This study has aimed to develop an understanding of Australian educators’ perspectives of gifted education in light of emergent changes in the field. The purpose of the study was to identify recommendations specific to Australian educational policy and professional learning, with the assumption being made that educators’ perspectives of gifted education influence their teaching practice. Emergent changes in gifted education were identified as emanating from theoretical perspectives and from Australian gifted education policy perspectives. This study developed a framework made up of four elements: definitional constructs/definitions (conceptions); rationales (belief of purpose); identification; and provisions, by which to investigate educators’ conceptions of giftedness and their support of gifted education. To gain breadth and depth of data from Australian educators a mixed methods approach was adopted for this study. This involved an Australia-wide on-line survey (n=102), and semi-structured interviews (n=13) with Australian registered teachers. Key findings from the study revealed that Australian educators generally: (i) have wide-ranging conceptions of giftedness; (ii) are open to a change in terminology; (iii) consider equity as the basis for gifted education; (iv) believe that identification of students should be multi-disciplinary; and (v) support a range of gifted education provisions. Considering the findings within the context of Australian policies, barriers were identified in the Modern perspectives emphasis on gifted and talented education, including: (i) absence of shared understanding of terminology; (ii) ‘tall poppy’ syndrome; (iii) limited knowledge of how best to support students with high ability; and (vi) lack of and limited access to specific professional learning. Implications for Australian gifted education policy include: the embedding of gifted education within the equity-based framework of inclusive education; the use of operational definitions and language that more closely reflect Australian educators’ professional usage; and more positive support for the evidence-based gifted education practices of in-class and administrative differentiation (acceleration).

Implications for professional learning for educators include a focus on equity, inclusion and teacher responsiveness through knowing their students well and developing expertise in differentiation.

There have been a considerable number of studies on the rhetorical patterns of Indonesian research articles (RAs); however, none of these studies has investigated RAs in the history and law disciplines, nor have they investigated the RAs as a whole entity. Also, intertextuality and grammatical functions have rarely been studied. Given these identified gaps, this study investigates the generic structure, intertextuality, and grammatical functions in Indonesian history research articles (IHRAs) and Indonesian law research articles (ILRAs) as a whole, examining the RAs from the introduction to the discussion. Each corpus consists of 15 RAs, so both corpora consist of 30 RAs.

The introduction, method, results, discussion (IMRD) framework is employed to analyse the generic macrostructure. Then, to analyse the microstructure, several models are used for the analysis. The CARS model (Swales, 1990) and the Isocpol model (Adnan, 2010) are used to analyse the introduction section, Zhang and Wannaruk’s model (2016) is used to analyse the method section, and Tessuto’s (2015) and Hopkins and Dudley-Evans’ models (1988) are used to investigate the results and discussion sections. Then, typologies from Wang (2006), Kuhi and Mollanghizadeh (2013), and Varga and Gradečak-Erdeljić (2017) are used to analyse the intertextuality. Typologies from Verspoor and Sauter (2000) and Moeliono in Mustika (2017) are used to analyse the grammatical functions.

The results of the analysis reveal that IHRAs and ILRAs have similarities and differences, but their differences are minor. They also have similarities and differences when compared to English RAs. The key reason for the differences is that Indonesian researchers are not aware if they need to justify their RAs with a critical review of the literature and point to a niche such as a research gap in the literature (in the introduction section). It is not in their writing guides, nor is it required by the journal guides. Also, they are not aware that when commenting on the research findings, they need to compare them with findings presented in the literature (in the discussion section).

This thesis emerges from a study that explored both the difficulties faced by Sri Lankan university students who are learning English as a second language (ESL) and the pedagogical strategies practised by ESL teachers to minimise these difficulties. Sri Lankan university students require high levels of English language proficiency to succeed academically and to succeed professionally after graduation; however, for many of these students, developing this proficiency has proven to be very challenging. The main aim of the study was to investigate the causes of the difficulties faced by Sri Lankan university students learning English. The investigation was undertaken through the lens of a conceptual framework that was designed to align English language learning difficulties with pedagogical solutions. The framework was developed by drawing on critical approaches to pedagogy, post method pedagogy and a sociocultural theory of learning following Vygotsky.

