The first purpose was to determine if overall gender differences in basic confidence as measured by the Expanded Skills Confidence Inventory (ESCI) and basic interests as measured by the 2005 Strong Interest Inventory (SII) would be present within eight college major families. As expected, anticipated overall gender differences in confidence and…

An empirical measurement model for interest inventory construction uses internal criteria whereas an inductive measurement model uses external criteria. The empirical and inductive measurement models are compared and contrasted and then two models are assessed through tests of the effectiveness and economy of scales for the Medical Specialty…

Schools as educational and instructional institutions are expected to be renewable ones where motivation is increased through establishing relationships between students' interests and needs, and subject matters of social studies lessons are derived from daily life and events. Finalizing any learning activity at school by realizing it as aimed and…

Despite the connection between independent learning and gifted students, little is known of the views these students hold about the process of being self-directed learners. This interview study examined views of ten gifted elementary school students in South Australia about Self-Directed Learning. The interview responses showed that these gifted…

This study examines the effects of Connected Mathematics Project 2 (CMP2) on grade 6 student mathematics achievement and engagement using a cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) design. It responds to a need to improve mathematics learning in the Mid-Atlantic Region (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC). Findings…

This paper introduces a research project in which five chemistry teachers, working in cooperation with university researchers, implemented a new teaching approach using context-based modules specially designed to stimulate the intrinsic motivation of students. The intention was to induce change in chemistry teachers' teaching approach from more…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the measurement of entrepreneurial orientation (EO) in the student population of different academic programmes, in order to enhance entrepreneurship-related procedures within universities. Design/methodology/approach: A survey-based tool for measuring EO is presented and used in one university. The…

In the last decade, e-portfolios have moved to the forefront of teacher preparation programs across the United States. With its widespread use, faculty and administrators need to understand teacher candidates' perspectives to meet their needs. In the present study, the researchers gathered in-depth information from 244 students who were required…

Three test construction strategies are described and illustrated in the development of the Verb Interest Test (VIT), an inventory that assesses vocational interests using verbs. Verbs might be a promising alternative to the descriptions of occupational activities used in most vocational interest inventories because they are context-independent,…

The first year of college can be extremely stressful, especially for students residing on campus. Objective: The authors obtained information from college freshmen about their relationships with pets and investigated interest in a pet therapy program as social support for transient stressful periods. Participants: As part of a university…

This study investigated the relationship of learning strategy preference to personality type. Learning strategy preference was identified with the "A"ssessing "T"he "L"earning Strategies of "A"dult"S" (ATLAS), and personality type was measured with the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). The…

This study was carried out with the purpose of determining the academicians' learning styles in school of physical education and sports and whether there was a relationship between their learning styles and gender, age, appellation and the department they worked or not. In the study survey method that was used. The sample of the study consisted of…

Research on group differences in interests has often focused on structural hypotheses and mean-score differences in Holland's (1997) theory, with comparatively little research on basic interest measures. Group differences in interest profiles were examined using statistical methods for matching individuals with occupations, the C-index, Q…

The adoption of setting in the primary school (pupils ability grouped across classes for particular subjects) emerged during the 1990s as a means to raise standards. Recent research based on 8875 children in the Millennium Cohort Study showed that 25.8% of children in Year 2 were set for literacy and mathematics and a further 11.2% of children…

The present study aims to determine the biological topics that students have difficulties learning, the reasons why secondary school students have difficulties in learning biology, and ways to improve the effectiveness of students' biology learning. For these purposes, a self-administered questionnaire including three open-ended questions was…