This chapter continues the focus on learning, but now in the context of schooling. How does a practice approach explain language learning in relationship to language teaching and language testing? In Practice Theory, a foreign language classroom is a site for pedagogical practices and what students learn is how to participate in those practices.…

Scientific research is the systematic acquisition of knowledge by the scientific method. The scientific method begins with an idea, a hypothesis, about how things work. Next comes the systematic collection of evidence and the analysis of the evidence to see if it confirms or disconfirms the hypothesis. The more evidence there is that confirms a…

The "No Outsiders" research consortium draws upon the Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) notion of a community of practice with a shared focus on "researching approaches to sexualities equality in primary schools". While the word "community", for some, may carry connotations of harmony and even homogeneity,…

Despite unquestionably good intentions on the part of most people who call themselves intercultural educators, most intercultural education practice supports, rather than challenges, dominant hegemony, prevailing social hierarchies, and inequitable distributions of power and privilege. In this essay I describe a philosophy of decolonizing…

In June 2003 one hundred and eighty-six graduates from the United Kingdom (UK) Russell Group universities joined the Teach First (TF) programme which was to have a significant impact on Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in England, Europe and across the globe. This article describes the origins of the programme, provides a summary of evaluations and…

Implementing change is always difficult. It is even more difficult when change is not a priority for anyone else, individuals do not have the authority to tell people to "just do it" and they do not have the resources to "do it themselves". These are some of the challenges the Records Management Section at the University of…

This paper presents a theoretical critique of citizenship education in England and Wales, as a means of raising pedagogical considerations for teachers, and policy issues for curriculum makers and planners. Drawing on a range of recent empirical studies, we construct an analysis of practice and suggest that differences between dominant models of…

The study we carried out deals with how teachers express their practical knowledge. The main objective was to classify how it is expressed, so that we can see its components, its limits, and how close it is to theoretical knowledge, understanding as such that which is based on research and aimed at explaining phenomena by looking for regular…

In its simplest form, what is thought of as community is a group of people coming together on the basis of something shared for the benefit of the community. To imagine this form of community, people must reconstruct it as a memory from a prehistoric time in which they lived in harmony with other people. But as they have not experienced this…

This book describes the practical applications of the psychology of Alfred Adler. The first chapter provides a short introduction to Adler and his work. Chapter 2 contains a compendium of the latest research and practices on the characteristics of healthy persons as they relate to individual psychology. Chapters 3 and 4 explain dimensions and uses…

The assumption that the change agent is tied to the idea of change has limited both theoretical development and practical application of the concept and has prevented consideration of the change agent as a resistance factor. The concept of psycho-organizational change may serve as a starting point for research. (Author/CH)

Argues that rhetorical and argumentation theorists should theorize ideology as a complex rhetorical totality and that the subject of validity and legitimacy must be addressed in order to warrant ideological critique. Offers a model which outlines a rhetorical theory of ideology totality. (MM)

Reviews significant contributions made by Melvin R. Novick to the theory and practice of educational and psychological measurement. Discusses Test Theory, Criterion-Referenced Measurement, Prediction Systems, and Differential Prediction. (RB)

The author examines research on andragogy and urges practitioners to examine the premises of scholarly discussion of the topic. In addition, he (1) explains why practitioners should examine researchers' premises, (2) reanalyzes the debate about andragogy, and (3) explores the implications for the application of research to practice. (CH)

Discusses the issue of content and process (evaluation, doing, and occasionally being) in social work practice. Contends practice should represent a synthesis of content and process. Advocates that social workers adjust the balance to include more consideration of content as they select and implement processes in their practice. (Author/ABL)