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This article draws on existing literature, a large, multi-institutional dataset, and several case studies to explore two empirical questions: Do students of color (SOC) differ from white students in statistically significant ways in respect to the global learning goal of cultural humility? And what interactive effects do students and faculty from diverse backgrounds, diversity and inclusion advocacy, and diverse community contexts have on one another? We draw on existing literature and quantitative data to demonstrate that SOC tend to bring strengths to global learning experiences. We share several case studies to demonstrate how those strengths may lead to specific alliances regarding justice work in host communities, complicating any conception of students as visitors unattached to local justice struggles. Throughout the article, we draw on current literature and practice to present several questions at the intersections of education abroad, diversity, equity, inclusion, community-based global learning, and critical global citizenship.

This study examines parental participation in children's schooling. Using a survey of parents of children attending a majority Hispanic school district, we employ exploratory factor analysis and determine that standard forms of participation align along two dimensions: Involvement and Engagement. Analysis reveals a third dimension: Parental Community. The data suggest that income but not educational attainment influence Involvement, whereas family circumstances correlate best with Engagement. Households with the closest proximity to a Spanish-language/immigrant culture feel the strongest sense of Parental Community. The findings may inform the design of programming to help involve parents more fully in their children's schooling.

Abstract Background Dental caries incidence in adults is similar to that in children and adolescents, but few caries preventive agents have been evaluated for effectiveness in adults populations. In addition, dentists direct fewer preventive services to their adult patients. Xylitol, an over-the-counter sweetener, has shown some potential as a caries preventive agent, but the evidence for its effectiveness is not yet conclusive and is based largely on studies in child populations. Methods/Design X-ACT is a three-year, multi-center, placebo controlled, double-blind, randomized clinical trial that tests the effects of daily use of xylitol lozenges versus placebo lozenges on the prevention of adult caries. The trial has randomized 691 participants (ages 21-80) to the two arms. The primary outcome is the increment of cavitated lesions. Discussion This trial should help resolve the overall issue of the effectiveness of xylitol in preventing caries by contributing evidence with a low risk of bias. Just as importantly, the trial will provide much-needed information about the effectiveness of a promising caries prevention agent in adults. An effective xylitol-based caries prevention intervention would represent an easily disseminated method to extend caries prevention to individuals not receiving caries preventive treatment in the dental office. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.Gov NCT00393055

This paper discusses adapting Churches' approach to large-scale teacher/researcher conceptual replications of major "science of learning" findings, to increase teachers' engagement with empirical research on, and building research networks for, gathering data on the science of learning. The project here demonstrated the feasibility of teacher-led randomised controlled trials for conceptually replicating the effects of cognitive science on learning, as specified by researchers. It also indicated high levels of interest by teachers in applying more science of learning in their practice. The approach gave freedom to teachers to design interventions, choose research methods, and measure outcomes, even though such freedom would be in tension with some scientific research which relies on constraining the sources of variation. This paper discusses how a balance can be struck between the objectives of teachers and researchers engaged in replicating cognitive science findings, and promoting teacher engagement in conceptual replication research.

This document provides a detailed account of the construction of the Eads Bridge in St. Louis, which was the first steel bridge in the world. The bridge was designed by James Eads, a steamboat man without formal engineering training, and financed by Junius and Pierpont Morgan. The construction faced numerous challenges, including a tornado, material procurement difficulties, and financial setbacks due to the Panic of 1873. The bridge struggled initially but eventually prospered after being foreclosed and reorganized under the Morgan banks. The document also explores the role of monopolies and the influence of figures like Pierpont Morgan in shaping the bridge's history. [Extracted from the article]

Proficiency with instrumental analysis via GC-MS is an important skill for chemistry students. The application of analytical techniques and fundamental theoretical principles to real-world problems can be valuable learning exercises for undergraduates which can also improve their analytical thinking skills. Xylitol is generally considered safe for human consumption and is frequently used in sugar-free gum; however, it is extremely toxic to dogs. In this laboratory experiment, upper-level undergraduate chemistry students extract xylitol from both fresh and chewed gum sticks followed by direct aqueous injection GC-MS analysis. Students learn the proper steps and techniques required for sample extraction and preparation and GC--MS analysis, and they determine concentrations of xylitol present in gum samples. Identification and quantification of the chemical components in gum extract occurs via GC-MS analysis; however, other GC detectors could be used. Students also compare external and internal standard calibration methods for xylitol quantification. Upon quantification of xylitol in chewed and unchewed gum samples, students are able to calculate the level of hazard for dogs upon ingestion.

