There is an urgent need for global citizens to develop sustainable development competencies (SDCs) if our world is to survive threats to its development and sustainability. These competencies can be developed through education for sustainable development (ESD). However, implementing ESD is challenged by teachers' and students' prioritisation of…

Current motivation theory and research face serious theoretical, methodological, and practical challenges. One central challenge is the fact that research has focused mainly on motivation for traditional achievement tasks such as graded assignments and normative educational trajectories. Arguably, current motivation theory and research may be…

Stanley Park High School, Carshalton, was designated a Building Schools for the Future "One School Pathfinder" in 2006 and charged with being innovative in all aspects of schooling. At a time of increasing compliance in schools, with an unwillingness to deviate from centrally controlled orthodoxy for fear of falling foul of…

Despite the worldwide interest on transforming curricula, a case study examination of what really happens within an ODeL South African university context, has been much limited. By using psycho-social and social identity theory, we highlight the complexities involved in the process of transforming decades of teaching and learning practices. The…

Purpose: This paper aims to provide a critical interpretative analysis of an innovative model of assessment in subject English in New South Wales, Australia. The purpose of this paper is to explore the theoretical and practical dimensions of assessment in the English Extension 2 course. This course forms part of suite of senior secondary English…

After the Kosovo conflict ended in June 1999, Kosovo educational authorities, backed extensively by international technical assistance, introduced educational changes for the first time after a decade of isolation. Educational policy documents started to shift rhetoric of teaching and learning practices from traditional, largely content-based,…

Emphasizing the deficiencies of standardized assessments in measuring what counts for learners, the author highlights the complexity of assessment as well as the significance of the teacher-student relationship in learning.

United Arab Emirates (UAE) is currently undergoing massive educational reform, especially in the teaching and assessment methods of all subject-matter areas. In Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) has mandated the revamping of English language teaching and assessment in grades 6-12 through the introduction of…

Hunt and McDonnell have provided an excellent overview of one of the most important aspects of planning for students with severe disabilities--an ecological curricular framework that is created with input from the student, family, and needs of current and future environments. The standards-based reform-movement has created tension for educators to…

If a district head or state superintendent wanted to intensify the focus of his curriculum on 21st century skills, he would do well to pay a visit to Tucson's Catalina Foothills School District (CFSD). There on the Arizona city's northeastern edge, educators and administrators have decided to go all in on 21st century skills, and in so doing have…

This study examined five of 12 physical education teachers participating in the Assessment Initiative for Middle School Physical Education (AIMS-PE), a reform-based teacher development project designed to help teachers examine and reframe their assessment practices and to design and implement curricular programs that encourage active teaching and…

This chapter discusses alternatives beyond traditional standardized tests or curriculum standards consisting of naive checklists of low-level facts and skills to operationally define educational goals in ways that provide direction for both instruction and accountability. Suggestions are drawn from physical and social sciences as well as from…

A discussion of where alternative assessment is going and what its value is suggests that it depends on the desired outcome. The article explains what alternative assessment means, how assessment and curriculum are value-laden, assessment as a perspective on curriculum, and assessment and curriculum as inquiry. (SM)

This booklet describes a school district's evolution from a neatly compartmentalized language arts curriculum to a curriculum integrated around broad topics and themes of study. Sections of the booklet discuss the mounting tensions in the school district's language arts program; committee work that formed the foundation for change; the 5 target…

This book translates national and state standards into ideas from which teachers can build a workable learning program, clarifying the current language of standards and assessment and helping teachers identify how those standards and assessments can work in their schools or districts. Chapter 1 discusses recent history that has created the current…