This research proposal identifies those experiences that lead to the pursuit of visual art as sustained passion in life. In seeking the potential factors that contribute to an individual's continued interest in visual art at key points in their physical maturity and educational lives, strategies for success could be developed for the benefit of…

Reflection is essential to deep learning and problem solving. From a socio-cultural perspective, reflection is developed through social interaction and semiotic mediation (Vygotsky, 1978; Wells, 1999). To reflect, students need to be given opportunities to review their own and others' mental processes and to use techniques such as writing or…

This paper shows how globalization has given rise to a number of new theoretical and methodological issues for doing education policy analysis linked to globalization's impact within critical social science. Critical policy analysis has always required critical "reflexivity" and awareness of the "positionality" of the policy analyst. However, as…

Product life cycle (PLC) stages and diagrams are briefly and dispassionately covered in the standard marketing textbook format with little attention to the social-psychological experiences of those actually participating. This qualitative study used process drama as a teaching tool and a research instrument to probe the PLC phenomenon in a…

Recent research on how infants and toddlers grow and learn has provided new evidence for creating child care practices that support healthy development. The author describes 6 program practices drawn from this research. The article discusses practices that support secure attachments, identity formation, family practices, attention to developmental…

In this article, the author considers the ways in which a White first-year teacher performs critical racial consciousness in the context of her urban fifth-grade classroom. The process of critical racial consciousness engagement is complex as well as understudied outside of preservice courses. The findings of this study fall into three…

In this article, the authors share some of their learning about art, aesthetics, and people's ways of living. They discuss why the renewal of professional learning is important and demonstrate how K-12 teachers can engage in this process by creating a journal of critical inquiry about their own local communities' art, aesthetics, and cultures.…

The Student Placements for Entrepreneurs in Education (SPEED) project ran in 12 higher education institutes in the UK between 2006 and 2008, providing an innovative, action learning-based route that enabled students to start new business ventures as self-started work experience, and has influenced successor programmes. The paper addresses three…

Service learning places teaching and learning in a social context, facilitating socially responsive knowledge. The purposes of this meta-analysis were to summarize evidence on (a) extent and types of change in participants in service learning programs, (b) specific program elements (moderators) that affect the amount of change in participants, and…

Focusing on community as a key element in teacher education, this paper highlights the importance of new teachers embarking on their careers with a vision for social justice. Paying specific attention to the need for effective teachers in America's urban schools, the author stresses purposeful development of this vision for social justice…

Recent research indicates that study processing strategies, effort, reflective thinking practice, and achievement goals are important factors contributing to the prediction of students' academic success. Very few studies have combined these theoretical orientations within one conceptual model. This study tested a conceptual model that included, in…

Teacher leadership is quite simply what teachers do for the good of children inside and beyond their classrooms. It is critical today to successfully reform schools and the profession. Inside the classroom, teacher leaders advocate for best practices and model expert teaching. Teacher leaders contribute to their professional community to improve…

In the ongoing dialogue surrounding the project and facilitation of education abroad, several articles and presentations have positioned the conversation in the context of Western colonial history and the behaviors of the colonial traveler. Quite appropriately, such discussions have sought to raise consciousness in regard to the danger of modeling…

The study reported here investigated whether Year 6 boys were engaged through the use of an online journaling tool. This journaling tool allowed the students to self reflect on their behaviour and affective reaction in an online environment. Case study methodology was used with twelve boys from a regional primary school in Victoria, during the one…

This study was conducted with 15 pre-service teachers enrolled in the Reflective Practice Seminar in primary/junior division at a Canadian university. Data were gathered through interviews, informal classroom conversations and reflections over an eight-month period. This article considers the issue of how constructing a professional portfolio…