In this study, we examined the provision and development of lifelong learning within institutions of higher education in British Columbia and explored some of the institutional characteristics that enable or discourage it. The results suggest that most lifelong learning opportunities are directed toward enhancing employment and career…

This study aims at identifying interpretable factors underlying Japanese language learners' attitudes toward "kanji" and their self-reported "kanji" learning strategies. It also examines the relationship between the two sets of belief factors. A questionnaire survey was conducted among Japanese language students at nine universities in the United…

This study examined the problem of the professional and life self-determination of students enrolled in higher pedagogical educational institutions, with Ulianovsk Pedagogical University serving as the base. The objectives were the following: (1) to study the reasons that the students in the different stages of their schooling (the first and fifth…

This study extends the extant research on first-year programs to include a closer examination of their impact on student learning and democratic outcomes. Based on data collected from three courses--a first-year success course with an explicit focus on diversity, an introductory communication course, and an introductory engineering course--we…

The aim of this study was to expand the assessment of two explanatory models of drinking behavior--perceptions of risk and social norms--and determine their relationship to dimensions of alcohol involvement in a multivariate evaluation. The Alcohol and Drug Survey was administered to a sample (N = 235) of college students from a university in the…

Affirmative action in college admissions is based on the premise that a diverse student body contributes to interactions among students from different backgrounds, which are in turn positively related to desirable outcomes of college. This study evaluates the merits of this rationale for affirmative action by examining the direct and indirect…

Mobile learning has long been identified as one of the natural directions in which CALL is expected to move, and as smaller portable technologies become less expensive, lighter and more powerful, they have the potential to become a more integral part of language learning courses as opposed to the more supplemental role often assigned to computer…

There has been abundant research examining how early life experiences affect achievement. In this article, we investigate the transition from elementary to junior high school at a developmental stage where numerous changes have an impact on students. Using nationally representative survey data, we found no differences in academic achievement…

The authors conduct open-ended surveys of 530 students and teachers in three publicly funded schools with different approaches to providing a high-ability "school-within-a-school:" a gifted program, an international baccalaureate program, and a high-ability program with a science focus. Overall, the authors find that teachers and students in all…

To reduce problems associated with youth substance use, Indiana developed funding streams and infrastructure to facilitate coordination of statewide prevention efforts. These prevention efforts aimed at youth include programming in the non-school hours. To examine the relationship between these efforts and youth substance abuse, students…

The federal No Child Left Behind Act and previous performance-based accountability policies are based on a theoretical assumption that sanctions will motivate school staff to perform at higher levels and focus attention on student outcomes. Using data from Chicago, this article draws on expectancy and incentive theories to examine whether…

Background: Northern Ireland is a province that remains deeply divided between Protestants and Catholics and maintains a segregated system of schools. Purpose: The research builds on a series of studies conducted in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s to monitor the attitude toward Christianity of males and females educated in Protestant and Catholic…

Policies to ensure education equity and programs to foster educational advancement among Aboriginal people have been in place for several years in most Canadian jurisdictions. Despite of the successes brought about by these policies, questions about just how much has been accomplished, and how best to secure desired results, remain matters of…

Proponents of achievement goal theory typically posit social comparison to be associated with performance goals but not with mastery goals (C. Ames, 1992). Contrary to this postulate, there is some evidence that individuals who are experimentally induced to adopt mastery goals may also use social comparison (e.g., R. Butler, 1992). However, such…

In recent years, a series of articles have examined the performance of charter schools with mixed results. Some of this research has shown that charter school performance varies by charter type or the age of the school (Bifulco & Ladd, 2006; Buddin & Zimmer, 2005; Hanushek, Kain, & Rivkin, 2002; Sass, 2006). However, this research has…