This paper examines the challenges and strategies of twenty-three Japanese universities working towards the improvement of employability skills. These universities have been selected for the national project "Improving Higher Education for Meeting Industrial Needs" funded by Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and…

An in-depth knowledge of pedagogical approaches can help improve the formulation of effective and efficient pedagogy, tools and technology to support and enhance the teaching and learning of Mathematics in higher institutions. This study investigated students' perceptions of the challenges of blended e-learning tools in the teaching and learning…

Clinical education in dental practice is a challenge for professionals and students. The traditional method of clinical training in Periodontology usually is based on following the procedure and practicing under supervision, until achieving proficiency. However, laboratory practice is required before direct care in patients. Specific anatomic…

The current study explored the effects of two teaching styles, authoritative and authoritarian, on students' mathematics motivation. The two motivational constructs examined were intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Data were collected from 425 Omani 8th grade students (males = 202/females = 223, mean age = 13.44, SD = 0.79). Through two…

The purpose of this study is to determine the predicting power of mathematics achievement from ICT variables including the Internet/entertainment use (IEU), program/software use (PRGUSE), confidence in internet tasks (INTCONF) and confidence in ICT high level tasks (HIGHCONF) based on PISA 2006 data. This study indicates that the ICT variables…

This account of practice outlines how action learning was used as the key component of a leadership development initiative for managers in an acute hospital setting. It explains how the initiative was conceived, why action learning was chosen and how action learning principles were incorporated. Insights into the outcomes and considerations for…

Background: Chronic disease accounts for the majority of healthcare costs. The Chronic Disease Self-Management Programme (CDSMP) has been shown to be effective in reducing the burden of chronic disease. Objectives: The objective of this study was to measure the cost of delivering the Chronic Disease Self-Management Programme (CDSMP) in order to…

Direct behavior rating (DBR) offers users a flexible, feasible method for the collection of behavioral data. Previous research has supported the validity of using DBR to rate three target behaviors: academic engagement, disruptive behavior, and compliance. However, the effect of the base rate of behavior on rater accuracy has not been established.…

In many countries the outputs from university student satisfaction surveys are used for a variety of educational management purposes. Within the United Kingdom, the main instrument employed by state authorities to measure student satisfaction is the National Student Survey (NSS). The issue investigated by the current research related to whether…

Background: Imagining one's future self is a hallmark of adolescence. But imagining is not enough; adolescents must feel that this future is plausibly likely and take action, which may require pragmatic support from parents. Prior research has examined the effect of parental aspirations and expectations on children's possible self, not the effect…

There is increasing interest, if not demand, from universities and students for faculty to teach using online technologies. However, many faculty members are reluctant to teach online. In this paper, we examine data collected from a broad range of faculty (part-time, tenure track, new and more experienced, in education, business, and liberal arts)…

This study explored whether the relationships between specific features of child care quality and externalizing and internalizing behaviors in 24-month-old children are moderated by gender and temperament. Questionnaires were used to record children's gender and measure their temperament. Child care quality was observed with the "Échelles…

The development of geographical reasoning is essential in geographical education. Strategies developed by the English "Thinking Through Geography" group (TTG) offer a promising approach to promote geographical reasoning. In the last decade, the TTG approach has become a regular element in geographical education in several countries.…

This article examines Finnish mathematics student teachers' epistemological beliefs concerning the nature of mathematics and the goals of mathematics teaching and learning solely in the beginning of their studies at university. A total of 18 students participated in a study consisting of a short questionnaire and interviews. The data was analyzed…

Background: Cigarette and alcohol use are common among youth. We examined sources of cigarettes and alcohol among youth who were current cigarette and alcohol users. Methods: We analyzed nationally representative data from the 2009 and 2011 national Youth Risk Behavior Surveys--biennial, school-based surveys of high school students in the United…