Facing the Consequences presents a perspective on US mathematics and science education that is developed from data gathered as part of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). TIMSS is the most extensive and far-reaching cross-national comparative study of mathematics and science education ever attempted. It includes comparing official curricula, textbooks, teacher practices, and student achievements for many countries (from 20 to 50 countries, depending on t...

How are curriculum policies translated into opportunities to learn in the classroom?According to the Book presents findings from the largest cross-national study of textbooks carried out to date - the curriculum analysis of the 1995 Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). This study included a detailed, page-by-page, inventory of the mathematics and science content, pedagogy, and other characteristics collected from hundreds of textbooks in over ...

Providing a solid foundation in second language acquisition, this book has become the leading introduction to the subject for students of linguistics, psychology and education, and trainee language teachers. Now in its third edition, the textbook offers comprehensive coverage of fundamental concepts, including second language acquisition (SLA) in adults and children, in formal and informal learning contexts, and in diverse socio-cultural settings, and takes an interdisciplinary approach, e...

How brain science answers the most intriguing questions about the meaning of lifeWhy is life worth living? What makes actions right or wrong? What is reality and how do we know it? The Brain and the Meaning of Life draws on research in philosophy, psychology, and neuroscience to answer some of the most pressing questions about life's nature and value. Paul Thagard argues that evidence requires the abandonment of many traditional ideas about the soul, free ...

This volume presents six alternative approaches to studying second language acquisition – 'alternative' in the sense that they contrast with and/or complement the cognitivism pervading the field. All six approaches – sociocultural, complexity theory, conversation-analytic, identity, language socialization, and sociocognitive – are described according to the same set of six headings, allowing for direct comparison across approaches.Each chapter is authored by leading advocates for t...

Researchers who participate in IEA studies have a unique opportunity to work collaboratively with their counterparts from many different countries and disciplinary backgrounds over a period of several years on questions of shared academic interest. Once the data for a given study have been collected and the first round of international reports published, however, opportunities for that kind of collaboration tend to be much less frequent. A major strength of IEA studies compared to other la...

This revision guide provides concise coverage of the central topics within Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology, presented within a framework designed to help you focus on assessment and exams. The text encapsulates all the subject matter listed in the BPS Qualifying Examination syllabus for Conceptual and Historical Issues in Psychology. The sequence of chapters is organised temporally, and focuses on how the major conceptual issues in psychology have been handled over time. Fur...

This book discusses the recent assessment movements in the eastern and western worlds with particular focuses on the policies, implementation, and impacts of assessment reform on education. A new perspective of assessment sees assessment as a means to enhance learning.This book examines the tensions, challenges and outcomes (intended and unintended) of assessment reform arising at the interface of policy and implementation, and implementation and student learning. The book reviews t...

In this comprehensive reconstruction of causal case study methods, Derek Beach, Rasmus Brun Pedersen, and their coauthors delineate the ontological and epistemological differences among these methods, offer suggestions for determining the appropriate methods for a given research project, and explain the step-by-step application of selected methods.Causal Case Study Methods begins with the cohesive, logical foundations for small-n comparative methods, congruence me...

In this volume, the reader will find a host of fresh perspectives. Authors seek to reconceptualize problems, offering new frames for understanding relations between culture and human development.Contributors include scholars from the disciplines of philosophy, law, theology, anthropology, developmental psychology, neuro- and evolutionary psychology, linguistics, cognitive science, and physics. To help organize the discussions, the volume is divided into three parts. Each part refle...

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is an important part of the OECD's Indicator Programme. It collects data and provides comparative indicators of education systems in OECD member and partner countries. PISA provides datasets of outstanding quality regarding samples, instruments and analyses. In addition to its important function for educational monitoring, the PISA datasets are the basis of a wide range of secondary analyses from a number of different scientific per...

First published in 1987. This volume is based primarily on a conference on childhood bilingualism held at New York University on June 25 and 26, 1982 with an interest in exploring the nature of bilingual cognition and the effect of bilingualism on psychological development.