Forecasts for the future are made against the backdrop of population growth, environmental change, information technology, and globalization. Schools and teachers as we know them will change radically, perhaps become obsolete, as computers and the Internet enable access to information from anywhere, any time. Learning will become a life-long,…

This study investigated the effectiveness of a combined museum and classroom intervention project on science learning in low-income children. The focus of the program was on children's content knowledge and concept complexity. Thirty children were in the experimental group. A control group of 18 children visited literacy and social studies…

This paper reports on a study that investigated the pedagogical practices and beliefs of pre-service and beginning teachers in integrating technology into the teaching of secondary school mathematics. A case study documents how one teacher's modes of working with technology changed over time and across different school contexts, and identifies…

This article examines sociocultural expectations of sexual behavior and the reasons why not using condoms may be logical to married heterosexual couples in India. Married women who report monogamous sexual relationships with their husbands are a high-risk group for HIV infection in India. Based on the public health model and a population-based…

The "drop-out" of working-class students from universities has been identified as one of the most pressing issues for the higher education (HE) sector in the United Kingdom. This article draws on the initial findings of a major research project that explores the meanings and implications of such withdrawal from HE amongst young…

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the applicability of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory and the concept of dynamic assessment to the problem of assessing reading comprehension in English as a third language (L3). The study was conducted with immigrant students from Ethiopia studying at pre-academic centers in Israel. The assessment procedure…

How can the "revolving door" at the nation's high-poverty schools be slowed down? How can diversity be taught in teacher preparation that relates to teaching and learning? How can teachers learn to use the diverse urban classroom as a rich asset? By focusing on reconceptualizing general education studies, addressing key urban understanding and…

An analysis of literature on second language learning identifies four approaches in the literature, each of which can make a unique contribution to the understanding of the second language learning process, particularly as it pertains to limited-English-proficient students. The four approaches are explained and illustrated with examples from the…

Canadian counselors working with young offenders confront at least two problems that interfere with effective intervention: a trend toward increased incarceration, and public confusion and mistrust over approaches to reducing crime. Research during the past decade is beginning to show clearly that programs for young offenders and other at-risk…

A study examined the historical, cultural, social, pedagogical, and psychological factors affecting Chinese students' language learning styles and attitudes, particularly concerning learning English as a Second Language (ESL). The first section offers an overview of considerations in understanding the cultural background that students bring to the…

In studying the role of context in speech act performance, the tradition has been to use controlled elicitation instruments that allow for manipulation of social dimensions. The assumption is that by controlling social context, all respondents will assess social relations very similarly, although little research has dealt with the validity of this…

A case is made for a broader approach to the study of politeness strategies, as has been demanded increasingly by linguists working on non-Western languages. Using data from a role-played dialogue involving a request in the Southern Bantu language Zulu, speakers are first located culturally, then the sequence of vrebal utterances as a whole is…

This study investigated differences between communication norms in English and Japanese in a unique situation in which the speech acts of "asking for permission" and "requesting" merge. Focus was on the pair-verbs "borrow" and "lend." Subjects were 26 native speakers of English, mostly teachers, and 64…

Characteristics and patterns of Ukrainian language usage expressing social distance are analyzed, with examples given from current usage and, to a lesser extent, perspectives drawn from historical usage. It is concluded that Ukrainian has a rich morphological paradigm to express distance, primarily through diminutive morphology, which can…

Around the world, schools are central to the social and cultural shaping of the young. They inculcate the skills, subjectivities, and disciplines that undergird the modern nation-state. The case studies in this volume demonstrate a new direction for critical educational research as they demonstrate social reproduction and cultural production and…