This is the first major study of the professional lives and workplace experiences of Latina teachers who work in urban, multiracial schools. While there is a plethora of research on Latina immigrant women working in factories, the informal economy and low skill-jobs in the U.S., the work experiences of college-educated Latina professionals, with a…

This review examines 105 empirical studies that investigate students' views of the nature of science (VNOS), effects of curricular interventions on changing students' VNOS, and relations between VNOS and demographics, majors, and learning of science. The reviewed studies can be categorized into three theoretical frameworks: the unidimension, the…

This article presents student and faculty ratings of electronic editing (EE) functions (i.e., track changes, insert comments, highlighting) as used for "e-feedback" on written assignments. Students reported increased convenience, clarity of expectations, amount of feedback, and writing ability as well as substantial improvement in EE skills…

One can distinguish statistical models used in causal modeling from the causal interpretations that align them with substantive hypotheses. Causal modeling typically assumes an efficient causal interpretation of the statistical model. Causal modeling can also make use of mereological causal interpretations in which the state of the parts…

A theoretical variable such as integrity, conscientiousness, or academic honesty may correspond to either a construct or a concept, but the standard idiom does not distinguish the two. One can describe the difference between constructs and concepts in terms of set theory. Constructs extend over actual cases, whereas concepts extend over both…

The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE) refers to the theoretical prediction that equally able students will have lower academic self-concepts in higher-achieving or selective schools or programs than in lower-achieving or less selective schools or programs, largely due to social comparison based on local norms. While negative consequences of…

Standard-setting methods are widely used to determine cut scores on a test that examinees must meet for a certain performance standard. Because standard setting is a measurement procedure, it is important to evaluate variability of cut scores resulting from the standard-setting process. Generalizability theory is used in this study to estimate…

The field of evaluation faces a number of serious challenges in light of No Child Left Behind legislation, among them feasibility, resources, and blurring lines among research, evaluation, and assessment. At the same time, these challenges open the door for opportunities in evaluation. Now more than ever, the expertise of evaluators is needed and…

For most of the last 50 years, teachers and administrators have perceived professional development and the instructional role primarily in terms of what one individual does with classes of others. Teachers, like their students, were considered to be rather passive acceptors of the instruction, rather than active modifiers. Thus, there was very…

What are the common pitfalls experienced by school researchers and how can they be avoided? Edited by Lisa M. Dinella of Monmouth University, "Conducting Science-Based Psychology Research in Schools" includes the collective knowledge of both established and emerging names in the field, providing an unparalleled resource for those interested in…

As the United States has become progressively more diverse in rural areas, America's higher education system has wrestled to comprehend and resolve issues related to diversity in higher education. Community colleges enrolled nearly 50% of culturally diverse college students (Cohen & Brawer, 2002) because they often afford the only points of…

Students in research methods courses, especially those taught in an intense format, might be hard pressed to actually conduct research studies due to logistics and time constraints. I describe the use of single-case research design and a personalized behavior project as an alternative research project for students in an undergraduate psychology…

This article examines theoretical and empirical issues related to the statistical power of impact estimates under clustered regression discontinuity (RD) designs. The theory is grounded in the causal inference and hierarchical linear modeling literature, and the empirical work focuses on common designs used in education research to test…

Teachers and parents who read about the brain on the Internet should do so critically to determine fact from opinion. Are the assertions real about certain methods/strategies that claim to be based on brain research? Will they make a difference in their teaching and in achievement levels? Turning theory into fact take time and replication of solid…

This paper reports the findings of a Stage I meta-analysis exploring the achievement effects of computer-based technology use in higher education classrooms (non-distance education). An extensive literature search revealed more than 6,000 potentially relevant primary empirical studies. Analysis of a representative sample of 231 studies (k = 310)…