In this essay, the authors share a professional dialogue about the ways in which issues of power emerge in preschool classrooms when teachers endeavor to build on children's home and school mathematical experiences and understanding. From different perspectives, as early childhood and mathematics education researchers, the authors discuss ways in…

Virtual schools have the potential to improve student learning--but so far, as asserted in this article, research tells little about how online instruction affects student performance. Most of the studies that pointed to good student outcomes were small in scale and based on specific programs or products. Few provide data to help understand…

This chapter argues that today's dominant forms of education are insufficient for today's world because they ignore the vast and conventionally untapped resource that lies in the disciplined inwardness that is contemplative life. It then surveys a range of transformative examples that are emerging in the educational movement known as…

The mission of Thompson Rivers University Open Learning (TRU-OL) can be understood in terms of three entities: the student, the faculty member and the curriculum content. Their conjuncture--when a TRU-OL student works with TRU-OL courseware and is supported by a TRU-OL faculty member--is where learning, assessment and, ultimately, credentialing…

In "Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Programs" (2009), the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) identified the instructional partner role of school librarians as the most critical role for the future of the profession. To determine the extent to which school librarian preparation programs prepare pre-service…

Existing research into learning about patient safety focuses on identifying how educational interventions improve educational outcomes but few studies offer evidence that inform educators about the mechanisms involved in learning about patient safety. The current evidence based in undergraduates is also limited to outcomes that relate to knowledge…

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have generated enthusiasm, excitement, and hype worldwide and recently increasing skepticism. They are being broadly discussed in the major news media (and to a smaller extent in academic circles). Rapidly increasing numbers of MOOC providers, MOOC courses and articles, discussion groups, and blogs discussing…

"The banality of evil" (Arendt) remains controversial and useful. Ironically, the concept is now itself a banality. To revisit and extend it, we consider the "evil of banality", the profound dangers of cliched thoughtlessness. A distinction is proposed: "intensive" versus "extensive evils". The former takes…

This research highlights a K-5 dance artist-in-residence as a form of democratic and exemplary dance education that ignited collaboration, promoted equity, fostered student autonomy, and demonstrated rigor in school curriculum. Through examining observation, interview, and performance-based data and calling upon critical, democratic education…

A program of helping students learn French by integrating students' native tongue into their school instruction, along with French--the country's national language--promises to improve education outcomes in one of the world's poorest nations.

This paper examines the Singapore Ministry of Education's sexuality education curriculum in relation to two leading approaches to sex education, namely, abstinence-only-until-marriage education (AOUME) and comprehensive sexuality education (CSE). Based on competing cultural, political, and religious beliefs, the arguments between the advocates of…

The study presented in this article explores the application of the principles of adult learning in the face to face (f2f) meetings organised within the context of blended learning courses. The study adopts a case study approach, employing qualitative data collection through semi-structured interviews with participants in four thematic units in…

The Almajiri falls among the category of extremely poor children in Nigeria. These children constitute about seven and half million street-begging, maladjusted, aggressive and out of schools. The menace of the Almajiri has recently attracted the of attention of federal and state Governments which led to the establishment of special schools geared…

This ethnographic study examines the educational struggles of Russian-born Buriat Mongolian children studying in China at a Mongolian/Mandarin school, by emphasizing conflicting educational paradigms between the Russian and Chinese systems. Educational practices are compared. Standardized assessment, teacher-centered classrooms, and group-…

The focus of this paper--and the series of which it is a part--is on improving student learning during the crucial period spanning grade 12 and the first year of college in order to build momentum for college success. In the introductory paper to this series, "Why 12th Grade Must Be Redesigned Now--and How," Jobs for the Future names…