Participation in sport during high school has been linked with a range of educational and developmental benefits. However, there is limited research investigating the benefits of participation in sport from the perspective of Aboriginal former youth sports participants. The purpose of the current research was to investigate how participation in…

In this forum paper, I respond to issues raised by Kristina Andersson and Annica Gullberg in their article titled "What is science in preschool and what do teachers have to know to empower children?" (2012). I seek to continue the discussion begun with Andersson and Gullberg's paper, by further exploring the questions they introduce…

This article documents what happened in a first grade classroom when young Latina/o children of immigrants had consistent classroom-based opportunities to use their agency in their learning. Applying theoretical constructs from development economics to data from the Agency and Young Children ethnographic project, we explore three forms of agency…

This study seeks to understand how a group of boys in a Durban township achieved exceptional educational results despite the severe financial, social and educational constraints they faced. Their high school typified the worst failings of the South African educational system, but they achieved academic success in the matriculation and at…

Drawing on the concept of figured worlds, we examined how four preservice teachers in a monoglossically oriented teacher preparation program developed their professional identities and sense of agency as dual language teachers. Figured worlds are socially constructed and culturally recognized realms with a story line and actors who also actively…

How can afterschool programs engage middle school students of color as they enter their teenage years? The authors asked this question while working with the Bridge Project, a drop-in community-based academic enrichment program serving low-income children and adolescents of color living in public housing in Denver, Colorado. Faced with dwindling…

The authors discuss how Black girls can engage with literary texts through counter fairy tales (CFT) as a resistive literary strategy to reclaim Black girls' narratives and to be reflective of their experiences. The racial violence that Black girls encounter in school cannot be separated from the remnants of the afterlife of slavery within PreK-12…

In Dutch Design and Technology Education the beginning of a process of learning is usually determined by the teacher. In this paper it is argued that a beginning, determined in interaction with the students, is more profitable as the interaction will lead to joined-up exploring, creating and thinking and an increased motivation to learn.…

Engaging students as partners in learning, teaching, and curriculum renewal is driven by different agendas, and takes multiple forms. Although the research is clear on the ethical necessity of student participation in these efforts, the institutional challenges remain ongoing and writ large. This article offers an account of an innovative…

This is a response to Liggett's (2014) call to implement "deliberate democracy" in English language education classrooms. While the concept of participating in deliberate democracy is a solid ideal and worthy of pursuit, I present questions and scenarios that illustrate the complicated nature of the tasks. By sharing my…

Many scholars and practitioners have asserted the value of opportunities for young children to participate in projects that inspire positive civic engagement. A National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) Position statement stresses civic engagement as an important focus for powerful and purposeful learning in elementary social studies. The…

Khan Academy, the free Web-based tutorial program, landed on the education landscape in about 2011, when it was featured on the popular weekly news show "60 Minutes." The program is now used worldwide by more than 10 million learners each month and is used in more than 29,000 classrooms in 216 countries. Are classroom teachers using the…

Development of motivation and self-regulated learning skills can take classroom management beyond the role of maintaining order in the classroom to empower students and teachers for lifetime learning. The authors describe self-regulated learning, student strategies, and the classroom structure that supports motivation and self-regulation.

The findings in this special issue, gives a strong evidence for students' capacity both to contribute with insight on their own teaching and learning, as well provide suggestions and solutions on how to improve the education system. But the data from the Centre Research Study also indicates that even if many institutions have systems where they…

One popular approach to teacher leadership is to identify certain teachers as particularly successful, then have others learn from them. Collaborative leadership, in contrast, looks at leadership as a quality that anyone can have. In this model, the goal is not to figure out who is best. Instead, teachers share their unique talents and interests…