http://www.mdpi.com/journal/education Latest open access articles published in Educ. Sci. at http://www.mdpi.com/journal/education http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/3/2/158 Within recent years, there is an increasing need to train students, from biology and beyond, in quantitative methods that are relevant to cope with data-driven biology. Systems Biology is such a field that places a particular focus on the functional aspect of biology and molecular interacting processes. This paper deals with the conceptual design of a web-based course and its content for educating students in systems biology. We discuss several learning strategies and problems when dealing with structural hypertext patterns that might occur in the context of web-based learning platforms. Finally, we explain the content of the course modules and its features such as its usability and the impact on the learner. Education Sciences 2013-05-17 3 2 Article 10.3390/educsci3020158 158 171 2227-7102 2013-05-17 doi: 10.3390/educsci3020158 Frank Emmert-Streib Matthias Dehmer Fernando Lyardet http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/3/2/147 This paper introduces an innovative course design incorporating both communities of practice and reflective practice as a learning strategy for part-time learners in higher education. The new design has been applied to teaching HR practitioners in a UK-based business school. Findings indicate that the suggested way of organizing teaching and learning for part-time professionals is very informative and facilitates a richer engagement with theory whilst addressing issues of practice. Education Sciences 2013-05-17 3 2 Article 10.3390/educsci3020147 147 157 2227-7102 2013-05-17 doi: 10.3390/educsci3020147 Kate Rowlands Alex Avramenko http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/3/2/136 Traditionally, undergraduate curriculum committees, consisting of appointed faculty and student representatives, have served as the sole departmental vehicle for investigating, discussing and promoting the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) within an academic department. However, with the universal demand for greater accountability on all aspects of evidence-based teaching and on the totality of student learning and career outcomes, some academic departments have encouraged the formation of additional organizations to support their SoTL mandate. In the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, the approach taken was to combine the interests of the faculty who had a sustained interest in the “scholarship of knowledge translation and transfer” in the health sciences with those who had a developing interest in SoTL. These faculty members would then form the foundation of a “network” which has been called the K*T3net. The virtual common space of the network is on a Learning Management System (LMS) site which is accessed by all faculty members in the network and by a growing number of staff and senior PhD students in the department. The features and potential uses of the K*T3net website will be discussed. The development of the K*T3net has already supported the proposal for a new undergraduate course on SoTL and is opening the possibility for graduate students to add a SoTL component to their thesis research. Education Sciences 2013-05-15 3 2 Article 10.3390/educsci3020136 136 146 2227-7102 2013-05-15 doi: 10.3390/educsci3020136 Nicolette Bradley Lorraine Jadeski Genevieve Newton Kerry Ritchie Scott Merrett William Bettger http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/3/2/121 This study investigated the reliability and validity of the Multidimensional Scale of Life Skills in Late Childhood, an instrument designed to measure a concept similar to “zest for living” in late childhood. A total of 1,888 elementary school students in the 4th, 5th, and 6th grades residing in urban and suburban areas as well as in remote islands of 3 prefectures (Okinawa, Kagoshima, and Nagasaki) were surveyed. On the basis of our analysis, 24 items and seven factors were extracted. These factors are problem-solving/synthesis, relationship with friends, personal manners, decision-making and future planning, self-learning, collecting and using information, and leadership. Cronbach’s alpha reliability coefficients were computed for each subscale and ranged from 0.71 to 0.87. Test-retest reliability coefficient values ranged from 0.68 to 0.79. To examine the construct validity of the scales, a goodness-of-fit model was determined by confirmatory factor analysis, and satisfactory values were found (GFI = 0.952, AGFI = 0.937, CFI = 0.966, RMSEA = 0.016). The validity of the goodness-of-fit model and the reliability of the scales indicate that the Multidimensional Scale of Life Skills in Late Childhood is an effective assessment tool. Education Sciences 2013-04-12 3 2 Article 10.3390/educsci3020121 121 135 2227-7102 2013-04-12 doi: 10.3390/educsci3020121 Minoru Kobayashi Taichi Gushiken Yurika Ganaha Yosiaki Sasazawa Shotaro Iwata Akiko Takemura Tsutomu Fujita Yonathan Asikin Minoru Takakura http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/3/2/98 Education reform efforts have mandated the use of student achievement data in schools. This Q-methodology study investigates