This paper examines the development of student functional thinking during a teaching experiment that was conducted in two classrooms with a total of 45 children whose average age was nine years and six months. The teaching comprised four lessons taught by a researcher, with a second researcher and classroom teacher acting as participant observers.…

Purpose: The persisting tension over the relative importance of theory and practice creates a crevasse between scholars and practitioners. The purpose here is to problematize divisions between cultural norms found among scholars and practitioners. Design/methodology/approach: Both authors, higher education scholars, experienced temporary…

This paper, based on an ethnographic study of an Israeli kindergarten, describes the practice of hugging, by the girls, of the teacher, and the latter's response to the girls' initiative. Based on Bourdieu's concept of "habitus" and the assumption that embodiment is crucial to social-cultural learning, the paper demonstrates the complex…

In this article we explore the concept of quality in teacher action research by re-examining our participation with science teachers in several different collaborative action research projects. We conducted second-order action research and generated a series reflexive conditions for promoting and ensuring quality action research. We assert that a…

The authors present their journey through the development of an action research project based on collaboration between university health lecturers and a practice development and research nurse in an NHS Trust hospital. The project was designed to raise awareness and improve the practice of all staff in relation to the dignity and respect shown to…

This article presents case studies of political literacy among primary pupils. While researching primary pupils' understanding of "enterprise", the researchers added interviews connecting this concept to the Iraq war. A sample of 10 non-representative Scottish primary schools from seven local education authorities has provided the…

The purpose of this study was to explore how non-teaching demands are affecting the teaching/research/service dynamic in the tenure process of early childhood teacher educators. Fifty-seven NAECTE members responded to a 24-item survey exploring issues and current initiatives that support or impede scholarship. Findings revealed that early…

What is Critical Race Theory (CRT) and what does it offer educational researchers and practitioners outside the US? This paper addresses these questions by examining the recent history of anti-racist research and policy in the UK. In particular, the paper argues that conventional forms of anti-racism have proven unable to keep pace with the…

Stories are seductive, persuasive, permeable. They pull one toward them and they may even take over. From the tapes and transcripts of interviews, from the pages of journals and student writing, certain stories called out to this author and his colleagues. The narratives they include in their work are not innocently or objectively chosen stories;…

This study examined and supported the efforts of Tina, an experienced elementary teacher, in helping her fourth graders internalize informed views of the inferential, tentative, and creative nature of science (NOS). Tina held informed views of, and was motivated to teach about, NOS. The study aimed to answer the following question: What specific…

Propensity score analysis is one statistical technique that can be applied to observational data to mimic randomization and thus can be used to estimate causal effects in studies in which the researchers have not applied randomization. In this article the authors (a) describe propensity score methodology and (b) demonstrate its application using…

In this reflective essay, the author describes her continuing search for a pedagogical path. She explains how she came to reject authoritative answers and packaged educational ideologies, and describes the questions that have unfolded for her about her own teaching. In closing, she writes about her search for a faith--a set of principles to guide…

We introduce family researchers to the Occupational Information Network, or O*Net, an electronic database on the work characteristics of over 950 occupations. The paper here is a practical primer that covers data collection, selecting occupational characteristics, coding occupations, scale creation, and construct validity, with empirical…

Education professionals consistently rank disruptive/aggressive student behavior as persistent and troubling, reporting various types of maladaptive behaviors ranging from talking out in class to assault. Researchers suggest that childhood aggression accounts for a high proportion of the referrals to special education for emotional and behavioral…

Many early childhood educators feel they must implement programs that conflict with their understanding of best practice. Some teachers are saddened and some even decide to leave schools in which administrators are not open to dialogue, challenge, and reflection. But there is hope in taking action. This article is about action and activism because…