This paper explores the methodological and epistemological implications of the relationships between R&D, policy and practice. The proposals towards "evidence-based policy and practice" are analysed with respect to this triangle from three angles: (1) meaning; (2) production; and (3) use of evidence. A comprehensive model of the…

Instructors are constantly baffled by the fact that two students who are sitting in the same class, who have access to the same materials, can come to understand a particular chemistry concept differently. Variation theory offers a theoretical framework from which to explore possible variations in experience and the resulting differences in…

The visualisation of knowledge structures through concept mapping can be employed to reveal critical links between theory and practice. This allows consideration of particular disciplinary knowledge structures and the active role of the student in manipulating these structures to gain understanding, in a manner that can encourage students to…

Too often, social studies educators are asked to focus their design and enactment of learning experiences on the mastery of content knowledge, often at the expense of other aims and goals. In response to this problem, the authors of this article explore the reclamation of dispositions in social studies curriculum planning and teaching. First, he…

The purpose of this article is to initiate an effort to establish the constructs calling and vocation within counseling psychology. First, updated definitions of calling and vocation, developed with an eye toward stimulating research and providing useful practice applications, are proposed. Next, the authors explain how the constructs apply to the…

What happens when the research inquiry is complete and has determined which reframes will be most successful in improving public understanding of an issue and advancing policy goals? Simple dissemination of research findings is not sufficient to improve the communications capacity of the field. The author explains how cognitive science and social…

Postmodern approaches to career counseling are becoming increasingly popular. Part of the impetus for the postmodern view has involved perceived problems in the assumptions and application of the modern approach. Two points of view have emerged: (a) the modern and postmodern approaches are incompatible, and the postmodern approach is superior to…

This article, the seventh in the series, presents accounting for liabilities along with some related conceptual and measurement issues. Additional coverage is devoted to potential ethical dilemmas and both theoretical and empirical literature related to this set of accounting elements.

Professional development is grounded in the developmental theories of Vygotsky in an attempt to better understand the mechanism underlying teacher development. The rationale for the use of Vygotskian framework is provided in the context of describing the various models of professional development. Within this theoretical framework, it is argued…

In this article, the authors describe a classroom exercise designed to put women (and children and men) back at the center of the abortion debate, avoiding the standard rhetoric and engaging reflection on how everyone might find common political goals among the so-called pro-life and pro-choice sides. The exercise the authors offer in this article…

The Systems Theory Framework (STF) facilitates the inclusion of relevant aspects of multiple existing theories within an integrated framework, wherein relevance and meaning is decided upon by each individual. Patton and McMahon emphasise that the application of the Systems Theory Framework in integrating theory and practice is located within the…

Knowing is a situated activity. Adopting a practice-based approach, this article describes a workplace characterized by technologically dense practices as a setting in which human actors and technological objects work "together." The case of remote cardiological consultation is paradigmatic of how information and communication technologies (ICT)…

In this paper, we consider how the life story develops through the creation of self-event connections in narrating experiences. We first outline the ways in which such connections have been implied by existing work on the life story, and then consider the varieties of such connections that we see in our own work. That work suggests that self-event…

Since its first publication more than 15 years ago, the Systems Theory Framework (STF) has become an established metatheoretical framework in the international career development literature. Ten years into its history, the first review of its development was published. The present article overviews the expansion of the STF literature since that…

When students ask for a study advice, many professors would say something like this: "Read carefully. Write down unfamiliar terms and look up their meanings. Make an outline. Reread each chapter." That's not terrible advice. Some scientists would say that professors left out the most important step: "Put the book aside and hide the notes. Then…