This literary analysis examines constructions of normalcy and disability within contemporary young adult literature, including "Jerk," "California" (Friesen, 2008), "Marcelo in the Real World" (Stork, 2009), and "Five Flavors of Dumb" (John, 2010). As recent winners of the Schneider Family Book Award from the American Library Association, these…

Purpose: To gain better understanding of how the built environment impacts neighborhood-based physical activity among midlife and older adults with mobility disabilities. Design and methods: We conducted in-depth interviews with 35 adults over age 50, which used an assistive device and lived in King County, Washington, U.S. In addition,…

This article explores the theoretical foundation of the NCSSFL-ACTFL Can-Do Statements, developed by the National Council of State Supervisors for Languages (NCSSFL) and the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL), describes why and how to use these progress indicators in language education and reveals the value and impact on…

This study aimed to seek an in-depth understanding about English collocation learning and the development of learner autonomy through investigating a group of English as a Second Language (ESL) learners' perspectives and practices in their learning of English collocations using an AWARE approach. A group of 20 PRC students learning English in…

What makes a student feel vital and energetic? Using the self-determination framework, we analyzed how the behavior and feelings of students depend on social factors such as the teachers' attitudes. The goal of the study was to test an integrated sequence over a semester in which teacher's autonomy support acts as a predictor of autonomy, which,…

This report describes how teachers support ninth-grade students who are doing scientific investigations in Natural Sciences in South African schools. This is of interest as allowing students to participate in inquiry-based investigations is a significant shift from traditional practices. It presents a new challenge to teachers as it signals an…

The qualitative changes in teachers' responses in challenging situations were analysed during a four-day Teacher Effectiveness Training (TET) course, which aimed at improving teachers' interpersonal dynamics with pupils, parents and colleagues. The participants were 21 teachers from one elementary and 23 teachers from one secondary school…

Background: There is a significant amount of research which shows a proportion of girls are not engaging with physical education (PE) in school, resulting in a number of relatively inactive girls within the PE class. These girls are often identified in the literature as "low active", "hard to reach" or "disengaged".…

This study was an initial attempt to operationalise Moore's transactional distance theory by developing and validating an instrument measuring the related constructs: dialogue, structure, learner autonomy and transactional distance. Data were collected from 227 online students and analysed through an exploratory factor analysis. Results suggest…

This article reports the preliminary findings of an action research on the effects of autonomy on a group of university students at the post-graduate level taking their first Spanish course through the Content and Language Learning (CLIL) methodology. The participants, whose Spanish was at the low/mid intermediate level (ACTFL, 2012), were exposed…

There are two important dimensions to successful second language learning: what goes on inside the classroom and what goes on outside of the classroom. While language teaching has always been seen as a preparation for out-of-class uses of language, much of the focus in language teaching in the past has typically been on classroom-based language…

AP social studies courses are viewed as beacons for rigorous and demanding coursework in secondary classroom settings. Recent curricular revisions and enrollment initiatives made by the College Board have led to further discourse concerning instructional and curricular tensions that still need to be addressed. Moreover, reform made in AP social…

In this paper, we extend Bakhtin's ethical philosophical ideas to education and introduce a dialogic authorial agency espoused approach. We then consider this approach in opposition to the mainstream technological espoused approach, while focusing our contrasting analysis on student's authorial agency and critical dialogue. We argue that the…

Despite a burgeoning body of empirical research on "the international student experience", the area remains under-theorized. The literature to date lacks a guiding conceptual model that captures the adjustment and adaptation trajectories of this unique, growing, and important sojourner group. In this paper, we therefore put forward a…

The aim of my critical literature review is to identify studies where students are engaged as partners in teaching in higher education and to analyze how tutors and tutees benefit from peer teaching. Thirty studies were included for review. Thirteen countries are represented and two thirds of the studies conducted in the United States of America…