the perceptions of principals and teachers about how data are used or misused. Principals in the sample were found to use data mostly to evaluate the school, make improvements, and model best practices of data use. Teachers used data to improve instruction and outcomes for students. Results indicate a need to create an assessment savvy environment where data are used to improve practices. Education Sciences 2013-04-12 3 2 Article 10.3390/educsci3020098 98 120 2227-7102 2013-04-12 doi: 10.3390/educsci3020098 Matthew Militello Lisa Bass Karen Jackson Yuling Wang http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/3/2/75 Fuzzy logic dates back to 1965 and it is related not only to current areas of knowledge, such as Control Theory and Computer Science, but also to traditional ones, such as Philosophy and Linguistics. Like any logic, fuzzy logic is concerned with argumentation, but unlike other modalities, which focus on the crisp reasoning of Mathematics, it deals with common sense reasoning; i.e., with approximate reasoning. Although the teaching of logic has formed part of mainstream education for many years, fuzzy logic is a much more recent inclusion. In this paper we emphasize the desirability of having illustrative examples related to students’ everyday activities, such as sports, in order to introduce fuzzy logic in higher education. Taking an example from cycling, we show, step by step, how to model an approximate reasoning regarding the choice of a ratio (a combination of freewheel and chainring) in order to advance more or less with each rotation of the pedals. Led by this example, a number of alternatives attending to the formal representation of the premises and the ways of inferring a plausible conclusion are analyzed. The choices made between alternatives are justified. We show that the conclusion inferred in the example is consistent with the models selected for premises and fuzzy inference and similar to that concluded by a human being. Education Sciences 2013-04-08 3 2 Article 10.3390/educsci3020075 75 97 2227-7102 2013-04-08 doi: 10.3390/educsci3020075 Alejandro Sobrino http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/3/1/74 In the article detailed above figure 1 on page 174 in [1] is incorrect. Education Sciences 2013-03-21 3 1 Correction 10.3390/educsci3010074 74 74 2227-7102 2013-03-21 doi: 10.3390/educsci3010074 Kate Hawkey http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/3/1/50 This article presents problems and possibilities associated with incorporating into history teaching a digital demographic database made for professional historians. We detect and discuss the outcome of how students in Swedish upper secondary schools respond to a teaching approach involving digitized registers comprising 19th century individuals and populations. Even though our results demonstrate that students experience the use of this digital database as messy, stressful, complicated, even meaningless and frustrating, they also perceive working with it as most interesting. We discuss this twofold outcome, its reasons and lessons to learn from it.  When technology is functioning and the task is specialized and sufficiently guided by the teacher, which is not always the case, our results propose that digital databases can stimulate young people’s interest and historical thinking. Knowledge construction based upon historical thinking is evident in the students’ examination papers in which they present and debate their findings. These papers indicate that students can use a digital database and write history based upon empirical evidence, source criticism and historical empathy, just as professional historians do. Education Sciences 2013-03-11 3 1 Article 10.3390/educsci3010050 50 73 2227-7102 2013-03-11 doi: 10.3390/educsci3010050 Thomas Nygren Lotta Vikström http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/3/1/30 Some new and envisioned technologies such as brain machine interfaces (BMI) that are being developed initially for people with disabilities, but whose use can also be expanded to the general public have the potential to change body ability expectations of disabled and non-disabled people beyond the species-typical. The ways in which this dynamic will impact students with disabilities in the domain of special education is explored. Data was drawn from six special education school teachers from one school in Calgary, Alberta. Five sub-themes (social acceptance, not adding to the impairment, fear of judgement by society, pursuing “normality” and meeting the demands of society) were identified that fit under the main identified theme of “fitting in by not standing out”. Findings demonstrate a dichotomy in participant views of non- or socially acceptable communication devices. The perception of BMI technology was also explored among special education school teachers, revealing benefits and challenges with the uptake of this technology for students with disabilities. Perceptions of people with disabilities and ableism are presented as conceptual frameworks to interpret the influence and impact of the findings. Education Sciences 2013-02-05 3 1 Article 10.3390/educsci3010030 30 49 2227-7102 2013-02-05 doi: 10.3390/educsci3010030 Lucy Diep Gregor Wolbring