(2012). Trajectories of Marital Conflict across the Life Course: Predictors and Interactions with Marital Happiness Trajectories. Journal of Family Issues, v33 n3 p341-368 Mar. Using typologies outlined by Gottman and Fitzpatrick as well as institutional and companionate models of marriage, the authors conducted a latent class analysis of marital conflict trajectories using 20 years of data from the Marital Instability Over the Life Course study. Respondents were in one of three groups: high, medium (around the mean), or low conflict. Several factors predicted conflict trajectory group membership; respondents who believed in lifelong marriage and shared decisions equally with their spouse were more likely to report low and less likely to report high conflict. The conflict trajectories were intersected with marital happiness trajectories to examine predictors of high and low quality marriages. A stronger belief in lifelong marriage, shared decision making, and husbands sharing a greater proportion of housework were associated with an increased likelihood of membership in a high happiness, low conflict marriage, and a decreased likelihood of a low marital… [Direct]
(2010). Writing and Becoming : Teacher Candidates' Literacy Narratives over Four Years. Teaching and Teacher Education: An International Journal of Research and Studies, v26 n6 p1249-1260 Aug. This paper explores narrative inquiry practices in pre-service teacher education program. Written dialogue by teacher candidates provided deep and long term reflection during a 5-year initial teacher education program. This 4-year longitudinal study with 30 teacher candidate participants considers participants' knowledge formation in becoming teachers, through writing and sharing of letters (with peers) of personal lived educational experiences, and personal stories of theory related to learning, teaching, and teaching practice over a significant period of time. The study discusses letter writing as a narrative inquiry practice in teacher education programs and implications of pre-service letter writing over a significant amount of time…. [Direct]
(2012). Making Open Educational Practices a Reality. Adults Learning, v23 n3 p43-45 Spr. The concept behind \open educational resources\ (OERs) has been around for several years. The principle of OERs is simply that teachers and lecturers make their learning materials freely available for others to use. At first, this might sound like a radical, even controversial, idea. Why, after all, should practitioners share materials that they spent hours preparing? Don't the resources belong to that individual's employer? And who would want to use other people's materials anyhow? Yet the concept of sharing materials has gained some ground over the last decade. The large quantity of resources on services like YouTube, Edu and iTunes U demonstrates that many are increasingly willing to share their work and reuse the work of others. OERs are being viewed and used by some teachers and learners but they are not being used extensively. This article discusses how teachers and lecturers can ensure a better uptake and enhance the quality of shared resources. (Contains 1 figure.)… [Direct]
(2012). Comparing Measures of Attachment: \To Whom One Turns in Times of Stress,\ Parental Warmth, and Partner Satisfaction. Journal of Genetic Psychology, v173 n1 p41-62. The Attachment and Clinical Issues Questionnaire (ACIQ; M. A. Lindberg & S. W. Thomas, 2011), was developed over an 18-year period containing 29 scales. The purpose of the present study was to test (a) the validity of the attachment scales in terms of how they predict to whom one turns in times of stress and for affective sharing, and (b) how the attachment scales compared with the Experiences in Close Relationship Questionnaire (ECR) in terms of concurrent, convergent, and discriminant evidence. The relevant secure scales of the ACIQ predicted to whom one turned in Study 1, and Study 2 demonstrated good convergent evidence with the ECR, but superior concurrent evidence in predicting partner satisfaction, and superior discriminant evidence in differentially correlating with mother and father warmth. Thus, the ACIQ passed essential validity and psychometric tests and was a more robust measure than the ECR with these defining characteristics of attachment. (Contains 6 tables.)… [Direct]
(2011). Adult English Language Learners Constructing and Sharing Their Stories and Experiences: The Cultural and Linguistic Autobiography Writing Project. TESOL Journal, v2 n2 p156-172 Jun. This article is the culmination of the Cultural and Linguistic Autobiography (CLA) writing project, which details narrative descriptions of adult English language learners' (ELLs') cultural and linguistic experiences and how those experiences may have influenced the ways in which these learners constructed and reconstructed their identities. Before recounting the narrative stories of adult ELLs through completion of their CLA writing project, I share snapshots of my autobiographical narratives as an ELL and an English language teacher that have led me to working with adult ELLs. Many of my narratives were presented to adult ELLs orally over the duration of the CLA writing project as part of my experiential sharing. (Contains 4 footnotes.)… [Direct]
