The purpose of this study was to evaluate an online professional development course for inservice teachers in the area of information and communication technology (ICT) and concurrently explore the factors that influence online professional development. The study integrated quantitative and qualitative methods including survey, focus group and…

Concerns have been raised about the Department of Education's (Education) role in overseeing the lenders and schools that participate in the largest of the federal government's student loan programs, the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). GAO was asked to analyze Education's use of its oversight, guidance, and enforcement authorities…

The Reading First program was designed to help students in kindergarten through third grade develop stronger reading skills. This report examines the implementation of the Reading First program, including: (1) changes that have occurred to reading instruction; (2) criteria states have used to award sub-grants to districts, and the difficulties, if…

With the implementation in 2003 of the federal education law known as No Child Left Behind, students from all cultural and linguistic backgrounds, including English language learners (ELLs), are required to perform well on state assessments. Since the numbers of ELLs in schools are growing and since schools are held accountable for all students'…

Correlational analysis, classical test theory, confirmatory factor analysis, and multilevel Rasch modeling were used to refine a measure of adolescents' exposure to violence (ETV). Interpersonal violence could be distinguished from other potentially traumatic events; it was also possible to distinguish three routes of exposure (victimization,…

This article reports findings from a qualitative interview study that examined the provision of integrated kindergarten education for children with disabilities from the perspectives of general education teachers implementing integrated kindergarten programs. Analysis of interviews with eight informants led to the identification of two broad…

Attrition in engineering programs continues to be an important issue for universities across the country. This study examined the connection between student performance in barrier courses and persistence in engineering. Quantitative results showed that high school academic experience, student behaviors (including study habits, work habits, coping…

Background: Comprehensive school-based physical activity programs consist of physical education and other physical activity opportunities including recess and other physical activity breaks, intramurals, interscholastic sports, and walk and bike to school initiatives. This article describes the characteristics of school physical education and…

The teaching and learning of a complex section in "Theoretical Computer Science 1" in a distance-education context at the University of South Africa (UNISA) has been enhanced by a supplementary e-learning application called "Relations," which interactively teaches mathematical skills in a cognitive domain. It has tutorial and…

"The Geography Teacher" provides hands-on reference and educative material for K-12 Geography teachers. The journal also pioneers innovative ideas for contemporary teaching methods, including lesson plans. This issue contains the following: (1) Ask Dr. de Blij (Dr. Harm de Blij); (2) Refugees in America (TGT); (3) Guinness and the Irish…

In a 3-year longitudinal, mixed-method study, 67 children in two schools were observed during literacy activities in Grades 1-3. Children and their teachers were interviewed each year about the children's motivation to read and write. Taking a grounded theory approach, content analysis of the child interview protocols identified the motivations…

This article presents the results of a small-scale empirical study investigating engineering students' perceptions of writing in the classroom and workplace. It asks questions regarding the types and frequency of documents engineering students have written in school and internship settings, and it reveals both the strategies used to complete those…

While many institutions have utilized TOEFL scores for international admissions for many years, a speaking section has never before been a required part of TOEFL until the development of the iBT/Next Generation TOEFL. So institutions will need to determine how to set standards for the speaking section of TOEFL, also known as TOEFL Academic…

This article presents a study on principal retention in New South Wales, Australia. Factors in job retention included economic security, role enjoyment, and the opportunity to contribute. Disincentives to the principalship included lack of support from the employing authority, inadequate pay, isolation, growing responsibilities, difficult parents,…

In their study in 1990, Clark and Isaacs identified five properties and seven defining features that distinguished between English ostensible and genuine invitations. To see if Persian ostensible and genuine invitations could be distinguished by the same features and properties, the present study was carried out. 45 field workers observed and…