http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/3/1/17 Rather than viewing curriculum as linear, a post-modern, learner-centered curriculum design is a spiral or recursive curriculum. Post-modernism provides a much less stable foundation upon which to build a model of student learning, a model that recognizes and even celebrates individual difference and one that is supported by research on how people learn. We propose one such curricular approach through an examination of a Bachelor of Integrative Studies program. Education Sciences 2013-02-01 3 1 Article 10.3390/educsci3010017 17 29 2227-7102 2013-02-01 doi: 10.3390/educsci3010017 Roxanne Cullen Reinhold Hill http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/3/1/1 In life sciences, the internet is an indispensable medium for research, but has not yet realized its full potential for teaching. The concept of e-learning has been developed over the past decades for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programs. We set up an e-learning lecture on cancer biology and pharmacology that was first offered in 2003 to students of Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Heidelberg and to students of Pharmacy at the University of Mainz, Germany. The present paper recapitulates the first decade of experiences with this e-learning lecture from both the students’ and the teachers’ perspectives. A total of 317 students during the past 10 years participated in a survey. In general, the students enjoyed the possibilities that self-controlled learning offers. E-learning interested them as a novel educational method. They felt quite comfortable listening to the material despite the interdisciplinary nature of the lectures, which included molecular biological, pharmacological and medical aspects of cancer biology and pharmacology. This lecture was the first e-learning experience for the majority of students, and their impressions were generally positive. The students not only indicated that they would like to continue with e-learning, but also would recommend e-learning to other students. Remarkably, the majority of students would like to see more e-learning offered in their present curricula. They indicated interest in mixed forms of traditional learning and e-learning (“blended learning”), although it is recognized that face-to-face contact between teachers and students is critical. Overall, many students would consider e-learning for further and continuing education after graduation. Education Sciences 2013-01-14 3 1 Article 10.3390/educsci3010001 1 16 2227-7102 2013-01-14 doi: 10.3390/educsci3010001 Thomas Efferth http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/4/276 The article examines the enduring popularity of a form of school history which is based predominantly on the idea that the transmission of a positive story about the national past will inculcate in young people a sense of loyalty to the state; a reassuring and positive sense of identity and belonging; and a sense of social solidarity with fellow citizens. England is one of the countries which has to at least some extent moved away from this model of school history; but the past few years have seen suggestions for a move back to a history curriculum which focuses predominantly on the transmission of ‘Our Island Story’; and which presents a positive rendering of that story. The history curriculum in England is currently under review; and public pronouncements by politicians; academic historians and newspaper editorials suggest strong pressures towards a restoration of what is often termed ‘traditional’ school history; which was prevalent in English schools before the advent of what has been termed ‘New history’ in the 1970s. The paper questions some of the arguments which have been put forward in order to justify a return to a history curriculum based on a positive and unproblematic narrative of the national story and suggests that such a course of action is based on some unexamined assumptions and a limited understanding of pedagogy and learning. The final section of the paper outlines several weaknesses and flaws in the arguments for reverting to a traditional (i.e. ‘nation-based’ and celebratory) form of school history; and some of the dangers inherent in such a project. Education Sciences 2012-12-14 2 4 Article 10.3390/educsci2040276 276 289 2227-7102 2012-12-14 doi: 10.3390/educsci2040276 Terry Haydn http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/4/255 This article presents the Quebec ministry of education’s (MELS) strategy for diversifying the national historical narrative that is transmitted in the province’s History and Citizenship Education program as well as the manner in which Francophone national history teachers put this strategy into practice. In bringing research on their social representations and historical consciousness together, this paper looks at some of the main challenges that these teachers face when specifically harmonizing two of history teaching’s central social functions for catering to narrative diversity. When seeking to adequately balance the transmission of a national identity reference framework with the development of autonomous critical thinking skills, it becomes clear that these teachers’ general quest for positivist-type, true