The issue of class size is a complex and contested topic that has divided opinion for many years. Whilst many teachers believe that smaller class sizes assist in enhancing outcomes, a number of policy influencers, policy makers and researchers argue that it has little influence on success in learning and that decreasing class sizes is not…

In order to achieve the standard expected in the classroom, teachers benefit from continuing professional development that enables access to resources with which to inform their practice. Smith and Helfenbein's "Translational Research in Education: Collaboration and Commitment in Urban Contexts." "In The Collaborative Turn: Working…

The purpose of this article is to suggest and illustrate a methodological approach for studies of learning in physical education (PE) and sport pedagogy in order to investigate and clarify the relation between how people learn and the settings or context in which they learn. Drawing on the work of John Dewey, the later works of Ludwig Wittgenstein…

This book assembles over 50 papers from the 7th Triennial European Research Conference of the European Society for Research on the Education of Adults (ESREA), which was held from the 4th to the 7th of September 2013 at Humboldt-University in Berlin. The title of the conference was "Changing Configurations of Adult Education in Transitional…

This paper examines the nature of learning cultures in English Further Education (FE), as revealed in the Transforming Learning Cultures in FE (TLC) research project. In it, we describe four characteristics of a generic FE learning culture: the significance of learning cultures in every site; the significance of the tutor in influencing site…

From its inception, the Transforming Learning Cultures in Further Education (TLC) project included an explicit intention to identify some principles for the enhancement of learning cultures in order to improve student and teacher learning, and a wish to see how effective different strategies could be in this endeavour. The project showed that both…

Examines qualitative data from three case-study schools to illuminate barriers to responsiveness facing socially disadvantaged schools and impeding school improvement. Highlights cumulative impact of contextual influences, which interact with internal school factors, particularly that of local school hierarchies and processes of labelling that…

There is growing recognition of the significance of learning within debates about sustainable development. Within the field of environmental education research, however, there has been insufficient attention given to questions of learners and learning. In the light of this situation, this paper reports findings from two studies (one in England,…

Describes an investigation of student approaches to study and briefly relates the results to the need for instructional improvement. Open University students in England were interviewed to determine their study habits and two approaches were identified: deep-level (relating ideas and constructing meaning from learning materials) and surface-level…

This report by the Schools Council Project in England examines questions and responses of children aged 8-16, and in particular, the role that curiosity and questions can play in learning. Chapter 1 compares comments of various government-sponsored reports. The second chapter reviews ideas and evidence about both curiosity and questions and the…

This document attempts to lay the groundwork for modeling and measuring the "wider benefits" of learning. The introduction distinguishes between two categories of "wider benefits" of learning. The first category is noneconomic benefits (benefits that are not measured directly in terms of additional income or increased…

Educational research is distinctive inasmuch as it shares the moral objective of education, which is to help people make the best of themselves through processes of learning. Educational research is a service industry for education. As such, its contribution to the efficiency and effectiveness of educational processes can be increased by focusing…

Learners' views on their progress and achievement in literacy and numeracy were examined in a study during which practitioners from eight further education colleges in England interviewed 70 adults (ages 16 to over 60 years) enrolled in literacy, numeracy, or English-for-speakers-of-other-languages programs. The metaphor of traveling on a learning…

England's Learning and Skills Research Centre (LSRC) is working to build a strong body of evidence from rigorous research that is focused on critical and innovative thinking and models and solutions for the long-term development of post-16 learning. In 2002-2005, the LSRC will focus on the following activities and goals: identify key priorities;…

A study examined the effectiveness of existing nursing education programs to prepare individuals in the United Kingdom for employment as community specialist practitioners in the context of public health. The study was designed in three strands as follows: (1) a questionnaire-based source of 52 directors and leaders from community specialist…