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Associate deans serve critical leadership roles in the functioning and management in higher education administration, but there is little professional preparation for the role. This study surveyed the perceptions of a random sample of 527 associate deans in colleges of arts and sciences, business, and education at US research-extensive and -intensive universities. There was a nearly equal portion of men and women in the sample, but little racial diversity. The majority of associate deans were appointed to their position internally, rising through the faculty ranks, and most had served in the role for five or fewer years. Most were responsible for academics, administrative services, and curricular issues. Many associate deans rely upon their personal professional networks to learn more about administrative functioning. A majority of respondents indicated that their research and scholarly productivity had declined. The principal administrative challenge was, for the majority, centered on budgetary concerns at their respective institutions.

This article examines top-producing female authors, editors, and editorial board members in five educational psychology journals (i.e., Cognition and Instruction, Contemporary Educational Psychology, Educational Psychologist, Educational Psychology Review, and Journal of Educational Psychology) from 2009 to 2016. Results extend data from four previous studies (Evans et al. "Educational Psychology Review," 17(3), 263-271, 2005; Fong et al. "Educational Psychology Review," 21(3), 267-277, 2009; Greenbaum et al. "Educational Psychology Review," 28, 215-223, 2016; Robinson et al. "Contemporary Educational Psychology," 23, 331-343, 1998) and also compare top female authors to the top male authors. The top-producing women in the field have, on average, less seniority in the field than do top male authors. Male authors have more publications, on average, and more sole authorships and first authorships, as compared to female authors. No discernible progress has been made by women in terms of editorial board memberships or editorships since 2004.

A Complete Your Manuscript Workshop has been provided to tenure track faculty members in the college over the past two and one-half years. The workshop is a low-cost/high payoff opportunity for the college and participating faculty members, as the workshop requires few resources and the time commitment for participants is easily managed. Organization and delivery of the workshop are described, and outcomes are analyzed. A majority of participants have been successful in completing and submitting manuscripts for publication review, including the coauthor who describes her participation and outcomes. Recommended practices for a manuscript completion workshop include scheduling the workshop when most convenient to faculty schedules, limiting the number of participants, and conducting periodic follow-up contacts with participants to further provide support.

This paper describes several strategies for organizing, collaborating on, persisting in, and funding professional writing activities that can benefit new tenure track faculty members. Establishing and maintaining a regular program of academic writing is essential to a successful career in higher education, but initiating and maintaining a program of consistent writing activity is very challenging because of the competing responsibilities new faculty members face. The better prepared the new faculty member is for academic scholarship, the greater their likelihood of success.

This article examines the productivity of both individuals and institutions, indexed through an examination of five educational psychology journals ("Cognition and Instruction," "Contemporary Educational Psychology," "Educational Psychologist," "Educational Psychology Review," and "Journal of Educational Psychology") from 2009 to 2014. These results are discussed relative to four previous studies (Hsieh et al. "Contemporary Educational Psychology," 29, 333-343, 2004; Jones et al. "Contemporary Educational Psychology," 35, 11-16, 2010; Smith et al. "Contemporary Educational Psychology," 23, 173-181, 1998; "Contemporary Educational Psychology," 28, 422-430, 2003). Vanderbilt University and Fred Paas replaced the University of Maryland and Richard E. Mayer as the top research institution and author, respectively. Sixteen of the top 19 researchers' institutions were outside the USA, compared to only 10 of the top 32 during 2003-2008 and three of the top 20 during 1991-1996. Educational psychology research continues the trend of becoming more international.

Technology provides the means to create useful learning and practice environments for learners. Well-designed cognitive tutor systems, for example, can provide appropriate learning environments that feature cognitive supports (ie, scaffolding) for students to increase their procedural knowledge. The purpose of this study was to conduct a series of usability tests of a dialogue-based design framework for the presentation of domain knowledge and assess how it can be used to actively engage learners in learning about research methods. Three formal usability assessments and an instructor adoption assessment were conducted during the development of the tutoring system. Each usability assessment employed diverse data collection methods to ensure broad and in-depth coverage of findings. The findings revealed that the dialogue metaphor enabled natural and participatory interactions between the system and users. The feedback prompts or hints and support resources provided opportunities for learning during the process of problem solving. Future research to extend the support of usability assessments is also discussed.