and objective visions of the past as well as their overall attachment to the main markers of their group’s collective memory for knowing and acting Québécois impede them from fully embracing the diversification of the province’s historical narrative. The article ends by raising some important questions regarding the relevance of assisting teachers to authentically develop their own voice and vision for harmonizing the two aforementioned functions of history teaching and for being answerable to the decisions they make when articulating and acting upon such beliefs in class. Education Sciences 2012-12-10 2 4 Article 10.3390/educsci2040255 255 275 2227-7102 2012-12-10 doi: 10.3390/educsci2040255 Paul Zanazanian Sabrina Moisan http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/4/254 As the registered title of our journal was changed from “Education (Basel)” (ISSN 2076-3344) to “Education Sciences” (ISSN 2227-7102) in May 2012, we mistakenly continued publishing under the old ISSN number instead of the new one. We would like to clarify that the ISSN number on the first pages of the following published papers is incorrect. The correct ISSN number should be 2227-7102. [...] Education Sciences 2012-12-05 2 4 Editorial 10.3390/educsci2040254 254 254 2227-7102 2012-12-05 doi: 10.3390/educsci2040254 Shu-Kun Lin http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/4/242 A growing consensus in the history education community supports the idea that the discipline of history provides the best opportunity for moving beyond a “nation-building” or “skills-based” approach to teaching about the past. The social and temporal characteristics of the discipline of history mean such conclusions have important implications for teachers of history who must engage with that academic discipline when designing lessons for their pupils. In order to understand the process by which such a curriculum approach might be effected, it is necessary to posit a relationship between history teachers and the discipline of history that rests upon a theoretical model in which history teachers are understood both to represent and embody the discipline of history when teaching their pupils. Education Sciences 2012-12-05 2 4 Article 10.3390/educsci2040242 242 253 2227-7102 2012-12-05 doi: 10.3390/educsci2040242 Michael Fordham http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/4/218 Based on a three year action research project, this study examines one strand of that research, namely the impact that ‘purpose’, i.e. exploring the range of rationales for studying a subject, has in helping white trainee teachers embrace cultural and ethnic diversity within their teaching. Through ‘purpose’ trainees explored different reasons why history should be taught (and by implication what content should be taught and how it should be taught) and the relationship of these reasons to diversity. Focusing on ‘purpose’ appears to have a positive impact on many trainees from white, mono-ethnic backgrounds, enabling them to bring diversity into the school curriculum, in this case history teaching. It offers one way to counter concerns about issues of ‘whiteness’ in the teaching profession and by teaching a more relevant curriculum has a potential positive impact on the achievement of students from minority ethnic backgrounds. Education Sciences 2012-12-04 2 4 Article 10.3390/educsci2040218 218 241 2227-7102 2012-12-04 doi: 10.3390/educsci2040218 Richard Harris http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/4/208 This article critiques popular assumptions that underlie the ongoing politicisation of school history curriculum as an agent of social identity and behaviour. It raises some key research questions which need further investigation and suggests a potential methodology for establishing evidence-based understanding of the relationship between history education, historical consciousness, identity politics and civil discord. The proposed methodology is based on comparative research of the lived experience of history education and social disposition in two generations in three modern democratic nations each of which represent in their recent histories different models of social integration. The article suggests that without such evidence-based theorisation of the relationship between historical consciousness and social identity, the evolution of history curricula will remain vulnerable to the ongoing incursions of hostile but poorly conceived political rhetoric. Education Sciences 2012-11-23 2 4 Article 10.3390/educsci2040208 208 217 2227-7102 2012-11-23 doi: 10.3390/educsci2040208 Tony Taylor Sue Collins http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/4/193 The success of discipline-based teaching requires an interplay between substantive and procedural knowledge. In Finland, disciplinary thinking was included in the National Core Curriculum and in the final assessment criteria a decade ago, which meant a change in history teaching. The outcome of this change is examined in the article with the help of a national-level history test that was conducted in 2011 among 16-year-old Finns. In the test, the adolescents fared moderately well in tasks involving substantive knowledge but more poorly in tasks which measured the mastering of