Rural schools have repeatedly been subjected to standardizing state and federal education policies that seek to minimize variance in instructional systems and increase the number of college- and career-ready graduates. The Race to the Top policy agenda combined standards-based and accountability-based reforms to meet these objectives and once…

An account is presented of how schools in Hong Kong have responded to major changes to the official writing curriculum, from the highly structured, whole-class approach which predominantly involved all students in the class painstakingly learning written script and modeling their writing on carefully chosen examples of traditional writing, to an…

This research investigates the understandings of four teachers who teach history in primary and early childhood settings. Data were gathered from participants through semi-structured interviews. The participants were experienced teachers who were in the process of curriculum change--from teachers of studies of society and environment to teachers…

As public schools strive to provide all students access to and success with the general curriculum, potentially leading them to postsecondary educational opportunities that prepare them for fulfilling and engaging careers, recent federal legislation clearly reflects the need to ensure that all students are supported in achieving rigorous…

Often the stakeholders most affected by curriculum change are uninvolved in the change process, leading to curriculum reforms that fail. Thus, a group of university researchers conducted a small-scale study to explore the thoughts and opinions of parents and elementary students on the use of mathematics and science graphic novels to support the…

In an effort to enhance the quality of teachers and teaching, and to lead internal curriculum development in primary schools, the Hong Kong Education Bureau created a new curriculum leader post entitled primary school master/mistress (curriculum development) or PSMCD for short. The main purpose of the study was to examine the perceptions of these…

Oppenheimer urged communities all over the world to study how children come to understand peace, conflict, and war. Set in various countries, their review of studies, as well as more recent examinations reveal trends in how children view these phenomena, often differing by gender, age, and extent to which they were exposed to highly dangerous and…

For the past few years, the Republic of Cyprus has been pursuing a major educational reform across all levels of mandatory education, focusing especially on curriculum change, for the implementation of which in-service teachers have undergone a series of professional development seminars. Individual and focus group interviews with in-service…

With increased attention to measurable, common student achievement outcomes, the experience of both students and teachers has been overlooked. While measurable outcomes may possess value, they have served to shift the focus of schools, administrators, and teachers to writing curriculum that centers on assessable content learning rather than…

The new standards for K-12 science education suggest that student learning should be more integrated and should focus on crosscutting concepts and core ideas from the areas of physical science, life science, Earth/space science, and engineering/technology. This paper describes large-scale, urban elementary-focused science, technology, engineering,…

This case study presents some of the practical aspects of focus-group interviews used in the frame of a broader research accomplished through Erasmus+ Project "Let's make it better! Raising the awareness of the triad nutrition-health-food safety in school education (EDU FOR HEALTH)." The interviews were conducted within the activity…

Differentiated instruction (DI) is nothing new and is believed to be an effective research-based strategy to cater for learner diversity. Differentiation involves finding multiple ways to structure a lesson so that each student is provided with an opportunity to work at a moderately challenging level. Previous studies, however, found that teachers…

The present study describes a yearlong collaborative inquiry involving six teachers and their professional discussions about literacy instruction as they developed a curriculum to support the cultural and linguistic needs of their school's 88% Native American student population. Participants in this study were four Native American teachers and two…

Assessment for Learning practices with students such as feedback, and self- and peer assessment are opportunities for teachers and students to develop a shared understanding of how to create quality learning performances. Quality is often represented through achievement standards. This paper explores how primary school teachers in Australia used…

This paper examines the teaching and learning of traditional dance at primary school level in Zimbabwe as a key aspect of postcolonial curriculum reimagination within the broader project of reclaiming a nation's heritage. The paper used the survey design to determine how a cohort of primary school teachers understood traditional dance and how they…