This edited volume scrutinises the Nordic dimension within education and how this notion affects, frames and sets direction for school and education in policy, practice and educational research. The book interrogates what unites and divides Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden and analyses how the notion of the Nordic dimension has become…

Similar to joining comparative education and international education, bridging theory to practice is a hallmark of the field of comparative and international education (CIE). Despite the commonality of citing "theory to practice," a disconnect exists between comparativists who develop theories and practitioners who supposedly implement…

The present study compared Turkish and Singaporean textbooks with respect to their instructional contents on a difficult topic for most students: the concept of angle. The study used the 3rd and 4th grade mathematics textbooks taught in Turkish and Singaporean schools. The analysis showed that Turkish textbooks defined the angle as a static…

The role of international governmental organisations (IGOs) in global policymaking has received significant attention in the field of adult learning and education (ALE) in the twenty-first century, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was recognised as one of the most influential IGO due to its skill surveys --…

Development of cognitive skills is critical for developing the right conceptual ideas in chemistry. Atomic structure, bonding, and associated properties are taught as parts of high school chemistry courses worldwide. The cumulative build-up of misconceptions about the periodic table is to blame for students' poor performance on atoms and…

Information that is different from scientific knowledge, consistent and resistant to change, can be expressed as misconceptions. Misconceptions are one of the critical factors that prevent students from understanding in Biology education. This study was conducted in Kosovo with high school 12th-grade students of three different ethnic origins. It…

Emphasizing the important role of "history" within comparative education is the classic way, much celebrated in the writings of Andreas Kazamias, to treat this theme. This article uses a different perspective. The argument is that "comparative education" and "history" use two words as professional identifiers of a way…

The convenience sample used in the study reported on here consisted of 91 students enrolled in the primary and middle school Postgraduate Certificate in Education course for 2 consecutive years at a South African university. We used the Student Understanding of Science and Science Inquiry instrument to answer questions about these students'…

Secondary school teaching of evolution through natural selection is very important because for most people, it is the only formal introduction to the scientific understanding of this theory. However, there are major concerns over its unsatisfactory teaching. In several European countries, including the Flanders region in Belgium, natural selection…

Through a descriptive exploratory research design, the current study purposed to diagnose students' misconceptions of acid-base concepts. A Three-Tier Diagnostic Test (TTDT) with 20 items was administered to 72 Thai and 64 Indonesian grade 12 students in the science program. The semi-structured interview was used to probe their responses to the…

Background/Context: Scholars have attributed the underperformance of U.S. students relative to students in other high-income countries to unequal access to high-quality educational environments. Poor students are presumed to do disproportionately worse on international achievement tests and, consequently, to pull down the U.S. average. Conversely,…

The case study presented considers the challenges and rewards of undertaking cross-cultural comparative research. Through discussing a mixed method project, there is an exploration of how it is important not to assume shared understandings of both research approaches and subject-specific terminology. Research approaches vary across countries and…

This article analyzes "Xueji" ([Chinese characters omitted]) and discusses some of the myths and facts in Western perceptions of Chinese educational practice. It also looks at the similarities and contrasts between Eastern and Western conceptions of teaching and learning. A careful study of "Xueji" ([Chinese characters…

This paper focuses on the relationship between rational beliefs, culture and agency in formal school settings. This relationship is analysed in the context of the adoption of technological innovations. Interviews and focus groups with 39 secondary teachers from England and other European countries were carried out. The analysis highlights a number…

Previous research indicates that beginning teachers are not fully prepared for what awaits them in the workforce. This study highlights the value of partnerships among higher education providers, schools and employers and links the experiences of beginning teachers to initial teacher education (ITE). Real-life experiences from the field provide…