Pre-service teachers carry with them various school experiences when attending a teacher education programme. Often teacher educators tend to ignore these first-year-student's previous knowledge and experiences. We asked 181 pre-service teachers to write about a significant event which had made an impression on them as a pupil. Our aim was to…

This qualitative study explored the experiences of six Chinese and South Korean graduate students in the United States. Semistructured interviews and an interpretive phenomenological approach were used in which three major themes emerged: (a) academic challenges and acculturation, (b) academic support from host institute, and (c) cultural and…

The results of a 3-year fieldwork study within France's National Centre for Distance Education are presented, specifically detailing the impacts on higher education middle management overseeing curricula design for a series of French 3-year degree programs undergoing revision in how students are financially charged for the programs. Following the…

COVID-19 challenged higher education to rapidly shift to remote course delivery. This study surveyed community college students (N = 356) about their confidence in completing learning related tasks before and after the shift, access to technologies used in in remote learning, and disruptions that impacted their learning. Results indicated notable…

Enrollments of international students are at very high levels in the U.S., a development that has altered the demographics of first-year composition classes in recent years. Nonetheless, writing instructors and administrators often know little about these students' backgrounds, which can make it difficult to design pedagogies that are responsive…

This paper explains the application of concept mapping to help foster a learning-centred approach. It investigates how concept maps are used to measure the change in learning following a two-week intensive undergraduate Marketing Principles course delivered to 162 Chinese students undertaking a Bachelor of Business Administration programme in…

This study investigated the relationship between problem familiarity and students' learning in a problem-based course. Problem familiarity in this study refers to the extent to which a problem fits with students' prior knowledge and experiences. As part of regular course work, 172 students were given two problems on different occasions.…

Inquiry has been the framework for guiding reform-based science instruction. All too often, the role of technology is treated tacitly without contributions to this framework. This case study examines a collection of pre-service teachers enrolling in two educational technology courses and the role these experiences play in promoting inquiry…

The context of the study reported in this paper is the difficulties of transition from nonformal primary schools to formal secondary schools in Bangladesh. The difficulties affecting a smooth school transition relate not only to the making of new relationships and adapting to new norms in a new environment, but also to a very different approach to…

International students have become an important part of many universities, both through the income they provide and the diversity they bring to student populations. Studying in a foreign country can be challenging, requiring students to adapt to unfamiliar educational cultures. With the integration of online technologies into higher education,…

Increased attention is being given to the attitudes exhibited by preservice teachers enrolled in secondary-level content area literacy courses, who frequently resist the idea of teaching reading to their future students. To develop a greater understanding of such perspectives, the author analyzed literacy narratives written by undergraduate…

The theme of this special issue is timely as the world becomes increasingly flat and globally connected (Friedman, 2007). By focusing on an international perspective in problem-based learning (PBL), it puts culture squarely in the center, whether it is a national or disciplinary culture. The articles in this special issue represent Thailand, South…

This multinational research study was carried out between 2004 and 2006 in four teacher education institutions in Cyprus, England, Switzerland, and Germany. With the help of a written questionnaire, the confidence and perceived competence of preservice primary teachers (N = 690) to deliver biodiversity education in school were investigated. Data…

Background/Context: In this article, we explore the life histories of two Latino/a prospective elementary teachers in a large Midwestern university; examine their knowledge, strengths, and needs as teachers; and consider how teacher educators might capitalize on these. We explore how these prospective teachers' prior family, home, K-12 schooling,…

Mathematics learning and practice in school and out of school differ in some significant ways which are explained by the fact that: (1) problem in everyday situations are embedded in real contexts that are meaningful to the problem solver; and (2) the mathematics used outside school is a tool in the service of some broader goal. This paper…