This study investigated college student perceptions of the (in)appropriateness of instructor disclosures and perceived functions of instructor disclosures. An interpretive analysis of 35 college students identified that family relationships, life experiences and background, and everyday talk and activities were forms of appropriate disclosures;…

Despite one-dimensional stereotypes and barriers experienced by Asian American women, many have achieved prominence. We know very little about these stories, their lives, or what helped them to achieve beyond expectations. Based on the Productive Giftedness Model, the article identifies the common traits and supportive conditions that influence…

English language teaching (ELT) textbooks, especially reading textbooks, often include biographical reading passages (Tomas, Kostka, and Mott-Smith 2013) with accompanying pre-reading questions, post-reading comprehension questions, vocabulary exercises, and prompts for writing or discussion. Teachers often begin reading lessons by providing…

African American children's literature has a potentially powerful role to play in increasing reading engagement for African American boys. Unfortunately, this body of literature is not always used effectively in schools. Many teachers use African American books as an add-on to pre-exisiting curriculum rather than fully exploring the topics,…

This paper explores how Peter Jarvis's work offers a comprehensive grounding in many of the key principles and insights offered through the field of adult education. His work directs us to the different factors--psychological, social, economic and political required for understanding lifelong learning contexts. As scholars and educators, he…

With the increasing casualisation of the teacher labour force, there is little written on the experiences of casual teachers and the challenges they face in brokering professional identities within constantly shifting and uncertain work contexts. Being a category bound casual teacher (a product of category boundary work) is a complex subject…

The article explores the ways in which concerns of history, in terms of content, concepts and methodology, find space or do not find space within textbooks used for teaching languages. These may be more important as sites of "knowledge" than social science books, because the latter are often regarded as insignificant within the formal…

Justice-involved HIV-positive women have poor health outcomes that constitute health inequities. Researchers have yet to embrace the range of qualitative methods to elucidate how psychosocial histories are connected to pathways of vulnerability to HIV and incarceration for this key population. We used life course narratives and…

This paper explores the biographical and cultural sources that inspired the decision of Janusz Korczak (Warsaw, 1878; Treblinka, 1942) to make his life's vocation the education of young children from dysfunctional families. This decision emerged out of the radical version of humanism he embraced. His identification of children as the population…

This paper reports on part of an on-going interview-based study of the eight permanent secretaries who served at the Department for Education from 1976 to 2012. Following a discussion of the relevance of biography to the study of public sector administrators, it presents a portrait of Sir Tim Lankester. Based on his own account and that of…

The extent to which people choose their professions and professions choose their practitioners is not always clear; it is in all likelihood a "simpatico" process. But, growing attention to the study of careers can help elucidate the nexus of personal and professional forces that underpins this complex dynamic. This line of inquiry can…

Increasing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates has become an important part of the education agenda in the U.S. in recent years. Stereotypes about STEM (i.e., belief that STEM abilities are innate, and that European American men are best suited for STEM) have been identified as one of the critical factors that may…

This short account of R.J.W. (Dick) Selleck's career and research suggests how he reoriented study of the history of education in Australia. Using a historicist method, he examined educational theories and practices to elucidate the educational purposes they were intended to serve. Through major biographies of leading educationists and…

This chapter applies the concept of narrative identity to college student development. The authors describe a narrative interview method that can be used to promote the development of a purposeful life story in the college years.

This case study reflects on the main method of data collection, the "Biographical Narrative Interview Method," I applied in my doctoral research, which critically analysed the influence of social class on graduate employment trajectories. It will evaluate the specific mechanics of the method and forms or approaches within the…