This forum article consists of commentaries--authored by Sumi Hagiwara, Maria S. Rivera Maulucci and Lizette Ramos--on the feature article by Virginia Jennings Bolshakova, Carla C. Johnson, and Charlene M. Czerniak. We reflect on a series of questions that take retrospective, introspective, and prospective views of self-efficacy in science…

How do university students perceive the key relationship between their university education and the labour market? This article describes the perceptions that 827 Egyptian and Omani seniors--both males and females, studying commerce, education, and engineering--hold about that relationship. For these students, a major motivation for attending…

While the addition of an anthropomorphic interface agent to a learning system generally has little direct impact on learning, it potentially has a huge impact on learner motivation. As such agents become increasingly ubiquitous on the Internet, in virtual worlds, and as interfaces for learning and gaming systems, it is important to design them to…

This research note is based on the evaluation of the Comenius project Teacher-IN-SErvice-Training-for-Roma-inclusion ("INSETRom"). The project represented an international effort that was undertaken to bridge the gap between Roma and non-Roma communities and to improve the educational attainment of Roma children in the mainstream…

Academic self-efficacy contributes to students' motivation and persistence for learning. However, motivation for reading and learning, and students' self-efficacy in school often declines in adolescence. This manuscript presents research-based strategies for facilitating students' motivations within the context of language arts classes.

For a long time, links have been made between higher education and economic activity. The relatively recent emphases on employability (in the UK) and graduate attributes (largely in Australia) can be construed as contemporary variations. This article describes some of the developmental work that has taken place in the UK but which has obvious…

Among teachers' most daunting challenges is the task of ensuring all students are engaged in and motivated by learning. Obviously, skilled teachers look to instructional strategies such as differentiation and hands-on learning as ways to increase student engagement. But what about reluctant learners, students who have the potential to do well but…

In her well-known research, Carol Dweck has documented how individuals' attitudes about intelligence affect their behavior and achievement. People with a fixed mindset, she writes, believe that intelligence is inborn and unchangeable, whereas those with a growth mindset believe that intelligence can grow through practice and effort. In this…

As a remedy to the lack of student success in developmental mathematics courses, many institutions have been moving toward computer-based instruction as a means of replacing current lecture offerings. An increasing number of institutions have reported using technology as the primary instructional tool for mathematics courses, with digitized…

Many adult learners returning to school later in life have discovered that technology is heavily embedded in the learning environment. Learning both course contents and technology in unison can be a daunting task for students who feel intimidated by technology. Computer anxiety is a term that describes resistance, fear or anxieties towards…

Ryerson University's Prior Learning and Competency Evaluation and Documentation (PLACED) program is funded by the Government of Ontario to engage internationally educated professionals (IEPs), employers, and regulatory/occupational bodies in the use of competency-based practices. In 2008, the authors created a self-assessment tool for IEPs that…

Homework is an instructional staple for most classroom teachers; however, considerable debate over the effectiveness of homework has been at the center of discussions among researchers, administrators, educators, parents, and students. Rather than continuing the battle as to whether or not homework enriches learning, it appears the more…

How do we impress upon our students the value of ethical writing?--of community involvement?--of civic activism? We must do more than prepare them for their roles as community members and future employees; we must show them in what way they are prepared, as well as how and why to maintain community connections. This paper details the creation of a…

Interpersonal self efficacy scale which is developed by Brouser and Tomic (2002) and modified for Turkish by Capri and Kan (2006) is applied to 262 pre-service teachers studying in 1st-4th grades of social studies department in the Faculty of Education at Nigde University together with a personal information form. The scale is proved highly valid…

This paper, following on from our previous paper focusing on findings regarding students' approaches to learning, explores students' approaches to performance with particular focus on musical self-efficacy beliefs and experiences of performance anxiety in solo and group performances. The research design included a large questionnaire survey…