Recent educational reforms in China are placing increasing emphasis on the integration of new technologies in the English language curriculum. At the same time, a debate has begun concerning the effectiveness of Information Technology (IT) usage in transforming language pedagogy in the Chinese context. In response to points made in the discussions…

An eight-year study of 49 schools purporting to practice and apply Quality Management (QM) techniques and processes uncovered some revealing differences between what respondents thought "should be" happening in these schools and what they reported was happening. The gaps uncovered could be recognized as differences between rhetoric and…

This article sets the scene for the other papers in this Special Issue on children's and young people's participation, by outlining the nature of the ESRC Seminar Series from which all are derived and by developing the main themes discussed at the seminars. The focus of this Issue is participation by children and young people as this relates to…

The increasing number of diverse children with disabilities and their families served in schools and other early childhood programs highlights the need to ensure that services and supports are culturally and linguistically appropriate and relevant. Factors that affect the degree to which appropriate services are delivered include the lack of…

In inclusive education different pupils, including pupils with special educational needs and high ability pupils, can be stimulated to learn according to their capacities and potentials. The research question concentrates on the design features of inclusive education that will optimally promote the motivation and learning processes and outcomes of…

We queried Florida elementary teachers about how they perceived their principals' professional and personal inviting leadership behaviors during a time when many teachers and principals felt a lot of pressure due to test-based accountability. Despite the pressure, teachers reported that their principals demonstrated fairly high levels of inviting…

Over the years there has been a strong urge to incorporate information and communications technology (ICT) in teaching practices; however, the pace of integration has been characterised as disappointing. Teachers' lack of competence, their resistance and lack of availability and stability of computers and infrastructure have been offered as…

This study examines and describes the changes in four teachers' beliefs and practices in literacy and literacy assessment over the course of a yearlong graduate level clinical experience. Four teachers who worked in the university literacy clinic as part of their graduate course work participated in this study. Two of the four teachers teach…

This study contributes to the field by identifying a broad range of traditional and newer middle grade policies and practices, and determining in California which of these differentiate higher- from lower-performing schools serving similar student populations, with performance measured by the state's standards-based tests. Based on a sample of 303…

In the 2008-09 school year researchers from EdSource and Stanford University conducted a large-scale study of 303 middle grades schools in California. The team surveyed 303 principals, 3,752 English Language Arts (ELA) and math teachers in grades 6-8, and 157 superintendents of the districts and charter management organizations that oversee the…

With a new governor in Albany and a brand-new interagency group working on early childhood policy in the Mayor's office, early childhood advocates across the city were already pondering what changes might be afoot--and whether the time had come for the city to move toward a more integrated, high-quality system of early care and education. Given…

This book for school administrators offers methods for effecting changes in school culture and practices so that inclusion of students with all kinds of disabilities is successful. The recommendations are based on such principles as the following: professionals must collaborate to serve students with disabilities appropriately; students are…

This monograph presents 23 papers presented at a 1995 Oregon conference which focused on students in trouble due to disabilities or context problems. Paper titles and authors are: "Identifying Students Who Have Learning Disabilities" (Barbara D. Bateman and David J. Chard); "ADHD: A Teachers' Guide" (Rosalyn A. Templeton);…

This study attempts to build on research that has already been conducted to explore some of the factors that differentiate learning environments that may influence the academic achievement of Asian-American students. Their learning environments, in terms of parent guidance, teacher support, class order, satisfaction, and teaching quality, were…

This book, which is intended for educators and trainers involved in designing group activities, examines the theory and practice of group activities. The first three chapters, which introduce theories about group instruction, deal with the following topics: the rationale for group instruction (types of group methods and reasons for using them);…