A central goal of science education reform is for students to participate in scientific sense making rather than to merely acquire science facts. However, even in classrooms utilizing reform-based pedagogies, students are typically allowed to construct knowledge only insofar as they construct expected knowledge. In this report and reflection, we…

This article is a response to Amanda Lewis, Margaret Hagerman, and Tyrone Forman's the Sociology of Race & Racism: Key Concepts, Contributions & Debates. Sociology and education, like any scholarly areas, have veins that reinforce racism and some that astutely assess, theorize, and challenge White supremacy. In this article, I explore the…

The purpose of this paper was to review literature on the Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) and how it has been used to understand the mediation between emerging technologies and teaching and learning in a mathematics classroom. Specifically, it aimed at understanding the genesis of CHAT and further analyzing the studies that have…

This project investigated the curriculum of a new industry-collaborative PhD in technology innovation. While the programme was in its early stages, we focused on conceptualising its curricular design with the aim of unpacking its complexity and, where possible, mitigating its tensions. The use of an activity theory framework to delineate the…

Traditionally, 4-H agents have been communicating with stakeholders through newsletters; either in print or online. 4-H agents have used social media as an additional tool to communicate with their stakeholders since its introduction. Social media communication can help maintain or increase stakeholder involvement in the 4-H program because a…

This article discusses six theoretical frameworks of disability which dominate studies of dyslexia: (1) the biomedical, (2) the biopsychosocial, (3) the social model, (4) the critical realist, (5) the post-structuralistic, and (6) the neurodivergent approach. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how models of disability alter our understandings…

Dialectics and a dialogical approach constitute two distinct theoretical frameworks with long intellectual histories. The question of relations between dialogue and dialectics provokes discussions in academic communities. The present paper highlights the need to clarify the concepts "dialogue" and "dialectics" and explore their…

The author, Kris Gutiérrez, is a learning scientist whose work has centered on understanding the cultural dimensions of learning, with particular interest in understanding how to leverage youths' everyday concepts and practices toward more expansive and equitable forms of learning. Gutiérrez discusses the big ideas that informed her work in…

Creativity is a commonly used word in education circles, yet it is also seen as something that is being undermined by contemporary agendas of standards, testing and an increasingly strong focus on core subjects that are used as indicators of school performance, which are impacting the work of teachers. This paper starts from Ball's 2006 paper 'The…

This paper posits a move "toward the concrete" as a specific combination of curriculum studies and Cultural Studies, placing it squarely within the frames of postqualitative research (Lather & St. Pierre, 2013; St. Pierre, 2011, 2013b, 2014). In addition to examining the theoretical legacies of the aforementioned fields, this paper…

In response to the recent special call in "To Improve the Academy," we offer the following collaborative essay that describes how feminism is our characterizing perspective on educational development. The essay details various, interrelated facets of feminism that inform our work in the field: gender, intersectionality, power, privilege,…

This paper presents insights into the leadership implications of recent shifts in a range of policy contexts towards notions of collaboration and partnership. The paper draws on empirical research into the formation and operation of government instituted networks in the context of education in Victoria, Australia. From 2001, School Networks and…

This article discusses the use of an activity theory system as an analytical tool within the school art and design classroom. It highlights reasons for its use and makes explicit its importance for investigations into teaching and learning. It proposes that through an activity theory system, teachers and researchers are enabled to reflect on the…

Albee's plays are known for highlighting the daily suffering of American individuals and the material pressures exerted upon them by the "American dream" project, which pushes them into choosing between fulfilling their material requirements in exchange for the supreme human values and social relations that bind their community and…

This chapter evaluates Dewey's thinking in relation to the theorization of Prior Learning Assessment (PLA). It compares Dewey's concepts with ideas from social realism, Vygotsky, and cultural historical activity theory, illustrated by PLA research in South Africa.