This study reports the results of a case study of four teachers' beliefs about the nature of historical empathy and their means of cultivating such empathy in secondary school classrooms. The results of multiple interviews and lesson observations of history teachers in England suggest that teachers conceptualize empathy in bounded but not…

Mathematics education aimed at empowering students for economic and democratic participation must address two critical issues: the long-standing function of mathematics as a gatekeeper, and the complicated nature of designing and implementing systematic reform at the school department level. The study reported here examines a curricular redesign…

This article investigates the underlying themes and principles that inform curriculum debate and how they are articulated in current school policy discussions. This topic is approached with the help of a case study covering the debate on which subjects should be mandatory for students at the upper secondary school curriculum in Sweden. The focus…

The purpose of this study was to investigate socio-cultural factors underpinning curriculum change by examining teacher beliefs in the context of professional development. Scottish teachers in the study were participating in policy implementation based on formative assessment. Teachers were selected who were positive about the formative assessment…

Sociocultural theory is increasingly popular as a paradigm for research in education. A recent member in this family of theories is introduced--cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT)--that shows much promise to complement and invigorate the field of educational change, a large, multi-faceted, and persistent problematic. In particular,…

School-based curriculum development has been a highlight of China's new curriculum reform since 1999. This reform introduces a curriculum policy change towards devolving partial power in curriculum decision-making to teachers, and invites their active involvement in transforming their role from being book-knowledge transmitters to curriculum…

This study examines four case studies of mentors of new teachers who assumed leadership of teacher induction programmes. Using cycles of action research conducted in a teacher induction leadership network, the case-study authors inquired into the features of the mentor curriculum. Cross-case analyses suggest the need for three elements of mentor…

This longitudinal case study of a single school examines changes in the educational beliefs of 10 elementary-school teachers who experienced a constructivist-based trans-disciplinary curriculum (CTC). After 3 years of experiencing a CTC, which emerges through theme-oriented and project-based learning, teachers' educational beliefs had changed to…

Practical reasoning refers to a teacher's capacity to discern particulars and make wise judgements about how to act in pedagogical situations. But how do teachers know what is right? How are teachers' preferences to be grounded and their choices justified? I explore the disciplines as one source of moral perception. Assuming that narrative unities…

This paper examines the impact of task structure on students' learning processes in the context of several case studies in practical secondary school science. Three levels of differentiated task structure were investigated: open (no structured in-task support), partially structured (some in-task support), or prescriptive (highly structured in-task…

This paper contends that history of education should be a required part of teacher preparation. The discipline's languishing status in schools of education is widespread, and should be seen in relation to the general decline of humanities and social science subjects as foundations of teacher training. This paper examines the reasons for the…

This paper examines the evolving participation of instructors and learners in an after-school web page-design course intended to improve technology practices. Defined here as technology fluency, these practices emerge through a highly fluctuating dance among social interactions with others and with the technology. In this digital divide…

The use of narrative as a perspective within which to understand teacher development has gained considerable momentum in the last decade (Carter 1993, Carter and Doyle 1996, Doyle 1997, Munby et al. 2001), and this perspective has led to several important innovations in the pedagogy of teacher education: the study of cases, the writing of personal…

Teachers are facing an increasing number of changes in their job context, many of which significantly affect their work lives. This study offers a theoretical understanding of the changes in teachers' working conditions, starting from the intensification thesis. The case study of a Flemish (Belgian) elementary school shows the existence of various…

Analyzes the summative profiling procedures of three vocational and technical schools in Great Britain. Reports on: (1) the linking of formative and summative profiles; (2) the choice of appropriate staff for the development process; (3) the support from superiors on this initiative; and (4) the value of outside help when time is limited. (BSR)