This book is focused to stimulate and challenge thinking about pedagogy and learning. The book includes recent research but is also strongly practitioner-based, i.e. all chapters sections related to show the findings might be implemented into classrooms. It comprises a collection of research papers and brief reports related to this topic. It includes articles that cover all levels of schooling: early childhood, elementary, middle school, secondary and tertiary as well as articles that have direct relevance for teacher education and teacher professional development, including reports that use sociological or psychological frameworks.

Table of Contents:
Partial contents: Preface; Introduction; A Tail Of Underachievement; Narrow The Gap, Fix The Tail, Or Close The Curves: The Power Of Words; Teacher Beliefs And Expectations: Relationships With Student Learning; Improving Motivation And Performance In Secondary School Science.; What Children See As Mathematics Beyond The School Gate; Explanations And Young Children's Vocabulary Acquisition; Some Correlates of Academic Performance in New Zealand Schools: The asTTle Database; Essential Conditions For Effective Critical Thinking In Schools; The Role Of Education In Ethnic Identity Development: The Hybrid Maori/Pakeha Experience; Key Competencies, Gifted Children, And Underachievement What Is The Connection?; Inking The Pen: A Review Of Significant Influences On Young Gifted And Talented Writers; Educational Difficulties Of Older Foster Care Youth In The United States Child Welfare System; Comparison Of Fathers', Mothers', And Teachers' Reports Of Behaviour Problems In Four-Year-Old Boys; Quality Indicators For Alternative Education Programmes; Turning Up The Volume: Young Adults Reflect On Their Secondary School Experience; Reflecting From Multiple Perspectives in Multiple Worlds: Drama as an Approach for Engaging Student Teachers in Critical Reflection; Gifted Education In Teacher Education: Is It More Than Just A One-Off Lecture?; Web 2.0 in the Curriculum of the Future: Exploring the Educational Potential of New Developments in Web-Based Digital Tools; Who Were They? Where Did They Go? A Brief Analysis of a Cohort of Graduating Teachers of the Deaf; Effective Mentoring of Student Teachers: Attitudes, Characteristics and Practices of Successful Associate Teachers within a New Zealand Context; The Practicum's Contribution To Students Learning To Teach; Ethical Issues in Practitioner Research: Teaching and Learning Research Initiative Lessons; Assessment Literacy Training and Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment; Internal-External Locus Of Control Beliefs And Self-Pacing In Elementary School Children Learning A Gross Motor Task; You Don't Leave Babies On Their Own: Interests, Inquiry, And Identity In Early Childhood Education; Questioning For Higher Order Thinking; Inquiry-based Professional Development: The Practice of Studying Oneself in Practice; It's Not an "Either/Or: Pastoral Care and Academic Achievement in Secondary Schools; Index.