This open access book provides teachers with approaches to strengthen reading comprehension instruction based on scientific research and evidence-based didactic principles. In this volume, the Progress in International Reading Study (PIRLS) framework is used to inform teachers about the skills and knowledge that students need to comprehend certain texts. The book gives practical guidance on how…
The book addresses the compelling questions concerning the ideals of African citizenship, the processes of learning to fulfill these ideals, and possibilities of education in fostering citizenship. Rather than advocating for one particular framework, the authors demonstrate the continuously contested nature of the concept of citizenship as both theoretically discussed by philosophers and practi…
A prominent issue in many contemporary philosophy of religion debates concerns whether the universe has a Designer. This book moves the discussion ahead in a significant way by devising an original deductive formulation of the Teleological Argument (TA) which demonstrates that the following are the only possible categories of hypotheses concerning fine-tuning and order: (i) chance, (ii) regular…
This open access book discusses how the involvement of citizens into scientific endeavors is expected to contribute to solve the big challenges of our time, such as climate change and the loss of biodiversity, growing inequalities within and between societies, and the sustainability turn. The field of citizen science has been growing in recent decades. Many different stakeholders from scientist…
This open access book provides a readable narrative of the bubbles and the banking crisis Japan experienced during the two decades between the late 1980s and the early 2000s. Japan, which was a leading competitor in the world’s manufacturing sector, tried to transform itself into an economy with domestic demand-led mature growth, but the ensuing bubbles and crisis instead made the country suf…
The open access book provides a critical account of parenthood in Polish society. It uses a qualitative perspective to show how mothers and fathers engage with parenthood and also function in the labour market. Parenting in contemporary Poland is not only affected by individual preferences and choices, but significantly by the institutional context, in particular the family policy system, as we…
This open access illustrated guide focuses on Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) in children and adolescents. FGM/C comprises all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or injury to the female genital organs for nonmedical reasons. It is mainly carried out during childhood, before the age of 15. The signs of FGM/C can be subtle, and the ex…