Purpose: This research attempts to reveal ways of addressing challenges in open universities related to empowering lifelong learning; establishing policies and strategies in dropouts, student portfolio and support services for students with special needs; and implementing online instructional design and strategies. Two institutions were…

For those preparing for outdoor education and related professions, formal theory has an important role to play in terms of informing professional practice and understandings of teaching-learning dynamics. Despite this, surprisingly little is understood about how pre-service outdoor educators (POEs) view and engage with it in their preparation…

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Curriculum Development: Theory into Design.] We argue that teaching learning sequence (TLS) design needs to be further developed through the explicit articulation of methodology, which comprises the theoretical commitments regarding research and how those give rise to methods for design,…

The personal and professional outcomes of experiential wilderness-based professional development programs for K-12 educators have not been adequately evaluated. This study used open-ended survey questions to identify a range of personal (i.e., self-awareness, new perspectives, self-confidence) and professional (i.e., changes in classroom…

Shadow education or private supplementary tutoring has become an international phenomenon as increasing numbers of students seek help beyond traditional schooling for academic achievement. The positive relationship between students' academic achievement and participation in shadow education has been previously reported. However, the manner in…

Background/Context: There is a body of evolving research on how educators use data for improvement, with many examples in the literature about how educators learn to use a routine of data-driven cycles of inquiry to make smart improvements to their practice. This article is not an alternative structure for engaging in cycles of inquiry, but rather…

Do we need global education in the middle? This essay explores the answer to this question using various lenses. A brief overview of the history of global education within the middle school movement is presented as are the relevant goals from "This We Believe" (National Middle School Association [NMSA], 2010) and definitions of related…

This study aims to examine coherence in a teacher preparation program relative to equity. Using performance assessments and artifacts from coursework, we explore how candidates define equity, what equitable practices they enact in their field placements, and whether a relationship exists between their conceptualizations and their practice. We…

Recent reports suggest an increase in the number of individuals with cognitive and developmental disabilities. To ensure equal opportunities for these learners, special education practices must be appropriately improved and scaled. Educational and assistive technologies are a possible avenue for meeting this need. To provide insight into recent…

Background: This article draws from a research report on the Project for Inclusive Early Childhood Care and Education (PIECCE), which surveyed attitudes, training strategies, materials and entrance requirements across most relevant higher education institutions (HEIs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and technical and vocational education…

Fostering the development of Professional Learning communities (PLCs) should be a priority for education because of their capacity to enhance teachers' professional development. However, in everyday educational (school) contexts studying and supporting the growth of PLCs is a complex endeavour. As a consequence, there is a lack of instruments for…

Today, many literacy scholars have accepted that there is a continuum of legitimate literacy practices. In view of this, this study explored the effects of schools' literacy practices on eight high school students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), juxtaposing these practices against the 'knowledge processes' framework to determine the extent to…

The opponents and proponents of the alternative school movement are equally vociferous in enunciating their positions which leave all of us somewhat confused. Just what is the situation? In this article, Gerald Brunetti, an assistant professor of English education at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, describes the Southeast Alternatives…

Descriptions of mathematical thinking have an extended lineage. Sometimes accurate and sometimes not, sometimes misinterpreted and sometimes not, characterizations of mathematical thought processes have inspired and at times misled people interested in designing or framing mathematics instruction. Challenges the field faces in conceptualizing…

Working with stories of children's relationships with place and technologies from an early childhood education pedagogical inquiry research project in Melbourne, Australia and Victoria, Canada, this article takes up the concept of "pedagogical intentions" to consider how educators and researchers might cultivate intentional teaching…