Smart education research has been rapidly developed for transforming education systems leading to engage and empower students, educators and administrators more effectively. Despite decades of the adoption of new technologies in improving education systems, approaches are frequently criticized for lacking appropriate theoretical and technological…

Unique affordances of 3D multi-user virtual environments (e.g., immersive simulation, avatar tele/copresence) have attracted language teachers and researchers to explore the effects of Second Life (SL) on learners' language outcomes and perceptions. Research on such a synergy of language education and virtual learning has suggested learners'…

This study investigated the potential of discipline-related television programs as sources for incidental learning of specialized vocabulary used in university lectures and seminars. First, a Medical Spoken Word List (MSWL) of 895 specialized word types was developed from a 556,074-word corpus of medical lectures and seminars based on a mixed…

In their recent book "In Search of Deeper Learning" (Harvard University Press, 2019), scholars Jal Mehta and Sarah Fine argue that if high schools are to help adolescents flourish as individuals and members of a community, they must do more than teach them academic skills and content -- they must also give them meaningful opportunities…

The thought on nature education plays an important role in both Eastern and Western history of educational thoughts. However, the rich thought on nature education in Pre-Qin Taoism in China was little-known in Western academia. Chuang Tzu was the co-founder and one of the main representative figures of Pre-Qin Taoism philosophy and nature…

Although there is much research regarding the inclusion of pupils with additional support needs (ASN) in mainstream secondary education, there is little research specifically exploring the perspectives of staff who support and teach this population. This small-scale exploratory study in a Scottish secondary school investigated staff perspectives,…

This is a response to Bonfiglio and Kroh's "Inclusion in Catholic Schools: From Inception to Implementation." Bonfiglio and Kroh identify three primary barriers to inclusion: (1) Lack of culture; (2) lack of resources; and (3) lack of knowledge and skills. In Karen Hopson's experience, lack of culture can be one of the most challenging…

This essay argues that emphasizing "college and career-readiness" as the major goal of public education is too narrow a purpose for education. College and career readiness, if pursued exclusively, may deprive students of the problem-solving skills they need to live well-adjusted, flourishing lives. The purposes of education that were…

This article shows how Bertrand Russell and Noam Chomsky's approaches to humanistic education are grounded in the concepts of growth, knowledge, language, freedom, and social justice. Despite their epistemological differences, Russell and Chomsky agree on the need for educating the public to abuses of power. Their own practice of education is a…

This concluding essay offers a reflection on the set of the papers contained in this special issue of the Educational Assessment journal. In it the author situates formative assessment squarely in the realm of teachers' continuous professional learning and considers the essential nature of formative assessment as centering on three questions that…

Graduates are entering a sociotechnological world, with teaching and assessment needing to reflect that, by shifting from a 'recall-on-paper' to 'do-it-for-real'. With increasing student numbers, it is not feasible to have staff-student ratios and round-the-clock availability required to provide instant feedback and ever-more interactive teaching…

This article assesses evidence of and challenges to the development of inclusive education in Portugal, which is built on three pillars: access to, participation in, and achievement in education for all children and young people. It presents an overview of the present policy framework, followed by an analysis of available statistical data on…

In this article, we introduce a systemic framework for the development of learning potential to professional excellence inspired by the Actiotope model of giftedness. First, we critically reflect on three theoretical approaches representing different psychological constructions of learning potential. We label these approaches theories of…

A research-style laboratory experiment for advanced undergraduate students is described, which includes the synthesis, characterization, and properties (porosity, stability, amphipathy) testing of the composite [Cu[subscript 2](BTC)[subscript 4/3](H[subscript 2]O)[subscript 2][subscript 6][HPW[subscript 12]O[subscript 40]·(C[subscript…

We investigated infant's manual motor behaviour; specifically behaviours crossing the body midline. Infants at elevated likelihood of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and/or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) produced fewer manual behaviours that cross the midline compared to infants with a typical likelihood of developing these…