Education / Educational sciences / Pedagogy Books

Book SynopsisThe totality of an individual''s behavioural and emotional characteristics are their personality traits. Personality embraces a person''s moods, attitudes, opinions, motivations, and style of thinking, perceiving, speaking, and acting. It is part of what makes each individual distinct. Theories of personality have existed in most cultures and throughout most of recorded history. This book discusses current research in the study of personality traits, including addictive disorders and personality disorders; cognitive and biological markers of schizophrenia; the genetics of personality disorders; and optimistic or pessimistic personality traits.

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Book SynopsisScientific research and theoretical analysis of the educational enterprise have reached impressive levels of participation, funding and public support. However, when the pedagogical techniques and classroom management strategies employed are examined, an overwhelming number of teachers relying on outdated, long-disproved practices (eg: corporal punishment) are discovered. Further, even with the current wealth of empirically-supported strategies, policy makers still advocate educational guidelines based on refuted theories or pseudoscientific trends. This book compiles some of the positive empirical findings that can be used in classrooms or be used to support public policy, as well as a detailed description of the research findings on the bad practices that waste valuable resources and potentially harm students.

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Book SynopsisScientific research and theoretical analysis of the educational enterprise have reached impressive levels of participation, funding and public support. However, when you examine the pedagogical techniques and classroom management strategies employed, you find an overwhelming number of teachers relying on outdated, long-disproved practices. Further, even with the current wealth of empirically-supported strategies, policy makers still advocate educational guidelines based on refuted theories or pseudoscientific trends. This book discusses some of the positive empirical findings that can be used in classrooms or be used to support public policy. Also discussed herein are the research findings on the bad practices that waste valuable resources and potentially harm students, as well as critical reviews of educational practices and policies that are based on pseudo-scientific claims and rationales.

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Book SynopsisThis series presents substantial results from around the globe in selected areas of educational research. The field of education is consistently on the top of priority lists of every country in the world, yet few educators are aware of the progress elsewhere. Many techniques, programs and methods are directly applicable across borders. This series attempts to shed light on successes wherever they may occur in the hope that many wheels need not be reinvented again and again.

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Book SynopsisSince the 1960''s, the United States has participated actively in international projects that are designed to provide key information about the performance of the U.S. education system relative to education systems in other countries. With the long-term growth in the trade of goods and services in the global economy, policymakers have turned to international comparisons to assess how well national systems of education are performing. These comparisons shed light on a host of issues, including access to education, equity of resources, and outcomes such as education attainment and performance on standardised tests. This book provides the opportunity to compare different aspects of countries'' education systems, assess these systems'' performance, and identify potential strategies to improve student achievement and system outputs.

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Book SynopsisThis book uses statistics to examine current conditions as well as changes in the education of racial and ethnic minority students in the United States. Minorities in general have made strides in educational achievement over the past few decades; however, some groups continue to lag behind others in certain areas. Despite the gains, progress has varied, and differences persist among Hispanic, Black, American Indian/Alaskan Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White students on key indicators of education performance.

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Book SynopsisThis series presents substantial results from around the globe in selected areas of educational research. The field of education is consistently on the top of priority lists of every country in the world, yet few educators are aware of the progress elsewhere. Many techniques, programs and methods are directly applicable across borders. Topics discussed herein include the need for school improvement; the impact of distance education in the digital age; bilingual education; foreign language learning; issues in high-stakes testing; and public education cost frontier models.

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Book SynopsisThis series presents substantial results from around the globe in selected areas of educational research. The field of education is consistently on the top of priority lists of every country in the world, yet few educators are aware of the progress elsewhere. Many techniques, programs and methods are directly applicable across borders. Topics discussed herein include situated learning and knowing during science laboratory activities; familial networks and their influence on education; classroom discourse; teachers'' evaluation styles; school health programs; and competency-based assessment in medical schools.

