Politics and pragmatics are central and inseparable features of curriculum reform. In a federated system like Australia, many individuals and organisations are invested in reform at the national and jurisdictional level. This paper focuses on the policy work and roles of key actors positioned at the interface of national and state-based curriculum…

L1 grammar teaching worldwide often takes the form of traditional grammar teaching with decontextualized parsing exercises and rules of thumb. Some researchers have proposed enriching such forms of grammar teaching by relating traditional grammatical concepts to underlying metaconcepts from linguistic theory. The merits of such an approach have…

Technological and social developments during the past years emphasise the importance of knowledge work competence. Additionally, funding of universities in Finland was changed to be based largely on yearly accumulated credits, therefore, improving retention is of critical importance for the institution. In order to improve first-year retention…

Despite Italy's extensive participation in most large-scale assessments, their actual influence on Italian educational policies is less easy to identify. The present contribution aims at highlighting and explaining reasons for the weak and often inconsistent relationship between international surveys and policy-making processes in Italy.…

This paper presents a critical and systematic review of 52 articles published from 2000 to 2012 about research conducted in Turkey concerning adolescents' social and emotional learning needs. In correspondence with international research, articles were examined across three categories in which adolescent needs could be addressed by educational…

This paper examines to what extent and how the data and results of PISA have been used for various education stakeholders and to what extent PISA affect educational policy and practices in Hong Kong. From the point of view of the government, PISA has played an important role in supporting and legitimising government educational reform since 2000.…

Behaviour in schools is an enduring public policy concern not only within the UK, but internationally also. Current concern should come as no surprise as behaviour is intimately connected with policy priorities for schools, namely raising standards of attainment and promoting social cohesion. Clearly, standards are threatened where disruptive…

Since the 1990s, Chile has participated in all major international large-scale assessment studies (ILSAs) of the IEA and OECD, as well as the regional ones conducted by UNESCO in Latin America, after it had been involved in the very first international Science Study in 1970-1971. This article examines the various ways in which these studies have…

On 1 August 1989, the introduction of a National Curriculum of subjects to all maintained schools throughout England and Wales brought compulsory science education into the primary sector for the first time. As a direct result of its elevated profile and an immense amount of hard work and effort by teachers and other professionals responding to…

An approach to the development and evaluation of six short, school-focused inservice education and training (INSET) courses on special educational needs combined quantitative and qualitative techniques to evaluate the courses and provide feedback for course tutors to assist in course development. (Author/CB)

Describes British teachers' perceptions of the first year's implementation of elementary school history using a national curriculum (NC). Surveys about staffing, curriculum development, inservice training, department structure, and NC requirements indicated the experience of implementing the NC was difficult, and only half the respondents favored…

Describes the British government's Technical and Vocational Education Initiative, explaining how it has been managed in schools and local education authorities, outlining management mechanisms, comparing rationale and rhetoric with the reality of management, and interpreting empirical evidence to evaluate its effectiveness in managing curriculum…

The article outlines and discusses aspects of a pilot scheme in the Technical and Vocational Education Initiative introduced in 14 local education authorities in England and Wales in 1983. Points are made about the value of interdisciplinary assignment work, dilemmas in assessing and recording, matters of continuity, and issues surrounding…

The Sheffield Curriculum Initiative (SCI), a partnership between schools, local education authority, university and polytechnic seeks to radically change the curriculum district-wide. Central to SCI is the teacher secondment (sabbatical) program. Teachers spend half of the week in professional development activities, and half in their own schools…

Considers the British 1988 Education Reform Act's reconceptualization of schooling and the associated process of curriculum reformulation in relation to equal opportunities. The particular focus of this article is sexual and racial inequality. Proposed curriculum reforms in mathematics, science, and English are examined within this context. (IAH)