We examined mothers' verbal responses to their crawling or walking infants' object sharing (i.e. bids). Fifty mothers and their 13-month-olds were observed for 1 hour at home. Infants bid from a stationary position or they bid after carrying the object to their mothers. Mothers responded with affirmations (e.g. "thank you"),…

This article analyses the student assessment procedures of 12 universities in the UK, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic with respect to their alignment with the European standards and guidelines on the quality of assessing higher education students (European Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance [ESG] 1.3). Based on qualitative…

A recent development in large-scale coach accreditation (certification) structures has been the "fast tracking" of former elite athletes. Former elite athletes are often exempted from entry-level qualifications and are generally granted access to fast track courses that are shortened versions of the accreditation courses undertaken by…

Faculty and students are increasingly faced with the opportunity to use electronic versions of textbooks (e-texts). Despite the advantages of e-texts and recent advances in technology, evidence suggests that students are still reluctant to adopt and use e-texts. This situation leads us to investigate two research questions: What factors contribute…

This study investigated the role of item formats in the performance of 206 nonnative speakers of English on expressive skills (i.e., speaking and writing). Test scores were drawn from the field test of the "Pearson Test of English Academic" for Chinese, French, Hebrew, and Korean native speakers. Four item formats, including…

The authors investigated the differential effect of retention on the development of academic achievement from grades 1 to 5 on children retained in grade 1 over 6 years. Growth mixture model (GMM) analyses supported the existence of two distinct trajectory groups of retained children for both reading and math among 125 ethnically and…

Mentors play a key role in developing preservice teachers for their chosen careers, and providing feedback appears as a significant relational interaction between the mentor and mentee that assists in guiding the mentee's practices. But what are mentors' perspectives on providing feedback to their mentees? In this case study, eight…

Substantial variation has been observed across an international series of studies examining the consistency of students' explanations of force and the most common meanings of force apparent in those explanations. On the surface, the variations among studies might be attributed to differences at the national level, but the studies also…

Background: Social perception skills, such as understanding the mind and emotions of others, affect children's communication abilities in real-life situations. In addition to autism spectrum disorder (ASD), there is increasing knowledge that children with specific language impairment (SLI) also demonstrate difficulties in their social…

Background: The primary aim of this study was to examine differences in physiological reactivity (measured via pupillometry) to emotional stimuli between children of depressed versus nondepressed mothers. A second goal was to examine differences in pupil dilation to emotional stimuli between children of anxious versus nonanxious mothers. Method:…

Despite the plethora of previous studies on the various uses of e-learning, there is a dearth of research on employees' action to use corporate e-learning (ACE). The present study attempts to address this lack in literature by investigating whether individual factors such as self-esteem and need for cognition, and job factors such as job…

Just as scientific knowledge is constructed using distinct modes of inquiry (e.g. experimental or historical), arguments constructed during science instruction may vary depending on the mode of inquiry underlying the topic. The purpose of this study was to examine whether and how secondary science teachers construct scientific arguments during…

Kindergarteners treat certain social categories as natural kinds. This study addressed how children pick out social categories. Ninety-one 19-and 26-month-olds were familiarized to exemplars of categories of people (e.g., Blacks-Whites, men-women) and animals (e.g., cows-horses). Participants then saw a picture matching the familiarization…

There is substantial variance in the age at which children construct and deploy their first explicit theory of biology. This study tests the hypothesis that this variance is due, at least in part, to individual differences in their executive function (EF) abilities. A group of 79 boys and girls aged 5-7 years (with a mean age of 6½ years) were…

Purpose: Previous research demonstrating that specific performance outcome goals can be achieved in different ways is functionally significant for springboard divers whose performance environment can vary extensively. This body of work raises questions about the traditional approach of balking (terminating the takeoff) by elite divers aiming to…