This paper shows the implementation of "5S"--a Japanese concept of housekeeping--through action research methodology. The organisational issue it tackles is the cultural inhibition among the Indian population against cleaning. It uses soft systems methodology (SSM), action science and Schein's idea of clinical enquiry to bring about an…

In the past decade, the Israeli Ministry of Social Affairs has been engaged in an ongoing effort to change the capacity of social service organizations and social workers across the country to use and create knowledge in order to achieve the best outcomes for the people they serve. Although there is an ever-growing mandate in Israel to demonstrate…

Summary writing has been considered an important aspect of academic writing. However, writing summaries can be a challenging task for the majority of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Research into teaching summary writing has focused on different processes to teach EFL learners. The present study adopted two methods--keyword and…

This paper investigates the teaching of English at undergraduate colleges in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India in the backdrop of Andhra Pradesh English Lecturers' Retraining Program. The program was jointly sponsored and conducted by the Directorate of Collegiate Education, Government of AP and the US State Department English Language Fellow…

This article explains the relevance of the "Common European Framework of Reference for Languages" (CEFR) and the European Language Portfolio (ELP) to language learning in higher education, especially as regards the definition of aims and learning outcomes and the promotion of students' capacity to manage their own learning. After…

This study aimed to determine the readiness of disadvantaged areas in support of Electronic School Books (BSE), which could be downloaded free of charge by making use of Information Communication Technology (ICT). The present study was descriptive research which was approached quantitatively, and expected to expand the model of development of…

Whether and to what extent we are in the process of reconstructing higher education following the Bologna Process orientation is the issue underpinning this article. To address this issue, the authors consider data from an exploratory survey conducted in a Portuguese university, focusing on the field of education. They take into account the…

This study investigated outsourcing of the development of visual, animated and interactive learning objects for mathematics education by a Norwegian university to software vendors in China. It sought to understand the challenges in this outsourcing engagement and competences needed to meet the challenges. The authors tested outsourcing strategies…

This article proposes an applied theoretical framework that could assist education reformers in Confucian heritage culture (CHC) countries to adopt Western-developed learning practices successfully. This framework is needed because the literature has recently documented a large number of failures in educational reforms at CHC colleges. The main…

This critical essay discusses the challenges and prospects for the reform of school-based literacy programs. It begins with an overview of the effects of a decade of test-driven accountability policy on research and teachers' work, noting the continuing challenges of new demographics, cultures and technologies for literacy education. The case is…

While the literature on professional learning communities (PLCs) has proliferated, much of it derived from and contextualised in Anglo-American settings, the concept and practice of PLCs in Asian contexts of strong hierarchies have largely been ignored. Based on literature and documentary analysis, this paper investigates the systemic…

Educational disparities between indigenous Maori students and those of the majority continue to be a major issue in New Zealand. Te Kotahitanga, an iterative research and development programme, which commenced in 2001, supports teachers to implement a relationship-based pedagogy in their classrooms in order to improve Maori students' achievement…

What are the benefits of engaging undergraduate students with authentic, inquiry-based curricula that develop transdisciplinary research skills? Internationally, many educators believe that research-active curricula help students better understand how scientific and technological concepts underlie the complexities of our world, especially in the…

This article is based on a research project aimed at analysing the teaching and learning models explicit and implicit in the different uses of e-learning platforms. From qualitative analysis of the interview with the coordinator of the Virtual Campus of the University of Barcelona (VC-UB) and the focus group with the 8 lecturers, emerged both the…

The Chinese National Quality Course Plan is a large-scale project by the Ministry of Education, which has led to the production of more than 12,000 courses from some 700 universities since 2003. This paper describes in detail the purpose of the project and how it is organized at all levels, including how individual courses get selected at…