Scientists often use more than the results of experiment to arrive at a result; they use anticipation and analogy to arrive at the results that fit their theories, and sometimes they correct results in the light of analogy. They also need to be clear about the difference between accuracy and precision. They do all this using not only theories, but…

Historians and philosophers of science have recognized the importance of controversies in the progress of science. The objective of this study was to facilitate in-service chemistry teachers' understanding of conceptual change based on alternative philosophical interpretations (controversies). Selected controversies formed part of the chemistry…

This paper explores the wide range of mathematics content and processes that arise in the secondary classroom via the use of unusual counting problems. A universal pedagogical goal of mathematics teachers is to convey a sense of unity among seemingly diverse topics within mathematics. Such a goal can be accomplished if we could conduct classroom…

Over the last decade South Africa has undergone a unique process of transformation--a process which has still not been completed. In this paper I explore the concept of transformation within the context of higher education. I attempt to analyse the concept philosophically with the aim of showing how it can manifest in higher education. I construct…

In the Netherlands, the constitutional freedom of education offers the opportunity for the growing number of Muslims to establish state-funded Islamic schools. At the moment there are 46 Islamic primary schools; a number of schools are in the process of being established and there is still a need for an additional 120 such schools. Right from the…

The aim of this paper is to develop an approach that can be used in addressing the issue of the use of information technology and its importance in human meaning making. By using a combination of Wittgenstein's work method, a sociocultural perspective on learning, and a sociotechnical perspective on artifacts a specific focus for analyses was…

There is an increasing interest in the role of emotions in education. The concept of "emotional intelligence" is an example. There are various discourses being developed in education about the importance of emotions. One such emerging discourse builds on the argument that greater emphasis on emotions under some circumstances and control over…

This essay critically highlights the main features of a study that attaches importance to the concepts of time and optimism and their effects on the achievement and goals of high and low achievers in a North American and a Brazilian context. The focus on the time factor that serves as a leitmotif throughout the study gives this work its…

Emerging from the entanglement of tensions with the perception that if one is a minority, female, and short, it would appear that one is likely never to get to the top of the corporate ladder. In addition to what people already know about the stark realities of gender and racial discrimination in the workplace, some studies suggest that physical…

The politics of body size has been the topic of intriguing feminist work. Although in the author's view this issue is still undertheorized, the author has long sought for a way to bring what "does" exist in the literature into her academic activities. The opportunity arose when, as a graduate student at the University of Michigan in 2001, she…

This paper draws upon 10 interviews conducted with staff at two science centres as part of a research project on science centres and social and cultural inclusion. The authors argue that these science centres have developed a highly differentiated configuration of science that stands at some removes from the standard conception of science as a…

In this paper, the author makes a case for why stories are important for learning: why they can provide the conditions to listen to the expelled voices, otherwise drowned even by those who are left leaning, and how they can challenge some political premises. She proposes that art and narrative are resources for political imagination and for…

In this article, the author focuses specifically on her teacher-body and its place in various dynamics of projection in the classroom in order to discuss how drawing on queer performativity can be a critical resource in teaching about normativity and otherness. Queer theory has challenged individuals to think more critically about their reliance…

In this article, the author addresses how the professor's body is perceived and how those perceptions influence promotion and tenure decisions. She observes that many writers have argued that the "normal professor body" is white, male, middle-class, middle-aged, able, heterosexual, and thin, which also describes the "normal body" in American…

Contemporary academic fiction features a plethora of characters, male and female, identified by a bodily defect or medical malady as a primary character trait. These representations of the damaged college professor have joined other popular academic stereotypes, such as the absent-minded professor, the lecherous professor, and the sadistic…