This article is based on the premise that there is inadequate attention to the link between theory and applied research in social gerontology. The article contends that applied research studies do not often or effectively employ a theoretical framework and that theory-based articles, including theory-based research, are not often focused on…

In the lead article, Persson (2012a) focuses on salient issues that have not as yet been addressed by others, and which are relevant, and germane. With the advent of the Internet and web and e-mail, conversation and discussion among scholars have increased tremendously. At the current time, researchers are able to share their data, their thoughts…

This paper responds to an article by John Bruer that questions the wisdom behind the recent surge of interest in the educational implications of brain research. Bruer is skeptical about brain-based educational practice and policy. This paper argues in favor of the default alternative that knowledge of brain functioning and development can guide…

The paucity of research on learning and development may seem surprising, but it is a pervasive fact. Research relating brain science to learning and development is even sparser, with scant evidence investigating connections between mind, brain, and education. Indeed one reason for the prevalence of neural myths is that so little research links…

Little attention has been given to how adults develop through their lifetimes and what roles their workplace environments play in that development. Research and theory regarding adult psychosocial development have confirmed the developmental life-cycle phases of adulthood. These are: leaving the family (ages 16-22), getting into the adult world…

Educational leadership has been supported by an inadequate knowledge base for administrative preparation and an inadequate research base for program improvement. Over the past 40 years, no new programmatic ideas have been produced in this field. This paper reports on trends to improve the quality of research and theory development in the teaching…

Flynn, Laland, Kendal and Kendal's article (this issue) plays a valuable role in two ways. First, it demonstrates how developmental psychology can learn lessons from the latest research on developmental niche construction within evolutionary biology. Secondly, for those psychologists whose main focus is the cognitive mechanisms by which humans…

The purpose of this article is to critique human resource development's (HRD) dominant philosophy, practices, and research; illustrate how they negatively affect women HRD practitioners and recipients; and recommend alternative conceptualizations of the field. This article is grounded in a critical feminist theoretical framework, draws on critical…

This article responds to an article by A. Gupta, D. Hammer, and E. F. Redish (2010) that asserts that M. T. H. Chi's (1992, 2005) hypothesis of an "ontological commitment" in conceptual development is fundamentally flawed. In this article, I argue that Chi's theoretical perspective is still very much intact and that the critique offered by Gupta…

Since implementation of reform and opening-up policy, China's teacher education has got significant success on policy design, legislation process, theory research, system reform, model innovation and teaching qualification system building. Teachers' educational background level has been increased. Teachers' professional ethics and teaching…

In this article, the author discusses how universities and the academics who work in them understand the relationship between teaching and research. In several countries, acknowledgement of the need to link teaching and research has led to the development of institutional strategies to achieve this goal. In South Africa, the linking of teaching…

Dabrowski's theory of positive disintegration (K. Dabrowski, 1964, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1973) has been the subject of a number of research projects in the gifted field over the past 20 or so years. Most of this research has focused on Dabrowski's idea of overexcitability and has not discussed the broader context or implications of his theory or…

In proposing a "work and relationship" perspective for vocational psychology, Richardson builds on a rich intellectual (social constructionist) tradition and offers incisive social commentary. In this reaction, the author examines several of her foci--in particular, the four-part division of life's social contexts, her views on relationships, and…

In her Keynote Article, Paradis discusses the role of the interface between bilingual development and specific language impairment (SLI) on two different levels. On the level of theoretical explanations of SLI, Paradis asks how domain general versus domain-specific perspectives on SLI can account for bilingual SLI, as well as what bilingual SLI…

The learning triangle described by Black, Wilson, and Yao (this issue) offers a powerful vision for improved student learning. Learning theory clearly plays a central role in the construct-centered approach presented by the learning triangle. But the assumption of such an important role requires Black et al. to devote corresponding care to the…