Presents techniques for institutional researchers and academic administrators to use in assisting faculty in implementing competency-based learning strategies. Discusses how competencies can be identified and how to approach consensus about expected levels of student performance; offers practical examples illustrating how competencies can be…

Discusses the relationship between research and the scholarship of teaching, emphasizing creation of pedagogical content knowledge. Examines linkages between the scholarship of teaching and the literature on teacher research and action research, between formal educational research and contextual classroom research, and between the scholarship of…

This paper utilises some of Foucault's notions to explore the use of the "disciplinary technologies" of film/video in social guidance programmes in schools to shape, constitute and control the morality of youth. As the first section elaborates, for Foucault, "technology" is the actual practice of power that involves "the government of individuals,…

Empowerment is a social-action process through which people gain greater control, efficacy, and social justice. One way to develop empowerment is through active, meaningful participation in community groups and activities. Social cohesion is an emerging construct that expands the notion of community participation to include elements such as shared…

This book develops the notion of "knowledge cultures" as a basis for understanding the possibilities of education and development in the age of knowledge Capitalism. "Knowledge cultures" point to the significance of cultural preconditions in the new production of knowledge and how they are based on shared practices, embodying…

Each year, billions of US tax dollars are spent on basic discovery, intervention development, and efficacy research, while hundreds of billions of US tax dollars are also spent on health service delivery programs. However, little is spent on or known about how best to ensure that the lessons learned from science inform and improve the quality of…

The authors evaluate the actual contribution to classroom practice of recent research in citizenship education conducted by two major international organizations: the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) and the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER). The paper adopts Egan's (2002) critical…

Collaboration among various professional groups to enhance student learning is a very useful strategy. This article describes how one state, Minnesota, over time (1960-1990), employed collaboration among schools, universities, professional organizations, and the State Department of Education to affect student counseling practices where needed.…

Several essential interactions or experiences that had an influence on preservice teachers' learning and understanding about urban education and diversity are described and discussed. In particular, the author introduces a developmental typology that was used to analyze the preservice teachers' learning and understanding as a result of a course…

This paper reports the relationship between four English primary teachers' understanding of the nature of science and their practice. Action research was included as a major part of the research design in order to explore the dialectical interplay between various factors at work in the teachers' practice. The influences of both tacit and espoused…

The early drafts of the National Science Education Standards (NSES) did not include any mention of staff development; it was not considered as part of the needed visions for changing school science. It was when the final draft was offered to the leadership in the National Academy of Sciences that a section on Staff Development was added in…

Post-productivism is a contested concept, and some argue that it should be abandoned. In this paper, a more focused definition for post-productivism is suggested. Evidence for change in forestry and agriculture that could be categorised as post-productivist is presented, in relation to both the narrower definition and to characterisations…

We compare the content that was expected with what actually was put into practice in a course of ongoing education of secondary education (12-16 year olds) science teachers, and describe the most relevant problems that arose. We believe that the educational content--its nature, how it is organized and presented to the teacher participants, and so…

Swedish teachers are currently expected to become more involved in school improvement based on the findings of research. One of the main goals of this work is to develop practice in its own contexts. Teachers become involved in action and research or, in other words, the combination of practice and theory. A central issue in this work is whether…

Ever since its formative years in the USA a century ago, the discipline of education has taken an uneasy stand on its own "scientific" status, not least with regard to the basic issue of the relationships between theory and practice. When a science of education was introduced as a panacea for rational planning in the fields of schooling…