procedural knowledge. In particular, the interplay between these proved to be difficult for the students. The students’ knowledge was found to correspond with the earlier curriculum rather than the objectives of the present one, revealing that not all of the teachers were teaching in accordance with the present demands. Education Sciences 2012-10-31 2 4 Article 10.3390/educsci2040193 193 207 2227-7102 2012-10-31 doi: 10.3390/educsci2040193 Jukka Rantala http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/4/190 Despite much rhetoric around the notion of a global citizenship, the overriding focus of civics education, from the viewpoint of examining the international educational curriculum, seems to be on national identity and establishing national boundaries for citizenship education. [...] Education Sciences 2012-10-26 2 4 Editorial 10.3390/educsci2040190 190 192 2227-7102 2012-10-26 doi: 10.3390/educsci2040190 Ruth Reynolds http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/4/180 A WebQuest is an Internet-based and inquiry-oriented learning activity. The aim of this work is to outline the creation of a WebQuest entitled “Power Generation Plants: Steam and Gas Turbines.” This is one of the topics covered in the course “Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer,” which is offered in the second year of Mechanical Engineering at the Defense University Center at the Naval Academy in Vigo, Spain. While participating in the activity, students will be divided into groups of no more than 10 for seminars. The groups will create PowerPoint presentations that include all of the analyzed aspects. The topics to be discussed during the workshop on power plant turbines are the: (1) principles of operation; (2) processes involved; (3) advantages and disadvantages; (4) efficiency; (5) combined cycle; and (6) transversal competences, such as teamwork, oral and written presentations, and analysis and synthesis of information. This paper presents the use of Google Sites as a guide to the WebQuest so that students can access all information online, including instructions, summaries, resources, and information on qualifications. Education Sciences 2012-10-24 2 4 Article 10.3390/educsci2040180 180 189 2227-7102 2012-10-24 doi: 10.3390/educsci2040180 Carlos Ulloa Guillermo D. Rey Ángel Sánchez Ángeles Cancela http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/4/165 The article looks at the perspectives on history amongst adolescent children of different backgrounds living in inner-cities in England and builds on previous research in this area. The current article presents exploratory research which focuses on the views of particular groups of adolescents, namely those from long established settled immigrant communities; those from more recently arrived migrant and immigrant communities; and those from white indigenous communities. An inclusive, perspectival and dynamic approach towards history education is outlined and the underlying view of knowledge and implications for pedagogy of this approach discussed alongside comparisons with other approaches towards the subject. The exploratory work and analysis is used to generate a research agenda through which history for a super diverse society can be developed. Although the research was conducted in the English context, the issues it raises are pertinent elsewhere. Education Sciences 2012-10-22 2 4 Article 10.3390/educsci2040165 165 179 2227-7102 2012-10-22 doi: 10.3390/educsci2040165 Kate Hawkey http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/3/150 Citizenship education has been debated for some time and has faced various challenges over time. This paper introduces the lens of “ableism” and ability expectations to the citizenship education discourse. The author contends that the cultural dynamic of ability expectations and ableism (not only expecting certain abilities, but also perceiving certain abilities as essential) was one factor that has and will continue to shape citizenship and citizenship education. It focuses on three areas of citizenship education: (a) active citizenship; (b) citizenship education for a diverse population; and (c) global citizenship. It covers two ability-related challenges, namely: disabled people, who are often seen as lacking expected species-typical body abilities, and, advances of science and technology that generate new abilities. The author contends that the impact of ability expectations and ableism on citizenship and citizenship education, locally and in a globalized world, is an important and under-researched area. Education Sciences 2012-09-05 2 3 Article 10.3390/educsci2030150 150 164 2227-7102 2012-09-05 doi: 10.3390/educsci2030150 Gregor Wolbring http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/3/136 The cross-disciplinary nature of energy-efficient building design has created many challenges for architecture, engineering and construction instructors. One of the technical challenges in teaching sustainable building design is enabling students to quantitatively understand how different building designs affect a building’s energy performance. Concept based instructional methods fall short in evaluating the impact of different design choices on a buildings’ energy consumption. Building Information