This paper evaluates the development of a personalised learning approach within a professional distance learning course. The issues arising are of relevance to academics engaged in course development, with an emphasis on fostering independent learning. The course focuses on enabling student teachers to develop their generic skills, attributes and…

This paper examines some of the effects of globalisation on education and teacher education. In particular it considers the contradictory demands of economic and cultural forms of globalisation, and between globalisation and localisation. Attempts to construct an "education space" in Europe and Asia are considered and various responses…

Preparing graduates for the professions is increasingly recognised as involving a partnership approach to curriculum design, implementation and evaluation. Experiential placements play a critical role in developing discipline-specific knowledge and skills and also generic professional dispositions including relationships, communication, problem…

A major challenge for Information Technology (IT) programs is that the rapid pace of evolution of computing technology leads to frequent redesign of IT courses. The problem is exacerbated by several factors. Firstly, the changing technology is the subject matter of the discipline and is also frequently used to support instruction; secondly, this…

This study explored how teachers and school administrators connect large-scale assessment results with school improvement planning. Using a semi-structured format, 20 teachers and 17 administrators were interviewed from two school districts in southern Ontario, Canada. The interview protocol contained a range of questions related to teaching and…

This paper draws on data from a recent multi-method study exploring knowledge management in support of district-level instructional renewal (Edge 2005). The data for this paper come from a strand of inquiry that examined the perceived impact of literacy teacher leader LC Networks in support of improved in-school implementation of the early…

In 1937, the Ministry of Education in Ontario published a document entitled "Programme of Studies for Grades 1 to VI of Public and Separate Schools" that became known amongst teachers as the "little gray book". The curriculum and pedagogy in the document enunciated a rupture or mutation in pedagogical discourse that broke with…

This article focuses on the growing role of the private sector in public education and the implications of this role on issues of social justice and leadership in public schooling. In the USA, until the early 1980s, teachers, school administrators, and professional school staff provided leadership in areas of curriculum and instructional…

This article describes how two instructors used assessment data to improve an undergraduate course, Teaching Social Studies in the Elementary Classroom. This entailed revising the core assignment for the course--the creation of a thematic unit of instruction--and developing a scoring guide to assess teacher candidates' performance. Data collected…

In most western countries, the problems of effective university-controlled and largely university-based initial teacher education (ITE) have been apparent for many decades: whatever is achieved in the university, the teaching practices and attitudes that student-teachers usually learn to adopt are those currently dominant in the schools. So it is…

The research evidence suggests that strong instructional leaders greatly can impact teaching and learning. There also is increasing recognition that instructional coaches can play an effective role in improving classroom-level practices. A natural way for school leaders to take on the role of instructional leader is to serve as a "chief" coach for…

This article describes the regional impetus to early childhood curriculum development in Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries and discusses its prospects for effective implementation. The historical context in which pre-school education has evolved is outlined. Regional research evidence for the enrichment of early childhood experience and for…

This paper outlines the approach of one higher education institution in England to the research dialogue involved in designing an M.A. Education programme that focuses on partnership collaborations in postgraduate professional development with school-based staff groups as a catalyst to sustainable school improvement. The paper draws on the model…

The inclusion of an Environmental Awareness Module (EAM) within Vocational Education and Training (VET) in Spain is considered a factor of overriding importance due to the current need to incorporate environmental awareness within society as a whole but also within particular occupations and professional practices involved both in jobs relating to…

This article is a reflection on the promises and pitfalls of using a simulation-centered curriculum for English as a Second Language (ESL) writing over time. A one-time graduate student and instructor of the program, the author returned after 10 years to the program as the director to discover that as with any curriculum, changes had…