This study examined teachers' awareness of their classrooms' social networks, as reported by their students. Teachers and 549 students in 19 fourth- and 11 fifth-grade classes from 7 schools in 2 suburban/small urban school districts were asked twice during the school year to list the members of classroom social groups. In addition, we gave…

In a policy climate driven by tests and external mandates, theories of school reform that place teachers, their knowledge, and their relationships at the heart of school improvement have garnered attention as promising alternatives. Yet little exists in print about how such theories actually work or what these approaches look like in practice.…

Whilst there is a growing body of literature on practitioner research and the role of collaborations and partnerships that include universities in that process, there are relatively few studies examining the role of the university in any depth. We reflect on 12 years of working in school-university collaborative research partnerships through an…

The coincident arrival of a European policy space in education and a European Educational Research Association [EERA], and their subsequent relation, will be the subject of this paper. EERA is a hybrid organization--it supports scientific networking, it is a social partner in EU policy, it is a first level social space for networking, and…

"Our culture underestimates teachers--not only the complexity of their work, but also their potential to contribute substantively to the dialogue about school reform," write the authors of this article. Online teacher networks have the potential to transform traditional concepts of teacher leadership, enabling teachers to bond together into…

The year's business reading identified new trends, reckoned with old challenges, offered counteropinions on hot topics, reinforced some old lessons, highlighted gains over losses, celebrated innovations that have potential for all, and observed the failures of these innovations to keep their promise. In short, it was a year of balancing…

This publication explores both the characteristics and examples of innovative teaching and learning practice in Australia. It is based on discussions with practitioners and vocational education and training (VET) managers responsible for teaching and learning. It examines why and how people are changing their pedagogy, and with what results. It…

The "Talking Stick" is published bimonthly, six times a year in January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, and November/December by the Association of College and University Housing Officers-International. Each issue is divided into three sections: Features, Columns, and Departments. These sections contain…

As colleges and universities become more entrepreneurial in a post-industrial economy, they focus on knowledge less as a public good than as a commodity to be capitalized on in profit-oriented activities. In "Academic Capitalism and the New Economy," higher education scholars Sheila Slaughter and Gary Rhoades detail the aggressive…

The Australian Government established the Office for Youth (the Office) in September 2008 in an effort to engage with the young people of Australia. The Office will work with other government agencies to help young people reach their full potential; make effective transitions to adulthood as they continue to learn, start work, make decisions that…

According to the 2008 Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE): 82 percent of community college students surveyed have part-time jobs (and over half of this group works more than 20 hours a week); almost all (93 percent) reported commuting to campus and 21 percent said they spend between six and 20 hours a week in the commute;…

This article presents a Web 2.0 approach for the arrangement of peer tutoring in online learning. In online learning environments, the learners' expectations of obtaining frequent, one-to-one support from their teachers tend to increase the teachers' workloads to unacceptably high levels. To address this problem of workload a self-organised peer…

With the increasing emphasis in higher education to provide opportunities for students to work and collaborate in groups, enhancing problem-solving and critical-thinking skills, instructors are looking beyond traditional course management tools to emerging technologies. One technology that supports group collaboration is a wiki. However, many…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to report on how the University sector in the UK has undertaken a massive transformation over recent years, resulting in a current mass market. Institutions (and their managers) are facing enormous challenges to establish competitive advantages whilst attending to customer need and focus. A smarter,…

A historical fact is like a fata morgana, "always less than what really happened." Even consensus does not establish truth; otherwise history is merely the version of the past that people agree to accept. The students who participated in the acclaimed 5th Street Cemetery Necrogeographical Study innocently found themselves clashing with…