Modeling (BIM) with energy performance software provides a feasible tool to evaluate building design parameters. One notable advantage of this tool is its ability to couple 3D visualization of the structure with energy performance analysis without requiring detailed mathematical and thermodynamic calculations. Project-based Learning (PBL) utilizing BIM tools coupled with energy analysis software was incorporated into a senior level undergraduate class. Student perceptions and feedback were analyzed to gauge the effectiveness of these techniques as instructional tools. The findings indicated that BIM-PBL can be used to effectively teach energy-efficient building design and construction. Education Sciences 2012-08-27 2 3 Case Report 10.3390/educsci2030136 136 149 2227-7102 2012-08-27 doi: 10.3390/educsci2030136 Zhigang Shen Wayne Jensen Timothy Wentz Bruce Fischer http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/3/121 Civic and citizenship education is a component of the school curriculum in all nation states. The form it takes, its purposes and the way in which it is implemented differs from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. The pressures of globalization in recent times have meant that citizenship has increasingly come to be seen in global terms brought about by processes such as transnational migration, the homogenization of cultural practices and the development of supranational groupings that often seem to challenge more local versions of citizenship. Despite these pressures, the key responsibility for citizenship continues to rest with nation states. This paper will review issues relating to a more globalized citizenship and outline the strategies that nation states might adopt to ensure they remain capable of creating an active and engaged citizenship. Education Sciences 2012-06-27 2 3 Article 10.3390/educsci2030121 121 135 2227-7102 2012-06-27 doi: 10.3390/educsci2030121 Kerry J. Kennedy http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/2/105 The exercise of citizenship is today understood as a duty and as a right to be enjoyed within any educational context. Within the school, all of its protagonists are invited to exercise practices of citizenship. No one is excluded; even the less important parties have the right to participate in decisions that, for some reason, may have an influence on their academic life. The citizenship of the child is, thus, a challenge to the changing political, social and educational structures, to the transformation of institutions and to cultural renewal. The existence of harmonious relations between the educational community, the school, the children and the family is dependent on everyone’s ability to understand and communicate with each other. Parents and teachers have made a commitment to a fruitful and unison dialogue on behalf of the quality of education. In this article, we set out from an analysis of the new social realities and of the different meanings assigned to education, to afterwards reflect upon the current educational values and upon the practices that are consistent with those purposes. Citizenship, as well as autonomy, rise, thus, as central concepts, in which each educational community finds reasons for Making School Happen. Education Sciences 2012-06-21 2 2 Article 10.3390/educsci2020105 105 120 2227-7102 2012-06-21 doi: 10.3390/educsci2020105 Teresa Sarmento Ilda Freire http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/2/91 This article explores how young people (aged 12–18) in the four Visegrad states of Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic are constructing their identities, particularly their sense of attachment to their country and to Europe. This generation is of particular significance, in that they are the first generation for many years to have been born and socialised in wholly independent states that are in a relatively peaceful and stable state. Data was collected through 41 focus groups, conducted in 11 different locations in the different states, and were analysed in terms of the degree of enthusiasm expressed for civic institutions and cultural practices related to the country and to Europe. Two particular areas were identified: the sense of generational difference and the ways in which different groups created “other” communities, within and without their country’s borders. These parameters allow us to distinguish the significant communities that these young people are creating in order to make sense of their social and political worlds. Education Sciences 2012-05-21 2 2 Article 10.3390/educsci2020091 91 104 2227-7102 2012-05-21 doi: 10.3390/educsci2020091 Alistair Ross http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/2/77 Global food security and sustainability, animal welfare, dietary health, and socially just relations of food production have become prominent societal issues. They are of particular concern for young people as their lives progress towards becoming independent consumers and citizens with the capacity to shape food systems of the future. This paper examined the role of the Food for Life Partnership programme in promoting young people’s engagement with food-related citizenship education in secondary schools. The research consisted of a two stage