In this article, we examine the disposition for critical thinking (CT) from three perspectives and analyse the underlying constructs of the disposition for CT, such as one's ability, sensitivity and inclination to engage in critical, mindful thought. Environmental factors that enhance or inhibit the development of a generalisable disposition for…

This article focuses on educational enterprises outside the formal sector, such as museums, botanical gardens and interactive science centres. International research is drawn on to illuminate how design, culture, educational strategies and settings combine to affect the way in which young people respond to experiences on offer, leading to analysis…

This study assessed the perceptions of 146 gifted and 115 non-gifted high school biology students and investigated associations between student perceptions and cognitive achievement. The What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) was used to assess perceptions of actual and preferred learning environments. Data indicated that all students preferred…

Reviews in many countries have found little evidence of consistent advantages in either single-sex education or coeducation. Over the last three decades, coeducation has been introduced into many single-sex schools, but there is a dearth of evidence from the student perspective of the impact of such changes on the classroom learning environment.…

This article reports findings from a classroom environment study which was designed to investigate the nature of Chinese Language classroom environments in Singapore secondary schools. We used a perceptual instrument, the Chinese Language Classroom Environment Inventory, to investigate teachers' and students' perceptions towards their Chinese…

Influenced by work on learner-centred education, teacher efficacy and teachers' concerns, we conducted an investigation of the influence of 185 preservice teachers' teacher efficacy and concerns on their learner-centred beliefs. Learner-centred beliefs were selected for the purposes of this study as the best indicator of future teaching actions…

This grounded-theory study involved how Finnish children describe their ideal school and learning environment and considers how their notions should be valued in the development of schools to better respond to the challenges of the future. The school children, aged 10-12 years, participated in the study by writing a story about a school in which…

This article develops a theoretical framework for studying how instructional space, teaching and learning are related in practice. It is argued that a school's physical design can contribute to the quality of the learning environment, but several non-architectural factors also determine how well a given facility serves as a setting for teaching…

Increasingly in elementary schools, there has been a focus on the influence of school-level factors on students' learning. The way in which the learning environment is organised in schools and classrooms is likely to influence students' opportunities to carry out inquiry. Most studies have focused on the effects of the amount of schooling, rather…

This article reports the development, translation, validation and application of a modified Arabic version of a modified form of the What Is Happening In this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire. When parallel Arabic and English versions of this questionnaire were field tested with a sample of 763 college students in 82 classes, the WIHIC exhibited sound…

This research investigated 68 secondary school students' perceptions of their computer-mediated project-based learning environment and their attitudes towards Project Work (PW) using two instruments--Project Work Classroom Learning Environment Questionnaire (PWCLEQ) and Project Work Related Attitudes Instrument (PWRAI). In this project-based…

The present study monitored a student-centred educational anti-smoking intervention with fifth graders by focusing on their cognitive achievement and intrinsic motivation. In order to assess the potential influence of the setting on self-directed learning, the intervention was conducted in two different learning environments: a classroom-based…

The purpose of this article is to analyse reasons underlying the neglect of social climate in education. It discusses the relevance of the concept of social climate in learning environments, presents evidence for its effects and importance in special-needs and inclusive education, presents differences existing between settings and discusses the…

We examined epistemological and ontological world views using self-report surveys, brief written reflections, and an extended written action research project for a sample of 16 graduate students enrolled in an education class at a large university on the West coast of the USA. We made two predictions. We anticipated that the majority of students…

This article reports a study of secondary students' perceptions of mathematics classroom learning environment and their associations with their motivation towards mathematics. A sample of 81 students (19 male and 62 female) in two schools were used. Student perceptions of the classroom environment were assessed using a modified What Is Happening…