Children's outdoor play is declining, despite clear links between play, learning and development. Alternative learning initiatives which provide children with a diversity of play opportunities, including the chance to play outdoors, are therefore needed. One such programme, Forest School, is increasing in popularity in the UK and internationally,…

This study examined (a) the availability of basic science materials in children's home environment, (b) the frequency of parents' involvement in informal science activities with their children, (c) the level of opportunities parents offered their children for learning basic science subjects, and (d) the effect of grade level on parental support…

How can we transform places where people gather or wait into hubs for interaction and playful learning? Bus stops offer one setting in which to test this idea. Urban Thinkscape reimagines an everyday bus stop in an under-resourced area as an interaction zone instead of merely a place to wait for a ride. Results suggest that embedding playful…

Though some research has been done on second and foreign language (SL/FL) teachers' attitudes, little is known about their cognitive basis while this issue is central to formal teacher education. Employing the rationale of the theory of planned behavior, this in-depth small-scale study investigated the implicit theories which form the cognitive…

The UNESCO-UNEVOC TVET Country Profiles are an online service. They aim to provide concise, reliable and up-to-date information on TVET systems worldwide, including key statistical data which can be compared across countries, major TVET policy documents, and information on governance of TVET. Dynamic diagrams illustrate education systems at a…

In the past decades, society in general has become strongly diverse. This change also affects schools. As a result, learning groups cannot be seen as homogeneous and taught in this way. One of the challenges is students' linguistic skills. Dealing with different linguistic competencies should not only be a focus of formal education in schools but…

Guided by the Boundary Activity based Learning (BABL) principle, mobile technology-supported inquiry learning activities were implemented in a primary four science class in Hong Kong. An exploratory study was conducted to examine the effects of the BABL guided inquiry activities on students' learning performance and to explore how the key element,…

Forty-one pre-service elementary teachers (PSETs) enrolled in a science methods course participated in a service-learning project on energy and sustainability. The goal was to help PSETs and elementary students to understand concepts regarding energy, energy saving, and sustainability through an oncampus Family Energy Day event for 65 elementary…

Drawing on a cross-cultural, qualitative study in Finnish and Korean comprehensive schools, we explore how teacher control and student agency are manifested and exercised in the teaching and learning practices of the "official school" and in the student-teacher interactions of the "informal school". We also elaborate on how…

This book introduces the reader to evidence-based non-formal and informal science learning considerations (including technological and pedagogical innovations) that have emerged in and empowered the information and communications technology (ICT) era. The contributions come from diverse countries and contexts (such as hackerspaces, museums,…

Duoethnography and narrative inquiry are used to investigate the perspectives of two experienced teachers from contrasting curriculum specialties, one in music and the other in mathematics within a primary school setting. Initiated by the music teacher, research focuses on the usefulness of embodied and participatory forms of music-making for…

Toward the end of 6th grade, some bright and highly motivated science-oriented Israeli students and their parents are required to make a decision: whether or not to enrol in a non-mandatory advanced science programme for 7th graders ([almost equal to] 12 year olds) upon entering middle-school. In other words, for many students, entry into the STEM…

This article examines how early childhood educators, as policy implementers, perceive reforms in Bulgaria's education system that occurred between 2008 and 2018. Both Roma and non-Roma educators participated in this project that compares perceptions of Bulgarian teachers in public schools and Roma educators in informal educational settings…

Public media stations play a powerful part in connecting families with broadcast and digital resources, local activities, and events that inspire children to learn about the topics that excite them most. The Families Learning Across Boundaries (FamLAB) Project surveyed more than 400 library professionals, 1,550 parents, and 600 pre-K through grade…

This paper reports on a study of parental involvement in children's mathematics learning in the context of a series of workshops carried out in four primary schools in the United Kingdom. Previous research suggests that, while there are high correlations between parental involvement and positive student outcomes, it can be difficult to raise…