Computer-mediated communication tools facilitate international collaboration projects between foreign language learners and peers abroad (O'Dowd, 2018). Social Virtual Reality (VR) applications allow for synchronous interactions and task-based communication in which learners can experience telepresence and immersion and conversate in a foreign…

This paper examines the sources of authority behind the Bologna and ASEM secretariats' technocratic appearance and administrative routines, and argues that they are transnational policy actors in their own right. By drawing on principal-agent theory and the concept of "authority," it offers an alternative framework for understanding the…

This paper explains details of a creative writing project aimed at increasing students' motivation to write in English and develop collaboration skills. Forty-eight first-year -- A2-B1 Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) level -- English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners enrolled in a reading and writing course at a…

The information in this article is drawn from the study, "Curriculum Reform in Post-Soviet Armenia: Balancing the Local and Global Contexts in the Armenian Secondary Schools" (2010). Further, the article discusses how the World Bank, Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation -- Armenia (OSIAF-A), and the European Union imported…

This study is an examination of a partnership between a Texas public school district and a higher education institute on a 15-month embedded principal internship. Within this district, 6 principal fellows from 5 different campuses participated in the internship program. The focus was to prepare aspiring principals with the knowledge and skills of…

This paper discusses the potential of immersing foreign language learners in Social Virtual Reality (SVR) in an international seminar, designed by the authors, called SpEakWise VR, combining the tandem language learning paradigm with gamification in immersive virtual environments. SpEakWise VR builds on an existing telecollaboration (SpEakWise)…

This study focuses on a strategic partnership with students from the University of Padua and international students coming to Padua mainly in the setting of Erasmus student mobility and exchange programs. The project is designed specifically for incoming international students to facilitate their integration into the Italian higher educational…

Teacher training institutions use different strategies to develop future teachers' technology competences. However, it remains unclear which of these strategies are related to pre-service teachers' technology competences. Consequently, the main aim of this study is to identify which strategies of the SQD-model are related to pre-service teachers'…

Drawing on Gibson's (1977) theory of affordances, Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL) affordances are a combination of technological, social, educational, and linguistic affordances (Blin, 2016). This paper reports on a preliminary study that sought to identify the emergence of affordances during an online video conferencing session between…

In lyrical prose, Jim Webster lays out his view on the universal human use of tools and how "humans meet the practical demands of life." Webster lauds physical work and the work of the hand as they both support engagement, social cooperation, a deepening of relationships, and sustainability. Practical work is valuable and is plentiful as…

On September 22, 2022, the National Academy of Sciences held a symposium entitled Endless Frontier 2022: Research and Higher Education Institutions for the Next 75 Years. The event was a follow up to a February 2020 NAS symposium convened to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the landmark report Science, the Endless Frontier. Building on the 2020…

Early career academics are crucial to the long-term vitality of teaching and research, and to the future of universities. They are the next generation of teaching staff, of cuttingedge innovation and research leadership, and are a valuable resource to be nurtured and developed. There is a pressing challenge for universities to create an…

The majority of studies on telecollaboration for educational purposes focus on language-related aspects. Therefore, a qualitative explorative research project was set up at the RuhrUniversity Bochum, Germany, dealing with telecollaboration from the perspective of a non-language discipline; it is based on the approach of transferring…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of adaptive leadership on pre-service teacher's efficacious beliefs in the learning organizations of professional development schools during the internship practicum. Teacher efficacy was based upon Tschannen-Moran and Hoy's (2001) Teacher Sense of Efficacy Scale which included three sub-scales:…

In Vietnam, academic freedom is not guaranteed. This is especially so in relation to politically sensitive subjects such as human rights. This paper discusses how human rights education (HRE) can develop in such contexts. The Government of Vietnam is a signatory to various UN treaties and, consistent with its obligations, has encouraged the…