We spend a lot of time arguing about how schools might be improved. But we rarely take a step back to ask what we as a society should be looking for from education--what exactly should those who make decisions be trying to achieve? In "Educational Goods," two philosophers and two social scientists address this very question. They begin…

This case study explores the utility of Expectancy Value Theory (EVT) as a framework for studying elementary teachers' beliefs and motivations with respect to reformed mathematics instruction. A model for coding and evaluating qualitative data using EVT is proposed and illustrated using interviews with three primary school teachers in an urban…

Families living on small islands face limited options for the school education of their children. This exploratory study on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, considers some of the issues they face and the choices they make. It is based on informal, semi-structured interviews with parents, grandparents and children. Results show that all informants…

Moral reasoning is concerned with making decisions regarding the appropriate course of action in particular situations and has been highlighted as a critical factor that may facilitate (or impede) the effectiveness of educational programs in promoting positive outcomes. This study examined the trajectories of moral reasoning as measured by the…

This contribution explores motivational factors from the perspective of students in order to design an effective approach to teaching. Its purpose is twofold. First, it pinpoints findings from a student needs analysis regarding their learning in relation to today's teaching reality. Second, the findings serve as the basis for proposing a…

The realisation to integrate science, ethics and morality is recognised with growing impetus in recent years (as noted with introducing the Australian Curriculum "Science as a Human Endeavour" strand), to develop sophisticated epistemologies of science, which includes an appreciation of the social context including ethical thinking. To…

This research focuses on the use of ethical frameworks as a pedagogical model for socio-scientific education in implementing the "Science as a Human Endeavour" (SHE) strand of the Australian Curriculum: Science in a Year 10 biology class in a Christian college in metropolitan Perth, Western Australia. Using a case study approach, a mixed…

This article presents researcher reflections of a case study of a Black female deputy superintendent who made the value-driven decision to close the achievement gap in her district. I posit that she is an outlier because she is Black and female in a predominantly white male field of practice, she effectively closed the achievement gap through her…

The authors conducted a statewide study to determine which factors influenced parents' decision making in electing to homeschool their children rather than send them to public school education in South Dakota. Analysis of data, using frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviations revealed that the most prevalent reasons for homeschooling…

We implemented a sequential mixed methods design using parallel samples to answer our general research question: What are high school students' definitions of intelligence and implicit beliefs about the malleability of intelligence? We surveyed 9th and 11th grade students who responded to questions about their intelligence beliefs on open- and…

The use of social studies instruction to train children to engage in creative decision making is described. (CK)

This paper describes a qualitative research study that investigated strategies used by urban teachers to build their personal resilience. Sixteen resilient teachers from four urban districts that reported student achievement equal to or higher than the state average on standard tests of reading and mathematics were interviewed. The definition of…

This article describes the educational and psychological goal of self-questioning and thinking reflectively about one's beliefs as a way of facilitating progress and satisfaction in university life and in augmenting decision-making skills. One simple and powerful way for counselors to help in the process of belief development and formation of…

Investigates the influences on the career decisions of women who grew up in a rural community and graduated in the upper 10% of their high school classes (N=40). Gender-role beliefs were the most pervasive influences found. Other factors were information, meeting others' expectations, barriers, sense of empowerment, conditions at work, and…

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the validity of selected predictor variables for estimating academic performance and to assess which of them were best predictors of achievement among selected community college students in North Carolina. A secondary purpose was to develop a model from the findings whereby a student could be…