ethanporcaro/eric-fulltext-meta huggingface dataset:
Applying Universal Design for Learning to Instructional Lesson Planning
Author: McGhie-Richmond, Donna
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Access to Education,Disabilities,Inclusion,Lesson Plans,Mixed Methods Research,Teacher Education Programs,Teacher Education,Elementary School Teachers,Secondary School Teachers

Universal Design for Learning is a framework for developing inclusive instructional lesson plans. The effects of introducing Universal Design for Learning Principles and Guidelines in a university teacher education program with pre-service and practicing teachers were explored in a mixed methods approach. The results indicate that the study participants made significant changes to their lesson plans to optimally include all students. The participants expressed profound changes in understanding inclusion and instructional roles and responsibilities.
The Contribution of Facilitated Leadership to Systems Development for Greater Inclusive Practices
Author: Jones, Phyllis
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Leadership,Inclusion,School Administration,Elementary Schools,Early Childhood Education,Systems Approach,Systems Development,Principals,Supervisors,Educational Change,Ownership,Participative Decision Making,Teacher Participation,Leadership Role,Communities of Practice

Facilitative leadership, in the context of whole school development for greater inclusive practices offers a positive contribution to the discourse of school leadership. This article presents an exploration of the development of greater inclusive practices across an early years service and an elementary school that are both adopting a whole school systems approach. The contribution of two educational leaders, one a district supervisor and one an elementary school principal in South West Florida, to the development of facilitated processes is explored in the light of best practice for effective school change. These two real life examples of the enactment of facilitated leadership in action are shared to illustrate a framework for leadership that has the potential to create systems-wide development that is sustainable. This framework includes the creation of a context for developing a common vision, shared ownership and decision-making. The use of focused questions brings in different stakeholder voices, knowledge and experience, resulting in development of consensus decision making. Leadership in school districts and in schools enacted in this facilitated way supports teachers, benefits students, and encourages system-wide change and development towards more improved inclusive opportunities for everyone.
The &quot;Inclusion&quot; of Students with Vision Impairments: Generational Perspectives in Australia
Author: Whitburn, Ben
Date: 2014-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Inclusion,Visual Impairments,Foreign Countries,Qualitative Research,Secondary School Students,Barriers,Special Education,Student Placement,Alienation,Discourse Analysis,Transportation,Educational Research,Focus Groups

In this paper I draw upon findings of a recent qualitative project conducted in Queensland, Australia in which all actors--the researcher and 5 participants aged 13-17 years--were linked together by our shared experiences of being students with impaired vision (VI) and who were educated in inclusive secondary schools in Australia during the last two decades. The narrative demonstrates the alienating legacy of two everyday routines of schooling, the placement and the daily commute. In the paper I show how referential knowledge acquisition of a trans-identity research alliance can reveal barriers to inclusion that might be ordinarily overlooked. Theoretically I map the research relationship formed between myself and participants using both Foucault's analysis of how human beings are made subjects (1982) and Bourdieu's understanding of reflexive interviewing in qualitative research (1998). The empirical contribution of this paper is to demonstrate how special education discourses render subjects more &quot;special&quot; than the sum of their actual impairments, and methodologically to highlight the role of qualitative inquiry in the field of inclusive schooling.
Learning from Science: Case Studies of Science Offerings in Afterschool Programs
Author: Lundh, Patrik
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: After School Programs,Science Instruction,Science Teachers,Teacher Qualifications,Instructional Materials,Partnerships in Education,Agency Cooperation,Science Activities,Scientific Concepts,Educational Methods,Elementary School Students,Case Studies

