This study examined both the influence of leadership and policy development on gifted education in the Commonwealth of Virginia and how leaders of gifted education programs make sense of gifted education policy to promote effective change. Considerations of local politics, funding, networking, and input from stakeholders shaped the sensemaking…

This study investigates the instructional treatment of Argentine Spanish vernacular (i.e., "lunfardo"), metapragmatic information about its use provided by instructors, and participants' metapragmatic awareness of vernacular use in a second language (L2) Spanish study abroad (SA) classroom. The participants were 12 American undergraduate…

Guided Inquiry (GI) is an emerging pedagogy based on the Information Search Process (ISP), a research-based information-literacy model identified by Carol C. Kuhlthau (1985, 1988a, 1988b, 1988c, 1989b) and operationalized by the Guided Inquiry Design (GID) process (Kuhlthau, Maniotes, and Caspari 2007, 2012, 2015). This study investigated…

This qualitative exploration of diversity experiences among undergraduate and graduate students and faculty in STEM disciplines at a predominantly White institution (PWI) and a historically Black college or university (HBCU) in a Mid-Atlantic state finds that the level of diversity and inclusiveness may matter to how Students of Color experience…

The experiences of first-generation college students (FGCS) are marked by high levels of stress and uncertainty as they navigate the transition to college. This study uses the organizational assimilation model to explore FGCS' transition to college by temporally analyzing multiple sources and types of socially supportive communication found in…

Individual interest in school science lessons can be defined as a relatively stable and enduring personal emotion comprising affective and behavioural reactions to events in the regular science lessons at school. Little research has compared the importance of different factors affecting students' individual interest in school science lessons. The…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the reduction of school violence from the management point of view. It reflects on the utterances by teachers, principals, learners and members of school governing bodies (SGBs) to establish the influence that school management practices can have on the prevalence of school violence.…

Even though previous research points to the significance of kindergarten teachers' practices which consider the nature of children and how they learn, there is still limited research regarding how learning activities impact children's development. To address this gap in literature, a qualitative multi-case study into teachers' perceptions of…

The objective of this study is to explore the process of professional identity construction of two English as a foreign language student-teachers from a sociocultural theoretical lens. A qualitative case study was conducted through personal narratives, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group. The data were analyzed using a grounded theory…

Purpose: Since 2012, the University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt has been publishing an annual report on sustainability as part of its whole institution approach (WIA). This study aims to examine the participation in writing this report as it is experienced by the student stakeholders involved. The overall goal is to gain expertise concerning further…

Environmental thinkers and educators have argued for the importance of celebrating our connectedness to nature, or the perception of being part of, rather than separate from, the natural world. Using pre-and post-test measurements of Nature Relatedness and supplemental interviews, this study addresses the question of whether a particular…

Despite compelling evidence of its potential effectiveness, uptake of self and peer assessment in higher education has been slower than expected. As with other assessment practices, self and peer assessment is ultimately enabled, or inhibited, by the actions of individual academics. This paper explores what academics see as the benefits and…

Against a United Kingdom policy background of attempts to widen higher education participation in a socially inclusive direction, this article analyses theory, policy and practice to understand why past efforts have had limited success and to propose an alternative: an "anchor institution" model. A university and a private training…

Quantum mechanics (QMs) is a foundational subject in many science and engineering fields. It is difficult to teach, however, as it requires a fundamental revision of the assumptions and laws of classical physics and probability. Furthermore, introductory QM courses and texts predominantly focus on the mathematical formulations of the subject and…

Students participate during service learning courses in a service project, which fits to a community need and has a link to curricular content. Students have a chance while engaged in the service project to apply curricular content in community practice, where they gain insights into civic engagement activities. Empirical studies revealed the…