College students in the U.S. are increasingly participating in study abroad opportunities; for example, from the 2010-2011 academic year, 273,996 U.S. students studied abroad, an increase of 1.3% from the previous year (Institute of International Education, 2012). Participation in study abroad has more than tripled over the past two decades…

Past studies examining the cognitive function of bilingual school-aged children have pointed to enhancements in areas of executive control relative to age-matched monolingual children. The majority of these studies has tested children from a middle-class background and compared performance of bilinguals as a discrete group against monolinguals.…

A study of 215 athletes at a small private liberal arts Division III college revealed that athletes (a) begin their college experience with SATs no different from non-athletes; (b) attain GPAs that do not significantly differ from those of nonathletes; (c) achieve GPAs that do not significantly differ between their "in-season" semester…

Experimental and observational research often involves asking consumers to self-report the impact of some proposed option. Because self-reported responses involve no consequence to the respondent for falsely revealing how he or she feels about an issue, self-reports may be subject to social desirability and other influences that bias responses in…

Special education teachers in California acquire advanced degrees, credentials, and authorizations to serve students with disabilities who are English language learners (SWD-ELLs), yet continue to be challenged to meet the complex instructional needs of these students. Performance on statewide tests of achievement show continued disparities…

This study explores how student teacher talk about their students illuminates the identities ascribed to these same students. It uses a hybrid intersectional framework based on Disability Studies, Critical Race Theory, and Latino Critical Theory and methodologies (like examining majoritarian stories, counter-storytelling, coded talk, and…

This study extends the empirical findings of the use of continuous, lecture-embedded assessments to increase engagement and enhance learning. Outcome data (exam performance and attendance rates) from college students in three upper-division business course sections who took quizzes and wrote two-minute papers (test group) were compared to outcome…

Purpose: The purpose of this quantitative research was to examine what relationships, if any, exist between the independent variable of burnout and dependent variables of job satisfaction for special education teachers who work with students who have moderate to severe disabilities ages 5 to 22 in a Southern California school district.…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to describe and determine the degree to which elementary school, middle school, and high school principals perceive their political skill, as measured by the Political Skill Inventory (PSI). A second purpose of the study was to determine if there was a difference for the perceived political skill of…

Research Findings: Children from families of lower socioeconomic status (SES) enter kindergarten with less developed mathematical knowledge compared to children from middle SES families. This discrepancy is present at age 3 years and likely stems from differences in the home learning environment. This study reports SES-related differences both in…

Students whose religious/spiritual views are incongruent with the theological mission advanced by a university face numerous challenges. A sample of 977 undergraduate students at an evangelical institution was categorized as congruent or incongruent with the theological mission. Both groups were compared to 120 students enrolled at an institution…

Research has shown that many educators do not understand the terminology or displays used in test score reports and that measurement error is a particularly challenging concept. We investigated graphical and verbal methods of representing measurement error associated with individual student scores. We created four alternative score reports, each…

Background: Acute physical activity breaks lasting 10--60 min have been related to positive effects on student focus and academic performance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of repeated brief physical activity-infused academic lessons (1-5 min) on student retention and on-task behavior. Methods: One class from each K-2 grade…

Learning physics often requires overcoming common misconceptions based on naïve interpretations of observations in the everyday world. One proposed way to help learners build appropriate physics intuitions is to expose them to computer simulations in which motion is based on Newtonian principles. In addition, playing video games that require…

Williams syndrome (WS) is a neurogenetic developmental disorder characterized by peaks and valleys of cognitive abilities. One peak that has been understudied is the affinity that many individuals with WS have with music. It remains unknown whether their high levels of musical interest, skill, and expressivity are related to their sociable…