Math education in the United States remains resistant to systemic change, and our country pays the price. Stemhagen's article "Democracy and School Math" further confirms this trend. Despite repeated calls for reform, decades of research on how people learn, millions of dollars invested in teacher professional development, and years of…

The development of students' science reasoning abilities is a goal of science education. Researchers measure science reasoning using a variety of instruments, each with limitations and restrictions. In this study, contrasting instructional modes were analyzed for students' science reasoning development over the course of a semester. A novel…

This article reports on a study that investigated the reasons why one group of secondary education students chose to major in middle school education. Data were collected via interviews and meeting and observational notes with prospective middle school majors at a mid-Atlantic public university during the 2010/2011 academic year. Findings indicate…

This paper analyzes recent research conclusions regarding biology teacher attitudes toward evolution, and the variable implementation of evolution in the high schools nationwide. Berkman and Plutzer (2010. "Evolution, creationism, and the battle to control America's classrooms." New York: Cambridge University Press) conclude that due to a large…

Little information is available about the employment trajectories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples pursuing university professional qualifications. This article describes a context in which cultural space, issues of identity, pragmatics of employment, family and community and a bureaucratic regulatory environment intersect to…

Brigid Burke is the program coordinator of World Language Education at her university, which is housed in the College of Education and Human Development. Since obtaining this position 4 years ago, she has become most concerned about certain recommendations that were made by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) in 2002,…

The goal of this research project is to analyse the manifestation of caring behaviours in early childhood teachers and students. Thirty-two early childhood education major pre-service teachers served as observers. For data collection they used checklists previously prepared by the classroom instructor and kept a journal with anecdotal…

A collaborative of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and education faculty developed a STEM certificate aimed at elementary education majors. A four-phase process model was used to create and evaluate courses. The certificate is comprised of three interdisciplinary, team-taught, lab-based courses: Environmental Biology,…

This cross case analysis synthesizes results from two qualitative studies on mathematics content courses for prospective elementary teachers: one from the U.S. interviewed instructors, one from Canada interviewed students. Results were examined for common themes. Salient commonalities were found. Two will be discussed here: the role of affect in…

We investigate mathematics anxiety amongst education majors currently enrolled as pre-service teachers in special education, deaf and hard of hearing, early childhood and elementary education. The impact of a compulsory freshmen content course and sophomore methodology course on mathematics anxiety for each education major was studied over a two…

Through analyses of three dissertations completed by graduates of our Carnegie Project for the Education Doctorate-influenced program, this article offers insights into both the doctoral students' inquiries into their problems of practice and their faculty advisors' roles and expectations for them. Studying student dissertations provided the…

In education, as in other realms of life, motivation plays a crucial role in the performance of students. Deci and Ryan's (1985) Self Determination Theory identified various types of motivation along a continuum from weakest to strongest. Yet, until recently, no reliable method existed to accurately measure the strength of motivation along this…

Given the dearth of research on elementary education majors' experiences in middle level endorsement programs (Anderson, 2009), and the shortage of teachers aspiring to work with young adolescents, this case study examined the topic to provide insight into the experiences of preservice elementary education teachers. Specifically, this study…

Assessments have been a major topic of concern in the American education for the past several years. With the enactment of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, student assessment has become a high stakes event in all school districts. In the same way that classroom teachers need assessment literacy to make meaningful use of student assessments,…

This study surveyed current education majors (n=70) in two Kansas universities to gain a perspective on their understanding of Information Literacy (IL) concepts and skills, and to learn whether they anticipated teaching such concepts to their future K-12 students. School media specialists in the state were also surveyed (n=85) and asked to share…