Background: Despite considerable investment in UK government initiatives (e.g., the Physical Education School Sport [PESS] plan) aimed at improving the delivery and quality of physical education (PE) in primary schools, many remaining problems have been highlighted (e.g., facilities; staff training). It is suggested that the head teacher (school…

Due to the recent developments in technology, distance learning and education questions regarding the best teaching methods for the virtual classroom have emerged. Thus, it becomes increasingly necessary to examine how these methods translate into the virtual classroom. This qualitative case study examined how instructors of online courses…

Students' assessment of their academic experience is actively sought by higher education institutions, as evidenced in the UK's National Student Survey, introduced in 2005. Erasmus students, despite their growing numbers, tend to be excluded from these satisfaction surveys, even though they, too, are primary customers of a university. This study…

Designing infrastructures to support instruction remains a challenge in educational reform. This article reports on a study of one school system's efforts to redesign its infrastructure for mathematics instruction by promoting teacher leadership. Using social network and interview data from 12 elementary schools, we explore how the district's…

Considering the increased influence of digital technologies on daily life (Fallows, 2004) and young children's increased use of interactive technologies ("Children Now," 2007), early childhood educators are beginning to think about the role of technology in their classrooms. Many preschool programs are beginning to purchase iPads, or…

Relying on life history and memory as methodology, this essay unearths the memories of schooling of five Mexican American teachers at a dual-language school in San Antonio, locating their memories of trauma within the history of language oppression and cultural exclusion in U.S. public schools. In re(membering) their schooling experiences as…

This article focuses on the experiences of Grade 12 students using a language portfolio based on the principles and guidelines of the European Language Portfolio (ELP) in their second language classes in a large urban high school. As part of a larger action-research project, focus group interviews were conducted to gather data related to…

There is wide agreement that problem-based learning is a key strategy to promote individual abilities for "learning how to learn". This paper presents the main contributions that reflective journals and the problem-based learning approach can make to foster professional knowledge and quality learning in higher education. Thirty-six…

In this article we present the results of a qualitative research study on the pedagogical factors that influence English teaching in four public schools of Medellín, Colombia. Twelve teachers were interviewed regarding three linguistic principles: communicative competence, native language effect, and interlanguage. The data analysis led to the…

A major concern in the public schools is the low academic achievement of African American males. This mixed methods study examined the classroom experiences of African American male students in an alternative program. The dual purpose was to investigate the teachers' perceptions and their ability to provide best learning environments for…

In recent years, virtual learning environments (VLEs) or course management systems (CMSs) have become commonplace in European higher education as well as making inroads into primary and secondary schools. VLEs such as "Moodle," "Blackboard" and "It's Learning" offer educational institutions standardised packages in…

This paper focuses on a qualitative case study concerned with teaching practicum as a pivotal component of teacher education in Malawi. It addresses some of the issues and concerns associated with workload, ill-defined mentoring support, and implementation of certain pedagogical orientations during teaching practicum placement. Purposive sampling…

This article examines dilemmas in measuring the impact of mentoring on teacher trainees and on their learners in the lifelong learning sector (LLS). In this small-scale research project, five mentors and five mentees were asked how they might evaluate the impact that mentoring might have, not just on trainees, but on their learners. The research…

Resource-based school projects have good potential to be an effective approach in information literacy instruction (ILI). These projects offer the opportunity for students to engage in information problem-solving learning activities and employ various learning skills, including information literacy (IL). The researchers seek to explore ILI through…

Social-Cognitive Theory (Bandura, 1986, 1999) served as the framework to explore overweight children's perceptions of different physical activity settings. Participants were children (n = 67) enrolled in an after-school and summer program for overweight African-American and Hispanic-American children from low-income families. To gain insight into…