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Book SynopsisIn this era of expanding technology innovations, online learning opportunities are evident in both private and public educational institutions. Educators are presenting content digitally to students with a number of applications provided by their institutions. However, despite the commonalities of institutions using a learning management system or having an instructional designer on campus, many instructors still remain grounded in the pedagogy that they use in the traditional classroom. Furthermore, driven by the institution to produce online companions to the traditional campus course offerings, instructors can often be too busy learning the technical aspects than spending time on content or exploring and learning how to teach via the "internet." This book provides a multifaceted look at online instruction from a variety of authors and may assist instructors who teach online or will teach online in the future.

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Book SynopsisThis series presents substantial results from around the globe in selected areas of educational research. The field of education is consistently on the top of priority lists of every country in the world, yet few educators are aware of the progress elsewhere. Many techniques, programs and methods are directly applicable across borders. Topics discussed herein include nutritional health in pre-k; the battle to reduce HIV/AIDS in Africa; developing in-service science teachers'' PDK; solving problems of lecture-based physics instruction; web 2.0 tools in collaborative learning; and self-concept and self-efficacy in mathematics.

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Book SynopsisPractitioner research is not a new concept in education and many teachers had attempted to enact and study their own practices with the view of improving teaching effectiveness. Over the past decade there has been increased interests in teachers'' investigation of own practice in their classrooms. However, the findings of many of these studies are often not treated seriously by education scholars and policymakers, and not widely disseminated to others. This book identifies pertinent issues related to practitioner research and describes recent attempts in theorising teacher research, outlining research agenda, promoting the culture of teacher-led research, building capacity, developing models and examining current thinking about practitioner research.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores and identifies, from the perspective of distance education with the use of ICT, theoretical-practical contributions for an educational, phenomenological, critical, and contextualised practice, in order to analyse and understand the new phenomena of the electronic online tele-educational modalities that have reached their peak in the twenty-first century.

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Book SynopsisThe National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2), was initiated in 2001 to provide a national picture of the characteristics and experiences of youth with disabilities, including their self-representations of themselves, their schooling, their personal relationships, and their hopes for the future. This book presents findings drawn from the first time data was collected directly from youth on these topics; they were ages 15 through 19 at the time (2003). The large majority of information reported comes from responses of youth with disabilities either to a telephone interview or to a self-administered mail survey, which contained a subset of key items from the telephone interview.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the circumstances surrounding cases where K-12 schools hired or retained individuals with histories of sexual misconduct and determines the factors contributing to such employment actions. An overview of selected federal and state laws related to the employment of convicted sex offenders in K-12 schools is reviewed. Additionally, many challenges arise in educating students who change schools frequently. Research suggests that mobility is one of several interrelated factors, such as socio-economic status and lack of parental education, which have a negative effect of academic achievement. The recent economic downturn, with foreclosures and homelessness, may be increasing student mobility.

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Book SynopsisDropping out of high school is related to a number of negative outcomes. For example, the median income of persons ages 18 through 67 who had not completed high school was roughly $25,000 in 2009. By comparison, the median income of persons ages 18 through 67 who completed their education with at least a high school credential, including a General Educational Development (GED) certificate, was approximately $43,000. This book builds upon a series of National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) on high school dropout and completion rates that began in 1988. It examines trends in dropout and completion rates over the last nearly four decades (1972-2011), and explores the characteristics of high school dropouts and high school completers. Also discussed are the dropout prevention services and programs in public school districts.

