This study explores the role of agency in early career Aboriginal teachers expressions of their professional identity. It argues that in the context of teaching, opportunities to exercise personal agency are critical to the development and maintenance of a "healthy" professional identity, particularly for those traditionally disempowered…

A training module of six sessions was designed for professors in higher education who were transitioning to teaching synchronous, e-learning courses from formerly teaching in either asynchronous courses or in face-to-face courses. Since the participants were experienced educators, the boundary of their expertise to be extended was moving to the…

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is a comparative assessment of the achievement of students in many countries. In the present study, a rigorous independent evaluation was conducted of a representative sample of TIMSS science test items because item quality influences the validity of the scores used to inform…

The issue of children living in residential group care in Israel completely without family ties is studied in order to explore the feelings of staff and uncover possible characteristics of these children. Data were collected through focus groups, questionnaires, and life stories of children who left group care at 18 years of age. Results reveal…

School improvement efforts often focus on students who perform below grade level. These improvement efforts typically focus on improving instruction, often through a framework and professional development. The question remains, how do students who are gifted and talented respond to this type of instruction? We observed 48 students in their…

Many studies have explored the difficulties faced by foreign language learners when they begin the learning journey from survival to advanced level. Most of these investigations, however, tend to focus on what makes the road to fluency strewn with obstacles and challenges; no significant attention has been paid to what makes the journey…

This study examines how a group's dynamic changes under the influence of different leadership styles, and determines what leadership style works best in a large group expedition. The main question identified was "What roles can a leader play in affecting the dynamic of a large group while partaking in a field expedition?" The following…

Wikis are gaining popularity in classrooms because of their many benefits. Despite these benefits, there is a shortage of empirical data regarding their effectiveness in increasing knowledge. This study examined (a) the effectiveness of creating/developing/using a wiki to increase knowledge of Web 2.0 tools for 103 preservice teachers; (b) their…

This article explores the shift in terminology that occurred in a 2-year Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC)-funded curriculum renewal project that set out to broadly explore current teaching and learning practice in Indigenous Australian studies (www.teaching4change.edu.au). While we started with the term "Problem-Based…

In this article, the authors analyze the evolution of parent advocate education standards that illustrate what parents need to know and do to effectively support their children's learning in 6th-12th grade. Focus groups conducted with parent participants revealed that parents were often unaware of the distinction between helping their child…

This article examines middle schoolers' perspectives on their lives in middle school. Fifteen middle school students from three middle schools in the Southeast region of the United States participated in a basic qualitative study using focus groups at their schools where they were asked the central question, "If you could change one thing at…

Citizenship education is of central importance in curriculum and schooling, as evidenced by the proliferation of research and writing in the area over the last 20 years. Building on existing citizenship literature, this paper discusses one aspect of a larger project exploring the ways in which citizenship is discursively produced in officially…

This case study examines the attitudes of the secondary and middle school teachers at one school in Lebanon regarding the effect of the school's professional development (PD) programs on the quality of their teaching practices and motivation. It also examines teachers' attitudes regarding PD as well as their recommendations to improve the quality…

The education of pupils with special educational needs in Ireland has generally been influenced by national and international inclusion policy and legislation so that the majority of these children now take their place alongside peers in mainstream classrooms. In Ireland, a support network comprising the teacher and additional classroom assistance…

Although numerous studies have documented the positive association between parental involvement in children's education and a range of academic and motivational outcomes, less work has focused on the Latino immigrant population. Yet, Latino students constitute the fastest-growing ethnic group in the United States. This study examines the…