This book looks at the sensible and meaningful role of self-review in creating sustainable improvement in all areas across secondary schools. It outlines a self-review approach focussed on key principles which ensure this approach is transparent, purposeful, does not negatively impact on workload, that does not use the same approach for all teams and that does actually result in clear ideas for school improvement. It discusses claims of effective self-review including that it challenges thinking, leads to improvement, incorporates a range of stakeholders, skills people up, and helps build professional communities. The book is full of examples and case studies so that the reader can transfer some of these ideas to their context, discuss them at meetings and help generate new ideas. It challenges the 'deep dive' approach as something that should be left to Ofsted and instead suggests that leaders should know daily what is happening in their schools, and instead work with staff to design self-review activities that are bespoke and fit for purpose. The main theme is around 'improve not prove', where stakeholders feel involved, valued and empowered to be change-makers at a range of scales. It examines how effective self-review can reduce workload and support improvements in wellbeing.

This book argues that we have moved into a new cultural period, automodernity, which represents a social, psychological, and technological reaction to postmodernity. In fact, by showing how individual autonomy is now being generated through technological and cultural automation, Samuels posits that we must rethink modernity and postmodernity. Part of this rethinking entails stressing how the progressive political aspects of postmodernism need to be separated from the aesthetic consumption of differences in automoderntiy. Choosing culturally relevant studies of The Matrix, Grand Theft Auto, Eminem and Jurassic Park, he interprets these medias through the lens of eminent theorists like Slavoj Zizek, Frederic Jameson, and Henry Jenkins. Ultimately, he argues that what defines postmodernity is the stress on social construction, secular humanism, and progressive social movements that challenge the universality and neutrality of modern reason.

Many parts of the world are experiencing rapid demographic restructuring, resulting in an ageing population with increasingly significant work and care pressures on cohorts less able or willing to provide support. This book examines some of the important trends that have underpinned reductions in fertility, including delayed child-bearing and increased childlessness. It demonstrates how relationships between partners have resulted in new living arrangements with changing attitudes from marriage to co-habitation as the social norm, and it considers the health and well-being for particular at risk groups such as the elderly and stepparents as well as aspects of mobility such as household migration and commuting to school.

The book brings together a series of studies that all involve quantitative analyses of secondary data from censuses, surveys or administrative records. The trends and patterns reported provide new and interesting insights into behaviour of the household and the roles of adults and children, and point to questions of critical importance for practitioners and policy makers.

The origins of On Becoming a Scholar lie in the realisation that there is a need for a vademecum, a handy compendium of ideas, plans and strategies for building a productive and fulfilling academic career to guide the host of prospective academics.

On Becoming a Scholar is geared to help relatively new scholars to construct personal futures and to find their way through the 21st century university. It is intended to be a map, and like any map it does not contain all the contours and details of the landscape, but rather seeks to reveal the important pathways and milestones in the journey to becoming an established academic.

Drawing on highly experienced academics and accomplished professors in their different fields, as well as promising younger academics already on their way, this book cover a concentrated resource of practical wisdom. The topics are broad and, cumulatively, they seek to answer the many questions that experienced mentors encounter every day in their work with new academics.

This book highlights the fact that leaders do indeed affect the performance of organizations or the well-being of society for better or worse-to cast either a shadow or light by the exercise of their leadership. Modern psychology with its theories of human behavior, which does not acknowledge the existence of the spiritual realm, cannot explain the carnage and evil often associated with the dark side of leadership. This book focuses on the dark side of leadership in a multidimensional manner and provides a psychospiritual approach toward understanding personality disorders and leader derailment. It highlights an area that has not been exclusively studied by leadership researchers to date-the influence of spiritual forces in personality disorders, which lead to leadership failure and derailment. This book calls for a more interdisciplinary approach and holistic understanding of the dark side of leadership, inseparably relating body, soul, and spirit as they function individually and relationally. It highlights the fact that the restoration of personality will require sustained dialogue between theologians and the medical and psychological professions. This book provides solid information and new insights for anyone seeking to understand the dark side of leadership.

