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A new wave of developing English textbooks for compulsory education in China demands for more attention on the integration of textbook research and practice. While increasing research has investigated the design and implementation of English textbooks for Chinese learners, there is a lack of a systematic review on the structural development of this field, leaving prominent research areas, research methods, and enlightening findings unclear. This paper addresses the above issues by systematically reviewing 530 research concerning English textbooks in the Chinese context. As a data-driven study, we applied content analysis and developed a coding scheme, manually annotated all data and cross-checked our annotations. Findings from descriptive statistics and content analysis showed increasing attention on textbooks research from Chinese researchers, inadequate empirical studies, insufficient effort on English textbooks for compulsory education, and three research themes, i.e. textbooks production, textbooks implementation, and textbooks evaluation. Future directions and implications are further discussed.

Background The relevance of context in implementation science is reflected in the numerous theories, frameworks, models and taxonomies that have been proposed to analyse determinants of implementation (in this paper referred to as determinant frameworks). This scoping review aimed to investigate and map how determinant frameworks used in implementation science were developed, what terms are used for contextual determinants for implementation, how the context is conceptualized, and which context dimensions that can be discerned. Methods A scoping review was conducted. MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched from inception to October 2017, and supplemented with implementation science text books and known published overviews. Publications in English that described a determinant framework (theory, model, taxonomy or checklist), of which context was one determinant, were eligible. Screening and inclusion were done in duplicate. Extracted data were analysed to address the study aims. A qualitative content analysis with an inductive approach was carried out concerning the development and core context dimensions of the frameworks. The review is reported according to the PRISMA guidelines. Results The database searches yielded a total of 1113 publications, of which 67 were considered potentially relevant based on the predetermined eligibility criteria, and retrieved in full text. Seventeen unique determinant frameworks were identified and included. Most were developed based on the literature and/or the developers’ implementation experiences. Six of the frameworks explicitly referred to “context”, but only four frameworks provided a specific definition of the concept. Instead, context was defined indirectly by description of various categories and sub-categories that together made up the context. Twelve context dimensions were identified, pertaining to different aggregation levels. The most widely addressed context dimensions were organizational support, financial resources, social relations and support, and leadership. Conclusions The findings suggest variation with regard to how the frameworks were developed and considerable inconsistency in terms used for contextual determinants, how context is conceptualized, and which contextual determinants are accounted for in frameworks used in implementation science. Common context dimensions were identified, which can facilitate research that incorporates a theory of context, i.e. assumptions about how different dimensions may influence each other and affect implementation outcomes. A thoughtful application of the concept and a more consistent terminology would enhance transparency, simplify communication among researchers, and facilitate comparison across studies.

Textbooks are often used in classroom instruction in quite different ways, leading to potential differences in students’ opportunities to learn. This paper explores the enactment of the topic of congruence by 12 teachers using the same geometry textbook. We highlight variations in the number and nature of lessons taught or skipped, in expectations for homework, and in instructional style. For instance, teachers taught between 60 and 100 % of the lessons on congruence but often skipped content focused on unique applications. The number of minutes of homework assigned varied from 16–30 min per night to 46–60 min per night. Ten of the 12 teachers spent at least 50 % of class time each week in whole-class instruction. Only one-third used dynamic geometry software and one used no calculator or computer technology in the congruence chapters. The results provide detailed insights into differences in upper secondary teachers’ use of textbooks, an area where less research exists than at elementary or lower secondary levels.

There is an ongoing concern regarding the alignment of textbooks with curriculum standards across different subjects. Such studies have emphasized the critical, yet complex, role of textbooks in bridging pedagogical practices with curricular reforms. The present research builds upon these discussions, by examining not only the alignment but also exploring how ELT textbooks supplement the English national curriculum. In this descriptive study, two series of high school ELT textbooks were scrutinized through both quantitative and qualitative lenses. The findings revealed notable misalignments between the learning competencies covered by the textbooks and those outlined by the national curriculum. Furthermore, the textbooks implemented a range of strategies to supplement the curriculum, actions that could be interpreted as either deficiencies or enhancements. Implications for curriculum design, textbook development, and future studies are discussed.

Teacher identity reconstruction plays a key role in the successful implementation of educational reforms in the field of second and foreign language teaching. Most of the previous studies have explored this process on the tertiary level and with beginning teachers via the implementation of new teaching approaches, media, and content. However, few studies have examined experienced high school language teachers’ identity reconstruction in educational reforms. Studying experienced teacher growth is crucial to helping tailor professional development programs to meet teachers’ evolving needs. The present study reports language teacher identity reconstruction through a multiple-case study of three experienced Chinese high school English teachers during the use of a new set of English textbooks. The findings show that experienced teachers can reconstruct their identities with different degrees of readiness as a result of their previous identities and varied individual agency exercised through teacher learning, reflection and engagement in practice motivated by understanding of their current identities and positioning of imagined identities. Cognitive and emotional support from colleagues and a mentor were also found to play a significant role in the process. The findings have implications for both teacher development and implementation of educational reforms in the field.

How to make the learning of complex subjects engaging, motivating, and effective? The use of immersive virtual reality offers exciting, yet largely unexplored solutions to this problem. Taking neuroanatomy as an example of a visually and spatially complex subject, the present study investigated whether academic learning using a state-of-the-art Cave Automatic Virtual Environment (CAVE) yielded higher learning gains compared to conventional textbooks. The present study leveraged a combination of CAVE benefits including collaborative learning, rich spatial information, embodied interaction and gamification. Results indicated significantly higher learning gains after collaborative learning in the CAVE with large effect sizes compared to a textbook condition. Furthermore, low spatial ability learners benefitted most from the strong spatial cues provided by immersive virtual reality, effectively raising their performance to that of high spatial ability learners. The present study serves as a concrete example of the effective design and implementation of virtual reality in CAVE settings, demonstrating learning gains and thus opening opportunities to more pervasive use of immersive technologies for education. In addition, the study illustrates how immersive learning may provide novel scaffolds to increase performance in those who need it most.

