Background: Applying structural models is important to chemistry education at the upper secondary level, but it is considered one of the most difficult topics to learn. Purpose: This study analyses to what extent in designed lessons students learned to apply structural models in explaining the properties and behaviours of various materials.…

The aim of this research was to clarify the characteristics of Finnish upper secondary school students as vocational decision-makers. The focus was especially on what skills and competences were related to decision-making at different phases of the decision-making process. Altogether, 216 upper secondary school students filled in the…

In the United Kingdom, changes in the policy, funding and commissioning landscape for mental health and well-being are posing opportunities and challenges for adult community learning (ACL). Opportunities include increased recognition of, and funding for, the "wider benefits" of learning, whereas challenges include the risks of ACL…

The English education sector is undergoing major restructuring with the coalition government placing great emphasis on two key principles of policy: deregulation and marketisation. This development follows on two decades in which the British state has sought to raise performance levels and reduce costs through a variety of policies that are drawn…

Vocational education and its leadership is an important sphere of economic activity worldwide and is being impacted by several trends including: the increasing significance and centrality of skills development in today's economies; economic trends associated with globalisation (internationalisation of education and emergence of global labour…

This article explores aspects of the relationship between professional standards for teachers and the curriculum for teacher education in the lifelong learning sector in the United Kingdom. Drawing on an analysis of different editions of three core textbooks for teacher education in the lifelong learning sector, which are positioned as acting as…

This paper draws on research with young people from similar working-class backgrounds in a deprived urban area in England. Although all the participants achieved a high enough attainment level to remain in full-time education beyond compulsory schooling, they each elected to follow different post-16 pathways. Drawing on in-depth interviews with…

As the internationalisation of higher education has become an important element in university global competitiveness, universities are engaged in initiatives to internationalise their curricula. Among the strategies employed to internationalise the campuses is the recruitment of highly skilled international faculty. The recruitment of such faculty…

Each year, around 250,000 16-year-olds in the United Kingdom finish their GCSEs and begin studying for their Advanced (A-) levels, many of them at further education (FE) college. Students study their A-level courses at FE college for a number of reasons, including a more mature relationship with teachers. As we approach the 64th anniversary of…

This paper presents findings of a research project that aimed to critically examine the pedagogical beliefs of work-based learning teachers, and their potential implication on practice and expectations of learners and employers. Based on an online tool, qualitative and quantitative (descriptive) data were generated from a purposive sample of some…

This qualitative study focused on observed and perceived changes in academic and personal attitudes and behaviors by student participants in the Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) program at the University of Minnesota (UMN). The PAL model employs best practices from national peer learning models including Supplemental Instruction, Peer-led Team…

Aiming at empowering students with the NCTE's 21st century literacies, this discussion investigated what role Web 2.0 technologies play in first-year college students' writing practices and what challenges students face while using computer technology for writing. Based on input from a national sample of 37 writing teachers, pedagogical…

This paper reports on a commissioned research project to evaluate the impact of support (mainly funding) given by the UK Government's National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (NESTA) to various projects under the general heading of "science learning" over a four-year period (2000-2004). Findings emerging from the study indicate that…

This paper presents selected findings from an ESRC-funded research project examining the choices and occupational aspirations of 59 students approaching the end of their compulsory schooling. It concentrates on the development of a choice model conceptualising the decisionmaking processes of the young people involved in the study, whilst avoiding…

This paper explores personalised learning, which is a "new" teaching and learning style in the Five Year Strategy for Children and Learners launched by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) for England in 2004. The research was based on semi-structured interviews with 13 teachers mainly in charge of Key Stage 3 at two 11-18 comprehensive…