Social research and statistics Books

Book SynopsisThis volume, the ninth volume in the Handbook of Research in Middle Level Education, is a compilation of research studies focusing on the use and implementation of common planning time (CPT) in middle level schools. All of the studies were part of the Middle Level Education Research SIG’s National Middle Grades Research Project (NMGRP) on Common Planning Time, which provides additional evidence about teachers’ understandings, experiences, the benefits and barriers about CPT.Since all researchers participating in the SIG-sponsored project utilised the same data collection protocols and followed the same protocols, the overall data collection was systematic and is highly reliable. Five research questions were generated to guide the development of the data collection protocols. While the authors were encouraged to use their data to address these project-level questions, they were not required to do so. The project consisted of both qualitative and quantitative data collection. Phase I (qualitative) consisted of observations of CPT meetings and structured interviews with teachers. Phase II (quantitative) was comprised of an online teacher survey. Within the chapters of this volume, a variety of relevant and meaningful research questions are examined utilising both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume, the ninth volume in the Handbook of Research in Middle Level Education, is a compilation of research studies focusing on the use and implementation of common planning time (CPT) in middle level schools. All of the studies were part of the Middle Level Education Research SIG’s National Middle Grades Research Project (NMGRP) on Common Planning Time, which provides additional evidence about teachers’ understandings, experiences, the benefits and barriers about CPT.Since all researchers participating in the SIG-sponsored project utilised the same data collection protocols and followed the same protocols, the overall data collection was systematic and is highly reliable. Five research questions were generated to guide the development of the data collection protocols. While the authors were encouraged to use their data to address these project-level questions, they were not required to do so. The project consisted of both qualitative and quantitative data collection. Phase I (qualitative) consisted of observations of CPT meetings and structured interviews with teachers. Phase II (quantitative) was comprised of an online teacher survey. Within the chapters of this volume, a variety of relevant and meaningful research questions are examined utilising both qualitative and quantitative methodologies.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWe are in the midst of yet another global crisis in capitalism. In the UK, we have the most right wing and ideologically driven government since Thatcher; a ruthless cabal of millionaires intent on destroying the welfare state. In the US, President Obama, whose initial record did not live up to the expectations of many on the Left, is increasingly driven by right-wing republicanism and other corporate interests. At the same time, there are developments in Latin America, in particular Venezuela, which are heralding the dawn of a new politics, and recovering the voice of Marx, but with a twenty-first century socialist focus, thus giving hope to the lives of millions of working people throughout the world. This is why the world media is intent on discrediting President Hugo Chávez; and insisting that ordinary people have to pay the cost of the crisis in capitalism. The Arab Spring and the Occupy movement also show signs of an anti-capitalist movement in embryo. In Greece, perhaps more than anywhere else in Europe (even France), the austerity-stricken working-classes are pushing for real existing socialism. It is therefore not surprising that the ruling class of Greece is increasingly supporting the neo-Nazi, fascist Golden Dawn party threatening civil war should they lose power as a class. Now is a prescient time to bring twenty-first century socialism to the educational institutions of the world, to teach Marx across the curriculum and across the globe.Through this volume our goal was to contribute to the literature by concretely demonstrating the practical implications of Marx's theory to curriculum. However, while this book provides concrete examples of how Marx can and has informed a revolutionary critical education, it is not intended to be prescriptive. That is, the chapters should not be read as a how to guide, but they should be taken as inspiration for new, creative approaches to Teaching Marx and interpreting and posing The Socialist Challenge.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe industrial monoculture spreading across the globe is highly competitive, greedy and egotistical; in the shaping of educational policy, global communities have accepted a model based on science and technology, which lacks aspects that should be addressed in the goal of education. The book Timeless Teachers and Ethical Visions is a historical inquiry of educational concerns that have developed through the centuries. It is a systematic discussion of prominent educators, including their theories and experiments: St. Thomas Aquinas, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Khaldun, Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, John Dewey and Paulo Freire.In addition, the inquiry investigates the strengths and weaknesses of the neoliberal educational policy, the suggestions to construct an educational policy considering the common good, criticize uncontrolled individualism while emphasising the goal of education that enhances community consciousness to the learner. Finally, the aim of this book is to propose an alternative educational policy that is beneficial to the global community.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe industrial monoculture spreading across the globe is highly competitive, greedy and egotistical; in the shaping of educational policy, global communities have accepted a model based on science and technology, which lacks aspects that should be addressed in the goal of education. The book Timeless Teachers and Ethical Visions is a historical inquiry of educational concerns that have developed through the centuries. It is a systematic discussion of prominent educators, including their theories and experiments: St. Thomas Aquinas, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Khaldun, Leo Tolstoy, Mahatma Gandhi, John Dewey and Paulo Freire.In addition, the inquiry investigates the strengths and weaknesses of the neoliberal educational policy, the suggestions to construct an educational policy considering the common good, criticize uncontrolled individualism while emphasising the goal of education that enhances community consciousness to the learner. Finally, the aim of this book is to propose an alternative educational policy that is beneficial to the global community.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThrough its research-to-practice focus, this book honours the professional contributions of Professor Barry J. Zimmerman as illustrated by the recent self-regulation applications of a highly respected group of national and international scholars. This book will serve as a valuable resource for those interested in empowering and enabling learners to successfully manage and self-direct their lives, education, and careers. In particular, K-12 educators, college instructors, coaches, musicians, health care providers and researchers will gain invaluable insight into the nature of self-regulation as well as how they can readily apply self-regulation principles into their teaching, instruction, or mentoring. Emergent trends in education and psychology circles, such as linking self-regulated learning assessment and interventions as well as the use of technology to enhance student learning and self-regulation, are additional themes addressed in the book. The kaleidoscope of self-regulation issues addressed in this book along with the wide range of promising intervention applications should also prove to be particularly appealing to graduate students as they pursue their future research activities and seek to optimise their individual growth and development.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThrough its research-to-practice focus, this book honours the professional contributions of Professor Barry J. Zimmerman as illustrated by the recent self-regulation applications of a highly respected group of national and international scholars. This book will serve as a valuable resource for those interested in empowering and enabling learners to successfully manage and self-direct their lives, education, and careers. In particular, K-12 educators, college instructors, coaches, musicians, health care providers and researchers will gain invaluable insight into the nature of self-regulation as well as how they can readily apply self-regulation principles into their teaching, instruction, or mentoring. Emergent trends in education and psychology circles, such as linking self-regulated learning assessment and interventions as well as the use of technology to enhance student learning and self-regulation, are additional themes addressed in the book. The kaleidoscope of self-regulation issues addressed in this book along with the wide range of promising intervention applications should also prove to be particularly appealing to graduate students as they pursue their future research activities and seek to optimise their individual growth and development.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book expands the horizon of higher education, helping students, faculty and administrators to return to their roots and be in touch with their whole being. This book stresses that learning is much more than just accumulating knowledge and skills. Learning includes knowing ourselves—mind, body, and spirit. The learning of compassion, care, and service are as crucial or even more important in higher education in order for universities to address students’ individual needs and the society’s needs. Higher education must contribute to a better world. The book acknowledges that knowing not only comes from outside, but also comes from within. Wisdom is what guides students to be whole, true to themselves while learning. There are many ancient and modern approaches to gaining wisdom and wellness. This book talks about contemplative methods, such as meditation, qigong, yoga, arts, and dance, that help people gain wisdom and balance in their lives and enhance their ability to be reflective and transformative educators and learners.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis book expands the horizon of higher education, helping students, faculty and administrators to return to their roots and be in touch with their whole being. This book stresses that learning is much more than just accumulating knowledge and skills. Learning includes knowing ourselves—mind, body, and spirit. The learning of compassion, care, and service are as crucial or even more important in higher education in order for universities to address students’ individual needs and the society’s needs. Higher education must contribute to a better world. The book acknowledges that knowing not only comes from outside, but also comes from within. Wisdom is what guides students to be whole, true to themselves while learning. There are many ancient and modern approaches to gaining wisdom and wellness. This book talks about contemplative methods, such as meditation, qigong, yoga, arts, and dance, that help people gain wisdom and balance in their lives and enhance their ability to be reflective and transformative educators and learners.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA team of researchers from 35 states across the country developed a survey designed to create a snapshot of social studies teaching and learning in the United States. With over 12,000 responses, it is the largest survey of social studies teachers in over three decades. We asked teachers about their curricular goals, their methods of instruction, their use of technology, and the way they address the needs of English language learners and students with disabilities. We gathered demographic data too, along with inquiries about the teachers' training, their professional development experiences, and even whether they serve as coaches. The enormous data set from this project was analysed by multiple research teams, each with its own chapter. This volume would be a valuable resource for any professor, doctoral student, or Master’s student examining the field of social studies education. It is hard to imagine a research study, topical article, or professional development session concerning social studies that would not quote findings from this book about the current status of social studies. With chapters on such key issues as the teaching of history, how teachers address religion, social studies teachers’ use of technology, and how teachers adapt their instruction for students with disabilities or for English language learners, the book’s content will immediately be relevant and useful.

