Open-ended questions and semistructured interviews were used to investigate the psychosocial learning environment among (n=35) grade-nine mathematics students in Hong Kong. The Mathematics Classroom Environment Scale has eight dimensions: enjoyability; order; involvement; achievement orientation; teacher led; teacher support; teacher involvement;…

In 2007, the Texas Legislature (80th Texas Legislature, Regular Session, 2007) authorized the creation of the Texas Rural Technology (R-Tech) Pilot program, which provides $8 million in funding to support rural districts in implementing technology-based supplemental education programs. In order to be eligible for funding, districts must have…

Researchers analyzed 500 never-before-analyzed interviews from a study conducted by Norbert Elias and other researchers at University of Leicester in 1962, which was one of the first studies of the transition from school to work. The Elias study explored how young people in England experienced work and adjusted their lives to the work role. All of…

A study examined individual student, institutional, and environmental factors influencing student non-completions and determined strategies that Western Australia's Central TAFE (technical and further education) might introduce to improve student retention. After completing a multivariate analysis of module completion rates, further data for a…

Two naturalistic research studies observed 45 eleventh grade students carrying out research paper assignments, and a third such study focused on 26 third grade students. The studies took place in Alberta (Canada) in 1993, Texas in 1996, and Washington state in 1999. From data analyzed in the interviews and written documents, the initial findings…

The new Science and Technology Curriculum Framework recently issued in Taiwan advocates the teaching of integrated science and technology with greater emphasis on basic skills. Science teachers are not used to teach in this way, they need different abilities and skills in order to do so. Using various effective professional development strategies,…

This paper describes two experiences in which traditional face-to-face and World Wide Web-based teaching methods were combined at the University of Barcelona (Spain) as part of a regular course in Environmental Education for student teachers. The first experience took place within the university when a Web-based module was delivered to a group of…

As theorized in Anderson's (1983, 1995) associative stage of skill acquisition, errors or obstacles become an important index of the learning process. However, learning obstacles have not been widely researched in the field of language learning strategies. This study explores the difficulties or barriers confronted by the EFL (English as a Foreign…

This paper reports the findings from a pilot study that investigated the uses of computer-mediated communication in an educational psychology course for pre-service teachers that focused on problem-based learning via CD-ROM-based case analysis. Thirty-nine pre-service teachers and eight practicing teachers participated in the development of an…

Motivation is a major socio-psychological factor to draw much attention of linguists and English Language Teaching (ELT) specialists in this decade. But most of the studies, conducted by ELT researchers at universities, basically deal with urban learners, which do not present sufficient findings in this field of research. This study primarily…

A qualitative study was conducted to determine the perceptions of preservice teachers on how computers will be used in schools in the future. Undergraduate students (n=40) were given a 60-minute multimedia presentation on how computer and multimedia technologies are used in schools, followed by group discussions on the ways in which computers will…

A primary objective of graduate education, and often promoted by peer collaboration tasks, is the development of critical thinking skills. The present study compares how graduate students enrolled in a qualitative research design course in applied linguistics utilized asynchronous computer-mediated communication (ACMC) and face-to-face…

Educational access and retention issues for low-wage working parents were examined in a study conducted at six community colleges nationwide. Three focus groups were held at each community college--one each for current community college students, those who had enrolled, in but not completed a community college program, and those who had never…

This paper discusses some of the health implications of data produced in the course of a research project that explored the usefulness of the concept of "social capital" in relation to the health and well-being of children. The research used qualitative methods to explore 12-15 year olds' subjective experiences of their neighbourhoods,…

The use of computer-mediated communication in higher education presents opportunities for students to be part of an online learning community irrespective of their geographical location. However, students do not always avail themselves of this opportunity and pedagogic strategies for encouraging participation are therefore constantly being…