Afterschool programs have increasingly gained attention as settings that can help enrich students' science learning. Even though science is widely included in afterschool activities, sites often lack adequate materials and staff know-how to implement quality science. To address this need, this article examines afterschool science in light of the National Research Council's comprehensive synthesis report on promoting science learning in informal environments (NRC, 2009). The author's present the results of their analysis of qualitative case studies of nine state-funded afterschool sites in California, discussing the strengths of these programs against the background of three key site-based constraints--time available for science, staff's science backgrounds, and instructional materials--as well as the importance of partnerships with outside organizations to support sites in overcoming these obstacles. The case studies were part of a larger study in which we surveyed 406 sites in a state-funded network of afterschool programs throughout California. The purpose of the survey was to collect data on sites' partnership networks and how partner support influenced the depth and frequency of science offerings. At various moments in our site observations, we saw science activities that engaged children in exploring phenomena, collecting and analyzing data, asking questions, and discussing scientific concepts. These observations provided &quot;existence proofs&quot; that afterschool settings can deliver effective science learning experiences. This finding is especially important in light of the reduced time being spent on science during the elementary school day. However, the cases also showed that the challenges programs face in providing science experiences prevent sites from pulling these experiences together into sustained and complete science learning. Having partnerships with other organizations is one way for programs to build their capacity for offering science.
Vehicles for Education: Turkish Students' Beliefs and Views about Public Transport
Author: Kilinc, Ahmet
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Transportation,Foreign Countries,Student Attitudes,Questionnaires,Behavior Change,Time,Costs,Climate,Conservation (Environment),Environmental Education,Safety,High School Students,Incentives,Social Status

The increasing use of private rather than public transport is impacting on the environment in a number of ways, including contributing to the major problem of global warming. It is necessary, therefore, to improve strategies to encourage greater use of public transport. The aim of this study is to explore which perceived aspects of public transport might be acting as deterrents to the use of public transport, and which might act as motivators to increase its use. To act as a motivator a positive characteristic must be both seen as true for public transport and felt to be important by individuals. In contrast, negative characteristics that fulfill these criteria are likely to act as deterrents to the use of public transport. A questionnaire was used to determine the beliefs and views of Turkish students (n = 980) about such characteristics. Some characteristics, such as comfort, journey time, and timetable frequency and reliability were viewed as important and also believed to be inferior for public transport. We suggest that there are opportunities for education for behaviour change in terms of increasing student's appreciation of the importance of reducing global warming and their understanding of the role that public transport could play in this, and in terms of increasing students' understanding of the full economic cost of private transport.
Youth As Community Science Experts in Green Energy Technology
Author: Calabrese Barton, Angela
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: After School Programs,Interviews,Student Participation,STEM Education,Energy,Conservation (Environment),Science Activities,Knowledge Level,Occupational Aspiration,Program Effectiveness,Urban Youth,Science and Society,Science Careers,Expertise,Youth Programs

In this paper, the authors examine what it means to become a community science expert (CSE) and why this goal is important for youth in afterschool environments. Using &quot;Green Energy Technology in the City&quot; (GET City) as a case study, they describe how this afterschool program nurtures youth as CSEs. They draw on data gathered in 2007-2010 including student and teacher interviews; field notes on student participation; student artifacts; and pre- and post-participation measures of technology knowledge and skills, STEM practices, career aspirations, and community engagement. The guiding questions for the case study included &quot;What does it mean to become a CSE?&quot; and &quot;Why should developing CSEs be an important outcome of afterschool programming?&quot; The authors report the GET City Model was a supports to urban youth in becoming CSEs by (1) providing a platform where they can engage in scientific discourse while having the freedom to affect their community in ways that matter to them; (2) youths developing as CSEs positively affected their interests and aspirations in science and engineering; (3)  youths engagement in science shows they can engage in complex practices at the intersections of culture, place, and science, in the process of becoming engaged CSEs; and (4) it gave youths opportunities to engage in authentic, scientifically rigorous, and culturally relevant investigations and to educate others, on their own terms, about their findings. GET City youths' work as CSEs makes a difference both in their communities and in their own orientation toward science as a part of their current and future lives.
Teaching the &quot;What&quot; As Well As the &quot;How&quot;: Content-Rich OST Professional Development
Author: Cooper, Benjamin
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Best Practices,Faculty Development,After School Education,Staff Development,Youth Programs,Workshops,Clubs,Educational Quality,Program Effectiveness,Course Content,Games,Teaching Methods

