This study focuses on the relationships between host family success, social integration, length of stay and acquisition of adolescent language by students on extended international homestay programmes. Degree of adolescent language acquisition and integration is measured by use of two hallmarks of adolescent language: markers of approximation…

Collaborative practice between health and education professionals is considered central to the implementation of inclusion policies and best practice to support children with special educational needs (SEN). However, in Ireland, barriers to collaborative practice between occupational therapists and teachers include limited contact in practice…

The rapidly changing twenty-first-century educational environment is full of daunting challenges. Education is becoming ever more difficult as schools need to prepare their students for newly emerging challenges, new technologies and unpredictable problems. Many countries are seeking to establish effective learning cultures as a priority. However,…

This article presents the results of a study, undertaken from a phenomenographic perspective, which examines technical and further education (TAFE) teachers' conceptions of ICT-enhanced teaching. A cohort of 23 teachers from three TAFE institutions in Australia, participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. These interviews were used to…

Objective: There has been a wealth of childhood obesity prevention studies in school-based settings. However, few have investigated the experiences of school staff charged with delivery of such programmes. This study aimed to elicit teachers' experiences of delivering a childhood obesity prevention programme for children aged 6-7 years. Design:…

In this article, we argue that, if open learning seeks to (re)assert a social justice mission, issues of openness and flexibility are more critical than ever. Drawing on qualitative data from a National Union of Students Wales/Open University study, which explored, in the voices of Welsh students, the identity, motivation and barriers faced by…

Drawing on data from a larger study on Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and School Leadership in China, this article investigates the practices of teacher collaboration and PLCs in two urban, high-performing secondary schools in Northeast China. Qualitative data were collected from observations, documents and in-depth semi-structured…

The aim of this study is to identify differences in opinions on the evaluation of ELT teachers' books between pre-service and in-service teachers. In literature, it has been argued that the development of teachers' books for EFL teachers can be assisted by the results of a needs analysis. A total of 65 pre-service and 50 in-service secondary…

This mixed methods study explored elementary and secondary educators' perceptions of their school district's responsiveness to intervention (RTI) initiative. Teachers and administrators were surveyed regarding (a) the perceived feasibility and effectiveness of educational practices that are inherent within RTI models, (b) perceived knowledge of…

Mentoring represents a widely used outreach intervention amongst higher education institutions. It is also judged to be a "particularly effective" approach in widening access, with a significant amount of attention directed at examining its impact on those being mentored. In contrast, less consideration has been given to the benefits…

This article reports how aspects of Chinese young people's perceived identities can be viewed as resources in Australian schooling. The data in this article were taken from a larger scale study underpinned by a critical and interpretive ethnographic method conducted in two school sites. Qualitative methods elicited young people's perspectives…

Children attending centre-based early childhood care and education programmes across Australia are most likely to be grouped according to age and development. While multi- or mixed-age grouping has been seen to have positive benefits on young children's learning and pro-social behaviours, this approach is not usually adopted in the organisation of…

The study aspires, by giving voice to the experiences and perceptions of adult learners and their educators, as they embark on distance learning courses delivered by the Open University of Cyprus and the Hellenic Open University to unveil the adult learning and "fine-grained" processes at work during the organization and delivery of the…

Purpose: This paper aims to connect participatory sustainability implementation with sustainability assessment, exploring learning theories, the principles of Higher Education for Sustainable Development (HESD) and respective indicators applied in the university context. Even though participation is partly considered in existing assessment…

This paper focuses on children of refugees and migrant workers from 48 countries who study together in one multicultural school in the city of Tel Aviv, Israel. The context of our study is the current ethos of globalisation and within it the phenomenon of vast migrations and creation of intercultural social realities. The aims of the study were to…