Read more less

Book SynopsisA team of researchers from 35 states across the country developed a survey designed to create a snapshot of social studies teaching and learning in the United States. With over 12,000 responses, it is the largest survey of social studies teachers in over three decades. We asked teachers about their curricular goals, their methods of instruction, their use of technology, and the way they address the needs of English language learners and students with disabilities. We gathered demographic data too, along with inquiries about the teachers' training, their professional development experiences, and even whether they serve as coaches. The enormous data set from this project was analysed by multiple research teams, each with its own chapter. This volume would be a valuable resource for any professor, doctoral student, or Master’s student examining the field of social studies education. It is hard to imagine a research study, topical article, or professional development session concerning social studies that would not quote findings from this book about the current status of social studies. With chapters on such key issues as the teaching of history, how teachers address religion, social studies teachers’ use of technology, and how teachers adapt their instruction for students with disabilities or for English language learners, the book’s content will immediately be relevant and useful.

Read more less

Book SynopsisHigher education is facing many challenges, not least of which is retaining excellent faculty and cultivating their continued professional growth. This book explicitly ties the literature to the practical concerns and recommendations related to applying the reflective process in a college setting. In this way, the theories and empirical findings of the most recent literatures are linked to practical recommendations. The reflective tools described in this book provide an important resource for faculty’s reflective practice. Unlike other books on the topic, the model developed and presented in this book allows for the reflective process to validate faculty's previous actions or accomplishments and maintain these practices. In other words, the endpoint of reflective process supports self-satisfaction. Instead of a deficit model, the focus is development.In this comprehensive volume, readers discover the seminal and the recent research in reflective practice drawn from a wide range of sources, including the authors’ recent research findings on college teachers’ reflection.

