Collaborative learning assumes that knowledge is constructed through negotiation and discussion. This exploratory study focuses on 2 groups of 3 pre-service primary teachers solving 2 mathematical tasks in a text-based and asynchronous WorkMates learning environment. This case study describes the group processes, and the different patterns of…

A serious problem in Botswana is the large number of girls and young women who drop out of school. Just over half of the female population attends secondary schools, and the percentage of school-enrolled females has fallen in recent years. Few researchers have studied the dropout problem in Botswana. Twenty-four individuals selected for this study…

Parental divorce has become increasingly common for large numbers of families in schools (Lamden, King, & Goldman, 2002). This article addresses the effects of divorce on children and protective factors supporting their adjustment. Evidence-based interventions for children of divorce in elementary school counseling programs are discussed.…

Michigan State University embarked upon an initiative to explore deliberative dialogue as a tool for addressing community-based contested issues in agriculture and natural resources. Our goal is to assess the extent to which deliberative dialogue can help "bridge the divides" among citizens and professionals and fulfill the land-grant…

Background: Ritual behaviour, while often considered as nonpurposeful or problematic, can also be regarded as functional behaviour for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This study investigated the types and characteristics of ritual behaviour in children with ASD in a Taiwan context. Methods: Sixty-four primary school teachers, who…

At schools special learning and programming environments are often used in the field of algorithms. Particularly with regard to computer science lessons in secondary education, they are supposed to help novices to learn the basics of programming. In several parts of Germany (e.g., Bavaria) these fundamentals are taught as early as in the seventh…

This paper describes a one-credit laboratory course for freshmen majoring in electrical and computer engineering (ECE). The course is motivational in nature and exposes the students to a wide range of areas of electrical and computer engineering. The authors believe it is important to give freshmen a broad perspective of what ECE is all about, and…

Over the three decades between the urban crisis and the credit crisis, New York City revived its economy by making itself the preeminent center for global finance. Manhattan's streetscape and public places rose with the fortunes of the banks and their employees. Wall Street's mood came to define New York City's outlook. In the 1990s and early…

The formulation of a vigorous family policy requires that a careful study be made of issues such as the need to raise the perceived value of the family way of life and of parenthood, to strengthen the social norms of marriage and family. These will not be possible without reliable information about how the family performs its function of…

Data analysis is critical to educational planning. Determining the number of school leavers is crucial for a school board when planning for interventions and supports. In researching the number of early school leavers in the province of Prince Edward Island, the method in which the data were reported affected the rates. Two critical considerations…

This article describes an attempt to adopt dynamic assessment (DA) methods in classroom speaking assessments. The study reported in this article focused on four particular applications of dynamic speaking assessment (DSA). The first, "mediated assistance" (MA), involves interaction between an assistor and a learner to reveal problems in…

Positive outcomes for children with developmental disabilities (DD) can be affected by children's behavior problems. This study examined the family environment of 125 children with DD at age 3, and the extent to which that environment, as well as children's cognitive and adaptive functioning, predicted the problematic behaviors that children with…

This paper discusses an instructional approach designed to help preservice teachers understand how assessments can be influenced by personal biases. In order to achieve this objective, we developed an analogy-based activity called "The Dog Show Analogy." After participating in the activity, we have observed that the participating preservice…

This article reports on a randomized controlled trial of the First Step to Success early intervention that was conducted over a 4-year period in Albuquerque Public Schools. First Step is a selected intervention for students in Grades 1 through 3 with externalizing behavior problems, and it addresses secondary prevention goals and objectives. It…

The use of narrative research is often informed by a commitment to social justice on the part of the researcher. An example of this literature, Morwenna Griffiths' Action for Social Justice in Education: Fairly Different (2003), is taken here to illustrate the understanding of power and the way in which the relationship between theory and practice…