This article discusses concerns about the definition of scientifically based research in federal education legislation and its impact on the use of qualitative inquiry as a research method. It describes key contributions of qualitative research that could be jeopardized if the current definition remains unchanged or narrowly interpreted. (Contains…

This commentary discusses principles concerning requirements for scientifically based research under No Child Left Behind: scientific inquiry begins with important research questions, not specific methodologies; the logic that scientifically based research equates with randomized controlled trials will result in research and practice disconnects;…

Relatively little work has been carried out upon the effect of educational environment upon the sporting involvement of children with disabilities. This paper is concerned with the educational experiences of a group of athletes who competed in the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games. It highlights the major influence that the impact of the educational…

This article reviews literature on whole-school approaches to behaviour management in order to address these questions: How is a whole-school approach to behaviour management defined in the literature? What are the key principles that make a whole-school approach effective? What are the key systems that make a whole-school approach effective? Is…

This article examines the "alternative" sport and physical activities provided by the Sports City Programme (SCP) in Norway, which are designed to attract more young people (especially inactive young people) to take part in physical activities. In particular, it examines whether these "alternative" sports have been more…

For more than a decade, the Government of Hong Kong has instituted a policy of school decentralization aimed at devolving authority to all stakeholders, including the representatives of School Sponsoring Bodies, principals, teachers, parents, and community members. This study examines the relative contribution of two dimensions of school…

Government grant-funding agencies have spawned an explosion of images from historical collections on the Internet. They have encouraged collaborative projects in which institutions share resources for capital-intensive digitization projects. These Web "exhibits" are neither publications nor exhibits in the traditional sense, most often without…

The participation of Blacks in collegiate education in the United States is traced from earliest settlement up to contemporary times. From the time of the graduation of the first Black student in 1826, the Black educational experience has passed through several important stages, each shaped by significant changes in national policy and culture…

The value of increasing student input to learning opportunity design issues was explored through an action research project. In response to student-identified learning needs, a learning session on a first-year undergraduate research methods module was re-designed. The learning outcomes of two parallel student groups (one experiencing the original…

This paper examines one model of professional development, the use of video clubs in which groups of teachers watch and discuss videotapes of their classrooms. Specifically, the paper investigates the learning that occurred as four middle-school mathematics teachers participated in a year-long series of video club meetings. Over time, discourse in…

This article explicates the Cultural Modeling Framework for designing robust learning environments that leverage everyday knowledge of culturally diverse students to support subject-matter-specific learning. It reports a study of Cultural Modeling in the teaching of response to literature in an urban underachieving high school serving…

When and where did we learn to stop caring about rodent feces in a child's classroom? This essay is a lamentation, delivered as opening remarks at a gathering of educators concerned about access to a rich and relevant curriculum for all children. The reality of public education in the growing portion of the United States that is not wealthy, is of…

In this paper we report findings of a multidisciplinary study of online participation by culturally diverse participants in a distance adult education course offered in Canada and examine in detail three of the study's findings. First, we explore both the historical and cultural origins of "cyberculture values" as manifested in our…

We analyze a two-year Faculty Fellows Program designed to enhance the service-learning pedagogy and scholarship at a regional comprehensive university. The impact of the program was analyzed using initial questionnaires, meeting notes, final reports, and faculty reflective essays. Participation in a faculty fellows cohort program provided a sense…

Using asynchronous online discussions for interschool collaborative project work represents one of the innovative practices in the Singapore classroom. With anytime, anywhere access to interactions among the students and teachers, the asynchronous nature of these interactions leads to new paradigms for teaching and learning, with both unique…