The body of research examining deliberate practice and self-regulation in musical instruction has grown extensively over the past several decades, while at the same time many practices in the independent music studio remain unchanged and/or under-researched. Compelling evidence indicates that students with high levels of self-regulation experience…

Recently the adoption of mindfulness or contemplative based approaches has escalated across many sectors, including in education. Proponents argue that mindfulness based teaching programs improve students' life skills, provide emotional balance, reduce stress and enhance classroom climate. To date though there is little evaluation or knowledge of…

In 2003, China's Ministry of Education mandated environmental education in all subjects at all levels in Chinese public schools and explicitly encouraged teachers to engage their students in hands-on learning in their local communities. However, a number of obstacles--including an intense preoccupation with test scores and student safety--make…

This study was conducted to explain the effect of thematic based integrated science learning to the student's critical thinking skills and character. One group pretest-posttest design is involving thirty students in one of the junior high school in the Palu city. A sample was taken using purposive sampling. Data of critical thinking skills…

Early childhood educators are often aware of the general importance of play in children's development; however, they are often less aware of how play can support both academic and social learning and what their own roles can be in children's play. In this study, we examined the effect that professional development training about play would have on…

In recent years, many countries within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development have formulated educational policies aimed at providing better education to more students. However, this may be perceived as constituting dilemmatic spaces, where teachers must make efforts to reconcile coexisting political demands in their everyday…

The current study examined the time spent in various types of science instruction with regard to teachers' awareness of instructional activities. The perceived effectiveness of instructional activities in relation to the allocation of time was also examined. A total of 30 4th grade teachers (17 female, 13 male), from seven different primary…

Technology offers new and innovative ways to deliver learning such as the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). The MOOC offers institutes of higher education a potential delivery method for delivering online learning. This study utilized a qualitative method to gather and analyze an active observer's experience within a MOOC. The results aligned…

In this article, a qualitative case study approach was used to explore the changes that community-campus collaborations stimulate. The authors document the "processes of interaction" (Spaapen & van Drooge, 2011) through which collaborations seek to contribute to positive social change, highlighting the outputs, outcomes, and…

This article presents an innovative, gameful, multimodal, and authentic learning environment for training of oral communication in a foreign language--a virtual adventure called Berlin Kompass. After a brief presentation of the pedagogical and technological backgrounds, the system is described. Central results of a series of pilots in autumn 2013…

Research Findings: The Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale-Revised (ECERS-R) is widely used, often to evaluate whether preschool programs are of sufficient quality to improve children's school readiness. We examined the validity of the measure for this purpose. Item response theory (IRT) analyses revealed that many items did not fit together…

We examine the impact of serving fruit smoothies during school breakfast on fruit consumption among middle school and high school students. We draw on observational plate-waste data over a 10-week period during which fruit smoothies were introduced for breakfast at two Utah schools. Our total sample includes 2,760 student-day observations. We find…

Purpose: This paper examines extension practises of agricultural workers within the Egyptian government and the perceived barriers they face in implementing participatory approaches, identifying improvements required in research and extension processes to meet the real needs of Egyptian farming communities. Design/Methodology/Approach: Key…

Early literacy skills are critical for success in school, yet many children fail to obtain these skills in a timely manner leaving them unable to perform at minimal academic expectations. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of word box instruction, a research-based intervention designed to promote phonemic awareness, on the…

Guided by post-structural perspectives of identities as processes of becoming and transculturation and transnationalism, this study explores how multilingual students in a Mandarin-English bilingual programme form their sense of identities in a dynamic process. Multiple forms of data are collected, including observations, interviews and documents.…