This study explored Canadian and American pre-service elementary teachers' self-efficacy beliefs for literacy instruction, as well as the contextual factors (i.e., course and field experiences) that contribute to these self-efficacy beliefs. Survey data were collected over a two-year period at the beginning and end of a required elementary…

Multicultural competence is essential to contemporary art therapy practice. Current education standards require that culturally sound theories and practices be taught along with self-awareness, but there is little research on the effects of such training in art therapy. The current study examined data from the Multicultural Awareness, Knowledge,…

This study explores student learning outcomes from an Introduction to Interdisciplinary Studies course. The article focuses on students' perceptions of cognitive abilities, skills and attributes developed through participation in an interdisciplinary research and design project. Participants were 50 students enrolled in the course. A pre-post…

The growing cultural and linguistic diversities in Western countries and rapid globalization have put urgent demands on K-16 schools in terms of developing strategies to accommodate these changes. One of the critical issues for schools is to prepare pre-service and in-service teachers to work effectively with their diverse student populations. The…

Participants were 109 American college students studying Chinese in a study-abroad programme in Beijing. Following Kelley and Meyer, intercultural competence was defined as cross-cultural adaptability involving four dimensions (emotional resilience, flexibility/openness, perceptual acuity and personal autonomy) and was measured with a survey. A…

Technological development offers language teachers a myriad of options for collaborative activities. Learners, in turn, benefit from increased opportunities to interact with people who can speak their target language. Research has previously highlighted the importance of developing learners' intercultural competence through such activities. The…

This study revisits case learning's effects on student engagement and assesses student learning as a result of the use of case studies and problem-based learning. The author replicates a previous study that used indirect assessment techniques to get at case learning's impact, and then extends the analysis using a pre- and post-test experimental…

This mixed methods study examined the effectiveness of a virtual world curriculum for teaching elementary students complex science concepts and skills. Data were collected using pre- and post-content tests and a student survey of engaged learning, An additional survey collected teacher observations of 21st century competencies conducive to…

The objective of the present study was to develop a scale that is appropriate for use internationally to measure affective, behavioral, and cognitive dimensions of student engagement. Psychometric properties of this scale were examined with data of 3,420 students (7th, 8th, and 9th grade) from 12 countries (Austria, Canada, China, Cyprus, Estonia,…

For years, researchers and academics have known that American students perform more poorly on average compared to students from some other countries, including India. The usual explanation is that some systematic factor (e.g. knowledge, skill set, test-taking ability, etc.) is responsible for the differences. The current study examines the issue…

The research compiled ten-year, foundational information about students enrolled in a developmental reading course. The institutional data collected included student enrollment, demographics, and academic markers of success. A pre/post survey examined students' reading attitudes to determine if reading attitudes changed through the course…

Funded by the Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts (CILA) at Wabash College, the Wabash National Study of Liberal Arts Education (WNS) is a multi-institution, multi-year, longitudinal study designed to identify the academic and non-academic collegiate experiences that foster liberal learning. This article describes how the study was done and…

The purpose of this study was to better understand how an online, multimedia case study method influenced students' motivation, performance, and perceptions of science in collegiate level biology classes. It utilized a mix-methods design including data from pre- and post-test, student surveys, and focus group interviews to answer one primary…

Political participation is critical for the legitimacy of democracy, yet we know surprisingly little about how political competencies develop and can be promoted in young adults. Many studies show low levels of political activity among young Americans, including college students and recent graduates. Although this is widely recognized as a…

Managed care has profound effects on health and mental health service delivery in the United States. This article describes the knowledge that students need for effective social work practice within a managed care environment and evaluates a course to deliver the content. (Contains 3 tables.)