Social anxiety disorder (SAD), the 3rd most common psychiatric disorder in the United States, follows a chronic and unremitting course, often resulting in severe impairments in multiple areas of functioning. Despite a typical age of onset in early adolescence, the disorder is rarely recognized and treated in adolescent populations. Given its early…

This study investigates student conceptualizations of the nature of science (NOS) and how students interpret and evaluate conflicting evidence regarding a socioscientific issue. Eighty-four high school students participated in the study by reading contradictory reports about the status of global warming and responding to questions designed to…

Theories of epistemological beliefs focus on individuals' perceptions about what knowledge is and where knowledge comes from. These beliefs are part of, and may in fact direct, the cognitive processes involved in learning. Research stemming from these theories offers varied explanations as to how beliefs relate to student learning and academic…

Recently, there has been a rapid proliferation of lesson study groups in the United States. Since deep knowledge about lesson study is rare in the U.S., it is likely that some of these groups have an incomplete understanding of this Japanese practice. Some may focus on structural aspects of the process of lesson study or may mimic its superficial…

The aims of this exploratory qualitative study were to increase our understanding of heterosexual young adults knowledge and beliefs about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) other than HIV, to explore their beliefs about the factors that influence condom use for STI prevention, and to explore their ideas about how best to promote condom use…

This paper discusses the outcomes of an initiative to empower ten-year-olds as active researchers. It debates some of the barriers that are commonly cited with regard to children of this age taking ownership of their own research agendas--power relations, competence, knowledge and skills--and challenges the status quo. It describes a study in…

In this study, the Turkish students' understanding level of electric circuits consisting of two bulbs and one battery was investigated by using open-ended questions. Two-hundred fifty students, whose ages range from 11 to 22, were chosen from five different groups at primary, secondary and university levels in Trabzon in Turkey. In analyzing…

Self-directed learning (SDL) is viewed as a desirable outcome of schooling, yet scant information is available to educational leaders and teachers on how to implement an inquiry-based curriculum or to support effectively students' development as self-directed learners. To understand better the relationship between the inquiry nature of primary…

The connection between lifelong learning and knowledge economy is the central focus of this article. The two themes play a major role in the political debate both at the European and the local level. The focus is a curriculum theoretical point of view. This means that the justification of assumptions, values, and arguments will be tested, mainly…

The aim of this research was to explore why workers in health and social services embarked on a Certificate in Community Care Practice and the extent to which they felt knowledge learnt related to their every-day work practice. The objective was to indicate how useful more academic courses are for health and social care staff, and to find out the…

The current study extends research by Stone [Cross-disciplinary perspectives on autism? "Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 12", (1988) 615; A comparison of teacher and parent views of autism. "Journal of Autism and Development Disorders, 18", (1988) 403] exploring the knowledge and beliefs about autism across multiple health care professions. One…

The near invisibility of women's contributions to psychology is a serious problem in the teaching of psychology. We tested the effectiveness of a teaching exercise aimed at increasing students' awareness of women's contributions to psychology. The exercise involved making, displaying, and examining posters about women in psychology. Students (a)…

The assessment of learners' metacognitive knowledge level is crucial when developing computer-assisted language learning systems. Currently, many systems assess learners' metacognitive knowledge level with pre-instructional questionnaires or metacognitive interviews. However, learners with limited language proficiency may be at a disadvantage in…

Three studies, all on student populations, looked at the relationship between a recently psychometrised measure of General Knowledge [Irwing, P., Cammock, T., & Lynn, R. (2001). Some evidence for the existence of a general factor of semantic memory and its components. "Personality and Individual Differences," 30, 857-871], both long…

This paper describes the problem-solving behaviors of 12 mathematicians as they completed four mathematical tasks. The emergent problem-solving framework draws on the large body of research, as grounded by and modified in response to our close observations of these mathematicians. The resulting "Multidimensional Problem-Solving Framework" has four…