This book provides new insights into how interactions in early childhood education are being studied, and into what these studies' findings mean for improving the quality of early childhood education. The editors examine the methods, ethics, practices, and questions arising from such close work with children, families and educators, and have brought together a collection that highlights interactions research and practical implications for early childhood education and research, with the ultimate aim of shaping quality practices. Starting with an overview of interaction research and its pedagogical value in early childhood education the book subsequently introduces new interaction studies in early childhood from Europe and Australasia. Drawing from a range of perspectives and using different conceptual and methodological tools the contributors use their interactions research to comment collectively on process quality in early childhood education, and its relationship to the phenomenon of pedagogical interactions. The work as a whole bridges the gap between practice and research by addressing quality interactions for early learning (for practitioners) and providing researchers valuable information on methods for studying interactions within the everyday contexts of early childhood education.

The authors of this practical, timely work maintain that the public schools can, and should, play a role in delivering both a good educational start and high-quality care to young children. Addressed to a wide readership including federal and state legislators, state commissioners of social services and education, policy planners, education and advocacy organizations, and public school administrators, this book focuses on the major contemporary child care issues in a readable, understandable format. It will, by virtue of its breadth and authority, change the way those in the field perceive and respond to the critical and sensitive problems of early care.

Resisting English Hegemony examines personal and educational English as a Foreign Language (EFL) journey of five public high school teachers and the ways they manifest their pedagogical practices to develop their students' skills in the English language. This research explores history of EFL in pre and post-communist Poland, EFL teachers' testimonies, methodologies and tools available for educators interested in EFL theories having roots in research and hands on experience in the EFL learning/teaching field. The research also focuses the development of students' speaking, communicative, and cooperative skills in post-communist Poland, in the era of Poland's membership in the European Union, and the era of widespread technology, Internet accessibility, visualization and globalization. The data for this study was collected over three months, and includes classroom observations and personal interviews with the study participants. The data from each participant was compared with the rest of the participants, and the analysis was done through drawing commonalities among their experiences and ways of teaching English as a Foreign Language.

This info-packed book is bursting with over 250 mind-blowing facts and illustrations on a range of fascinating subjects, from prehistoric animals and Ancient Romans to curious inventions and foody trivia. Did you know ... Buzz Aldrin was the second man to walk on the Moon, but the first man to wee on it. He weed into his suit and it leaked into his boot. At Spain's Tomatina festival, over 20,000 people hurl over a million tomatoes at each other in one hour. What a food fight! Every fact is accompanied with a hilarious illustration by artist Andrew Pinder to bring the information to life. With tons of awesome things to discover, this book will keep curious kids laughing and learning for hours on end. Also available in the series: 9781780559254 Awesome Facts for Curious Kids: 6 Year Olds 9781780559278 Awesome Facts for Curious Kids: 8 Year Olds

This book presents a pioneering longitudinal study on English language instruction at the elementary school (ELES) level in the Japanese public school system. It attempts to identify those domains most sensitive to early English instruction by employing a state-of-the-art quantitative research methodology. English education was formally introduced in Japan for fifth and sixth graders in 2011 and is still in its infancy as a program. This study compares two groups (Grade 7 and 8) of students, one with ELES and one without, in order to shed light on their experiences. Comparisons are carried out not only quantitatively, measuring changes in English skills (listening, speaking, reading, and vocabulary / grammar) and the ELES students' affective aspects, but also qualitatively through in-depth interviews. Thus, this study attempts to capture the ELES students' experiences from a multi-dimensional perspective. The comprehensive literature review provided offers a valuable resource not only for researchers looking for a quick digest of the literature in this field before undertaking their own research, but also for policy-makers seeking to assess how to best implement ELES.

