Participatory design-based research continues to expand and challenge the "researcher" and "researched" paradigm by incorporating teachers, administrators, community members, and youth throughout the research process. Yet, greater clarity is needed about the racial and political dimensions of these collaborative research…

Present study reviews empirical research studies related to learning science in online learning environments as a community. Studies published between 1995 and 2015 were searched by using ERIC and EBSCOhost databases. As a result, fifteen studies were selected for review. Identified studies were analyzed with a qualitative content analysis method…

The research described in this article concludes that the widely cited U-curve hypothesis is no longer supported by research data because the adjustment of international postgraduate students is a complex phenomenon that does not fit easily with attempts to define and categorize it. Methodological issues, different internal and external factors,…

Learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) are exposed to a collection of materials and communicative activities in the classroom through which they learn to use the language competently and appropriately. Textbooks, in particular, are a rich source of input, offering a variety of opportunities to acquire and practice pragmatic competence in…

Over the past 20 years, relational theories of leadership have gained increased traction in the global discourse in educational leadership. This is observable in the increased frequency with which scholars have begun to construct leadership within the sociocultural and institutional systems of different societies. This study addressed the…

This paper reviews the literature on Vygotskian theory of Socio-cultural learning and constructivist approach to teaching and learning and attempts to relate the socio-cultural theory to constructivism. The purpose of the paper is to investigate the ways socio-cultural theory helps to develop language pedagogies. Critical analysis of the…

The study investigated the sociocultural differences in translating Euphemistic expressions from English into Arabic. Particularly, the study took the novel "A Grain of Wheat" to show the differences of these expressions usage by two translators from different cultures. The study adapts a qualitative approach applied in Leppihalme's…

This study investigated the contexts for "optimal" use of first language (L1) in second language (L2) one-on-one speaking practice sessions in a study abroad program where English was the L1 and Arabic was the L2 of students, and the opposite applied to their speaking partners. Drawing on insights from sociocultural theory to investigate…

In this article, we explore the meanings of literacy, and more specifically of reading, in the Mexican context from a sociocultural perspective and as a social practice, underlining the technologies, competence, knowledge, beliefs, and values that permeate literacy use. We consider the historical, cultural, and multilingual specificities of…

The purpose of this study was to provide an insight into how former English learners' educational experiences allowed them to attain English language proficiency and meet grade level standards in English Language Arts. This study was informed by the theoretical frameworks of Albert Bandura's social learning theory, and Lev Vygotsky's sociocultural…

This article explores two central notions of "dialectics" and "dialogics" based on the work of Vygotsky (drawing on philosophers such as Hegel, Spinoza, Engels and Marx) and Bakhtin (drawing on members of the Bakhtin Circle and writers such as Dostoevsky and Rabelais) respectively, as well their varying interanimations within…

The implementation in 2009-10 of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) spearheaded the efforts of the Australian Commonwealth government to institute a national curriculum. The theme of the new early childhood framework follows three guiding concepts: Belonging, Being and Becoming. In this article, we discuss these three concepts in order to…

Despite calls for feedback to be incorporated in all assessments, a dichotomy exists between formative and summative assessments. When feedback is provided in a summative context, it is not always used effectively by learners. In this study we explored the reasons for this. We conducted individual interviews with 17 students who had recently…

This article contributes to knowledge about learning in workgroups, so called "microcultures" in higher education. It argues that socially constructed and institutionalised traditions, recurrent practices, and tacit assumptions in the various microcultures influence academic teachers towards certain behaviour. In line with this…

This article draws from an ongoing longitudinal qualitative inquiry into the preparation and development of social justice-oriented urban English teachers. It examines the cases of three graduates of an urban education-focused teacher preparation program who claim different intersectional identities and have completed their fourth year as urban…