(2012). Math in the Margins: Writing across Curricula into Community Heritage. English Journal, v102 n2 p16-26 Nov. Imagine two classfuls of American high school students, separated by 1,500 miles and profound differences in local cultures (East Coast urban and Midwestern rural) as they correspond and collaborate in writing between their geometry classes. Reading the students' observations, one sees authentic voice, specific detail, precise language, what English teachers want to require in students' writing. One sees small samples of narration, description, argument, and comparison. What one has seen in this project supports those habits of mind. Eighty-six very different kids in very different places and their two math teachers, in partnership with one another, sharing basic curricular goals, can put a creative, local, and eloquent spin on a set of national standards–and create a sense of community they didn't know they could have. There are layers of accomplishment; the students write comfortably, with an important purpose. The writing creates a context for deep learning about mathematics. And… [Direct]
(2011). Assessing the Academic Medical Center as a Supportive Learning Community. Journal of Research Administration, v42 n1 p74-87 Spr. Academic medical centers are well-known for their emphasis on teaching, research and public service; however, like most large, bureaucratic organizations, they oftentimes suffer from an inability to learn as an organization. The role of the research administrator in the academic medical center has grown over time as the profession itself has become more important in the management of the research enterprise. The field of research administration within academic medical centers has grown to encompass a wide variety of responsibilities, including making sense of complicated rules, systems and processes in the administration of sponsored research, as well as managing the burden of regulatory compliance with applicable laws, contracts, institutional policies and sponsor guidelines. Keeping abreast of the complicated and fluctuating laws, guidelines, administrative processes and systems, and means of compliance is complicated even for the experienced research professional. This problem is… [PDF] [Direct]
(2013). "Becoming Molecular Girl": Transforming Subjectivities in Collaborative Doctoral Research Studies as Micro-Politics in the Academy. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education (QSE), v26 n9 p1101-1116. In the context of Swedish reforms of postgraduate and doctoral education in a global knowledge economy, this article aims to theorise on the documented processes of doing collaborative analysis during elective graduate course-work on deconstructive methodologies in the social sciences, with 10 doctoral students over a period of seven months. I re-engage with the documentations of our collaborative processes six years later, to read and analyse them diffractively with Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari's philosophy, and with feminist post-constructivist theories, such as Rosi Braidotti, Claire Colebrook, Elisabeth Grosz and Patti Lather. In the course-work, we actively aimed–by engaging in different collaborative strategies of deconstructive writing and talking, sharing and re-analysing each other's research data and analyses–to resist "doing philosophy" as an independent, intellectual, disembodied and masculine-coded endeavour. This process made us aware of the tactile… [Direct]
(2013). Moving to Open Educational Resources at Athabasca University: A Case Study. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, v14 n2 p1-13 Jun. Since the birth of the World Wide Web, educators have been exchanging ideas and sharing resources online. They are all aware of the turmoil in higher education created by freely available content, including some hopeful developments charted in this issue. Interest has grown steadily over the past decade in making a university-level education openly available to students around the globe who would otherwise be overlooked, and recommendations for how to do this are well documented (e.g., UNESCO, 2002; OECD, 2007). Initiatives in the United States (Thille, 2012), Canada (Stacey, 2011b), Africa (OER Africa, n.d.), and the United Kingdom (JISC, 2012) are easily accessed and case studies abound (e.g., Barrett, Grover, Janowski, van Lavieren, Ojo, & Schmidt, 2009). Supporting the widespread availability of OER is a goal that Athabasca University (AU) has embraced through association with the Commonwealth of Learning and by becoming a charter member of the OER University (OERu, 2011)…. [PDF]
(2013). Enhancing Parental Well-Being and Coping through a Family-Centred Short Course for Iranian Parents of Children with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, v17 n1 p27-43 Jan. Parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) generally experience high levels of stress and report poorer emotional well-being and family functioning compared to parents of children with other disabilities. They also tend to rely on emotional rather than problem-focused coping strategies. Seven group-based sessions were offered to two groups of parents of children with ASD in Iran (37 in all). In addition to providing information about ASD emphasis was placed on families sharing their experiences and learning from one another. A pre-post, cross-over design was used to evaluate the specific impact of the course. The changes found among the parents in the first group were replicated with the second group. Moreover the changes were sustained up to 15 weeks after the course ended. Although there were variations across the parents, in general they reported feeling less stress, had better emotional wellbeing and family functioning and made more use of problem-focused coping… [Direct]
