In this piece I raise a number of rural education issues that I think might be productively engaged through a sociological lens. The paper has developed from notes on 'international trends in rural education' for a pre conference workshop of AARE in December of 2014. My general conclusion is that the field of rural education, at least as it exists…

This conceptual paper argues that to develop students' twenty first century competencies, teachers need to consider how technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) can be applied through design thinking processes. It proposes a conceptual framework articulating various TPACK considerations and how these various forms of TPACK can be used…

This article describes issues in measuring school contexts with an eye toward understanding students' experiences and outcomes. I begin with an overview of the conceptual underpinnings related to measuring contexts, briefly describe the initiatives at the National Center for Education Statistics to measure school contexts, and identify possible…

Globally, teacher education (TE) is challenged to change relationships with schools and teachers and become more collaborative in teaching and research. This study examined the way knowledge is developed, shared, and used when school and institution of higher education (IHE) partners create research networks in the context of master's programs for…

This report presents the statistical theory underlying the "RCT-YES" software that estimates and reports impacts for RCTs for a wide range of designs used in social policy research. The report discusses a unified, non-parametric design-based approach for impact estimation using the building blocks of the Neyman-Rubin-Holland causal…

Naturalistic instructional approaches are used to provide intentional and systematic instruction to young children with disabilities during typically occurring activities. Several naturalistic instructional approaches have been described in the extant literature, although different terms have been used to refer to these approaches (e.g.,…

This paper outlines the nature of predatory open-access journals. These are journals that do not exist as vehicles to promote research or the efforts of scholarly organizations, but exist simply as a means for profit. As with many efforts in education and the social sciences, when financial incentive is the main driving force, quality and…

The article is devoted to the research of the methodological changes that occur in the field of comparative education as a result of globalization. A deep analysis of the globalization phenomenon is undertaken with a special focus on the differentiation of globalization, internationalisation, regionalisation and integration. UNESCO's role in the…

Evaluation of Mobile Learning remains an open research issue, especially as regards the activities that take place outside the classroom. In this context, Learning Analytics can provide answers, and offer the appropriate tools to enhance Mobile Learning experiences. In this poster we introduce a task-interaction framework, using learning analytics…

This article highlights some of the challenges a researcher has to confront when conducting a study on the impacts of service-learning. A review of the literature has revealed that the term "service-learning" has been variously defined and is often misunderstood. This confusion is exacerbated by the inconsistencies in the way…

In this paper, we present progress towards a longitudinal study of the post-course career advancement of MOOC learners. We present initial results and analysis plans for how to link this to in-course behaviour, towards better understanding the goals of all MOOC learners.

There is a kind of seemingly nonsensical play behavior found in the simulation sandbox game genre. This behavior is very spontaneous and impulsive and associated with self-initiated learning, and here the author seeks to better understand what it is, and why it seems associated with simulation sandbox games. That is: What purpose does it serve,…

This paper offers a critical review of the literature that explores the building and development of trust in workplace learning, particularly in a virtual context and its implications for Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) in business. Trust is increasingly recognised as important in both business and education, and is the focus of increasing…

Education is a vital aspect in the lives of humankind. It contributes and shapes our future as citizens of the world. To understand it is to discover the many hidden talents the world has in store for all. The Development Education Research Centre (DERC) holds many resources that aid in the development of education at a global level. With the…

The purpose of this article is to explore the extent to which European Union (EU) policies impact upon the activities of associations such as the European Educational Research Association (EERA) and the experiences of emerging researchers aligned to such associations. In essence, the authors explore potential tensions between policy and the lived…