What do teachers learn 'on the job'? And how, if at all, do they learn from 'experience'? Leading researchers from the UK, Europe, the USA and Canada offer international, research-based perspectives on a central problem in policy-making and professional practice - the role that experience plays in learning to teach in schools. Experience is often weakly conceptualized in both policy and research, sometimes simply used as a proxy for 'time', in weeks and years, spent in a school classroom. The conceptualization of experience in a range of educational research traditions lies at the heart of this book, exemplified in a variety of empirical and theoretical studies. Distinctive perspectives to inform these studies include sociocultural psychology, the philosophy of education, school effectiveness, the sociology of education, critical pedagogy, activism and action research. However, no one theoretical perspective can claim privileged insight into what and how teachers learn from experience; rather, this is a matter for a truly educational investigation, one that is both close to practice and seeks to develop theory. At a time when policy-makers in many countries seek to make teacher education an entirely school-based activity, Learning Teaching from Experience offers an essential examination of the evidence-base, the traditions of inquiry - and the limits of those inquiries.

International Perspectives and Research on Social Justice in Mathematics Education is the highly acclaimed inaugural monograph of The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast now available through IAP. The book covers prescient social, political and ethical issues for the domain of education in general and mathematics education in particular from the perspectives of critical theory, feminist theory and social justice research. The major themes in the book are (1) relevant mathematics, teaching and learning practices for minority and marginalized students in Australia, Brazil, South Africa, Israel, Palestine, and the United States., (2) closing the achievement gap in the U.K, U.S and Iceland across classes, ethnicities and gender, and (3) the political dimensions of mathematics. The fourteen chapters are written by leading researchers in the international community interested and active in research issues of equity and social justice.

This book offers a range of perspectives and insights from around the world on the teaching and learning of listening, speaking, reading and writing. It brings together contributors from across six continents, who analyse a wide range of teaching and learning contexts, including primary, secondary, tertiary, private, and adult ESL/EFL classes. In doing so, they provide locally relevant accounts that nonetheless resonate with other contexts and wider concerns. This informative and practical edited collection will appeal to students and scholars who are interested in the four building blocks of language learning, as well as language education and teacher education.

This important book answers the growing call for US institutions to internationalize, create global citizens, and better serve diverse populations. Faculty are increasingly tasked with simultaneously encouraging a more inclusive worldview, facilitating classroom environments that harness the potential of students, and advising students who may need an array of university services or speak English as an additional language. Teaching with a Global Perspective is an accessible, hands-on tool for faculty and instructors seeking to facilitate global classroom environments and to offer diverse students the academic, language, and interpersonal support needed for success. Rich with practical features including Classroom Strategies, Assessments, Case studies, Discussion Questions, and suggestions for further reading in bibliographies, chapters address: developing a working understanding of global learning and inclusivity; identifying opportunities and barriers to helping students grow as global citizens; building confidence in teaching with a global perspective; facilitating courses and in-class participation that promote global and inclusive learning and communication between diverse populations; designing curricula, courses, assignments, and assessments that foster global and inclusive learning and support students with varied needs; and providing facilitative responses to students’ academic work. Teaching with a Global Perspective bridges an important divide in discussions about globalizing curricula by developing readers’ content knowledge while also helping them to develop more effective global communication strategies.

Understanding what constitutes expertise in language learning and teaching is important for theoretical reasons related to psycholinguistic, and applied linguistic, enquiry. It also has many significant applications in practice, particularly in relation to the training and practice of language teachers and improvements in students' strategies of learning. In this volume, methodologies for establishing what constitutes expert practice are discussed and the contributions address the fields of listening, reading, writing, speaking and communication strategies, looking at common characteristics of the 'expert teacher' and the 'expert learner'.

The concept of "funds of knowledge" is based on a simple premise: people are competent and have knowledge, and their life experiences have given them that knowledge. The claim in this book is that first-hand research experiences with families allow one to document this competence and knowledge, and that such engagement provides many possibilities for positive pedagogical actions. Drawing from both Vygotskian and neo-sociocultural perspectives in designing a methodology that views the everyday practices of language and action as constructing knowledge, the funds of knowledge approach facilitates a systematic and powerful way to represent communities in terms of the resources they possess and how to harness them for classroom teaching. This book accomplishes three objectives: It gives readers the basic methodology and techniques followed in the contributors' funds of knowledge research; it extends the boundaries of what these researchers have done; and it explores the applications to classroom practice that can result from teachers knowing the communities in which they work. In a time when national educational discourses focus on system reform and wholesale replicability across school sites, this book offers a counter-perspective stating that instruction must be linked to students' lives, and that details of effective pedagogy should be linked to local histories and community contexts. This approach should not be confused with parent participation programs, although that is often a fortuitous consequence of the work described. It is also not an attempt to teach parents "how to do school" although that could certainly be an outcome if the parents so desired. Instead, the funds of knowledge approach attempts to accomplish something that may be even more challenging: to alter the perceptions of working-class or poor communities by viewing their households primarily in terms of their strengths and resources, their defining pedagogical characteristics. Funds of Knowledge: Theorizing Practices in Households, Communities, and Classrooms is a critically important volume for all teachers and teachers-to-be, and for researchers and graduate students of language, culture, and education.

This book highlights some of Kenneth King’s diverse contributions to international and comparative education, African studies and development studies over more than four decades. From his pioneering work on the first educational commissions to Africa, through his research on skills training in the informal sector, and on to his critical analysis of education analysis in development agencies, this book makes influential materials available in one place. Appropriately, it illustrates his career-long connections with Kenya, but also his more recent engagement with Japan, China and India. It is the first CERC volume to pay significant attention to the policies and politics of skills development. Kenneth King is an Emeritus Professor of the University of Edinburgh. He was based in and directed its Centre of African Studies for many years, and lectured on international perspectives in education and training in its School of Education. His research interests have addressed the politics and planning of skills development, including in the informal sector of the economy, aid policies towards education of both Western and Asian donors, and higher education cooperation. He founded NORRAG, the network for international policies and cooperation in education and training, in 1986, and edited NORRAG News until 2016. He was President of the British Association for International and Comparative Education (BAICE) from 2014-2016, and was one of the founding members of the UK Forum on International Education and Training (UKFIET).

Presents a model for ensuring quality teaching that balances the necessity of research-based data with the equally vital need to understand the strengths and weaknesses of individual students.

There has been an explosion of interest in teaching excellence in higher education. Once labelled the ‘poor relation’ of the research/teaching divide, teaching is now firmly on the policy agenda; pressure on institutions to improve the quality of teaching has never been greater and significant funding seeks to promote teaching excellence in higher education institutions. This book constitutes the first serious scrutiny of how and why it should be achieved. International perspectives from educational researchers, award winning teachers, practitioners and educational developers consider key topics, including: policy initiatives research-led teaching teaching excellence and scholarship the significance of academic disciplines research into teaching excellence rewarding through promotion inclusive learning and ICT. Teaching Excellence in Higher Education provides a guide for all those supporting, promoting and trying to achieve teaching excellence in higher education and sets the scene for teaching excellence as a field for serious investigation and critical enquiry.

In an increasingly global world, it is more important than ever that educators are equipped to respond to the needs of international student cohorts. This book is a fruitful resource for researchers, educators, and others, who wish to develop new approaches and educational models to contribute to the efficient process of learning.