This study explores the Language Learning Experiences (LLEs) and beliefs of six non-native speaking (NNS), English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in China. Data collection involved an online questionnaire, an asynchronous focus group, as well as individual online interviews. Findings were presented as profiles of the six cases. Cross-case…

This study examined the effects of self-regulated learning (SRL) and epistemological beliefs (EB) on individual learner levels of academic achievement in Web-based learning environments while holding constant the effect of computer self-efficacy, reason for taking an online course, prior college academic achievement, and parental level of…

This paper centers on doctoral-level education candidates in the United States and Australia and their realms of engagement with information. On the basis of in-depth interviews with American and Australian doctoral students and academic librarians, we pose a critical reflection upon the two doctoral pedagogies as they relate to experiences of…

The 12th iteration of the International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2019) is organized under the auspices of the International Educational Data Mining Society in Montreal, Canada. The theme of this year's conference is EDM in Open-Ended Domains. As EDM has matured it has increasingly been applied to open-ended and ill-defined tasks…

The problems of at-risk students will require diversity in intervention strategies that are implemented to address their problems. This paper reviews three alternative educational strategies that may be used successfully with at-risk students: (1) independent study; (2) home schooling; and (3) programs designed to meet the needs of homeless…

For over 15 years, Tennessee's Chattanooga State Technical Community College has been offering non-traditional, distance education to reach "niches" of students who would otherwise find it difficult to attain a college education. Begun in 1979 with a laboratory-based independent study program offering a mix of purchased and…

In this chapter, a Canadian high school teacher describes a senior English independent study program requiring that each student become involved in a topic through experience. From previous teaching experiences, the teacher realized that the curriculum was secondary to the method of delivery, that learning happened when a teacher instilled in…

This guide, part of a Mexican series of instructional materials, is intended for advisors of students participating in an adult education program offered through public and private organizations in communities in Mexico. The first part of the program comprises Spanish and math; the second, education for family life, education for community life,…

A study was undertaken to explore whether students using an advance organizer-metacognitive learning strategy would be less anxious, more self-directing, more efficient, and more self-confident when learning unknown computer applications software than students using traditional computer software learning strategies. The first experiment was…

To provide opportunities for self-direction, middle-school educators must offer an orchestrated development plan aimed at the acquisition of attitudes and skills that allow and promote self-direction. Self-direction and self-help are becoming increasingly necessary as "high-tec" cultures move forward. Self-directed learners exhibit…

This book offers suggestions to parents for implementing interest-initiated learning in home-school situations. Interest-initiated learning is based on three principles: (1) the learner initiates and controls learning according to his or her own interests; (2) the student's own priorities guide the learner; and (3) the teacher only enters the…

This book challenges common assumptions about the nature of education and the need for formal schooling and provides an overview of promising alternatives to compulsory education. Following a foreword by Ivan Illich, four sections cover the philosophical roots of opposition to compulsory public education, current analyses of the public school…

Based on a second language learning workshop that was a follow-up to the 1990 British conference, "Autonomy in Language Learning," at the Lane End conference center, this report covers the practical implications of the ideas that emerged at the conference. The continuum that encompasses learner autonomy and autonomous learning is…

A system was developed in the Open Learning Centres to make resources and instructional materials available to adult basic education (ABE) students. The materials were organized so that information could be provided to students to help them make choices among the items. Initially, a color coding system was devised, but it was found that it was not…

This study investigated the constraints students in an alternative education program encountered when attempting to implement their individualized curricula in the Independent Study Program (ISP) at the University of Illinois. The study used in-depth interviews with an informant sample of 10 ISP students to gather data about curriculum…