As demand for school reform have grown in Malta in recent years we have noticed increased focus being given to quality issues. As a result the education authorities, due to two main policy initiatives--the introduction of the National Minimum curriculum and school development planning--are encouraging a decentralised form of governance that…

Misuse of English conjunction related to incoherent writing, according to the literature, comes from learners' first language interference, improper mechanical exercises, and misleading lists of connectors in textbooks demonstrated as if mutually interchangeable without contextual constraints. Form-focused instruction with explicit semantic,…

Delivering a discussion-intensive curriculum via online instruction can pose a variety of challenges. This article presents an overview of a contemporary issues online graduate course, and analyzes the degree to which the course encouraged feelings of community, a tone of thoughtful and willing reflection, and an overall understanding of…

National policy in higher education requires higher education institutions to widen access to adult learners alongside other previously excluded groups, yet gives few indications as to how this should be done. The assumption seems to have been that broadening access is sufficient in itself. In this article we argue that it is possible to construct…

This study investigated the effects of learning communities on the educational development of first-year college students at a large, urban, highly selective, research university. These communities, known as "clusters," comprised a year long sequence of theme-oriented courses that were team taught and that included interdisciplinary lectures and…

This article seeks to lay out the use and importance of English in Malaysia from the time when the British ruled what was then Malaya to the present moment. When the British came to colonize the country, they brought with them their culture, their language and their beliefs. They introduced the English language as the medium of instruction in the…

Students in early childhood teacher education programs are expected to know, plan curriculum, and teach within several sets of content area, national, state, and local, learning standards. Understanding where these standards originated and why they are important within the context of classroom practice will help new teachers begin their careers…

This research note presents a conceptual model for understanding how students embrace technology, briefly presents results of a pilot study supporting this conceptualization, and makes suggestions for web-assisted teaching and research. The conceptual framework helps the reader understand how instructors' "Marketing strategies" may need to change…

The migrant population is the most undereducated major subgroup in the United States. The high school dropout rate of the children of migrant farm workers is 43 percent, higher than any other group in the United States. It is estimated that over 70 percent of migrants have not completed high school, and 75 percent are functionally illiterate.…

This paper examines the changing nature of metroregions and their schools. It discusses the influence of global neo-liberalism and resistance on processes of social differentiation through case studies of Chicago metroregion communities and schools. Using spatial theory, the paper argues that while the restructuring of metroregions creates…

The assumption tested here is whether the introduction of enhanced communication technologies in the form of high-speed broadband connectivity has removed or ameliorated any of the barriers to efficient and effective teaching and learning. Evidence is presented of how enhanced communication technologies have facilitated self-regulated learning.…

The topic of how reflexivity ought to be utilized in the global aspect of research is yet to be fully theorized in educational research. Through the use of rigorous reflexivity, this paper examines a "halfie" researcher's negotiation of insider and outsider identities within his transnational home/field site of Nepal. By examining how…

This article describes Project Breakthrough, federally funded as a demonstration through the Javits Gifted and Talented Education Act. Project staff worked for 3 years with three elementary schools in South Carolina to train teachers in the use of language arts and science curriculum developed by the Center for Gifted Education at the College of…

Objective: To identify individual, family, and caseworker characteristics associated with problem recognition (PR) and intentions to change (ITC) in a sample of caregivers who received in-home child welfare services following substantiated reports of child abuse or neglect. Methods: Caregivers were interviewed at 4 weeks, 16 weeks, and 1 year…

In a case study of four urban adult basic education programs in a northeastern state, large increases in the participation of 16- to 20-year-old students were found. Many of these students were reading below the fifth-grade level despite aspiring to the General Education Development (GED) diploma. Reasons for youth participation included increased…