For adults, communicating in our first language feels easy and natural. Yet learning language is a complex process that is influenced by several factors. When young children are beginning to learn language, some influences, such as the amount of speech a child hears and the amount of time they spend in back-and-forth language interactions with others, have what may […] … learn more→

It is not only important what we are taught but where we learn it. It is not the same to receive classes in dark, cold and echoing rooms, than in rooms with good light, good acoustics and views of nature. The design and distribution of educational spaces, something that is usually considered secondary, if it is […] … learn more→

To the untrained eye, the small community garden on Coast and Straits Salish territory — on what passersby commonly know as the University of Victoria campus — might look unruly. Bursting with dandelions, lamb’s ear and grasses, it’s difficult to tell where the garden starts and where it ends. Wondering where those boundaries begin and end has […] … learn more→

If you could choose which language to speak before you were born, which language would you choose? The linguist Noam Chomsky affirmed that the reason for the use of language in human beings is due to the need to express thought, and that we all have an abstract mental device capable of generating any sentence in any […] … learn more→

Proposed changes to the New South Wales English syllabus reinforce the misguided idea that the teaching of language and literacy skills should fall chiefly to English teachers, leaving other teachers to focus more on their subject content. The plan follows a report by the NSW Education Authority (NESA) that found students’ writing standards had fallen sharply over recent […] … learn more→

Changes in family structures, immigration and the economic crisis, among other issues, make the generational bond difficult. For this reason, the urgent need to create shared spaces in which different generations relate to each other is emerging. Based on this premise, the school environment offers an ideal context to work on the intergenerational vision. In fact, the […] … learn more→

It is necessary to distinguish what is called “children’s books” from those which form a “literature for children and young people”. It will take centuries to pass from the first to the second, and this literature will then continue to change. Let us lay down a few milestones in this complex story, which we will be forgiven […] … learn more→

As COVID-19 restrictions recede across much of the world, students have navigated changes in modes of learning (from virtual to in-person) and social protocols (for example, no masks). Even as societies gradually return to normal, we are constantly reminded that COVID-19 is still very much in our communities. Regions are no longer reporting publicly on COVID-19 cases, but in schools, […] … learn more→

“Concentrate, concentrate!” says the magician. Our attention is focused on what he wants us to look at and the magic trick occurs. We stop seeing what makes the magic possible and only see what it wants us to see: we focus on the glove, the card, the hat and not on what makes the trick possible. When […] … learn more→

Nearly 70 years ago – in its 1954 Brown v. Board decision – the Supreme Court framed racial segregation as the cause of educational inequality. It did not, however, challenge the lengths to which states went to ensure the unequal funding of Black schools. Before Brown, Southern states were using segregation to signify and tangibly reinforce second-class citizenship for […] … learn more→