It is argued here that autonomy entails universal psychological needs pertaining to agency and identity formation, expressed in different ways over different developmental periods. As children develop skills and abilities related to psychological needs for self-expression and competence, they will claim areas related to the exercise of these…

Issues like faith and Church, religion and religiousness are not valued particularly highly among the young. At the same time a search for the meaning of life and an orientation in one's own behaviour still seem to be significant and transcendent focal points are being sought to deal with these issues. This article questions the value that…

Background: Although reading abilities play a fundamental role in the acquisition of personal autonomy, up until now studies investigating these abilities in Down syndrome (DS) are aimed at defining educational or rehability acquisition. However, studies describing the relationship between reading and phonological awareness in individuals with DS…

Is adaptive scaffolding effective in facilitating students' ability to regulate their learning of complex science topics with hypermedia? We examined the role of different scaffolding instructional interventions in facilitating students' shift to more sophisticated mental models as indicated by both performance and process data. Undergraduate…

At present liberal education is generally understood and justified as the acquisition of critical thinking skills and individual autonomy. Traditionally, however, the ultimate purpose of liberal education has been leisure. Freedom, it was thought, was not simply the result of critical thinking but also required the cultivation of leisure that…

This study used structural equation modeling to test a model of ethnic identity development among 513 Mexican-origin adolescents living in the United States. The model examined the influence of ecological factors, familial ethnic socialization, and autonomy on adolescents' ethnic identity achievement. Findings indicated that lower percentages of…

The recent ban of "conspicuous" religious symbols in French state schools has received international attention, especially the uncertainty of whether Muslims will comply with the ban. The issue, however, raises a number of philosophical dilemmas regarding toleration in a liberal democracy, the notion of a "neutral" public space…

This article explores some features of an international "third way" movement which, in theory and in practice, impacts on centuries-old traditions of communal life and the belief in autonomous agency--traditions which motivate individual participation in society and underpin liberal conceptions of education. The article uncovers some of…

With the emergence of sociological and economic change there is increasing attention given to governance of children's spaces in recent years. This paper discusses these changes and how they have impacted on, and contributed to, this increased interest. The paper draws on the sociology of childhood framework in order to examine how children…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of a primary teacher in order to illuminate the nature of primary teaching. Using qualitative methods, five university researchers spent nine months during the course of one school year with a second grade teacher and her students. This inquiry took a multiple lens…

This study explores how group processes, such as group cohesiveness and group norms, influence an individual EFL learner's autonomy--their autonomous beliefs and actual autonomous behaviors. Questionnaires were administered to 152 Taiwanese university students from the English Department of a National Science and Technology University in southern…

This study examines the experiences of Latina faculty during their doctoral education. Twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted with tenure-track Latina faculty (who primarily self-identified as Chicanas, Latinas, and Mexican Americans) across the west and southwest United States. Resiliency theory was used to help structure and understand…

In a one-week voluntary summer course, students aged twelve to seventeen eagerly take ownership of their composing processes, learning to connect terms such as focus and point of view to the visual and verbal acts of photography and writing. High school teacher Mike Stracco grapples with how to channel the vitality of his summer course into…

Career and technical education represents an important and understudied educational option for high school students. This qualitative study utilized data from one exemplary career and technical education (CTE) center to address the question of how talented and general education students' part-time CTE experiences differed from their traditional…

The role of a practicum supervisor of early childhood students has received limited research attention in discussions of professional practice in this field. This article discusses four phases in the author's personal journey towards professionalism in this role. The phases reflect an ongoing research-practice cycle: Phase 1 involved a research…