This article examined the literature on best practices in content-specific professional development and then aligns this work with the practices of a citywide afterschool chess program run by After School Activities Partnerships (ASAP) in Philadelphia. School teachers, out-of-school time (OST) staff, and youth workers readied themselves to think and talk about their work, to learn something new and useful. As OST programs are increasingly pressured to connect their activities to school day learning, identifying and implementing best practices in OST professional development has become increasingly important. Workshops were chosen as the main avenue for ASAP's professional development for several reasons. First, workshops were the most cost-effective way for a small-budget outfit to provide high-quality professional development to a group of educators. Second, an in-person workshop created an opportunity for club leaders and ASAP staff to meet face to face, building a sense of community and belonging. The diversity among ASAP club leaders and host sites made this connection to ASAP especially important. In the review of professional development practices, it was concluded that &quot;a qualified, motivated staff with a low turnover rate&quot; was critical to creating quality afterschool programming. As OST programs consider content-specific programming, the sustainability and quality of their workforce played a prominent role in their thinking, as well as student outcomes. When staff members were equipped to create content-specific activities and were given autonomy to implement them, OST programs created an &quot;experience-rich&quot; environment that pushes youth to achieve and that engenders enthusiasm and longevity among staff.
Participation As Relational Process: Unpacking Involvement in Social Action and Community Service
Author: Jones, Jeffrey N.
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: After School Programs,Youth Programs,Service Learning,Social Action,Prosocial Behavior,Observation,Interviews,High School Students,Minority Group Students,Surveys,Psychological Patterns,Social Development,Student Participation,Personal Autonomy,Competence,Ethnic Diversity,Self Determination

Educators, policymakers, and other concerned adults share an interest in promoting lifelong patterns of community service in youth. Practitioners and researchers alike highlight the importance of youth participation in afterschool service activities so the author&amp;apos;s focus in this paper is on youth involved in PeaceJam, an innovative service program. PeaceJam is a community-based social action program created in the late 1990s to engage gang members in inner-city Denver in prosocial activities. Since that time, more than one million youth have participated worldwide. &amp;quot;PeaceJammers&amp;quot; study the lives of Nobel Peace laureates, identify a pressing community issue, and plan and implement a social action project. Mixed methods were employed in this study, combining results from quantitative surveys with program observations and participant interviews. Surveys were administered over three years from a sample of 781 youth (67% female, with 43% reporting an ethnicity other than Caucasian). The sample included more juniors (33%) and seniors (32%) than freshmen (15%) and sophomores (20%). Respondents averaged 1.6 years of involvement in Peace-Jam. Similarly, of the 30 interviewees, 73% were female, and 38% reported an ethnicity other than Caucasian. Analysis of our quantitative and qualitative data explored the connections between psychosocial experience and participants&amp;apos; sustained engagement in PeaceJam and in service to the community. In speaking of the process of participation, youth reported high levels of autonomy, belongingness, and competence. They spoke to the need to engage in intentional practices that are organized around, and sensitive to, the diverse needs that are present in youth-serving settings. Programs that facilitate social action may promote the development of shared purpose through collaborative efforts towards a common goal. Inspired by these experiences to critically analyze their own values and goals, youth may develop a sense of purpose and self-determination.
What Afterschool STEM Does Best: How Stakeholders Describe Youth Learning Outcomes
Author: Krishnamurthi, Anita
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: After School Programs,STEM Education,Delphi Technique,Questionnaires,Program Effectiveness,Educational Methods,Learning Activities

As more stakeholders get involved in the effort to engage youth in STEM outside of school, afterschool providers are being asked to document a wide range of outcomes, from generating interest in STEM to improving standardized test scores in math and science and to increasing the number of students who pursue STEM majors in college. This issue has significant policy implications as lawmakers work on legislation that affects STEM education and decide on funding for efforts to improve it. As afterschool becomes more widely accepted as a partner in STEM education--and therefore subject to increased scrutiny--the field must clearly articulate how afterschool programs contribute to children&apos;s STEM learning. The Afterschool STEM Outcomes Study, &quot;Defining Youth Outcomes for STEM Learning in Afterschool&quot; (Afterschool Alliance, 2013), used a process called the Delphi method. In this process, a carefully selected group of experts answer questionnaires in multiple rounds.  The results of the Afterschool STEM Outcomes Study provide a framework for thinking about how individual programs can demonstrate their support for STEM learning.
The Quest for Quality in Afterschool Science: The Development and Application of a New Tool
Author: Papazian, Anahit Evoyan
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Science Instruction,After School Programs,STEM Education,Data Collection,Program Evaluation,Program Effectiveness,Observation,Student Participation,Learner Engagement,Evaluation Methods,Educational Quality

