Among the many critiques of competency-based approaches to education and training (CBT) is a strain which draws on Foucault's analysis of "disciplinary" power and knowledge. Foucault offered an interpretation of modern institutions, such as prisons, armies and schools, which revealed subtle mechanisms of surveillance and systems of…

A recent review of the research by the U.S. Department of Education Institute of Education Sciences has resulted in the recommendation of six promising practices to ensure that all students are actively engaged in school and on a path to post-secondary success (Dynarski et al. in Dropout prevention: A practice guide (NCEE 2008-4025)). The purpose…

Differentiated instruction is becoming critical in higher education due to student diversity and background knowledge. Differentiated instruction does not mean matching teaching styles with learning styles as suggested by the learning styles theory. Findings in recent research studies have proved the lack of credible evidence for the utility of…

Teaching has become a very challenging profession with the requirements to provide appropriate individualised instruction in large and diverse classes. Problem behaviours displayed by students with special needs exacerbate the difficulties. This is especially true and intense in physical education, where students are exposed to extreme emotional…

This project sought to evaluate regional students' perceptions of their readiness to learn, assessment processes, engagement, extent to which their learning is personalised and to relate these to academic efficacy, academic achievement, and student well-being. It also examined teachers' perceptions of students' readiness to learn, the assessment…

There is a discrepancy currently in public schools when comparing the identification and instruction of underachieving students with gifted and talented (GT) students. A three-tiered identification and instructional model was developed out of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) with emphasis coming from the No Child…

The purpose of this article is to give an overview of what is needed for creating and teaching an online Chinese course and some systematic recommendations for what a Chinese language teacher needs to know in order to continuously succeed in the new teaching context. An exhaustive review of empirical studies published in the past seven years is…

Whether or not to sort students by incoming skills has been a contentious issue. This brief shows that there are potential costs and benefits to both approaches. Even with the same curriculum, the consequences of sorting depend on students' incoming skills and the outcomes being considered. This brief highlights a critical role skill-based sorting…

Co-teaching involves a highly collaborative, mutually accountable relationship between a regular education and special education teacher in an inclusive environment. Effective co-teaching involves both teachers working together in the regular classroom setting in an effort to make learning accessible for all students regardless of ability or…

Educational perspectives that recommend inclusion of children with special needs into mainstream classrooms remain a controversial topic. The Melbourne Declaration declares that all young Australians should be supported to become successful learners; confident and creative individuals; and active and informed citizens. So the question remains how…

University instructors are challenged to involve large student populations with varying pre-existing knowledge in authentic inquiry. We present a model in which students collaborate to design and run their own experiment and engage in peer evaluation. In the model, students in different lab sections of a multi-section course explore alternative…

In this paper we describe findings from a research project in the South West of England that enquired into the impact of the changing requirements of programmes leading to teaching qualifications in the FE sector. We utilise the metaphor of "learning journey" as a heuristic to discuss the professional formation of student teachers in…

The purpose of this study was to explore task-based variability in children's singing accuracy performance. The research questions were: Does children's singing accuracy vary based on the nature of the singing assessment employed? Is there a hierarchy of difficulty and discrimination ability among singing assessment tasks? What is the…

This research investigates grades kindergarten - 5 English as a Second Language (ESL) and General Education (GE) co-teachers' perceptions of one another's roles, strengths, and areas for improvement in co-teaching academic language and content to English language learners (ELLs) in the GE classroom. Theories of social constructivism and…

This report describes how big data and an evidence framework can align across five contexts of educational improvement. It explains that before working with big data, there is an important prerequisite: the proposed innovation should align with deeper learning objectives and should incorporate sound learning sciences principles. New curriculum…