ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses that time has an important enabling quality that facilitates teaching and learning. It presents research evidence about the relationship between the more refined concept of engaged time or time-on-task and achievement. The chapter reviews what some of the descriptive research suggests about variability across classrooms. It addresses the often neglected dimension of how to make best use of research knowledge about instructional time. Time has a transactional quality for students and teachers – both are required to 'invest' time if learning is to occur. Research on allocated time has either been descriptive, in an attempt to sketch the extent of variations in the way teachers apportion time in and across different curriculum content areas, or correlational in seeking to establish a relationship between time and achievement. The chapter shows that there is an articulate body of research that reveals an important and consistent relationship between achievement and facets of instructional and learning time.
