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Purpose: Technology, including educational applications (apps), is commonly used in schools by teachers and speech-language pathologists. Nonetheless, very little research has examined the efficacy of these apps for student learning or how to choose appropriate apps for instruction. Several previous rubrics to evaluate the instructional quality of apps have been published, yet limitations such as user training and time to administer have limited their use. The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive yet easy-to-use rubric for evaluating educational apps. Method: An iterative process guided the development and assessment of the Rubric for the Evaluation of Apps for Learning (REAL). Prior rubrics were synthesized to develop a comprehensive list of items. These items were condensed for simplicity purposes. A focus group and a survey of teachers and speech-language pathologists validated the rubric items and informed revisions. Multiple rounds of interrater reliability calculations and rubric revisions resulted in a final draft of the rubric, included here. Results: The final version of REAL passed validation and demonstrated evidence of interrater reliability among familiar users (Fleiss' [kappa] = 0.71-0.77) and those with no prior experience using the rubric (Fleiss' [kappa] = 0.46). The majority of practitioners (90%) reported that they would use the rubric in their practice. REAL was used to rate 10 apps teaching phonics and 10 apps teaching social skills; scores are presented for demonstration purposes and indicate a wide range of rankings. Conclusions: REAL is a feasible, comprehensive rubric for evaluating the quality of educational apps, for which there may be little to no published research evidence. Practitioners may be overwhelmed with the number of commercially available apps. REAL provides a tool to help them make decisions that benefit the children they serve.

Purpose: Previous research demonstrates a consistent association between the media and body and eating related issues in children. Recent research has highlighted a role for "fat talk" to describe discourses around body size and food. One key source of media information is Disney animation films, yet to date no research study has explored the verbal content of this genre. Design/methodology/approach: The present study used a content analysis to examine fat talk in Disney animation films (1937-2021; n = 53) with a focus on the frequency of fat talk, changes over time and differences between the genders and heroic statuses of the givers and receivers of fat talk. Fat talk was defined as relating to both body size and food and could be either positive or negative. Findings: Results revealed that there was more negative than positive fat talk per film; no significant changes over time; males were the givers of significantly more positive and negative fat talk than females and were also the receivers of more negative fat talk; good characters were the givers and receivers of more positive and negative fat talk and more self-directed negative fat talk than bad characters. Practical implications: The results are discussed in terms of possible legislation and parenting interventions to minimise the harm of this genre on young children. Originality/value: Disney animation films may not be as benign as often thought.

This study utilized the large-scale, multi-institutional CASSIE dataset to examine the impact of education abroad participation on academic outcomes for first-generation college students. Using robust multivariate matching methodology that effectively minimized self-selection bias, results showed the magnitude of benefit offered by studying abroad was greater for first-generation students than for continuing-generation students. Even after matching on a variety of background and prior achievement variables, first-generation students who studied abroad had higher 4- and 6-year graduation rates, had higher cumulative GPA scores, and took less time to graduate--relative to first-generation students who did not study abroad. These findings suggest that education abroad programming can be leveraged as a high-impact educational practice to promote college completion rates among first-generation students.

Research on migrant youth's school transitions has focused on the country of residence, ignoring migrant youth's pre-migration lives in the country of origin. Drawing on 14 months of multi-sited ethnographic fieldwork between Ghana and Germany, this paper instead analyses school transitions through migrant youth's mobility trajectories, encompassing all geographic moves and concurrent family constellations over time and space, both before and after migration. A mobility lens shows how resources gained in the country of origin -- including confidence, discipline, respect, and adaptability -- help migrant youth navigate their school transitions in the country of residence, thus becoming forms of transnational cultural capital.

Common intellectual experiences (CIEs) are one of the lesser-known modalities that have been identified as a high impact practice (HIP) in higher education. This mixed-methods study assesses the outcomes of a short-term CIE, which took the form of a multi-disciplinary, multi-classroom case study focused on Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality group (the titular Top Chief), and his handling of the challenges faced by the hospitality industry under the conditions of the global pandemic. The findings suggest that such CIEs can be effective in fostering integrative thinking both within and across curricula, though the benefits may not accrue equally across all student populations. The study has implications for how universities develop and diversify their HIP portfolios, how faculty implement CIEs in their classrooms, and how students develop their capabilities as wicked problem solvers.

