The 50th anniversary of the Marland Report provides an opportunity to reflect on its impact on the field of gifted education. A critical question is how the Marland Report addressed the need for equity, especially since the Marland federal definition made no explicit mention of culturally, linguistically, or economically different gifted students.…

This article explores the relationship between the freedom granted to teachers to shape curricula and the function of national standards. In recent years, many countries have begun to introduce standards-based reforms in education, such as standardized curriculums and high-stakes tests. As cultural diversity within schools increases, the tension…

Teacher training has entered the collaborative phase as faculty members from different universities worldwide have been sharing their teaching practices using the available educational technologies. This has made curriculum development more exciting and the ideas more diverse since other cultures may have different approaches to tackling subjects…

Across the globe, a critical skill for 21st century special educators is the ability to work effectively with students with special needs from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. International exposure to other cultures through academic immersion experiences fosters those skills by helping teachers cultivate a global perspective. This…

Namibia has adopted an inclusive education policy with emphasis on cultural and linguistic diversity. The policy encourages educators to adapt the curriculum and include content that reflects the cultural background of their learners. Despite these positive provisions, severely marginalized groups, such as the Omaheke Ju|'hoansi, continue to…

University campuses around the world face significant challenges for engaging culturally diverse faculty and students with responsive programming (e.g., undergraduate, graduate, staff and faculty development programs). Policy documents espousing inclusion and the strategic institutional importance of local and global engagement, for example, are…

The purpose of this mixed methods, instrumental case study was to investigate the impact of the case--a theoretically informed, curriculum and instruction approach--on the development of cultural competence in teacher-candidates. Denboba (1993) noted that the acquisition of cultural competence is an ongoing, developmental process that requires a…

Teachers are being asked to educate a variety of students, including a growing number of students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) backgrounds (Diaz-Rico, 2012. "A course for teaching English learners." Upper Saddle River, NY: Pearson). Because students from diverse backgrounds are the fastest growing population in…

This article describes the mechanism through which cultural variability is a source of learning differences. The authors argue that the Universal Design for Learning can be extended to capture the way learning is influenced by cultural variability, and show how the UDL framework might be used to create a curriculum that is responsive to this…

Internationalisation of Australian higher education was initially characterised as growth in the number of international students. While the economic benefits brought by this student cohort and the challenges associated with teaching them are well noted in the literature, their academic contributions are hardly acknowledged. Using a qualitative…

Are there teachable "transferable skills" (TS) that might mitigate the limitations of a rural location--or indeed, the limitations any program might encounter in regard to diversity expectations? Following a study conducted in 2010 of how rural schools, colleges, and departments of education (SCDEs) attempted to meet the National Council…

The implementation of authentic learning elements at education institutions in five countries, eight online courses in total, is examined in this paper. The International Virtual Benchmarking Project (2009-2010) applied the elements of authentic learning developed by Herrington and Oliver (2000) as criteria to evaluate authenticity. Twelve…

"Respecting Difference" demonstrates how teacher educators in the UK and worldwide can attract, recruit and support black and minority ethnic students to become much needed and valued future teachers and educational leaders. This accessible guide presents insights into the institutional and individual dilemmas and experiences of both…

The majority of American educators are White, middle class, and female and most textbooks and articles about and for preservice teachers assume its readers reflect these characteristics. However, as the K-12 student population becomes increasingly diverse, so do the preservice teacher candidates at our Southern California public university. This…

Teachers need to have a clearer understanding of the dynamic process effecting change in culture and identity if they are to overcome fears about teaching diversity. This article draws on Eastern and Western insights on culture to clarify its dynamic process. In particular, teachers need to be aware of the two phases of culture: in one it appears…