Explore the vast range of titles available.

Keith Swanwick explores the psychological and sociological dimensions of musical experience and the implications of these for children's development and music education in schools and colleges. Music is seen, with the other arts, as contributing to the growth of mind, with deep psychological roots in play. Swanwick examines the ways in which children make their own music, and confirms that there is an observable sequence of development. His insights into musical experience help to draw together and interpret fragmented psychological work that has been done in the field and make it possible to plan music education in schools, colleges and studios in a more purposeful way. His analysis of the nature of musical experience and music education has consequences both for curriculum development and the assessment of students' work, with special reference given to the National Curriculum and GCSE.

The transition from primary to secondary school is an area of concern across a range of curriculum subjects and this is no less so for foreign language learning. Indeed problems with transition have been identified in England as an important barrier to the introduction of language learning to the primary school curriculum, with implications for learners' longer-term motivation for the subject. This longitudinal study investigated, through a questionnaire, the development of 233 learners' motivation for learning French in England, during the transition from primary to secondary schooling. It also explored whether levels and patterns of motivation differed according to the type of language teaching experienced, comparing a largely oracy-focused approach with one with greater emphasis on literacy activities. Learners showed high and increasing levels of motivation across transition, placing particular value on learning French for travel. Being taught through an oracy or a literacy-focused approach had less impact on learners' motivation than broader classroom experiences, with the development of a sense of progress and feeling that instruction met their learning needs being especially important. A growing disjuncture emerged between valuing the learning of French for travel/communication and learners' low levels of self-efficacy for communication with native speakers, together with a desire for more communication-based activities. By the end of the first year of secondary school less positive attitudes towards learning French and less optimism about the possibility of future progress were beginning to emerge. The paper concludes by outlining the implications of the study for classroom practice in language learning.

This study explored whether and how teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching contributes to gains in students' mathematical achievement: The authors used a linear mixed-model methodology in which first and third graders' mathematical achievement gains over a year were nested within teachers, who in turn were nested within schools. They found that teachers' mathematical knowledge was significantly related to student achievement gains in both first and third grades after controlling for key student- and teacher-level covariates. This result, while consonant with findings from the educational production function literature, was obtained via a measure focusing on the specialized mathematical knowledge and skills used in teaching mathematics. This finding provides support for policy initiatives designed to improve students' mathematics achievement by improving teachers' mathematical knowledge. (DIPF/Orig.).

Nearly twenty years after the publication of Michelle Fine's essay \"Sexuality, Schooling, and Adolescent Females: The Missing Discourse of Desire,\" the question of how sexuality education influences the development and health of adolescents remains just as relevant as it was in 1988. In this article, Michelle Fine and Sara McClelland examine the federal promotion of curricula advocating abstinence only until marriage in public schools and, in particular, how these policies constrict the development of \"thick desire\" in young women. Their findings highlight the fact that national policies have an uneven impact on young people and disproportionately place the burden on girls, youth of color, teens with disabilities, and lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender youth. With these findings in mind, the authors provide a set of research guidelines to encourage researchers, policymakers, and advocates as they collect data on, develop curricula for, and change the contexts in which young people are educated about sexuality and health. (Contains 2 tables and 4 notes.)

Design and Technology in Primary School Classrooms presents a comprehensive account of the development and nature of design and technology in the primary classroom from the modest beginnings in the 1980s to detailed implementation within the National Curriculum.It shows how the design/problem solving process and the knowledge, skills and understanding associated with design and technology can be developed by teachers who were previously unfamiliar with such activities. Case studies demonstrate the teaching strategies employed and illustrate in detail how children respond to design and technology in complex ways.The book combines original classroom research data wuth extensive illustrations, resource information and summaries of what design and technology in the National Curriculum involves.

For the many categories of EFL teachers throughout the world, this book examines the main principles which concern them. By drawing upon their experience the authors have indicated a modern and practical approach.

Problem-based learning (PBL) is apprenticeship for real-life problem solving, helping students acquire the knowledge and skills required in the workplace. Although the acquisition of knowledge and skills makes it possible for performance to occur, without self-efficacy the performance may not even be attempted. I examined how student self-efficacy, as it relates to being software development professionals, changed while involved in a PBL environment. Thirty-one undergraduate university computer science students completed a 16-week capstone course in software engineering during their final semester prior to graduation. Specific instructional strategies used in PBL-namely the use of authentic problems of practice, collaboration, and reflection-are presented as the catalyst for students' improved self-efficacy. Using a self-efficacy scale as pre-and postmeasures, and guided journal entries as process data, students were observed to increase their levels of self-efficacy.