Doctoral education programs, being the cradle of the next-generation scientists and scholars, undertake the mission of transforming a talented student into a promising scholar. This transformation is featured by two simultaneous processes: academic professionalization and scholarly socialization. Institutional environment, academic advisors, and…

Research on teacher and school academic optimism has abounded ever since these two constructs were confirmed and shown to have positive effects on student achievement. However, one overlooked research question is the nested association between teacher and school academic optimism. This study intends to fill this gap by using hierarchical linear…

As an important group of students, the alienated and disaffected students are often overlooked in more general studies of civic education. Based on data from the International Civics and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS 2009), the study investigated alienated and disaffected students in Asia and explored the development of their civic attitudes.…

This study focused on China's higher education system and explored if personality traits were a mediator of the relationship between motivational mechanisms and continuous improvement, and further explored if leadership change was a moderator of the relationship between personality traits and continuous improvement of the motivations and student…

This study was undertaken to determine the extent to which leadership capabilities and managerial competencies explain leadership performance in Malaysian Higher Education context. Data were collected from academic leaders in 25 public and private universities and colleges using a few previously developed scales in Malaysian context. Next, the…

Concepts of learner autonomy and the self-determination theory provided a theoretical rationale for the action program for learner autonomy. The action program incorporated satisfying learners' basic psychological needs into English Foreign Language (EFL) course education. The action program was implemented for one academic year. Both qualitative…

This study explored attitudes and perceptions of Chinese high school students regarding freedom of expression in their country. A survey capturing perceptions over various forms of free speech (e.g., student publication, dress code) was administered to a sample of 838, which included students from both urban and rural areas within Shaanxi Province…

Meta-analysis is a statistical method that is increasingly utilized to combine and compare the results of previous primary studies. However, because of the lack of comprehensive guidelines for how to use meta-analysis, many meta-analysis studies have failed to consider important aspects, such as statistical programs, power analysis, publication…

In this paper, we investigate the determinants of over-education in Japan and evaluate its opportunity costs for university graduates. To this end, we use the REFLEX data. Results reveal that over-education level in Japan is high and it brings an important wage penalty for Japanese workers. Large firm and high occupations point toward a…

The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of the curriculum developed in line with authentic learning on the teacher candidates' success, attitudes towards courses and self-directed learning skills. The study, that is quantitative in nature, is carried out with 64 teacher candidates studying at Near East University and taking the course…

The purpose of this paper was to examine the relationship between school organizational climate and teachers' job satisfaction. A quantitative survey method was applied, and three broadly hypothesized relationships were tested with a sample of 245 teachers from six government secondary schools in district of Penampang, Sabah, Malaysia. The…

The purpose of this study is to examine the issues of students' motivational beliefs in science learning and their relations with science achievement. Data of Taiwanese fourth and eighth graders from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study 2011 were examined. Students' self-concept and intrinsic interest as motivational beliefs,…

Studies have found little correlation between creativity and being gifted or talented, but do show that creative people are more broadly trained, have more avocational interests, and display more ability in these interests than the average person. In the sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, the avocational interests of…

This study investigates the impact of transformational leadership as idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individualized consideration on teachers' commitment towards organization, teaching profession, and students' learning. A quantitative survey method was applied, and four broadly hypothesized…

As the numbers of international students have grown, higher education institutions in Asia have offered a growing range of English medium instruction (EMI) degree programs. But Asian governments and higher education institutions have not thought deeply about how to ensure quality of English medium instruction degree programs. At the same time,…