This article draws on Foucault's concepts of power and discourse to explore the issues of teaching mathematics to low attainers in primary schools in England. We analyse a data set of interviews, from a larger study, with the mathematics teachers of one child across three years, showing how accountability practices, discourses of ability and…

Considering discursive transitions in development education, we discuss the main findings of a qualitative study with practitioners in Portuguese development nongovernmental organizations, based on semi-structured in-depth interviews. Our goal was to understand practitioners' accounts of their field of action and the discursive transition between…

Framed from positioning theory and dynamic systems theory, the paper reports on a naturalistic study involving four Chinese participants and their American peers in an intercultural asynchronous computer-mediated communication (ACMC) activity. Based on the moment-by-moment analysis and triangulation of forum posts, reflective essays, and…

This article presents a research study on the interactional styles of teacher educators in the English language teacher education classroom. Two research methodologies, ethnomethodological conversation analysis and self-evaluation of teacher talk were applied to analyze 34 content- and language-based classes of nine English language teacher…

Literacy policy and pedagogy in Aotearoa New Zealand have a strong discursive heritage of traditional literacies, which emphasise code breaking and meaning making with linguistic codes and conventions over other possible modes of communication. In a rapidly evolving landscape where changes in communication technologies give birth to new literacies…

Forming the first of two articles, this dialogue begins from the dilemma posed in the writings of David Kirk that physical education is in crisis because the dominant practice of physical education as "sport-techniques" is resistant to change. In order to make sense of crisis discourse, the discussion explores the potential for change in…

Portuguese is the mother tongue for many Angolans yet a majority continue to use African languages in everyday interactions and schools struggle to provide equal educational opportunities for students whose first language is not Portuguese. Recognizing this challenge, the Angolan government has created a language policy that will introduce six…

This article focuses on the idea of entrepreneurial subjectivity and the ways in which it is shaped by the entrepreneurial discourse in adult education. As a result, we argue that educational practices related to adults form a particular kind of ideal subjectivity that we refer to as entrepreneurial. In order to understand how this entrepreneurial…

This article concerns policy implementation and examines the processes of translation through which policy may be enacted at local level. In particular, it focuses on education policy and constructions of teacher professionalism, drawing on a framework of critical logics--social, political and fantasmatic--which examine different dimensions of…

New semiotic perspectives about the role of language in mathematics education indicate that teachers have a fundamental role in communicating and teaching the language that carries mathematical meaning. However, little is known about how educators of young children understand and use the language of mathematics. This study addresses this void.…

Understanding learning disabilities (LDs) as constructed through multiple cultural practices including discourse, this paper focuses on a Latino middle school student with a LD named Elijah. This study documents both the discourses and practices used to position Elijah as a mathematics learner, as well as his use of similar discourses as he…

This phenomenological case study was conducted to better understand the experience of a Montessori teacher in a leadership role. A veteran Montessori teacher, newly hired by an established Montessori preschool, was interviewed over the course of her first year in the position. A critical discourse analysis revealed multiple social identities that…

In this paper, we present the findings which have emerged from our investigation of parent-teacher conversations at one secondary school in the north-west of England. Data were collected in the form of audio recordings over two years, supplemented by supporting evidence in the form of one-to-one interviews with parents, teachers and students. We…

This study draws upon a Foucauldian notion of discourse to explore how four pre-service geography teachers in Singapore made decisions about what geography is and how to enact their understandings of geography in their classrooms. This analysis of discursive power is particularly relevant to Singapore because of the high level of state control…

Contextualized by efforts to support arts integration in one of the largest school districts in the United States, this qualitative study examines the experiences of educators as they participate in various arts-centred forms of professional development. Drawing on the work of, the tenets of arts-centered learning, the authors use Mediated…