US educators express concern that students are turning away from the study of science and have little interest in pursuing science careers. Nationally, science achievement scores for 8th graders are unchanged since 1996, but 12th graders' scores have significantly decreased. A shortcoming of education reform efforts is lack of attention to students' developmental needs. Science study should enable students to learn about themselves--to develop and refine their skills, define their values, explore personal interests, and understand the importance of science to themselves and others. Effective secondary science instruction requires attention to students' identity development--the key developmental task of adolescence. Secondary science teachers participated in an 8-week course focused on understanding adolescent identity development and methods for addressing identity. Transcripts of the teachers' online discussions of salient issues were analyzed to determine their perceptions regarding classroom identity work. Teachers identified several assets and obstacles to identity work that were organized into two broad categories: teacher knowledge, training opportunities, and administrative support, or lack of these; and, presence of inflexible curricula, standardized testing regimes, and increased teacher accountability. Implications for student growth and science teacher professional development are discussed.

Data from the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy were examined to determine if non-native-born adults in the US differ from their native-born counterparts in (1) participation in work-related training or education, and (2) perceptions that specific skills limit their job opportunities. Results indicated that non-native-born persons were less likely than their native-born peers to participate in training or education to do their job better. Among non-native born persons, age and English language proficiency predicted their participation. Non-native-born persons were also much more likely than native-born individuals to perceive that their reading, writing, math, and computer skills limited their job opportunities, while both gender and age moderated perceptions of perceived skill limitations. Among the non-native-born population, age, gender, and amount of time spent living in the US significantly predicted perceived skill limitations.

The present study examined data from a large, nationally representative sample--the National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NCES, 2007)--to examine how computer use and Internet-based literacy practices (use of e-mail, searching for information on the Internet, and Internet chatting) were related to prose, document, and quantitative literacy scores. The moderating effects of gender and ethnicity with these practices were also assessed. Results indicated that, when controlling for potential confounding variables, the use of computers and engagement in Internet-based literacy practices was associated with higher scores on each of the three literacy tasks. Additionally, moderating effects were identified for gender and for ethnicity on several literacy tasks. (Contains 5 tables and 5 figures.)

This study examines characteristics of young adolescents who experience self-care, associations between self-care and academic achievement, and whether associations of self-care with academic adjustment vary by child, family, or community characteristics. Using data from the nationally representative 1999 National Household Education Survey, hierarchical log-linear models assessed how self-care was associated with several academic and behavioral measures for 9- to 13-year-olds. Overall, more self-care was significantly associated with lower academic performance and with school behavior problems, although those associations varied by gender, parent-child communication, and whether young adolescents in self-care also participated in some supervised out-of-school activities. Findings are discussed in light of Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. (Contains 3 tables.)

Service learning is one of the most pervasive education innovations of the past generation and has demonstrated much success in connecting schooling with community service. Service learning is designed to be integrated into, and enhance, the academic curriculum. It is believed, and there is growing evidence to show, that participation in service learning can foster civic responsibility on the part of children, youth, and college students. Also, a number of investigations have shown positive academic benefits for child, youth, and college service learning participants. In fact, participation in service learning as part of a college course has been found to have more positive benefits for students than does participating in typical volunteer community service. What about those nontraditional college students who are older adult learners? Does participation in service learning afford any benefits to these individuals, in terms of greater community participation, altruism, academic performance and skill development, personal growth, or leadership ability? This article considers service learning outcomes in three domains of adult development: (1) cognitive growth, in terms of adults' ability to think in more complex ways and to consider a variety of perspectives; (2) moral development, in terms of individuals developing an ethic of care (in other words, the ability to balance care of the self with the care of others); and (3) psychosocial development, in terms of generativity (adults' ability to support and nurture the succeeding generation). It also discusses implications from three theoretical models: (1) Robert Kegan's constructive-developmental theory of adult meaning making (1994); (2) Carol Gilligan's care perspective on moral development (1982); and (3) Erik Erikson's psychosocial perspective on generativity in middle adulthood (1982). Finally, suggestions for research on the impact of service learning in adult development are offered. (Contains 1 table.)

