Action research has been recognized as a useful professional development tool for teaching, but for inservice teachers, conducting action research can be challenging. Their learning about action research can be influenced by social situations--whether in an MA (Master of Arts) program or other professional development. The purpose of this…

The principal aim of this study is to consider the competencies of the modern teacher. To understand 21st-century instructional skills, we researched the following issues: students' skills; levels of teachers' professional growth; teachers' pedagogical culture; pedagogical innovations, and 21st-century teaching competencies. [For complete volume,…

In this study the author explores two educators' understandings about their commitment to the teaching profession. The following question sits at the heart of this investigation: How do two teachers understand the manifestation of commitment within their teaching practices. Hermeneutic inquiry, which quietly situates this work, provides a unique…

The introduction of outcomes-based education in South Africa placed many challenges on the transformation of science classrooms. The 2009 National Education Evaluation and Development Unit (NEEDU) Report concluded that South African rural and township schools are largely dysfunctional. This article examined some of the reasons for the…

This paper examines justice issues of representation, redistribution and recognition within a specialised secondary school for immigrant and refugee students in Queensland, Australia. Fraser's three-dimensional model of justice--towards the ideal of "participatory parity"--is drawn on to analyse interview data gathered from a study that…

Initially, the author began her teacher inquiry project by focusing on the superhero play she had been observing in her classroom and on her concerns about how it might be impacting the classroom community. Through an ongoing process of self-reflection and reading research, she was able to open herself up to interacting and engaging with the…

Teacher education based on "reflective practice" consists of observing, analysing and reflecting on teacher performance in order to improve professional practice. This article presents the results of an evaluation of a programme on mathematics teaching carried out using reflective practice. It was targeted at 284 teachers in various…

This study assesses the influence of a two-year language program evaluation on program directors and faculty career development. The study makes use of mixed-paradigms (positivism and qualitative interpretive), mixed-strategies (survey research and qualitative evaluation), one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and a post-hoc test of multiple…

Though attention to academic language is a key component of the Teacher Performance Assessment and the new Common Core Standards, little has been researched regarding how pre-service teachers build academic language knowledge and integrate it into their practice teaching experience. This study focuses on the construction and delivery of academic…

The purpose of this research was to better understand affordances and constraints of the Candidate Mentor Supervisor Model (CMSM) as experienced by teacher candidates and their mentor supervisors. The results indicated perceived benefits to teacher candidates. Candidates participating in the CMSM reported a sense of nested support within their…

The purpose of this study was to explore one Indiana elementary teacher's perceptions of her Latino immigrant students as they become English-language proficient by providing an in-depth analysis of a 4th and 5th grade teacher at a local school. Findings are based on interviews with the focus teacher and with the personnel she works with such as…

In the United States, learning history has traditionally been rooted in a transmission-oriented view of teaching and learning. From this perspective, teachers transfer their historical knowledge to their students. Alternatively, this dissertation positions itself within constructivist theories of teaching and learning, where learning is a process…

The purpose of this case study was to explore how the specific content knowledge developed in a newly certified literacy specialist's practicum experiences are taken up in her practice as she supports the learning of her struggling literacy learners in the situated context of the middle school. Focused on her perspective, the present study…

Historically, college teachers have received little to no training in teaching and course design (Weimer, 1990), as content mastery was, and still is, a primary credential for employment consideration. Moreover, traditional teacher training programs have been the focus of the K-12 domain, where pedagogy and content go hand in hand (National…

Like higher education itself, student affairs is a dynamic enterprise grounded in paradigms that have shifted over its history. This article frames the role of higher education at large, with a look at the role of student affairs in particular, to advance integrative learning. Portfolio pedagogy is described as one strategy for advancing…