The paper aims to assess the impacts of a dramatic decentralisation reform in Indonesia on access to and quality of primary and secondary education. The research draws on qualitative and quantitative data from interviews, focus group discussions and household surveys in four selected districts. The main conclusions are threefold; the…

This study considered true beginners and false beginners in first-semester university French and Spanish classes to: (a) determine whether true beginners and false beginners differ in anxiety, grades, and plans to continue language study; and (b) identify classroom factors that foster anxiety or comfort. Students completed a questionnaire that…

The philosophy of Nebraska's School-based, Teacher-led Assessment and Reporting System (STARS) is based on the premise that the purpose of assessment is to drive curriculum and instruction to produce student academic achievement gain. It is a locally driven system designed from the classroom up, which recognizes that improved student achievement…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the types of questions that students ask during the learning of chemistry; discuss the role of students' questions in the process of constructing knowledge, and investigate the relationship between students' questions, approaches to learning, and learning styles. Design/methodology/approach: The…

This study compared 34 lower-achieving (developmental) first-time college students' self-reported self-regulation strategies from a Likert scale to those they reported in structured interviews. Likert scales have offered convenient administration and evaluation and have been used to identify what and how learners study. The reported study activity…

The developmental challenges of gay and lesbian youth are well understood by professionals in the field. Increasingly, professionals are extending this understanding to the plight of gay and lesbian youth living in out-of-home care. Such youth face additional challenges and a lack of support that greatly complicates the development of a positive…

The research reported in this paper examined a set of innovative high school programs on community college campuses. Specifically, a full-time dual enrollment program and 4 middle college high schools were studied. The authors used in-depth interviews and observational data to investigate the structure, processes, and perceptions of effectiveness…

While family-based placement prevention services, family reunification programs, subsidized guardianship, and aggressive adoption programs are reducing the numbers of children spending long periods of time in substitute care, a significant number of America's children will come of age in foster care. Agencies and policymakers should use research…

This paper examines the impact of attrition among the women of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and children in the NLSY79 Mother-Child Supplement (NLSY79-C). Attrition among the children is nonrandom with respect to mother's marital status, grandfather's completed schooling, and family income. These differences that are…

Student affairs administrators representing four types of institutions were interviewed to determine the role that religio-spirituality plays in their professional lives. Results reveal that most desire more freedom to express this aspect of their identity in that it has a salient impact in how they work with students. However, several reasons are…

The importance of connections with peers to student development and retention has been highlighted in Astin's (1984) "Theory of Student Involvement" and Tinto's (1993) "Theory of Student Departure," which are two of the most widely referenced and validated models in student affairs literature. However, recent research has questioned the…

This study investigated college student perceptions of leadership and beliefs that both empower students towards and constrain students from involvement in leadership. Interviews were conducted with student leaders (students who held leadership positions) and disengaged students (students who had not held leadership positions). The student…

This study examined mothers' teaching about home-safety issues to 24-30 month and 36-42 month old children, explored the relationship of teaching strategies to parenting styles, and assessed how these factors are related to children's risk of unintentional injury. A structured interview assessed home-safety issues relevant to falls, burns, cuts,…

In this article, a theoretical model of the role of parental intrusiveness in the development of childhood separation anxiety disorder is presented and tested. Parents who act intrusively tend to take over tasks that children are (or could be) performing independently, thereby limiting mastery experiences and inducing dependence on caregivers.…

The empirical study reported here investigated predictors of oral proficiency gain to the Advanced level resulting from immersion study abroad. The data consisted of 22 preimmersion Oral Proficiency Interviews (OPIs) of American students who participated in semester immersion programs in Moscow and St. Petersburg, and received a score of…