Generative artificial intelligence (AI) has become a major research trend in the fields of education and psychology. However, several risks posed by this technology concerning the cognitive and socio-emotional development of children and adolescents have been identified. While it would be highly useful to have a clear understanding of these…

This commentary reviews and summarises the strides which neuroscience has made in our present understanding of the development of literacy and numeracy in children. Specifically, it draws attention to key insights from studies which have elucidated the possible neural mechanisms that may account for difficulties in the development of these…

This article draws out the implications for school and classroom practices of an emerging consensus about the science of learning and development, outlined in a recent synthesis of the research. Situating the review in a developmental systems framework, we synthesize evidence from the learning sciences and several branches of educational research…

An international consensus seems to have developed in educational research--and among educational planners and policymakers--during the last 10-15 years proclaiming that learning is, and must be, a visible phenomenon. This paper questions this predominant view and serves an assemblage of points offering educational scientists at least four…

Lo's variation theory is a learning and teaching theory based on Marton's phenomenographic approach and is one of the most important backbones of learning studies. The proponents of variation theory demarcate their approach from constructivist learning approaches, stressing constructivism as philosophical framework, but not as learning theory. At…

In this article, I examine changes in the field of cognitive development and in my own thinking over the past 40 years. The review focuses on three periods. In the first, Piaget's theory was dominant, and my research and that of many others was aimed at understanding the many fascinating changes in children's thinking that Piaget documented, and…

How people see the world, even how they research it, is influenced by beliefs. Some beliefs are conscious and the result of research, or at least amenable to research. Others are largely invisible. They may feel like "common knowledge" (though myth, not knowledge), unrecognized premises that are part of the surrounding culture. As we…

Immordino-Yang and Gotlieb provide an elegant and helpful framework that integrates neuroscientific and education research on social affective development in their article, "Embodied Brains, Social Minds, Cultural Meaning: Integrating Neuroscientific and Educational Research on Social-Affective Development." Based on previous research,…

This book highlights new scientific research about how people learn, including interdisciplinary perspectives from neuroscience, the social, cognitive and behavioural sciences, education, computer and information sciences, artificial intelligence/machine learning, and engineering. These new developments offer fascinating new perspectives, based on…

Jean Piaget became a veritable institution unto himself in education and psychology, largely as the result of his developmental-stage theory advanced over the second quarter of the twentieth century. Not until Piaget was 73 did he make mention of John Dewey's work at Dewey's laboratory school, founded in 1894 at the University of Chicago. But here…

This article argues that Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) is an appropriate theoretical and methodological framework for researchers in English interested in the social contexts of culture and its relationship with the formation of mind and activity in the English classroom. Two key concepts in Vygotsky's thought central to understanding…

Courses in Portuguese for Speakers of Other Languages, in particular for adult immigrants, have been steadily expanding in Portugal over the last 15 years. These programmes aim to promote educational and labour market integration, access to Portuguese nationality, and cognitive development. This paper argues that official Portuguese learning…

Social constructivist theorists tend to identify qualitative educational research as discovering meaning and understanding by the researcher's active involvement in the construction of meaning. Although these approaches have been widely influenced by Vygotsky's social constructivist approach, his own theoretical framework has received…

The present article focuses on teacher competencies as a major factor that impacts student learning. Ultimately, all attempts to improve education converge in the teacher and the quality of his/her work with students. With their teaching methods, their communication and their classroom management, teachers can structure the kind of learning…

This article explores the special case of integrative teaching and learning in music as a model for 21st century music education policy reform based on the principles that have evolved out of arts integration research and practices over the past century and informed by the recent rising tide of evidence of music's impact on brain capacity and…