Educating the public about wildlife and conservation has long been a core component of many zoos' mission statements (Patrick, Matthews, Ayers, & Tunnicliffe, 2007). However, research has demonstrated that most patrons visit zoos to be entertained and to socialize rather than to be educated. Thus, greater emphasis is now placed on encouraging…

The paper examines the benefits claimed for action learning at individual, organisational and inter-organisational levels. It goes on to identify both generic difficulties in evaluating development programmes and action learning specifically. The distinction between formative and summative evaluation is considered and a summative evaluation…

More than 60% of the nation's 14 million community college students are required to complete at least one developmental mathematics class before enrolling in college-credit courses; however, 80% of them do not successfully complete any college-level mathematics course within 3 years. To address this problem, the Community College Pathways…

The purpose of this special issue is to provide readers with a greater awareness of the processes involved in dissemination, as well as existing supports that help disseminate and sustain evidence-based interventions. Although dissemination research is limited in most disciplines, it is particularly lacking in the social science field. Many…

This study focuses on pre-service science teachers' interpretations of graphs. First, the paper presents data about the freshman and senior pre-service teachers' interpretations of graphs. Then it discusses the effects of pre-service science teacher training program on student teachers' interpretations of graphs. The participants in the study were…

While gamification is gaining ground in business, marketing, corporate management, and wellness initiatives, its application in education is still an emerging trend. This article presents a study of the published empirical research on the application of gamification to education. The study is limited to papers that discuss explicitly the effects…

Many children with Down syndrome demonstrate deficits in phonological awareness, a prerequisite to learning to read in an alphabetic language. The purpose of this study was to determine whether adapting a commercially available phonological awareness program to better align with characteristics associated with the behavioral phenotype of Down…

Integrating practice and research is vital in all helping professions in order to offer the most ethical, evidence-informed interventions to clients. This article describes some avoidable distractions that hinder integration, discusses controversies related to integration, and describes options for moving forward, including making wasted resources…

The European Qualifications Framework (EQF) was introduced in 2008 as a "meta-framework" or common reference point for national qualifications frameworks in Europe, a function for which, with some caveats, it has been pragmatically successful. It has also been used with variable success to support the development or referencing of…

Because of the intense and unique nature of their military life, military officers face stresses that other students do not need to be concerned about when taking courses online. An institution's ability to understand these military officer students, design online programs to meet their unique learning needs and deliver valuable online curricula…

Purpose/Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate parent awareness and perceptions of changes to the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) implemented as a result of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act (HHKA) of 2010. Methods: An online survey of parents of school age (K-12) children in a Midwestern state was conducted (n = 2,189). The…

Purpose/Objectives: To meet new USDA school meal standards, school nutrition programs may need to transition from a "heat and serve" meal preparation approach to increased scratch cooking and use of fresh, whole foods. This study aims to assess the attitudes, motivations, and barriers for Montana school nutrition professionals and key…

Using data from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2007, this study examined the big-fish-little-pond-effects (BFLPEs) in 49 countries. In this study, the effect of math ability on math self-concept was decomposed into a within- and a between-level components using implicit mean centring and the complex data…

Extension Master Gardener Volunteers (EMGVs) are recruited and trained to answer questions and diagnose gardening problems for the public. Most states have developed an EMGV Manual for use in the initial training. Thirty-two EMGV Training manuals from across the United States were reviewed for form and content. While many of the manuals have…

The "quit4u" stop smoking service (SSS) was developed by National Health Service (NHS) Tayside for smokers in deprived areas of Dundee (UK). quit4u combined behavioural support and pharmacotherapy with financial incentives for each week that participants remained quit. A quasi-experimental study was undertaken with smokers using quit4u…