If every child is to have a fairly even chance of a good education, every child must have a fairly even chance of being taught by high-quality teachers. However, high levels of social segregation in UK schools concentrate disadvantaged young people in some schools creating conditions that may deter many teachers. This study investigates whether higher qualified new teachers are deterred from working in challenging schools by examining the average entrance requirements of teachers' degree subject combined with the university grade teachers achieved of all newly qualified teachers in the UK over three recent years (n?=?37,039) and relating these qualifications to the results and socio-economic make-up of schools they sought and found employment. Higher qualified teachers were found to be most attracted to schools with high attainment, next most to those that achieve greater progress, next most to schools with more affluent pupils and least of all to schools that achieve greater progress accounting for pupils' socio-economic background. Higher qualified new teachers were also found to prefer schools that achieve low progress with affluent pupils to schools that achieve high progress with disadvantaged pupils. Further analysis finds that recruitment imbalances were large as the top quartile highest qualified new teachers were over-represented in higher attaining schools by around a fifth of the new teacher workforce. These results suggest that without steps to increase recruitment of higher qualified teachers into challenging schools, recruitment market forces are likely to prevent challenging schools from being be able to narrow the gap.

The authors conducted a phenomenological inquiry that described factors that influenced two novice and two experienced teachers' decisions to remain in the teaching field. These teachers taught in both Title I and non-Title I elementary schools, and their teaching experiences ranged from four months to 38 years. Data for this research included individual interviews with each of the participants, and the authors utilized taxonomic and domain analysis. The experienced teachers indicated that the relationships with their students and teaching as a "calling" were significant factors in the longevity of their careers. In schools nationwide, educators are leaving the classrooms due to the increased pressures related to standardized testing, detailed record-keeping requirements, and fidelity checks. Further research is needed to understand how to best support and mentor teachers.

As people who were involved with drafting the 2010 National Educational Technology Plan (NETP), the authors have taken the opportunity to respond to the very interesting perspectives in this special issue. The thoughts here represent only their views and are not an official statement of either the US Department of Education or the NETP Technical Working Group.

In 2012, the country's land-grant colleges and universities will celebrate their sesquicentennial. This anniversary provides a good opportunity to consider how these distinctively American institutions have evolved over the past 150 years and how well they are doing today in preparing students for the 21st century. Resilience will be a key capability for thriving in a world of constant flux. Land-grant colleges and universities have an urgent role to play in cultivating this capacity in their students in order to support the economic vitality of their communities. To a large extent, the emergence and growth of these institutions in the 20th century helped this country to become a leader in scientific and technical innovation and laid the educational foundation for the affluence that Americans have enjoyed. Today, they are responsible for educating more than 1.5 million undergraduate and graduate students annually and are among the country's leading academic research institutions. But have these institutions been able to update their missions to serve the needs of a post-industrial economy? In particular, how have they responded to the increasing rate of change and intensifying global competition that are hallmarks of the 21st-century? In this article, the authors attempt to answer these questions. They describe North Carolina State University, a 120-year-old land-grant institution located in Raleigh, North Carolina, which serves as a model of learning for the 21st century. (Contains 6 resources.)

School leaders face the difficult challenge of finding teachers who are highly qualified, committed, and prepared to ensure that all students achieve at levels mandated by NCLB. The pervasive strategy attempted by school districts to recruit teachers to high need schools is incentive programs that include either salary enhancement or bonuses. Teachers (N = 97) were surveyed to identify principal leadership behaviors and incentives that are most effective to create a school environment where teachers will want to stay. The findings from this study show that financial incentives, working conditions, and principal behaviors all play an important role in recruiting and retaining teachers in challenging schools. Incentives identified by respondents differed widely whether among teacher certification routes and school context. (Contains 6 figures.)

This study of Israeli and American preadolescent children examined characteristics of friendship in 44 children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD) compared to 38 typically developing children (TYP), as they interacted with a close friend Participants were 8-12 years of age (HFASD: Israel, n = 24; USA, n = 20; TYP: Israel, n = 23; USA, n = 15), and were matched on SES, receptive language vocabulary, child age, and gender (each study group included one girl). Multidimensional assessments included: individual behaviors of target children and observed child-friend interactions during construction and drawing scenarios; target child's and friend's self-perceived mutual friendship qualities; and mother-reported characteristics (friendship's duration/frequency; friend's age/gender/disability status). Overall, children with HFASD displayed a number of differences on individual and dyadic friendship measures. Both age and verbal abilities affected friendship behaviors. Children with HFASD and their friends perceived friendship qualities similarly, suggesting that preadolescents with HFASD have capacities for interpersonal awareness. Between-group similarities also emerged on several complex social behaviors, suggesting that friendship follows a developmental trajectory in autism and may enhance social interaction skills in autism.