Gender differences in teacher ratings of academic performance, social skills, and externalizing behavior were examined from fourth through seventh grade in a group of 1,023 students from 65 primary schools. Cohen's "d" and "t" tests and were used to report the magnitude of gender differences, and structural equation modeling was used to evaluate cross-domain influences in latent cascade models. Girls received significantly more positive teacher ratings than boys, but the differences leveled more out in the social and behavioral domain than in the academic. Teacher assessments of academic performance predicted future social skills to a larger extent than vice versa for both genders.

Functional communication training (FCT) is an evidence-based practice for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) that can be implemented by practitioners in school settings. However, few studies have explored effective and sustainable training approaches to support paraeducators in their implementation of FCT. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of special education teacher-delivered training on paraeducator implementation of FCT for students with ASD. Paraeducator FCT implementation included delivery of a teacher-identified response prompting system to teach a predetermined functionally equivalent communicative response. All paraeducators delivered FCT with high levels of implementation after receiving training, with two paraeducators requiring additional follow-up coaching to meet the criteria for mastery. We present implications for practice and future research directions as it relates to developing effective training systems for paraeducators who support students with ASD.

The purpose of the study was to determine if peer feedback at midterm helped students improve their teamwork skills, and to identify variations in teamwork skills across course delivery modalities. This study focuses on peer evaluation of teamwork in an introduction to organizational behaviour course required for all business majors. The course is offered face-to-face and online, both of which include the high impact practices of service learning and a team ePortfolio. Findings indicate that teamwork skills, as assessed by peers, increased from midterm to final, which suggests the value of formative peer evaluation. No differences existed between delivery modalities.

With the gradual shift to online education models that has taken place in recent decades, research has sought to understand the nuances of student performance in an online model in comparison to more traditional in-person modalities. However, the effects of instructional modality have been difficult to determine given the many variables that exist in course design between these methods. In this study, we attempt to determine the efficacy of asynchronous online instruction by comparing two nearly equivalent courses. The first course was a flipped classroom, a recent and well-studied hybrid model of instruction. The second was an asynchronous fully online course that contained all the same instructional elements as the in-person course but lacked any student or instructor interaction. Student performance was tracked at both a highly-selective private institution and an open-enrollment public institution. Results show that students' performance drops in an asynchronous online course compared to an equivalent in-person experience. Several potential hypotheses are put forth to explain a change in performance that can potentially shape the design of online instruction.

The private economic benefits of persistence in higher education include better salaries and benefits, higher employment rates, greater savings, superior working conditions, and increased personal and professional mobility. Democratizing higher education is a first step to extending these benefits to a range of individuals. However, universities must also help an increasingly diverse body of students be successful and persist to graduation. This study explores a new aspect of persistence research, specifically, the views of graduating students and alumni regarding factors that influence whether or not they would return to the same institution, go to another institution, or not attend university at all if they were to make the choice again. Findings indicate that those who would not pursue higher education at all scored significantly lower on ratings reflective of learning, specifically essential learning outcomes and various aspects of academic engagement, suggesting that the learning experience is key to higher education persistence.

To examine treatment fidelity in a randomized controlled trial of indicated school-based cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) delivered in groups to youth with anxiety. We investigated whether adherence and competence (a) differed across brief and standard-length CBT, and (b) if adherence and competence predicted change in anxiety symptoms and impairment. Method: Sessions were observationally coded with the "Competence and Adherence Scale for CBT for Anxiety Disorders in Youth." Coders (N = 7) rated 104 sessions from 52 groups delivered by 32 facilitators (M age = 43.2 years, SD = 8.1) to 295 youth (M age = 14.0 years, SD = 0.8). Outcomes were youth- and parent-reported anxiety symptoms and impairment at post-intervention and 1-year follow-up. Linear mixed effect models were used to analyze whether fidelity predicted clinical outcomes. Results: Levels of adherence and competence were adequate in both programs, but higher in brief compared to standard-length CBT p < 0.001 and p = 0.010, respectively). Neither adherence nor competence predicted clinical outcomes at any timepoints. Conclusion: Higher levels of adherence and competence in brief CBT suggest that it may be easier for novice CBT providers to achieve fidelity in simplified and less flexible interventions. Contrary to expectation, adherence and competence did not predict clinical outcomes.

The lack in process intensification (PI) training may be limiting processes to achieve sustainability goals. This project developed a hands-on course on intensified membrane processes to address knowledge gaps in PI. Bench-scale activities introduced concepts of membrane separation, operating engineering-scale modules provided a near-industrial experience, and simulation software allowed modeling and optimization of a process. Student evaluations showed that the combination of modeling, experimental, and peer-instruction work helped them understand the application of theoretical concepts.

