Computer science (CS) education helps students acquire skills such as computational thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration, among others. As these skills take preeminence in the rapidly changing 21st century, CS education promises to significantly enhance student preparedness for the future of work and active citizenship. Based on prior…

Today, state education agencies (SEAs) and their leaders face unprecedented demands. What was once a low-profile job of managing federal aid, providing curricular guidance, and ensuring compliance with various legal obligations is now a far more visible and politically fraught task. The new roles required of state education agencies due to the No…

A survey by Illinois Plan for Home Economics Education of 51 state supervisors of vocational home economics found that 40 have recently revised the secondary home economics curriculum; only 10 had research underway in support of home economics; most favored family and/or family-work issues in the curriculum; and 40 considered their home economics…

The development of a core curriculum for secondary horticulture that New Hampshire teachers would actually use required grass-roots teacher input, independent and team writing, and feedback from employers and postsecondary instructors who would ultimately be affected by the new curriculum. (SK)

The Pennsylvania School Improvement Program (PSIP) was created to assist local schools and school districts in the development of curriculum improvement strategies. The process involves the use of "linkers," curriculum specialists who work with teams from the local level to ascertain needs, then connect the local teams with the research…

The supposed gulf between curriculum development as it is practiced, and curriculum theory, may be an imaginary one, this article suggests. Textbook curriculum axioms are used to analyze Mississippi's Accountability and Instructional Management program, and it is found to be consistent with the theory taught in college classrooms. (DCS)

This paper focuses on the initial phase of a curriculum mapping program as part of the development of a state-mandated school improvement plan. Mapping, a system of curriculum analysis and subsequent alignment, has been cited as a valuable component of curriculum renewal and staff development that has positive impacts on student achievement and…

The development and progress of health education curricula for New York state public schools are discussed, and the need for further work and more collaboration among health educators is suggested. (CB)

The 1990-91 school year has been designated the Year of the Arts in Education in Connecticut. This guide describes what state agencies are doing to celebrate this special year and seeks to inform various groups about what they can do to help develop Year of the Arts in Education activities. Suggestions are made for various groups including: art…

This pamphlet outlines various activities and decisions implemented by the Maryland State Reading Plan. "Maryland's Reading Groups" discusses the four groups formed to focus on the general field of reading and its improvement. "The State Reading Plan" looks at the seven goals of the plan, objectives adopted for helping students…

Educators from Fullerton Union High School District, Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Capistrano Unified School District, and Huntington Beach Union High School District describe their efforts toward developing competency-based curriculum to meet state mandates. (SJL)

In its firm commitment to competency-based vocational education, Kentucky has gone beyond its V-TECS catalogs to develop modules that will give teachers almost complete flexibility in individualized instruction. Implementation of the model is fully described. (HD)

Project Accommodate, a program designed to improve inservice to regular Nebraska secondary teachers serving handicapped students, is described. The state's needs for inservice training to implement the goal of providing services in the least restrictive environment are discussed as background to Project Accommodate's development. Goals of the…

Common elements of definitions of competency-based vocational education (CBVE) are: (1) CBVE is an instructional process; (2) students must develop competencies; (3) competency includes skill, knowledge, and attitudes; and (4) the outcome is successful job performance. Advantages of CBVE include: (1) students' awareness of what is expected of them…

This pamphlet provides an overview of the present situation concerning technology education in Oklahoma. It lists learner outcomes, details the criteria for a technology education program, and illustrates the role of industrial arts/technology education in the total education system. The four functions that industrial arts/technology education…