In this paper we discuss to what extent the international and national equality goals regarding gender balance and inclusive education have been reached in the education sector development in Tanzania. According to recent reports, the development trend has been generally positive, and the country is close to achieving its primary education…

Based on sociocultural theory, this article examines two activities constituted by a parent and child as jointly constructed bi-literacy practices. Bi-literacy practices enable the parent and child to co-construct conceptual meanings and sense across two languages. Concept development in young children "begins" with meaning in one language and…

This theoretical article discusses the importance of learning approaches in sociocultural contexts. Our discussion synthesizes previous empirical research studies, taking into consideration the importance of individuals' cultural background and environmental settings. Research studies by Marton and Saljo (1976) and others (Biggs, 1987; Watkins…

In this paper we describe the creation of an eclectic case pedagogy based on case-based methods, sociocultural learning theory and visual studies successfully used in a university teacher education course designed to help students acquire sociocultural knowledge about schooling and teaching. Using qualitative data collected across three semesters…

This paper presents an ecologically informed approach to conceptualizing and studying the transition to formal teaching of alternative certification candidates. This perspective acknowledges that transitions play an important role in later teaching success; theorizes that a full understanding of teacher competence must examine the influence of…

This study shows how worksheets can be used to support learning in an informal learning environment. Although there has been some research into the use of worksheets in museum settings in developed countries, it is still not clear whether worksheets enhance or inhibit learning. Using a case study of grade 4-7 learners visiting a biology exhibition…

The purpose of this qualitative action research study was to explore content area teachers' understanding of literacy, the strategies they use in working with content materials to support their students' learning of content, and how collaboration with a literacy expert informs literacy instruction. In my work with content area teachers,…

The study documented the dynamic process of designing and implementing instructional interventions in an online course of Japanese language and culture at a two-year college. The results have impact in three distinct areas: pedagogical, theoretical, and methodological. First, the interventions that encouraged student agency with rich…

Based on a small qualitative study, this article focuses on understanding the rules for cell phones and other social networking media in schools, an aspect of broader research that led to important understandings of teacher-student negotiations. It considers the rules that schools and teachers make, the rampant breaking of these rules, the…

Context-based chemistry education aims to improve student interest and motivation in chemistry by connecting canonical chemistry concepts with real-world contexts. Implementation of context-based chemistry programmes began 20 years ago in an attempt to make the learning of chemistry meaningful for students. This paper reviews such programmes…

Urban school districts have increasingly enacted policies of personalism, such as converting large schools into smaller schools. Such policies ask teachers to develop supportive, individual relationships with students as a presumed lever for student achievement. Research on student-teacher relationships generally supports policies of personalism.…

This study investigates the role that a socioculturally grounded university English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program played in shaping teachers' work with English Language Learners (ELLs). Subjects were a group of teachers at "Wheatland Elementary School," a newly designated ESOL site for a school district in Kansas. From an…

The purpose of this article is to present a specific approach to the practice of action research "in complex organisations". Clearly, there are many approaches to the challenge of doing action research in organisations; approaches that are, and also must be, quite context dependent and specific. But my purpose is neither to give an…

Purpose: This study examines the ways in which school and district leaders create systems of support for classroom teachers who work with linguistically diverse students. We attempt to uncover the intentional supports leaders put in place for classroom teachers and how this may be part of a broader teaching and learning effort. Research Design:…

This study attempts to explore the nature and the potential of various discourse structures and linguistic functions that may facilitate students' learning in English classes co-taught by a native English-speaking teacher (NEST) and a local English teacher in Taiwanese elementary schools. Considering the nature of the study, the author employed a…