This manuscript discusses from the joint perspectives of an undergraduate student and a faculty member the often invisible role that language can play in providing postsecondary learning experiences that can either include or exclude students on the basis of social identity. The authors discuss ignorance, uncertainty, and political correctness as…

This paper begins with a discussion of some of the key insights of recent sociocultural research that consider bilingual children and learning to read and culminates in a discussion of Syncretic Literacy Studies (SLS). It then presents data from an ethnographic study that focused on the learning experiences of a small group of Year Three…

Utilizing data from the language learning autobiographies of six black college students, this pilot study investigates the experiences and motivations of blacks who do and do not achieve advanced-level second language acquisition (SLA). It hypothesizes that successful black second language (L2) learners (1) have positive formative experiences of…

Ideas of "how we learn" in formal academic settings have changed markedly in recent decades. The primary position that universities once held on shaping what constitutes learning has come into question from a range of experience-led and situated learning models. Drawing on findings from a study conducted across three Australian universities, the…

A level 6 module was developed in order to implement innovative assessment strategies and encourage higher level learning. The module tutor (one of this paper's authors) was seconded from teaching duties (40%) to the University's academic development unit to work on the module transformation. The rationale for the redesign of the assessment…

Learning Communities (LC) in higher education can serve as powerful connectors among individuals, particularly when integrating minority and White students. We conducted 24 in-depth interviews, using qualitative research methodology, with the 2004 cohort of LC students from a private, selective, Midwest university. Seniors at the time of…

This study investigates the interplay between individual and contextual variables during teaching practice and its impact on the personal and socio-professional development of prospective teachers. The purpose of the study was to survey how prospective teachers experienced the process of becoming aware of their emerging identities as teachers, and…

Florida Universitaria is a higher education centre specialising in technical and business training among other specialist areas. Postgraduate programmes, graduate programmes, vocational training, secondary education, further education, occupational training and languages are taught at Florida. An educational model in accordance with the…

In this paper, I will argue that awareness of images and metaphors held by foreign language learners about the nature of the target language and its learning can be of substantial value and provide teaching practitioners with useful insights about how to deal with various language learning problems. To elicit images which learners hold about…

This article presents the evaluation of the Sustainable Big Bend Green Living Expo and Education Fair, which targets participants with a variety of learning opportunities. Evaluation was carried out using onsite surveys along with follow-up surveys and phone interviews. Results indicate that a 1-day sustainability event is a meaningful way to…

Establishing relevant applications for the science curriculum can be a challenge. However, the key that opens science for students is within a teacher's grasp: It is as simple as bringing science connections into his or her classroom through community resources and taking the students to the science that is available. The author encourages…

Although fostering self-determination has emerged as a central element of recommended and evidence-based transition practices for adolescents with disabilities, few studies have examined the paths through which students develop the skills and dispositions that can enhance their self-determination and successful transitions. The authors used path…

The purpose of the research was to explore the self-directed learning and transformational learning experiences among persons with bipolar disorder. A review of previous research pointed out how personal experiences with self-directed learning and transformational learning facilitated individuals' learning to manage HIV, Methicillan-resitant…

Universities in Australia and worldwide, are building a new generation of learning and teaching spaces which are designed to encourage and support active and collaborative modes of learning and teaching. However, there is little evidence to show that students will recognise the contribution these spaces make to their learning. Temple (2008) argued…

This article foregrounds the salience of "lived experience" in the mediation of unlearning racialized habitus (Bourdieu and Wacquant 1992), and in learning and relearning the "truth about reality," or the truth about others. This article emphasizes the value of positive "lived experience" for anti-racist and…