Background: This paper discusses teachers' perspectives on learning networks and their motives for participating in these networks. Although it is widely held that teachers' learning may be developed through learning networks, not all teachers participate in such networks. Purpose: The theme of reciprocity, central to studies in the area of…

The purpose of this study was to determine teachers' educational needs regarding school education projects within the scope of Erasmus+ programme. In the study, the case study method, one of qualitative research designs, was used. The participants were determined using the snowball sampling method, and eight secondary school teachers took part in…

Facebook is a frequently accessed social networking site with more than one billion active users worldwide. Although there are numerous studies on its impact on teenagers, none have investigated its impact on gifted and talented girls. This study's aim was to understand the social media experiences of talented female student leaders. A qualitative…

Upcoming statutory UK government guidance for keeping children safe in education reflects the use of social media, which is one of the most common activities undertaken by young people. This study explores how and why young people are using social networking sites (SNS) and whether there are age or gender differences. A key feature of the study…

The purpose of the study was to assess adolescents' participation in various socio-digital activities by using a self-report questionnaire, a social networking questionnaire, and interviews. The participants (n = 253) were grade 6-9 students from a multicultural lower-secondary school in Finland. Three profiles of socio-digital participation were…

This article discusses friendships and peer groups of migrant and minority ethnic youth in schools in England and Spain, and critically considers them in relation to existing notions of "peer social capital" and bridging (heterogeneous) and bonding (homogeneous) peer networks. The article argues for an extended understanding of peer…

Educators around the world participate in virtual communities, social media sites, and online networks in order to gain support and ideas for improving their practice. Many researchers have explored how and why teachers participate in these online spaces; however, there is limited research on how participation might impact teaching and learning.…

Students with severe disabilities often experience limited social participation and few friendships at school. We describe a project to equip school teams to implement peer support arrangements and peer networks focused on friendships, inclusion, and learning. We adopted a phenomenological qualitative approach to learn how participants viewed…

The call for teachers and schools to become more research-engaged is resonating stronger than ever with government efforts to improve research impact and educational quality in the United Kingdom (UK) and many other countries. In these endeavors strengthening the social network structure and collegial relationships that enable collaborative…

This article, which is set within the Maltese education scenario of unfolding decentralization through the setting-up of multi-site school collaboratives (legally termed "colleges") via a policy mandate, explores a particular aspect of this reform--that of "networking". This is examined in terms of the potential for…

Massive school closures are occurring in urban school districts across the United States. Research suggests that school closures are the outcome of racialized neoliberal policies and decades of disinvestment that have left many urban districts with fiscal deficits and declining student enrollments. However, some urban communities have successfully…

Based on detailed empirical analyses, we paint a layered picture of emerging steering dynamics. Inspired by Foucault, we put the focus on roles stakeholders define both for themselves and others, how they give sense to policy, how they work together in policy elaboration and implementation, and the subtle and sometimes deceitful function of soft…

Parental choice of school is an under-researched area in the Australian educational literature. Moreover, research in this area tends to focus on school choice with respect to government policy and market influences. This paper presents the findings from doctoral research which explored the ways in which parents living in rural and remote areas…

In times of exponential change, high quality, cost-effective teacher professional development is an urgent need that personal learning networks (PLNs) promise to address. The purpose of the qualitative case study was to (a) explore, understand, and describe how PreK-12 educators, who are members of The Educator's PLN and Classroom 2.0 communities,…

Based on a qualitative study documenting how Spanish teachers bear an especially heavy burden as unofficial translators, interpreters, and school representatives, this article documents how some Latina high school Spanish teachers struggle to form social networks with Latino students in new Latino school communities. Employing social frameworks,…