This book is a comprehensive study into and about consultants doing consultancy, and having influence in ways that generate concerns about an emerging 'consultocracy', with privileged access to governments and public services. It presents a detailed mapping of consultants and consultancy in education as a site of change and modernisation in public sector service provision. It considers consultancy at a macro-level of globalised policy, at a meso-level of national government policy, and at a micro level with vivid descriptions and analyses of consultants at work. The rapid rise of 'edubusinesses', combined with the restructuring of public services in western style democracies, has generated new types of 'knowledge actors' within education policy. Three main developments that have led to this change are: the entry of education policy and service consultants from within major companies into the public education market place; the emergence of 'celebrity' entrepreneurial actors and private businesses who make interventions into Universities and schools; and the rapid growth of small businesses based on individuals who have relocated their work from the public to the private sector. Such knowledge actors and the complexities they bring to public education are as yet under described and largely un-theorized. Based on current research and drawing upon a range of theoretical tools, this book fills the gap. Gunter and Mills provide an invaluable contribution to scholarship on the neoliberal restructuring of public education by mapping and analyzing the under-examined yet central role of corporate education consultants. Their thoughtful and thorough discussion expands our understanding of how consultants promote and trade in the ideologies of corporate culture. Gunter and Mills show how consultants are integral to both knowledge making practices in schools and a radical reform agenda for schools in the UK and around the globe. This is an accessible and important volume for not just policy and politics scholars but anyone concerned about defending public forms of education and associated living at a moment when they are increasingly being positioned for pillage by profiteers. Kenneth J. Saltman, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, USA

Career Academies explains the unique design and functioning of the career academy--a vigorous school-within-a-school that focuses on career preparation--and shows how it goes beyond traditional vocational programs to integrate academic and vocational curriculum, raise student ambitions, increase career options, and provide a meaningful learning context for both potential dropouts and college-bound youth.This book provides step-by-step guidance for setting up career academies. It offers advice on handling staffing, budgeting, student selection, and parent involvement. It explains how to build effective school-business partnerships by using employers as curriculum advisers, speakers, field trip hosts, and student job supervisors.

While considerable evidence indicates that school leaders are able to make important contributions to the success of their students, much less is known about how such contributions are made. This book provides a comprehensive account of research aimed at filling this gap in our knowledge, along with guidelines about how school leaders might use this knowledge for their own school improvement work. Leadership practices known to be effective for improving student success are outlined in the first section of the book while the remaining sections identify four "paths" along which the influence of those practices "flow" to exercise an influence on student success. Each of the Rational, Emotional, Organizational and Family paths are populated by conditions or variables known to have relatively direct effects on student success and also open to influence by effective leadership practices. While the Four Path framework narrows the attention of school leaders to a still-considerable number conditions known to contribute to student success, it leaves school leaders the autonomy to select, for improvement efforts, the sub-set of conditions that make the most sense in their own local circumstances. The approach to leadership described in this book provides evidence-based guidance on what to lead and flexibility on how to lead for purposes of improving student learning.

It is important that early educators view sensitive topics not as problems, but as subjects that are part of our global society. Early educators need to engage children in conversations in which to consider and share diverse perspectives. Early educators also should examine their own experiences when addressing these serious issues. This volume contains chapters that invite conversations about sensitive issues to help educators, children and families use real-life experiences to construct knowledge about their world and other people.

The Young Adolescent and the Middle School, will focus on issues related to the nature of young adolescence and the intersection of young adolescence with middle level schooling. Examples of topics related to young adolescence include: (a) the developmental characteristics (i.e., physical, emotional, cognitive, social, ethical/moral, psychological), (b) self esteem, (c) identity formation, (d) issues related to gender, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation, (e) peer pressure (e.g., bullying, suicide, and at-risk behaviors). Possible chapters that focus on the intersection of the nature of young adolescence with middle level schools include: (a) appropriate structures, organizational arrangements, interventions, and practices that are developmentally appropriate; (b) curricular, instructional, and assessment issues as they relate to this developmental period; (c) the characteristics/qualities of teachers and administrators that are essential for effectively working with young adolescents; and (d) issues related to special education; and (e) the involvement of family in middle level schooling. Of particular interest to the editor are manuscripts that present the perspectives of students on various issues related to young adolescence and schooling. Please check with the editor if you have any questions regarding the appropriateness of a topic.

