Social justice, defined as an impetus towards a socially just educational world, is based on the assumption that all people, irrespective of belief or societal position, are entitled to be treated according to the values of human rights, human dignity and equality. Diverging from the classical positivist approach in social science research that…

Completing studies abroad is a global trend that has placed the United States in the enviable position of being the most desirable destination for those considering post secondary education. Institutions of higher education are increasingly devoting efforts to attract international students as they bring both financial and cultural benefits to the…

Changes to social and environmental contexts impact on children's opportunities for and the nature of outdoor play in many ways. A number of studies over the past decade have noted a trend towards over-protective parenting practices that restrict children's activities and limit children's independent mobility and engagement with their…

The purpose of this case study was to explore the ways in which 3 different informal science experiences in the context of an elementary methods course influenced a group of prospective elementary teachers' ideas about science teaching and learning as well as their understandings about the role of informal science environments to teaching and…

This longitudinal study aimed to examine the role of a professional learning community (PLC) in changing teachers' beliefs and practices. Teachers of a Chinese department in a Hong Kong secondary school were interviewed and observed. The findings indicate that the features of a PLC-facilitating teacher change are development of a coherent…

This paper adds to a growing body of literature which views global citizenship education as part of a broader social and cultural process of subjectivity production. Rather than focus on global citizenship in relation to pedagogy or curriculum content, as much of the previous research literature has done, this paper examines it in relation to the…

Although taxonomic proficiency is a prerequisite for understanding ideas central to biology, previous research has established that learners frequently misclassify animals by not following the tenets of accepted taxonomic rubrics. This has immediate relevance with the recently revised English National Curriculum now requiring concepts of animal…

This multi-case study sought to construct meaning using a cultural capital lens in relation to educational leadership preparation programs building the capacities of social justice leaders in demographically changing schools. Data revealed principals' perceptions about preparation, expectations and general beliefs and assumptions related to…

Purpose: We examine how uncertainty, both about students and the context in which they are taught, remains a persistent condition of teachers' work in high-poverty, urban schools. We describe six schools' organizational responses to these uncertainties, analyze how these responses reflect open- versus closed-system approaches, and examine how this…

While the last three decades have witnessed a growing body of research on peer feedback in first language (L1) and second language (L2) writing, research about students' motives for participating in group peer feedback has remained underexplored. In order to fill this important gap, this case study, guided by the constructs of activity and motive…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the formal and informal workplace learning of professional chefs. In particular, it considers chefs' learning strategies and outcomes as well as the barriers to and facilitators of their workplace learning. Design/methodology/approach: The methodology is based on in-depth, face-to-face, semi-structured…

Elementary teachers play a crucial role in supporting and scaffolding students' model-based reasoning about natural phenomena, particularly complex systems such as the water cycle. However, little research exists to inform efforts in supporting elementary teachers' learning to foster model-centered, science learning environments. To address this…

The objective of this study is to analyze and determine whether a developed recycling education program would lead to a positive change in the conceptual understanding of ecological concepts associated with matter cycles by high school students. The research was conducted on 68 high school 10th grade students (47 female and 21 male students). The…

Purpose: The fact that highly vulnerable countries like Ethiopia face far greater challenges from climate change makes agricultural adaptation a top priority. Even though the public agriculture extension system in Ethiopia plays a central role in facilitating and supporting adaptation, very limited information is available on how aware the actual…

Standardized testing is viewed as particularly incompatible to the process of learning due to its summative nature as it measures what students are able to recall and produce. Because of the discrepancy between the process of learning and products of learning, educators today have come to recognize that an alternative form of assessment is…