There is general support among teachers for inclusion of children with special educational needs, but many lack the confidence and knowledge to support autistic pupils. This can have an adverse effect on their education. Previous studies have explored the attitudes of teachers towards inclusion, but less is known about the experiences of teachers from contrasting school settings regarding autistic pupils. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve teachers from mainstream and special schools. Questions explored the school provision for autistic pupils, including strategies relating to their learning, friendships, bullying and general inclusion. Thematic analysis identified themes describing teachers' challenges supporting autistic children, strategies they adopt to facilitate achievement and the influence of factors such as staff training/expertise, educational ideology, attitudes and the physical environment. Overall, it is argued that, besides the structural differences between mainstream and special schools, there remain a number of additional factors impacting teachers' sense of self-efficacy. These are discussed in relation to recent research perspectives advocating an inclusive educational pedagogy.

Acceptance of human evolution seems to be the majority position for the U.S. population; however, acceptance of evolution among conservative Christian groups is low, sometimes below 50%. There are many different reasons for this low acceptance, leading to a significant disconnect between scientific specialists and the general population. This study examined students in an introductory biology class at a large public university. Semistructured in-person interviews were conducted to better understand students' belief in evolution, or their lack thereof. At the beginning of the semester, 19 of the participants accepted evolution, a number that increased to 29 students by the end of the semester. In contrast, only eight students accepted human evolution at the beginning of the semester, but the number increased to 21 students by the semester's end. The interviews elucidated three essential factors that can change students' minds: teaching the evidence of evolution, providing the influence of a role model to reconcile religion and science, and assisting students with overcoming misconceptions about evolution.

Instruction that increases acceptance of evolution is essential to effective biology instruction, but instruction about evolution is not consistently correlated with increased levels of acceptance. Does the pedagogical approach utilized make the difference? Using a curriculum that demonstrably increases evolution acceptance, we compare multiple pedagogical styles (behaviorist vs. constructivist, active vs. less active, and journaling vs. not journaling) in a full-factorial design to test the hypotheses that pedagogy designed for constructivism, active learning, and reflexive journaling will increase the probability that students' acceptance of evolution increases. Though we observed statistically significant acceptance gains, no treatments were statistically different from the other treatments regarding those acceptance gains. Evolution acceptance is possible despite the use of constructivist-designed or behaviorist-designed pedagogy, active learning or less active learning, or maintaining a reflexive journal or not. There is no indication that any combination of these instructional approaches has a greater effect than any other on evolution acceptance.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore how individuals with overweight and obesity living in the UK respond to the public health and media messaging surrounding COVID-19 and obesity. Design/methodology/approach: Qualitative interview study with a think aloud protocol. A total of 10 participants self-reported to have overweight, obesity or as actively trying to lose weight were recruited through social media and were asked to think aloud whilst exposed to four sets of public health and media materials describing the link between COVID-19 and obesity. Interviews were conducted over zoom, recorded and transcribed verbatim. Findings: Three primary themes were identified through thematic analysis: "flawed messaging", "COVID-19 as a teachable moment" and "barriers to change". Transcending these themes was the notion of balance. Whilst the messaging around COVID-19 and obesity was deemed problematic; for some, it was a teachable moment to facilitate change when their future self and physical health was prioritised. Yet, when focussing on their mental health in the present participants felt more overwhelmed by the barriers and were less likely to take the opportunity to change. Practical implications: Findings hold implications for public health messaging, highlighting the need for balance between being educational and informative but also supportive, so as to achieve maximum efficacy. Originality/value: This study offers a novel and useful insight into how the public health and media messaging concerning COVID-19 risk and obesity is perceived by those with overweight and obesity.

This postscript presents the implementation and evaluation of family and community based intervention programs for children and young people implemented in Norway. The Norwegian experiences and results illustrate how evidence-based programs developed in the U.S. have been transported across geographical and language borders, implemented nationwide, evaluated for their effectiveness in regular practice and examined for sustainability. This update describes this national strategy, and the main components and immediate outcomes of the PMTO [Parent Management Training, the Oregon]- and PALS-programs in Norway.