This is the first collection of key articles on the psychology behind educational attainment. It brings together in one volume for students a set of accessible but influential papers, representing the best classic and cutting edge work in the field. Under the themes of basic processes in learning, interactions between teachers and learners, and metacognitive approaches to learning, the thirteen readings cover a wide range of topics. To help students gain an overview of the subject, each article is introduced and contextualized by the editors, as is the volume as a whole. Each paper is also accompanied by suggestions for further reading so that students can investigate topics in more depth if they wish. This book of readings can be used alone or alongside a text on teaching and learning. In either context, it offers an ideal starting point for the exploration of key issues in educational attainment.

Knowledge And Global Power is a ground-breaking international study which examines how knowledge is produced, distributed and validated globally.

The former imperial nations – the rich countries of Europe and North America – still have a hegemonic position in the global knowledge economy. Fran Collyer, Raewyn Connell, João Maia and Robert Morrell, using interviews, databases and fieldwork, show how intellectual workers respond in three Southern tier countries, Brazil, South Africa and Australia. The study focuses on new, socially and politically important research fields: HIV/AIDS, climate change and gender studies.

The research demonstrates emphatically that ‘place matters’, shaping research, scholarship and knowledge itself. But it also shows that knowledge workers in the global South have room to move, setting agendas and forming local knowledge.

In today's world, contact with other cultures is an inevitable part of university and college life. "Learning and Teaching across Cultures in Higher Education" is intended for anyone who has an interest in intercultural aspects of higher education. The book contains theoretical rationale, resources and examples to help readers understand and deal with situations involving contact between learners or educators from different cultural backgrounds, as well as giving insights into the new global context of higher education.

This book introduces new concepts and mechanisms regarding the usage of both social media interactions and artifacts for peer education in digital educational games. Digital games in general, and digital educational games in particular, represent an area with a high potential for interdisciplinary innovation, not only from an information technology standpoint, but also from social science, psychological and didactic perspectives. This book presents an interdisciplinary approach to educational games, which is centered on information technology and aims at: (1) improving digital management by focusing on the exchange of learning outcomes and solution assessment in a peer-to-peer network of learners; (2) achieving digital implementation by using forms of interaction to change the course of educational games; and (3) providing digital support by fostering group-formation processes in educational situations to increase both the effects of educational games and knowledge exchange at the individual level. In addition to a systematic analysis of the relationship between software architecture, educational games and social media applications, the book also presents the implemented IT systems' architectures and algorithmic solutions as well as the resulting applicable evaluation findings from the field of interactive multimedia learning.

This book explores important current social justice issues that confront young children in America. A broad range of topics related to the fair treatment of young children and their families are approached with a fresh and hopeful energy. The central argument of this volume is that a fair and just society must protect the basic needs of all children so they are able to reach their full potential to learn, grow, and ultimately become productive democratic citizens. The book includes contributions from an impressive group of authors who have been consistent voices for the fair and equitable treatment of children in school and society. Each chapter examines a critical issue in child social justice with a focus on the current problem, historical importance of the issue, potential solutions, and a vision for the future. The book has been developed to reach a wide audience of professionals whose work involves children and who have grown concerned about social forces that cause child suffering and threaten the well-being or even the survival of children in the United States. Readers will come away with up to date information and a renewed commitment to being life-long advocates for children.

"Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences" helps individuals, both students and researchers, master the key concepts and resources needed to use Rasch techniques for analyzing data from assessments to measure variables such as abilities, attitudes, and personality traits. Upon completion of the text, readers will be able to confidently evaluate the strengths and weakness of existing instrumentation, compute linear person measures and item measures, interpret Wright Maps, utilize Rasch software, and understand what it means to measure in the Human Sciences.

Each of the 24 chapters presents a key concept using a mix of theory and application of user-friendly Rasch software. Chapters also include a beginning and ending dialogue between two typical researchers learning Rasch, "Formative Assessment Check Points," sample data files, an extensive set of application activities with answers, a one paragraph sample research article text integrating the chapter topic, quick-tips, and suggested readings.

