Over the last six years, the UK government has focused on inspection as a means to drive improvement in the adult education sector. This article examines how far the quality assumptions behind the Common Inspection Framework are adequate and whether it requires further development. The purpose of this study is twofold: first to give a voice to…

Workforce remodeling in England has been presented as a means to empower school staff through a restructuring process which has possibilities to dramatically shift the ways in which they operate. This initiative has also included a number of legislative requirements intended to help embed the more technocratic aspects of the remodeling process.…

The aim of this study is to investigate grade-eight students' conceptions of sinking and floating. Firstly, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 students to determine students' difficulties and to develop a multiple-choice diagnostic test. In designing the content of the interview questions, grade-eight science curriculum, research on…

Developmental programs exist throughout postsecondary education institutions. The CHANCE program at Northern Illinois University targets the needs of inner city students to support them in becoming successful college students. This study sought to understand the reasons that CHANCE students who had failed a required reading course returned to the…

"Burnout" and praxis shock seem to be causing teachers to leave the profession early. Much research suggests that this is a reflection on the quality of teacher education programs. Interviews with teachers who were in their first four years in the secondary music classroom reveal how they view their pre-service preparation, and therefore…

South African schools are constantly faced with evolving needs and challenges characterised by change. As in other countries, schools in South Africa encounter pressure to "produce more for less" and at the same time to achieve certain goals and standards. Transforming schools into inviting institutions requires a paradigm shift among…

This research explores the idea of embedding and linking to existing content in learning object repositories and investigates teacher-designer use of learning objects within one high school mathematics course in an online school. This qualitative case study supports and extends the learning object literature, and brings forward context-specific…

In this study, researchers evaluated the usability of game environments for teaching and learning about mathematical functions. A 3-Dimensional multi-user computer game called as "Quest Atlantis" has been used, and an educational game about mathematical functions has been developed in parallel to the Quest Atlantis' technical and…

Why are some students more likely to succeed in or fail mathematics than their peers, in spite of similar learning opportunities? Frequently such differences have been framed within liberal or even conservative discourses that identify purportedly innate dispositions, such as the ability or intelligence, as the root of differential success.…

The purpose of this comparative case study was to explore English language teachers' beliefs, assumptions and knowledge about learner-centeredness and to see how they implement learner-centeredness in their classrooms. The study was conducted at one public and one private primary school in Istanbul. Focus group interviews were held in each school…

Introduction: Women are active information seekers, particularly in the context of managing health for themselves and their families. Rural living may present particular challenges and opportunities for women in their health information seeking. Method: Forty women living in a rural part of Ontario, Canada were interviewed using a semi-structured…

This paper contributes to the ongoing debate about the relationship between the social and the individual as it is enacted in personal learning and the remaking of cultural practices through work. It discusses progress in a two-year study of the work, working lives and learning of 12 individuals: four groups of three employees each. The concept of…

For the purpose of this research project an outdoor education program was developed for students (aged between 10-14) displaying signs of emotional difficulties in engaging with school and family life. The project investigated the effective use of an Integrated Adventure Based Educational program delivered in a complimentary milieu of classroom,…

Like many other culturally and linguistically diverse students, Native Hawaiians are over-represented among those in special education, score lower on standardized achievement tests, and are at greater risk for dropping-out. The Hawaiian Studies Program (HSP) was a culturally relevant academic program that incorporated learning about Hawaiian…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the writing processes of second language (L2) writers, specifically examining the writing strategies of three Chinese post-graduate students in an Australian higher education institution. The study was prompted by the paucity of second language writing strategies of Chinese students in an authentic…