Read more less

Book SynopsisHigher education is facing many challenges, not least of which is retaining excellent faculty and cultivating their continued professional growth. This book explicitly ties the literature to the practical concerns and recommendations related to applying the reflective process in a college setting. In this way, the theories and empirical findings of the most recent literatures are linked to practical recommendations. The reflective tools described in this book provide an important resource for faculty’s reflective practice. Unlike other books on the topic, the model developed and presented in this book allows for the reflective process to validate faculty's previous actions or accomplishments and maintain these practices. In other words, the endpoint of reflective process supports self-satisfaction. Instead of a deficit model, the focus is development.In this comprehensive volume, readers discover the seminal and the recent research in reflective practice drawn from a wide range of sources, including the authors’ recent research findings on college teachers’ reflection.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn an era of accountability and increased demand of literacy competency, this book provides examples of how teacher educators and teachers have come together to learn from each other and from English learners. The chapters in this book follow a teacher learning framework that highlights joint work, features inquiry into practice and integrates disciplinary content knowledge with culturally and linguistically responsive teaching.While the chapters feature different venues for teacher learning, they all depict the process of teachers and teacher educators striving to integrate English learner instruction into mainstream teacher education. This book will be a resource for faculty in teacher education programs and for administrative personnel in school districts to illustrate the process of building authentic collaborations that can improve teacher learning and understanding about English learner instruction.

Read more less

Book SynopsisIn an era of accountability and increased demand of literacy competency, this book provides examples of how teacher educators and teachers have come together to learn from each other and from English learners. The chapters in this book follow a teacher learning framework that highlights joint work, features inquiry into practice and integrates disciplinary content knowledge with culturally and linguistically responsive teaching.While the chapters feature different venues for teacher learning, they all depict the process of teachers and teacher educators striving to integrate English learner instruction into mainstream teacher education. This book will be a resource for faculty in teacher education programs and for administrative personnel in school districts to illustrate the process of building authentic collaborations that can improve teacher learning and understanding about English learner instruction.

Read more less

Book SynopsisLife Stories: Exploring Issues in Educational History Through Biography consists of 13 essays, each of which offers perspective on one of four key questions that have long drawn scholarly attention: What should schools teach? Who gets to decide? How should educators adapt to a changing world to provide opportunity for all students? How should educators' experiences be interpreted for future audiences? The book is written to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the International Society for Educational Biography and its journal, Vitae Scholasticae. All of the essays have appeared in the journal, and they are set in a variety of educational environments that span 174 years. Taken together, the essays demonstrate the important contributions that biography can make to educational history. Life Stories will be of interest to educational biographers and historians for use in their own scholarly work. Instructors may also consider assigning Life Stories as a required text in educational history courses.

Read more less

Book SynopsisLife Stories: Exploring Issues in Educational History Through Biography consists of 13 essays, each of which offers perspective on one of four key questions that have long drawn scholarly attention: What should schools teach? Who gets to decide? How should educators adapt to a changing world to provide opportunity for all students? How should educators' experiences be interpreted for future audiences? The book is written to commemorate the thirtieth anniversary of the International Society for Educational Biography and its journal, Vitae Scholasticae. All of the essays have appeared in the journal, and they are set in a variety of educational environments that span 174 years. Taken together, the essays demonstrate the important contributions that biography can make to educational history. Life Stories will be of interest to educational biographers and historians for use in their own scholarly work. Instructors may also consider assigning Life Stories as a required text in educational history courses.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat is wrong with young people today? This question has captured the concerns of the older generation about the habits and attitudes of the adolescents in their midst. The assumption is that there is indeed something wrong with young people. Even Plato must have rolled his eyes, as he relates his diatribe about the adolescents of Greece. Is the current generation of adolescents less motivated or less focused than their parents? How will they respond to the challenges facing them as they progress to adulthood? When, in fact, do they become adults? Although every generation draws upon their own unique and varied experiences, the speed of our current societal changes has created a very different adolescent passage for contemporary youth than ever before.The world as we know it has changed significantly and because of it, much of today’s youth is decidedly different from their parents. Adolescence itself has shifted dramatically. Young children are displaying adolescent behaviors well before they are ready to act on or understand their meaning, and older adolescents are staying perpetual children. As one writer put it, “the conveyer belt that transported adolescents into adulthood has broken down”. This book provides an interdisciplinary collection of research on the constants and challenges faced by young people today. Failure to launch? Social media? Economic stagnation? For the generation that is coming of age in a post-terrorist world and in the midst of economic upheaval, the challenges might seem insurmountable. However, in this book, scholars from across the academy, from sociology, psychology, education, philosophy, science, and business, explain how the young people today are responding to the constants of growth and change in adolescence and the unique challenges of life in the 21st century.

Read more less

Book SynopsisWhat is wrong with young people today? This question has captured the concerns of the older generation about the habits and attitudes of the adolescents in their midst. The assumption is that there is indeed something wrong with young people. Even Plato must have rolled his eyes, as he relates his diatribe about the adolescents of Greece. Is the current generation of adolescents less motivated or less focused than their parents? How will they respond to the challenges facing them as they progress to adulthood? When, in fact, do they become adults? Although every generation draws upon their own unique and varied experiences, the speed of our current societal changes has created a very different adolescent passage for contemporary youth than ever before.The world as we know it has changed significantly and because of it, much of today’s youth is decidedly different from their parents. Adolescence itself has shifted dramatically. Young children are displaying adolescent behaviors well before they are ready to act on or understand their meaning, and older adolescents are staying perpetual children. As one writer put it, “the conveyer belt that transported adolescents into adulthood has broken down”. This book provides an interdisciplinary collection of research on the constants and challenges faced by young people today. Failure to launch? Social media? Economic stagnation? For the generation that is coming of age in a post-terrorist world and in the midst of economic upheaval, the challenges might seem insurmountable. However, in this book, scholars from across the academy, from sociology, psychology, education, philosophy, science, and business, explain how the young people today are responding to the constants of growth and change in adolescence and the unique challenges of life in the 21st century.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOver the last 35 years, studies focusing in young children’s knowledge about the mental world have developed into an important area. This body of social knowledge is called theory of mind, which refers to the individuals’ ability to interpret and anticipate the other individuals’ thinking, feeling, and behavior based on their interpretation of the situation. Many researchers and theorists believe that a representational theory of mind offers a basis for various critical facets of social-cognitive performance, such as teaching and learning, lying and pretending, making and keeping friends, and social learning more generally. The purpose of this volume is to share a collection of research strands on theory of mind research. It describes its historical roots and suggests improved alternatives. The focus of the volume is to provide a review and critical analysis of the literature on a contemporary domain of knowledge on young children’s Theory of Mind.For several decades scholarly research on theory of mind has been flourishing and a collection of new publication outlets have emerged such as the ones reviewed in the volume, which offers a thorough critical analysis of the research in contemporary perspectives on research in theory of mind in early childhood education. The researchers who conducted the critical analyses of the research focused on understanding the mind in relation to (1) young children, (2) several assessment procedures, (3) metacognitive and neuroscientific processes, (3) emotion and educational representations, (4) interaction of social and cultural elements, and (5) inferences and future research directions. The work of these scholars can help guide those researchers who are interested in pursuing studies in early childhood theory of mind in a specific area of study.