study of 24 English schools. We surveyed experiences and attitudes of students and staff, and recorded programme activities. The results presented a mixed picture. Staff reports and monitoring evidence showed much successful implementation of programme activities across the whole school. However, there was less evidence of positive student behavioral change. Amongst a range of possibilities to account for the findings, one explanation is the organizational challenges of delivering a complex and ambitious programme in the secondary school setting. This suggests the need to develop food citizenship programmes that combine long term institutional reforms alongside focused interventions with specific groups of students. It also highlights the case for ensuring a place for food related citizenship on the educational policy agenda. Education Sciences 2012-05-21 2 2 Article 10.3390/educsci2020077 77 90 2227-7102 2012-05-21 doi: 10.3390/educsci2020077 Mat Jones Narges Dailami Emma Weitkamp Richard Kimberlee Debra Salmon Judy Orme http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/2/57 This study undertook a five month qualitative investigation into technology use amongst twelve high school social studies students in two different sites in the Midwestern United States. This study examined students’ use of technology and its relationship to three dimensions of citizenship in a global age: understand global events, issues, and perspectives, participate in global networks to communicate and collaborate with global audiences, and advocate on global problems and issues to think and act globally. Collecting data through semi-structured student interviews, online-threaded discussions and document analysis, I triangulated findings, and employed a qualitative approach. The study finds a relationship between student participants’ use of technology and their serving as engaged citizenship in a global age. In using technology, students accessed international news and information, joined global networks to communicate and collaborate with global audiences, and produced digital content for international audiences. Education Sciences 2012-05-18 2 2 Article 10.3390/educsci2020057 57 76 2227-7102 2012-05-18 doi: 10.3390/educsci2020057 Brad M. Maguth http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/2/56 After launching the journal Education (Basel) we became aware that this title has been used by another publisher as a printed journal. Since only seven papers have been published so far, we decided to change the journal title to Education Sciences and move the seven published papers to Education Sciences. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Education Sciences 2012-05-16 2 2 Editorial 10.3390/educsci2020056 56 56 2227-7102 2012-05-16 doi: 10.3390/educsci2020056 Shu-Kun Lin http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/2/54 The field of curriculum studies has become increasingly sensitive to the “effects of global flows, transnational connections, and transcultural interactions” ([1], p. 43), and an international dialogue has begun to take shape between the European bildung-influenced tradition of Didaktiks and the Anglo-American psychologised Curriculum Studies tradition. As it stands, the dialogue has concentrated on a comparative analysis of the traditions at the level of general curriculum theory or Allgemeine Didaktik (see for example, [2]), and has rarely, if ever, drilled down into an area of subject-specific pedagogy or fachdidaktiks. This special issue seeks to address this directly, by encouraging a dialogue between various regional and national traditions of history education or Geschichtsdidaktik. [...] Education Sciences 2012-03-23 2 2 Editorial 10.3390/educ2020054 54 55 2227-7102 2012-03-23 doi: 10.3390/educ2020054 Robert J. Parkes Monika Vinterek http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/1/45 This study examined the relationship between home Internet access/parental support and student outcomes. Survey data were collected from 1,576 middle school students in China. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, independent-samples T-test, and regression analysis. Results indicate that students who had home Internet access reported higher scores than those without home Internet on all three dimensions: Computer and Internet self-efficacy, Attitudes towards technology and Developmental outcomes. Home Internet access and parental support were significantly positively associated with technology self-efficacy, interest in technology, perceived importance of the Internet, and perceived impact of the Internet on learning. Findings from this study have significant implications for research and practice on how to narrow down the digital divide. Education Sciences 2012-03-05 2 1 Article 10.3390/educ2010045 45 53 2227-7102 2012-03-05 doi: 10.3390/educ2010045 Jing Lei Jingye Zhou http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/1/33 This paper argues that women’s participation in the public and their access to senior leadership positions is defined by cultural and belief systems in a society. It draws upon a study of Women College heads of women-only colleges, in a region in Pakistan, to unveil the discursive dynamics in that societal context where complex