in COAMFTE-accredited family therapy programs who self-identify as coming from lower- or working-class backgrounds. Results of the study reveal opportunity and tension relative to family, friends, and community because of social mobility associated with graduate education.…