Neo-institutionalist theory of global "isomorphism", or so-called World Culture Theory (WCT), has been much debated in comparative education. One notable feature of the debate is that the vast majority of its participants belong to a handful of closely knit comparative education communities. Ironically enough then, a debate that…

When studying any aspect of the lives of children during the Spanish Civil War, or an institution or educational model of that time, it becomes clear that many factors come into play, none of which can be considered in isolation. Children's lives are inextricably bound up with the context in which they unfold and while academic research strives…

Polyphony, often used to describe a type of composition in early European music, is also practiced in other parts of the world, not only for aesthetic enjoyment but also to strengthen a society's cohesiveness. Examples of such musical traditions are found in sub-Saharan Africa and many mountainous regions of Europe, where group singing or…

We are working with more culturally diverse adult learner populations than we have ever had in adult and continuing higher education (Merriam & Bierema, 2014). Culture has become one of the most popular discussion topics in adult learning classrooms and both instructors and students are showing great interest in culture's interaction with…

While it is common to speak about "Roma culture" as a single entity, the questions posed by Roma culture are more complex. We are speaking about the general issues pertaining to various manifestations of this culture in the context of the Czech Republic. It must be stressed that under "Roma," we understand a family resemblance…

Popular media influences the ideas about science constructed by the public, affecting outcomes such as scientific knowledge, the pipeline of future scientists, and the public engagement with science. A growing recognition of the impact of entertainment media has resulted in public policy organizations promoting the use of science consultants to…

This case study explores the exigencies of a 'native ethnographer' who chose to use a Euro western frame in a study of learning-teaching practices in her country's Carnival mas' camps. I am a native Trinidadian and former educator in the formal education system who used mas'-making practices of the Pre-Lenten Carnival festival as the unit of…

From a perspective of social practice, learning is a socially constituted practice that is imbued with socio-culturally significant meanings and shaped by the values and norms shared within a community of learners. This focus group study examines the role of e-learning technologies in mediating the social practice of learning among coursework…

As an educator who recognizes the critical role of librarians and the too few conversations among literacy researchers and librarians, in this article the author presents a unifying conception of literacy, a conception to buttress collaborative efforts to support all students. The first section uses the experiences of David (pseudonym), a…

In this article, we explore what cosmopolitanism looks like in particular institutional contexts in higher education and the sorts of conditions and pedagogic practices which nurture and sustain this within the overall running and administration of the institution. Cosmopolitanism is sometimes popularly assumed to refer to the global and the…

This article offers 10 guidelines for conducting international group work research. These guidelines include the importance of establishing relationships, conducting a needs assessment, co-constructing the research questions/design, determining the approach, choosing culturally relevant instruments, choosing culturally responsive group…

This paper investigates the influence of cultural and historical factors on educational policy transfer, drawing on an analysis of the curricular reforms made during the Soviet and US military occupation of the two Koreas. In South Korea, curricular changes were made, such as the introduction of the subject of social studies, in order to teach…

Problem: Problem-based learning (PBL) was introduced into the parlance of educational leadership and management almost 30 years ago. During the ensuing decades, a global community of professors, doctoral students, and curriculum designers has built upon early models with the goal of increasing the impact of school leadership preparation. This…

The international trend towards a practice-based approach in teacher education has permeated foreign language teacher education and English language teaching. A practice-based approach is based on the understanding that teachers learn to teach a language by engaging in "actual" teaching rather than "talking" about teaching. We…

Gifted education (GE) in Singapore is entering its third decade. However, local research into the gifted is typically undertaken by graduate students and left as unpublished data. Internationally, there is also very little if any research on counseling models that have been empirically validated for use with gifted children irrespective of their…