To the author, the question of "Whither scholarship in the work of enhancing the quality of teaching and learning?" means "To what degree and in what place does scholarship have in teaching and learning and specifically in teacher education?" Arizona State University's Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College thinks not only about the role of scholarship…

A wealth of research suggests the importance of classroom discussion of controversial issues for adequately preparing students for participation in democratic life. Teachers, and the larger public, however, still shy away from such discussion. Much of the current research seeking to remedy this state of affairs focuses exclusively on developing…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a Year 1 account of a partnership between a university and rural school district focusing specifically on how the project has helped to bridge the theory to practice divide and strengthen university-district ties. Design/methodology/approach: A design-based research paradigm was utilized to…

Ideally, public knowledge should encapsulate the achievements of millennia of inquiry, making them available to individuals and groups for the promotion of their various ends. I explore the ways in which the actual situation fails to live up to this ideal. Our investigations are not always directed towards the questions of most concern to most…

This paper presents the experience of a group of teachers who have developed action research (AR) dynamics for 15 years aimed at their professional development and teaching practice improvement. The focus is first on the importance of AR, collaborative dynamics and theory and practice relationships for in-service teacher training. It also shows…

Using the emancipatory research paradigm as a conceptual framework, this autoethnography reflects upon participant and researcher relationships within a larger qualitative research study that involved participants labeled "other". Issues relating to fear of the "other", building reciprocal relationships, and who gains from the research are…

Creating first hand experiences of urban cultures that focus on reflection and leave profound impressions on students while providing the framing for future cycles of experiential learning is a complex and difficult dynamic to navigate. The way urban manifestations of a different culture are directly experienced varies depending on the…

This article draws on the articulation of a value for reflexivity that has accumulated within qualitative methods debates in the past decade. It demonstrates how reflexivity is interwoven with the concept of ethical mindfulness. The argument has developed from a consideration of the ethical dilemmas that were a salient aspect of an ongoing…

Linking research to a compelling societal interest can build financial commitments to research, bring increased attention to findings, and grow support for scaling up impacts. Among many compelling societal interests that learning scientists can cite--such as increasing the quality of life, preparing citizens to make decisions in a complex world,…

Academic practice is a variable activity with distinct disciplinary differences. In practice-based subject areas there is the added complication of being employed within the academy because of expertise in a professional practice outside the academy. This may appear to be an overtly straightforward relationship based on expertise, but for many…

Our research addresses the role that context expertise plays when students compare data. We report findings from a study conducted in 3 countries: Australia, United States, and Thailand. In each country, six middle school students analyzed authentic data relating to selected students' areas of interest. We examined the data analysis processes and…

Youth participatory action research (YPAR) and arts-informed approaches reflect a source of critical resistance at the intersection of theory and practice (praxis). Our discussion draws upon "Mestizo Arts & Activism" ("MAA"), a participatory action research collective made up of young people who focused their research on the educational rights of…

This article seeks to illuminate the gap between UK policy and practice in relation to the use of criteria for allocating grades. It critiques criterion-referenced grading from three perspectives. Twelve lecturers from two universities were asked to "think aloud" as they graded two written assignments. The study found that assessors made…

The past two decades have proven that bold, single-factor reform ideas have little power to change the face of education. Pundits and policymakers would have schools and school systems make grand changes to accommodate the reform idea du jour--and then profess the incompetence of schools and teachers when those changes prove less than effective.…

At least some of the challenges faced in special education, such as the disproportionate representation of culturally and linguistically diverse students, the gap between research and practice, and inequitable educational opportunities, can be explained in part by a research gap, or, in other words, a failure to conduct the different types of…