"Rasch Analysis in the Human Sciences" will be an essential resource for anyone wishing to begin, or expand, their learning of Rasch measurement techniques, be it in the Health Sciences, Market Research, Education, or Psychology. "

Rhetorical Ways of Thinking focuses on how the co-construction of learning models the interpretation of a mathematical situation. It is a comprehensive examination of the role of sociocultural-historical theory developed by Vygotsky. This book puts forward the supposition that the major assumptions of sociocultural-historic theory are essential to understanding the theory's application to mathematical pedagogy, which explores issues relevant to learning and teaching mathematics-in-context, thus providing a valuable practical tool for general mathematics education research. The most important goal, then, is to exemplify the merging of the theory with practice and the subsequent applications to mathematics teaching and learning. This monograph contains five chapters, including a primer to Vygotsky's sociocultural historic theory, three comprehensive empirical studies examining: prospective teachers' perception of mathematics teaching and learning and the practice of scaffolded instruction to assist practicing teachers in developing their understanding of pedagogical content knowledge. Finally, the book concludes with a contextualization of the theory, linking it to best practices in the classroom.

This book contributes to our growing understanding of the nature and development of language learner self-concept. It assesses the relevant literature in the disciplines of psychology and applied linguistics and describes in-depth, qualitative research examining the self-concepts of tertiary-level EFL learners. Although researchers in applied linguistics and SLA have recognized the importance of self-constructs, there remains little empirical work in the context of foreign language learning that focuses exclusively and at length on this central psychological construct. The content of this monograph draws on interdisciplinary sources, with input from psychology and applied linguistics. It will appeal to students and researchers interested in language-learner psychology as well as self-related constructs in general. The text provides insights into how learners view themselves, and how these self-beliefs can develop and affect the progress of an individual's language learning.

The book will be designed primarily for graduate students (or advanced undergraduates) who are learning psychometrics, as well as professionals in the field who need a reference for use in their practice. We would assume that users have some basic knowledge of using SPSS to read data and conduct basic analyses (e.g., descriptive statistics, frequency distributions). In addition, the reader should be familiar with basic statistical concepts such as descriptive statistics (e.g., mean, median, variance, standard deviation), percentiles and the rudiments of hypothesis testing. They should also have a passing familiarity with issues in psychometrics such as reliability, validity and test/survey scoring. We will not assume any more than basic familiarity with these issues, and will devote a portion of each chapter (as well as the entire first chapter) to reviewing many of these basic ideas for those not familiar with them. We envision the book as being useful either as a primary text for a course on applied measurement where SPSS is the main platform for instruction, or as a supplement to a more theoretical text. We also anticipate that readers working in government agencies responsible for testing and measurement issues at the local, state and national levels, and private testing, survey and market research companies, as well as faculty members needing a practical resource for psychometric practice will serve as a market for the book. In short, the readership would include graduate students, faculty members, data analysts and psychometricians responsible for analysis of survey response data, as well as educational and psychological assessments. The goal of the book is to provide readers with the tools necessary for assessing the psychometric qualities of educational and psychological measures as well as surveys and questionnaires. Each chapter will cover an issue pertinent to psychometric and measurement practice, with an emphasis on application. Topics will be briefly discussed from a theoretical/technical perspective in order to provide the reader with the background necessary to correctly use and interpret the statistical analyses that will be presented subsequently. Readers will then be presented with examples illustrating a particular concept (e.g., reliability). These examples will include a discussion of the particular analysis, along with the SPSS code necessary to conduct them. The resulting output will then be discussed in detail, focusing on the interpretation of the results. Finally, examples of how these results might be written up will also be included in the text. It is hoped that this mixture of theory with examples of actual practice will serve the reader both as a pedagogical tool and as a reference work. To our knowledge, no book outlining psychometric practice using commonly available software such as SPSS currently exists. Given that many practitioners in academia, government and private industry use SPSS for statistical analyses of testing data, we believe that our book will fill an important niche in the market. It will contain very practical information regarding how to conduct a wide variety of psychometric analyses, along with tips on interpretation of results and the appropriate format for reporting these results. We believe that it will prove useful to individuals in educational measurement, psychometrics, and survey and market research. Our text will add to the literature by providing users with a single reference containing the major ideas in applied psychometrics with instructions and examples for conducting the analyses in SPSS. In addition, we will provide original macros for estimating a variety of statistics and conducting analyses common in educational and psychological measurement.

