In this article, the authors discuss the importance of education policies that aim at diminishing social disparities in poor countries, focusing on a program in higher education developed in the state of Rondonia in the Brazilian Amazon. Rondonia is a region in which people have suffered deeply from the consequences of social inequalities. Many…

Nothing is more important to America's future than teaching children the skills they need to be successful. Every child must receive a quality education if America is to be a prosperous and hopeful country. The rapidly changing global economy is creating new industries that compete for highly skilled workers from around the world, and young people…

The purpose of this study was to examine positive influences and barriers associated with entering a music teacher education doctoral program. Practicing music educators (N = 63), were asked to rate 48 positive-influence items and 54 barrier items. The highest-ranked positive influence was "Training young teachers to provide worthwhile…

To meet the challenge to reform mathematics education, effective opportunities to learn are needed to promote prospective elementary school teachers' development of the knowledge base that supports teaching, for mathematical proficiency. This article describes three professional development interventions and their influence on prospective…

The academic achievement gap of students of color and low-income students as compared to middle and upper socioeconomic students and White students has been clearly documented. Historically the long-standing role of the school counselor has contributed to the status quo of these inequities, inadvertently maintaining educational and social…

This paper reports on a practitioner study of a first-year undergraduate service course that aligns a web-based, student-lecturer communication system with the mathematical curriculum. The report presents and analyses data from students' and from the lecturer and outlines the nature of the technical interface. The paper indicates how communication…

This paper argues that there is a need, in southern Africa, to develop in-depth understanding in educational reform initiatives. Through ongoing reflexive development of a professional development programme in environmental education, we have found that case-study methodology, which emphasizes context-dependent knowledge, is significant for…

This paper reports a study to investigate the views of early childhood educators working in a range of early childhood settings in four European countries, Denmark, Greece, Italy and the UK. Recent research into European perspectives on early education, special educational needs and inclusion is reviewed highlighting: a multinational call for…

Recent changes in the regulation of education systems in Europe and beyond have led to greater control over the work of teachers and the performance of schools. The paper draws upon the findings of a programme of funded comparative research, which has examined the impact of national education policy and policy change on teachers' work and…

This study takes a relatively new direction in researching virtual learning communities (VLCs) as it explores the ways in which VLC membership can support lifelong learning and impact on individual learning careers and professional identities beyond the life of the community. The case study spans 4 years. The findings suggest that through the…

The rationale for and documented benefits of collaborative planning and teaching are explored in this article. When teachers collaborate on their planning and teaching, they are better able to meet the needs of diverse students and fulfill their legal responsibilities. In addition, the authors describe the multiple ways to collaborate and coteach,…

Academic, vocational, and special educator high school teams participated in a year-long, business-, school-, and university-based institute on integrated academic/occupational learning. We describe the Institute and examine its impact on teachers' beliefs and practices. Based on analyses of teachers' discussions, interviews, written products, and…

This article contributes to the knowledge base on professional development (PD) by reporting on teachers' perspectives of their PD experiences when learning alongside children. Teachers participated in a six-step program of research entitled "In-service in context: Learning science and technology in elementary classrooms" (ISIC). ISIC represents…

This paper reports how metaphor theory was used to explore pre-service mathematics teachers' beliefs about mathematics and the learning and teaching thereof. Furthermore, it outlines how this theory was mobilised to engender self-critique and professional development with these teachers. The core of the paper reports findings from an analysis of…

This article describes the experiences of two US teacher groups and their lesson study work. Their stories illustrate some of the dynamics and promise of teacher change spurred by lesson study. The first case is primarily about teacher efficacy, as a group of teachers discover through lesson study that their planning and work can have an impact on…