Examining situational complexity is a vital part of social and behavioral science research. This engaging text provides an effective process for studying multiple cases--such as sets of teachers, staff development sessions, or clinics operating in different locations--within one complex program. The process also can be used to investigate broadly occurring phenomena without programmatic links, such as leadership or sibling rivalry. Readers learn to design, analyze, and report studies that ...

This book provides invaluable guidance for thinking through and planning a qualitative study. Rather than offering recipes for specific techniques, master storyteller Robert Stake stimulates readers to discover "how things work" in organizations, programs, communities, and other systems. Topics range from identifying a research question to selecting methods, gathering data, interpreting and analyzing the results, and producing a well-thought-through written report. In-depth examples from a...

"A very important study that will appeal to a disability studies audience as well as scholars in social movements, social justice, critical pedagogy, literacy education, professional development for disability and learning specialists in access centers and student counseling centers, as well as the broader domains of sociology and education."---Melanie Panitch, Ryerson University"Ableism is alive and well in higher education. We do not know how to abandon the myth of the 'pu...

Overemphasizing test scores as measures of achievement is potentially harmful to education. The contributors identify key traits such as mindset, motivation, social skills, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit that students, teachers, and schools need to acknowledge and cultivate. Educators are asked to shift the evaluation paradigm to focus on a multiplicity of skills necessary for success in the 21st century.

Case studies are a powerful pedagogical tool for illuminating constructs and models in real-life contexts. Covering a wide range of teaching-learning contexts and offering in-depth analyses of ESL/ELT language curriculum design issues, this casebook is distinctive and unique in that each case draws on and is clearly linked to a single model presented in Nation and Macalister’s Language Curriculum Design (www.routledge.com/9780415806060), giving the book a high degree of coherence....

Assuming no prior knowledge of research methods and techniques, this book is the perfect companion for teachers at all levels undergoing professional development who need to enhance their formal reflection skills.Providing a detailed explanation of what action research is and its importance in terms of whole school development, this book invites the teachers to try out educational research for themselves and adopt an investigative attitude that will help improve and evaluate practi...

This e-book, a collection of articles from Educational Leadership and other ASCD publications explores what it means to “support the whole child.” In these articles, authors ponder the various meanings of support in the classroom, school, and community. This third in a four-book series exploring whole child education ends by emphasizing another maxim of good teaching: Hold high expectations for your students. Our authors agree: With the right supports, students are capable of doing more th...

This open access international scientific study provides an analysis of how the educational strategy of Universal Design for Learning can stimulate the process of inclusive education in different educational-cultural contexts and different areas of the educational system. The findings of the research deepen the conception of inclusive education and present an analysis of factors that are significant for developing the educational system as well as providing evidence-based recommendations f...

Washback refers to the influence of language testing on teaching and learning. This volume, at the important intersection of language testing and teaching practices, presents theoretical, methodological, and practical guidance for current and future washback studies.In the field of language testing, researchers' major interest has traditionally been focused on issues and solving problems inherent in tests in order to increase their reliability and validity. However, the washback ef...

Written for language teachers in training, this book surveys issues and procedures in conducting practice teaching. Written for language teachers in training at the diploma, undergraduate, or graduate level, Practice Teaching, A Reflective Approach surveys issues and procedures in conducting practice teaching. The book adopts a reflective approach to practice teaching and shows student teachers how to explore and reflect on the nature of language teaching and their own approaches to teachi...

There has been a dearth of studies on teacher educators using action research to improve their own practice. This book is the first systematic study of a group of teachers examining and enhancing their own practice through the inquiry process of action research. This book presents a broad overview of a variety of methodologies that can be used to improve teacher preparation and professional development programs. It is a ‘must read’ book for those educators who are new to the college teachi...

This ebook is a selective guide designed to help scholars and students of social work find reliable sources of information by directing them to the best available scholarly materials in whatever form or format they appear from books, chapters, and journal articles to online archives, electronic data sets, and blogs. Written by a leading international authority on the subject, the ebook provides bibliographic information supported by direct recommendations about which sources to consult and...