The transition from the primary to secondary phase of education has been highlighted as an area of concern for policy makers, educators and researchers alike in recent years. In particular, there is evidence to suggest that it is during this crucial phase of compulsory education that many pupils are at risk of becoming marginalized and…

The article reports work over one year by three teachers from the Milton Keynes Primary Schools Learning Network. Their collaborative classroom-focused action research investigated the limits and possibilities of pupils' and teachers' learning through self-evaluation. In phase one the teacher researchers used questionnaires, interviews and…

The primary purpose of this study was to use an established behavioural taxonomy (Ames, 1992b) as a computer-based observational coding system to assess the teaching behaviours that influence perceptions of the motivational climate in Physical Education (PE). The secondary purpose was to determine the degree of congruence between the behavioural…

Background: School physical education is available to most young people and provides a structured context for physical activity participation. Regular physical activity during childhood can confer acute and long-term health benefits. From this health perspective one of the goals of physical education is for students to take part in appropriate…

In education, mentoring is typically understood as a one-on-one relationship between a novice teacher and a more experienced, competent colleague. Through the mentoring relationship, the veteran teacher guides the new teacher into the profession. In this article, the author supports an alternative conception of mentoring by describing how a group…

Through interviews and observing day-to-day classroom practice, this study explores the beliefs of 10 music teachers in elementary schools in Vancouver and Hong Kong. The results demonstrate that the music teachers of the two localities hold similar cognitive beliefs about the essential elements of music education. However, they hold different…

In this article, the author presents findings from a large NSW project designed to explore educational practices that "make a difference" in numeracy outcomes. The project was coordinated by the NSW Department of Education and Training, the Catholic Education Commission, the Association of Independent Schools, and research teams from the…

The purpose of this article is to identify the perceptual skills of expert teachers and offer suggestions for teachers to learn to see like an expert. Being able to perceptively read the critical cues in a learning environment allows teachers to recognize present problems, anticipate potential problems, link immediate problems with previously…

In order to explore parental involvement among low-income families, a case study was conducted at a public elementary school in the Pacific Northwest. In 2002, a new school replaced an outdated structure. During the planning stage for the new school, community members and agency professionals, along with educators, developed and implemented…

In this ethnographic study, I contrast the educational experiences of two Central American immigrant women in an English as a second language (ESL) family literacy program in the San Francisco Bay area in 2002. Based on life-history interviews and classroom observations, I argue that these learners' second language and literacy development can…

How do teachers conceptualize and deal with context of mathematics word problems in their teaching? This question is discussed based on a study of 14 experienced teachers at the elementary, junior high and senior high school levels. Bruner's notions of paradigmatic and narrative modes of knowing formed the basis of analysis of data from sources…

This study compared the effectiveness of three different video-based instructional sequences, all used in conjunction with the system of least prompts, for teaching three different daily living skills to three young adults with developmental disabilities. The video-based instructional sequences (i.e., video rehearsal, video rehearsal plus photos,…

This article describes the "Add-a-Page Assignment" in which students choose a picture book to which they would add a page, imitating both the style and artistic medium of the illustrator and the writing style of the author. In this article, the author begins with quotes from students who have very different learning styles and vastly different…

In a case study, I applied philosophical hermeneutic principles in an advanced level EFL writing class in Taiwan. A "fusion of horizons" occurs at the junction of two intertwined interpretations: one from our socio-historical tradition and the other from our experience of novel phenomena. I explored students' hermeneutic horizons in…

This paper reports the results of a doctoral research pilot study that paired a researcher with an experienced classroom teacher for a 12-week time span with the goal of effectively integrating the use of Geometer's Sketchpad (GSP) into the classroom teacher's practice. Using a teacher development experiment, the researcher created an…