Examines problems with representing poststructuralist research. Argues that researchers' positioning within major discourses governing education may have as much influence on what is seen in classrooms as does physical positioning. Challenges researchers to make explicit their underlying interests and agendas. Uses a study of gender-role…

A program on Hmong culture, language, and history was implemented in a diverse, urban, public elementary school. Observations of two Hmong students while in the Hmong program and in their regular classroom were compared. Being in a classroom with children of the same language and background, as well as having a Hmong teacher, promoted higher…

Evaluated the West Alabama Learning Coalition, a rural, multi-institutional organization, as perceived by member professionals in schools, universities, community colleges, businesses, and social-service agencies. Respondents viewed the coalition as a dynamic, organic, and creative entity fostering synergy, shared leadership, and…

Presents general overview of evaluation, including definition, general functions, and processes. Describes factors associated with low teacher quality in Kenya such as deficiencies in preservice teacher education, limited opportunities for inservice training. Summarizes problems in the Kenyan teacher-evaluation system and the proposed strategies…

A 2-year study examined 3 children's learning experiences during the transition from kindergarten to first grade. Narrative accounts offer each child's perspective of life in each grade. Factors making the transition period easier included: visiting the first grade classroom, developing friendships, and family support. Negative factors included:…

Science teaching orientations, defined as teachers' knowledge and beliefs about the purposes and goals for teaching science, have been identified as a critical component within the proposed pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) model for science teaching. Because of the scarcity of empirical studies in this area, this case study examined the nature…

Teacher quality is widely recognized as influencing student achievement and success in school. In this article, we consider various approaches to the assessment of teacher quality, including process-product observational measures, evaluation checklists, professional standards, large-scale surveys, and commercially available observation systems. We…

This ethnographic study of high school students' classroom practices and perceptions about participation reveals the extent to which students' perceptions determine their understandings of practice, even when these understandings conflict with researcher observations and the bulk of the literature on gender and participation. This study shows,…

More school districts are being required to demonstrate that their students are reaching state standards and benchmarks. In order to demonstrate student learning and the achievement of the standards and benchmarks, physical education instructors need to determine what should be assessed and how to perform these assessments. Authentic assessments…

This case study examines the roles that a professor, graduate student, consultant, and community education specialist at a public university in California have played in a partnership with an elementary school and a community-based organization in a nearby rural town. The case reveals that individuals' roles and approaches to public engagement…

Sefton School Advisory Service has been working with Crossens Nursery School in Southport on a project to develop science and technology. The overall project was inspired by the visit of the headteacher to the Reggio Emilia school in Italy. Central to the Reggio approach is a philosophy which values the children as researchers and as partners with…

Science teachers ask questions to assess students' cognitive abilities and to promote student motivation in learning. Cognitive questions are usually divided into low-order and high-order types. According to the conceptual change model of learning, teachers can also use questions to facilitate the construction of knowledge by students. These…

This study aimed to investigate the experiences of mothers participating in MOCEP in Istanbul, through a qualitative research methodology. Overall effectiveness of the programme, its implementation and how the mothers benefited were the main concerns. The study was carried out with 20 mothers. Individual and focus interviews, participant…

In the present study, the personal epistemological beliefs of group leaders in toddler child care programmes are investigated. Epistemological beliefs are beliefs about knowing and learning. It is considered that the quality of these beliefs is influenced by educational experiences. In this study, such beliefs are assumed to be mediating factors…

Pupil discomfort in sex education lessons is high, often manifesting itself in reluctance to participate constructively. Low levels of participation are problematic, jeopardizing effective learning. Teacher interview and lesson observation data, collected in 25 schools in the East of Scotland, reveal that there is much variation between classes…