Many teacher preparation programs have a commitment to preparing teachers who teach equitably. However, current research shows that many teachers struggle to move beyond theoretical understandings into practical enactments once they enter inhospitable teaching contexts. This case study examines the effect of co-creating a conceptual framework of…

Research Findings: The present study investigates both the proximal processes and contextual influences on children's oral language development in preschool. We examine whether teacher language practices vary across activity settings and program type, which teacher language practices predict children's oral language skills, and potential…

Teacher education programs are responsible for preparing science teachers for today's culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms, which includes preparing them to support students' science learning and language development. Given the rapid growth in linguistic diversity across the country, science teacher preparation for English learners,…

The stated goal of current education reform is the redesign of education systems in pursuit of quality. Systems that consistently "come out on top" have excited much interest in uncovering the features that have contributed to their success; notably among these is the preparation of future teachers. Research on teacher education quality…

Educational institutions are acknowledging the requirements of a globalized world on students' mobility, interculturality, and language skills by offering study-abroad programmes. These need to be accompanied by procedures to assess student needs prior to and during their time abroad as well as upon their return. In the exploratory study reported…

This contribution gives an account of the results of an action research in which a task-based plurilingual programme was implemented with postgraduate students of Foreign Languages and International Business. Using a mixed-methods approach, combining questionnaire, interview and observation data, we sought to explore the degree to which the…

Designing solutions to social problems requires some degree of interpretive accountability to the sociocultural systems in which design solutions must live. Our case studies show how ethnography of communication research generates distinctive resources for design. (Contains 5 notes.)

The promotion of adult functional literacy programs per se, neither creates the necessary motivation for learning, nor enhances the participation of adult learners in work-oriented or socio-cultural functional literacy programs. The task in learning-teaching transaction is to create the enabling environment for harnessing and enhancing…

This case study describes how sociocultural and activity theory were applied in the design of a publicly funded, Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB)-based English as a Second Language (ESL) credential program and curriculum for immigrant and international students in postsecondary institutions in British Columbia, Canada. The ESL Pathways Project…

This report examines a study of parent involvement in children's preschool education. The first of five chapters discusses the demographic and social changes that have escalated the home-school relationship, and made parent involvement an essential element of a successful preschool experience. The second chapter reviews the literature and includes…

The purpose of this paper is to summarize current trends in child abuse prevention and to provide program administrators and policymakers with guidelines for implementing successful new parent programs in their communities. Contents address: (1) the scope of the child abuse problem; (2) a theoretical framework or conceptual model for use in…

Understanding the socio-cultural context is the key to developing appropriate support systems for distance learners. The socio-cultural context in Turkey is a critical ingredient in the development of Turkish distance education programmes, in which two elements of Turkish culture--patronage and an oral tradition--seem to play a significant role.…

The basic hypothesis of this study is that language education could be more effective if planning were to aim at developing an individual functional trilingualism involving a first (indigenous) language, a second African (national) language, and an official (foreign) language. The study covers the following matters: (1) a survey of developments in…

This paper aims at increasing the cultural impact which overseas programs can have on their participants. Too often such programs rely on cultural learning through haphazard and chance experiences. In its stead, a carefully organized program of cultural knowledge and experiences is advanced. Centered around a thematic approach to analysis of the…

This study proposes a comprehensive long-term program of adult education in rural Iraq to meet the need for extensive rural improvement. The program is designed to meet a need for democratic leadership, and to decrease illiteracy, provide practical farm training, and teach villagers to help themselves. A basis for the program design is Taiwan's…