This article traces the development of the theory and practice of what is known as "community of inquiry" as an ideal of classroom praxis. The concept has ancient and uncertain origins, but was seized upon as a form of pedagogy by the originators of the Philosophy for Children program in the 1970s. Its location at the intersection of the…

Along with inquiry-based teaching, exploring the elements of art can guide students to view and represent objects realistically. Understanding line, shape, color, value, form, space, and texture helps bridge the gap between what students actually observe and what their preconceived ideas about the object may be. This type of explicit instruction…

This article describes elements of an approach to research and development called "design-based implementation research." The approach represents an expansion of design research, which typically focuses on classrooms, to include development and testing of innovations that foster alignment and coordination of supports for improving…

Science educators are confronted with the challenge to accommodate in their classes an increasing cultural and linguistic diversity that results from globalization. Challenged by the call to work towards valuing and keeping this diversity in the face of the canonical nature of school science discourse, we propose a new way of thinking about and…

Earlier essays in this symposium describe Restorative Justice processes in schools, referred to in our school as a Fairness Committee. Implementing these collaborative, restorative processes does not come without challenges. This essay will explore some of the historical and theoretical roots of the Fairness Committee in Lawrence Kohlberg's work…

Ideas of linear progress and predictability are essential to globally circulated ideas of educational planning, but do not necessarily correspond with the realities and priorities of ordinary people whose life trajectories often shape very differently. Thus, shedding light on the contradictory ideas about education and divergent expectations as to…

Educational Information and Communication Technology (ICT) can be an appropriate tool for creating flexible learning environments. ICT can contribute to flexibility through its potential to keep content up-to-date and to address personal learning needs. ICT could, thus, make learning more accessible to a wider group of students. However, doing…

This article is primarily methodological but has dual aims. First, it makes a case for Q methodology as an effective and so far little exploited means of capturing, comparing and contrasting individual perspectives on a specific question in the field of educational leadership. In common with other research approaches designed to uncover the…

School consultation and response to intervention (RTI) are both problem-solving methods employed in school-based service delivery, but beyond that characteristic, how are they the same and how are they different? A major purpose of this commentary is to compare and contrast the scholarly literatures of school consultation and RTI. A selective…

What influences how well-prepared student teachers feel towards working in schools upon completion of their initial teacher preparation (ITP)? In order to investigate this question, we used a path analysis using data from a longitudinal study investigating the experiences of trainee and early career phase teachers in England. The data were…

This article maps my journey as a scholar engaged in the research of youth morality (located in the Global South); as a beneficiary of injustice having grown up as a white South African; as a navigator of complex personal histories (discovering my mixed race family origins); and arriving at restitution as a career research focus. It reflects on…

Background: Dealing with complex issues per definition bears the burden of imperfection. Whatever comforting theoretical concepts may promise, real life complexity will take its messy toll once travelling from conceptual ambition to real life practice. We specifically reflect on the social scientific contribution to these inter- and…

This article shares a story about an "activist" early childhood teacher encountering the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). Specifically, it focuses on the overarching concepts of "belonging" and "becoming" through the EYLF's call for early childhood educators to engage with theory in their everyday practice. In…

Invitational Theory argues that learning is enhanced when learners are positively encouraged or "invited" into the educational experience. Arising from perceptual and self-concept theory, Invitational Pedagogy is constructed on four principles: respect for people, trust, optimism and intentionality, and upon five pillars: people, places, policies,…

This enlightening handbook offers current, international perspectives on the conditions in communities, contemporary practices in schooling, relevant research on teaching and learning, and implications for the future of education. It contains diverse conceptual frameworks for analyzing existing issues in education, including but not limited to…