How might we know whether our schools or system are set up to optimise learning? How can we find out whether we are getting the most from technology? How can we evaluate our innovation or think through whether our change initiative will bring about its desired results? Teachers and educational leaders who grapple with such questions will find this…

Accelerating threats to a sustainable relationship between economic growth and the capacity of the global social-ecological system to support it require that the implications of competitiveness be reassessed. Today, the capacities that underlie economic competitiveness must also be brought to bear on policy and pedagogy to prepare the coming…

It is well documented that the application of business models to the higher education sector has precipitated a managerialistic approach to organisational structures (Preston, 2001). Less well documented is the impact of this business ideal on the student-teacher encounter. It is argued that this age-old relation is now being configured…

This book is a survival guide as well as a valuable tool for making our schools more effective and appropriate places for students to learn and achieve. Exploring the often complex, multifaceted, and co-occurring problems in the education system, the book addresses specific problems, discusses the real reasons they developed and persist, describes…

This document proposes a statement of purpose for public education and provides a rationale to support and possibly to improve the statement. The statement reads: "The purpose of elementary and secondary public education in this country is to enable all students to be and to become productive contributors toward making planet earth a good and…

Maintains that the inclusion of diverse views to enhance understanding is one of the central tenets of education. Briefly summarizes the arguments for and against multicultural education and calls for a more tolerant and open dialog between conservative and liberal factions. (MJP)

A framework for curriculum design and a set of guidelines for curriculum development in gifted education are presented. The major dimensions guiding curriculum development for gifted students are: content, process, product, and learning environment. Curriculum content should be developed in such a way that it becomes more abstract, complex,…

A discussion of literature in critical thinking and education for democracy promotes critical thinking as one of the most reasonable educational tools to prepare students for participation in a democracy. The theories of Amy Gutmann, Jurgen Habermas, and Matthew Lipman offer insights into the various approaches to critical thinking and education…

One of a series of articles on principles of good practice in legal education, this article focuses on the importance of respecting diverse talents and ways of learning. Discusses institutional and classroom climate, admissions and selections criteria, academic policies, student support services, the curriculum, evaluation of student performance,…

Schools that trust their students, and schools that value, respect, and know their students are schools that foster resiliency for their students. More than any other single factor, the lack of a deeply held belief in every child's ability leads to underachieving students. Seven schools that are working to remove roadblocks to student success are…

This monograph proposes an approach to discipline that emphasizes school community building and offers examples from the Kendall Demonstration Elementary School (KDES) and the Model Secondary School for the Deaf (MSSD), both in Washington, DC. Following discussion of the problem of violence in today's schools, the paper addresses the importance of…

This annual journal issue contains 21 papers, many of which were developed as background pieces for sessions of the annual conferences of the Professional and Organizational Development Network in Higher Education (POD). Papers are grouped into four sections on: personal reflections, faculty development, evaluation of teaching practices, and…

Several factors may interfere with the effective collaboration between universities and K-12 schools, a key element in the process of establishing and operating professional development schools (PDSs). These factors relate to differences in school and university cultures and the impact of these differences on the respective faculties. Among the…

This book presents the concept that quality as a keystone philosophy in today's business world can be applied to school systems as a means to improving education and all aspects of school culture, producing a school of quality. The author uses examples such as Japan's adopting William E. Deming's quality-control principles to help it skyrocket…

Invitational education maintains that each individual possesses relatively untapped potential for intellectual and psychological development and that this potential may best be realized in a nurturing environment. Utilizing an invitational approach to physical education, physical education teachers may invite students to succeed. Guidelines for…