Read more less

Book SynopsisOver the last 35 years, studies focusing in young children’s knowledge about the mental world have developed into an important area. This body of social knowledge is called theory of mind, which refers to the individuals’ ability to interpret and anticipate the other individuals’ thinking, feeling, and behavior based on their interpretation of the situation. Many researchers and theorists believe that a representational theory of mind offers a basis for various critical facets of social-cognitive performance, such as teaching and learning, lying and pretending, making and keeping friends, and social learning more generally. The purpose of this volume is to share a collection of research strands on theory of mind research. It describes its historical roots and suggests improved alternatives. The focus of the volume is to provide a review and critical analysis of the literature on a contemporary domain of knowledge on young children’s Theory of Mind.For several decades scholarly research on theory of mind has been flourishing and a collection of new publication outlets have emerged such as the ones reviewed in the volume, which offers a thorough critical analysis of the research in contemporary perspectives on research in theory of mind in early childhood education. The researchers who conducted the critical analyses of the research focused on understanding the mind in relation to (1) young children, (2) several assessment procedures, (3) metacognitive and neuroscientific processes, (3) emotion and educational representations, (4) interaction of social and cultural elements, and (5) inferences and future research directions. The work of these scholars can help guide those researchers who are interested in pursuing studies in early childhood theory of mind in a specific area of study.

Read more less

Book SynopsisDeveloping and Sustaining Adult Learners is the second volume in a series of scholarly publications associated with the annual Adult Higher Education Alliance (AHEA, The Alliance) conference. The title of this volume, derived from the theme of the 2012 conference co-sponsored by American Association of Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) in Las Vegas, NV, encompasses significant issues and questions at the forefront of the field of adult education. At the conference, scholars, practitioners, and adult educators gave presentations and received feedback on some of the most significant and timely issues in their praxis. The Alliance, which values collaboration, transformative dialogue, and collegiality among professionals, considers this volume a continuation of those conversations as the presentations were expanded into chapters.This volume confirms not only that adult learning, higher education, and both fields of research have many contexts, but also that there is so much more to learn about different perspectives and opportunities for research and practice. Opportunities for symbiotic relationship abound. This book will provide needed refreshment and new vision when engaging in program and course planning, design and teaching. When research ideas seem too similar, this volume will also provide many seeds for new opportunities.

Read more less

Book SynopsisDeveloping and Sustaining Adult Learners is the second volume in a series of scholarly publications associated with the annual Adult Higher Education Alliance (AHEA, The Alliance) conference. The title of this volume, derived from the theme of the 2012 conference co-sponsored by American Association of Adult and Continuing Education (AAACE) in Las Vegas, NV, encompasses significant issues and questions at the forefront of the field of adult education. At the conference, scholars, practitioners, and adult educators gave presentations and received feedback on some of the most significant and timely issues in their praxis. The Alliance, which values collaboration, transformative dialogue, and collegiality among professionals, considers this volume a continuation of those conversations as the presentations were expanded into chapters.This volume confirms not only that adult learning, higher education, and both fields of research have many contexts, but also that there is so much more to learn about different perspectives and opportunities for research and practice. Opportunities for symbiotic relationship abound. This book will provide needed refreshment and new vision when engaging in program and course planning, design and teaching. When research ideas seem too similar, this volume will also provide many seeds for new opportunities.

Read more less

Book SynopsisEducating About Social Issues in the 20th and 21st Centuries: A Critical Annotated Bibliography, Volume 3 is the third volume in a series that addresses an eclectic host of issues germane to teaching and learning about social issues at the secondary level of schooling, ranging over roughly a one hundred year period (between 1915 and 2013). Volume 3 specifically addresses how an examination of social issues can be incorporated into the extant curriculum. Experts in various areas each contribute a chapter in the book. Each chapter is comprised of a critical essay and an annotated bibliography of key works germane to the specific focus of the chapter.

