In this study, we examine a professional learning community of primary school teachers developing a joint school-based curriculum for science and technology (S&T) education. Team meetings were observed over the course of one school year and the participating teachers and school head were interviewed. An essential factor in the team's…

In today's output defined society, alumni are the output of higher education. This article shows how alumni research can be used as an important indicator of curriculum quality. This relatively unexplored area of engineering education research in Europe is highlighted using a case study carried out in the Netherlands, the outcomes of which have…

We present a framework for analysing the interplay between context-based teaching material and teachers, and for evaluating the adequacy of the resulting implementation of context-based pedagogy in chemistry classroom practice. The development of the framework is described, including an account of its theoretical foundations. The framework needs…

This study looks at the curricula for mathematics, science and literacy, comparing England's curricula with those of other countries based on performance in international comparative surveys. The main objective was to answer the question: How does the content of the Primary Curriculum in England at Key stage 2 compare in literacy, math and science…

This paper reports on a theoretical and empirical study into curriculum innovation in secondary education in the Netherlands focusing on mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. Curriculum specialists, subject specialists, researchers, policy makers, and teachers were interviewed for the study. Results indicate that mathematics had the most…

Some aspects of the reform of chemical education in the Netherlands are presented. These aspects include the reason for the reform and the results of the effort. Examples regarding the way entropy is treated and the treatment of quantitative chemical problems are given. (Author)

Formative evaluation of a physics curriculum unit (PLON) is reported. Phase one used general ideas and many instruments; phase two focused on specific questions arising from phase one. Findings suggested that relating curriculum content to ability to think about and explain a task was a prerequisite for student satisfaction. (CP)

This document highlights the aims and activities of a project designed to modernize and update physics teaching and physics curriculum in the Netherlands by developing materials for use with students aged 12-18 at intermediate general, higher general, and pre-university schools. Following general information (including a brief description of the…

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)

Discusses challenges that should be implemented in chemistry teaching during the 1980s/1990s. These include a focus on social relevance and orientation to student (considering developmental stages, way of thinking, and direct environment). These efforts may change the current negative public image of chemistry. (JN)

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…

Outlines the stages of a research-development cycle based on experiences with a Dutch physics curriculum development project (PLON). Discusses two topics: the legitimation of specific contents of the curricula and the attention to lay ideas on scientific concepts. (Author/YP)

This study of physics problem-solving identifies reasoning mechanisms that enable the problem-solver to achieve the transformation to a physics structure of the problem situation. Elaboration is explored as a mechanism in fulfilling this transformation by providing beginning problem-solvers with elaborations that they failed to infer. A card…

An approach to teaching problem-solving based on using the computer software Mathematica is applied to the study of electrostatics and is compared with the normal approach to the module. Learning outcomes for both approaches were not significantly different. The experimental course successfully addressed a number of misconceptions. Students in the…