Problem Statement: Societies are facing several kinds of problems in the world today as chaos among the countries, conflicts between different groups, wars and diseases. It can be claimed that solving these problems is impossible unless societies care about humanistic cooperation, tolerance and peace. Individuals required developing fundamental…

This qualitative study used participatory visual research in order to develop an understanding of the educational experiences of urban poor adolescent girls in Kolkata and to elicit their capabilities. The sample comprised urban poor girls who were undergoing formal education at a religious, philanthropic primary school in Kolkata. Findings from…

How can science teachers support students in developing an appropriate declarative knowledge base for solving problems? This article focuses on the question whether the development of students' memory of scientific propositions is better served by writing propositions down on paper or by making drawings of propositions either by silent or…

We assessed undergraduates' representations of the greenhouse effect, based on student-generated concept sketches, before and after a 30-min constructivist lesson. Principal component analysis of features in student sketches revealed seven distinct and coherent explanatory models including a new "Molecular Details" model. After the…

The research reported here investigated the everyday and scientific repertoires of children involved in semi-structured, Piagetian interviews carried out to check their understanding of dynamic astronomical concepts like daytime and night-time. It focused on the switching taking place between embedded and disembedded thinking; on the imagery which…

The teaching of reading provokes heated discussion, particularly when the reputations of governments and institutions rest on what students do and achieve. This paper focuses on the first two years of a three year project where the researchers worked in communities of practice with secondary school English teachers in state, Catholic and…

This article explores the concept of fear related to the authoritarian classroom and how children express its influence on their learning. Its investigations draw on the comments of four classes of primary-age pupils, two from a school near London, England, and two from boys' and girls' schools in the West Bank, Palestine. It is written by one…

The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary students' perceptions of PE teacher credibility. Eight high- and low-skilled students from grades 3 and 5 were selected from a school employing a PE teacher holding a National Board Certification. Data were collected in the school setting utilizing observations, field notes, an open-ended…

"Evolution" is an area of the curriculum in which children show great interest and enthusiasm to learn more. They also bring considerable prior (though incomplete) knowledge from their informal "life worlds". Most children have encountered the term "evolution" from an early age and tend to define it in terms of…

There has been an increasing amount of concern about the lack of direct exposure that young children have to nature and the outdoors in Canada and the United States, leading to an increase in outdoor- and nature-based learning models for young children. However, very little research has been done in the field of early childhood environmental…

This paper explores the storylines of four student ballet dancers who attend a specialist performing arts secondary school and who, in differing ways, envisage futures which "look straight at ballet". When decisions about schooling intermingle with long-held imaginings of futures in ballet, thought is provoked about ways the young…

In a pilot study we investigated whether the most effective medium for regulating short-term affect depends on one's preference for drawing or writing, and also investigated the emotion regulation strategy (distraction versus expression) spontaneously chosen when drawing and writing. Eighty undergraduates indicated their preference for drawing or…

This paper focuses upon the interpretation of freehand drawings produced by a small sample of 220 first-year students taking an Irish politics introductory module in response to the question, "What is Irish Politics?" By sidestepping cognitive verbal-processing routes, through employing freehand drawing, we aim to create a critical and…

This article aims to explore the role of drawing as a means of communication in the early childhood setting. Through an analysis of different types of drawing, the article explores how children create meaning and develop a universal language. The importance of the teacher in facilitating this process is considered.

Understanding science concepts and being able to explain them is important for science teachers. The perception of students about the concepts of science is related to teachers who use these concepts. In this study, it was aimed to determine prospective science teachers' (n=152) levels of conceptual understanding and ability to explain animal and…