Read more less

Book SynopsisEducating About Social Issues in the 20th and 21st Centuries: A Critical Annotated Bibliography, Volume 3 is the third volume in a series that addresses an eclectic host of issues germane to teaching and learning about social issues at the secondary level of schooling, ranging over roughly a one hundred year period (between 1915 and 2013). Volume 3 specifically addresses how an examination of social issues can be incorporated into the extant curriculum. Experts in various areas each contribute a chapter in the book. Each chapter is comprised of a critical essay and an annotated bibliography of key works germane to the specific focus of the chapter.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe current movement toward more and better research experiences for undergraduates has spread across disciplines in the arts, humanities, science, mathematics, and engineering beyond the “research university” to the full range of post-secondary institutions of higher education. Along with this spread of practice is the need to take stock of the programs and make use of evaluation to inform program improvement and to communicate an understanding of the worth of the program to funders, institutional administrators, faculty/mentors, and students.The main aim of the book is to provide a practical guide for planning an evaluation of an undergraduate experience program. The intent is to enable a program director to plan with a team consisting of an internal evaluator and program staff, a systematic and rigorous study of the program (processes, products, organizational dynamics, etc.) including the gathering and analysis of information that is context-sensitive, and connected to an argument and justification for descriptive, causal, and practice-useful claims. It is useful for a program director to contract with an evaluator. It is specific to the field of undergraduate research experience while being useful for other fields. It places strong emphasis on how to find and specify evaluation questions that yield information that has high leverage for program improvement and demonstrating the effectiveness and worth of the program. A measure of attitude toward evaluation allows you to reflect on your leanings evaluation orientations such as formative/summative, process/product, preordinate goals/emergent goals, and other characteristics of approaches to and confidence in evaluation.The main readership is targeted to directors and developers of undergraduate research experience programs. While the examples are mainly in the undergraduate research experience, it will be found useful for instructors of courses in project evaluation and beginning level evaluators. The usefulness of the book is enhanced by a checklist in the final chapter that integrates the approaches from throughout the book referencing the earlier discussions.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe current movement toward more and better research experiences for undergraduates has spread across disciplines in the arts, humanities, science, mathematics, and engineering beyond the “research university” to the full range of post-secondary institutions of higher education. Along with this spread of practice is the need to take stock of the programs and make use of evaluation to inform program improvement and to communicate an understanding of the worth of the program to funders, institutional administrators, faculty/mentors, and students.The main aim of the book is to provide a practical guide for planning an evaluation of an undergraduate experience program. The intent is to enable a program director to plan with a team consisting of an internal evaluator and program staff, a systematic and rigorous study of the program (processes, products, organizational dynamics, etc.) including the gathering and analysis of information that is context-sensitive, and connected to an argument and justification for descriptive, causal, and practice-useful claims. It is useful for a program director to contract with an evaluator. It is specific to the field of undergraduate research experience while being useful for other fields. It places strong emphasis on how to find and specify evaluation questions that yield information that has high leverage for program improvement and demonstrating the effectiveness and worth of the program. A measure of attitude toward evaluation allows you to reflect on your leanings evaluation orientations such as formative/summative, process/product, preordinate goals/emergent goals, and other characteristics of approaches to and confidence in evaluation.The main readership is targeted to directors and developers of undergraduate research experience programs. While the examples are mainly in the undergraduate research experience, it will be found useful for instructors of courses in project evaluation and beginning level evaluators. The usefulness of the book is enhanced by a checklist in the final chapter that integrates the approaches from throughout the book referencing the earlier discussions.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume is an outgrowth of the Conference on Research on the Enacted Mathematics Curriculum, funded by the National Science Foundation and held in Tampa, Florida in November 2010. The volume has the potential to be useful to a range of researchers, from established veterans in curriculum research to new researchers in this area of mathematics education. The chapters can be used to generate conversation about researching the enacted mathematics curriculum, including similarities and differences in the variables that can and should be studied across various curricula. As such, it might be used by a curriculum project team as it outlines a research agenda for curriculum or program evaluation. It might also be used as a text in a university graduate course on curriculum research and design.The chapters in this volume are a natural complement to those in Approaches to Studying the Enacted Mathematics Curriculum (Heck, Chval, Weiss, & Ziebarth, 2012), also published by Information Age Publishing. While the present volume focuses on a range of issues related to researching the enacted mathematics curriculum, including theoretical and conceptual issues, the volume by Heck et al. provides insights into different instrumentations used by groups of researchers to study curriculum enactment.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume is an outgrowth of the Conference on Research on the Enacted Mathematics Curriculum, funded by the National Science Foundation and held in Tampa, Florida in November 2010. The volume has the potential to be useful to a range of researchers, from established veterans in curriculum research to new researchers in this area of mathematics education. The chapters can be used to generate conversation about researching the enacted mathematics curriculum, including similarities and differences in the variables that can and should be studied across various curricula. As such, it might be used by a curriculum project team as it outlines a research agenda for curriculum or program evaluation. It might also be used as a text in a university graduate course on curriculum research and design.The chapters in this volume are a natural complement to those in Approaches to Studying the Enacted Mathematics Curriculum (Heck, Chval, Weiss, & Ziebarth, 2012), also published by Information Age Publishing. While the present volume focuses on a range of issues related to researching the enacted mathematics curriculum, including theoretical and conceptual issues, the volume by Heck et al. provides insights into different instrumentations used by groups of researchers to study curriculum enactment.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe purposes of this book are rooted in the move from invisibility to visibility and silence to voice. This work uses auto ethnography as an enterprise to break down traditional barriers that support the invisibility of diverse epistemologies (Altheide & Johnson,2011). The reality of invisibility and silence has plagued scholars of colour in their attempt to make known the cultural significance found in the planning and execution of research. As a result, this book purposes to support the visibility and voice of scholars of colour who conduct auto ethnographic research from a racial, gendered, and critical theoretical framework. This work further supports the research community as it examines and re-examines culturally indigenous epistemologies as a viable vehicle for rigorous and authentic inquiry (Dillard, 2000).The significance of this book can be grafted from its attention to new ways of thinking about doing research. While much of the previous scholarship on auto ethnography highlights the importance of personal narrative and voice, this book includes the latter but also examines the concept of race and culture as undisputable factors in the doing of research. Burdell & Swadener (1999) contends that auto ethnography should interrogate the subjective nature and question master narratives and empirical assumptions. Spry (2011) emphasizes auto ethnography as a moral discourse that foster intimate experiences grounded in historical processes. Authoethnographic research then, has the potential to provide a lens by which researchers can delve into research with a greater sense of personal experiences and critical understanding of the inquiry context.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe purposes of this book are rooted in the move from invisibility to visibility and silence to voice. This work uses auto ethnography as an enterprise to break down traditional barriers that support the invisibility of diverse epistemologies (Altheide & Johnson,2011). The reality of invisibility and silence has plagued scholars of colour in their attempt to make known the cultural significance found in the planning and execution of research. As a result, this book purposes to support the visibility and voice of scholars of colour who conduct auto ethnographic research from a racial, gendered, and critical theoretical framework. This work further supports the research community as it examines and re-examines culturally indigenous epistemologies as a viable vehicle for rigorous and authentic inquiry (Dillard, 2000).The significance of this book can be grafted from its attention to new ways of thinking about doing research. While much of the previous scholarship on auto ethnography highlights the importance of personal narrative and voice, this book includes the latter but also examines the concept of race and culture as undisputable factors in the doing of research. Burdell & Swadener (1999) contends that auto ethnography should interrogate the subjective nature and question master narratives and empirical assumptions. Spry (2011) emphasizes auto ethnography as a moral discourse that foster intimate experiences grounded in historical processes. Authoethnographic research then, has the potential to provide a lens by which researchers can delve into research with a greater sense of personal experiences and critical understanding of the inquiry context.

