Early childhood programs strive to provide good-quality care and education as young children develop their physical, emotional, social, and intellectual skills. In order to provide children with positive, developmentally appropriate learning opportunities, educators ensure the safety and security of children, indoors and outdoors. The outdoor…

At the end of the last millennium, schools received strong competition from the Internet, multimedia and other developed electronic media thanks to the new possibilities for gathering, processing, searching for and sending information. Furthermore, young people and adults now travel a lot, and by travelling they also learn. Never before in the…

Starting from the contribution on the "ten principles of effective pedagogy" by James and Pollard, we critically reflect on some of the principles and assess whether these principles can be grounded in the wider European research literature that has accumulated internationally. We conclude that these principles can be supported and…

The United States' economy depends greatly on a citizenry that possesses scientific and technical skills within the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) for economic growth. In the past few decades, technological advancement has created a demand for a highly skilled workforce possessing scientific and mathematical…

The article introduces evaluation principles of non-formal and informal learning that determine the quality of evaluation, describes stages of the evaluation procedure, differentiates their qualitative parameters and defines their criteria and indicators. It also brings in the discussion that consideration of qualitative parameters for the…

"Theoretical Foundations of Learning Environments" provides students, faculty, and instructional designers with a clear, concise introduction to the major pedagogical and psychological theories and their implications for the design of new learning environments for schools, universities, or corporations. Leading experts describe the most…

This article discusses the role of open and distance learning to widen participation and promote social inclusion within Australian higher education, as well as the benefits that open educational resources (OER) could bring to that context. It also explores some of the most relevant social inclusion policies and related initiatives developed in…

How do you know what students in your course "took away" with them? Why not ask? Through a learning portfolio assignment, I invited students to show: how they met the course objectives; connections they made to other courses as well as aspects of their lives; and their views and perspectives about the course material and processes. They…

This article explores the following question, posed in the call for submissions to this special issue, dealing with significant 21st-century debates for art education: "How can art educators embrace non-certified individuals who teach art in various settings such as craft stores, after-school programs, and community centers?" While the question…

Humanitarian crises as a result of conflict are often characterised by failure of the social contract between the state and its citizens. For a variety of reasons, children with disabilities are often particularly vulnerable in time of humanitarian crisis. This paper draws on research undertaken by the authors in a series of countries affected by…

When the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation launched its $50 million digital media and learning initiative three years ago, the expectation was that research in this area would expand people's understanding of the impact of digital media and communications technologies on how young people will learn in the future. By the time the first…

Recent reforms of initial teacher education (ITE) in the learning and skills sector (LSS) in England are standards based and emphasise subject specialism. The reforms are underpinned by objectivist epistemological assumptions which are incompatible with socio-cultural theories of professional knowledge, and ignore the diverse teaching roles and…

This article proposes lifelong learning as a socio-personal process and a personal fact. As such, it is conceptually distinct from an educational provision, which constitutes one kind of institutional fact. In making this distinction, this article seeks to elaborate a major flaw in the precepts for conceptualisation and enactment of the report…

Science and technology are embedded in every aspect of modern life. This executive summary describes how Public Engagement with Science (PES), in the context of informal science education (ISE), can provide opportunities for public awareness of and participation in science and technology. PES is an approach that has developed in the last 10 years…

The read/write web, or Web 2.0, offers ways for users to personalise their online existence, and to develop their own critical identities though their control of a range of tools. Exerting control enables those users to forge new contexts, profiles and content through which to represent themselves, based upon the user-centred, participative,…