Recent work by some researchers has focused on synthesizing what is known about students' thinking of particular concepts. These syntheses elaborate core progressions called learning trajectories that articulate how thinking matures from informal ideas to increasingly complex understandings. Though useful at the level of curriculum, assessment,…

Policy discourses reflected in the World Declaration on Education for All (EFA) (Inter-Agency Commission, 1990) and the subsequent Dakar Framework for Action and EFA: The Quality Imperative (UNESCO, 2001, 2004), have called for the improvement of the quality of basic education. These discourses emphasize student-centered pedagogical approaches in…

Authors of recent science reform documents promote the goal of scientific literacy for all Americans (American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1989, 1993). Some students, however, feel apprehensive about learning science due to perceptions that science is antagonistic to their world views (Alters, 2005; Esbenshade, 1993). This study…

The purpose of this study was to determine (1) strategies students use when solving composition problems and the difficulties they encounter; (2) conceptions and/or misconceptions students have with respect to composition of functions; and (3) the effect of using dynamic visualization during instruction on students' understanding of composition of…

Research indicates school culture impacts student achievement. At Teach Them All Middle School (TTA), an achievement gap exists between African American and White students. The purpose of the current study was to examine the perceptions of African American students concerning the school culture at TTA. The research questions explored the…

Philosophical examinations untie question "What is literacy?" lie at the center of many, if not most, educational debates. Current Discourse surrounding literacy practices is a result of the history and theories surrounding reading instruction. This philosophical inquiry examines, through the careful examination of historical events and theories…

This study is an initial analytic attempt to iteratively develop a conceptual framework informed by both theoretical and practical perspectives that may be used to analyze non-textual elements in mathematics textbooks. Despite the importance of visual representations in teaching and learning, little effort has been made to specify in any…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine Texas Public School counselors' perceptions of family strengths in Hurricane Katrina African American evacuee children and adolescents and in their families. An additional purpose of this study was to determine how these counselors may have called upon these perceived strengths to intervene in…

This investigation explored relationships between format of text (electronic or print-based) and reading comprehension of adolescent readers. Also in question were potential influences on comprehension from related measures including academic placement of participants, gender, prior knowledge of the content, and overall reading ability. Influences…

The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory research study was to explore the perceptions of the academic community regarding gifted education using a grounded theory technique. Parents, teachers, and administrators shared their viewpoints concerning gifted education in terms of needs and support, resistance to objections, social value,…

This study was designed to solicit the perspectives of AP and IB graduates who have completed at least one semester of postsecondary education about their experiences while in their respective programs. This study was also conducted to determine whether these IB graduates report that they were better prepared for postsecondary studies than…

Acoustic and perceptual correlates of emphasis, a secondary articulation in the posterior vocal tract, in Urban Jordanian Arabic were studied. CVC monosyllables and CV.CVC bisyllables with emphatic and plain target consonants in word-initial, word-medial and word-final positions were examined. Spectral measurements on the target vowels at vowel…

This study explores the association of students' self-perceived critical thinking ability with participation in Residential Honors living-learning programs versus Civic/Social Leadership living-learning programs and non-participation in living-learning programs. The study analyzes data from the 2004 National Study of Living-Learning Programs…

Many are beginning to see the promise that the quantum world has offered those who manage and lead organizations (Wheatley, 1992; Zohar, 1997). The Newtonian world is one in which all "things" are reduced to their smallest parts, separated, divided, and analyzed with predictability, with complete control being the ultimate goal. The quantum world…

This study was an "ex post facto" analysis that examined select demographic and socioeconomic variables to determine their relationship to the academic persistence (passing or failing) of students enrolled in level-one developmental mathematics and persistence into level-two developmental mathematics at an urban community college for a three-year…