This paper identifies and discusses recent trends in the percentage of students with a disability identified in Australian schools in the 10-year period from 2000 to 2009. In addition, these trends are examined across government and nongovernment schools and considered in the light of the definition of disability used by Australian schools. In…

According to Alasdair MacIntyre's influential account of practices, "teaching itself is not a practice, but a set of skills and habits put to the service of a variety of practices" (MacIntyre and Dunne, 2002, p. 5). Various philosophers of education have responded to and critiqued MacIntyre's position, most notably in a Special Issue of the…

The goal of this paper is to contribute to the revival of Heinz Werner's organismic-developmental theory by considering some of its key claims in relation to contemporary developmental theory and research. The organismic-developmental definition of development in terms of differentiation and integration is first discussed in relation to…

Learning often involves complex cognitive and motorical processes, and while most learners cope adequately with these challenges there are always some that struggle. When new kinds of knowledge are introduced there is a possibility that some learners will find this new knowledge hard to acquire, and thus manifest a dysfunction. Today the new…

Several years ago, the author noticed that her students were having trouble understanding the formal definitions for convergence of sequences, continuity of functions, and uniform convergence of functions. To her students, these definitions were just a bunch of symbols with little to no meaning. She drew diagrams, but students had trouble seeing…

Precise terminology is paramount in sexuality education. Most sexuality research focuses on the dichotomous concepts of sexual intercourse and virginity, yet there are many expressions of sexuality classified as neither. The purpose of this literature review is to identify and examine the various terms and definitions describing sexuality…

Who, rather than what, decides what giftedness is? The academic world traditionally focuses on theoretical descriptors whereas society as a whole is more interested in practical function. This partly divided focus is becoming increasingly critical and problematic as economies are becoming global and the political objective is to create a knowledge…

An overview of the evolution of Asian American acculturation and enculturation theory and measurement is offered, focusing on major theoretical advancements and methodological issues that are salient for measuring these constructs. Informed by these considerations, an empirical approach is taken to clarifying the dimensions of Asian American…

The object of this study was to show how prospective elementary mathematics teachers define and classify the quadrilaterals and to find out their images. This research was a qualitative study. It was conducted with 36 prospective elementary mathematics teachers studying at 3rd and 4th years in an educational faculty. The data were collected by…

The assessment of general education is often approached through broad surveys or standardized instruments that fail to capture the learning goals most faculty members desire for this portion of the curriculum. The challenge in remedying this situation lies, first, in defining general education in meaningful ways that can be both articulated and…

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) continue to attract press coverage as they change almost daily in their format, number of registrations, and potential for credentialing. An enticing aspect of the MOOC is its global reach. In this paper, we will focus on a type of MOOC called a cMOOC because it is based on the theory of connectivism and fits…

Systems thinking (ST) is an approach advocating thinking about any given issue as a whole, emphasising the interrelationships between its components rather than the components themselves. This article aims to link ST and school leadership, claiming that ST may enable school principals to develop highly performing schools that can cope successfully…

Educators face increasing demands to raise student achievement, to improve classroom instruction, and to demonstrate accountability in an environment of high stakes testing. However, meeting these demands is challenging in the face of numerous risk factors that jeopardize the academic success of elementary and secondary students. To that end, the…

Background: This paper examines physical education (PE) teachers' perceptions of talent in PE and sport within the context of English policy, where the process of identifying talent has been formalised and supported through specific resources (YST 2009). English policy has merged educational and sporting targets, which has resulted in a shift in…

In this article, a deconstructive "survol" of the term "standards" suggests that the concept contributes to an "outside-in" professionalism masquerading as "inside-out" professionalism. In examining a case of "standards" in action, the authors point out the inadequacy of "standards" as…