Through its research-to-practice focus, this book honors the professional contributions of Professor Barry J. Zimmerman as illustrated by the recent selfregulation applications of a highly respected group of national and international scholars. This book will serve as a valuable resource for those interested in empowering and enabling learners to successfully manage and self-direct their lives, education, and careers. In particular, K-12 educators, college instructors, coaches, musicians, health care providers, and researchers will gain invaluable insight into the nature of self-regulation as well as how they can readily apply self-regulation principles into their teaching, instruction, or mentoring. Emergent trends in education and psychology circles, such as linking self-regulated learning assessment and interventions as well as the use of technology to enhance student learning and self-regulation, are additional themes addressed in the book. The kaleidoscope of self-regulation issues addressed in this book along with the wide range of promising intervention applications should also prove to be particularly appealing to graduate students as they pursue their future research activities and seek to optimize their individual growth and development.

Handling complexity in learning environments: theory and research
What do we mean when we say that "learning environments are increasingly complex"? What do we know about the cognitive processing that occurs during complex learning? How can we provide effective instructional support for students who must learn and apply complex knowledge? These questions, and related issues, have fascinated educators and educational researchers for many years and are they are the focus of this book.

As a tribute to Joost Lowyck, professor educational technology at the K.U.Leuven, eminent scholars from around the globe have contributed to a far reaching analysis of complexity in learning environments from a cognitive perspective. The chapter authors summarize what we know now about complexity and make specific suggestions for educational practice and for future research on complexity. The different contributions in the several chapters discuss theoretical accounts and empirical findings about learning, the learner, and learning environments. Wide-ranging topics include current descriptions of our cognitive architecture, new contributions to cognitive load theory, research and evaluation design considerations, motivation to learn, the influence of prior knowledge, the use of simulations and multimedia, alternative instructional methods and interventions, studies of the classroom context for complex learning and mental model-building.
*A tribute to Joose Lowyck, professor educational technology at the KU Leuven
*International scholars provide far reaching analysis of complexity in learning environments from a cognitive perspective
*Makes specific suggestions for educational practice andfor future research

The research and theoretical contributions of international and multidisciplinary scholars have advanced our understanding of the role of play in evolution and behavior. The diverse articles in this volume range from theoretical and conceptual advances, scientific investigations, to discourse about applied issues and different dimensions of play. The authors provide excursions into the adaptive, cultural, and social significance of play. The databased papers fall into four categories: the role of age, gender, and ethnicity in play participation, social-cognitive connections to play, fighting and play fighting, and play and process in adulthood. Play is defined as behavior that is not necessary to survival and yet is undertaken voluntarily as a method by which to improve the quality of life. This study, addressing the definition, role, and characteristics of play, falls within the research of education, psychology, anthropology, sociology, leisure studies, and primatology. The play of humans and nonhumans takes a variety of forms and serves multiple purposes within mental and emotional states of being. The motivation and impact of play behavior varies with the type of play performed. The studies included in this volume address simple games, more complex creative activities, the emotional implications of play throughout adult life, and the role of play in human social construction.

Creative problem solving, collaboration, and technology fluency are core skills requisite of any nation's workforce that strives to be competitive in the 21st Century. Teaching these types of skills is an economic imperative, and assessment is a fundamental component of any pedagogical program. Yet, measurement of these skills is complex due to the interacting factors associated with higher order thinking and multifaceted communication. Advances in assessment theory, educational psychology, and technology create an opportunity to innovate new methods of measuring students' 21st Century Skills with validity, reliability, and scalability. In this book, leading scholars from multiple disciplines present their latest research on how to best measure complex knowledge, skills, and abilities using technology-based assessments. All authors discuss theoretical and practical implications from their research and outline their visions for the future of technology-based assessments.

In the digital age, the integration of technology has become a ubiquitous aspect of modern society. These advancements have significantly enhanced the field of education, allowing students to receive a better learning experience. Digital Tools and Solutions for Inquiry-Based STEM Learning is a comprehensive source of scholarly material on the transformation of science education classrooms through the application of technology. Including numerous perspectives on topics such as instructional design, social media, and scientific argumentation, this book is ideally designed for educators, graduate students, professionals, academics, and practitioners interested in the latest developments in the field of STEM education.