This article explores the following question: What does it mean to enact curriculum? In order to do so, it offers a conceptualization of the enacted curriculum and situates it within a curriculum policy, design, and enactment system. The system depicts the formal and operational domains in which curricular aims and objectives are developed and curriculum plans formulated and enacted. The authors situate the enacted mathematics curriculum in the operational part of the system and define it as the interactions between teachers and students around mathematical tasks of a lesson and collection of lessons, but argue that understanding what it means to enact curriculum involves examining the many places within the system that curricular elements are translated and transformed. The authors describe each of the articles in this special issue with respect to the framework.

This study proposed a dynamic model of organizational technology adoption within a school institute culture. We described an implementation of a nonhomogeneous hidden Markov model based on a downscaling scheme that can project the cultural factors of the institute onto a teacher’s implementation behavior. To reveal the dynamics of cultural evolution, we modeled the interactions within the institute’s organization by incorporating extra dependencies and downscaling variables into the underlying process of cultural change. We applied an analysis scheme to the nine-semester e-textbook usage of a primary school and gain insight into teachers’ technology adoption from a cultural perspective. We identified three states that represented the collective adoption contexts to examine how exogenous variables influence both the organization-scale context dynamics and the individual-scale implementation changes. The results showed that the effect of exogenous variables, especially external factors, varied between contexts and scales. The school’s norm was shown to affect organizational adoption culture. Teachers were sensitive to the adopted context, as they are inclined to adjust their usage to meet preexisting norms. Interventions such as seminars initiated by the teachers’ community were observed to cause a more long-term effect on the movement of the culture to an active context. Moreover, our research provided evidence that an organization can achieve more efficacy from teachers’ involvement in a high degree of cooperation in in-class experiences.

Background Greater use of knowledge translation (KT) strategies is recommended to improve the research impact of public health trials. The purpose of this study was to describe (1) the research impact of setting-based public health intervention trials on public health policy and practice; (2) the association between characteristics of trials and their research impact on public health policy and practice; and (3) the association between the use of KT strategies and research impacts on public health policy and practice. Methods We conducted a survey of authors of intervention trials targeting nutrition, physical activity, sexual health, tobacco, alcohol or substance use. We assessed the use of KT strategies aligned to domains of the Knowledge-To-Action Framework. We defined “research impact” on health policy and practice as any one or more of the following: citation in policy documents or announcements, government reports, training materials, guidelines, textbooks or court rulings; or endorsement by a (non)governmental organization; use in policy or practice decision-making; or use in the development of a commercial resource or service. Results Of the included trials, the authors reported that 65% had one or more research impacts. The most frequently reported research impact was citation in a policy document or announcement (46%). There were no significant associations between the effectiveness of the intervention, trial risk of bias, setting or health risk and trial impact. However, for every one unit increase in the total KT score (range 0–8), reflecting greater total KT activity, the odds of a health policy or practice research impact increased by approximately 30% (OR = 1.30, 95% CI: 1.02, 1.66; p  = 0.031). Post hoc examination of KT domain scores suggests that KT actions focused on providing tailored support to facilitate program implementation and greater use of research products and tools to disseminate findings to end-users may be most influential in achieving impact. Conclusions Trials of public health interventions frequently have public health impacts, and the use of more comprehensive KT strategies may facilitate greater research impact.

Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of implementation of video feedback combined with peer role-playing (PRP) teaching method in medical undergraduates adopting problem-based learning (PBL) teaching mode. Methods The undergraduates of five-year clinical medicine who get enrollment of Wuhan local University from 2016 and 2018 were selected to be the research objects. The same grade level is randomly divided into several groups to carry out PBL, with 6–10 students in each group. Following the principle of voluntary participation, 34 students were enrolled in the study group and 33 students in the control group finally. The research regards group as the unit, and study report in group should be carried out to fulfill the research. In the study group, the students were asked to perform PRP report, and the report videos were used for feedback. At the same time, the control group reported by PPT, and the feedback was carried out according to the PPT. At the end of the study, the “Competency Improvement Satisfaction Questionnaire (CISQ)” was distributed to investigate students’ satisfaction with this teaching method to improve their ability, Arizona Clinical Interview Score (ACIR) was administered in Chinese by a trained teacher unrelated using PRP method to assess students’ clinical inquiry ability and communication skills, and theory test was performed to assess mastery of theoretical knowledge. Results The results show that the study group is superior to the control group in improving the interest of learning and the ability of independent learning, interpersonal communication and active problem solving. Although it is in terms of the confidence in becoming a real doctor and the ability of teamwork, language expression, clinical thinking cultivated, active knowledge acquired and understood that study group are better than the control group, the difference was not statistically significant. ACIR shows that the study group is significantly better than the control group in organization, timeline planning, and transition statements, openly questioning, smooth progress, and avoiding repetition, summarizing, understandable language, documentation and total score. There is no significant difference in eye contact and no interruption. The differences between the two groups are not statistically significant in terms of responsing to concerns, positive feedback, and additional questions. The theoretical test scores of the study group are significantly higher than those of the control group. Conclusion Video feedback combined with peer role-playing teaching method implemented in medical undergraduates adopting PBL teaching mode is effective, it could stimulate interest in learning actively, improve interpersonal communication ability, improve learning efficiency and clinical knowledge and skills, and improve the confidence of becoming a real doctor. It is worthy of further research and promotion.