This article addresses the under-theorization of visual techniques for social science research applications through the cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT). The "problem" of "the visual" in research is given an ontological framing by highlighting the ways in which the use of visual techniques as research tools--designed…

This article presents findings from an investigation of the overall effectiveness of Michigan's Freedom to Learn (FTL) One-to-One initiative. The major goal of the FTL initiative was to help students to gain 21st century knowledge and skills while increasing their learning and achievement through the integration of over 20,000 laptop computers…

How many students repeat a grade each year? How do retention rates vary across states and over time? Despite extensive research on the predictors and consequences of grade retention, there is no systematic way to quantify state-level retention rates; even national estimates rely on imperfect proxy measures. We present a conceptually simple…

The learner's acceptance of e-learning systems has received extensive attention in prior studies, but how their experience of using e-learning systems impacts on their behavioural intention to reuse those systems has attracted limited research. As the applications of e-learning are still gaining momentum in developing countries, such as China,…

Data on the impact of student, teacher, and principal racial and gender composition in urban schools on teacher work outcomes are limited. This study, a secondary data analysis of White and Black urban public school teachers using data taken from the restricted use 2003-04 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), examines the effects of relational…

As the wealth of information available on the Web increases, Web-based information seeking becomes a more and more important skill for supporting both formal education and lifelong learning. However, Web-based information access poses hurdles that must be overcome by certain student populations, such as low English competency users, low literacy…

In the current economic climate, business schools face crucial decisions. As resources become scarcer, schools must either streamline operations or limit them. An efficiency analysis of U.S. business schools is presented that computes, for each business school, an overall efficiency score and provides separate factor efficiency scores, indicating…

The use of information resources for teaching and learning in an academic environment is undergoing a dramatic transformation. The development of digital technologies and the growth of the Internet have changed the format as well as the dissemination methods of scholarly resources. Digital libraries have been created as part of the transition from…

This dissertation addresses the research question: To what extent do secondary school science students attending the U.S. Particle Physics Masterclass change their view of the nature of science (NOS)? The U.S. Particle Physics Masterclass is a physics outreach program run by QuarkNet, a national organization of secondary school physics teachers…

The purpose of this project was to explore the decision-making approach and types of data that school psychologists use in determining special education classification. There were three research objectives: (a) to investigate the types of conditions and measures needed to test the use of the representativeness heuristic and assessment data, (b) to…

This report details an ongoing investigation of the decision-making processes of a group of secondary school students in south-eastern Australia undertaking information search tasks. The study is situated in the field of information seeking and use, and, more broadly, in decision making. Research questions focus on students' decisions about the…

This study describes how two 10th grade teachers designed a cross-disciplinary unit, using PBL instruction as a tool for helping students create a valid and convincing argument in their math class. The five week PBL unit focused around American Studies/English and geometry content. In order to measure the rigor and relevance of the unit, multiple…

In order to assess elements of a healthy campus initiative at a rural regional university, program planners identified methods of ongoing evaluation that closely aligned with the initiative's goals and the population being served. As a result, a student health survey was administered to a voluntary sample of students (N = 484) during the fall 2009…

In 2009, the "East Valley Tribune and the Arizona Republic" alleged that Arizona's individual income tax-credit scholarship program disproportionately serves privileged students from higher-income families over those from lower-income backgrounds. Yet neither paper collected the student-level, scholarship recipient family income data…

This study examined whether or not students that participated in a school sponsored instrumental music program had higher academic achievement and attendance than students that did not participate in a school sponsor instrumental music program. Units of measurement included standardized test scores and attendance, without taking into consideration…