The concept of teaching effectiveness is challenging for researchers to define. Hypothesized as a multidimensional construct, it encompasses content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, personality characteristics of the teacher, and classroom dynamics. No single dimension, trait, or behavior, however, fully captures what it means to be an effective…

Whether Willingness to Communicate (WTC) is a permanent trait or is modified by situational context has previously been investigated in various studies (e.g. Cao & Philp, 2006; Kang, 2005; MacIntyre & Legatto, 2011). However, most research into WTC has been quantitative or conducted in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) or Study…

While there are certainly differences of opinion regarding teaching effectiveness, the goal of this study is to investigate whether there is consistency or differences in opinion based on the gender of the student doing the evaluation of the instructor or the gender of the instructor being evaluated. This paper summarizes the gender-based findings…

Intimate partner violence (IPV) often includes economic abuse as one tactic commonly used by an abuser; unfortunately, there is a lack of empirical understanding of economic abuse. Additionally, research is limited on the predictors of economic self-sufficiency in the lives of women experiencing IPV. This paper furthers our knowledge about…

The present research employed a prospective, multi-informant design to examine precursors and correlates of differing anxiety profiles from late childhood to late adolescence. The sample consisted of 626 boys and 667 girls who are participants in the Australian Temperament Project, a large, longitudinal, community-based study that has followed…

Two cross-sectional studies were conducted to examine the relationships between gratitude and athletes' well-being. Study 1 examines the relationship between dispositional gratitude and well-being, while Study 2 investigates the relationship between sport-domain gratitude and well-being. In Study 1, 169 Taiwanese senior high school athletes (M =…

This study examined the degree of similarity between scores on the Self-Directed Search and an online instrument measuring Holland types. A relatively high congruency score was found between the two measures. Implications for career counselors are discussed.

Today's teacher education programmes across the world strive to equip future teachers with the high-quality knowledge, skills and dispositions necessary to teach students. The assessment of teacher dispositions has thus become essential to cultivate those qualities. However, the current approach to disposition assessment in the United States…

This book provides potential answers to reduce deviant behavior and crime in colleges and universities. Claiming that the Virginia Tech and Northern Illinois shootings were aberrations, the authors have nevertheless uncovered offenses that presage major criminal incidents, such as students' engaging in cheating, plagiarism, binge drinking, date…

The socioemotional factors, which influence students' trajectories on their pathways to reading success, are often overlooked in literacy screenings and reading instruction. This article outlines the connections between personality factors, in particular resilient personalities, and early literacy success. It also offers teachers a series of six…

Living in today's world requires that one be up to date on the technological advances that have made knowledge more accessible; and being up to date on knowledge is crucial. However, what are the optimal methods for conveying knowledge, and is there one method that will work best for each individual? This study centers on comparing two teaching…

This chapter seeks to set out what Economists have learned about the effects of early childhood influences on later life outcomes, and about ameliorating the effects of negative influences. We begin with a brief overview of the theory which illustrates that evidence of a causal relationship between a shock in early childhood and a future outcome…

This study examined contributions of maternal personality and infant temperament to infant vocabulary and cognitive development both directly and indirectly through parental stress. Participants were recruited at birth and included 63 infant twin pairs and their mothers. Assessments were completed at 6, 9, 12, and 18 months of age and included…

Adaptability in social-ecological systems results from individual and collective action, and multi-level interactions. It can be understood in a dual sense as a system's ability to adapt to disturbance and change, and to navigate system transformation. Inherent in this conception, as found in resilience thinking, are the concepts of learning and…

The present study investigated the relationship between goal instability and participation in a career planning program (course) using the goal instability scale (GIS) and a completed course performance contract. Specifically, this study addressed the following question: What is the relationship between motivation, as measured by goal instability,…