The objective of this work was to highlight the conceptions of force held by students aged 10-17 years old, in situations where animate and inanimate objects interact. In the proposed experimental situations, we varied parameters such as the motion and position of an object and the agent's effort. We asked questions about both inanimate and…

The underlying structure of the Revised Two Factor version of the Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F), a 20-item instrument for the evaluation of students' approaches to learning (SAL), was examined at item level using two independent groups of undergraduate students enrolled in the first (n = 314) and last (n = 522) years of their studies. The…

The Digital Education Enhancement Project (DEEP) is investigating the ways in which new technologies can improve the teaching of literacy, numeracy and science in primary schools in Egypt and South Africa. Forty-eight primary teachers (24 in each country) have been carrying out a sequence of classroom-focused professional development activities,…

Recent research emphasizes the context-specific nature of professional knowledge and expertise, implying that developing novel practices in authentic environments is a prerequisite for teachers' professional development. The aim of this study was to find out how teachers develop their practical knowledge and expertise through shared planning and…

This article focuses upon the developing professionalism and emergent thinking of 36 secondary trainee teachers, in terms of their motivation to teach, their early beliefs about teaching and the teaching-learning process and their views of themselves as trainee teachers. It analyses their perspectives on how they expect to learn to become teachers…

In a study of student teachers' concerns, a combination of image-based and more traditional research techniques was used. The first year student teachers appeared to be most concerned about matters that, in their view, form the core task of teaching, such as 'selecting and teaching content well', 'motivating pupils to learn' and 'adapting myself…

The purpose of the study was to enhance classroom management in special education classrooms. "Affective teaching" was compared with "cognitive teaching" in 52 classrooms in Israel. Data was collected based on observations of three 90 minute lessons, equally divided into the two types of instruction. Results of MANOVA procedures indicated a lower…

The theory-oriented approach to the final thesis in higher education is still dominant at the Master as well as Bachelor level. We believe, however, that at the Bachelor level a practice-oriented approach would be more appropriate. Our research as presented below explores the possibilities of a practice-oriented approach to the Bachelor's thesis…

In the spring of 2002 the Ontario College of Teachers began a research project in order to foster awareness of the "Standards of Practice" for the 187 000 teachers in the province. Case work, in which 18 teachers representative of the College's membership wrote narratives describing their professional dilemmas, was the methodology chosen. Through…

This paper focuses on the European policy initiative to increase the number of teachers able to teach a modern foreign language in primary schools. It particularly focuses on the exchange placement which is an integral part of a training programme run by a university faculty of education in England and an Institut de Formation des Maitres in…

This article presents a comparison between the professional and curricular conceptions of two samples of secondary education science teachers in Spain, who differed in their years of teaching experience and in whether or not they had participated in a long-duration scientific-pedagogical refresher course. Using the data from their responses to a…

At the beginning of a series of ICT (information and communication technology) initiatives in Scottish schools by the Scottish Executive and again, 2 years later, a survey of teachers and pupils provided evidence of the impact that these strategic investments had made on the classroom. The findings indicate that while there are innovative and…

In England and Wales, Initial Teacher Education depends upon a legal and contractual partnership between schools and higher education institutions in which teacher mentors are often trained to support student teacher development. This article investigates the much less formal kind of partnership model that has evolved in Scotland, using one…

Science in early childhood is of great importance to many aspects of children's development. Planning for improvement of science instruction should take into consideration the problems teachers encounter in their performance of their task. However, exposition of problems of early years teachers, especially those with many years of experience, is…

Previous studies into teacher attitude and motivation have identified staff development as one of the contributing factors in using ICT (information and communication technology) effectively in the classroom. Substantial funds have been provided for such staff development in recent years in the United Kingdom. Currently, ICT training is being…