Four-day school weeks are becoming increasingly common in the U.S., but their effect on achievement is not well-understood. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we conduct the most representative student-level analysis to date of the effects of four-day weeks on student achievement and within-year growth using NWEA MAP Growth data. We…

This report analyzes recent learning sciences research and provides nine recommendations to address a critical need: how can education policy support and align with the science of learning and development? Research on how students learn and develop is providing teachers, practitioners, and policymakers with insights on how to help students learn…

The authors have systematically investigated the state of undergraduate learning in contemporary colleges and universities. Following several thousand traditional-age students as they enrolled in coursework from Fall 2005 to Spring 2009, across a wide range of four-year colleges and universities, the authors found a set of conditions suggesting…

Discusses the history of modern art and the emergence of post-modernism, assessing the implications for art education. Stating that viewers must be culturally literate to comprehend post-modern art, Parks argues that discipline-based art education will better prepare students to deal with the images, issues, and ambiguity they will be confronted…

Suggests that Soviet school administration theory should be studied in combination with social administration. Presents as a goal of the educational system a model secondary school graduate who is disciplined, organized, and capable of both self-restraint and mobilization of will. Notes that such a personality approach requires perfecting existing…

The traditional college curriculum is seen as a collection of answers for students who do not yet have the questions; an alternative approach that nurtures students' capacities for inquiry is suggested and outlined. (MSE)

Reports on nine issues that the National Society for the Study of Education agreed were crucial to education today and should be included in their yearbook on secondary education. Some of the conclusions of the yearbooks authors were also presented. (Editor/RK)

Describes the European Community's efforts to unify Europe and enhance competitiveness in world markets by improving use of available intellectual potential. Discusses ERASMUS, the European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students. Explains the role of Inter-University Cooperation Programs (ICPs), a course credit transfer…

Diversification of college populations means student leadership training must move students beyond tolerance/sensitization, teaching them to value and embrace other cultures. Ideals of leadership must be taught from various cultural perspectives, encouraging students to challenge their own values/beliefs and make positive changes. Culturally…

Recent research on how college students learn and what constitutes an effective educational experience is reviewed, and implications for bringing about desired changes in the undergraduate experience are discussed. Topics examined include students' ability to reason with abstractions, development of moral values, extent to which the curriculum and…

Summarizes research on recent developments in the trend toward full-day kindergarten programs. Topics covered include (1) full-day and half-day differential gains, (2) the nature of gains produced by full-day kindergarten, (3) the lack of causal relations among program components, (4) enduring effects, (5) differential student effects, and (6)…

Describes reform of a Chinese vocational teaching program. Emphasizes a teaching structure combining theoretical and practical teaching. Lists prerequisites for an independent teaching system as suitable instructors (usually engineers), equipment for practice, and a transformation of the students' views toward study. Urges revision of teaching…

An analysis is provided of the innovations that have marked the community college movement during the 1980s, including speculations about their effect on postsecondary education in the 1990s. The authors of the 13 chapters of the book were directed to cite examples of innovative practices from a range of community colleges to illustrate their…

Student development professionals at church-related colleges must be innovative in structuring programs, assuring that they reflect institutional purposes and are at the same time responsive to changes in campus culture, student mix, and economic realities. Integration of faith, instruction, and student life will have to take new forms. (MSE)

Schools that trust their students, and schools that value, respect, and know their students are schools that foster resiliency for their students. More than any other single factor, the lack of a deeply held belief in every child's ability leads to underachieving students. Seven schools that are working to remove roadblocks to student success are…