Negative expertise is conceptualised as the professional's ability to avoid errors during practice due to certain cognitive agencies. In this study, negative knowledge (i.e. knowledge about what is wrong in a certain context and situation) is conceptualised as one such agency. This study compares and investigates the negative knowledge of elder…

This study investigates questions students ask related to an introductory text about a new topic in the history classroom. The effects of a narrative, problematizing, and expository introductory text on the situational interest of students and the number and type of student-generated questions, are compared. Participants are 174 students in higher…

This paper seeks to highlight the links and discrepancies between three contemporary theoretical fields. The first part is devoted to theories of mind and personal epistemology. Both fields deal with naive theories relating to the nature of knowledge and can be integrated within the concept of "folk epistemology" (Kitchener New Ideas Psychol…

Tables are a presentation format that is commonly used to organize information, and they are widely present in many scenarios of our students' everyday activities; however, there is a scarcity of studies devoted to their analysis. Some of these studies point out that the organization of data into a double-entry table presents difficulties for…

This article presents some of the Scottish findings of a comparative research project (2002-2004) which examined the ways initial teacher education (ITE) policy and practice take place in two of the four major components of the UK, England and Scotland. Debates about the nature of professional knowledge, where it resides and who owns it continue…

Teachers' professional development is a lifelong learning process that should start with teaching practice, is best developed from experience and can be promoted by socio-professional interactions. Thus, a learning community of teachers might be a valuable environment for continuing professional development. This paper reports research carried out…

This paper critically considers teacher education in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. It was stimulated by an exchange programme between student teachers from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland for a period of school-based work in each other's jurisdictions. It examines recent curricular developments, partnership with…

That processes of interpretation are unavoidable in any educational experience has not received serious attention in teaching and teacher education. One of the authors devised an exercise for her graduate class to help them understand practical aspects of hermeneutic theory in connection with rationality, truth and the nature of teaching and…

Over the last decade teacher educators have started to systematically study the processes involved in their efforts to improve their teacher education practices. This research by teacher educators (self-study research) has made an enormous contribution to the professional development of the teacher educators involved. Many teacher educators,…

A long-term, 2 year in-service provision to develop pupils thinking capability was provided for 91 secondary schools during the period 1998-2002. The science teachers involved reported that the in-service experience impacted on their pedagogic practice. The evidence was gathered through reflective surveys and interviews. The in-service programme…

Scenario writing is a method to promote creative thinking and a proactive approach to dealing with the future. ATEE's Research and Development Centre "Curricula in Teacher Education" has adapted this method for use in teacher education. A Comenius funded course on Scenario writing was run over five days with teachers, teacher--educators, and…

The European Union has recognized the need for promoting social and political change through education. Special emphasis has been placed on the role of schools in personal and human development, along with the need for greater understanding of the diversity which makes up the European Union and throughout the world. This means that teachers are…

Over recent decades language teaching and learning has undergone a redefinition of the subject and a rapid change in its methodology. Language programmers can now be delivered in technology-based environments and communication at an international level can be a daily occurrence. This paper on the one hand analyses how these developments have…

Teacher trainers in England and Wales are clearly instructed they must satisfy themselves that their trainees can reach the specified English literacy standards. This has led to a particular focus on dyslexic applicants and a questioning of their suitability for teaching. In 2003 the Disability Discrimination Act as applied to education also made…

An ICT strategy and an implementation plan for teacher education were created in a co-operative process. Visions and expectations of staff members and students were registered by questionnaires and by making notes during sessions in which the strategy was created. Thereafter, an implementation document, where the staff development programme and…