This paper is based upon a unique mixed methods 4-year research project which focused upon the variations in teachers' work, lives, and effectiveness of 300 elementary and secondary school teachers in a range of 100 schools across seven regions of England. Its findings challenge linear conceptions of teacher development and expertise and provide…

The first two years of the authors' research study into models of professional development (PD) of a longer duration than workshops or conferences and the impact of those types of PD activities on teaching practice were reported in Boyle et al. (2004, 2005). The research team has now completed the third year of the research and this report updates…

In a movement toward workforce development as an academic entity, the identity of adult education as projects for inquiry is troubled. In some academic programs, adult education has been termed adult learning in the service of promoting teaching and learning for the workplace. However, adult education's inquiry, its projects, might be more than…

This article focuses on an investigation into the learning journeys undertaken by managers of a community education project in an area of urban deprivation. A constructivist interpretation of life history narrative revealed the positive effects of community workers' heavy dependence on experiential work-based learning, which resulted in the…

The Bachelor in Management and Leadership (BML) is a programme specifically designed for working adult learners in the field of management leadership. As part of their assessment, students have to complete a small research project, called the Major Piece of Work (MPW). The aim of this paper is to discuss the Major Piece of Work as a real example…

Since 2002, adult numeracy specifications have been introduced for the first time in England. This article investigates the relevance of Bernstein and Shulman's theoretical frameworks to teacher training using the new Level 4 adult numeracy teacher training programmes as an example. The article discusses Bernstein's theories relating to pedagogic…

Alternative certification programs were designed to recruit individuals with work experiences into the teaching profession. This article synthesizes two studies of teachers and teacher candidates who circumvented the alternative certification process. The teachers who participated in the quantitative portion of the study were neither mature in…

NCRE members were surveyed regarding the relative importance of eight broad research areas as well as 67 research topics. Results indicate that Rehabilitation Interventions and Rehabilitation Outcomes are research categories that should receive the most attention. Self-report evaluations regarding level of proficiency to conduct qualitative and…

Public financial support for intellectual disability in the United States grew from 2.3 billion in 1955 to 82.6 billion in 2004, and the federal government emerged during this period as the principal provider of such support. Notwithstanding this unprecedented growth in financial support, many inequities persist today in the distribution of…

The paper discusses the results of a research project based on the field testing of a course aimed at developing arithmetic problem solving skills in primary school pupils. The course was designed to incorporate e-learning techniques, including the use of ARI@ITALES authoring tools. These tools allowed the integration in the course of…

This paper argues that there is no other way to describe history, and particularly the personal life history of people, apart from in the form of a narrative. It also suggests that as history is not understandable, save in the form of a narrative, the narration as such "makes" history. Drawing on the findings of a research project on…

Nationally approved adult numeracy teacher training programmes were started in September 2002 following the introduction of subject specifications by the Department for Education and Skills and the Further National Training Organisation in England. These programmes delivered by higher education institutions and further education colleges were…

This report describes the processes and findings of a north east Learning and Skills Development Agency (LSDA) research project. This was a collaborative research study, which followed from a similar, much larger project in the north west, which looked into how learners view their own progress and achievement in the acquisition of literacy and…

Partnerships of teachers with scientists are thought to be important for many aspects of science education reform, but it is not always clear how to make such partnerships productive. Between 1994 and 1997, high school teachers were partnered with scientists, to design yearlong ecological research projects in which the teachers were learning for…

The author reports on homeless people in London who have conducted the largest ever research study of the barriers to employment and employability faced by the homeless. A group of eight "peer researchers"--all with a background of homelessness, all current volunteers at Groundswell UK, an organisation which promotes self-help…