In this article activity theory is used to enable an analysis of how three types of student teachers interpret literacy learning while in classrooms. The implications of these interpretations and how they are supported by the social practices of the schools are discussed in terms of the formation of teachers' professional identities. Finally the…

In this article, I develop the idea that the starting point of moral education is formed by the affective commitments individuals make in the course of growing up. The task of education is to enable children to critically consider and revise these commitments, as part of the development of a reflective personal identity. Ethical concepts like…

Traditionally, school libraries have been evaluated primarily in terms of library management; the impact they have on teaching and learning has rarely been a focus. For this reason, they have often been omitted from whole school self-evaluation. Self-evaluation can help schools to prepare for inspection, but more importantly to identify strengths…

This study examines to what extent the Korean National Kindergarten Curriculum has actually influenced pre-school practices. This study explores the characteristics of the National Kindergarten Curriculum as it is implemented in Korea. It also examines pre-school teachers' perceptions, daily practice and the curriculum content in pre-school…

This article addresses the methodological challenges faced in a pilot study of the processes and cultures of inclusion and exclusion in two primary school classrooms. The authors, who were the research team, engaged with a range of practical and ethical challenges, some of which face any researcher entering classroom contexts and some of which…

Education for citizenship has the teaching of social and moral education, community involvement and political literacy at its core. Perhaps more than any other curriculum area, the influence of the home is significant, yet little is known of the extent to which parents support the teaching of citizenship. This paper presents the findings from a…

Government inspection of initial teacher training (ITT) courses in England is frequent, relentless and high-stakes. How confident should providers be about the consistency of judgements made through inspection? This article researches outcomes of the 1999-2002 round of inspections of secondary Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) courses.…

A substantial number of 5-7 year old children experience delayed language development which threatens their progress in school, although they have not been placed on speech and language therapy caseloads. Children with delayed language development typically have a limited ability to understand and tell stories. Intervention to develop the oral…

This article reviews studies investigating segmentation of dynamic visualizations (i.e., showing dynamic visualizations in pieces with pauses in between) and discusses two not mutually exclusive processes that might underlie the effectiveness of segmentation. First, cognitive activities needed for dealing with the transience of dynamic…

Recent studies have tested the addition of worked examples to tutored problem solving, a more effective instructional approach than the untutored problem solving used in prior worked example research. These studies involved Cognitive Tutors, software designed to support problem solving while minimizing extraneous cognitive load by providing…

Application of physiological methods, in particular electroencephalography (EEG), offers new and promising approaches to educational psychology research. EEG is identified as a physiological index that can serve as an online, continuous measure of cognitive load detecting subtle fluctuations in instantaneous load, which can help explain effects of…

The worked example effect within cognitive load theory is a very well-established finding. The concrete effectiveness of worked examples in a learning situation, however, heavily depends on further moderating factors. For example, if learners improve their processing of worked examples by actively explaining the worked examples to themselves, they…

Research exploring beliefs about creativity has produced valuable findings regarding how individuals conceptualize creativity, yet, to date, there has been no systematic synthesis of this literature. As such, the purposes of this review were twofold: (a) to explore researchers' and teachers' conceptualizations of creativity; and, (b) to analyze…

Teachers have a powerful impact on student achievement, yet high attrition rates hinder the ability of schools to provide quality instruction. Attrition rates are highest for schools serving low income, minority students and among small private schools. This review of research seeks to understand why teachers leave, examining different teaching…

This paper reports the results of a systematic literature review on empirical studies exploring relationships between parental behaviours and children's self-regulated learning (SRL). The literature search resulted in 22 studies published between 1980 and 2009. Studies were analysed in terms of their research findings and their methodological…