Editorial

Keeping the learning going: using mobile technology to enhance learning transfer Abstract Every year billions of dollars are spent on development aid and training around the world. Little attention is paid, however, to the sustainability of the various interventions. Some studies suggest that technology usage can serve as an effective post-learning intervention to enhance the transfer of learning. Currently, there is a limited body of research examining how best to follow up after an educational professional development program in Africa. This qualitative exploratory study sought to address the gap in education development policy by examining three schools in Ghana, West Africa. This study helps increase our understanding of how technology can promote learning transfer in marginalized communities. It also provides suggestions for trainers and practitioners and offers a tentative model of learning transfer. Findings indicate that the use of group texting via WhatsApp helped training participants implement new knowledge in their schools. Participants reported that the mobile technology intervention assisted peer learning, increased participants’ motivation, reminded them of the training content and allowed them to network.

Nexus between participating in cross-national learning assessments and educational policy reforms: case study of Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa Abstract Utilizing the theory of change, this study analyzes the extent to which the participation in cross-national learning assessments by Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa has contributed to educational policy and curriculum reforms. Data collection involved in-depth interviews with key informants and summative content analysis of policy/strategic documents. The findings reflect that overall, at least 11 policy/strategic documents formulated between the years 2000 and 2015 in the three countries respond well to recommendations or findings emanating from the cross-national learning assessments. Two curriculum reviews/reforms attributable to cross-national learning assessments are also recorded. The inferences are drawn based on the testament by the research participants and or whether the documents contain strong references to cross-national learning assessments.

Indonesia Mengajar: An investment in hope Abstract Indonesia Mengajar (IM), or Indonesia Teaches, is a movement that began in 2009 with the aim of addressing teacher shortage in schools across Indonesia and developing future leaders by sending them to live in remote parts of the country (Indonesia Mengajar in Indonesia Mengajar: Sejarah, 2015a. https://indonesiamengajar.org/tentang-indonesia-mengajar/sejarah/; Indonesia Mengajar: Tentang pengajar muda, 2015b. https://indonesiamengajar.org/tentang-pengajar-muda/jejak-pengajar-muda/; Indonesia Mengajar: Visi dan misi, 2015c. https://indonesiamengajar.org/tentang-indonesia-mengajar/visi-dan-misi/). To date, IM has sent more than 671 high-achieving young candidates to serve as schoolteachers and mobilize local education stakeholders in remote communities around Indonesia (Gabrillin in Hasilkan 671 pengajar muda dalam 5 tahun, Indonesia Mengajar gelar syukuran, 2016a. http://nasional.kompas.com/read/2016/01/31/13090031/Hasilkan.671.Pengajar.Muda.dalam.5.Tahun.Indonesia.Mengajar.Gelar.Syukuran?utm_source=WP&utm_medium=box&utm_campaign=Ktkwp). The first aim of the study is to provide readers with background knowledge of IM, including its history, theory of action and key operational features. The second aim of the study is to understand the process of transformation in the attitudes and perspectives of local stakeholders using hope theory (Snyder et al. in J Pers Soc Psychol 60(4):570–585, 1991) as the theoretical framework. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with local education stakeholders at the IM-organized local sustainability forum held in November, 2015. Structural and descriptive coding was used to organize the qualitative data thematically. Participants reported that IM played a significant and positive role in igniting their will and showing them possible ways to create educational change in their respective communities. They reported a transformation in their attitudes and perspectives about their children’s education—from feelings of hopelessness to hopefulness. Consistent with hope theory, findings demonstrate the importance of investing in the will and the ways at both the individual and communal level. Hope is found to be a necessary investment that must be made alongside investments in infrastructure, instructors and materials to create sustainable educational improvement.

Understanding parents’ view on US higher education marketing communication Abstract In this study, we conducted in-depth interviews with 29 parents of prospective college students, a target public of university marketing efforts. We explored how university communication influenced parents’ attitudes, and reputation perception. The research findings are significant in understanding parents’ views on responding to prevalent university marketing communication campaigns. It was noted that parents internalized financial language enough to describe their college selection process as if they were purchasing consumer goods instead of selecting their children’s educational institution. However, once they passed the initial cost analysis stage, parents highlighted the institutional culture as one of the most critical dimensions of university reputation, meanwhile expressing great skepticism on university’s promotional efforts such as paid advertising. Additionally, parents expressed that personal or peer experience of universities heavily influenced their decision as the time to choose a college neared. Lastly, this study shows that a university’s strong organizational identity and culture communicated through the internal stakeholders’ experience can significantly influence prospective parents’ favorable cognitive and behavioral intentions.

Lost in adaptation? Issues of adapting Japanese lesson study in non-Japanese contexts Abstract The phenomenal spread of Japanese lesson study (LS) beyond Japan is indicative of the perception that the seemingly obvious routines of LS are transferable into foreign contexts. It is, however, to be expected, that various aspects of LS would be adapted to suit the culture of the adopting context. The diverse ways in which LS is adapted across different contexts provides the opportunity for researchers to unpack what needs to be done to better adapt, implement and sustain LS to support teacher development across non-Japanese contexts. This paper is based on the findings from a nation-wide research project undertaken to explore the adaptations made to LS in Singapore schools. Surveys and case studies provided data to examine LS structure and implementation processes in Singapore schools and to investigate school leaders’ and teachers’ experiences and understandings of LS processes. In teasing out the subtle differences among the Singaporean adaptations and Japanese LS, we gleaned a deeper understanding of the cultural and contextual factors that elucidate key features of LS that are pertinent in creating the necessary conditions for effective teacher learning.