Using a qualitative multiple case study methodology, first and second year students and their teachers at three Sri Lankan universities were interviewed and observed in class. The data collected were analysed thematically. ESL learning difficulties reported by the students and teachers were categorised according to whether they relate to sociocultural or institutional barriers or to language learning difficulties. Strategies used by the ESL teachers were analysed using the KARDS framework (Kumaravadivelu, 2012).

The sociocultural barriers to students successfully learning English that were revealed by the study were the family environment, their earlier English education and the university subculture. The institutional barriers identified were crowded and mixed ability ESL classes, limited time and resources allocated to ESL lectures, poor quality and outdated teaching content, materials and teaching styles, a high academic workload and students' limited to English outside the classroom. Language learning difficulties arose because of students' low level of English proficiency, lack of engagement and participation in classroom interaction and limited commitment to English skills development. A major barrier was the mismatch between the English that students needed to learn and the English offered in the university ESL programs. Strategies used by the university ESL teachers to assist students were bringing the local context into their teaching, using the Sinhala language, encouraging classroom interaction and learner autonomy, building motivation and positive teacher±learner relationships and differentiating instruction according to proficiency level and target skills. Despite teachers using these strategies, students reported being dissatisfied with the ESL programs. The recommendation emerging from the study is for universities in Sri Lanka to develop ESL pedagogies that are specific to the Sri Lankan university context and responsive to the needs of Sri Lankan students.

The world 'announces' itself to us through the frameworks of our theories (Bernstein 2000, cited in Moore, 2007, p. 37).

The purpose of this text is to encourage teachers (both pre- and in-service) to engage in critical inquiry about the curriculum - about both 'what' and 'how' it is taught - and about the classroom and school contexts, as well as the local and wider social/cultural contexts. These can be investigated through multiple frameworks. The intent of the various chapters is to provide both theoretical frameworks and conceptual tools to inform teachers' inquiry with knowledge about the debates, arguments and research findings around educational issues. These frameworks are in relation to critical inquiry, the curriculum, social justice, social class, gender, critical multicultural and critical race theory, Aboriginal education, ethics, rural location and globalisation. Critical engagement with these topics and about their implications for curriculum policies and practices can deepen and situate teachers' inquiries in a wider context, beyond personal experience and opinion.

Genre studies of Research Articles (RAs) have increased over the years. However, our review indicates that RA studies on RAs in the history discipline are still limited both to English and Indonesian languages. By identifying this gap, we are encouraged to analyze their rhetorical structures in the introduction section because this section plays an important role in publishing RAs in journals. For analyzing the rhetorical structure of both data sets, we employed the Create Research Spaces (CARS) model (Swales, 1990). The results showed that the rhetorical structures of English Research Article Introductions (RAIs) are similar to the CARS model, while the rhetorical structures of Indonesian RAIs in the present study do not conform to the model. This finding implies that Indonesian RAIs in the present study have different rhetorical structures from those found in English RAIs both in the present study and those in the CARS model. Besides, it implies that Indonesian authors in the History discipline meet challenges when they want to publish works in English journals.

Equitable educational access and opportunities are indispensable in creating just societies, particularly developing ones such as Pakistan. This study examines the sociohistorical causes and effects of a deeply segregated, class-based primary and secondary education system which has led to Madrassas, religious seminaries, becoming an education system primarily for the poor, thus creating challenges for its graduates in pursuing higher education and in accessing opportunities of social mobility after graduating from Madrassas. Through online surveys of forty-five participants and eight interviews, this ethnographic study brings out the perspectives of Madrassa graduates regarding educational inequities particularly in higher education, the causes of marginalisation of Madrassas and value of Madrassas as an Indigenous knowledge system. The value of Madrassas and the inequities their students experience, are interpreted using the causal theoretical frameworks of postcolonialism, Indigenous knowledge system and structural inequality. The reflective, descriptive, and change-based stories may inform decision makers and contribute to the development of policies that address the intractable social problems experienced by these students falling through the cracks and thus be a step towards exploring a relevant, inclusive, and quality higher education option for this forgotten youth.