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Book SynopsisSpecial education is a vibrant, complex, and controversial field that continues to garner widespread attention from policy makers, researchers, practitioners, and educators. It is a field whose primary goal is to provide an appropriate education for students with special needs, a disproportionate number of whom are from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds. In this book the authors bring together critical perspectives and historical viewpoints on special education by a group of distinguished and well-recognised African American scholars, educators, and related professionals. These authors raise important questions, challenge assumptions about traditions and conventions in special education, and provide insights into how to reach and teach under-served African American children and youth in special education.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides an analyses of expenditures and income factors relating to school districts use of funds. Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) requires that schools receiving funds under Title I receive state- and locally-funded services that, taken as a whole, are at least comparable to the state- and locally-funded services provided to non-Title I schools. The purpose of this comparability requirement is to ensure that federal assistance is not compensating for an inequitable distribution of state and local funds that benefits more affluent schools. The Title I comparability requirement allows school districts to demonstrate compliance in a number of ways, including through a district-wide salary schedule, policies to ensure equivalence among schools in certain types of resources, student-instructional staff ratios, and other measures, and does not require districts to use school-level expenditures.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines post-secondary education with a focus on student outcomes and undercover online experiences. Institutions of higher education, including for-profit, non-profit, and public schools, receive billions of dollars each year from the Department of Education to help students pay for school. Measuring the quality of educational programs (i.e., how much knowledge or skill students gain) is difficult. Because few direct measures are available, indirect outcome measures, such as graduation and student loan default rates, are often used. Although no single outcome can be used to fully measure something as complex as educational quality, looking at multiple outcome measures (eg: graduation rates, pass rates on licensing exams, employment outcomes, and student loan default rates) can shed light on the quality of education provided by schools.

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Book SynopsisEconomic projections point to a need for approximately 1 million more STEM professionals than the U.S. will produce at the current rate over the next decade if the country is to retain its historical pre-eminence in science and technology. To meet this goal, the United States will need to increase the number of students who receive undergraduate STEM degrees by about 34% annually over current rates. This book provides an overview for strategies to improve STEM education during the first two years of college, thereby being responsive to both the challenges and the opportunities that this crucial stage in the STEM education pathway presents.

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Book SynopsisPhysical activity is the most important strategy in any program aimed at preventing or reducing childhood obesity. In addition to its positive health benefits, research on physical activity among children also suggests a strong correlation between children''s fitness and their academic performance, as measured by grades in core subjects and scores on standardised tests. Moreover, some experts contend that physical activity provides both personal and social benefits, including the development of leadership skills and increased self-esteem. Schools are uniquely positioned to be an access point for students to engage in physical activity through physical education classes and sports teams. This book examines the association between school-based physical activity and academic performance, including indicators of cognitive skills and attitudes, academic behaviours, and academic achievement; and the corresponding health benefits.

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Book SynopsisIn this book, the authors present current research in the study of learning strategies, expectations and challenges. Topics discussed in this compilation include an examination of the differences between an expert and a novice''s ability to recognize design prototypes using a Visual Prototype Identity Model (VPIM); self-regulated problem solving implementation in the school curriculum; effects of academic confidence and gender in the perception of the teaching-learning process at the university level; strategies for supporting reflection in online learning environments; and collaborative learning in teaching.

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Book SynopsisEducation is a critical determinant for the continued success of industrialised countries and for the potential of developing countries to be realised and achieved. There are many determinants that are instrumental to the progression of societies and access to education is essential to this success. This book provides a global perspective on selected areas of educational policies that address myriad aspects of how we, as a population, can achieve what is a basic human right in the twenty-first century. Educational policy is a dynamic field that many countries place as a top priority for action since an educated population is one that can be healthy and productive. This book highlights selected areas of research, action and recommendations for policy development that are applicable at all levels of education in many corners of the world.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides unique and contemporary insights into the major current issues and controversies in school and community health education, physical education and sports, as well as issues in teacher education of these issues. The distinctive focus of this new volume is to describe current issues and controversies using international perspectives and subsequently be able to create practical strategies for health and sports promotion activities in schools, communities and teacher education. Authors have been drawn together from the USA, Canada, the United Kingdom, Israel, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Portugal, the Netherlands, Sweden and Germany.

