In times of rapid technological and organisational change, it is argued that lifelong further education becomes more and more important for labour market success. Especially in labour market segments for the highly qualified, it is essential to constantly update one's qualifications. This is reflected in the finding that graduates with tertiary…

The role of administering K-12 dance education programs is both exciting and invigorating. Being part of the decision-making process, problem solving with teams of colleagues, establishing routines and initiatives, creating "something from nothing," and watching programs grow is appealing to dance teachers as creative and critical…

Unlike so much of the current vocabulary in education and technology that seems to stir more confusion than clarity, most public service librarians may already have a general idea about digital badges. As visual representations of individual accomplishments, competencies or skills that are awarded by groups, institutions, or organizations, they…

Cultural Historical Activity Theory served as the analytical framework for the study of a professional development event for a zoo's education department, specifically designed to build understandings of "Affective Transformation," an element pertinent to the organization's strategic plan. Three key products--an Affective…

In this article, the authors examine the claims of professionalization in youth work as both a process and outcome that aims to ultimately improve the lives of young people. The topic of professionalization is then approached through three circles of inquiry that reframe the issue(s) through the historical and sociocultural situatedness of…

Everyone tells tales about advisers. Some of the stories are heartwarming, while others are prurient, even horrifying. Most everyone has such stories on tap because the adviser-student relationship is the most crucial in turning a graduate student into a professional. the ties between graduate students and advisers are both professional and…

In this paper, we draw on Wenger's (1998) conception of communities of practice to observe the emergence of a community of practice among middle grades mathematics teachers who participated in a two-year blended-format (online synchronous, online asynchronous, and face to face) professional development program designed to increase middle-grades…

Expanded learning opportunities, such as afterschool and summer programs, are particularly well positioned to help address science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education crisis. A large percentage of youth participating in afterschool programs are members of groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields. Additionally,…

Today's technology-based society and the vast influx of new information make leadership development a necessity. Many of the world's finest and most successful leaders have trusted mentors. Mentoring has emerged as a means to cultivate the leadership skills of current and future leaders. Mentoring has a rich history and harbors immense…

Teacher action research seeks to bring together action, reflection, theory, and practice; and it is acknowledged as a way to value and honour teachers' practical knowledge. The purpose of this article is to conceptualize teacher action research as "Bildung," applying Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics as a theoretical…

The purpose of this study was to examine the contexts in which action learning has been used and provide implications for the design of action learning programmes. We performed a content analysis of 127 articles (case studies and case reports included) published in "Action Learning: Research and Practice" between 2004 and 2012. In this…

School funding always will be a concern to school leaders, but it is an issue that districts have little control over. Teacher evaluation too often is a matter of compliance in school districts, and the author has always wanted to do something about it. Because of recent legislative changes to teacher evaluation in Michigan, where the author led a…

The purpose of this study was to understand the ways virtual school teachers experienced professional development framed as a year-long collaborative action research endeavor. These virtual school teachers taught completely online courses for a large virtual school and did not reside within the same geographical location. Thus, the professional…

This article considers the role of reflective practice in work-based learning in higher education. The benefits of using reflection for learning at work have been widely recognised and the pedagogy to support reflection is now established. However, the use of reflective practice has been subjected to considerable critique, and many of the…

Prevalent new paradigms are emphasizing the need for more powerful learning opportunities that meet the needs of 21st century learners. One way to change education to better meet the needs of the 21st century is to reimagine school architecture. The purpose of this research was to study the ways practitioner inquiry can serve as a mechanism for…