The use of online learning (OL) has increased dramatically in the last decade; however, many instructional methods used in OL training design have not been appropriately applied or developed. Complicating this phenomenon, learners of different organizations often find the application of training content problematic in variable application…

This paper captures an ideological moment in time in which I contemplated the methodological approach I was embarking upon. In my search for a more appropriate approach for conducting research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tertiary students at the University of Queensland, I chose focus groups set within the qualitative process of…

Contemporary Western society has encouraged an obesogenic culture of eating amongst youth. Multiple factors may influence an adolescent's susceptibility to this eating culture, and thus act as a barrier to healthy eating. Given the increasing prevalence of obesity amongst adolescents, the need to reduce these barriers has become a necessity.…

Personal development groups (PD groups) are widely employed in counsellor training with the aim of developing the self-awareness of trainee counsellors, and the intention of this paper is to open a discussion forum of the use of these groups and understand their use more fully. A quantitative and qualitative approach was employed in this study,…

Individuals aged 60 years and older are at an increased risk for listeriosis and other foodborne illnesses. They can reduce their risk by following recommended food safety practices. A total of 8 focus groups were conducted to characterize older adults' food safety knowledge and practices, their impressions of educational materials on listeriosis…

Since 2003, government policy has required local authorities to provide support when they house lone teenage parents seeking accommodation. This qualitative study addresses young mothers' routes into housing need and their experiences of housing access and support, drawing on interview and focus group data collected in 2003. The findings emphasise…

Because of lofty but imprecise instructions, the Ph.D. dissertation is a decidedly uneven genre. Barbara E. Lovitts, a higher-education researcher who has studied doctoral attrition rates extensively, set out to bring academe's discussion of the dissertation into the age of feedback. She conducted focus groups with professors in 10 disciplines at…

This study evaluated the success of a community nurse-led smoking cessation clinic, based in one trust in Northern Ireland. The clinic operated a group therapy approach. The study employed quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection to measure smoking behaviour and to gain the views of participants. Smoking behaviour was measured by…

There is a lack of knowledge regarding the value and impact of career development services, particularly in Canada. The goals of this research were to better understand career development services' evaluation practices and the value of these practices from the perspectives of Canadian agencies, practitioners, policy makers, and employers. Data…

The high school to college transition is a difficult time for most first-time, traditional-aged students. Students experience changes in interpersonal and social adjustment, academic and career concerns, and personal adjustment (Bishop, Gallagher, & Cohen, 2000). Failure to successfully adjust and acclimate into their new college community can…

The Australian Government report Teachers for the 21st Century: Making the Difference (DEST, 2000) highlighted that teachers were central to student learning, and that there was a need for professional development for teachers in order for them to adapt to changing student needs. These ideas are not new and have been have been supported by other…

For a variety of reasons, U.S. higher education has employed an increasing number of international teaching assistants (ITAs) to teach undergraduate courses in science, engineering, and humanities departments. Often, ITAs arrive on campus and are placed in undergraduate classrooms without having previous training or teaching experience; they are…

Since its inception, American music education has been viewed as seemingly less important than other academic disciplines. In times of financial crisis, it has undergone reductions and eliminations. Consequently, music education advocates have had to escalate their efforts to preserve and protect music programs. This study seeks to determine the…

This document presents a summary of the report, "How Eight State Education Agencies in the Northeast and Islands Region Identify and Support Low-Performing Schools and Districts." This larger report describes and analyzes how eight state education agencies in the Northeast and Islands Region (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New…

This report describes and analyzes how eight state education agencies in the Northeast and Islands Region (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, and Vermont) identify and support low-performing schools and districts under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). Data collection for the report…