Read more less

Book SynopsisRacial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity has become of global importance in places where many never would have imagined. Increasing diversity in the U.S., Europe, Africa, New Zealand, and Asia strongly suggests that a homogeneity-based focus is rapidly becoming an historical artifact. Therefore, culturally responsive evaluation (CRE)should no longer be viewed as a luxury or an option in our work as evaluators. The continued amplification of racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity and awareness among the populations of the U.S. and other western nations insists that social science researchers and evaluators inextricably engage culturally responsive approaches in their work. It is unacceptable for most mainstream university evaluation programs, philanthropic agencies, training institutes sponsored by federal agencies, professional associations, and other entities to promote professional evaluation practices that do not attend to CRE. Our global demographics are a reality that can be appropriately described and studied within the context of complexity theory and theory of change (e.g., Stewart, 1991; Battram, 1999). And this perspective requires a distinct shift from “simple” linear cause-effect models and reductionist thinking to include more holistic and culturally responsive approaches.The development of policy that is meaningfully responsive to the needs of traditionally disenfranchised stakeholders and that also optimizes the use of limited resources (human, natural, and financial) is an extremely complex process. Fortunately, we are presently witnessing developments in methods, instruments, and statistical techniques that are mixed methods in their paradigm/designs and likely to be more effective in informing policymaking and decision-making. Culturally responsive evaluation is one such phenomenon that positions itself to be relevant in the context of dynamic international and national settings where policy and program decisions take place. One example of a response to address this dynamic and need is the newly established Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA) in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.CREA is an outgrowth of the collective work and commitments of a global community of scholars and practitioners who have contributed chapters to this edited volume. It is an international and interdisciplinary evaluation center that is grounded in the need for designing and conducting evaluations and assessments that embody cognitive, cultural, and interdisciplinary diversity so as to be actively responsive to culturally diverse communities and their aspirations. The Center’s purpose is to address questions, issues, theories, and practices related to CRE and culturally responsive educational assessment. Therefore, CREA can serve as a vehicle for our continuing discourse on culture and cultural context in evaluation and also as a point of dissemination for not only the work that is included in this edited volume, but for the subsequent work it will encourage.

Read more less

Book SynopsisRacial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity has become of global importance in places where many never would have imagined. Increasing diversity in the U.S., Europe, Africa, New Zealand, and Asia strongly suggests that a homogeneity-based focus is rapidly becoming an historical artifact. Therefore, culturally responsive evaluation (CRE)should no longer be viewed as a luxury or an option in our work as evaluators. The continued amplification of racial, ethnic, linguistic, and cultural diversity and awareness among the populations of the U.S. and other western nations insists that social science researchers and evaluators inextricably engage culturally responsive approaches in their work. It is unacceptable for most mainstream university evaluation programs, philanthropic agencies, training institutes sponsored by federal agencies, professional associations, and other entities to promote professional evaluation practices that do not attend to CRE. Our global demographics are a reality that can be appropriately described and studied within the context of complexity theory and theory of change (e.g., Stewart, 1991; Battram, 1999). And this perspective requires a distinct shift from “simple” linear cause-effect models and reductionist thinking to include more holistic and culturally responsive approaches.The development of policy that is meaningfully responsive to the needs of traditionally disenfranchised stakeholders and that also optimizes the use of limited resources (human, natural, and financial) is an extremely complex process. Fortunately, we are presently witnessing developments in methods, instruments, and statistical techniques that are mixed methods in their paradigm/designs and likely to be more effective in informing policymaking and decision-making. Culturally responsive evaluation is one such phenomenon that positions itself to be relevant in the context of dynamic international and national settings where policy and program decisions take place. One example of a response to address this dynamic and need is the newly established Center for Culturally Responsive Evaluation and Assessment (CREA) in the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.CREA is an outgrowth of the collective work and commitments of a global community of scholars and practitioners who have contributed chapters to this edited volume. It is an international and interdisciplinary evaluation center that is grounded in the need for designing and conducting evaluations and assessments that embody cognitive, cultural, and interdisciplinary diversity so as to be actively responsive to culturally diverse communities and their aspirations. The Center’s purpose is to address questions, issues, theories, and practices related to CRE and culturally responsive educational assessment. Therefore, CREA can serve as a vehicle for our continuing discourse on culture and cultural context in evaluation and also as a point of dissemination for not only the work that is included in this edited volume, but for the subsequent work it will encourage.

