This article empirically examines the effect of social background, education, and school organization on adolescent tobacco use in the Netherlands. We test theories of norm enforcing and horizon expanding social networks and distinction by examining the relationship between daily smoking behavior and school organization. Using the 2007 Dutch…

In the information age, students must learn to navigate and evaluate an expanding network of information. Highly effective teachers model this process of information analysis and knowledge acquisition by continually learning through collaboration, professional development, and studying pedagogical techniques and best practices. Many teachers have…

Today's undergraduates are highly engaged in a variety of social media outlets. Given their comfort with technology, we wondered if we could use this phenomenon to teach science-related material. We asked students to use freeware to make a short video with text, images, and music as a way to explain scientific concepts that are traditionally…

EdCamp is a grassroots movement of do-it-yourself professional development "un-conferences" that originated in Philadelphia in November 2010. In just a little over a year and a half the phenomenon has gained serious momentum across the country and now around the globe. This teacher-driven, bottom-up approach to professional development…

Recent studies of family life in Ireland have focused on changes in "traditional" family structures, including the increase in one-parent families. This article illustrates the impact dominant conceptions in Irish society that privilege the family based on marriage have on one-parent family policy. The authors focus on two key areas of…

Technology has the potential to improve education but only if it is applied with purpose and consideration of the audience. Understanding technology's role in education goes beyond the comparison of tools; there is a need to better understand student acceptance of technology so appropriate educational scaffolding and support can be provided. The…

The purpose of this study was to explore strategies for the development of aspiring female coaches based on the ideas of existing high-performance female coaches. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with national-level female coaches in the United Kingdom, four recurrent ideas for developing female coaches in a male-dominated profession emerged.…

Background: Lesson Study is a collaborative form of planning and reflecting in which teachers research, plan, implement, and revise lessons with a focus on student learning. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate three Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) majors' perceptions of Lesson Study as a capstone experience. Findings:…

This study is a qualitative investigation of the role that social networks play in the adjustment and academic success of international students. With large numbers of international students enrolled on US campuses, it is important for practitioners to prepare, understand and address their dynamic needs. Based on social network, social capital and…

The Local Government Association (LGA) commissioned the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) to undertake an initial scoping study into safeguarding post-Laming, with a view to undertaking further work if relevant. The purpose of the study was to identify research and literature produced since the Laming report was published in…

As always in real estate, everything in technology these days seems to be about location. From Google's recent addition of a "nearby" location limit to its suite of search options to the spate of location-based mobile apps and social networks, physical proximity has become the linchpin of a trend to connect technology to the real world. In this…

Teachers enjoy the benefits of having former students return into their lives. With today's social media the connections are instant and/or searchable. This author is one that makes an effort to stay in touch with graduates, finding that during the reconnection process she learns many things about their adventures, research, and views on life. She…

Emotion research demonstrates that problems of theoretical interest or practical significance are not divided neatly along disciplinary boundaries. Researchers acknowledge both organic and social underpinnings of emotion, but the intersections between biological and structural processes can be difficult to negotiate. In this article, the authors…

Summer is nearly here, and school librarians will have a little more time to catch up with the current thinking in the world of school libraries. There are many options--both traditional and nontraditional--for learning about some of the latest thinking in the profession. In this article, the authors have chosen several available formats and…

School libraries face a challenging future. Substantive claims are being made that they are no longer viable because of the access to vast quantities of information on the Internet and because they are costly infrastructures to maintain because of the increasing cost of print materials as well as the cost of personnel. Research show that students…