In this article I explore the concept of theories-in-use within a qualitative research study to analyse the role of reflection in bringing about change in practice in the professional development of 18 primary school teachers. Cyprus provides the context for the study. The restrictions on professional development in Cyprus, through the…

The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how teachers become action researchers in the context of Pakistan in view of the attempts by the Ministry of Education to reconceptualize teachers as researchers. A metasynthesis of 20 action research theses by MEd students of a private university as part of their program requirements…

School voucher and education tax credit programs have proliferated in the United States over the past 2 decades. Advocates have argued that they will enable families to become active consumers in a free and competitive education marketplace, but some fear that these programs may bring a heavy regulatory burden that could stifle market forces.…

Some school leaders have viewed programs such as Advanced Placement (AP) as an attractive option to resolve the ongoing achievement gap problem. However, the ongoing debate in the field about maintaining the ostensible purity of the AP program versus diluting it with program expansion has hindered the full utilization of AP classes to close the…

Strategies aiming to foster social cohesion seek to enhance predictability and trust among heterogeneous actors. Although undoubtedly nation-states remain the dominant context for examining social cohesion, in Europe and in South America, nation-states have formed regional organizations to support political stability and economic cooperation in a…

Early childhood is a critical period of rapid physical, cognitive, and psycho-social development of a child. The quality of care and education which a child receives at this crucial age will determine to a great extent the level of his/her physical and cognitive development in the future. In Nigeria, Early Childhood Care, Development and Education…

The recession of 2008-2009 and the continuing decline in local, state, and federal funds available to support higher education have resulted in serious budget cuts and belt-tightening. Given that faculty constitute an institution's most costly resource, it was not surprising, though it is nonetheless disheartening, to learn of the University of…

There have been substantial changes in the labour market over the past few years and survey results indicate 60% of staff will leave public library service over the next decade. While this creates opportunities for library staff, limited training budgets and a focus on compliance and specific library skills training have led to a gap in the formal…

State-level battles over changes in education policy have shifted in many places from legislative chambers to courthouses, as unions and other critics of new laws challenge them on the grounds that they violate state constitutions and worker contracts. Republican governors and lawmakers--their ranks bolstered by the 2010 elections--won passage…

The Obama administration will waive cornerstone requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act, including the 2014 deadline for all students to be proficient in math and reading/language arts, and will give states the freedom to set their own student-achievement goals and design their own interventions for failing schools. In exchange for that…

The author reports on some $800 million in money set aside for Supplemental Education Services which is being freed up under the Obama administration's NCLB waiver plan. The U.S. Department of Education's plan to grant states broad flexibility under the No Child Left Behind Act will free up as much as $800 million in money school districts now…

Across the nation, student enrollment is exploding, while budgets are being slashed to the bone. A March 2010 report by the League for Innovation and the Campus Computing Project says it all: "Still Doing More With Less." In a survey of 128 community college campus presidents and district chancellors for the report, 94 percent of respondents said…

Special school provision for children and young people with special educational needs is an anomaly that exists in many inclusive education systems; this type of educational provision has proved to be resilient even though, with reference to children and young people with special educational needs, there is almost universal acceptance of the…

In this article, the author shares her "When pigs fly" story to initiate a discussion about how educators might broaden their understanding of "learning." She shares the lessons she has learned from her son who has Asperger's syndrome. As professionals in higher education, educators adjust organizational and educational structures to accommodate…

The typical conference consists of a series of PowerPoint presentations that tend to render participants passive. Students of learning have long abandoned the transfer model that underlies such one-way communication. We propose an alternative theory of conferences that sees them as a forum for learning, mutual inspiration and human flourishing. We…