Skeptics of Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and Trend for International Math and Science Study (TIMSS) argue that while US elementary and high school students are behind their peers in other nations, the US workforce is still excellent because of the high quality post-secondary educational institutions in the US. However, the…

How can a participatory approach to research promote environmental learning and enhance social-ecological systems resilience? Participatory action research (PAR) is an approach to research that its' supporters claim can foster new knowledge, learning, and action to support positive social and environmental change through reorienting the standard…

The theme for the 59th annual conference of the Association of Literacy Educators and Researchers was Making a Difference in Our Diverse Communities. The meeting took place in Costa Mesa, California in 2015. In the first section of the Yearbook, Dr. J. Helen Perkins's presidential address shared the story of her journey as an educator and how it…

A two-stage mixed methods approach was used to examine how foreign correspondents stationed in the United States use World Wide Web technology to maintain their news perspectives remotely. Despite emerging technology playing an increasingly significant role in the production of international journalism, the subject under investigation has been…

This study focuses on an analysis of a professional development program known as lesson study via data obtained during an in-service professional development program for secondary school science teachers. The purpose of this study was to examine the self-efficacy beliefs of one group of science teachers related to their experiences in a lesson…

While the great scientists of the past recognized a need for a multidisciplinary approach, today's schools often treat math and science as subjects separate from the rest. This not only creates a disinterest among students, but also a potential learning gap once students reach college and then graduate into the workforce. "Cases on…

A comparative evaluation framework of instructional interventions for implementation of online training for public library staff would enable a better understanding of how to improve the effectiveness, efficiency and efficacy of training in certain training environments. This dissertation describes a quasi-experimental study of a two-week,…

The purpose of this multiple case study was to identify ways to improve learner persistence in General Equivalency Diploma (GED) programs in the U.S. The participants in this multiple case study were GED instructors and adults without high school diplomas who were enrolled in two GED programs were located in the Southern and Southwestern U.S.…

The authors examined the confidence of teachers from Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, and the United States (N = 1,375) to address civic topics with their students. The authors also used differential item functioning models to examine responses to items from the Teacher Confidence Scale of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational…

Several national trends are converging to impact adult education today. First, the increasing presence of adults in higher education is accentuated by the expansive Baby Boom generation who are demanding greater access to the higher education system in the United States. Second, regarding workforce and economic development in the 21st century,…

For the thirty-sixth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Anaheim, California. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

This survey was designed to assess teachers' perspectives on student grade level preparedness. Specifically, it examines the kinds of problems that make it difficult to be a good student and how well prepared teachers feel they are to deal with these problems. As has been true since The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher began in 1984, more…