This paper presents findings from Stage 4 of the Griffith Graduate Project. Graduates from three Schools within Griffith University were surveyed to determine their perceptions of the contributions that the learning contexts of university, work placement and post-graduation employment made to the development of their generic skills. All graduates…

This paper reports a survey of 355 parents and 166 teachers of young children starting school in New South Wales, Australia. Parents and teachers were asked to rate a list of 20 items in answer to the question 'How important are the following for deciding whether a child has had a successful first two terms of school?' The results are presented in…

This article about workplace learning examines the relationship between, firstly, individual learners positions and dispositions, and secondly, their working and learning within the workplace community and practices. Drawing on research with secondary school teachers, it presents case study accounts of two teachers from the same school to…

A survey of student satisfaction and dissatisfaction was undertaken within an undergraduate education studies cohort at a new university in the English Midlands. The cohort included both 'traditional' and 'non-traditional' students and represented an increasingly typical 'widened' community of students within higher education. This student-…

The discourses of academic disciplines in higher education can be confusing and mysterious for those who are new to university study. The confusion can be particularly great for students coming from cultural and language backgrounds that are different to those underpinning the dominant ideologies of higher education institutions. This article…

A change in curriculum permitted a direct and simultaneous comparison between first and second year responses to group project work while assuming similar prior experience with this method of learning. Responses were obtained by a survey form and by meetings with individual groups. Overall, there were no differences between first and second year…

Imagine a science activity that excites native English speakers and English learners alike while simultaneously teaching students about tools used in science experiments, increasing science vocabulary, and improving students' skills in recording information. Inventorying science kits or materials from science units with students does just that…

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to empirically explore the behavioural patterns involved in entrepreneurial learning through a conceptualization of entrepreneurial learning as a "competency". Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews to 12 entrepreneurs were conducted with a focus on the critical incidents in which…

The author describes a pilot study to investigate the extent to which learners use imagery in a variety of spatial problems. In order to discover how to encourage pupils to use imagery and thus to become better problem solvers, this study set out firstly to explore how pupils are able to use imagery in a variety of tasks. The tasks involved mental…

Large numbers of children and young people spend their weekends and holidays engaged in the activities of over 300 surf clubs across Australia each summer. Long term membership in these clubs, beginning from as young as five years of age, forms a significant part of children's and young people's development yet surf clubs have yet to receive…

The textbook remains a central resource for teaching and learning mathematics in many secondary classrooms, however, its effectiveness is open to question. In this article, the author argues three things: (1) that there can be a substantial disjunction between the assumptions and content of mathematics textbooks and the knowledge and experiences…

Reflection, in a classroom setting, presents educators with a method for narrowing the theory-practice gap. Material from the practice environment can be brought into the classroom and used as the substance of learning from experience. Enabling students to understand and value reflection is an essential part of this process. It is also a process…

One special difficulty in teaching world geography is overcoming the scale differential between individual students' direct experiences and the immense size and complexity of the world. An innovative framework of operational principles, or maxims, has been suggested, and an application of the framework is described. Students search out examples in…

This study examined the learning experience (learning approaches, study orchestrations and epistemological beliefs) of 388 university students. Data analysis revealed two main results. First, the different aspects of students' learning experience were related: learning approaches and epistemological beliefs (two pairs of canonical variates…

The paper reports findings from research into the extent to which an on-line course, "Try Science", achieved its objectives compared with a face-to-face course with the same content and objectives. "Try Science" has the dual aims of developing participants' understanding of science content and of teaching science through enquiry. Whilst the…