The current NCLB/ESSA-generation [No Child Left Behind/Every Student Succeeds Act] of pre-service teachers in the U.S. received their K-12 schooling during the standardized test-focused education accountability era. There is little research exploring how they perceive the disconnect between their K-12 teacher-centered, test-focused school…

In an attempt to reveal the various types of learning environments present in 30 mathematics classrooms in five Catholic high schools, this replication study examined student (N = 602) perceptions of their classrooms using the Classroom Environment Scale. Student attitudes toward mathematics were assessed by the Estes Attitude Scale. Extending…

The purpose of this study was to address a local university's need to promote learner-centered instruction and collaboration through classroom design. Learner-centered collaborative experiences were proposed by the local university to enhance student satisfaction and build social connections and appreciation of diversity. This study builds on…

This review outlines encouraging and discouraging factors in stimulating the adoption of deep approaches to learning in student-centred learning environments. Both encouraging and discouraging factors can be situated in the context of the learning environment, in students' perceptions of that context and in characteristics of the students…

This investigation uncovered the conditions of learning, both positive and negative, that students in an alternative school experienced both in and out of the classroom setting. Eleven students at an alternative high school in a large suburban school district in the Pacific Northwest were interviewed using methods of narrative inquiry and…

In this qualitative study, I examined and interpreted the literacy instruction of a fourth grade instructor who identified herself as a student-centered teacher. I sought to understand and interpret the beliefs and attitudes of my participant, Julie. Through seven unstructured interviews and five observations, I collected, and simultaneously…

Starting from the contribution on the "ten principles of effective pedagogy" by James and Pollard, we critically reflect on some of the principles and assess whether these principles can be grounded in the wider European research literature that has accumulated internationally. We conclude that these principles can be supported and…

Young people seen as "at risk" are a substantial focus across a wide range of policy and practice fields in national and international contexts. This article addresses two of those fields, youth homelessness and young people failing to obtain a basic education that will give them access to employment and full community participation. By…

This contribution explores the relationship between teacher-centred and student-centred learning environments from a student's perspective. Three different views with respect to this relationship can be retrieved. The "balance" view suggests that the more teacher-centred a learning environment is, the less student-centred it is and vice versa. The…

Many studies of school restructuring during the 1980s profiled teachers and administrators; however, little research examined the students who attended schools undergoing change. This book spotlights students in five high schools that participated in the Coalition of Essential Schools (CES) reform network. The CES is a school-reform partnership…

Excessive concern about test scores exacerbates student alienation. As one California student survey shows, there are too many schools without heart. Recent research indicates that schools structured as caring communities have better holding power and curricula to help students create meaning through knowledge-based problem solving. (MLH)

This paper extends the previous application of Alfred Whitehead's educational ideas to the domain of enterprise education. In doing so, a unique approach to enterprise education is illustrated that links students to their reality whilst also connecting the curriculum to contemporary entrepreneurship theory. The paper reports upon past cycles of…

Reports a study of student and faculty perceptions of the importance of 70 possible attributes of "an effective instructional climate." Students and faculty members alike are concerned more with teaching than with learning. Evidently, students and faculty must be prepared if community college education is to become learning-centered. (DC)

A descriptive look at the environment of one English primary school. An analysis of how the balance between freedom and control is achieved. (DN)

The present research investigated the effects of an interdisciplinary program on Chinese music and culture, based on a sociocultural approach to multicultural music education. The program was introduced to 250 fifth- and sixth-grade children in three schools in New York, USA. Reports and questionnaires were collected from the teachers, students,…