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Book SynopsisThis series presents substantial results from around the globe in selected areas of educational research. The field of education is consistently on the top of priority lists of every country in the world, yet few educators are aware of the progress elsewhere. Topics discussed include teaching as integration of theory and practice; perspectives of Turkish pre-service mathematics teachers of elementary level on mathematics proofs; how effective are middle school teachers at improving student achievement; assessing teaching methods in undergraduate disciplines; motivation of German and U.S. teachers to become school principals and the art of science education.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents a study that concerns itself with selected findings on the measurement of the spelling-specific self-concept, on the causal ordering between the spelling-specific self-concept and spelling achievement, on the relationships between the spelling-specific self-concept and causal attributions of dictation outcomes as well as on the relationships between the spelling-specific self-concept, spelling-specific test anxiety, and global self-esteem variables and on the relationships between the spelling self-concept and test anxiety, global self-esteem, and school attitude variables. Moreover, an empirical approach to further differentiate the spelling-specific self-concept and thus to analyse a more task-specific facet is documented. Altogether, these findings can provide strong evidence for a basic model of academic self-beliefs in the spelling domain.

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Book SynopsisThe National Science Foundation''s (NSF''s) primary responsibility is to maintain the health and vitality of the U.S. academic science and engineering enterprise. In addition to ensuring the nation''s supply of scientific and engineering personnel, the NSF promotes academic basic research and science and engineering education across many disciplines. The NSF provides support for investigator-initiated, merit-reviewed, competitively selected awards, state-of-the-art tools, instrumentation, and facilities. NSF receives approximately 45,000 proposals for research, graduate, and postdoctoral fellowships, and science, mathematics, and engineering projects annually, and makes about 11,500 new funding awards. Support is provided to academic institutions, industrial laboratories, private research firms, and major research facilities and centres. This book provides an overview of the funding issues, functions and programs relating to the U.S. National Science Foundation, with a focus on STEM education funding; EPSCoR; performance and financial highlights.

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Book SynopsisThis book analyses a unique pedagogical experiment in Higher Education to explore innovative ways to teach a graduate seminar guided by Dialogic Pedagogy. There have been many books describing successful pedagogical innovations in higher education and beyond. In contrast, this book describes a certain type of pedagogical failure of the innovation that is arguably common in practice but rarely reported. This pedagogical failure is called a "Centauric Failure". Like the Centaur, who embodied two contrasting natures of half-human and half-beast, this pedagogical experiment was guided by humanistic and dialogic values, but also it caused pains to the participants. The in-depth analysis of events has pushed the boundaries of Dialogic Pedagogy based on the framework developed by Russian philosopher Mikhail Bakhtin toward the notion of agency in education.

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Book SynopsisThis book has been designed to provide a conduit for the pre-service and beginning teacher of science to access contemporary educational research. The chapters offer researched forms of classroom practices that are also easy to transfer into classrooms. The teaching of chemistry, biology, astronomy and physics, and Primary Science teaching, are discussed with a focus on new technology tools, as well as important topics for the new teacher of science. This includes providing different types of feedback; the value of developing a supportive network of colleagues; planning for science teaching effectively; the types and contribution of models in science teaching and how they contribute to thinking, great ways to utilise demonstrations; and challenging the learners'' alternative conceptions. New technologies are pervasive in many chapters, and are used to enrich and deepen the learning experiences possible for learners.

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Book SynopsisProfessional development refers to skills and knowledge attained for both personal development and career advancement and encompasses all types of facilitated learning opportunities, ranging from college degrees to formal coursework, conferences and informal learning opportunities situated in practice. In this book, the authors examine the perspectives, strategies and practices of professional development. Topics discussed include pedagogical content knowledge and action-research; team-training approaches to professional development; teacher''s perceptions of teaching at different stages of their professional development; teacher dilemmas in the new curriculum reform in China; developing reflective thinking through field research; increasing teacher engagement in professional development activities; instructional coaching as an effective structure for job embedded professional development; and improving program quality in urban child care centres.