This study investigated informal learning activities among low-education adults, using data from the 2005 National Household Education Survey. Survey respondents were asked about their participation in six types of informal learning activities, from reading books to using computers to attending conventions. Respondents with the lowest educational attainment were found to be least likely to participate in informal learning. Age, ethnic/racial, and gender differences in informal learning were also observed. Informal learning may lead some low-education adults to participate in formal education programs. Thus, ABE teachers should be aware of the significance of informal learning in adult learners' lives. (Contains 3 tables.)

This study investigated socioeconomic and cultural factors that interplay with racial differences in adult literacy. African-American adults were shown to have statistically significantly higher book and periodical reading practices than European-Americans when income was controlled, demonstrating the important relationship between socioeconomic factors and African-Americans' literacy. African-Americans and other racial minorities obtained more information from television, magazines, and books than European-Americans, but these activities were not sufficient to overcome the gap in literacy skills between minority and majority groups. Results are discussed from Ogbu's (1990) cultural identity perspective. (Contains 3 tables.)

Efforts were undertaken to increase students' interactivity in an online course in adult development. The purpose was to increase students' engagement with the course materials, heighten their online discussions, and deepen their thinking about course-related concepts, theoretical principles, and research findings. Several strategies were used towards this end. Analyses of students' discussions showed that they relied frequently upon personal anecdotes to make meaning of the theories and developmental principles covered in the course. The instructional strategies did not, however, bear a direct relationship to students' participation, learning, or course performance. Rendering the course materials sensible in light of their personal experiences is a critical indicator of students' understanding and learning. Instructors may want to redirect their attention from assessing students' knowledge of factual contents in online courses where ability to discuss and analyze concepts and principles is a critical indicator of learning.

Finds adult readers' efforts at and enjoyment of reading tasks varied depending on the texts and purpose for reading. Notes most readers relied on activating prior knowledge, rereading of text, and note taking. Finds a significant three-way interaction between reading source, setting, and occupation only. Illustrates how specific social context factors account for differences in adults' reading practices. (RS)

Suggests that adult basic skills programs may be ineffective for developing the kinds of literacy proficiencies assessed by the National Adult Literacy Survey--reading and understanding prose and documents materials and texts containing quantitative information. Discusses why basic skills education may not lead to improved literacy skills. Offers implications for educational policy pertaining to adult education. (SC)

Presents five educators' ideas about what the demands of literacy in the workplace in the next millennium will be. Notes increased expansion of multiple literacies and considers electronic performance support systems and expert systems. Considers how future workplace literacy is dependent on adult literacy skills. (SC)

Describes a study that contrasted General Education Development (GED) program students to a group of adults who had recently completed the GED and had then "transitioned" into the college's academic programs. Finds that transition students' enjoyment of learning, studying practices, and satisfaction with the GED program were significantly greater than that of the GED students. Contains 12 references. (EMH)

Analysis of 48 parent education books for parents of adolescents, published between 1904 and 1979, revealed subtle changes in content and themes reflecting contemporary challenges of parenting, such as changing family demographics, increased adolescent sexual experimentation, and drug use. (SK)

Reports on a study comparing the reading attitudes of developmental reading students and teacher education students at a large midwestern university and community-dwelling adults. Developmental students had significantly lower reading attitude scores, but their reading performance was independent of reading attitude. (DMM)