This descriptive case study examined how a principal in an urban elementary school in the southern United States became a leader working for social justice in education. The principal cited her parents' values as contributing to her own seemingly countercultural beliefs and behaviors relating to racial and ethnic diversity, and described schools as essentially middle class phenomena, requiring students and teachers on either side of the class divide to become bicultural. The principal enacted a vision for empowering her students with the same support and freedom of choice available to members of more privileged segments of society. Evidence of interdependent micro, meso, and macro contexts, nonlinearity, and self-organization in the complex system relate the framework of the study to theories of complex systems, offering opportunities to apply understandings of complex systems to the problems of social justice leaders.

Timor-Leste's independence in 2002 marked the end of centuries of foreign control. Early post-independence education reforms successfully increased school enrolments and rebuilt education infrastructure, however, teacher qualifications and student outcomes have remained poor. The current Curriculum Reform, initiated in 2013, aims to improve educational quality in the first six years of schooling by adapting international best practices to the Timorese context, fundamentally reshaping the curriculum's approach to language, content and pedagogy. Located at the intersection of current debates in the anthropologies of education and international development, this paper examines how diverse educational actors in Timor-Leste translate Curriculum Reform policy into practice. The research draws on two months of ethnographic fieldwork in the capital, Dili, and on the author's professional experience as editor of the Curriculum Reform. The key finding is that, while all actors share a common goal of creating a quality education system that contributes to Timor-Leste's development, school and reform staff translate policy into practice in inconsistent ways. The paper argues that these inconsistencies are the result of the actors' divergent visions of education, their working conditions, and their unequal access to information about the reform. These factors are compared across the reform pillars of language, curriculum content, and pedagogy for those who create policy (reform staff) and those who are tasked with implementing it (school staff).

Studies of children growing up in poverty describe increasingly devastating effects on many areas of development (e.g., cognitive, linguistic, socio-emotional, affective, psychomotor). Teachers need to be aware of these findings; they also need to develop empathy for their students living in poverty. One way to do this is to experience a poverty simulation wherein participants (i.e., teachers) learn what it is like to "walk in their students' shoes." This report describes the history of a poverty simulation in southeast Georgia. Analysis of quantitative data, collected via surveys administered before and after recent poverty simulations, revealed the following findings: increased teacher understanding of poverty, increased teacher recognition of their own biases toward their students and their families who live in poverty, and increased teacher empathy toward their students and their families who live in poverty. Findings also showed that teachers plan to apply their new understandings regarding poverty in their classrooms. Implications for practice, especially for teachers working in urban settings with poor children, are offered.

Background: Child care centers are important for children's behaviors. Aims: To examine the cross-sectional associations between child care environmental characteristics and physical activity and sedentary time in children. Methods: Participants were 124 toddlers and 118 preschoolers from 19 centers in Alberta and Ontario, Canada, in the supporting Healthy physical AcTive CHildcare setting (HATCH) study. In-care physical activity and sedentary time were assessed using Actigraph accelerometers. Child care environments, including structure (e.g., resources) and process (e.g., activities) quality, were measured using three instruments: (1) the Environment and Policy Assessment and Observation and (2) the Children's Physical Environments Rating Scale, and (iii) the Movement Environment Rating Scale. Mixed models were performed to examine the associations between environmental characteristics and children's sedentary time, light physical activity, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Results: A few structure quality characteristics related to child care policy and indoor environment were associated with higher physical activity and lower sedentary time in toddlers. The overall structure quality (B = 0.04; 95% CI [0.003, 0.08]) and process quality (B = 0.08; 95% CI [0.02, 0.15]) of the child care environment were associated with log moderate-to-vigorous physical activity in preschoolers. Specifically, structure quality characteristics of the outdoor environment and physical activity time, and process quality characteristics relevant to curriculum and pedagogy, were associated with higher physical activity and lower sedentary time in preschoolers. Discussion and Conclusion: The child care structure quality characteristics that are important for children' physical activity and sedentary behavior may vary by age group. Improving the overall process quality, in particular curriculum and pedagogy, of the child care environment, may promote more physical activity in preschoolers.

To address social and behavioral problems in schools, more than 26,000 schools around the world have implemented School-Wide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS). Previous studies have focused on the effects of SWPBS on short-term teacher-rated behavior such as office discipline referrals or academic outcomes, but no study has yet investigated effects on long-term student outcomes. We use population-wide longitudinal register data, including all Norwegian students that are exposed to SWPBS, and examine effects on short- and long-term academic outcomes, as well as long-term school behavior and youth crime. Both when we evaluate average program effects for all students and when looking at at-risk students only, we find no indications that the Norwegian SWPBS affected any of these outcomes.