Growing evidence shows that participation in out-of-school time (OST) activities positively supports youth development in general. However, simply participating in a self-identified STEM program is not sufficient. Youth will benefit more if they participate in &quot;quality&quot; afterschool programs. Therefore, a common understanding of quality indicators in STEM OST is vital not only for researchers and evaluators but also for afterschool program leaders and staff. However, &quot;instruments designed specifically for observing informal settings in science are only now being designed and researched.&quot; The authors report on a new tool identified as the &quot;Dimensions of Success&quot; (DoS) assessment tool to help OST programs and researchers monitor and measure quality. The DoS tool allowed observers to collect systematic data along 12 quality indicators to pinpoint the strengths and weaknesses of afterschool science learning experiences. These data could then be used to guide technical assistance and professional development and to help programs choose and modify curricula to meet students' needs. DoS could be used to help identify the areas where professional development or coaching may be needed. It provided a common language that staff members could use as they reflect on the quality of their science activities. Observers engaged in consensus discussions in which they compared their field notes and ratings to make sure they had covered all aspects of the activities they observed and that they had left no room for misinterpretation. The practical feedback provided by certified observers could immediately be used to improve OST STEM programming.
Overcoming Adversity among Low SES Students. A Study of Strategies for Retention
Author: Karimshah, Ameera
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Socioeconomic Status,Well Being,Undergraduate Students,Stress Variables,School Holding Power,Online Surveys,Low Income,Disproportionate Representation,Higher Education,Comparative Analysis,Student Attitudes,Academic Persistence,Counseling Services,Academic Advising,Health Services,Financial Services,Financial Problems,Social Networks,Self Determination,Mixed Methods Research

The Bradley Review in 2008 and the Australian government's response echoed policy concerns that young people from low socioeconomic status are underrepresented in tertiary education. In order to address this, responses to both recruitment and retention are necessary. While many studies have looked at reasons for student attrition, few investigated the factors that enabled students from low socio-economic status (SES) backgrounds to stay in university. Over 1,000 domestic undergraduate students at the University of Queensland completed an online survey, in which students from low SES backgrounds were compared with students who were not. It was found that while most students experienced a combination of financial, relationship, mental and physical health stress, students from low SES backgrounds experienced more stressors as well as higher levels of stress. While the majority of respondents were aware of student support services, these did not appear to be a major influencing factor on students' reported decisions to stay at university.
Exploring High School Students' Perceptions of Solar Energy and Solar Cells
Author: Kishore, Padmini
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Reports - Research
Subjects: High School Students,Secondary School Science,Concept Formation,Scientific Concepts,Energy,Conservation (Environment),Knowledge Level,Questionnaires,Grade 10,Misconceptions,Light,Heat

Although studies examining student understanding of key concepts are common throughout the science education literature, few have examined science concepts linked to conservation or environmental issues such as global warming and alternative energy. How students make sense of these complex concepts has the potential to influence their role as future decision-makers; it therefore becomes important to explore this baseline knowledge, especially when such concepts receive limited discussion in typical school curricula. In this study, a questionnaire incorporating both multiple choice and open-ended responses was administered to high school sophomores to better understand their conceptions of solar energy and photovoltaic cells. Analysis revealed that while students reported familiarity with photovoltaic cells, there was confusion as to how they actually worked. An underlying misconception involved the roles of light or heat from the sun in the function of these solar cells. Implications for instruction and future research are suggested.
International Students at Chinese Joint Venture Universities: Factors Influencing Decisions to Enrol
Author: Onsman, Andrys
Date: 2013-00-00
Type: Journal Articles
Subjects: Foreign Countries,Foreign Students,Partnerships in Education,Language of Instruction,English (Second Language),Second Language Learning,Enrollment,Student Attitudes,Educational Attitudes,College Students,Surveys

The People's Republic of China has determined to assume a respected place amongst the world's foremost higher education providers. Its short term strategy is multi-pronged: attracting world-class scholars; attracting international students and encouraging Chinese universities to run branches overseas. As well, a small number of select foreign universities have been invited to contribute to joint venture higher education institutions in China. Joint ventures provide an opportunity for local students to obtain a foreign degree without leaving the country but increasingly they also provide a supported environment for international students to come to China to study. This phenomenon has created some problematic areas. For instance, all current and proposed joint ventures use English as their medium of instruction but many of the source countries such as Russia, Indonesia, Japan Korea and Malaysia are not English speaking. Why then do international students from those countries choose to study at an English or American university located in China? This study explores the reasons why international students choose to enroll at University of Nottingham Ningbo China, the most established JV in China.