Science teaching orientations, defined as teachers' knowledge and beliefs about the purposes and goals for teaching science, have been identified as a critical component within the proposed pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) model for science teaching. Because of the scarcity of empirical studies in this area, this case study examined the nature…

The aim of this research was to examine the relationship between exposure to classroom noise and the psychological well-being of full-time teaching staff in 14 preschool settings located across Western Sydney. The participants comprised 25 teachers, each of whom was administered a range of instruments. The results indicated that 40% of teachers…

We are living in a fast-changing, technology-driven world, where technology affects the daily lives of every person, directly or indirectly. While the importance of providing young children with technological knowledge and experience has been well-recognized, how the curriculum should be developed deserves greater study. Using early childhood…

This chapter begins with a scenario contrasting two seemingly different images of child and media from before and after the "digital revolution." The author argues that there is much greater continuity in how this relationship has been conceptualized over the period than is commonly imagined. While not offering a comprehensive study of recent…

With an increasingly international student body in universities all over the world, there is growing contact between teachers and students from different cultures. This chapter brings cultural issues to a more conscious and explicit level so they may be examined in the light of teacher authenticity.

Every year, more colleges and universities become Hispanic-serving institutions. These institutions, whether public or private, two-year or four-year, find themselves in the position of serving high numbers of Latino students. They encounter opportunities for unique learning environments, access to special funding, and the potential to be…

In a well-known fable, several blind men are asked to describe an elephant. One says, ''An elephant is flat, like a pancake," another says that it's "like a big snake." Their descriptions are accurate but limited, based on whichever part of the beast each happens to be holding--the ear, the trunk, and so forth. America's "system" of higher…

This multimethod, prospective study examined the nature of pathways between interparental hostility and withdrawal, parental emotional unavailability, and subsequent changes in children's internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and school adjustment difficulties over a 3-year period in a sample of 210 mothers, fathers, and 6-year-old children.…

This longitudinal study examined the protective influence of psychological and family factors on academic achievement in 123 Latino college (101 Mexican American, 14 Central American, 8 mixed Mexican/Central American) students. Three cultural resources-ethnic identity, family interdependence, and parental support-were hypothesized as protective…

Information provided to high school students by their guidance counsellors and teachers can affect how students view university or college, as well as their expectations and level of preparation for the academic demands of higher education. This article describes two studies conducted with high school students that examined the type of information…

This study explored the congruence in reading and teaching patterns of low-income, young African American mothers while interacting with their preschool-age children in their homes (N = 126). Survey and standardized test data were collected on maternal education and language ability, and videotape data were collected, transcribed, and coded on…

As the male prison population increases, so too does the number of children with fathers in prison. The negative impact of fatherlessness on children has been well documented. While parenting education is often seen as an effective tool to improve the quality of family relationships and foster positive outcomes for children, fathers in prison…

U.S. federal policies do not provide a universal social safety net of economic support for women during pregnancy or the immediate postpartum period but assume that employment and/or marriage will protect families from poverty. Yet even mothers with considerable human and marital capital may experience disruptions in employment, earnings, and…

In this study the importance of living area circumstances for suicide mortality was explored. Suicide mortality was assessed across race and sex groups in a South African city and the influence of area-based compositional and sociophysical characteristics on suicide risk was considered. Suicide mortality rates are highest among Whites, in…

Ethnographic research was carried out in 1997-98 to identify factors that determined school attendance among Nepali women in the Kathmandu Valley a generation ago. Findings indicate that gender, caste, poverty, cultural prejudice, and rural residence prevented a majority from going to school. Of those who went, most, regardless of academic talent,…