Purpose: Prisons offer a public health opportunity to access a group with multiple and complex needs and return them to the community with improved health. However, prisons are not conducive to optimal health and there are few frameworks to guide efforts. This study aims to generate insights into health literacy across a young adult prison population, specifically examining the level of limitations, barriers and characteristics associated with these limitations. Design/methodology/approach: The study took place in a single prison in England for young adult men aged 18-21 years old. A mixed-methods design was adopted with 104 young men completing a quantitative survey and qualitative semi-structured interviews with 37 young men. Findings: 72% (n = 75) of young men scored as limited in their health literacy. Barriers included structural restrictions, limited access to formal support and social and natural disruptions. No demographic characteristics or smoking intentions/behaviours predicted limited health literacy, but characteristics of the prison were predictive. Physical problems (sleep, nausea, tiredness and headaches), mental health and well-being (anxiety, depression and affect) and somatisation problems were also predictive of limitations. Practical implications: Prison healthcare services and commissioners should undertake regular health literacy needs assessments to support developments in reducing barriers to healthcare and increasing health improvement efforts. Action also requires greater political will and investment to consider broader action on the wider determinants of (prison) health. Originality/value: The study provides a framework to understand and guide prison health efforts and highlights attention needed at the level of governments, prison leaders and their health systems.

Research shows that the attitudes of children and adolescents towards bullying are influenced by the school environment and their peer groups. Given the increased vulnerability to bullying for autistic children, this study explored whether neurotypical children's attitudes towards bullying and autism varied according to school exposure and personal contact with autistic people. Survey data were collected at the beginning and end of the school year from 775 children aged 11-12 years, from six schools: three with specialist centres for autism and three without. Participants read vignettes depicting bullying scenarios then completed measures of their attitudes in relation to the vignette and towards autism. Children from centre schools showed a greater increase in prosocial emotions towards bullying. For children from non-centre schools, an interaction showed a decrease in prosocial emotions except in response to social exclusion of an autistic child. Increases in personal contact showed a greater increase in positive attitudes towards autistic people. Explanations draw on theories of inter-group contact and social-moral reasoning. Results highlight the need for contact both at a personal level and through attending a school with an inclusive autism provision to increase understanding, improve attitudes towards autism and reduce tolerance for bullying.

The purpose of this paper is to determine how youth with anxiety recruited for a school-based randomized controlled trial (RCT) compare demographically and clinically to clinically referred youth with anxiety who participated in an RCT conducted in community mental health clinics. Youth ("N" = 99) with anxiety aged 12-15 years were: (a) 37 youth ("M" age = 13.70, SD = 0.89; 97.3% Norwegian; 19.0% male) from a school-based RCT and (b) 62 youth ("M" age = 13.8, SD = 1.0; 88.7% Caucasian; 29.5% male) from an RCT conducted in community mental health clinics. The youth were assessed for anxiety diagnoses, functional impairment, internalizing symptoms, and externalizing symptoms. Compared to the clinically referred youth who received care in community mental health clinics, the youth in the school sample met criteria for fewer anxiety diagnoses, lower severity of diagnoses, and less functional impairment caused by mental health problems. However, the school sample had significantly higher levels of youth-rated anxiety symptoms, "t"(95) = -2.33, "p" = 0.02, parent-rated depression, "t"(94) = 4.45, "p" < 0.001, and externalizing symptoms, "t"(96) = 2.86, "p" = 0.005. Finally, only 12.1% of the youth who met diagnostic criteria reported receiving services at a community mental health clinic in the last year. Although many of the youth in the school sample met diagnostic criteria for one or more anxiety disorders, few had received services in community mental health clinics. This suggests that recruiting in schools may help identify youth with anxiety that may not otherwise seek mental health services.

The study investigates child social competence a three different measurement levels (overall level, factor level, and item level), in a sample of parents and children participating in interventions towards emerging or present child problem behaviours. Parents of 550 children aged 3-12 (71% boys) evaluated social competence using the Home and Community Social Behaviour Scales (HCSBS), which assess two aspects of the concept: peer relations and self-management/compliance. An additive index across all 32 items was made to examine how parents reported overall social competence across ages, whereas factor analysis was used to investigate their underlying latent structure. Network analysis was used to investigate how the social competence items connect and interact. Results showed that parents reported higher levels of overall social competence among the girls compared to the boys, but this difference vanished about age 12. Factor analyses showed that a bifactor-ESEM model obtained the best model fit to data, whereas the network analysis revealed differential clustering and strength centrality for the items. Implications of these results are discussed.

