Faculty of Engineering Technology of the Open University of Sri Lanka has been offering engineering programmes at a distance for the last two decades or so. However, completion rates in Faculty of Engineering Technology are lower compared to the other faculties of the University. This paper investigates the reasons for low completion rates in the…

This applied dissertation study was designed to learn if the increased use of instructional technology integration strategies in nursing orientation programs resulted in an increased retention of new nurses. The study attempted to uncover the current retention rate and use of technology at the participating hospitals. The data obtained from Magnet…

The first year of teaching is a "make or break" time. Approximately 30 percent of all beginning teachers either move to a different school or leave teaching at the end of their first year. This paper proposes four action steps for beginning-teacher induction and mentoring programs with the potential to not only keep teachers in the classroom, but…

Which comprehensive school reform programs have evidence of positive effects on middle and high school achievement? To find out, this review summarizes evidence on comprehensive school reform (CSR) models in grades 6-12. Comprehensive school reform models are programs used schoolwide to improve student achievement. They typically include the…

In an effort to identify and incorporate quality practices into existing and future afterschool programs, the U.S. Department of Education commissioned the National Partnership for Quality Afterschool Learning (National Partnership) to study high functioning 21st Century Community Learning Center programs. The purpose of this study was to document…

The exploration of self-awareness as an essential component for understanding ourselves as a teacher of adults is rather absent in the literature. This article focuses on the elements that are foundational within the self-awareness journey--beliefs, values, and attitudes. Understanding these elements establishes the basis for practice…

Active participation of Brazilian civil society, coupled with the 2007 education development plan launched by the Brazilian government, provides an interesting example of the influences of the Dakar Goals. The two domestic initiatives share the same name, spirit and direction proposed in Dakar 2000. Here we analyze changes in the Brazilian…

This study explored the effects of achievement goals on English as a foreign language (EFL) college students' reading strategy use and reading comprehension from the perspective of multiple goals. Fifty-seven participants verbalised their thoughts while reading an English expository essay. They also completed assessments on their reading goal…

This study examined college students' capacities for socially responsible leadership using theoretical measures grounded in the social change model of leadership development (HERI, 1996). Findings represent responses from 50,378 participants enrolled at 52 colleges and universities across the United States. Students scored highest on the…

This paper draws on a small-scale qualitative study of the lived experiences of gay male students in their final year of undergraduate study at a UK university. In contrast to the narratives almost universally reported in academic literature, anti-gay victimisation and harassment were not experienced or framed as dominant discourses in the stories…

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of group work as a strategy for attribution retraining and improving students' motivational styles. Students were first categorised into one of three motivational styles: learned helplessness, self-worth motivation and mastery orientation. In the intervention procedure, selected students…

Progress monitoring is an important component of effective instructional practice. Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) is a form of progress monitoring that has been the focus of rigorous research. Two approaches for formulating CBM systems exist. The first is to assess performance regularly on a task that serves as a global indicator of competence…

This article explores how the tensions that grow out of being a researcher in my community of queer Asian Americans lead to the formulation of a different kind of ethnographic approach. A hybrid notion of identity can require and inform a hybrid or poststructural ethnographic practice. This hybridized research method draws upon theoretical strands…

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the Self-Determined Career Development Model (SDCDM) on the job performance of four adults with moderate intellectual disabilities employed in competitive work settings. Employees learned to set work-related goals, develop an action plan, implement the plan, and adjust their goals and plans as…

Lincoln and Guba (1985) reminded us that a qualitative study can change midcourse, taking the researcher into areas of inquiry they did not anticipate at the beginning. This case study was originally designed to ascertain the benefits and limitations of video-equipped cellular telephone use by Japanese college students. When the data were…