Script fading was used to teach three youths with autism to initiate and sustain verbal interactions under stimulus control consistent with the natural environment. The youths learned to engage in verbal interactions during simulated shopping trips and during visits to community stores. The effectiveness of script fading was examined using a multiple-baseline-across-settings experimental design. During pre-test trips to community stores and during baseline sessions, all three youths demonstrated near zero rates of verbal interactions. With the introduction of the script-fading procedure, all three youths successfully learned to use the scripted statements in conversations during a series of simulated shopping trips. As the scripts were faded, from last word to first word, rates of unscripted statements systematically increased. All three participants also demonstrated generalization of their newly acquired conversation skills to untrained stimuli. In addition, all three youths demonstrated generalization of their conversation skills during community shopping trips to local retail stores. These results suggest that the script-fading procedure brought verbal interactions under the stimulus control of environmental, as opposed to teacher-controlled stimuli. (Contains 2 tables and 4 figures.)

The building blocks provided by the Open Educational Resources movement, along with e-Science and e-Humanities and the resources of the Web 2.0, are creating the conditions for the emergence of new kinds of open participatory learning ecosystems that will support active, passion-based learning: Learning 2.0. This new form of learning begins with the knowledge and practices acquired in school but is equally suited for continuous, lifelong learning that extends beyond formal schooling. A new approach to learning is needed---one characterized by a "demand-pull" rather than the traditional "supply-push" mode of building up an inventory of knowledge in students' heads. Demand-pull learning shifts the focus to enabling participation in flows of action, where the focus is both on "learning to be" through enculturation into a practice as well as on collateral learning. (Contains 23 notes.)

Little empirical research has focused on teaching of imitation to learners with autism in ordinary environments. Typically-developing individuals imitate the behavior of others in ordinary social environments. One possible reason that learners with autism do not imitate in ordinary environments is they are not observing relevant discriminative stimuli that should set the occasion for imitative responding. This paper will review the operant research on generalized imitation with the goal of identifying procedures to teach learners with autism to imitate in ordinary environments. A stimulus-control account of imitation in ordinary environments is included with the goal of the development of effective teaching procedures. Imitation in ordinary environments is discussed in relation to the discriminative stimuli that occasion imitative responding. The use of differential observing responses to increase discrimination of relevant stimuli in ordinary environments is suggested as a possible strategy to increase imitation among individuals with autism in ordinary environments.

Today's students are comfortable satisfying their immense curiosity on their own. This capacity for independent learning is essential to their future well-being, since they are likely to have multiple careers and will need to continually learn new skills they were not taught in college. Students will need to feel comfortable working in cross-disciplinary teams that encompass multiple ways of knowing. These challenges require re-conceptualizing some parts of the educational system and at the same time finding ways to reinforce learning outside of formal schooling. In this article, the author presents and discusses some of the new learning environments for the 21st century, like: (1) the architecture studio; and (2) the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT's) studio for 8.02 electricity and magnetism. It is evident in these environments that students move from "learning about" something to "learning to be" something, which is a crucial distinction. Furthermore, in today's Internet environment, learning to be literate in multiple media is an important tool in learning to be. Thus, faculty must understand how to foster this new literacy to understand the new vernacular of students who grew up digital. (Contains 3 resources and 4 online resources.)

This article addresses the increasingly critical issue of how educators can reconcile standards-driven accountability imperatives with the growing need to address the individual strengths and needs of diverse learners. It argues that not only are these 2 issues reconcilable, it is imperative that educators attend to them simultaneously and consistently if continuous improvement is to occur in schools and districts. The authors respond to three essential questions at the heart of these issues: How can we address required content and grade-level performance standards while remaining responsive to individual students? Can differentiation and standards coexist? How do we maintain standards without standardization?

We exploit Japan's sudden and complete opening up to international trade in the 1860s to test the empirical validity of one of the oldest and most fundamental propositions in economics: the theory of comparative advantage. Historical evidence supports the assertion that the characteristics of the Japanese economy at the time were compatible with the key assumptions of the neoclassical trade model. Using detailed product-specific data on autarky prices and trade flows, we find that the autarky price value of Japan's trade is negative for each year of the period 1868-75. This confirms the prediction of the theory.

Technology is driving much of education, but learning is socially constructed. Learning, including electronic forms, should be designed to create a social learning environment. This can help bridge the divide between the "analog" professor and the "digital" student. (SK)

The authors examine some of the conceptions around the information age they refer to as 6-D vision: demassification, decentralization, denationalization, despacialization, disintermediation and disaggregation. These conceptions tend to oversimplify the forces that are at work in society by discounting any influences outside of information and technology. (JM)