This is a qualitative interpretive study that explores the past and present experiences of heritage learners (HLs) of Mexican descent who were studying or had recently studied advanced Spanish in institutions of higher education. All of the participants had been exposed to Spanish in the home and began their studies in elementary or middle school…

User-centered evaluations of information systems often focus on the usability of the system rather its usefulness. This study examined how a using an interactive knowledge-domain visualization (KDV) system affected users' understanding of a domain. Interactive KDVs allow users to create graphical representations of domains that depict important…

This case study focuses on the impact of historical film on 20 high school students using document surveys, group, and personal interviews. The study examined the impact that two films had on students' historical understanding, the students' awareness of this impact, and their use of the tools of historical inquiry. The results indicated film…

This interpretive qualitative study explores the role of religion and/or spirituality in the work of secular educators. The experience of 18 K-12 and university educators--none of whom teach religion or work in religious institutions, all of whom claim their religion and/or spirituality influence their work--forms the data base for this study. …

I. Analyzing and comparing student-generated inscriptions in chemistry is crucial to gaining insight into students' understanding about chemistry concepts. Thus, we developed two methods of analyzing student-generated inscriptions: features analysis and thematic analysis. We have also demonstrated how these methods are able to discern differences…

This qualitative case study investigated the process by which eight hearing parents went about making decisions to promote language acquisition and literacy learning in their deaf children, who or what influenced that process, and how they coped emotionally with the impact of deafness on literacy and language acquisition. Data from interview…

Latino graduate students' coping styles were explored within the context of their ethnic identity levels, perceptions of university environment, and perception of program racial microaggressions. Participants were 309 graduate students attending various universities. The student's collectivistic coping styles (Forbearance and Support Seeking) were…

The question of whether or not linguistic sounds might convey inherent meaning has never conclusively been resolved. This is an empirical study weighing evidence for and against the existence of phonosemantics, also known as sound symbolism or iconism. Contrary to well established principles such as the arbitrary nature of the sign and the double…

This dissertation is about the dynamics between systemic educational reform and teachers' efforts to improve classroom practices. It examines teachers' responsibility in the context of school change by focusing on how teachers interpret, adapt, and transform practice to make it relevant both to teaching and to the reality of learning in…

manaOptimizing risk to information to protect the enterprise as well as to satisfy government and industry mandates is a core function of most information security departments. Risk management is the discipline that is focused on assessing, mitigating, monitoring and optimizing risks to information. Risk assessments and analyses are critical…

The problem. The Taiwanese educational system incorporated English classes into the third grade curriculum beginning in 2005, making English language education more and more important in Taiwan. The goals for implementing this English educational policy in elementary schools are for students to be able to comprehend letters, phonology, and…

To boost the social and economic outlook of the country, Turkey has recently initiated educational reform at all levels and especially higher education, including organizational restructuring and expansion for increased accessibility. The swift increase in the number and size of universities has resulted in a challenge to find trained faculty. One…

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify, using a Delphi technique, what actions experts recommend Inland Empire school systems should take to effectively attract qualified principals beginning in the year 2010. The study also asked these same experts to rate those recommended actions as to their importance and, finally, to rate those…

Normal language comprehension requires contributions from and cooperation of many parts of the brain, ranging from sensory areas that receive the initial physical input, through frontal and temporal areas associated with oft-characterized language subprocesses, to brain areas involved in perspective-taking and social cognition; thus a network of…

ICT integration into classroom teaching and learning practices depends on teachers' attitude toward ICT and the extent of their training in the technology. Early research suggests that males have more positive attitudes toward ICT and have more knowledge and skills about technology than females. Contemporary research, however, suggests that…