Social networking sites are interactive websites designed to build online communities for individuals who have something in common--an interest in a hobby, a topic, or an organization--and a simple desire to communicate across physical boundaries with other interested people. These sites are not unlike the old-fashioned "party line" telephones,…

It is commonly assumed that attitudes and behaviors need to be modified to secure a sustainable future. This article examines insights from the social sciences in this extensive field. It first evaluates college faculty attitudes and classroom practices with respect to education for sustainable development (ESD) using a survey designed for that…

Research on students' perceptions of the teacher-student interpersonal relationship in multi-ethnic classes is scarce in Europe. This study compares students' perceptions in multi-ethnic classes in The Netherlands with those in mainstream Dutch classes and investigates differences in perceptions between students with various ethnic backgrounds.…

There have been a number of recently published books and reports about the existence of a liberal bias in academia (e.g., ACTA 2005, ACTA 2006, Berube 2006, Black 2004, Horowitz 2006, Horowitz 2008, and Shapiro 2004). Sociology is one of the disciplines that is most frequently cited as "producers" of bias in two of these studies (ACTA 2006,…

Although professionals begin their physical education teaching career in an urban setting with excitement and pride, many of them choose to leave urban schools in their first five years of teaching and seek employment in the suburbs or in rural settings or even abandon the teaching field altogether to pursue a different profession. While searching…

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the functions of hidden curriculum on respect for human dignity which is one of the basic democratic values in detail in two elementary schools with low and high quality school life in Adana-Turkey. In this case study, the data were gathered through observations and interviews from teachers and…

Current legislation has exerted tremendous influence on the instructional methods used by reading teachers. Historically, however, neither mandated curriculum nor forced change has proven consistently successful in helping sustain long-term change in teachers' instructional practices or student achievement gains. Using theories of motivation and…

Previous research has linked ethical caring, high expectations, and instructional practices relevant to student culture as three fundamental characteristics of exemplary teachers for children from ethnic minority groups in the American school system. Praise and criticism, as overt behaviors of care and expectations, were examined in a…

Teaching dance can be a challenge because of the unique classroom-management situations that arise from the dynamic nature of the class content. Management is a delicate navigation of advance planning; rule setting; the establishment and implementation of daily protocols, routines, and interventions; and the teacher's own presentation. This…

This qualitative descriptive study examined the attitudes, awareness, and actions of elementary teacher prep faculty at NCATE accredited universities on issues of preparing elementary school teachers for teaching "about" religion within the curriculum. The purpose of this study was to learn more about what colleges of education are currently…

Teachers try to help their students learn. But why do they make the particular teaching choices they do? What resources do they draw upon? What accounts for the success or failure of their efforts? In "How We Think", esteemed scholar and mathematician, Alan H. Schoenfeld, proposes a groundbreaking theory and model for how we think and act in the…

The objective of the study was to see whether a teacher-coach exhibits different types of leadership behavior when s/he teaches a PE class and coaches a group of athletes. The participants in this study were 17-18 year old second-year preuniversity students from two local junior colleges in Singapore. A total of 159 students of mixed gender…

A rich body of research on streaming or tracking conducted mainly in the USA and UK suggests that teachers have lower expectations of students in lower education streams and adapt their curriculum and pedagogy in line with such expectations. Recent large-scale quantitative research conducted in Flanders (Belgium) shows that teachers teaching in…

Background: Professional commitment from teachers requires more than contractual compliance as personal and professional values are integral to teaching practice. Secondary school teachers are expected to act as role models and demonstrate positive attributes and attitudes in an evolving educational context. Little is known about how they…

This paper describes a training program--"Learning to Live Together"--for early childhood educators working with toddlers and preschoolers in daycare or nursery schools. The training aims to provide educators with (a) research-based "knowledge" on socio-emotional development, and on social "learning opportunities" offered by daily social and…