Aiming to develop a contextualized understanding of language learner agency (LLA) as defined by van Lier (2008), this study asks the question: How do Taiwanese EFL learners of two generations under different educational policies and social atmospheres narrate their English learning experiences and exert LLA differently? Narrative and interview…

This article explores some of the complexities involved in the act of localizing English literature as a school subject. Informed by Goodson and Marsh's stages of subject development, I explore the ways in which post-16 English literature was localized in Malaysia from an introduced and mythologized subject entitled "English" to its…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are a focus of state education policy today influencing curriculum implementation and assessment in public schools. The purpose of this narrative inquiry is to understand how high school mathematics teachers experience the transition period. Based on interviews with mathematics teachers in a high school in…

Religious education (RE) is arguably one of the most legislated curriculum areas anywhere in the world, and yet in countries where legislation and educational policy exist to support its provision, how schools implement the subject in practice has not received much attention in the discourse. This article attempts to address this lacuna by…

Thirteen years have passed since the Minister of Education, Kader Asmal, implemented the National Policy on Religion and Education in 2003 (South African Government 2003). The policy provided a new framework to promote diversity by educating young people about the religions of others as well as respect towards freedom of religious expression, a…

Although global initiatives have brought attention to the lack of quality in education systems worldwide; the question remains, how do we implement quality education? Teachers, a vital component of the education process, are not usually included in these global conversations; this results in government initiatives missing key obstacles faced by…

The purpose of this study was to explore alignment between reform-based Turkish primary science curriculum and alternative assessment practices of a classroom teacher. Observational case study approach was utilized. A classroom teacher with 32 years of experience and his 31 students participated in the study. The data were collected during one…

Since the mid-1980s, a global resurgence of large-scale reform in the field of education has been witnessed. Implementing these reforms has created many dilemmas for change leaders. Following a three-year qualitative research project, the present study explores the dilemmas leaders faced during the implementation of the national curriculum reform…

In this qualitative study, we examined eleven Singapore teachers' conceptions of teaching and learning as related to their experiences implementing integrated curriculum. Interviews revealed that the teachers' conceptions of integration spanned the spectrum of ideas found in relevant literature. Further, although participants saw benefits to…

The Chinese authorities have spelt out their educational vision in a series of documents and provided explicit guidelines in terms of curriculum and assessment. How are these policy visions and curriculum standards translated into the classroom practices of the teacher? This paper tries to answer this question by looking into one teacher's…

This article addresses how teachers in a specific developing world context interpreted a curriculum reform initiative. It is located within a broader interpretive study that investigated the integration of Environmental Education into the formal education system of Lesotho with particular reference to secondary school geography. More specifically…

When students are able to cope with, manage and maneuver the social and emotional landscapes of their lives, their ability to learn on all levels improves. Teaching Social / Emotional Learning (SEL), as a component of secondary education, not only increases academic performance, but prepares students to meet the challenges of lifelong learning in…

Purpose: The objective of this paper was to examine key hindering and facilitating factors in schools during the first stage of the curriculum reform (2001-2006) in Hong Kong and to identify key strategies to address these challenges. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 150 primary and 120 secondary schools with 7,869 key stakeholders…

This case study analyses teachers' presentations made during a professional development workshop on the implementation of learner-centred science teaching in Lesotho secondary schools. Teachers revealed their understanding of learner-centred teaching through products such as pictures, diagrams, stories including metaphors and letters. These…

Cross-curricular work in schools across the United Kingdom generally involves the use of a cross-curricular dimension or theme that spans the work of several subject teachers. The limitations of this type of curriculum planning have been noted in the research literature both within the United Kingdom and across Europe. The research reported here…