As in many other countries around the globe, the Dominican Republic (DR) has recently implemented important educational changes. The curriculum changed from a content-based to a competence-based approach, and grade configurations changed from four-year to three-year cycles, moving seventh and eighth grades out of elementary and into high school.…

This in-practice article reports a case study investigating the trajectory of teachers who engaged in a professional learning community (PLC) project that aimed to develop language assessment literacy. This case study attempted to examine the following key research question: what changes did the teachers experience in their assessment beliefs and…

Purpose: This study aims to examine the effect of strategic human resource management (SHRM) practices on two learning outcomes, learning orientation and learning competence, which past research has seldom examined in the UAE context. SHRM practices consisted of four factors, namely, talent acquisition, learning and development, performance…

Authentic assessment activities are those that afford learners opportunities to practice finding solutions to real-world issues and challenges, so that upon graduation they are able to apply these skills to issues and challenges they will face in their workplaces. When learners are able to do this successfully, they are judged as job ready.…

This study investigated teachers' views, all from a Pacific Island context, of assessment practices as it relates to mathematics learning in early childhood, primary, and secondary settings. Based on the analysis of these views, collected via a written survey (n=25) from invited workshop participants in Nauru, a series of four mathematics…

Interactive oral assessments demonstrate potential to develop graduate attributes such as critical thinking, professional communication and collaborative skills in students through authentic simulation of workplace scenarios. This study captured the design, delivery and evaluation of interactive oral assessments across three programmes --…

Engineering educators should motivate and support students in developing not only technical competence but also professional competence including commitment to excellence. We developed an authentic assessment to improve students' understanding of the importance of "perfection" in engineering--whereby 50% good enough will not be…

Dominant discourses on professional development for teachers internationally are increasingly geared to the priority of ensuring individual teachers are meeting prescribed standards-based performance benchmarks which we call "performativities" in this paper. While this intent is invariably played out in individualised performance…

In China, teacher performance pay has been implemented for eight years, but teachers' perceptions regarding its implementation have been examined seldomly. Exploring teachers' perceptions is a path to hear teachers' voices, inspect implementation practice, and evaluate impacts. This mixed-method study explored teachers' perceptions toward…

This study explored if it is possible for liberal arts students to develop engineering professional competencies without detailed engagement with the engineering sciences. Students on a Bachelor of Arts and Sciences programme were compared with their undergraduate peers in Civil Engineering. A new method for evaluating such competencies was…

Schools in Abu Dhabi are going through transformation and reform. The New School Model (2010) introduced changes to the curriculum and teaching and learning methodologies. In line with these changes, recently introduced "Principal Professional Standards" and "Performance Evaluation" documents have conceptualized new roles and…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of using a Competency-based Achievement System (CBAS) (a formative tool) in the practice ready assessment (PRA) of internationally-trained physicians seeking licensure to practice in Canada (summative assessment). The study was a retrospective analysis of over 5,000 FieldNotes completed…

Musicians are appointed to positions in professional symphony orchestras--both rank and file and section principals--following a blind audition process. They perform set repertoire works and orchestral excerpts behind a screen. In many higher education programs, musicians focus on learning the orchestral excerpts and instrumental repertoire that…

This article reports on a study into student teachers' perceptions about their professional development during practicum. Framed within a symbolic interactionist perspective, the study examined to what extent, and how effectively, one group of student teachers was able to integrate theory and practice during a three-week practicum in the first…

This article focused on a deeper analysis of pre-service teachers' observations of video lessons based on the authentic classrooms across three stages in eight sessions in order to reveal their changes in the abilities to understand pedagogical content knowledge and the effects of specific observation frameworks introduced in the observation…