factors interact to determine what is acceptable in that culture. This has implications for women’ roles and determines their practices as college heads. The study also unveiled the culturally-informed strategies adopted by these women professionals to exercise their role as college heads in the presence of multiple cultural constraints. Education Sciences 2012-03-02 2 1 Article 10.3390/educ2010033 33 44 2227-7102 2012-03-02 doi: 10.3390/educ2010033 Saeeda Shah Umbreen Shah http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/1/22 From ancient times, the history of human beings has developed by a succession of steps and sometimes jumps, until reaching the relative sophistication of the modern brain and culture. Researchers are attempting to create systems that mimic human thinking, understand speech, or beat the best human chess player. Understanding the mechanisms of intelligence, and creating intelligent artifacts are the twin goals of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Great mathematical minds have played a key role in AI in recent years; to name only a few: Janos Neumann (also known as John von Neumann), Konrad Zuse, Norbert Wiener, Claude E. Shannon, Alan M. Turing, Grigore Moisil, Lofti A. Zadeh, Ronald R. Yager, Michio Sugeno, Solomon Marcus, or Lászlo A. Barabási. Introducing the study of AI is not merely useful because of its capability for solving difficult problems, but also because of its mathematical nature. It prepares us to understand the current world, enabling us to act on the challenges of the future. Education Sciences 2012-01-06 2 1 Article 10.3390/educ2010022 22 32 2227-7102 2012-01-06 doi: 10.3390/educ2010022 Angel Garrido http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/2/1/1 This paper examines perspectives and perceptions of democracy of pre- and in-service teachers as well as teacher-education academics in Australia in order to develop a robust and critical democratic education. Using data from an on-line survey the paper presents the quantitative analyses, and the qualitative responses of contrasting understandings of democracy, citizenship and the role of education in the promotion and development of an active and thick democracy the paper critiques the neo-liberal (thin) democratic discourse of contemporary Australian academic research that suggests that the Civics and Citizenship Education project only requires some augmentation highlighting issues like sustainability and globalization while ignoring social justice issues. It begins by outlining the concepts of thick and thin democracy, and revisits the state of civics and citizenship education (CCE) in Australia. It is argued that while the pre-service teachers in this study may have a more critical and thicker understanding of democracy that is mirrored in the views of their teacher-education professors, the practicing teachers, on the other hand, have largely adopted the mainstream neo-liberal discourse, presenting a tendency to view democracy in a very narrow or thin way that may impact on their classroom practice. The paper concludes with recommendations related to what a thick democracy might actually look like in school education. Education Sciences 2011-12-21 2 1 Article 10.3390/educ2010001 1 21 2227-7102 2011-12-21 doi: 10.3390/educ2010001 David Zyngier http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/1/1/4 Computer-based learning facilitates a shift from externally controlled to self-directed learning. Universities and other educational institutions are challenged by these developments and must react appropriately to meet the requirements of education. The term e-learning has been coined to describe a wide range of diverse learning and teaching strategies based on the use of electronic devices. Recently developed concepts in the science of education and learning provide appropriate frameworks for novel e-learning scenarios. The present review introduces strategies and concepts for the implementation of e-learning in academic and non-academic programs and gives an overview of current e-learning activities in pharmacology. Education Sciences 2011-08-08 1 1 Review 10.3390/educ1010004 4 14 2227-7102 2011-08-08 doi: 10.3390/educ1010004 Thomas Efferth http://www.mdpi.com/2227-7102/1/1/1 On the face of it, contemporary educational research is significantly different in order and kind from the period after WWII when the esteemed American education psychologist, Harold H. Abelson (1948) [1], wrote his essay, “The Role of Educational Research in a Democracy.” The current conditions under which educational researchers labor foreground national and global challenges are quite unlike those he outlined in that heady post war period just prior to its descent into the Cold War. Since Abelson’s progressive reading of the upward arch of the first half of the Twentieth Century’s educational research history, unprecedented global movements of people, money and ideas, revolutionary and expanding modes of communication, and expediential growth in knowledge production and dissemination have broadened and complicated educational research, let alone practice and policy. [...] Education Sciences 2011-02-11 1 1 Editorial 10.3390/educ1010001 1 3 2227-7102 2011-02-11 doi: 10.3390/educ1010001 James Albright