Background/Context: Billions of dollars are spent annually on professional development (PD) for educators, yet few randomized controlled trials (RCT) have demonstrated the ultimate impact PD has on student learning. Further, while policymakers and others speak to the role schools should play in developing students' civic awareness, RCTs of PD…

Educational researchers have suggested that the tension between the learner-centred and teacher-centred pedagogies represents a real classroom issue that influences teaching and learning. This issue may be particularly significant in East-Asian countries such as Taiwan due to some cultural influences. For example, teacher authority is highly…