The literature on student agency is missing the voice and perspectives of teachers. Although theoretical and empirical research aims to explore student agency by observing and documenting the structures and supports involved in fostering agency, the field knows little of what student agency means to teachers who currently teach and who have experienced the highs and lows of recent educational reform efforts. This article includes three practicing educators, teaching in various contexts (region and grade level), to discuss student agency from their perspectives. These educators examine their classroom practice and develop a definition of agency rooted in reflections of classroom experiences, vignettes, and student and teacher dialogue. Teachers reflect on the obstacles they experience in their efforts to construct agentic spaces in their classrooms and the ways in which they harness their vision to continue to modify their instruction to fit a variety of learners and experiences.

Low academic achievements are predicted by early disadvantages. Because achievement gaps typically escalate with age, early efforts to prevent future academic disadvantages are called for. The current study examines whether exposure to structured pre-academic activities in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) play a compensatory role for the early academic achievements in school (teacher ratings and screening tests of reading and math) of children who were at developmental (low receptive language), behavioral (high externalizing behavior and low effortful control) and socio-economic (low maternal education) risk in preschool. Using a sample of 934 children from the longitudinal Behavioral Outlook Developmental Study to examine between-school comparisons and within-school fixed effects models, findings suggest that preschoolers with externalizing behaviors may moderately benefit from structured pre-academic activities prior to school entry. However, it is concluded that this pre-academic boost is weak and may be limited to a short transition period from ECEC to school.

Objective: To examine university student perspectives on, and experiences with, disclosing sexual orientation and gender identity (SO/GI) in healthcare. Participants: Thirty-four graduate and undergraduate students from a large mid-Atlantic city in the United States participated in 1 of 6 focus groups held from October 2017 to February 2018. Methods: Focus groups were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis and principles of grounded theory to identify emerging themes. Results: Patient considerations around disclosing SO/GI fell within three thematic categories--the relevancy of SO/GI information to the clinical encounter, the patient-provider relationship, and concerns about negative provider reactions to disclosure. Conclusions: Findings highlight the need for provider understanding of SO/GI diversity and establishing safe and comfortable environments to facilitate disclosure for young adult patients. Lack of sensitivity to patients' experiences may exacerbate health disparities among sexual and gender minorities by failing to collect accurate epidemiological data and discouraging seeking care.

The main objective of this study was to characterize the acceptance of evolution among biology majors. Semi-structured interviews were carried out to track the opinions of students in relation to two aspects of evolution: (1) attitudes toward evolution in general; and (2) attitudes toward human evolution. The participants characterized their acceptance of evolution for three distinct times during their university coursework: (1) at the beginning of their degree (before attending the university); (2) at the beginning of the capstone evolution course; and (3) at the end of the evolution course. Their acceptance of evolution in general changed from 31% to 79% to 98%, respectively, and their acceptance of human evolution changed from 26% to 55% to 95.2% respectively. This study investigated some of the factors that influence acceptance, such as an increased knowledge of the evidences, a religious scientist role model, and a reconciliation of scientific and religious worldviews. The results indicate that for biology majors in this study, the accumulated knowledge of the evidences of evolution over the duration of their degrees was the most influential factor.

This thematic content analysis used frameworks of stigma and critical race theory to examine how mass media represented the life and police homicide of Eric Garner. Findings demonstrate how systemic racism and ableism are reflected in and created through the media's stigmatizing processes of labeling and stereotyping, as well as through voices it chooses to amplify or ignore. As such, media can be framed as a tool of structural oppression. Critical consumption of mass media is proposed as a core social justice-oriented skill for social workers, and suggestions for integrating this skill into social work curricula are made.

