Subject knowledge is an important component of primary teachers' repertoire, though it has not been studied widely beyond their understandings of aspects of science and mathematics. Evaluations of the quality of teachers' geographical knowledge for teaching primary geography indicate a disparity between high quality teachers and less strong…

In Australian higher education institutions, benchmarks have been directed at developing key competencies and attributes to facilitate students' transition into the workforce. However, for those students whose degree has a specific vocational focus, it is also necessary for them to commence their professional development whilst undergraduates.…

There is general agreement in Australia and beyond that quantitative skills (QS) in science, the ability to use mathematics and statistics in context, are important for science. QS in the life sciences are becoming ever more important as these sciences become more quantitative. Consequently, undergraduates studying the life sciences require better…

This article reports on an inquiry into ecological understanding and the professional practice of a selection of teachers in alternative and/or independent non-systemic schools in Australia, Canada and the United States. Through a reflective, participatory framework, based on the premise that it is one thing to observe "an ecology",…

Background: Self-management of asthma can now leverage new media technologies. To optimize implementation they must employ a consumer-oriented developmental approach. This study explored benefits of and barriers to improved asthma self-management and identified key elements for the development of a digital media tool to enhance asthma control.…

Professional development is imperative for the currency and relevancy of a proficient teaching workforce in distance education, and in turn, the quality of programs being delivered. As participation in distance education within Australian universities is growing, with increasing numbers of academics being required to teach, casual employment of…

Interviews with national park visitors across the country revealed that climate change education through place-based, hands-on learning using repeat photographs and technology is appealing to park visitors. This manuscript provides a summary of the development of a repeat photography citizen science Web site for national parks in Southwest Alaska.…

As educators, synagogue rabbis frequently devote a great deal of time to teaching adults. Yet little empirical research exists about what they do. This study describes and analyzes the teaching of three congregational rabbis who have excellent reputations as teachers of adults. In particular, it focuses on how these rabbis incorporate personal…

Drawing from the phenomenographic perspective, this study investigated Chinese science teacher educators' conceptions of teaching nature of science (NOS) to preservice science teachers through two semi-structured interviews. The subjects were twenty-four science teacher educators in the developed regions in China. Five key dimensions emerged from…

This qualitative study examined the instructional leadership perceptions of four first-year principals. Findings illuminate five themes drawn from the data: definitions of instructional leadership, challenges that first-year principals faced, how these principals addressed these challenges, how the novice principals plan to enact their…

This article investigates the perceptions of English headteachers and Hong Kong principals on the kinds of pressures that they believed affected the way they did their job, and in particular the degree to which they felt their governments were affecting their leadership role. The research utilised semi-structured interviews to generate written…

Previous research on home-school relationships and blame has concentrated on the experiences of parents with children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD). This has led to the voices of educational practitioners, as well as parents of children with other special educational needs, being neglected. This article, by Karen…

This study examines the sensemaking processes of new college presidents to understand how they develop plausible, working descriptions of the campus and come to understand their role. Semi-structured interviews were completed with 18 presidents who were organizational outsiders and first-time presidents. As newcomers, presidents were found to act…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to comparatively analyse activities to integrate sustainability in teaching, research and operational practice in different higher education institutions, which differ both in the degree of how far implementation goes and in regards to the most active stakeholders. Against that background, the paper explores,…

Background: Empirical research on homosexuality among people with an intellectual disability (ID) is limited and, to date, very little is known regarding the personal experiences of gay and lesbian people with an ID. This study set out to answer the question: "What are the lived experiences of a specific cohort of homosexual people with an…