Innovative uses of technology to support teacher learning are emerging through professional learning communities that leverage social networking technologies. The value of an online community for educators lies in the rich and open exchange of ideas, experiences, and resources where educators feel both respected and supported. Yet among the most…

Reading comprehension is a challenge for K-12 learners and adults. Nonfiction texts, such as expository texts that inform and explain, are particularly challenging and vital for students' understanding because of their frequent use in formal schooling (e.g., textbooks) as well as everyday life (e.g., newspapers, magazines, and medical…

Two groups of children with moderate bilateral sensorineural hearing loss were studied. Tests of reading and underpinning skills were administered. Comparisons were made with normally hearing children of the same age. While reading levels were found to be similar to their hearing peers, the phonological awareness and receptive vocabularies of the…

This paper reports on the results of a study of English children's performance on a computer mathematics assessment compared with a pencil-and-paper assessment. Two matched samples of children were each assessed on one of two mathematics pencil-and-paper tests and assessed a month later on a cloned computer test. The performance scores were better…

The study examines aspects of centralized and school-based supervision (SBS) as carried out at a private secondary school. Data were gathered from administrators, teachers and students through interviews, critical incidents and pertinent documentation. The study points out that a combination of the two supervision systems offers benefits that a…

The aim of the paper is to explore teachers' methods of delivering an ethos of tolerance, respect and mutual understanding in one integrated secondary school in Northern Ireland. Drawing on interviews with 18 teachers in the school, it is argued that most teachers make 'critical choices' which both reflect and reinforce a 'culture of avoidance',…

Northern Ireland, unlike the Republic of Ireland or England, has no province-wide information on bullying in schools. This study provided baseline information on this complex issue across 120 schools in all five Education and Library Boards in Northern Ireland, comprising 60 primary and 60 post-primary schools, 1079 primary pupils (Year 6) and…

Uncovering how teachers' beliefs about teaching and learning influence their instructional practices and students' goals in the classroom is important for understanding how to create learning environments focused on mastery and understanding. Most of the previous research on this topic has investigated these relationships in teachers, classrooms…

Contemporary theories of academic motivation seek to explain students' behaviours in academic settings. While each theory seems to possess its own constructs and unique explanations, these theories are actually closely tied together. In this theoretical study of motivation, several theories of motivation were described and an underlying theme of…

This paper critically examines the English National Curriculum (NC) for History and its Schemes of Work's development of temporal cognition within the primary school. In addition, it outlines the findings of a longitudinal research study into Year 4 pupils' assimilation of historical time. The paper contends that the development of historical time…

Postgraduate student teachers' conceptions of sustainable development were elicited using a questionnaire completed by the entire cohort of geography (N = 21) and science (N = 40) students starting the University of Oxford Post Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) secondary course. Responses were analysed in three ways: (i) development of…

The study provides empirical evidence for the management of stress by teachers of secondary schools in Nigeria. A total of 3466 teachers, drawn from secondary schools in Ogun State of Nigeria, returned their questionnaire for the study. Data were analysed using simple percentage and chi-square. The findings indicate that teachers frequently use…

The disparities between the scholastic achievements of girls and boys have been attributed to biological and sociological factors. The present study investigated the validity of these explanations in a multi-variable situation similar to field conditions. Achievement scores of 3446 pupils in the 5th through 11th grades, half girls and half boys,…

This is a study of the educational achievements of graduates of an experimental school in comparison to those of a regular school. The experimental school aims to enhance school effectiveness in coping with individual differences and to mediate between private and public knowledge. A quasi-experimental method was used. The results show an…

Longitudinal studies can provide individual histories of educational attainment and are becoming widely used in educational research. Two national longitudinal studies, the National Child Development Study (NCDS) and the British Cohort Study of 1970 (BCS70), are used here to investigate changing trends in the educational attainment of children in…