Previous work within self-determination theory has shown that experimentally framing a learning activity in terms of extrinsic rather than intrinsic goals results in poorer conceptual learning and performance, presumably because extrinsic goal framing detracts attention from the learning activity and is less directly satisfying of basic…

Purpose: Although conflict has traditionally been considered destructive, recent studies have indicated that conflict management can contribute to effective teamwork. The present study explores conflict management as a team phenomenon in schools. The author examined how the contextual variables (task interdependence, goal interdependence) are…

This script comes from an edited transcript of a session titled "Talking and Thinking About Qualitative Research," which was part of the 2006 International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, held at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on May 4-6, 2006. This special session featured scholars informally responding to questions about their…

As the teacher education in China gradually evolves from the closed one into an open one, and with the greater pressure from the competition among universities, the transformation of normal universities is an inevitable choice. The problems that normal universities need to face up to are the proper goal orientation and the setting of appropriate…

Learning is an act of hope. Although adults enter learning experiences from many frames of emotion and cognitive beliefs, each views this experience as the purposeful choice for a new and different future, a future of hope and possibilities. For adult learners, the pursuit of higher education is a choice and a life-changing engagement. Given the…

The study of teachers' professional vision poses some unique challenges. The application of professional vision happens in a manner that is fleeting, and that is distributed through the moments of instruction. Because of the ongoing nature of instruction, it is not realistic to expect that one could "pause" instruction momentarily, ask a…

The impact of countervailing social network influences (i.e., pro-social, anti-social or HIV risk peers) on problem behaviors (i.e., HIV drug risk, HIV sex risk or anti-social behaviors) among 696 homeless youth was assessed using structural equation modeling. Results revealed that older youth were less likely to report having pro-social peers and…

Experiences of first year female Black students who self-identified themselves as lesbian and attended a historically Black university are examined. A reconceptualized Model of Multiple Dimensions of Identity and the Multidimensional Identity Model were used to establish the framework for this study. Overall the study provided a current identity…

This interview-based essay explores how a teacher-training program, while ostensibly dedicated to the idea of teaching for social justice, completely neglected issues of homophobia and heterosexism. How did silence around queer issues leave a dedicated group of young, queer teachers-in-training without the academic, intellectual, or psychological…

Contemporary reflection on queer-radical and queer-deconstructionist curricula has only marginally included a radical deconstruction of the principle of curricula itself. This article explores this "hidden discourse" by referencing the idea of curricular subjectivity and proposes a contextualizing perspective on the politicized interplay between…

Fayette County, once home to the Carnegies, the Mellons, and the Fricks, now punctuated by abandoned mines and coke ovens, is the second poorest county in Pennsylvania. Gay and lesbian students experience discrimination in this County. In this article, the author discusses her efforts to intervene in this complicated problem by deploying a…

Background: Many studies have revealed that there is a significant decrease over time in high-school students' attitudes towards mathematics learning. Some authors conclude that motivation in mathematics stabilizes or improves around grade 9; others propose that the decline is continuous. It is unclear if girls or boys are more affected by this…

In this article, the authors investigated the teacher practices that middle school students attend to when appraising their classroom's mastery goal structure. After students rated each item on the mastery goal structure scale, they wrote what their teacher did or said that led them to make that choice. Students' responses to the open-ended…

This article focuses on the call for more male teachers as role models in elementary schools and treats it as a manifestation of "recuperative masculinity politics" ( Lingard & Douglas, 1999). Attention is drawn to the problematic gap between neo-liberal educational policy-related discussions about male teacher shortage in elementary schools and…

Of all challenges facing open-door community colleges, none is more important than the need to renew and improve teaching quality in order to accommodate increasingly diversified student populations. Several policies have been particularly helpful to open-door institutions in improving student retention and achievement, including the following:…