Curriculum reform that has an effect on the everyday practices in schools always entails translation of new ideas into new educational practices. This takes place primarily through shared sense making. However, our understanding of the different ways in which shared sense making is carried out is still scarce. In Finland, the district level plays…

Background: The term "intellectual disability" is increasingly used to refer to people with learning disabilities in British learning disability policy, practice and research. This change is undoubtedly a reflection of the changing international context. The inclusion of the term "intellectual disability" has been particularly…

This article develops Phillips and Ochs's (2003) framework for policy borrowing, particularly their theorisations about indigenisation of international programmes. It uses the example of communicative language teaching (CLT) in Bahrain, exploring teacher perspectives regarding the effects of CLT on the preexisting arrangements in the national…

This article reports on the complex web experienced by young people when making decisions to report bullying in school. The study was conducted in the secondary school of an independent day and boarding school in the east of England. A Participatory Action Research approach was used with student voice and perspective at its core. This study…

Given increases in student diversity in our schools and classrooms of which students with varying disabilities and additional needs form a part, school leaders have a greater responsibility of ensuring that all students irrespective of their developmental backgrounds benefit from quality education. One of the approaches school leaders use to make…

The paper we present here is part of the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP), which is designed to analyse the characteristic traits of successful leadership in different contexts and countries [Day, C., and K. Leithwood. 2007. "Successful School Leadership in Times of Change." Dordrecht: Springer-Kluwer; Day,…

Building on evolving conceptions of teacher leadership in the literature, this article argues that an integration of both positional and empowering elements of teacher leadership are the seeds of an evolved approach to teacher leadership for instructional improvement. Using data from a study of quasi-formal teacher leadership, the research…

This paper describes teacher educators' understanding of language for classroom communication in higher education. We argue that teacher educators who are aware of their personal practical knowledge of language have a better understanding of their students' language use and provide better support for knowledge construction. Personal practical…

User experience is immeasurably important for your patrons as they access your Web site. This article presents tips and strategies for testing user experience, suggests a number of different popular technologies and tools that are used in the UX field, and lays out a plan for sharing and utilizing data to make improvements on your Web site. It is…

Many classroom teachers turn to arts integration as a method for meeting multiple learning objectives but are less than prepared to do so. The "Collaborative Residency" program offered classroom teachers an intensive course of study through collaborative work with teaching artists as they co-planned and co-taught arts integrated units…

The Research and Teaching Fellowship (RTF) of the University of Maryland Libraries in College Park is a three-semester teacher training program for students seeking a master's of library and information science (MLIS) degree. This article provides details of the program's content, organization, administration, and assessment. It also includes…

Background: Health and Physical Education Teacher Education (HPETE) is increasingly shaped by agendas, stakeholders and accountability regimes that restrict rather than open up what is possible (Tinning [2006]. "Theoretical Orientations in Physical Education Teacher Education." In "The Handbook of Physical Education," edited by…

There is a well-established need for academic libraries to demonstrate their impact on student learning, particularly through the application of measurable outcomes in information literacy instruction (ILI). Recent literature is replete with articles both outlining the importance of well-designed assessment as an integral part of ILI and providing…

Background: Using Social Cognitive Theory as a framework, we examined opportunities for promoting local produce consumption among high school students in a lower-income, ethnically diverse, urban community. Methods: Six focus groups (N = 53) were conducted with students. Using Atlas.ti qualitative software, data were coded and reviewed to identify…

This article is centred on the constructs of teacher quality as defined by early childhood (EC) teachers in Belize. Using the concept of teacher beliefs as a framework, the researchers analyse teachers' perceptions of quality teaching, which should guide policy and practice decisions. For this pilot study, data were collected from 22 teachers…