Self-determination theory (SDT) proposes to explain the relations between motivational states and human development. In education, a central tenet of the theory is that experiencing autonomous motivation in school activities (i.e., genuine pleasure and enjoyment) fosters optimal learning processes, whereas experiencing controlled motivation (i.e.,…

Italy has recently and rapidly become a country of immigration with an increase in school contexts, especially of second-generation children, leading to the need to deal with the issue of inclusion. This contribution aims to enclose the scientific literature that addresses the inclusion of children with a migrant background within the national…

Background: Racial inequities are a persistent reality in K-12 schools in the United States. There is a need for consensus and coordination between principals and teachers if they are to address the harm of racial inequities in education. Yet, despite this need and the interdependence of teachers and principals in schools, their preparation is…

Aim(s): This research explored perspectives of play according to parents of Somali heritage and primary school practitioners, in an English primary school. At its core, it aimed to investigate the frequently overlooked cultural dimension of play and how this affects the education of Somali heritage children. The broader contentious concern of the…

This paper examines a cohort of Chinese preservice teachers' (PSTs') (n = 13) international teaching practicums (ITPs) experiences in Canada from the perspectives of complexity theory and boundary-crossing. Through semi-structured interviews and reflective journals, we positioned PSTs' ITPs within multiple layers, including biographies, the…

Certain social context features (e.g., maternal presence) are known to increase young children's exploration, a key process by which they learn. Yet limited research investigates the role of social context, especially peer presence, in exploration across development. We investigate whether the effect of peer presence on exploration is mediated by…

This paper presents an overview of some of Michael Cole's work, starting with his pioneering research in Liberia with the Kpelle (and later, with Sylvia Scribner, studies of literacy with the Vai, 1981), which was formative of his version of a cultural-historical psychology, his translation and interpretations of the work of L. S. Vygotsky and…

This paper argues that many pedagogical reform efforts falter because they fail to consider the cultural context of teacher and student behavior. Little guidance exists on how to adapt teaching practices to be compatible with culturally influenced behaviors and beliefs. We present evidence from three studies conducted as part of a large basic…

Written from the perspective of a Grade 5/6 French Immersion teacher, this paper examines the role of music, poetry, and the visual arts in enhancing learner identity, in the context of the elementary school classroom. It begins with a focus on artistic metaphors that represent cultural and linguistic hyphenation. It then addresses practical…

In this study, we explore how cross-linguistic differences can contribute to children's scientific thinking. We compared first and third grade Chinese students' pre-instructional ideas of the earth expressed in clinical interviews with that of their English-speaking and Greek-speaking counterparts (as recorded in the literature). Inspired by a…

Mathematical problem solving typically involves manipulating visual symbols (e.g., equations), and prior research suggests that those symbols serve as diagrammatic representations (e.g., Landy & Goldstone, 2010). The present work examines the ways that instructional design of student engagement with these diagrammatic representations may…

Research into the effect of interest consistently indicated that interest positively related to students' achievement; however, the mechanism through which it affected the learning result remained an open question. This study intended to examine how learning strategies mediated the relationship between interest and achievement in the domain of…

Previous studies identified a learning progression on the concept of carbon cycling that was typically followed by American students when they progress from elementary to high school. This study examines the validity of this previously identified learning progression for a different group of learners--Chinese students. The results indicate that…

Historically, US schools have failed multicultural and multilingual children of colour and marginalized expansive conceptualizations of home and community literacy practices. Given the importance of fully inclusive education, this article seeks to understand the ways in which young multilingual and multicultural children take up issues of…

Traditionally, Canadian Inuit have lived in the circumpolar regions of Canada and those who still live in these regions, have their own cultures, which they tend to celebrate in their educational curricula. Inuit culture reflects their traditional lifestyle, when they were nomadic, and hunted and fished to survive in incredibly difficult…