Branding of Education 
Prof. Dr. ?zzet Bozkurt- Yeni Yüzyil University

Reducing Academic and Career Indecision Among First-Year College Students.
Dr. France Piccard
Université Laval, Québec, Canada
Indecision has been defined as the inability of an individual to make a choice or engage in action necessary in decision-making when required to do so. In Western societies, problems related to academic and career indecision among students remain a major issue in higher education. Yet, there has been very little empirical research done on the effectiveness of orientation interventions in addressing this issue. In our study, we investigated the effectiveness of a program designed to reduce indecision among first-year college students in Québec (Canada). Data on orientation interventions were provided by college professionals from 21 institutions, and 973 college students were followed to measure the impact of these interventions on indecision by the end of the first semester. We also examined how events along educational pathways—prior to or during the first semester—and orientations steps taken in high school and college influence indecision.

Globalization vs. ICTs: Who Affects Which?
Prof. Dr. Ferhan Odabasi
Anadolu University, Eskisehir, Turkey
With regard to the developing technologies, globalization has become to be pronounced together with ICTs. It is an ongoing debate whether globalization affected ICTs or vice versa. Whatever the case may be, the result is arousal of certain issues like interdisciplinary studies, student mobilization, international projects, social network collaborations, which all help to a more developed version of relations, studies, and knowledge.

To Believe or Not to Believe? The Role of Evidence-Based Reasoning in Science Education
Prof. Dr. Sibel Erduran
University of Bristol, Bristol, UK

The inclusion and use of epistemic practices of science in science teachers’ development has been an understudied area of research in science education. Epistemic practices are the cognitive and discursive activities that are targeted in science education to develop epistemic understanding. These practices include the articulation and evaluation of knowledge; coordination of theory and evidence; and holding claims accountable to evidence and criteria.  In this presentation, I will review the theoretical arguments for the inclusion of epistemic practices of science in science education in general and in science teachers’ professional development in particular. I will draw empirical examples from funded research and development projects to illustrate how epistemic practices can be incorporated in science teachers’ learning. In particular I will focus on a series of school-based projects on scientific argumentation illustrating how models of argument and argumentation can inform and guide teachers’ learning of epistemic aspects of science. Argumentation has grown as an area of interest in the past two decades. Numerous studies have highlighted the importance of argumentative discourse in the acquisition of scientific knowledge and the development of habits of mind in science. The implication is that argumentation is a form of discourse that needs to be appropriated by children and explicitly taught through suitable instruction, task structuring and modeling. I will conclude with a set of recommendations for the design, implementation and evaluation of teacher professional development programs that promote and enhance teachers’ learning of epistemic practices including argumentation.

The Critical Need for Psychosocial Support in Education: Developing Culturally Responsive Counseling Skills to Work with At-Risk Students
Prof.Dr. Frederic P. Bemak

Schools throughout the world encounter academic, social, and psychological difficulties with students.  Students identified as being at-risk face barriers related to personal, social, economic, and family problems that interfere with their school work.  These issues are interrelated and require an interdisciplinary response by educators, administrators, and counselors.  It is critical that educators from multiple disciplines attend to the problems facing students who are at-risk in order to facilitate student academic success.  This presentation will outline the correlation between academic success and psychosocial problems and present principles and intervention strategies that are effective in responding to at-risk students.  The application and importance of culturally responsive interventions will be discussed in relationship to psychosocial student problems in schools.  The presentation will combine lecture, audience participation, and discussion as well as student case studies from different parts of the world.
20 – Participants would include counselors, psychologists, social workers, teachers, special educators, and school administrators who are interested in learning about strategies and principles for working with youth identified as being at-risk for school failure.