Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to discuss the role of communities of practice in organizations and their most beneficial effects for both individual and collective development. Design/Methodology/Approach: Based on a literature review, from the first authoritative texts by Lave and Wenger until the most recent critiques, the paper has…

This paper aims to contribute to the growing literature on how prospective foreign language teachers can learn to be successful telecollaborators. We investigate Polish and German TEFL students' perceptions of how they develop the competences, attitudes, and beliefs described by O'Dowd (2015) through experiential learning in a virtual exchange.…

Professional and Community Engagement (PACE) at Macquarie University offers undergraduate students experiential learning opportunities with local, regional and international partners. Through PACE, students work on mutually beneficial projects that both meet the partner's organizational goals and enable students to strengthen graduate capabilities…

Practitioners need to invest in professional development to enhance credibility, job security and employment prospects. Employer expectations of continuing development as a performance measure link to the notion of career capital; namely that knowledge competence influences job advancement. This study uses an interpretivist approach to explore…

In recent years coaching has become an increasingly popular intervention used in both personal and professional development spheres. This chapter draws on industry research from scholars as well as professional organizations to map the history, definitions, and trends of executive and organizational coaching to provide clarity on a complex and…

Academic work in higher education has been influenced by global trends such as accountability, massification and deteriorating financial support. Within this broader context, the performance of academic staff as teachers and researchers has an impact on student learning and implications for the quality of higher education institutions (HEIs).…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the benefits of higher education in mid-life from the perspective of life course agency. Studies concerning the benefits of degree-oriented higher education have been mainly conducted using survey questionnaires and quantitative methods. In order to gain a more comprehensive picture, this qualitative…

This paper discusses academic mobility in Brazil over the past few years due to the increase in governmental initiatives to promote internationalization of higher education and student mobility. The aim is to address the challenges faced by the international academic mobility program Science without Borders (SwB) to boost the development of…

A recent study of honors curricula across the nation indicates that 75.6% of honors programs and colleges at four-year institutions have thesis or capstone requirements (Savage and Cognard-Black). In addition to institutions with thesis requirements, many more also have the option for students to complete theses. For example, an earlier study…

The Community Wellness, Empowerment, Leadership and Lifeskills (CWell) program is a 2-year community-driven program developed in partnership between an underserved community in Limerick City and staff at the University of Limerick, Ireland. This article explores the transformative teaching and learning experiences that arose throughout the…

Beginning teachers enter the profession with notions about what their school organization will provide for them and what they will give their organization, in exchange. Psychological contracts, as defined by Schein exist between beginning teachers and their organization. I contend, with the use of a conceptual framework, that if the implicit terms…

This qualitative action research study explores the role of reflection on teachers' personal and professional growth through the methodology used in the Materials Development Seminar in the Master's Programme in Education with Emphasis on English Didactics at a private university in Colombia. The project was carried out with 31 English as a…

This pilot study examined student engagement with a web-based digital professional portfolio through the 3C process of collect-critique-curate. To overcome common problems associated with electronic portfolios, including cost; specificity; lifelong access; and ease of use, the study used "Weebly" as its portfolio platform. The creation…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain insight into the career patterns of early career professionals living in Aiken County, South Carolina. Two theoretical frameworks were selected for this study; Patton and McMahon's (1999) Career Development Systems Theory and Higgins and Kram's (2001) Developmental Network Theory. The researcher…

International collaboration in social work research, particularly research in the global south, presents unique opportunities for the personal and professional development of researchers and students alike. Yet data to help direct the process are limited. Using a research project recently carried out in Ghana as background, the authors present…