This paper describes two professional development institutes in project-based science. We collected data from these institutes in the form of structured questionnaires, individual written reflections by the teachers, and focus-group interviews. An analysis of the data revealed three factors that had been underrepresented in previous research:…

This study used an emotional geographies theoretical framework to analyze the emotional dimensions of urban teacher change. Fifteen urban physical education teachers involved in a comprehensive curriculum reform project were interviewed and observed multiple times across one school year. Data were analyzed using inductive analysis, and…

Universities attempt to hire the highest quality faculty they can, but they are not always successful at retaining them. Furthermore, some faculty members who do remain may not function as engaging colleagues who make others want to stay. This study investigates why some faculty members leave and why others stay by illuminating the complexities of…

This paper reports the effect of continuous summative assessment on the behaviour and learning environment of students. Assessing the performance of students is considered to be the most important thing a teacher can do for their students and it can have a profound effect on their learning. Continuous summative assessment was introduced as a form…

The article is about the early phase of implementation of a New York state testing policy in two academic departments in an urban, comprehensive high school. It describes and analyzes a high school?s failure to construct a coherent internal accountability system when encountering an external high-stakes testing policy. Drawing on interviews with…

This paper draws on research which took an auto/biographical and narrative approach in order to investigate mainstream teachers' and teaching assistants' experiences and understandings of inclusion. Throughout the 2003/04 academic year, three researchers made three visits to one primary and one secondary school to talk with individuals and groups.…

This paper examines what happens to "vocational education" within an education market. We ask the question: how does the policy emphasis on competition and choice fit with the rhetoric of facilitating school-to-work transitions for all students? Findings from interviews with high school principals and representatives from the Edmonton…

Eight Latino lesbian and gay (LG) youth were interviewed for this descriptive qualitative study. The purpose of this study was to examine the Latino LG youth career development process and to increase our understanding of how multiple identities intersect with each other and the career development process. Six themes emerged: knowing you are…

This qualitative study explored the implementation of a supervision policy that mandated teacher professional growth plans across the province of Alberta. That policy and the present study are situated within the larger question, How can supervisory policy and practice foster teacher learning and school improvement? Alberta teachers, principals,…

The qualification leading to professional practice in speech and language therapy (SLT, also known as speech and language pathology) is not evenly available across the world. Geographic mobility and the availability of information are greater than at any other time in our history. Thus, initial SLT qualification courses in many countries are…

This paper examines Oxford University students' conceptions of the role of the tutorial in their learning. An analysis of interviews with 28 students constituted four qualitatively different conceptions of the "Oxford Tutorial". These ranged from the tutorial involving the tutor explaining to the student what the student did not know, to the…

A small scale study using qualitative methodology is presented. The paper identifies differences in revising for exams between Greek first and fourth year psychology students. In-depth interviews, were conducted with eight first year and seven fourth year students. Students' studying activities in revising for exams were explored. The interviews…

This study examines classroom code-switching in relation to individual and group identity and to functional use of two languages. It investigates how high school Chinese immigrant students perceive the use of first language (L1) and second language (L2) in class, and how they use these languages during group activities. The interview data…

Although many studies have shown that motivational interviewing (MI) is effective in reducing problem behaviors, few have investigated purported causal mechanisms. Therapist interpersonal skills have been proposed as an influence on client involvement during MI sessions and as a necessary precursor to client commitment language. Using the…

In assuming ethnic/national identity as problematic, we examine its dynamic aspects in the context of refugee children and their educational experiences. While the starting point of our analysis is a deconstruction of ethnic/national identity in conventional terms of language, religion, education etc., the emerging focus is the notion of boundary.…