Children with autism are more likely to be socially excluded than their neurotypical peers. Since the majority of children with autism attend mainstream schools, interventions are needed to improve the attitudes and behaviours of their peers. Many studies highlight the influence of contact on positive attitudes and reduced discrimination. Group music-making provides an ideal opportunity for positive contact to occur in the classroom. This study evaluated the impact of music-based contact with autistic peers on the attitudes, emotions and behaviours of neurotypical children. Changes in those with autism were also assessed. Neurotypical participants (n = 55) aged 10-11 years took part in an 11-week music programme designed to increase social interaction, which either did or did not include contact with autistic children (n = 10). Measures of attitudes, emotions and behaviours were assessed at baseline and follow-up. In response to a hypothetical scenario depicting social exclusion of a child with autism, neurotypical participants in the contact group showed a greater increase in prosocial emotions and a greater decrease in tendency to be a victim than those in the no-contact group. Participants with autism also showed a 19.7% decrease in victimisation. Implications of group music-making for tackling social exclusion of children with autism are discussed.

Social functioning and reading proficiency are critical for success in school and society. Therefore, identifying children with such problems is important. This study had 2 parts: first, a random sample of 234 elementary schools was surveyed about which instruments they use to assess reading proficiency and social functioning. Second, a systematic review of the quality of these instruments was conducted using international standards for examining the quality of assessment instruments. The survey showed that schools more often assessed and had more instruments available for reading than for social functioning. The systematic review of the assessment instruments used revealed that the psychometric qualities of many was weak or undocumented, while the dimensions of test material quality were generally good. The findings demonstrate a need for a more thorough examination of the psychometric properties of assessment instruments to be used in school.

Service learning and problem-based learning (PBL) are distinct, yet related educational approaches. When collaborative learning events which encourage the application of the PBL principles to real world challenges faced by Not-For-Profit organizations (NFPs), these learning approaches become potentially synergistic. However, there is limited research exploring expectations and experiences of NFP stakeholders and students involved in such events. By interviewing a sample of stakeholders in relation to an experiential NFP-focused workshop initiative, it was revealed that while tangible benefits were identified by both parties, opportunities exist to optimize the design, management, marketing and learning benefits of future initiatives. These opportunities centre on closer collaboration with NFPs to clarify and manage expectations, as well as encouraging practicality and applicability in ideas generation. This research provides insights into the challenges and benefits of the service learning/PBL interface when directed towards the NFP sector.

The author, a former early grades teacher, recounts how she overcome erratic curriculum implementation to find her own way to effective reading instruction. What worked for her was an emphasis on explicit phonics in the context of providing engaging and relevant reading material for her students. "As a matter of educating the whole child," she writes "administrators must give teachers the opportunity to learn and adopt [phonics instruction] in a way that gives them the flexibility to get students excited about reading."

In a flipped classroom model, learning of basic content is shifted before class while in-class time is used for concept application. Empirical and controlled research studies are lacking on the best strategies to provide the necessary pre-class content instruction. In this study, we tested three methods of pre-class content learning--interactive online tutorials, video lectures, and textbook-style readings--while holding the content and the in-class application activities constant. Identical introductory, non-majors biology classes were manipulated at both a public, open-enrollment institution and a private, highly selective institution. We found that video lectures offer a small advantage to overall student learning over interactive tutorials or textbook-style readings. Although our two populations differed in their ability to effectively learn from pre-class activities, through a student-centered flipped classroom approach, students at both institutions demonstrated equal learning gains by the final assessment. Potential reasons for some observed differences are suggested.

This article calls for a common research model that can be replicated across institutions to systematically collect data on the impact of education abroad participation on college graduation rates. The ultimate goal of the proposed GRAD LEAP (Leveraging Education Abroad Participation for Graduation) model is to facilitate a meta-analysis yielding generalizable findings that can inform both institutional and national education abroad policy. The model consists of two levels of analysis: (a) a descriptive analysis to estimate and compare true graduation rates for education abroad participants and nonparticipants, and (b) a parametric analysis to estimate the value-added of education abroad participation, beyond factors already understood to impact graduation rates. The proposed research model can be expanded to include analysis of the impact of specific program factors on graduation rates (e.g., program duration, program type, student accommodation, etc.).

For the last several years, the authors have implemented an integrated Mars Colony project for their third-grade classes. Students explored several considerations related to colonizing and inhabiting a new world, including food sources, types of citizens, transportation, and housing design. Nearly everything about the project was open-ended, full of student choice, authentic, and original. Making and launching model rockets was always a favorite part of the project. Building solid fuel rockets almost entirely from scratch was a valuable experience. However, despite a few artistic differences, students' designs were nearly identical and didn't fit the open-ended feel of the Mars project. They wanted to improve the rocketry project to better match their problem-based experience as well as find ways to better use equipment in their school's dedicated makerspace. This article describes how they developed an integrated set of lessons allowing students to design and make a specialized payload that would travel inside their rockets and return safely to solid ground. It became an authentic maker experience integrating science, math, literacy, and human-centered design principles over a period of several weeks.

