This paper describes the creation of a comprehensive First-Year Experience program for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and ally (LGBTQA) students. Background information on First-Year Experience programs, LGBTQA populations, and the benefits of providing this program are described. The authors discuss how to plan and implement this…

Changes in students' depressive symptoms during the course of treatment at college counseling centers were examined by sexual orientation. In Study 1, results showed that depressive symptoms decreased similarly across sexual orientation groups during the course of treatment. In Study 2, family support did not moderate the relationship between…

Learning goals are central to assurance of learning. Yet little is known about what goals are used by business programs or how they are established. On the one hand, business schools are encouraged to develop their own unique learning goals. However, business schools also face pressures that would encourage conformity by adopting goals used by…

Soft skills have become a subject of increasing interest in lifelong learning. Soft skills development is intended to enable and enhance personal development, participation in learning and success in employment. The assessment of soft skill is therefore widely practised, but there is little in the way of research or evidence on how well this…

This article describes the power of the word "CAN". The author, Laurene E. Simms reports that as a poor, black, deaf youngster her teacher's facial expressions conveyed their feelings that she was of low IQ and mentally retarded, however two persons had a positive impact on her, her father and 7th grade math teacher. They challenged…

Organizational effectiveness is the main concern of all higher education institutes. Over the years there have been many different models of effectiveness along with the criteria for measuring organizational effectiveness. In this paper, four main models of organizational effectiveness namely the goal approach, the system resource approach, the…

The demands and challenges of starting a new job as a school superintendent can be overwhelming. According to Short and Scribner (2002), "the role of the school superintendent has evolved into one of the most complex leadership positions seen today" (p.1). The choice of a leader is perhaps the most important selection a school district…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the mediation role of self regulated learning strategies in relationship between goal orientation and Academic Achievement. The model comprised achievement goals (mastery, performance-approach and -avoidance goals), study strategies (metacognitive, deep cognitive, surface cognitive and resource…

It has been shown that, when observing an action, infants can rely on either outcome selection information (i.e., actions that express a choice between potential outcomes) or means selection information (i.e., actions that are causally efficient toward the outcome) in their goal attribution. However, no research has investigated the relationship…

Several seconds of adaptation to a flickered stimulus causes a subsequent brief static stimulus to appear longer in duration. Nonsensory factors, such as increased arousal and attention, have been thought to mediate this flicker-based temporal-dilation aftereffect. In this study, we provide evidence that adaptation of low-level cortical visual…

This commentary article is to be published alongside: Hernik, M., & Southgate, V. (2012). The author puts forward two points concerning the paper by Hernik and Southgate (this issue). She will discuss first how and why the converging findings of recent studies, including the one by Hernik and Southgate, extend knowledge about the nature of…

Games are becoming increasingly prevalent in education, both in traditional school settings and beyond. In this Disputatio webtext, we look specifically at one application of games for pedagogical use: gamification. Rather than introducing a pre-existing game into the learning spaces, gamification adds elements of games into educational (or other)…

Homophily promotes the development of social relationships within social groups and increases segregation across groups. Although prior research has demonstrated that network segregation operates in many dimensions such as race and gender, sexual orientation has received little attention. This study investigates what accounts for the segregation…

This paper analyzes the lasting impacts of a project aimed at teaching children how to read and write at age 6. Using a Difference-in-Differences methodology, the results show that it is not enough to get children literate at age 6 to secure lasting effects; the instruction process is also an important factor: Only pupils exposed to the Phonics…

The purpose of this case study was to explore a previously theorized construct, Collective Classroom Efficacy, through student voices. We interviewed nine former sixth-graders a decade after their classroom experience as they articulated at a reunion the importance of their former cohesive classroom community. To provide data triangulation we…