Teacher action research seeks to bring together action, reflection, theory, and practice; and it is acknowledged as a way to value and honour teachers' practical knowledge. The purpose of this article is to conceptualize teacher action research as "Bildung," applying Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics as a theoretical…

Outlines the program "Language Arts in the Primary School" which was developed by the National Institute for Curriculum Development in the Netherlands. Focuses on three areas of that project: (1) the school and its language education; (2) the projects research activities; and (3) the school's curriculum. (BR)

I offer a close reconstruction of John Dewey's account of vocation in "Democracy and Education", bringing out the existential and aesthetic dimensions of Dewey's idea that vocations constitute perceptual environments for their practitioners. Although Dewey offers this idea to teachers only as an insight about student development, I contend that…

Outlines the design and implementation of an elementary school curriculum development project in Lesotho, Africa, which stressed the central role of the teacher. Curriculum design took into account extreme educational conditions including inadequately trained teachers, high student-teacher ratios and attrition rates, and insufficient supplies. (AM)

Describes a British government study of self-evaluation procedures used by local educational authorities. A survey of self-evaluation policies in 104 school districts revealed a variety of approaches. Findings indicate a need to further define the evaluations' objectives, increase teacher participation, and increase staff development training. (AM)