Demonstrating the impact of faculty development, is an increasingly mandated and ever elusive goal. Questions have been raised about the adequacy of current approaches. Here, we integrate realist and theory-driven evaluation approaches, to evaluate an intensive longitudinal program. Our aim is to elucidate how faculty development can work to…

This study tests, and finds support, for the hypotheses that a student who majors in political science will have stronger feelings of political competence and will be more willing to engage in hypothetical political actions than two peer groups: (a) those who major in other fields and (b) those who show an interest in politics but have not studied…

Student agency is a hot topic in education in New Zealand at the moment. Future-focused learning and innovative learning environments seem to focus on student agency, but what does 'agency' actually mean? What does it look like for gifted students? And how do teachers to develop it in their students? In response to these questions, this position…

Literacy specialists are often overlooked when determining the professional development needs within a school, and yet they are arguably the school's best resource to empower teachers with professional growth to meet state mandates. How can literacy specialists be supported to increase their knowledge and skills so that all educators' and…

This essay explores pedagogy and practice at the community college level. Specifically, this essay explores three separate yet connected issues for community college faculty: the need and importance for faculty understanding of the nature of pedagogy and culturally relevant and responsive teaching to support empowering students and fostering…

Systemic sustainable change does not happen overnight but begins with the diffusion of knowledge and changing of attitudes (Rogers, 2010). Additionally, games can educate while adjusting attitudes (Gee, 2008; Jones, 2008). For these reasons, this project designed a Digital Game-Based Learning (DGBL) prototype to teach about the basic human rights…

Deborah Appleman will reconsider educational innovation by providing an example that demonstrates how communities of practice, even in the most restrictive environments and subaltern spaces (Foucault, 1995) can disrupt hierarchical power relations by providing creative opportunities and educational environments that offer agency and thus…

Constructionism holds potential for educational research. The qualitative research study presented here investigated learning experiences in a collaborative authorship project designed according to the principles of constructionism. We found a set of three characteristics at the core of constructionist learning: learner agency, focused tinkering,…

This book presents the most comprehensive discussion of emerging trends in higher education in the Asia Pacific, ranging from graduate attributes to integrated workplace learning, with an in-depth focus on work readiness, employability and career development. It draws on the relationship between graduate attributes and employability, as well as…

The paper provides an analysis of the concepts of agency, compliance, and resistance, drawing on evidence provided in the Belgian, Norwegian, and Polish cases in this Special Issue, as well as the Canadian context. Using the Cultural Historical Activity Theory framework as a lens, it highlights conditions that foster agency, those that may invoke…

The articles in this thematic issue document studies of grassroots actions in promoting multilingualism across different sectors of society as well as in different social and professional domains. In doing so, the contributors raise issues of the relevance of the notion of community in the age of superdiversity and the researcher's…

This article shares the results of a study that analyzed the website content of eight third-party providers that offer service-learning study abroad programs to college students. The study looked specifically at the information about service-learning projects and how host communities, community partners, and target populations are portrayed or…

There has been increasing attention given to the notion that international education consists of non-linear and multi-directional transmissive exchanges between existing institutional academic conditions and international students. Despite the role of international students' agency being paramount, there is a dearth of research on the…

Professional development is an essential element in teachers' growth, and subsequently, students' success. Moreover, teachers' sense of motivation and their sense of organization citizenship behavior are factors that can greatly benefit organizational success by empowering teachers and increasing workplace productivity. The purpose of this study…

This study explored whether Personal and Social Development (PSD) teachers, school-based counsellors, and students in Maltese secondary schools perceived processing experiences as empowering to seek counselling, if and when needed. The study investigated if processing techniques within PSD methodology helped develop self-awareness. The research…