Educational researchers have concluded that there are threshold concepts in a large number of disciplines. Yet, these researchers have not paid enough attention to the objection to the theory. It is beset with severe definitional and empirical problems. I will portray definitions of 'threshold concepts' provided by Land and Meyer, the founding…

Education debate often appears polarised between those who advocate a specific curriculum that should be "delivered" by teachers and those that advocate student-centred approaches that develop skills and understanding. This paper goes to the heart of the tension via an exploration of the "curriculum question." The purpose of…

The threshold concepts framework provides educators with a useful way of thinking about the struggles students have in coming to know essential, hard to grasp knowledge. A threshold concept is often best understood through reference to eight characteristics that together describe what is critical to effective knowledge acquisition. This conceptual…

This comparison seeks to determine if the three documents addressing information literacy skills and competence developed by professional library associations for postsecondary education in four predominantly English-speaking countries--the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand--have similar or varying conceptions of…

Charter schools are, by definition, contract schools. Charter means contract. To understand this fundamental feature of charter schools and the limits that stem from this aspect, this paper analyzes the topic of contracts and what contracting means for coming to terms with charter schools. This analysis locates charter schools in the realm of the…

There is a substantial body of research indicating that compromised social functioning for individuals with intellectual disabilities has far reaching implications for quality of life, community participation and wellbeing. However, an inherent difficulty for research into social functioning is the lack of agreed definition of key concepts in the…

Urges standardization of basic concepts in sociology. Refutes claims that standard concepts are not needed and cannot be made because sociological concepts are too context dependent and sociologists too individualistic. Insists that standardization be limited to concepts used by the discipline as a whole. Suggests that a committee be established…