Progress in Education: Volume 47 (Progress in Education Series)

The ongoing Progress in Education Series presents substantial results from around the globe in selected areas of educational research. Schools are institutions that sail in the tempest of educational issues, reforms, strategies, data and tools, as well as reflect changes in society. Embedded in all of these are technology, diversity, and innovation -- their inevitability has been demonstrated in our schools and communities. Chapter One presents an investigation on childrens conceptualisation of force and brings into discussion fundamental theoretical considerations, which have influenced pedagogical practices for the last decades. Chapter Two discusses some of the issues around instigating an effective PBL (Problem Based Learning) approach to facilitate the learning of Engineering Mathematics. Chapter Three reviews a transdisciplinary digital learning environment for Special Education in the 21st Century. Chapter Four focuses on integrating multicultural curriculum through service learning projects. Chapter Five describes the distance walked by physical education (PE) teachers in PE lessons, measured by step counters and investigates how distance walked by PE teachers is influenced by the methodology and the contents of PE lessons. Chapter Six analyses differences in the number of steps PE teachers took in PE lessons attending to the age of the students, and analyses differences attending to the time of day. Chapter Seven deals with the role of proprietary structure in explaining the efficiency of the secondary education industry. Chapter Eight reviews ""new"" teaching professionalism and the professional development of educators in higher education. Chapter Nine discusses first language use by teachers and students in English as a foreign language classrooms. Chapter Ten presents research on enhancing knowledge flows through knowledge representations in healthcare professional development. Chapter Eleven provides a review on the health professions' student admission policy. Chapter Twelve focuses on an efficiency assessment of Spanish public universities.