Public school students in many states are given the opportunity to choose a potential job to pursue or path of study in one of the 16 national career clusters delineated by the U.S. Department of Education. Some of these career clusters include (1) agriculture, food and natural resources; (2) audio/visual technology and communications; (3) architecture and construction; (4) business, management and administration and (5) education and training. This book provides an excerpt of interviews of 57 professionals in different occupations (teacher, lawyer, doctor, entrepreneur, etc.) to help students learn of jobs for successful employment. The book is also designed to help students visualize how their background fits certain characteristics of professionals so they become inspired to pursue a defined career path. Each professional's occupation in the chapters is linked to one of the 16 national career clusters supported by definitions of the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium. Finally, the book provides a review of best practices various schools have used across the country to prepare students for college and careers.

This is a unique textbook that offers an integrated text-focused approach to teaching English texts across the 11-18 age and ability range. "Teaching Texts 11-18" is a book for trainee English teachers, PGCE and GTTP trainees, and those who have recently qualified. This textbook offers an integrated text-focused approach to teaching the subject of English across the 11-18 age and ability range. The term 'text' embraces a variety of texts that are at the heart of the English curriculum and debates about literacy, including scripts and spoken texts, poetry, prose fiction, literary non-fiction, media and multimodal texts."Teaching Texts 11-18" explores practical and inclusive ways into teaching many different types of texts. The use of ICT and considerations for working with lower ability and/or gifted and talented students features throughout the book.The book draws on both creative practices and current research in the fields of literacy, English teaching pedagogy and ICT. It includes interviews and some examples of textual production from professionals working in different textual fields. It engages with debates about the current and future construction of the English curriculum both in the UK and in other Anglophone countries. It supports its readers in their professional development as reflective readers and teachers of texts.

What do you get when you bring together two of NSTA's bestselling authors to ponder ways to deepen students' conceptual understanding of science? A fascinating combination of deep thinking about science teaching, field-tested strategies you can use in your classroom immediately, and personal vignettes all educators can relate to and apply themselves. Teaching for Conceptual Understanding in Science is by Richard Konicek-Moran, a researcher and professor who wrote the Everyday Science Mysteries series, and Page Keeley, a practitioner and teacher educator who writes the Uncovering Student Ideas in Science series. Written in an appealing, conversational style, this new book explores where science education has been and where it's going; emphasizes how knowing the history and nature of science can help you engage in teaching for conceptual understanding and conceptual change; stresses the importance of formative assessment as a pathway to conceptual change; and provides a bridge between research and practice. This is the kind of thought-provoking book that can truly change the way you teach. Whether you read each chapter in sequence or start by browsing the topics in the vignettes, Konicek-Moran and Keeley will make you think-really think-about the major goal of science education in the 21st century: to help students understand science at the conceptual level so they can see its connections to other fields, other concepts, and their own lives.

This book focuses on ethical and methodological issues faced by researchers working with young language learners in formal school contexts. It uncovers and explicitly discusses a range of ethical dilemmas, challenges and experiences that researchers have encountered and grappled with, in studies of all kinds from large scale, experimental studies to ethnographic studies focused on just a handful of children. The chapters are written by researchers working with children in different classroom contexts around the world and highlight how ethical dilemmas and tensions take on a complex form in child-focused research, requiring researchers to pay particular attention to the social and cultural norms of the different communities within which children are educated as well as their school-based experiences. The book comprises three sections, with the first part focused on involving children as active participants in research; part two on ethical challenges in multilingual contexts and part three on links between teacher education and researching children. The book includes a critical discussion of the opportunities and challenges associated with applying the UNCRC (1989) document in second language research with children which will be of use to any researcher working in this area.

The purpose of this book is to promote a thoughtful engagement with key issues and theories that inform our understanding of childhood. Readers will enjoy, and be provoked by, a sophisticated analysis of the role and function of childhood in twenty-first century Britain, which can be used as a springboard for further enquiry and exploration.

Two intertwined themes permeate the text:
- Children's sense of self and adults' temporal and cultural fabrications of childhood, and the articulation of these with policy and provision for young children.

- Young children and representation: how they are represented, the sense they make of such representations and their own representational activity.

Whose Childhood Is It? intends to turn readers away from our collective tendency to simplify the experiences of young children and replace this with a fuller, more complex, and more realistic understanding of the social dynamic that constitutes childhood today.

This book takes a user-friendly approach, with key questions and reflection boxes throughout as well as chapter summaries and suggested further reading. It will provide a rich resource for students of Early Childhood Studies, and for Early Years professionals and those training to be Early Years practitioners.