This book examines the influences of governmental regulation on the behavior of higher education institutions in several nations with respect to designing and implementing innovations in curricula. Part I contains theoretical and empirical analyses in four chapters while Part II presents case studies of three nations, the Netherlands, West Germany…

This article examines the effects of a secondary school mathematics curriculum. This curriculum has been developed by the Dutch National Institute for Curriculum Development (SLO). There are differences in how this curriculum is implemented in the classroom. There are striking differences in the learning results at pupil, class and school levels.…

Middle school curriculum development in the Netherlands is following two divergent paths, and the central government should bring about unification. This paper describes change in administrative dominance of curriculum and management of curriculum programs since 1975, analyzes outcomes, and recommends unification. After program initiation,…

Reports on a project in which observations of student and teaching assistant behavior were used to redesign a teaching unit on recrystallization. Comments on the instruction manual, starting points for teaching the unit, and list of objectives with related tasks are included. (JN)

Described is a Dutch thematics physics curriculum recently developed for the average academic secondary student. Discussed are the structure, contents of units, and systematic units of the curriculum. (CW)

A general outline of the development and the status quo of political education in the Netherlands, focusing on the degree of internationalization, is presented. In the light of current and future educational/political developments, attention also is devoted to the North-South issue (the existence of people in developing nations in relation to the…

This booklet consists of four papers by separate authors that show how the Dutch National Institute for Curriculum Development (SLO) tries to improve the quality of education through curriculum research and development. The first text, by Johan C. van Bruggen, provides a general introduction to SLO, showing how it generates curriculum knowledge…

This paper examines possible explanations for the fact that evaluation results are rarely used. Most explanatory factors for use of results in decision making mentioned in the literature have been clustered in three categories of variables. They concern: (1) the making of decisions about the practical problem; (2) the way in which evaluation is…

These papers represent the efforts of individual researchers from five countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, The Netherlands and the United States. Each paper reports on educational change in a different country, based on the Concerns-Based Adoption Model developed at the Research and Development Center for Teacher Education at the University of…

Reports on an evaluative study of a secondary level civics curriculum in the Netherlands. Finds a discrepancy between the curriculum plans of the developers and the classroom implementation of the curriculum. Recommends an implementation-oriented development strategy with emphasis on early and intensive formative evaluation. (CFR)

A research study on the learning effects of women's history on about 500 pupils throughout the Netherlands aged between 14 and 16 posed the question "How does women's history contribute to the gender-identity of girls?" Eleven classes (224 students) were taught women's history and 11 classes (273 students) were taught…

Reports on a study of the effects of the curriculum material used and of teaching behavior in "Information and Computer Literacy," a new course introduced in the Netherlands. Suggests that education can diminish but not entirely eradicate gender-related ideas about computers. Includes statistical and tabular data. (MJP)

Virtual environments are more and more used in primary schools. One of the most interesting potentialities of these environments is to foster cross-national applications. Yet, this specific feature is not fully exploited. This paper presents a successful virtual learning environment for primary education involving two European countries and…

Maintains that research on political socialization began in the late 1950s and died a premature death in the 1970s. Discusses the field's origins and downfall, and predicts a rebirth in a new and sustainable form. Outlines changes in secondary school political science education and political socialization research in other nations. (CFR)