There is consensus in the literature that teacher education programs exhibit the characteristics of complex systems. These characteristics of teacher education programs as complex systems challenges the conventional, teacher-directed/ textbook-based positivist approaches in teacher education literature which has tried to reduce the complexities…

This narrative study examines one thriving career long urban teacher. Three salient themes influenced the teacher's career thrival. "Hope springs eternal" is the idea that sustaining hope supported her thrival. The "extended education family" is the notion that familial-like relationships at school nourished her longevity.…

This paper highlights how a small group of minority students worked to take advantage of the privileges available once they were admitted to an elite school. The argument proposed is that, unlike their more privileged peers, minority students who have made it through the gateways of elite schools have to work out a salvation of privilege to level…

Narrative inquiry has a long tradition in qualitative educational research, although it remains a relatively untapped method of investigation in English curriculum and pedagogy studies. This paper presents one experimental narrative approach through the use of song lyrics as a musical method for storying interview data. Working with non-linear and…

People who exploit their strengths flourish; they are not only engaged with their goals, but also to their well-being and the content of life. In this study, interest focused on the high-achieving students in the Finnish general upper secondary education, in other words, on straight-A graduates' characteristic strengths. This was a narrative study…

The international agenda for assessment continues to convey a growing interest in assessment for learning (AfL) as a tool to support learning and enhance teaching. Complementing this, the recent literature on assessment in physical education acknowledges the need for physical educators to integrate AfL into their teaching and assessment practice…

Bullying and harassment threatens the safety, learning, and personal growth of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) students in many high schools in the United States. Such problems are attributed to a heterosexist school culture that is silent towards LGBTQ students and their concerns, making them an invisible sexual…

This paper reports on the professional development of four mathematics teachers in South Africa. The four teachers all participated in a Mathematical Thinking course before taking an Advanced Certificate in Education in mathematics. The research, which aimed to understand these teachers' ongoing professional development, took place two years after…

Purpose: The paper explores what emotions do in social science education through two specific cases and discusses the relation between emotion and politicization in the subject education. Method/approach: The cases are selected from an on-going dissertation project that uses interviews, video and observations in examining how social science…

Youth voices, experiences, and perspectives are sometimes overlooked because debates regarding "best practices" in curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment often distract educators from centering youth. Also, while the theory and practice of culturally responsive and sustaining pedagogies have been increasingly well received by educators and…

Research documents how transnational youth leverage literacy practices to maintain global connections, identity, and self-worth within learning environments that often fail to honor their cultural and linguistic repertoires. This article extends this research by focusing on the unique practices, experiences, and perspectives of secondary newcomer…

The present article focuses on the counter stories of two Chilean social studies high school teachers. Counter stories describe how teachers use their professional experience to confront those mega narratives composed of dominant educational policies that impinge upon their pedagogical practices. The mega narrative described in this study as a…

Stories or narratives are integral to meaning making in relation to selves, others and the choices we make in living. It follows that pre-service teachers' narratives can provide a means for understanding experiences and processes of becoming teachers of physical education (PE). This paper reports on an interview-based inquiry from which…

Middlescence is a term coined for a professional in mid-career and how this can be "a time of burnout or rejuvenation" (Morison, Erickson, & Dychtwald, 2007, p. 1). This qualitative narrative case study explores the lived experiences and perceptions of a highschool principal in mid-career and the challenges that he, as do other…

Findings of a longitudinal multiple case-study on early career teachers (following-up, semi-structured interviews at four moments during the first year of teaching) are presented to substantiate and analytically unravel their professional development (encompassing a technical, a moral, a political and an emotional dimension) as resulting from the…