Despite the increasing recognition of the need for critical perspectives in teaching English to speakers of other languages, critical literacy remains very much a marginalised practice. The implementation of critical literacy is still limited in English-as-a-second-language classrooms and is almost non-existent in English-as-a-foreign-language…

This paper offers a conceptual model and rich narratives that describe the contexts in which teacher leadership emerges and the many ways that leadership is enacted. Drawing on qualitative case studies of seven Maine, USA schools, the authors found that teachers initiated their own professional learning efforts with the central goal of improving…

Developing a model for effective large-scale continuous professional development (CPD) for teachers remains a significant obstacle for many governments worldwide. This article describes the development and evolution of Vital--a CPD program designed to enhance the teaching of information communication technology in state-funded primary and…

This article describes a collaborative self-study implemented to improve and refine three teacher educators' instructional practices to better assist their teacher candidates in developing culturally responsive pedagogy and becoming reflective practitioners. The self-study is situated in three theoretical frameworks: Banks's (2005) framework for…

The recent release of the Gonski Review recognises the decline in Australia's schooling performances over the last decade, noting in particular a distressing increase in the "achievement gap" affecting students from low SES backgrounds (Gonski, 2012). The report details the need for more quality in teachers throughout the schooling…

The editor of "Teaching Theology and Religion" facilitated this reflective conversation with four teachers who recently moved from undergraduate institutions to seminaries and divinity schools. Three major themes emerge in the conversation: (1) developing their pedagogical craft in undergraduate settings made them better teachers in their new…

This action research involved co-teaching a week of dance appreciation at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, on Yvonne Rainer's "Trio A." The data discussed is from transcriptions of the three classes, as well as observation sheets completed by the students in class. This article also draws on existing literature about…

As both researcher and practitioner, or in service educator, I often resist situating myself within one discrete tradition. For this reason, I turn to narrative as an approach to understanding. I believe employing narrative allows me to draw from a cross-section of scholarly work including reflexive inquiry, critical analysis, and autoethnography.…

Many teachers are searching for that "silver bullet": the teaching method that always works. Many answers, often contradictory, are offered by educators far and wide, as evidenced by the 768,000 websites identified by a Google search for "best practices teaching." The quest for best practices has led many to seek ways to teach that defy even the…

What guides, in ethical terms, our teaching and research in physical education teacher education (PETE)? This is hard to say, because, by and large, the literature in this field has not addressed this question. To shed some light on this matter, in this paper (a) I analyze some reasons for this lack of analysis; (b) I draw from well-known…

The field of teacher research is increasingly including self-study as a valid and reliable method with which teachers can study and improve practice. In this self-study, I develop knowledge of myself as a nonfiction reader and use it to inform my instruction. Guided by the work of Schoenbach, Greenleaf, Cziko, and Hurwitz (1999), I use…

In this paper it is argued that work on transformative learning has been predicated on assumptions about agency on the part of both teacher and student and suggests an idealised learning environment. While recognising the significance of transformational learning the paper explores what it describes as the shadow side of transformational work,…

This accessible and timely book builds upon and contributes to ongoing debates surrounding professionalism in the early years workforce. In a sector where policy is rapidly changing, Jayne Osgood challenges existing assumptions concerning professional identities and questions what broader lessons might be learnt about race, ethnicity, social class…

The aim of this study was to better understand gender interactions between teachers and students in high school physical education. Gender interactions were explored in relation to the theory of reflective practice. Interview data were examined as four case studies using individual and cross-case inductive analysis. Two common themes emerged: (a)…

This qualitative research study is an exploration of the merit and shortcomings of using a combination of the music software GarageBand[TM] and an electronic bulletin board to facilitate musical and peer learning in a 3-month elementary music methods curriculum and instruction course. A pedagogical objective of this assignment was to increase the…