This personal, creative, critical work from a leading scholar of psychology is rooted in three novel concepts and aims to share critical pedagogy in the spirit of nascent potential found in the context of a colonial Puerto Rico. First comes the idea of pedagogy in (e)motion, or the emotional matrix of the teaching and learning process. Secondly, the author explores the notion of street pedagogy as a genuine and powerful professional tool. And thirdly, the book underscores what Zambrana-Ortiz calls the interconnection of the "artscience" within the political and biographical act of teaching .

The purpose is to inform education teaching practice with the radical framework that, like the neurosciences, believes emotions to be a vital precursor to the planning of action, the process of decision-making and the broadening of our cognitive parameters. The chapters focus on different and yet complementary dimensions of a college teaching initiative boasting a unique interplay between a transgressive narrative, reinvented methodology and authentic samples of students contributions to the project. Traditionally, emotional and visceral experiences have been downplayed and rejected as fundamental components of knowledge. This book makes the case for their reinstatement, and proposes that the pleasure and commitment of teaching itself can be seen as resistance given the challenging social and political context, the bureaucracy of the Puerto Rican higher education system, and the cynicism of the self-confessed "cognoscenti" who think that little political progress can come from within the university system. Such resistance has proved for the author a source of inspiration and has contributed to her creation and reconceptualization of approaches to critical and useful pedagogy.

D edication

To my students who inspire many stories and provoke many emotions and challenge my capacities

To Aura, Ignacio and Jaime for their unconditional love and their everyday lessons

A cknowledgments

Many friends, mentors and colleages from the University of Puerto Rico and United States were very important pieces to my creative work. Thanks to Donaldo Macedo who encouraged the initial proposal and to Joe Kincheloe for accepting it and bringing guidance in the right moment. Colleages like Roame Torres and Angeles Molina, from their directive positions, were extremely supportive while Sandra Macksoud, Jose Solis, Pedro Subirats, and Ada Prabhavat gave me guidance and constant insights in editing and translation, as well as crucial material for my narrative. Juan Vadi enhanced my graphic elements with his talent; while college mentors, current colleages, teachers, and former graduate and undergraduate students allowed me to write their stories and reflections binging fresh accents and life to the book. Thanks for ever

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Who Look at Me?!: Shifting the Gaze of Education through Blackness, Queerness, and the Body explores how we, as a society, see Blackness and in particular Black youth. Drawing on a range of sources, the authors argue that the ability to operationalize the sentiment that #BlackLivesMatter, requires seeing Blackness wholly, as queer, and as a site of subversive knowledge production. Continuing the work of June Jordan and Langston Hughes, and based on their work as a Black queer artist collective known as Hill L. Waters, Who Look at Me?! provides alternative tools for reading about and engaging with the lived experiences of Black youth and educational research for and about Black youth. In this way, the book presents not only the possibilities of envisioning teaching and research practices but presents examples that embrace, celebrate, and make room for the fullness of Black and queer bodies and experiences. This work will appeal to those interested in emancipatory methodological and educational practices as well as interdisciplinary conversations related to sociocultural constructions of race and sexuality, politics of Blackness, and race in education.

This book brings together research and theory about New Learning', the term we use for new learning outcomes, new kinds of learning processes and new instructional methods that are both wanted by society and stressed in psychological theory in many countries at present. It describes and illustrates the differences as well as the modern versions of the traditional innovative ideas.

It is clear that violence by youth is not to be found only on city streets, in city schools and among city youth but anywhere and everywhere wrathful, disenfranchised young people reside. In this volume, the editors share their insights on the latest research for how families can promote optimal development in children from birth to age six, so they can grow into healthy, happy and competent young adults.

Topics include social-emotional learning; neighborhood and community influences; the role of teachers and other caregivers; and more. The volume includes the actual Bingham Childhood Prosocial Curriculum, so that it can be implemented at any center.

A Blueprint for the Promotion of Pro-Social Behavior in Early Childhood will be a helpful resource for clinical child psychologists, school psychologists, early childhood educators, as well as for upper-level students of these areas.