The term "engagement" is widely used in teacher education and professional development. There is, however, a lack of consensus about the meaning of this term: it is defined in numerous ways with various theoretical underpinnings. This article employs a postqualitative approach to explore conceptualizations of engagement and their…

While prior research has established the benefits of dialogic teaching-and-learning practices, their widespread school implementation has proven challenging. How might research on dialogic education help teachers enrich their everyday practices? In this article, we adapt and apply an established conceptual framework to previously published…

The national imaginary of Norway as a global champion of democracy and social welfare has served well to market its image as exceptional both nationally and internationally. Norwegian national exceptionalism is also deeply embedded within the educational system, and manifests in the production of knowledge and social identities. Despite the…

The demographics in America's K-12 classrooms will continue to shift throughout the 21st century as students become more diverse. However, educators remain predominantly White, presenting issues of cultural disequilibrium. Cultural disequilibrium may result in frustration and a breakdown in the classroom, leading to a lack of achievement amongst…

Given the increasing demand for a well-educated American workforce, college and career readiness has become a significant educational priority. New educational initiatives, including the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts, are being developed and implemented to prepare students for success in postsecondary education and the…

Student involvement in leadership activities is now common in English schools. It is generally assumed to have beneficial learning outcomes and there is some research which suggests that this is the case. However, there is still work to do to detail these learning outcomes--and to assess them. I present one case in which primary school students…

In this article we argue for the necessity of far-reaching change in school curricula and pedagogy. More particularly, we argue that developing students' understanding and engagement in the disciplines which make up the school curriculum requires an unearthing of the philosophical issues underlying science, mathematics, the arts, geography,…

A core assumption of the San Diego City Schools (SDCS) reform effort was that improved instructional practices, aligned with a balanced literacy approach, would be effective in improving student outcomes. This article explores this hypothesis by presenting findings from an analysis of classroom instruction data collected in 101 classrooms in 9…

A descriptive study using questionnaires was conducted in 2004 to assess the effectiveness of instructional leadership displayed by primary school management teams following the implementation of the Primary School Management Project in Botswana. Leadership skills, Coordination of instructional activities, management of curriculum and quality of…

This article systematically reviews research on the achievement outcomes of four types of approaches to improving the reading success of children in the elementary grades: reading curricula, instructional technology, instructional process programs, and combinations of curricula and instructional process. Study inclusion criteria included use of…

This paper examines the history, rationale, uses and abuses of writing journals in primary classrooms. We argue that writing journals form part of a pedagogy derived from an understanding of how children can be motivated to express themselves, independently of teachers. Moreover, they demonstrate the power of welcoming children's home cultures…

Background/Context: Recent research indicates that social studies is being "squeezed" from the elementary curriculum as instructional time is shifted to language arts and mathematics in response to state testing and the federal No Child Left Behind Act, especially in schools serving poor students and students of color. However, less is…

The article examines the approach taken in one primary school to introduce a reflective teaching approach, following an OFSTED inspection. By considering the development of reflective teaching and learning, the development of a working mode and the types of skills needed in order to teach in a reflective manner, it reports on the outcomes from the…

Instructional planning is an essential professional activity often used by teachers. However, some characteristics of existing university-based teacher education programs may hamper pre-service teachers' learning of instructional planning. Thus, this study adopts the cognitive apprenticeship as a theoretical foundation to construct a web-based…