Investigates the role of key teacher characteristics in the development of students' musical ability. Finds that more successful learners rate their first teacher highly on personal dimensions and their current teacher highly on task-oriented professional dimensions. Highly successful learners, on average, study with more teachers and receive more…

Career education and guidance (CEG) are schools is primarily concerned with helping students make and implement career decisions. Evidence from motivation, self-efficacy, expectancy-value, achievement motivation, and attribution theory suggests that CEG may helps enhance pupil motivation and attainment. In terms of those theories, CEG can help…

Unit accreditation is presented as a form of assessment that motivates students and gives insight into the learning process. Units of accreditation are programs of work written as discrete modules that students complete for curriculum credit. Two case studies illustrate the development of unit accreditation. (SLD)

A study of six women doctoral students in the United Kingdom from developing countries shows many characteristics in common despite their cultural diversity. Intrinsic motivation to succeed in a career was accompanied by the desire to have and maintain a family. Implications for the study of gender issues are discussed. (SLD)

Interviews with 108 high school teachers in eastern Kentucky, northeastern England, and St. Petersburg (Russia) examined cross-cultural similarities and differences in teachers' beliefs about influences on student motivation. The findings demonstrate how comparative research that relies solely on teacher opinions can be problematic. Studies that…

Mastery and performance goals of learning were related to "broad" and "narrow" views of adventure identified through interviews with 12 British outdoor educators. Motivational research provides empirical support for using progressive teaching approaches in outdoor education. Findings suggest that educators should encourage a…

This study, undertaken to assess the feasibility of the integration of a multimedia learning provision into a university language curriculum, reports results from a questionnaire of 107 undergraduates' attitudes toward the use of a multimedia program. Implications are that multimedia can play a beneficial role in the curriculum and may facilitate…

This article considers the effectiveness and implications of the "Powerplus" composing project, in which teenage students were asked to write for a chamber ensemble in preparation for a public concert of their work. The perspectives of all participants are considered, with a view to understanding i) the developing identities of young…

From a comparative perspective, this paper analyses Chinese learners' intercultural experiences in Chinese and British educational contexts. In the Chinese context, interview and questionnaire research was carried out in 24 universities that hosted the British Council's English teaching development programmes. The research uncovered perspectives…

Presents a brief overview of the theoretical and historical developments surrounding questions about grouping students by ability. Aims to extend theoretical positions further by examining the way in which setting and mixed-ability teaching influenced the motivations, perceptions, and eventual attainment of students in two British schools. (DSK)

A class of unmotivated inner city secondary school children were introduced to an innovative, new, dedicated physical environment where computers and multimedia software were seamlessly integrated and which was served by a socio constructivist learning pedagogy. In this environment they were taught English as prescribed in the UK national…

In 1998 the authors published research with NFER (National Foundation for Educational Research) "Family Numeracy Adds Up" showing how parents and children had gained from fourteen pilot family numeracy programmes. It showed strong evidence of the double benefits of work with families. Children have an early boost in their learning and…

This publication provides advice for schools exploring the possibility of introducing Triple Science GCSEs. It focuses on strategies for raising attainment generally but within the context of Triple Science. The document is split into six sections: The introduction, titled "Preparing to Implement Triple Science Courses," introduces some…

Because children are in danger of losing their curiosity in adolescence, science teaching in primary school is of critical importance. Nurturing curiosity requires that the locus of control must reside with the learner. Instructional density (the amount of teaching) must not inhibit children's thinking and decision-making so as to remove the…

Playing computer games is an extremely popular leisure activity for children. In fact, the computer games market in the UK is now double that of the video rental market, and substantially larger than cinema box office sales, and under people under the age of 18 make up 38% of these game players. Based on the popularity and strong motivational…