Cuban says schools reflect our society's fascination with fads, which increases their vulnerability to pressures from different constituencies. The most long-lasting innovations have avid supporters and equitable intent. Kindergarten and preschool education are prime examples. Policymakers' efforts to change classroom teaching practice usually…

Firm evidence shows that formative assessment is an essential ingredient of classroom work and that its development can raise achievement standards. Achieving this goal demands a four-point scheme for teacher development: learning from development, a slow, yet steady dissemination process, reduction of obstacles, and substantive research efforts.…

ECD policies are influenced by the contexts in which they develop. Those contexts include historical, cultural, social, economic and diverse conceptual dimensions operating at international, regional, country and local levels. These forces impact on policy development as well as on policy implementation. This article briefly situates ECD policy…

It is difficult to estimate the costs of not writing thorough IT policy. Misuse of IT resources, whether through ignorance or malice, costs money, as do court cases that can result from abuse. Furthermore, a poor university accreditation report caused in part by poor policy documents will likely have an adverse impact on student enrollment. There…

New arrangements for the induction of teachers in Scottish schools were introduced for school session 2002/03. Those completing initial teacher education (ITE) are now entitled to a one-year training post with a 70% workload, 30% of working time for professional development and 10% of an experienced teacher's time for support. Such inductees must…

This report presents findings from the second-year evaluation of the Governor's Educator Excellence Grant (GEEG) program. The GEEG program was federally- and state-funded and provided three-year grants to schools to design and implement performance pay plans from the 2005-06 to 2007-08 school years. GEEG was implemented in 99 high poverty, high…

This report presents strategies for implementing interdisciplinary personnel preparation programs for Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and discusses barriers to meeting the spirit and intent of the personnel preparation components of the law. Three models of personnel preparation were explored, including preservice,…

A review identified how the paraprofessional curricula of Technical and Further Education, Training, and Employment Queensland (TAFE-TEQ) aligned with the objectives of the Multicultural and Crosscultural Supplementation Program (MACSP). (MACSP was a program of Australia's National Policy on Languages.) The study also explained the acceptance or…

This document consists of four issues (a year's worth: Nov 1995; Jan,Mar,Oct 1996) of a newsletter devoted to issues of importance regarding community college education and provides updates on activities and policies of the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges. The November 1995 issue highlights affirmative action and offers a…

This report describes Kentucky's Primary School Program, which was developed after the signing of the Kentucky Education Reform Act in 1990. An overview of the report explains the philosophy of the program and lists its critical attributes. These are: (1) developmentally appropriate practices; (2) multi-age classrooms; (3) continuous progress; (4)…

This book focuses on the past, present, and future of the national framework for the recognition of access courses in the United Kingdom. Chapter 1 is an introduction that discusses framework studies and framework features. Chapter 2 is a review of the bodies appointed to plan and oversee the scheme at the center, including an examination of the…

The goal of this conference was to assist early childhood professionals in their efforts to provide training to parents and family-focused, community-based transitions between preschool and school. The conference was also designed to assure children access to a high quality, developmentally appropriate preschool; adequate nutrition; and health…

This paper summarizes 14 case studies from 13 countries commissioned by Unesco to describe the educational provisions for adults in the special context of scientific and technological development and to study a selected number of programs at greater depth. The countries chosen by Unesco are all countries with developed or developing industries,…

This paper presents an overview of educational policymaking in several developing countries in Africa by (1) examining the nature of various educational policies in these countries; (2) drawing comparative generalizations from the outcomes of the objectives of these policies; and (3) recommending ways to avoid the failure of educational reforms.…

Although Michigan has one of the best trained work forces in the nation, the skill gap between what the marketplace needs and what its workers can offer is continuing to widen. Michigan must develop an adult training and education system that is customer driven and customer sensitive, emphasizes shared responsibility of stakeholders, empowers…