To date little is known about the experiences of girls with autism, or how they live with and manage their autism. This qualitative study explored experiences of learning, friendships and bullying of girls with autism. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 girls with autism, aged 11-17 years, and one parent of each girl. Thematic analysis identified key themes relating to motivation to have friends, challenges for girls with autism and the notion that many girls tend to mask their autism, which had both positive and negative consequences. Overall, the girls were motivated to have friends, but often encountered social difficulties and were sometimes targeted for bullying. Findings pointed to the need for interventions such as staff training and programmes to support the social interaction of girls with autism based on their specific perceptions of friendship.

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Elementary Social Behaviour Assessment (ESBA), a teacher-report measure of students' social skills and academic engagement adapted for use in Norwegian schools. At two times, 8 weeks apart, 151 teachers rated 793 students in Grades 1-6 on the ESBA and the Social Skills Rating System Teacher's form (SSRS-T). Exploratory factor analysis with the first assessment suggested one or possibly two factors. Confirmatory factor analysis with the second assessment confirmed the one- or two-factor models but did not offer strong evidence for one over the other. The ESBA demonstrated good to excellent reliability. Strong concurrent and predictive correlations with the SSRS-T established criterion validity. The school and teacher levels explained only a limited amount of the total variance in ESBA scores, suggesting that teachers rate students quite similarly. The Norwegian-adapted ESBA paralleled the reliability and validity evidence from US samples.

Like the steady stream of colonial families of decades past traveling to their country's dominions abroad, contemporary education abroad students are similar passengers on a powerful steamship bound for lands of new sounds, sights and wonders. Although their studies may be challenging and demanding, students are exhilarated with thoughts of new opportunities that await them; after all, they have been told to expect an experience of a lifetime. They are yearning for excitement, to travel the world and to experience new things. Many are in search of new knowledge that will inform their studies, new skills that will enable them entry into desirable professions, and new attitudes that will challenge their limited perspectives of the world. Some will become competent speakers of foreign languages, develop close and meaningful ties with people from cultures other than their own and still others will pursue scholarly initiatives in search of new knowledge. However, there are others who are simply enjoying a modern Grand Tour and are not necessarily striving to be the brave explorer and inquisitive seeker of new cultural experiences. These students see themselves as transients in a world that has somehow afforded them this exceptional privilege, and for whom sitting on the colonial veranda, sipping "sangria", watching their host culture in action, is comfortable and natural. If education abroad is about helping students to learn new ways of thinking and to become more complex, interculturally competent individuals, it is not desirable for students to remain comfortably situated on the veranda. Education abroad programs should make it impossible for students to avoid direct and meaningful contact with the host culture, to learn with and from them, to explore new values, assumptions and beliefs. This article will seek to reexamine the student experience in education abroad today by employing an analogy derived from a post-colonial paradigm, thus describing contemporary students as "colonial students". Moreover, the extent to which the profession of education abroad is complicit in developing and perpetuating a "colonial system" will be demonstrated. Issues involved in the degree to which students are motivated toward pursuing meaningful intercultural learning and engagement will be presented and discussed in the context of working effectively with colonial students.

Growth in US education abroad has been consistently strong for the past decade, surpassing 9 percent annually. Within the field of education abroad, this growth is both exciting and alarming. Education abroad helps students change learning structures, learn new paradigms and become more complex individuals. If a student's structures are not ready to be opened, the student then has only one mono-cultural frame in which to encounter experiences. Ethnography has a long history within the field of cultural anthropology. As a qualitative research method, ethnography seeks to describe and to understand another way of life from the native point of view. The central aim of ethnography is to discover the cultural knowledge people are using to organize their behavior and interpret their experience. In other words, ethnography is concerned with the meaning of actions and events to the people they seek to understand. The key element of ethnography is extended, systematic, and detailed observation of a setting. Living and learning alongside people in other cultures in an attempt to understand a culture is at the very core of cultural anthropology. Ethnographers seek to understand and describe culture, and so too can students. In the course of an education abroad experience, students can be taught basic skills of ethnographic inquiry as a learning paradigm through which they can take all aspects of their new culture as subject of serious study. (Contains 3 notes.)