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Book SynopsisIn this book, the authors present current research in the study of the teaching strategies, psychological factors and economic impacts of educational achievement. Topics discussed in this compilation include the achievement gap between Hispanic and White students in Middle School; the academic achievement of immigrant adolescents; multicultural education and student attitudes; international comparisons of student achievement; childhood short stature and educational achievement; accountability ratings and beginning elementary school teachers; advanced placement courses and Asian student performance; and parental education and school enrolment in rural India.

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Book SynopsisIn recent years, issues related to the cultivation of national identity and the contribution of the ''other'' to the construction of national self has assumed considerable significance. Additionally, the way the past should be narrated and presented to the younger generation through school history is beset by continual and not easily resolved debates. This book, focusing on the Greek context, reports how and to what extent school history and history education contribute to the formulation of Greek youngsters'' national identity and perceptions of the ''other''. School history is conceived as a double-edge notion which includes official aspects (educational policies, history curricula and textbooks) and every day practice (implementation of official aspects and history teaching reality). Examining both edges, this book depicts the influence that school history has on pupils'' perceptions of the ''other'' in ethnocentric educational settings and underlines the contribution of other parameters inside and out of these settings.

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Book SynopsisThis book provides an overview for educators, policy-makers, and the public with information about the background and academic performance of fourth- and eighth-grade American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in the United States. AI/AN students make up about 1 percent of the students at grades 4 and 8 nationally. Fourth- and eighth-grade students were identified as AI/AN based on school records and were sampled along with other students participating in the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) subject-area assessments.

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Book SynopsisThe largest sources of federal funding for elementary and secondary education are the Elementary and Secondary Act (ESEA), and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The ESEA provides funding and services for a broad population of students, including disadvantaged students, migrant students, neglected and delinquent students, and students with limited English proficiency. Approximately 6 million students with disabilities aged 6 through 21 attend elementary and secondary schools; however they are not afforded special services under the ESEA due to their disability status. Both the ESEA and IDEA aim to improve the educational outcomes for students with disabilities. The ways in which they do this sometimes differ, and when the laws are not fully or clearly aligned it can be difficult for educators to plan and execute an appropriate education for these students. This book highlights the federal issues and policies pertaining to the education of students with disabilities.

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Book SynopsisThe first book to offer a somatic movement education curriculum adapted to the unique needs of adolescentsSusan Bauer presents a groundbreaking curriculum for teaching teens how to integrate body and mind, enhance kinesthetic intelligence, and develop the inner resilience they need to thrive, now and into adulthood. Designed for educators, therapists, counselors, and movement practitioners, The Embodied Teen presents a pioneering introductory, student-centered program in somatic movement education. Using the student''s own body as the lab through which to learn self-care, injury prevention, body awareness, and emotional resilience, Bauer teaches basic embodiment practices that establish the foundation for further skill development in sports, dance, and leisure activities. Students learn the basics of anatomy and physiology, and unlearn self-defeating habits that impact body image and self-esteem. By examining their cultural perceptions, they discover their body prejudices, helping them to both respect diversity and gain compassion for themselves and others. Concise and accessible, the lessons presented in this book will empower teens as they navigate the volatile physical and emotional challenges they face during this vibrant, powerful stage of life.

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Book SynopsisIn this book, the authors discuss Special Education standards, teaching practices and parent expectations along with Educational Program issues and challenges. Topics discussed in this compilation include transforming teacher preparation programs to meet the needs of all learners; parental involvement and participation of monolingual and bilingual Latino families during individual educational program meetings; self-concept enhancement programs; health training programs; and social-sexual education for mature students with mild intellectual disabilities.

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Book SynopsisIn this book, the authors discuss the cultural influences, global perspectives and social challenges of education in Australia. Topics include over-education in the Australian graduate labour market; overseas workers and the role of professional associations in Australia; case studies of disadvantaged students'' reading motivations; and the education and health literacy of aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia.

