The need to "raise aspirations" among young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds has been prominent in UK policy debates over the last decade. This paper examines how this discourse is negotiated and contested by teachers and pupils in a Scottish secondary school. Interviews, group discussions and observations were…

This paper is written to outline our ideas on rituals and reflective places and how this thinking has emerged through our writing, facilitation and reflections around critical action learning and critical leadership. We attempt to show the conceptual framework that underpins our vision of Critical Leadership and how out of this work we have begun…

This study used grounded theory methodology to investigate whether learning in a problem-based learning (PBL) group was influenced by student demographic diversity. Data comprised observations, in the form of video footage, of one first-year PBL group carried out over the period of an academic year, along with student interviews. Using the…

In the English context, complementary alternative provisions (APs) can make specific positive contributions for young people at risk of exclusion from mainstream school. Whilst recognising the potential value of all complementary AP that is carefully selected and of high quality, we problematise the "repair and return" rationale that…

The purpose of this study was to examine music education students' experiences (N = 64) in courses designed to develop vernacular musicianship and expand understandings of informal music making. Students participated in one of two classes (undergraduate/graduate), formed their own small ensembles, chose their own music and instruments, led their…

As the limitations of individual leadership have become evident, distributed leadership has attracted increased interest. Since the early 1980s, school principals in Sweden have distributed responsibility for improving pedagogical practices to teacher leaders, and the legal scope for such delegation has further expanded since 2010. Nevertheless,…

No matter what century we live in, even though the tools we use change from age to age, man is not a creature who can be considered or understood without the concept of values. Although we have different religions, languages, races and cultures, the personality of man is always constructed through values. Values are factors that directly…

Early childhood educators are concerned about a "shovedown" of elementary school expectations, standards, and curriculum on to young children due to policy-makers' moves towards utilising preschool programmes to address disparities in academic achievement. This study employs interviews and classroom observations to contrast the…

This research project uses the methods of Crowder and Callinan and Sharp to assess year one children's (age 5-6) personal understanding of scientific concepts. This research project uses video recording as a primary resource of data collection within a case study approach using a participant observer method. Analysis supports the work of Crowder…

Background: Many studies have analysed language development in children with Down syndrome to understand better the nature of their linguistic delays and the reason why these delays, particularly those in the morphosyntactic area, seem greater than their cognitive impairment. However, the prosodic characteristics of language development in…

This article addresses an application performed in tertiary education--a department of pedagogical and educational sciences--of a contemporary method, Transformative Learning through Aesthetic Experience. The method is based on the use of art and aims to reinforce and promote the development of critical thinking within educational settings.…

This study explored the beliefs about student engagement in mathematics of three Year 5 and 6 teachers, focusing on the shifts that occurred during a 10-week intervention. Data obtained from teacher surveys, interviews, video-recorded workshop observations and artefacts from teachers' classrooms reveal variations in their reactions to the…

The purpose of this study is to examine the compatibility of the questions used by the social studies branch teachers in the level of 6th and 7th grade with the achievements included in the teaching program. Structure of observed learning outcome (SOLO) taxonomy, which was presented by Biggs and Colis (1982) as an alternative to Bloom's cognitive…

This paper explores notions of (hetero)sexuality circulating in elementary school classrooms through an analysis of students' own talk and interactions. Data collected during a multi-site ethnography in a diverse set of elementary schools demonstrate that while curricular silences and teachers contribute to heteronormative classroom environments,…

The purpose of this study was to determine: 1) Reality competition education quality of The State college of Islamic studies (STAIN) Pontianak after status change to the state institute of Islamic studies (IAIN) Pontianak, 2) Education quality management strategy of The State college of Islamic studies (STAIN) Pontianak after status change to the…