Read more less

Book SynopsisEarly in her extraordinary career, Deborah Stone wrote Policy Paradox, a landmark work on politics. Now, in Counting, she revolutionises how we approach numbers and shows how counting shapes the way we see the world. Most of us think of counting as a skill so basic that we see numbers as objective, indisputable facts. Not so, says Stone. In this playful-yet-probing work, Stone reveals the inescapable link between quantifying and classifying, and explains how counting determines almost every facet of our lives—from how we are evaluated at work to how our political opinions are polled to whether we get into higher education or even out of prison. But numbers, Stone insists, need not rule our lives. Especially in this age of big data, Stone’s work is a pressing and spirited call to reclaim our authority over numbers, and to take responsibility for how we use them.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe most comprehensive and most up-to-date one-volume reference work available on U.S. states.Salem Press's popular The Fifty States is designed to serve the needs of students, researchers, and the general public seeking historical and current statistical information on individual American states.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume of the Research in Global Child Advocacy Series explores participatory methodologies and tools that involve children in research. Perspectives on the role of children have transitioned from viewing children as objects of research, to children as subjects of research, to acknowledgement of children as competent contributors and agents throughout the inquiry process. Researchers continue to explore approaches that honor the capacity of children, drawing on diverse methodologies to elevate children’s voices and actively engage them in the production of knowledge. Nonetheless, despite these developments, questions over the extent to which children can be free of adult filters and influence merits sustained scholarly attention. The book includes chapters that critically examine methodological approaches that empower children in the research process. Contributions include empirical or practitioner pieces that operate from an empowerment paradigm and demonstrate the agenic capacity of children to contribute their perspectives and voices to our understanding of childhood and children’s lives. The text also features conceptual pieces that challenge existing theoretical frameworks, critique research paradigms, and analyze dilemmas or tensions related to ethics, policy and power relations in the research process.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThis volume of the Research in Global Child Advocacy Series explores participatory methodologies and tools that involve children in research. Perspectives on the role of children have transitioned from viewing children as objects of research, to children as subjects of research, to acknowledgement of children as competent contributors and agents throughout the inquiry process. Researchers continue to explore approaches that honor the capacity of children, drawing on diverse methodologies to elevate children’s voices and actively engage them in the production of knowledge. Nonetheless, despite these developments, questions over the extent to which children can be free of adult filters and influence merits sustained scholarly attention. The book includes chapters that critically examine methodological approaches that empower children in the research process. Contributions include empirical or practitioner pieces that operate from an empowerment paradigm and demonstrate the agenic capacity of children to contribute their perspectives and voices to our understanding of childhood and children’s lives. The text also features conceptual pieces that challenge existing theoretical frameworks, critique research paradigms, and analyze dilemmas or tensions related to ethics, policy and power relations in the research process.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, 2nd edition, provides teachers and teacher educators with a comprehensive guide to teaching social issues in the classroom. This second edition re-frames the teaching of social issues with a dedicated emphasis on issues of social justice. It raises the potential for a new and stronger focus on social issues instruction in schools. Contributors include many of the leading experts in the field of social studies education. Issues-centered social studies is an approach to teaching history, government, geography, economics and other subject related courses through a focus on persistent social issues. The emphasis is on problematic questions that need to be addressed and investigated in-depth to increase social understanding, active participation, and social progress. Questions or issues may address problems of the past, present, or future, and involve disagreement over facts, definitions, values, and beliefs arising in the study of any of the social studies disciplines, or other aspects of human affairs. The authors and editor believe that this approach should be at the heart of social studies instruction in schools.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Handbook on Teaching Social Issues, 2nd edition, provides teachers and teacher educators with a comprehensive guide to teaching social issues in the classroom. This second edition re-frames the teaching of social issues with a dedicated emphasis on issues of social justice. It raises the potential for a new and stronger focus on social issues instruction in schools. Contributors include many of the leading experts in the field of social studies education. Issues-centered social studies is an approach to teaching history, government, geography, economics and other subject related courses through a focus on persistent social issues. The emphasis is on problematic questions that need to be addressed and investigated in-depth to increase social understanding, active participation, and social progress. Questions or issues may address problems of the past, present, or future, and involve disagreement over facts, definitions, values, and beliefs arising in the study of any of the social studies disciplines, or other aspects of human affairs. The authors and editor believe that this approach should be at the heart of social studies instruction in schools.

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book Synopsis

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe series, Contemporary Perspectives on Data Mining, is composed of blind refereed scholarly research methods and applications of data mining. This series will be targeted both at the academic community, as well as the business practitioner.Data mining seeks to discover knowledge from vast amounts of data with the use of statistical and mathematical techniques. The knowledge is extracted from this data by examining the patterns of the data, whether they be associations of groups or things, predictions, sequential relationships between time order events or natural groups.Data mining applications are in marketing (customer loyalty, identifying profitable customers, instore promotions, e-commerce populations); in business (teaching data mining, efficiency of the Chinese automobile industry, moderate asset allocation funds); and techniques (veterinary predictive models, data integrity in the cloud, irregular pattern detection in a mobility network and road safety modeling.)

