This unique study used qualitative research methodology to investigate the first 18 years of parenting experiences of a mother of a child with autism. The purpose of this single case study was to record and understand the effect of autism on a mother's life retrospectively, to identify and analyse issues and themes that have shaped her life, to…

The three-year Early Childhood Emergent Literacy Technology Curriculum (ELiTeC) study (E2) was designed to replicate, on a broad scale, the results of earlier research in which a curriculum model was developed, implemented, and studied in preschool classrooms for children with disabilities or those at risk. ELiTeC was based on the assumptions that…

In the two high school writing communities described in this article, literacy is strategic, purposeful, and always linked to meaning. The foundation for literate practices in these communities is Freirian in nature. Teachers, in a very serious way, work to liberate language and prepare students to be in control of words; they do this by allowing…

According to recent data, the pool of principal candidates is shrinking. How is the role perceived and what can school districts do to make it more attractive in recruiting and retaining highly qualified administrators? This open-ended, qualitative study sought to uncover the underlying reasons leadership-skilled women teachers choose to remain in…

Objective: The main objective of this study was to explore patients' perceptions of general practitioner (GP) exercise referral (ER) schemes with a view to providing a better service for future patients. Design: A qualitative focus group methodology. Setting: Meeting rooms or communal areas in leisure centres across North Yorkshire. Method: Thirty…

Purpose: Drawing on literature and the evaluation of a UK community Arts in Health project, this article aims first to demonstrate that, in spite of the common association in mental health practice between art and the use of psychotherapeutic techniques, involvement in art creation can, in itself, have a sustained and positive impact on the mental…

This article describes one component of a comprehensive model of family-centered preventive mental health services that were delivered as part of a University-Head Start Partnership grant. Personal Best, a carefully designed role competence curriculum, was implemented through a group intervention to examine the personal and contextual factors that…

At a time when more and more natural science subjects are attracting an increasing number of women (chemistry for example) physics remains a male stronghold. It is not easy to understand this phenomenon or the anomaly that over-representation of males in physics faculties is more likely to occur in countries known for their attempts at equalizing…

The paper describes elements of engineering organizational cultures and structures in higher engineering education from the European project WomEng. Hypotheses, based on state of the art, refer to: women friendly presentation, attractiveness of interdisciplinary teaching methods, single sex education, perceptions of minority status, feelings of…

In the author's previous teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL) experience, he had found that Chinese university students were overdependent on teachers in EFL learning. Drawing on research on language learning strategies, he used metacognition training (MT) as a form of classroom intervention to promote learner autonomy. This article…

Drawing on the work of researchers in several disciplines, this article describes and discusses methods which can be used for analysing joint activity during computer-based, side-by-side, collaborative activity in educational settings. It is argued that the choice of methods in any particular study should take into account the range of…

This qualitative study provides insight into the first-year university experiences of students in a problem-based learning context an area that has received little attention in the literature. Data collection consisted of one-on-one interviews with students throughout their first year and of participant observation of students in the classroom at…

This article is based on questionnaire data collected in November and December 2001 as part of the first year of fieldwork for the Economic and Social Research Council funded research project "Transforming Learning Cultures in FE" (TLCFE). In this initial survey, 229 questionnaires were returned from 15 learning sites in four further…

Rural education has been routinely neglected as one aspect of diversity teachers may encounter in their career. As teacher educators at a large public university, the authors seek to prepare students for teaching in a variety of environments. In their study, while rural field placements were not feasible, a structured field trip offered students…

Results from a qualitative inquiry investigating conceptualization of family quality of life are provided. Focus groups and individual interviews were comprised of 187 individuals that included family members (e.g., parents, siblings) of children with a disability, eight individuals with a disability, family members of children without a…