The integrative model for child development and ecodevelopmental theory suggest that macro factors, such as socioeconomic status, ethnicity, culture, and immigration influence the settings in which adolescents engage. The goal of this investigation was to use a combination of deductive and inductive qualitative analysis to describe the mechanisms…

This phenomenological multi-case study investigated the influence of women engineers' childhood exposure to engineering concepts on their preparation for an engineering profession. An ecologic model (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) was used as the conceptual framework of this research. Twelve professional women engineers from various age and…

This project explores stakeholders' perceptions of the role of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) in the admissions processes of UK higher education (HE) institutions. The term "stakeholders" here refers to HE academic and administrative staff responsible for the acceptance of students whose first language is not…

In line with expanded conceptualizations of validity that encompass the interpretations and uses of test scores in particular policy contexts, this report presents results of a comparative analysis of institutional understandings and uses of 3 international English proficiency tests widely used for tertiary selection--the "TOEFL iBT"®…

This paper reports the compilation of a corpus of Taiwanese students' spoken English, which is one of the sub-corpora of the Louvain International Database of Spoken English Interlanguage (LINDSEI) (Gilquin, De Cock, & Granger, 2010). LINDSEI is one of the largest corpora of learner speech. The compilation process follows the design criteria…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine how ratios influenced relationships between school nurses and the educators and parents with whom they work; and how the relationships influenced the understanding and value of the school nurse. A purposeful sampling of 33 participants from four states (New Hampshire, Vermont, Michigan, and…

This mixed methods study describes the effects of a "minute contextual experience" on students' ability to solve a realistic assessment problem involving scale drawings and proportional reasoning. Minute contextual experience (MCE) is defined to be a brief encounter with a context in which aspects of the context are explored openly. The…

Purpose: Little is known about the trajectory experiences of the female presidents within U.S. member institutions of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). The purpose of this study was to gain understanding of how female presidents understand and describe their successful attainment of presidencies within CCCU…

Games in science education is emerging as a popular topic of scholarly inquiry. The National Research Council recently published a report detailing a research agenda for games and science education entitled "Learning Science Through Computer Games and Simulations" (2011). The report recommends moving beyond typical proof-of-concept…

This paper investigates into the reading habits of the English medium private university students with Bengali medium background. It analyses the realities in the context, which are both nurturing the old and shaping new reading habits of the students. The data gathered by means of interview schedule have been analyzed both quantitatively and…

Upon beginning postgraduate research at the Faculty of Built Environment at UNSW, the authors were surprised to find themselves working in a library-like environment, where a culture of silence prevailed. Assuming initially that this was just how postgraduate research was, they soon learned that the building also housed a second postgraduate lab…

In recent decades, researchers have indicated that U.S. schools have underexposed elementary grade students to informational text. The increased exposure to this genre should be a top instructional priority. In the present study, we explored 46 third-grade students' attitudes toward and perceptions of informational text. Using three data sources…

Board members are increasingly being asked to bless a variety of international engagements. But how many trustees truly understand how to evaluate opportunities or assess potential risks? The author interviewed board members at institutions that already have committed significant resources to global agendas. These interviewees represent a wide…

California's voter-approved Children and Families Act of 1998 calls for money collected from tobacco taxes to support services for families with children up to 5 years of age. Sacramento County uses a portion of its allocation for small community grants with the specific intent of building social capital among neighbors and across communities. The…

The article aims to discuss preliminary findings from a participatory monitoring and evaluation (M&E) framework, used in a community-based early childhood development (ECD) programme in KwaZulu-Natal South Africa, and their implications for leadership and management. The purposes of the M&E were for LETCEE, the implementing organization,…