Changes in achievement motivation over the first semester of university studies were examined with N = 229 freshmen, who were surveyed twice in the present study. Students' academic self-concepts, achievement goals, and subjective values were chosen as theoretically central components of achievement motivation. The results indicated significant…

This chapter explores the basis of rationality, arguing that critical thinking tends to be taught in schools as a set of skills because of the failure to recognize that choosing to think critically depends on the prior development of stable sentiments or moral habits that nourish a rational self. Primary among these stable sentiments are the…

Purpose: To examine the measurement structure of the Brief Adaptation to Disability Scale-Revised (B-ADS-R). Measure: A 12-item measure of disability acceptance based on the four value changes (enlarging the scope of values, containing the effects of the disability, subordinating the physique, and transforming comparative-status values to asset…

Educators frequently claim that the projects in which they are involved are democratic. However, considering the multiple and often conflicting notions of democracy and democratic education, are there any shared understandings of what either of those notions means? Does the claim that a project is democratic carry with it any shared assumptions,…

In his book, "What's So Important about Music Education?" (2010), Goble J. Scott argues from a foundation of C. S. Peirce's pragmatist philosophy that school music education that enables students to understand and engage with the musical practices (or "praxes") of different cultural communities in terms of their…

"Theory? What does this have to do with anything we're doing?" Sound familiar? Students may not always verbalize this, but they often think it, especially in courses where the emphasis is on the development of technical skills and the application of those skills to the building of products. Presenting theory in a way that is relevant and…

Beginning with Carl Rogers' exhortation for counsellors to be non-judgemental of their clients, this article explores the rationale for withholding judgement in therapy, including diagnostic judgement. It traces Rogers' incipient sociopolitical analysis as a foundation for this ethic and argues that Michel Foucault provides a stronger…

Education systems across the world reflect the values of the cultures and societies they represent. Character education is often framed as a response to certain values emphasized in a given context, reflecting the commonly accepted traits of good character and responsible citizenship in which learners are engaged. This article describes the nature…

In this essay, Paula McAvoy critiques a commonly held view that teaching young people to be good choice makers should be a central aim of sex education. Specifically, she argues against David Archard's recommendation that sex educators ought to focus on the development of autonomy and teaching young people that "choice should be accorded…

In 2010 the Education Review Office (ERO) was tasked with reporting on the progress of New Zealand schools in the inclusion of students with high needs. This paper will explore how ERO limited the concept of inclusion to suit Government policy and limit discussion of inclusion to the parameters set by the resource allocation scheme known as…

Although calibration has been widely studied, questions remain about how best to capture confidence ratings, how to calculate continuous variable calibration indices, and on what exactly students base their reported confidence ratings. Undergraduates in a research methods class completed a prior knowledge assessment, two sets of readings and…

One of the major challenges facing modern-day secular states is the issue of social integration. The issue discussed in this article is how it is possible to arrive at unifying values in a multicultural society that is characterised by secularisation and disintegration of the Christian hegemony of former times on the one hand and by the emergence…

The Australian academic profession is more differentiated than is acknowledged in national and institutional policies and academic roles are more diverse than many academics themselves may recognise. However, the evolution of the nature and purposes of the profession and its implicit diversification have been incremental and largely unplanned. A…

"Academically Adrift," the recent study of undergraduate performance, has revealed that college students are learning little, if anything, over the course of their four years at university. This article suggests that students are academically adrift, in part, because Americans are culturally marooned between two ways to pursue happiness,…

The American Economics Association, through its Committee on Economic Education, has worked since 1950 to develop a set of standards for what is taught in introductory economics courses. The result is the Test for Understanding in College Economics. The TUCE has come to define a canon of expectations for students in college business schools. Some…