This article explores secondary English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers' differentiation practices in the Netherlands. We used the five-dimensional (5D) model of differentiation) as an analytical framework in the study. Additionally, we sought to identify the main challenges of differentiation in Dutch EFL teaching. We collected the data…

Many reforms in past decades have come and gone without having the desired impact on teaching practices. Two shared ideals that reforms have had are offering challenging content by using whole tasks and tailoring student guidance to what students need for effective learning. In this article, we aim to bridge the reform-practice gap by taking a…

Teachers need to make choices about how they distribute their time and support, and a school's vision may support teachers in making these choices. This study aimed to gain insight into how individual teachers--each with their own beliefs about fair classroom differentiation--handle differentiation dilemmas in the context of their school's vision.…

Adaptive teacher support (i.e., support that is tailored to students' understanding) is considered crucial for students' learning. Previous research examined support adaptivity mostly in small-scale, observational studies without distinguishing between theory-based facets of support adaptivity. Yet, students' perceptions of different aspects of…

To better align teacher learning with teachers' learning needs, teachers' sense-making of an innovation during which teachers experimented with differentiated instruction was studied during two school years. Using answers to a questionnaire, 15 teachers' sense-making processes were characterised by three types of search for meaning: assimilation,…

This study analyses the effects of group differentiation by students' learning strategies of around 1200 students in 46 classes from eight secondary schools in the Netherlands. In an experimental setup with randomization at the class level, division of students over three groups per class (an instruction-independent group, an average group, and an…

Formative assessment has been long emphasised as a powerful means for enhancing science learning. However, there is still a lack of research to investigate the impacts of formative assessment on both students' motivational beliefs and behaviours in science learning. This study examined such impacts using data from six Western and six East Asian…

This preregistered study examined how a collaborative school culture and schools' collective efficacy are related to educational professionals' attitudes, personal self-efficacy, and classroom practices concerning education for high-ability students based on survey data from 875 educational professionals (teachers, counselors, and school leaders).…

A cornerstone of inclusive education is teacher's readiness to respond adequately to different educational needs of students in their diverse classroom. Differentiated instruction, referring to the process by which teachers carefully monitor students' needs and progress, and adapt their instruction according to these differences, is a means to…

Our ever-changing and developing society constantly requires professions that did not exist 20 years ago. Students have to become professionals capable of steering their own career development and controlling their own learning process, at university and in their future profession. In order to reach these goals, lecturers have to understand the…

When children drop out of school, either temporarily or permanently, this poses a significant problem for both children and society. In the Netherlands, care farms offering care-education programs for school dropouts are emerging. While there is evidence for their effectiveness, models explaining how such outdoor interventions may facilitate…

Although many schools in the Netherlands have purchased adaptive learning systems (ALSs) to reduce workload and improve differentiated instruction, the use of ALSs with teacher dashboards in the classroom does not in itself necessarily improve differentiated instruction. The question is, what skills and knowledge do teachers need to provide…

Differentiation and achievement grouping are frequently implemented practices to adapt education to students' varying educational needs based on achievement level. Potential didactical and socioemotional advantages and disadvantages of these practices have been discussed in the literature. However, little is known about the perspective of students…

Differentiated instruction is considered to be an important teaching quality domain to address the needs of individual students in daily classroom practices. However, little is known about whether differentiated instruction is empirically distinguishable from other teaching quality domains in different national contexts. Additionally, little is…

European higher education institutions (HEIs) are facing increasing demands for more flexible learning and flexibility in learning paths. This report from a 2023 European University Association Learning & Teaching Thematic Peer Group on "Flexible learning and teaching" explores the complexity of implementing flexible learning at…