There is a growing need for articulation of the theoretical framework underpinning performance as a learning medium in heritage sites and for an in-depth insight into the children's experiences therein. The aim of this paper is to explore some of the themes that emerged from researching participatory theatre in a historic house as experienced by…

This study explores the perspectives of three girls, identified through progressive sampling, from an original study of over 100 children's behaviour in, and feelings towards, literacy and, in the latter stages, all subjects, across one academic year. Through observational and semi-structured interview data, the girls' dissatisfaction,…

This study aimed to clarify and deepen the knowledge on and understanding of the role that teachers' practices during teacher-led learning sessions play in creating and enhancing social life in Finnish preschool classrooms. Observational data pertaining to 20 preschool teachers were analysed according to the principles of thematic analysis. Four…

This article reports on a collaborative study using an innovative methodology, based on "insiders" who are Steiner practitioners knowledgeable and practised in Steiner philosophy and "outsiders" from UK mainstream early years and primary perspectives. Although the study as a whole focused on assessment and observation used in…

There is currently little consensus on how special education teachers should be evaluated. The lack of consensus may be due to several reasons. Special education teachers work under a variety of complex conditions, with a very heterogeneous population, and support student progress toward a very individualized set of goals. In addition, special…

Researchers have offered, in recent years, compelling reasons for considering the potential of digital games to support learning and in response policy-makers and educators around the world have demonstrated a commitment to exploring their practical use in school. There remain, however, many questions about how games can best support learning,…

The complexity of learning has plagued the educational establishment for decades. Recently, ideas of complexity theory and complex adaptive systems have made headway in how we think of institutions of learning. This study developed and tested an instrument for the modeling of underlying social structures, as an element of complexity, within the…

Grounded in the context of the gap in civic participation, action-based civics curricula, and how classroom interactions may affect student development, we present the CIVVICS (Civic Interactions motiVating diVerse Individuals in Classroom Settings) observation tool. CIVVICS's four domains--Lesson Planning and Implementation, Classroom…

The orientation and mobility (O&M) profession is well established in Australia and New Zealand. This paper gives a situational analysis of O&M in these countries, including a brief history, an overview of professional training and current activity, and data gained from two censuses of the profession undertaken in 2002 and 2011. Social…

An exploratory investigation was conducted into the motivations and leadership traits of five rural school superintendents who over time evidenced a commitment to social justice. This effort meets a call in the research literature by Furman (2012), who noted that "to date, the literature offers few specifics about the actual practice of…

Most educational scholars agree that appropriate supervision of children is critical for positive youth development. Supervision is especially important during situations where children have a large degree of freedom and unstructured interaction, such as during recess. Despite the apparent importance of supervision of children at recess, there is…

Each secondary school in South Africa is legally obliged to establish a representative council of learners, a democratically elected, learner-only council. This article looks at how the representative councils of learners are realised in practice in four secondary schools. Three research questions focus on the practice of representative councils…

The objective of this study was to describe the 3-year outcomes (2011-2013) from the healthy lunchbox challenge (HLC) delivered in the US-based summer day camps (SDC) (8-10 hours day-1, 10-11 weeks summer-1, SDC) to increase children and staff bringing fruit, vegetables and water (FVW) each day. A single group pre- with multiple post-test design…

The article describes the process of developing and implementing a STEM Summer Camp that allowed Preschoolers to experiment and investigate with materials while learning basic concepts of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through play as part of the educational process. The participants were presented with problems that they…

Within Canadian science classrooms, Indigenous ways-of-knowing and ways-of-being continue to be underrepresented and undervalued. For Indigenous students, this often results in negative experiences and disparate achievement rates when compared to their non-Indigenous classmates. Recent decolonizing science education literature suggests critical…