Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to show that The Netherlands offers an interesting case of apprenticeship as part of an elaborated system of vocational education, combining school and workplace learning. For reaching objectives of vocational education with regard to effective problem solving on the job and work process knowledge the quality…

This study explores how teachers experience an online course designed to provide a situated approach to developing understanding of online learning. It describes how the course designer aimed to exploit the potentials of online tasks and interactions in relation to a rationale for situated teacher development, and then explores evidence of how…

Internships have been used by many academic programs to augment the student's educational experience. We discuss two internship programs that have been continuously refined in recent years to provide the students with a structured learning experience. We present a model for enriching student experiences by integrating internship experiences with…

This document supplements the advice given in "How good is our school?" (HGIOS)--third edition and "The Child at the Centre"--second edition which set out comprehensive quality frameworks and provide helpful advice on the process of improvement through self-evaluation. In particular, this document provides advice on the…

This paper explores the prescriptive, distancing and separating qualities that exist in Western systems of knowledge production. It examines scientific language and how discrimination takes place in the university setting and explores the ways in which academic knowledge production affects the learning experiences, participation and completion…

In today's knowledge economy, technology is utilized more than ever to deliver instructional material to the learner. Nonetheless, information may not always be presented in a manner that maximizes the learning experience, resulting in a negative impact on learning outcomes. Drawing on the Task-Technology Fit model, a research framework was…

Numerous research studies have shown that science methods courses based on constructivist approaches can enhance teacher knowledge and confidence in ways that foster more positive attitudes to the teaching of science. However, a critical part of reflective practice is the opportunity to observe competent professionals practising their craft.…

This study compared the implementation of a person-centered model of instruction to non person-centered instruction in Web-based courses. Three questions were posed regarding the outcomes of the person-centered model of instruction: Is it possible to increase the self actualization, or striving for individual achievement from learners in a…

In an attempt to capture the diverse experience of undergraduates at the University of Washington (UW), the authors designed and conducted the University of Washington's Study of Undergraduate Learning (UW SOUL), a longitudinal study that tracked 304 students (about five percent of the entering freshman and transfer class) through their…

This paper reports on the social factors influencing the learning of two cohorts of school students and their experience of compulsory secondary education in a city in southern England - the secondary schooling phase of a 12-year, longitudinal ethnographic study that also tracked the same children's experiences through primary schooling. We embed…

This paper describes the conception and progress to date of the development of work-based learning as part of post-qualifying education in the School of Nursing at the University of Salford. There is a changing culture in the university in relation to the delivery of programmes via non-traditional routes. In this context, work-based learning is a…

This study describes a multi-method approach to evaluating a gerontological social work curriculum enrichment initiative funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation. The project involved all required first year core courses in the BA and MSW curricula. Data were collected from students at three geographically dispersed academic centers of a School…

In 2001, the Welsh Assembly Government announced proposals for a Foundation Phase for children aged three to seven years. The Foundation Phase framework promotes a play-based approach to children's learning in both indoor and outdoor contexts and places children's well-being and their personal and social development at its core. While the…

Background: Influenced by the original observations of Bunker and Thorpe, physical education theorists began to question the effectiveness of a traditional model for teaching games and have increasingly begun to believe that concentrating only on specific motor responses (techniques) fails to take into account the contextual nature of games. Games…

This study assessed the impact of a first-year experience course on the academic performance, persistence, and graduation rates of first-semester college students enrolled at a public research university in fall 1998. Two groups of first-year college students were matched according to their gender, race, SAT score, high school GPA, and intended…