The purpose of this study was to describe the impact of a flexible classroom environment, including the teacher and student relationship, and its role in fostering creativity in middle school students. The case study design included gathering data through interviews and observations. It was determined that democratic, workshop-based classrooms are…

Despite growing scholarly interest in student voice and leadership over the past two decades, both terms continue to be used with little consensus about their meaning. They are also often evoked without much clarity or agreement as to how they should be enabled or enacted, for what purposes they should be fostered, or what conditions are necessary…

This paper examines the multiple, intersecting identities expressed by international taught-post graduate students who are studying in a culture and language that is not their own. The study presented includes the collection of data around and beyond a planned pedagogical intervention on a pre-sessional EAP programme. The data were thematically…

Changes in their brains, combined with a greater awareness of peers and events around them, make adolescence a key time for students to figure out who they are, what they aspire to be, and what they want to do in the world. This Alliance for Excellent Education report explores how human identity and self-regulation develop during adolescence and…

Given a rapidly changing labor market, advisors use parallel planning and alternative advising to teach students adaptability. Whereas parallel planning proactively prepares students for future transitions through considering multiple pathways, alternative advising occurs after students fail to make degree progress or secure admission and,…

Student activism is a ubiquitous component in most democratic societies. Despite its disconcerting implications to the university's operations, it remains an important agenda to student development in higher education. This study presents the case of a university in the Philippines where student activism is a predominant ethos. The findings expose…

This study explores typologies of modes of ethnic boundary-making among upper secondary school students in one school in Oslo, Norway, which has witnessed a seismic shift in its uptake of students who are mainly from non-White or "immigrant" backgrounds. Wimmer's typologies of modes of boundary-making--"contraction" and…

"Every Child Matters" under New Labour provided a framework for services for young children's care and education. It was pushed aside by the Conservative-led coalition and replaced by "More Great Childcare". The UK as a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, therefore has obligations for…

Let's face it--teaching can be stressful. In this generation of Common Core Standards and highstakes testing, educators are often left without the time to plan positive behavioral supports or the sanity to cultivate compassionate relationships with their students. Even though they understand the critical relationship between behavior and…

The contemporary interest in researching student agency in science education reflects concerns about the relevance of schooling and a shift in science education towards understanding learning in science as a complex social activity. The purpose of this article is to identify problems confronting the science education community in the development…

Both educational research and practices pay little attention to the experiences of girls related to trauma within the School-to-Prison Pipeline. Educators typically take a deficit approach toward youth experiencing trauma and often reinforce trauma through discriminatory and exclusionary disciplinary practices. Using a Youth Participatory Action…

Undergraduate biology programs in smaller liberal arts colleges are increasingly becoming focused on health science fields. This narrowing of focus potentially decreases opportunities for these students to explore other sub-fields of biology. This perspectives article highlights how one small university in Connecticut decided to institute a…

From an ecological perspective, learning and development in childhood and throughout the lifespan occur in the context of interactions within complex social networks. Collectively, the articles in this special issue illuminate three important themes related to teacher-student interactions within instructional contexts: relationships, competence,…

Self-regulated learning (SLR) is a socially embedded process in which individuals use strategies to influence thoughts, behaviours and environments in ways that enable them to achieve their academic goals. As a form of engagement that is almost exclusively associated with academic success, empowerment and agency, researchers are committed to…

Much of the research writing done in high school and college lacks the personal and social component that is integral to student engagement. This author suggests that the research paper take the form of a national column that is authored by students, giving them authority and a sense of empowerment.