This article provides commentary on the five articles in this issue on large-scale interventions in science education for diverse student groups in varied educational settings. Using these articles as a point of departure, I discuss three challenges to science education research and practice. The first concerns the changed meaning of science…

Despite constraints on federal resources and authority in education policy, the federal government has a pivotal role to play in identifying a compelling, high-impact focal point that aligns policy priorities at the federal, state, and local levels. The federal government could play a critical role in expanding students' access to excellent…

In recent years, national policymakers have placed new emphasis on "school turnarounds" as a strategy for rapid, dramatic improvement in chronically failing schools, calling on education leaders to turn around performance in the 5,000 lowest-achieving schools nationwide. This goal may seem daunting, given the dismal success rates of…

The most important natural resource Texas has is Texans. Unfortunately, the state suffers from a "brain drain" as many of the best and brightest students leave to further their education. A contributing cause is a lack of "tier one" universities in Texas. Proposition 4 (a constitutional amendment to create a National Research…

In the 21st century, the rapid pace and complexity of economic, technological and cultural changes require women and men to adapt and re-adapt throughout their lives--all the more so in the context of globalisation. In this era of the knowledge society--where production structure is shifting towards greater knowledge use and away from reliance on…

This three-part report addresses recent education reform issues. Part I summarizes education priorities, then describes education's administration, structure, and financing. Part II deals with education's development since 1981. The first section notes major education legislation. A second section presents major issues in the current reform…

Education 2005 is a report prepared for the Subcommittee on Select Education of the Committee on Education and Labor in the U.S. House of Representatives. This article reproduces verbatim the foreword to that report, written by the subcommittee's chairman Major R. Owens (D-New York). (DB)

Traces the development of New American Schools, a nonprofit organization created in 1991 to apply a research and development approach to the design and dissemination of models of whole-school reform. (PKP)

The House Committee on Education and Labor has primary oversight responsibility for the Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) and any new legislation relating to that office. In 1991 the authorizing legislation, set forth in the General Education Provisions Act, is due to expire. The Subcommittee, in the…

These excerpts from "Education 2005: The Role of Research and Development in an Overwhelming Campaign for Education in America" describe the rationale for the report's full recommendations. They include the text and discussion of the particular recommendation for the creation of a research, development, and dissemination delivery system…

Despite some weakening in the 1990s, partly due to sluggish trend growth, the Swiss innovation performance has been very strong. There are, however, areas in which policy reforms could strengthen innovation further and help Switzerland maintain its lead in the face of a changing global environment. Boosting competition, simplifying administrative…

In this keynote address presented at the Mid-western Educational Research Association Annual Meeting in October, 2004, the author discusses the increasing interest of federal policy-makers in scientifically-based research. A comparison between education and other disciplines is offered, and a proposal for increased rigor in educational research is…

The hearing transcribed in this report is focused on the imperative of having a federal educational research and development strategy. As part of this strategy, a discussion concerning an innovative approach to dissemination and professional development also took place. The report contains testimony from: (1) G. Carl Ball, Committee on the Federal…

In preparation for the 1990 Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act reauthorization, the Department of Education established the National Assessment of Vocational Education (NAVE). The plan of study examined five broad research areas: (1) implementation of the Perkins Act; (2) access of special populations to vocational education; (3) status of…

In November 1988, the sixth annual Continuing Conference of the Southern Education Foundation brought together about 140 veteran educators, civil rights advocates, and experts on federal education policymaking in an effort to candidly reexamine the role of the Federal Government in education. Discussion focused on: (1) how to return the Federal…