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe series, Contemporary Perspectives on Data Mining, is composed of blind refereed scholarly research methods and applications of data mining. This series will be targeted both at the academic community, as well as the business practitioner.Data mining seeks to discover knowledge from vast amounts of data with the use of statistical and mathematical techniques. The knowledge is extracted from this data by examining the patterns of the data, whether they be associations of groups or things, predictions, sequential relationships between time order events or natural groups.Data mining applications are in marketing (customer loyalty, identifying profitable customers, instore promotions, e-commerce populations); in business (teaching data mining, efficiency of the Chinese automobile industry, moderate asset allocation funds); and techniques (veterinary predictive models, data integrity in the cloud, irregular pattern detection in a mobility network and road safety modeling.)

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe significance that practitioners are placing on the use of multilevel models is undeniable as researchers want to both accurately partition variance stemming from complex sampling designs and understand relations within and between variables describing the hierarchical levels of these nested data structures. Simply scan the applied literature and one can see evidence of this trend by noticing the number of articles adopting multilevel models as their primary modeling framework. Helping to drive the popularity of their use, governmental funding agencies continue to advocate the use of multilevel models as part of a comprehensive analytic strategy for conducting rigorous and relevant research to improve our nation’s education system.Advances in Multilevel Modeling for Educational Research: Addressing Practical Issues Found in Real?World Applications is a resource intended for advanced graduate students, faculty and/or researchers interested in multilevel data analysis, especially in education, social and behavioral sciences. The chapters are written by prominent methodological researchers across diverse research domains such as educational statistics, quantitative psychology, and psychometrics. Each chapter exposes the reader to some of the latest methodological innovations, refinements and state?of?the?art developments and perspectives in the analysis of multilevel data including current best practices of standard techniques.We believe this volume will be particularly appealing to researchers in domains including but not limited to: educational policy and administration, educational psychology including school psychology and special education, and clinical psychology. In fact, we believe this volume will be a desirable resource for any research area that uses hierarchically nested data. The book will likely be attractive to applied and methodological researchers in several professional organizations such as the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the American Psychological Association (APA), the American Psychological Society (APS), the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE), and other related organizations.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe significance that practitioners are placing on the use of multilevel models is undeniable as researchers want to both accurately partition variance stemming from complex sampling designs and understand relations within and between variables describing the hierarchical levels of these nested data structures. Simply scan the applied literature and one can see evidence of this trend by noticing the number of articles adopting multilevel models as their primary modeling framework. Helping to drive the popularity of their use, governmental funding agencies continue to advocate the use of multilevel models as part of a comprehensive analytic strategy for conducting rigorous and relevant research to improve our nation’s education system.Advances in Multilevel Modeling for Educational Research: Addressing Practical Issues Found in Real?World Applications is a resource intended for advanced graduate students, faculty and/or researchers interested in multilevel data analysis, especially in education, social and behavioral sciences. The chapters are written by prominent methodological researchers across diverse research domains such as educational statistics, quantitative psychology, and psychometrics. Each chapter exposes the reader to some of the latest methodological innovations, refinements and state?of?the?art developments and perspectives in the analysis of multilevel data including current best practices of standard techniques.We believe this volume will be particularly appealing to researchers in domains including but not limited to: educational policy and administration, educational psychology including school psychology and special education, and clinical psychology. In fact, we believe this volume will be a desirable resource for any research area that uses hierarchically nested data. The book will likely be attractive to applied and methodological researchers in several professional organizations such as the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the American Psychological Association (APA), the American Psychological Society (APS), the Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness (SREE), and other related organizations.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Davis Conference on Organizational Research, held for the last 15 years, is the world’s leading conference for qualitative researchers in organizational studies. Scholars receiving the “Best presentation awards” at the Davis Conference for the past 6 years have contributed chapters to this volume. These papers explore social relationships in organizations and work, and cover a diverse set of topics ranging from boundary spanning in collaboration and teamwork to embodied competence at work and beliefs about availability among professionals. Yet all the papers are similar in that they benefited from the community of over 150 scholars developed through the Davis Conference, and represent qualitative research at its very best.

Read more less

Book SynopsisThe Davis Conference on Organizational Research, held for the last 15 years, is the world’s leading conference for qualitative researchers in organizational studies. Scholars receiving the “Best presentation awards” at the Davis Conference for the past 6 years have contributed chapters to this volume. These papers explore social relationships in organizations and work, and cover a diverse set of topics ranging from boundary spanning in collaboration and teamwork to embodied competence at work and beliefs about availability among professionals. Yet all the papers are similar in that they benefited from the community of over 150 scholars developed through the Davis Conference, and represent qualitative research at its very best.

Read more less

Book SynopsisBringing together researchers from geographically, culturally, and linguistically diverse regions, Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Research Methodologies offers practical guidance and lessons learned from research projects in and with Indigenous communities around the world. With an aim to examine issues of power, representation, participation, and accountability in studies involving Indigenous populations, the contributors reflect on their own experiences conducting collaborative research in distinct yet related fields. The book is anchored by specific themes: exploring decolonizing methodological paradigms, honoring Indigenous knowledge systems, and growing interdisciplinary collaboration toward Indigenous self-determination.This volume makes a significant contribution to Indigenous community as well as institutional scholarly and practical discussions by emphasizing guidance and questions from Indigenous scholars who are designing studies and conducting research that is moving the field of Indigenous research methodologies forward. Discussing challenges and ideas regarding research ethics, data co-ownership, data sovereignty, and dissemination strategies, this text is a vital resource for all students interested in the application of what can be gained from Indigenous research methods.Features: Presents proposals and visions for research with Indigenous communities that include both methodological and practical considerations. Draws on the experiences of the co-editors in developing and teaching research methods courses for Indigenous graduate studentsincludes features such as section introductions, questions for critical thought, and key terms.

Read more less