Describes a study at Louisiana State University that described the criteria mentioned by users evaluating the information within documents as it related to the user's information need situation. Implications for understanding the concept of relevance, for the design and evaluation of information retrieval systems, and for future research are…

Describes the use of rock music lyrics to illustrate and personify key concepts in a Sociology of Deviant Behavior, course. Includes examples of the lyrics, related sociological issues, and ways that the combination facilitated class discussion. Student response was consistently favorable. (MJP)

Catalogs, application packages, and program materials from 106 business schools were analyzed to determine the degree of international coverage in business schools' curricula. Findings indicated a trend to require international functional courses, such as international finance, in the traditional Master in business administration programs and to…

The use of experiential approaches to teach social welfare policy suggests that such methods may increase undergraduate social work students' knowledge of and skill in working on social and economic justice issues. This article compares 2 such methods using qualitative and quantitative approaches. The first teaches social welfare policy as a…

Large-scale assessment programs rely on teachers to administer the tests and to interpret and communicate the results. Consequently, it is important that teachers have up-to-date knowledge about the testing programs. Education Departments' web sites are ideal tools for communicating such information to teachers. The web sites of Education…

The purpose of this study was to develop a picture of how preservice science teachers? instructional concerns changed during a yearlong science methods program spanning initial classroom observations through student teaching. Another goal of this study was to determine the teachers? ideas about inquiry teaching and the influence of their methods…

The purpose of this study was to examine if and how participation in a journaling workshop influenced the content of student journals. A total of 59 post secondary students from two university programs in North America participated in this study and were randomly assigned to either an experimental (n = 21) or control (n = 38) group. Before their…

One of the signatures of scientific writing is its ability to present the claims of science as if they were "untouched by human hands." In the early years of experimental education, researchers achieved this by adopting a citational practice that led to the sedimentation of their cardinal method, the analysis of variance, and their standard for…

This article suggests ways of writing a truly effective cover letter, an extremely important document in the search for a job. First, features gleaned from 13 model letters in technical writing textbooks yield figures on the number of words, sentences, and paragraphs per letter, plus the average number of words per sentence and paragraph,…

Information about the experiences successful leaders perceive as vital to their development can be helpful to one's understanding of resiliency. Such information can also offer insights into the ways successful leaders use positive and negative situations as learning opportunities and the strategies they implement in addressing adversity. The…

In many reports, scholars describe parent involvement in schools by focusing on the influence parents have on their children's learning or on the educators' perspective of parent involvement (e.g., Norton, 2003). This article looks at the issue through a different lens. It focuses on the nature of parents and community engagement in schools that…

A central dilemma of portfolio assessment is that as the richness of the data available to readers increases, so do the challenges involved in ensuring acceptable reliability among readers. Drawing on empirical and theoretical work in discourse analysis, ethnomethodology, and other fields, we argue that this dilemma results, in part, from the fact…

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a centralised referral mechanism (CRM) upon the number and type of "inappropriate referrals" made to a countywide physical activity referral scheme. Design: Case study. Method: Phase 1: Hierarchical Content Analysis of 458 "inappropriate referrals" made to a countywide scheme over a…

USPE-L (recently renamed NASPE-L) is an e-mail listserv that provides a forum for physical educators to discuss their teaching and programs--and offer collegial support that may not be immediately available in a local community. This study used two sources of data collection including an e-mail survey (N=113) and follow-up phone interviews (N=10)…

Teaching from an informed and culturally responsive philosophy of education is critical for teaching in the 21st century and engagement in reconceptualizing the field of early childhood. This article describes a process used with graduate preservice early childhood education students over a two-course sequence, to generate a personal philosophy…