Background: Action research is a meaningful form of research because it is conducted by the teacher in his or her own classroom. Action research requires a teacher to design a study in an area of interest and conduct it in their own classroom. Action research is a requirement for some masters of education programs in the United States. Purpose: To…

The GK-12 program of the National Science Foundation is an innovative program for enriching the value of graduate and advanced undergraduate students' education while simultaneously enriching science and mathematics teaching at the K-12 level. GK-12 is a fellowship program that offers graduate students and advanced undergraduates the opportunity…

This study examined the relationship between reading comprehension and reading vocabulary and five dimensions of library anxiety (i.e., barriers with staff, affective barriers, comfort with the library, knowledge of the library, and mechanical barriers). Participants were 45 African-American graduate students from various disciplines who were…

Beliefs and perceptions about diversity of a sample of 75 regular education teachers in Spain were investigated to (1) analyze and contrast their views in personal and professional contexts, and (2) ascertain if these beliefs vary according to teaching experience. The "Personal and Professional Beliefs about Diversity Scale" survey…

The American Institute of Physics has regularly reported information about physics and astronomy graduate students since 1968. In more recent years the survey has shifted to focus on first-year graduate students, with a survey of the full population of graduate students every few years. This report covers surveys of first-year students for the…

This paper reports the results of a study of student attitudes towards distance education in the United States and in Australia. Students involved in the study included undergraduate and postgraduate students in the U.S. and postgraduate students in Australia. The study used a model for distance education adoption as a basis for the research and…

This study investigated how the online instruction in a graduate instructional technology course affects learners psychological factors, such as locus of control and achievement motivation. It was expected that learners would be more internal at the completion of the course than at the beginning, and that learners would have higher achievement…

This paper presents results from two qualitative studies of preservice and inservice teacher portfolios that considered how portfolios function as tools for knowledge representation and reflective thinking. In the first study, data were collected from think-aloud protocols, semi-structured participant interviews, and the analysis of supporting…

Although critics claim that testing is no longer an important function of counselors, studies indicate that counselors in most settings interpret the results of psychological assessment instruments. Tests are increasingly being employed in an attempt to solve educational and social problems. In educational settings, the counselor is the…

This paper describes the portfolio assessment system used in the master's degree program in educational leadership at San Jose State University, California. For the past 10 years students have demonstrated competence with a portfolio exhibition instead of written or oral comprehensive examinations. The five major concepts for the program reflect…

To direct attention to the expectations for leadership, integrity and responsibility of the doctorate, the author argues for the creation of a ritual ceremony of initiation for students entering doctoral education. Defining stewardship as encompassing a set of roles and skills that ensure competence and a set of principles to provide a moral…

This paper explores the unique curriculum design issues involved with the integration of qualitative data analysis software (QDAS) in online instruction of qualitative research. The Qualitative Research III--Analysis course was designed for graduate students and offered in a blended online format using the NVivo[R] software program and the…

HRD Cohort Graduate programs are a proven approach in developing a learning community among graduate students and creating a developmental culture, which foster learning transfer. During this innovative session, we will examine the characteristics of Cohort Graduate programs, discuss their advantages, discuss how they can be developed, marketed,…

We utilized a Delphi technique to explore roles and competencies as identified and ranked by 106 upper level graduate students specializing in distance education. Student responses were compared to two previous studies utilizing distance education practitioner/scholar respondents. Although the roles identified were similar to previous studies, the…

This study documents the development of 13 masters degree candidates as they progressed through a course in educational research methods. Eight were inservice teachers and five were preservice teachers who had completed student teaching. Part of an ongoing assessment effort at a small college instituting a new masters in education program, the…