Aim: Underpinned by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), this research aimed to explore children's views around accessing their Article 31 right to play in two schools in England and Wales and to promote their Article 12 right to be heard. Methods: Views of 16 children were sought using child-centred methods. Child-led…

Although almost everyone agrees that the environment shapes children's learning, surprisingly few studies assess in detail the specific environments that shape children's learning of specific content. The present article briefly reviews examples of how such environmental assessments have improved understanding of child development in diverse…

This paper compares the longitudinal results of three LibQUAL+ studies conducted at the University of Idaho Library. In particular, the most recent survey follows a major renovation that prioritized study space and a collaborative learning environment. The impact upon patron satisfaction across categories was examined and the highest satisfaction…

Developments in international inclusive education policy, including in prominent UN documents, often refer to the aim of a "quality" education "for all." Yet, it remains unclear: What exactly is meant by quality education? And, under what conditions are quality educational experiences possible for all learners? In this essay,…

Purpose: We sought to identify codes and themes in the mission statements of Kentucky's school districts and examine the relationship between district characteristics and the mission statements. Design/methodology/approach: We undertook a mixed methods design, specifically, a sequential transformative strategy with a theoretical lens overlaying…

Learning opportunities can be found all around, and innovative education approaches are expanding the concept of a school environment. Nestled in the urban core of San Antonio, Texas, is a nature-based preschool that is taking a wild approach to learning about conservation. Will Smith Zoo School, part of San Antonio Zoo and named in honor of a boy…

The transitioning of veterans from the "military world" to "the civilian world" and by extension the civilian workforce is the "ultimate career transition." However, to facilitate this challenge, most veterans often utilize higher education as a transitional tool to qualify themselves with credentials that are not…

Significant funding is devoted across the world to transforming traditional classrooms into flexible learning environments. These efforts are often motivated by a desire to create learning spaces attuned to twenty-first century competencies, which involve learning how to communicate, collaborate, think creatively, and how to become critical users…

The design of learning environments is being increasingly investigated, largely as a result of higher-education providers being challenged by both societal and technological developments. These providers are becoming more aware that the quality of learning environments affects students' approaches to learning and satisfaction. This paper presents…

This study utilized the Minnesota Executive Function Scale to quantitatively explore the influence of nature preschools on executive function skills, which are a critical component of school readiness. Executive function skills are malleable skills that allow goal setting and follow through, skills that determine success in school and beyond. Four…

Over the past decade, education reformers have focused much of their attention on raising teacher quality. This focus on individual teachers has caused policymakers to lose sight of the importance of the organizational contexts in which teachers work and students learn. The quality of a school's teaching staff is greater than the sum of its parts.…

In this paper, we present three types of activity that we have observed during students' free exploration of a software called "Algodoo," which allows students to explore a range of physics phenomena within the same digital learning environment. We discuss how, by responding to any of the three activity types we identify in the students'…

Like many youth development programs, most youth mentoring programs do not have prescribed practices that target specific outcomes. Because the construct of mentoring represents a broad range of potential activities, researchers face a conundrum when making generalizable causal inferences about the effects of this and similar services. On the one…

When students are unable to purchase a textbook because of rising prices and/or are unwilling to carry heavy textbooks, their education is compromised. Open educational resources (OERs) are gaining in popularity because they solve these problems by providing free study materials in electronic formats, but students from different backgrounds and…

This article addresses the ethical and motivational dimensions of punishment in schools, focusing on the idea of a just school community. Lawrence Kohlberg's account of a just school community is examined and systematically revised to reflect advances in psychology and a more adequate conceptualization of justice. A eudaimonic conception of…