Motivation is a complicated concept and difficult to measure and study; nevertheless, it is a substantial factor in students' performance that demands extra attention. Instructors across all grade levels and disciplines struggle to cultivate classroom environments that focus on student interactions and promote interest where high-quality work is…

Introduction: Prior research consistently provides evidence supporting potential relationships between epistemological beliefs and learning. The current study examines the relationship between epistemological beliefs, academic motivation, and self-regulated learning strategies among different ethnic groups of American adolescents. Method: This…

There has recently been a great deal of theoretical interest in the relevance of the intellectual virtues for education, including undergraduate education. This study introduces a novel online module, as part of a larger university-wide initiative, to introduce and potentially inculcate intellectual virtue in students. Using a non-experimental…

This study examined factors affecting international students' willingness to communicate (WTC) in English as a second language (ESL), focusing on second language (L2) self-confidence, acculturation, and motivational types. L2 self-confidence was hypothesized to predict L2 WTC and to mediate the correlation between acculturation and L2 WTC for…

Purpose: Situated within a complex social-political and developmental context marked by racialization and identity formation, this research aims to illuminate the nuanced ways Latinx youth navigate their bilingual experience amidst varying educational models and linguistic environments. The overarching goal of this dissertation is to investigate…

Adult learners often have difficulty reaching high proficiency levels in a foreign language, and curriculum experts are on a constant quest for innovative practices in foreign language learning. The problem addressed by this study was that even with the implementation of different pedagogical approaches, including immersion and technology…

This study examines the academic and psychosocial effects of the Bridge Project after-school program on 25 prekindergarten through 6th-grade English language learner Mexican immigrant children and their families living in an affordable housing complex in the San Francisco Bay Area. The results of the study show that the program increased the…

Web-based communication technologies that enable collaboration and sharing of information among users - such as podcasts, wikis, blogs, message boards, and others--are used commonly in contemporary organizations to increase and manage employee learning. In this investigation, we identify which of these collaborative communication technologies are…

The study aimed to examine teachers' and students' views on the impact of the Expository Reading and Writing Course (ERWC) on students' college readiness and on teaching practices. Literature in the areas of college readiness, critiques of the English curriculum at the secondary level, and a review of research on the effects of ERWC are…

The purpose of this qualitative study done in 2003 was to determine which factors motivated the adult learners who were employed full time to pursue and complete a college degree at a Southern California university complex. Using a structured survey which included Q-Sort and Likert Scale methodologies followed by in-depth interviews, the study's…

The report summarizes results of an evaluative study of selected state-funded elementary and secondary school programs for less commonly taught languages (LCTLs) in California. Fourteen projects at 19 school sites received a maximum of 4 years of funding to offer instruction in Japanese, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Korean, and Russian. The…