Research has shown a relationship between mothers' beliefs about literacy, their educational and socioeconomic backgrounds, and their children's emergent literacy awareness. Many Australian Indigenous children experience educational disadvantage, as do children whose parents are manual workers. One recommendation that is frequently made is for…

This study examines the interrelated issues of private and public domains of self-esteem, ethnic identity formation, and bilingual confidence among youth of a minority group in a city in western Canada. One hundred, ten Chinese students aged 11-18 from a Chinese-language school were randomly surveyed. Most items of the instrument are derived from…

Social capital is a term widely used in diverse contexts and in diverse meanings. For the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD, 1998), social capital is defined as networks with shared norms and values that facilitate cooperation (Cote & Healy, 2001); for Putnam (1995), as networks, norms, and trust that enable members of…

The research literature suggests that a major challenge facing teachers today is being thwarted from fulfilling their primary responsibility to help students learn. Teachers who continually encounter circumstances that hinder their efforts to educate students are likely to experience workplace frustration and stress. Following the…

Although there is dissimiliarity in theoretical research approaches to subjective well-being and to assessments of well-being, there is agreement regarding the value of well-being, especially among student populations. In the highly structured, achievement-oriented, non-optimal context of a classroom, individual well-being is a necessary…

In this investigation mixed methods were used to examine flow within the context of a writing task. Forty-four secondary students aged between 15 and 18 years completed a computer-based writing task requiring them to examine information and then write on one of two topical issues. We examined the level of agreement between end-of-task ratings…

Self-regulated learning (SRL) involves metacognition, motivation, and strategic action, and self-regulated learners are successful in and beyond school. Therefore, studies of how SRL develops and, perhaps, how it can be taught, are needed. Our research examines whether and how beginning teachers can be mentored to develop practices that support…

As a consequence of international educational studies like TIMSS and PISA, quality of instruction has become a central topic in the discussion between educators, researchers, and policymakers. Teacher competencies are preconditions for instructional quality. This study focuses on the impact of perceived teacher competencies on student well-being…

The aim of this study was to gain an understanding of the dynamics of motivation in socially shared learning from both individual and group perspectives. Higher education students' motivation was analysed in the context of collaborative learning tasks, applying quantitative and qualitative methods. The research questions were: (1) what kind of…

The theory upon which this study is based led to four predictions: (1) the small number of pupils in small schools creates opportunities to develop close teacher-pupil relationships and enables teachers to consider pupils' individual needs; (2) small schools can provide opportunities for fruitful co-operation among staff and, consequently, create…

The rapid development in working life during recent decades has changed the structures of work organisations and expectations of employees' work. Differing forms of professional employment and different types of organisational environments likely promote different types of motivational patterns in workers. The aim of this study was to apply a…

This paper provides an account of the inter-psychological processes that constitute learning through work. It does this by drawing on deliberations about the relative contributions of the immediate social world (i.e., workplace setting) that individuals encounter and the personal premises for individuals' learning. This account is realised through…

Workplace learning circumscribes processes leading to the development of competencies and skills through daily work. It is of increasing importance for many modern enterprises, which consider themselves as being learning organisations, to make use of the potential of their employees in order to be competitive within global markets. Dealing with…

Based on 30 interviews with and observations of professionals, 5 prototypical metaphors of learning are described and related to existing theories about learning. Two of the metaphors were previously described by Sfard: the acquisition and participation metaphors. As well, three new metaphors were found: the discovery metaphor, the apperception…

This paper analyses a work placement scheme established to create the conditions to: (i) incubate new designs in the jewellery sector in Birmingham; (ii) support a jewellery company compete more effectively in the global market; (iii) assist a newly qualified graduate jeweller to enter the jewellery sector. It introduces a new theoretical…