(2013). Introducing Assessment for Learning for EFL Writing in an Assessment of Learning Examination-Driven System in Hong Kong. Journal of Second Language Writing, v22 n1 p34-50 Mar. While there has been a proliferation of research on assessment for learning (AFL) over the past two decades, L2 writing assessment has tended to focus much more on assessment of learning (AOL) than AFL. This study seeks to investigate the implementation of AFL for EFL writing within an examination-driven AOL system in Hong Kong, its possible impact on students' motivation and writing performance, as well as the factors that might facilitate or inhibit its uptake. Multiple sources of data were collected, including questionnaires, interviews, pre- and post-tests, and lesson observations. The findings showed that while teachers strengthened planning and pre-assessment instruction, sharing learning goals with students and using feedback forms to provide feedback and align assessment with instruction, they had to adhere to conventional practices that required detailed attention to errors and summative scores, and were unable to engage students in multiple drafting and peer evaluation on a… [Direct]
(2016). Data Networks and Sustainability Education in African Universities: A Case Study for Sub-Saharan Africa. International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education, v17 n2 p246-268. Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a case study report of the development of data networks and initial connectivity in the Sub-Saharan African (SSA) region and how that development evolved into the formation of research and education (R&E) networks that enable new collaborations and curriculum potential. Design/Methodology/Approach: This case study is presented through the past 20 year's operations and field activities of the Network Startup Resource Center (NSRC) at the University of Oregon, who in partnership with the National Science Foundation has worked together to significantly train network engineers in Africa on how to develop regional R&E networks that can link together the various research universities in SSA. Findings: The author shows how the development of these networks have fostered improved collaboration between African and US scientists, particularly around issues that relate to climate change. This paper contains testimonials from both… [Direct]
(2016). Ready by 21 State Policy Survey: Child and Youth Policy Coordinating Bodies in the U.S. 2015 Survey Report. Forum for Youth Investment Child and youth coordinating bodies are systematically changing the fragmented ways that state and local governments do business for children and youth. Sometimes known as councils or commissions, children's cabinets are typically made up of the heads of all government agencies with child- and youth-serving programs. They meet regularly to coordinate services, develop a common set of outcomes, and collaboratively decide upon and implement plans to foster the well-being of young people. The coordinating bodies are asked to participate in the State Child and Youth Policy Coordination Survey in odd years. This 2015 report highlights the findings from the third survey (the previous two were in 2013 and 2011). State leaders from across the country are asked to fill out the survey and 11 coordinating bodies contributed all three years. The 2015 Ready by 21 State Policy Survey: Child and Youth Policy Coordinating Bodies in the U.S. is the nation's only survey of state child and youth policy… [PDF]
(2012). What Business Students Should Know about Attorney-Client Privilege. Journal of Legal Studies Education, v29 n2 p297-312 Sum. The case law on attorney-client privilege is extensive and can be somewhat complex. Over seven hundred articles in Westlaw, for example, have the phrase \attorney-client privilege\ in the title; in the last three years alone, there have been over 3700 federal cases in which the phrase \attorney-client privilege\ appears at least once. However, business law and legal environment textbooks typically have a short or even no discussion of issues related to attorney-client privilege. This article presents three practical and easy-to-remember principles of attorney-client privilege that every business student should know and that every professor of business law could use in teaching classes in business law and legal environment. They are as follows: (1) The attorney-client privilege protects communications involving the legal advice of attorneys, not communications involving their business advice; (2) A client can lose the privilege by sharing an attorney's legal advice with a third party;… [Direct]
(2024). Examining Title II Education Spending: Descriptive National and State Portraits of Funding Allocation and Professional Learning Types. Society for Research on Educational Effectiveness Background: The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA; 2015) constituted a reauthorization of the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and replaced the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. ESSA, although still recognizing the need of standardized testing, diverged from NCLB by transferring a significant amount of power over educational goals and standards from the federal government to states and districts. Title II, Part A (referred to as Title II)–the Supporting Effective Instruction State Grant Program–is the "most significant source of federal funding supporting professional learning for educators and leaders at the school, district, and state levels" (Learning Forward, 2024). The goals of this initiative are as follows: 1) to enhance student performance in accordance with rigorous state academic standards; 2) to enhance the caliber and efficacy of teachers, principals, and other educational leaders; 3) to increase the quantity of teachers, principals,… [Direct]