This study aims to understand teachers' perspectives on their roles in higher education, their views about the adoption of a social-constructivist approach to teaching and learning and the integration of online collaborative learning in blended learning environments in higher education from a cross cultural perspective. We interviewed 60 Chinese…

This study investigated 198 pre-service teachers' intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for becoming teachers and focused on the distinction between adaptive motives, which promote lasting and effective engagement, and maladaptive motives, which promote superficial engagement. We examined the relationships with teacher self-efficacy, the quality of…

This self-report study investigated 274 pre-service teachers' attitudes toward students with learning and behavioural difficulties (LBD) and the factors that predict their attitudes. Using four scenarios describing students with LBD, we investigated the degree to which pre-service teachers' open-minded thinking dispositions, readiness to learn…

The aim of the article is to present and discuss a study in which Finnish, English and Swedish pupils' understanding of citizenship education with regard to: (a) political literacy; and (b) attitudes and values was explored. The study was a cross-national, multiple case study and data were collected through 18 focus group dialogues with…

The research focuses on Estonian university students' emerging teacher identity and their interest in becoming teachers. Five hundred and sixty-five first, third and fifth year students participated in the survey. The results suggest that pedagogical reasons for entering teacher education and clear motives for studying are significant indicators…

The research explores the level of integration of a group of young children attending a primary school in Italy, a new immigration country, focusing on their identification of racial, ethnic and cultural pluralism. Specifically the study takes into account two processes of identification: the mechanism of attributions and the expression of…

The next president of the United States faces monumental challenges in the areas of national defense, the economy, and health care. However, one daunting domestic issue the nation must face is the continued educational inequity that exists between children of color and their white counterparts in our schools. This article looks at four facets of…

Madam/Mr. President, I urge you to think broadly and systemically about improving education in the United States. Use your authority to create a plan that provides all children and adolescents with access to well-funded, desirable schools that orient their learning toward the future. Enable them to flourish because they are healthy, they have a…

This article invites candidates for president to strengthen teaching and teacher education for diverse students. The article first describes two remarkable teachers in California to illustrate what strong teaching of diverse students looks like. It then discusses what the diverse students of this nation need of teachers, including teachers with…

This article takes the form of a letter to the 44th president of the United States, urging the president to pursue an aggressive agenda to improve teacher quality. The authors assert that because teacher quality is the single most important factor shown to impact student outcomes, the next administration must dedicate resources to human capital…

Levine notes that education has declined as a national priority. He appeals to the next U.S. president to champion quality education in America, addressing the achievement gap by focusing on teachers. He urges that the nation dignify the teaching profession, restoring its prestige through the equivalent of a Rhodes Scholarship program for teachers…

Six suggestions for improving education in the country are offered. The case is made first that unless children's health care is improved, educational achievement among the poor will not improve. The second point is that poverty limits school achievement as well. Without work on these two issues, neither the nation nor the nation's schools will be…

This letter to the next president of the United States recommends the transformation of teacher in-service learning as a powerful means of education reform. Too often, professional development is perceived by teachers as being idiosyncratic and irrelevant. The authors recommend a reconceptualization of professional learning for practicing…

This letter to the future president of the United States urges her to conduct herself as president as if she were a role model of an educated person and the nation's principal teacher. This obligation entails the need always to be clear about the reasons why her decisions are taken, the evidence or values that support those decisions, the…

Since 2002, Creative Partnerships, based at the Arts Council of England, has been investing time, energy, and resources to bring artists and schools together. Their goal is to "animate the national curriculum and to enrich school life by making the best use of the United Kingdom's creative wealth." This article concentrates on the partnership…