Purpose: The aim of this paper is to explore if reflective inquiry and action learning have an influence on job and organizational effectiveness. A reflective-action learning framework will be used as a prior theory to illustrate its link to organizational learning. Design/methodology/approach: The case organization is a Singapore higher learning…

In this article, the author explores her teaching experiences in order to better understand the nature of the professional knowledge needed to make use of conflict and to manage a particular teaching dilemma. The author's intention is to show that such a personal inquiry can reveal ways in which her story is a telling case that may enable others…

This essay provides interrelated principles for teaching and learning in times of heightened awareness of wars, disasters and human suffering. Purposeful teaching in times of crisis should occur both with children directly impacted by catastrophic events as well as with those less directly impacted. As a direct reflection of the author's most…

Emancipatory learning can occur through critical reflection grounded in theory. This study describes an action research project in which the author engaged in retrospective structured analysis of an incident involving visual documentation of student learning. It was experienced by a struggling novice teacher educator, who at the time of the…

This article articulates a theory of "presence" in teaching and seeks to establish a theoretical foundation for presence that can serve as a platform for further research. It seeks to address the current educational climate that sees teaching as a check list of behaviors, dispositions, measures, and standards, and to articulate the essential but…

This article examines the hermeneutic, narrative, and social co-construction of cultural understanding as two educators shared their teaching and learning experiences in Japanese and Canadian schools. Our dialogic inquiry reveals how perceptions of practices in one culture--including curricula in non-core, academic subjects, stances on student…

Across the US, some schools are hallmarks of high academic performance. These schools display consistently high test performance, and their students are sought after by competitive colleges and universities. These schools are successful, with consistently above-average test scores, low dropout rates, high percentages of children attending college,…

This 4-week case study followed a kindergarten teacher (the first author of the report) moving from a conventional teaching approach to one drawing from the philosophies of the preschools in Reggio Emilia, Italy. The teacher kept a journal in order to document her reflective practice, and to describe, reflect, and analyze shifts in her beliefs and…

This publication summarizes two surveys of teachers and researchers in Scotland on different aspects of staff development. In the first survey, teachers were asked what types of support they valued at times of change in the curriculum. A total of 165 questionnaires were returned by principal teachers from 45 of the 51 schools targeted by the first…

This book provides insights into one of the nation's largest and most comprehensive school-restructuring movements, the Accelerated Schools Project. Since its inception in 1986, the focus of the movement has been on transforming schools with students at risk of dropping out into schools with high expectations of all students. This is accomplished,…

This study examined the relationship between training in Cognitive Coaching and a number of qualitative and quantitative components of teacher cognition and behavior hypothesized to be positively impacted by such training. Cognitive Coaching involves a planning conference between coach and teacher, classroom observation, and a reflecting…

A classroom presents the perfect opportunity for teachers and teacher educators to perpetuate the all-encompassing idea of democracy. A democratic classroom requires of all its participants that they welcome joint decision-making, be committed to a dynamic common good, have the necessary skills, be open to other points of view, be committed to…

Cultural reciprocity refers to the dynamic and material exchange of knowledge, values, and perspectives between two or more individuals of different cultural (e.g., racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, religious) backgrounds. In this paper, cultural reciprocity is discussed as it pertains to professors of education and their students, based on the…

This booklet examines four philosophical approaches which undergird the tenets of middle school: (1) invitational education; (2) democratic schools; (3) constructivist teaching; and (4) reflective teaching. An introduction discusses the history of the middle school movement, lists characteristics of exemplary middle schools, presents…

This study examined the relationship between formal program statements and actual practices in one sophomore class in a preservice teacher education program. Specifically, the study evaluated: possible inconsistencies between what is explicitly stated and what is actually done; whether such inconsistencies are intentional or unintentional,…