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Book SynopsisThis book presents an overview of teacher preparation and initial state credentialing in America, with a focus on providing Congress, aspiring teachers, the education community, researchers and policy-makers, and the general public with information that Congress has identified as important to a basic understanding.

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Book SynopsisThis series provides an overview of education in America today, with a focus on the current issues, analyses, policies and programs being implemented and challenged. This volume discusses the Supreme Court''s decisions regarding the range of topics that involve religious concerns in education; public aid to sectarian schools; a legal analysis of religious discrimination in public schools; the Student Non-Discrimination Act (SNDA); higher education and the disabled; and a review of federal programs focused on school construction and renovation.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines the eligibility requirements, benefit availability, benefit payments, participation, and obligations of the Post-9/11 GI Bill, which provides benefits to veterans and servicemembers who serve on active duty after September 10, 2001. Participants may be eligible for payments to cover tuition and fees, housing, books and supplies, tutorial and relocation assistance, and testing and certification fees.

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Book SynopsisThe TRIO programs are the primary federal programs providing support services to disadvantaged students to promote achievement in post-secondary education. The TRIO programs have been designed to prepare qualified individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds for post-secondary education and encourage their success throughout the educational pipeline from secondary school to undergraduate and graduate education. While the TRIO programs primarily serve low-income, first-generation college students, they also serve students with disabilities, veterans, homeless youth, foster youth, and individuals under-represented in graduate education. This book provides a description of the TRIO programs, with a focus on education for homeless children and youth; and the federal Pell Grant program of the Higher Education Act.

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Book SynopsisFollowing the attack at Columbine High School in April 1999, the Secret Service and the Department of Education initiated a study of thinking, planning and other pre-attack behaviours engaged in by attackers who carried out school shootings. That study, the Safe School Initiative, was pursued under a partnership between the Secret Service and the Department of Education. This book examines the Safe School Initiative, whose objective is to attempt to identify information that could be obtainable, or "knowable", prior to an attack. That information would then be analysed and evaluated to produce a factual, accurate knowledge based on targeted school attacks. This knowledge could be used to help communities across the country to formulate policies and strategies aimed at preventing school-based attacks.

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Book SynopsisIn this book, the authors present current research in the study of the predictors, learning strategies and influences of gender in academic achievement. Topics discussed in this compilation include the interlay between cognitive and non-cognitive processes; elementary school students'' achievement emotions and influences of gender to motivation achievement; understanding inclusive learners'' perceptions of their own academic ability; and the gender aspect of justice about grades.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores the intersection of migration, identity development and the school achievement of Caribbean heritage children. In doing so, it uncovers the history of the Caribbean and its early inhabitants such as the Siboneyes, Guanahatabeyes, Tainos, Caribs, and Arawaks, who predated the arrival of European explorers and enslavers, and it explains the relevant connections to colonialism, neo-colonialism and Caribbean migration to North America. Through family interviews, it presents perspectives on Caribbean immigrants in North American schools (United States and Canada). The book further explains what happens when these immigrants transition from being the ethnic majority in their home country, into the minority in a foreign country. Interviews with families and personal narratives are weaved into a rich discussion on immigrant identities in school and society. The findings strongly support the treatise in the literature that Caribbean heritage families place a strong emphasis on education and school achievement.

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Book SynopsisIn this book Ilghiz M Sinagatullin demonstrates his remarkable gift in revealing questions too often ignored, unnoticed or wrongly interpreted by educators, teacher educators, education policy makers, and parents. Simultaneously he proposes fresh and insightful recommendations and strategies about how to find optimal solutions to these unnoticed problems that impede the successful functioning of education. His practical suggestions in solving such dilemmas are full of professional ingenuity and foresight. He supports his theoretical implications by pertinent examples drawn from his personal experience and observations. This book is a good source for secondary school teachers, teacher educators, pre-service teachers as well as parents. Education policy makers and school district officials may equally benefit from getting acquainted with it.

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