Objective: This paper reports on the use of child participatory approaches to evaluate the implementation and impact of the "Zippy's Friends" emotional wellbeing programme on children in disadvantaged primary schools in Ireland. Design: As part of the overall evaluation study, which comprised a clustered randomised controlled trial,…

Purpose: Given that there exists in the literature relatively little research into the effectiveness of writing centers at universities, the purpose of this paper is to show the impact of university writing centers on first-year business seminar student writing. Design/methodology/approach: This quantitative study involved 315 first-year…

Writing is a very important skill that should be mastered properly by university students, especially pre-service language teachers (e.g. EFL student teachers). In order to present their ideas efficiently in the context of their academic study, they have to be trained well on how to write meaningful pieces (e.g. essays, academic reports,…

This article features YOUmedia, an innovative learning space that's housed on the ground floor of the Chicago Public Library's Harold Washington Library Center. A student states that YOUmedia is a great example of what learning can look like in an out-of-school environment. The Windy City's one-of-a-kind program, which attracts young men and women…

This article investigates self-reported music learning experiences of 21 older amateur pianists and electronic keyboard players. Significant changes in their lives and the encouragement of friends were catalysts for returning to or taking up a keyboard instrument as an adult, although not all returners had positive memories of learning a keyboard…

In this article, the author takes a multidimensional and personal look at creative writing work in an assisted living facility. The people she works with at the facility have memory loss. She shares her experience working with these people and describes a storytelling workshop that was modeled after Timeslips, a program started by Anne Basting at…

Scenario planning is a tool which can help organisations and people to think about, and plan for, the long-term future. In basic terms, it involves creating a number of in-depth scenarios (stories), each of which tells of a different possible future for an organisation or issue, and considering how each different future might influence…

This article presents a reflection on an aspect of research methodology, particularly on the interpretation strategy of data from a Science and Indigenous Knowledge Systems Project (SIKSP) in a South African university. The data interpretation problem arose while we were analysing the effects of a series of SIKSP-based workshops on the views of a…

One of the challenges that many gender studies instructors face is making complex topics--such as gender identities, political theory, and media criticism--current, interesting, and relevant to students' lives. In order to help students connect feminist theory to their own experiences, the author suggest incorporating "zines" into gender…

The action research methodology for this study reports descriptive statistical findings from the performance of 19 Early Childhood Education African American teacher candidates matriculating through a state-approved program at an HBCU. Researcher-moderators provided a treatment plan of focused summer workshops, conceptualized based upon the…

This article describes a process for integrating health behavior and social science theories with practice-based insights using participatory systems thinking and diagramming methods largely inspired by system dynamics methods. This integration can help close the gap between research and practice in health education and health behavior by offering…

In this longitudinal, single institution study, we utilized Banks' five dimensions of multicultural education framework to examine whether and to what extent involvement in various diversity experiences helped students become more civically minded. The findings suggested that greater involvement in service learning, multicultural courses,…

Grandparents raising grandchildren represent a population of adults who confront complex interpersonal and environmental challenges. The intent of this case study was to gather and interpret evaluative data to better understand the impact of a 1-day community education program for grandparents who raise their grandchildren. Extension's philosophy…

This article examines an in-service training for early childhood teachers in the context of a financial, administrative, and political crisis. Despite the crisis context of this case study, the professional development was considered successful by the participants and the facilitators. The key to overcoming the negativity and limitations of the…

Writing proficiencies in the K-12 setting and at the post-secondary level have become stagnant and have decreased in some instances. Several studies indicated using peer review was beneficial for students by increasing student engagement and providing appropriate feedback. The purpose of this study was to examine the use of a peer review workshop…