Structured mentoring: Principles for effective mentoring Abstract The mentoring of beginning to teachers to work effectively is intuitively important. Yet, there is a lack of research on the effectiveness or impact of structured mentoring, as well as the principles that support effective mentoring. This paper reports on an empirical research using a mixed-method approach to first, quantitatively by means of a survey, measure beginning teachers’ perceptions of a structured mentoring package’s effectiveness that they underwent, and then qualitatively, through focused group discussions, investigate the underlying principles of effective mentoring in relation to the structured mentoring provisions of the mentoring package. Results from the survey found that the four delivery modes of mentoring (discussions, reflections, reading materials, and feedback on lesson observations) and six content components of the mentoring package (attention, routine, discipline, momentum, space, and time) were perceived by beginning teachers to have positive impact on their classroom management practices. The qualitative findings drawn from focused group discussions showed four underlying principles of effective mentoring: (1) structured-ness, (2) relevance, (3) applicability, and (4) workability.

Learning Logs and the efficacy of autonomous reflecting Abstract This paper examines the educational impact of a prepilot study on the “Learning Logs” literacy strategy as it was used in Louisiana. The study examined how students’ conceptual understanding of kinematics and Newton’s laws were impacted in a ninth-grade physical science course. The findings address a gap within the current research literature concerning the efficacy of the strategy in the high-school physics classroom. Pre- and posttesting evidence demonstrated that participating in the end-of-class activity of autonomous reflection, without instructor feedback, resulted in negative learning gains and reinforcement of misconceptions. The data collected demonstrate a need for a more standardized feedback system to better inform students and teachers on conceptual mastery.

Ousted and muted: the evolution and current institutional and social support of Chinese Heritage Language education policies and practices in British Columbia Abstract With this paper, I explore societal and institutional support for Chinese Heritage Language (HL) education through specific HL policies and practices in British Columbia (BC). Framed by power relations and societal attitudes, the paper intends to contextualize historical and contemporary marginalization enacted through HL-related legislatives, education, immigration policies, and language programs, to illuminate the current state of institutional support (or lack thereof) for Chinese HL education. This paper raises the fundamental question of whether the related policies and practices serve to foster or hinder Heritage Language retention for ethnic-Chinese immigrant youth within public education settings. I argue that, despite ethnic-Chinese contributions throughout history; BC’s discriminatory history toward Chinese; numerous studies suggesting the benefits of multilingualism (Cummins in J Curric Stud 24(3):281–286, 1992a, in Richard-Amato PA, Show MA (eds) The multicultural classroom: readings for content-area teachers. Longman, New York, pp 16–26, b; Duff and Li in Curdt-Christiansen XL, Hancock A (eds) Learning Chinese in diaspora communities: many pathways in being Chinese. John Benjamins, Amsterdam pp 219–238, 2014; Hua and Costigan in J Youth Adolesc 41:894–906, 2012; Guardado in Can Mod Lang Rev 58(3):341–363, 2002; Kondo-Brown in Kondo-Brown K (ed) Heritage Language development: focus on East Asian immigrants. John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam, pp 243–258, 2006; Kondo-Brown and Brown in Teaching Chinese, Japanese, and Korean heritage language students: curriculum needs, materials, and assessment. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, New York, 2008; Tse in Harv Educ Rev 71(4):676–706, 2001); persistent Heritage Language advocacy efforts by ethnic-Chinese parents (Mizuta in Memories of language lost and learned: Parents and the shaping of Chinese as a heritage language in Canada. Doctoral dissertation. University of British Columbia, 2016); and strong evidence of severe HL loss across generations (Wong Fillmore in Early Child Res Q 6:323–346, 1991), there continues to be a deficiency in institutional support for ethnic-Chinese students’ HL education in contemporary BC.

How does the context of research influence the use of educational research in policy-making and practice? Abstract This paper presents results from a survey of Romanian education researchers on their experience of research uptake and transfer to policy makers and practitioners. A range of variables are analysed in order to understand the factors they perceived to influence the use of educational research. The researchers’ context was analysed, including factors such as conceptions of the academic role, funding, type of research and collaboration in research. An adaptation of the research utilisation scale (Knott and Wildavsky in Knowl Creat Diffus Util 1(4):537–578, 1980; Cherney et al. in Int J Educ Res 56:23–34, 2012) survey was administered to a sample of 115 academics from 17 public universities in Romania, representing 31% of the total number of academics in schools of education. The quantitative data were complemented with qualitative data derived from in depth interviews with 14 university managers from the main research-intensive universities. The results indicate that researchers’ context is a determinant key of research mobilisation in practice. Despite the importance given to this aspect by the researchers, the lack of institutional coherent strategies to enhance the research transfer and use could represent constraints and challenges that are often faced when academics engage in research aimed at influencing policy and practice.