In this essay, we argue that both critique and self-criticism are needed to advance, professionalize, and internationalize the field of music education. We identify three "gaps" in the field: the gap between scholarly work and practice, the gap between North American and Northern European interpretations of foundational concepts, and the…

This theoretical paper introduces a new way to view and characterize learning astronomy. It describes a framework, based on results from empirical data, analyzed through standard qualitative research methodology, in which a theoretical model for a vital competency of learning astronomy is proposed: "reading the sky," a broad description…

The article addresses and provides an introduction to "pedagogy" in its capacity of science and a university discipline in the field of "education sciences." Nowadays not only teacher education programmes are embedded in theories and follow transitions of "pedagogy." These have become even more complex, therefore,…

This article discusses the conceptualisation, organisation and philosophical orientation of academic history culture in UK higher education. It problematises the extent to which a dominant history culture in UK universities implies and uncritically reproduces normative understandings about the subject; about its epistemological standing,…

Recent literature on the use of exemplars in the context of higher education has shown that exemplar-based instruction is implemented in various disciplines; nevertheless, how exemplar-based instruction can be implemented in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) writing classrooms in higher education institutions remains under-explored. In this…

In 2011, the New American Colleges and Universities established a national award to honor the legacy of Ernest L. Boyer by recognizing an individual whose achievements in higher education exemplify Boyer's quest for connecting theory to practice and thought to action, in and out of the classroom. The 2014 Boyer Award was presented to Edward L.…

Erich Christian Wittmann is one of the primary founders of mathematics education research as an autonomous field of work and research in Germany. The interview presented here reflects on his role in promoting mathematics education as a design science. The interview addresses the following topics: (1) The importance of subject matter in…

This conceptual article addresses the question: What are the disciplinary literacy practices surrounding the Engineering Design Process (EDP) at the elementary level? Recent attention has focused on developing science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills for U.S. students. In the United States, the Next Generation Science Standards and…

Engineers commonly use rules, theories and models that lack scientific justification. Examples include rules of thumb based on experience, but also models based on obsolete science or folk theories. Centrifugal forces, heat and cold as substances, and sucking vacuum all belong to the latter group. These models contradict scientific knowledge, but…

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…

Philosophy for Children arose in the 1970s in the US as an educational programme. This programme, initiated by Matthew Lipman, was devoted to exploring the relationship between the notions "philosophy" and "childhood", with the implicit practical goal of establishing philosophy as a full-fledged "content area" in public schools. Over 40 years, the…

Taking the measure of an individual as a professional and trying to place that individual within a discipline's changing historical context is never an easy endeavour. This is especially true within the helping professions where there has been so much growth over the past 40 years. In the case of Martin J. Ball, however, the task is a bit easier.…

In recent years there have been growing calls for forging greater connections between education and cognitive neuroscience. As a consequence great hopes for the application of empirical research on the human brain to educational problems have been raised. In this article we contend that the expectation that results from cognitive neuroscience…

"Using your profanisaurus" derives from a project, "The Production of University English", whose earliest findings were published in "Arts and Humanities in Higher Education" in 2005. By analysing "ordinary" discussions in "ordinary" English Literature classes in diverse universities, the project…

This paper begins by raising a question about the purposes of research in drama in education and reflects on aspects of discourse in the past concerning how and why writers about drama in education choose to describe its aesthetic processes. Whilst it recognises the debate about drama in education's place within the umbrella of applied theatre, it…