Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are online courses aimed at global unlimited participation, originally conceptualised to carry no fee and offer no formal accreditation to the students (McAuley et al. 2010). Although their pedagogies vary, the most popular MOOC providers (e.g., Coursera, FutureLearn and EdX) are turning towards what Rodriguez…

Eight years ago, the authors carried out a study on scientific creativity. Thirty-four eminent scientists, who had gained great creative scientific achievements in five fields--mathematics, physics, chemistry, geography and life science--were chosen and interviewed. In the study, the authors tried to find out what made a person demonstrate…

These five issues of "Research in Developmental Education," examine the theoretical models and foundations of developmental education. Included are the following: (1) "Theoretical Foundations of Developmental Education," by Hunter R. Boylan, which examines the behaviorist, humanist, and developmental theories underpinning developmental education;…

This paper claims that the current theories of Self-regulated learning (SRL) are short-sighted. The author provides a comprehensive, but brief, overview of SRL which addresses such issues as (a) SRL processes, (b) SRL strategies, (c) compartments of SRL, (d) theories of SRL, (e) agency in SRL, and (f) models of SRL. He then presents a new model…

A generic model provides a conceptual framework that can be used for guiding systematic observation about programs and about the learning conditions needed for cooperative education. These investigations could provide information critical for the modification of existing practices and create more consistent practice. (Author/JOW)

Curricular questions of what and how knowledge should matter take on particular urgency when the knowledge at stake refers to cultural devastation in history. Whereas narratives of progress and discourses of "protecting the child" continue to dominate the public imaginary, a number of curriculum theorists have begun to explore the multiple ways in…

From a study of educational theory, adult learning, management, and of past experience, a model was developed to describe quality continuing education. A list of elements of quality in the continuing education of health professionals is provided. (MLW)

Over the last two decades in many countries, culturally responsive, multicultural and bilingual approaches to teaching have largely been replaced by standardised curricula and pedagogy, rooted in a political shift toward neoliberalism that has pushed business models of school reform. I argue that neoliberal reforms, by negating the central…

This overview considers some of the pervasive problems in defining and developing literacy education in the U.S., including the selection of curriculum content, the development of skilled reading and writing, and the development of a theory of learning and instruction. (RDN)

This article offers a defence of critical realism in the face of objections Nash (2005) makes to it in a recent edition of this journal. It is argued that critical and scientific realisms are closely related and that both are opposed to statistical positivism. However, the suggestion is made that scientific realism retains (from statistical…

Both Women's Studies courses and the mainstreaming of Women's Studies material within the regular disciplines are essential pedagogical strategies for making curriculum responsive to the gendered context of schools, but it is also important to formulate a gender-fair model of education. After explaining the need for and benefits of gender-fair…

This paper considers the role philosophy plays in model construction, focusing on the re-visioning of the classroom, an emerging philosophy influencing the perception of instructional development (ID) models. The constructs of paradigm, model, theory, philosophy, and phenomenology are presented as a way of reflecting on the philosophical origins…

Recent empirical and theoretical literature was reviewed to examine how the dynamics of class, gender, and race affect adult learning in nonformal and informal settings. The following were among the key findings: (1) social dynamics such as class, gender, and race influence individuals' development of their self or subjectivity, which in turn…

Discusses a model of the reading process drawn from ideas used in foreign language instruction and resting on the distinction between reading acquisition and reading learning. Explains how the model can be applied in the classroom. (FL)

Demonstrates how different educational climates (i.e., authoritarian, permissive, and democratic) are rooted in the attitudes of the adult toward the growth process. Analyzes the impact of these climates on a child's development. Concludes that an educational model should reintroduce the authoritarian support essential for children's growth. (DMM)