Educators at the University of Southampton and Sheffield Hallam University have used an online questionnaire and follow up focus groups to establish how much students embarking on courses in business, management and politics know about current affairs and to explore some of the pedagogic and procedural issues associated with research of this kind.…

This case study investigated the job responsibilities of district-level instructional technology specialists that related to curriculum work and the perceptions the specialists had concerning their job responsibilities and their relationship to curriculum work. Data were collected through document analysis, shadowing, interviews, and a focus…

Almost all 3- and 4-year-olds in Scotland now experience some form of pre-school provision prior to school entry. Given such high rates of participation, the impact of pre-school experiences on children's readiness for primary school has become an important issue for those involved in the early stages of compulsory schooling. Teachers in early…

The Winning Grants Workshop, sponsored by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and held in July 2005, underscored the value of having constituents articulate their own needs and desires instead of grant writers assuming constituent needs. As a means of responding to the "needs" section of the PEP grant application, the…

The purpose of this study was to determine executive and employee attitudes regarding benefits and difficulties accruing to employees and their corporations who participate in on-site MBA programs for 11 corporate partners. Because so many corporations embrace partnerships with colleges to advance the knowledge base of their employees, it seems…

Engineering has played an important role in Scotland's industrial history. Over the years, the skills requirements of industry have changed as the technology has progressed and the industrial base of the country has developed. Over the past decade, there have been substantial changes in the employment opportunities for people with engineering…

With the increased state and national focus on student achievement, school leaders are pursuing a variety of strategies to better serve their students. Many effective principals are embracing distributive leadership, relying on their best teachers to also provide instructional leadership. Yet, many effective teachers have not had training (and…

This paper reports data from the third phase of a 2-year investigation into continuing professional development (CPD) for physical education teachers in England. The purpose of this phase was to examine the ways in which 10 case study teachers engaged in professional learning over the course of 1 academic year. Data were collected from a series of…

This paper reports on the findings of a research project that elicits the main factors impacting on the performance of workplace assessors in the oil and gas industry. The purpose of the paper is to reveal the significance of the role of workplace assessors and the subsequent impact upon workforce engagement. One model of employee competency…

This paper examined the everyday challenges, stressors and coping strategies of orphans affected by HIV/AIDS in Nyanza, Kenya. A thematic analysis of six focus group discussions with orphans was guided by Stress and Coping Theoretical Framework. The orphans reported intense stress at the time of their parents' death with their immediate concern…

Interpretive methodology is used to study the experiences of gay and lesbian K-12 Caucasian educators in California who consider themselves "out" within the classrooms in which they teach. Three main research questions framed this study: What are the lived experiences of out gay and lesbian K-12 educators? What are the interconnections…

Recently, a five-year trial period without a set timetable for compulsory school education in 79 municipalities was concluded in Sweden. The overall idea of the trial was to facilitate local participation, local time governance and flexible learning. Within the pilot trial, each individual pupil's school activities were supposed to be designed to…

Despite efforts to bridge the racial achievement gap, far too many school children continue to fare poorly in our nation's public schools. Oftentimes urban and low income students are negatively labeled as low-achieving, disadvantaged, and struggling. Because of this, such students frequently receive inferior or deficient information from school…

Universities have come under serious attack because of their lackluster response to HIV/AIDS. This article examines the response of National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and its strategic responses in combating HIV/AIDS epidemic. This is achieved by examining NOUN's basic structures that position the University to respond to the epidemic; and…

Purpose: The primary aim of the research reported here is to provide strategic guidance for the development of a national communication strategy to improve sun protection practice amongst young people. Design/methodology/approach: The research adopted an exploratory approach, employing qualitative focus groups to represent three population groups,…