In this commentary, the author finds the interdisciplinary approach of Roland S. Persson's (2012a) target article refreshing. Persson's (2012a) additional emphases on ethnocentricity, cultural bias and strong threads of influence from the global economy also are helpful. They shed light on some strong contextual influences that shape the…

Roland S. Persson's (2012a) argument is that there is a dominant research culture in the field of gifts and talents, which must of necessity distort research and practice in cultures which are different. He ties this to the dominance of the global economy and points to the need for more cross-cultural studies. In this commentary, the author points…

All students must start learning new literacies skills early if they are to gain the skills they will need as adults. Integrating these skills into classroom instruction at a young age is especially important for economically disadvantaged students. Moreover, the interactive nature of the Internet and other digital tools may hold special learning…

A phenomenological methodology was used to explore the lived experiences of belonging to a self-advocacy group for people with intellectual disabilities. Thirteen persons with intellectual disabilities who attend three self-advocacy day centre based groups in a city in the west of Ireland were the sample identified for the study. Changes affected…

The boundaries between on-line and "real-world" communities are rapidly deteriorating, particularly for the generation of young people whose lives are pervaded by social media. For this generation, social media exchanges are a primary means of communication, social engagement, information seeking, and possibly, a central component of…

The American Montessori Society's (AMS) 2014 Living Legacy recipient, John Chattin-McNichols, delivered the keynote address at the Annual Conference in Dallas, TX, on March 27, 2014, In his speech, he described three overall highlights of AMS: (1) AMS is now a world-leading organization; (2) It must become a learning organization; and (3)…

Research on the transition of students with disabilities and their post-school outcomes continues to move the field of special education in the direction of evidence-based practices. As special education professionals work to better recognize the impact of instructional and environmental characteristics to prepare youth for their transition, so…

This article takes a broad view of the evolution of collecting behaviors in a network environment and suggests some future directions based on various simple models. The authors look at the changing dynamics of print collections, at the greater engagement with research and learning behaviors, and at trends in scholarly communication. The goal is…

Within professional learning communities, the processes of shared reflection and critique, or critical transformative dialogues are considered crucial for the maintenance and improvement of professional practice. This paper focuses on the development of the processes of critical transformative dialogues and their application in the professional…

This study investigated the career and work life challenges faced by traditionally marginalized populations (e.g., women; historically oppressed racial/ethnic groups; people who identify as lesbian, gay, transgender, bisexual and/or queer; immigrants; individuals with mental or physical disabilities; older individuals; and those of lower…

As a field of study, international business (IB) has evolved with accelerated tempo in the last four decades. The subject has brought with it an increasing plethora of textbooks. We analyze the contents of major textbooks, both classic and new, to find the extent to which these textbooks cover the various components of the common body of knowledge…

This is the first report from a new initiative called TLRI Project Plus. It aims to add value to the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative (TLRI), which NZCER manages on behalf of the government, by synthesising findings across multiple projects. This report focuses on two projects in statistics education and explores the factors that…

Introduction: To provide valuable services in the future, libraries will need to create better information systems and set up an infrastructure more in line with the current technologies. The "Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records" conceptual model provides a basis for this transformation, but there are still a number of…

Teacher training programs are increasingly being held under the microscope. Perhaps the most notable of recent calls to reform was the 2009 declaration by U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan that "by almost any standard, many if not most of the nation's 1,450 schools, colleges, and departments of education are doing a mediocre job of…

The purpose of this qualitative, purposeful, bounded case study was to explore the influences that promoted and restricted three women early childhood educators' inclusion of open-ended outdoor learning in a Head Start center. A continued degradation of nature, along with the predominance of women working in the early childhood workforce, led me…