Philip Phenix's (1964) book "Realms of meaning: A philosophy of the curriculum for general education" started the ever growing movement concerned with how school education might help young people in their search for meaning, purpose and values in times of rapid cultural change. Today, in globalised, digital, secularised culture, the…

Realizing that each human being is naturally gifted with numerous talents, the Akademi Bakat ABS is set up to uphold this value through its unique curriculum, approach, and eco-system in the school. Till date, 75% of the learning program is based on learning-by-doing approach. The core vision is to nurture the students' inner-self with the six…

Over the past two decades, two heavily funded initiatives of the Federal government of Australia have been founded on two very different and seemingly conflicting (if not antithetical) visions of education. The first, the Australian Values Education Program (AVEP, 2003-2010) enshrines what may be called an 'embedded values' vision of education;…

Americans seem to agree that social studies education is important for citizens in a democracy, but they have disagreed vociferously about what constitutes the social studies, who should teach it, what methods are most effective, and if different students need different curriculum or instruction. This history of conflict is called the "social…

"Changing the Course of Family Literacy" re-examines the importance and value of family literacy programming and offers several policy recommendations to focus attention on the four-component model used in Even Start. This paper explores the current status of Family literacy and, after gathering information from 47 states, found that 11…

This book first discusses the need for teaching thinking. Each of its eight chapters is devoted to a different approach to teaching thinking in our schools. In the discussion of each, key questions are considered and summarized, concerning assumptions, goals, methods and materials, the target audience, teacher qualifications, benefits, and special…

Building faculty or professional learning communities is an idea that has come of age. This article describes work being done within the Brigham Young University (BYU)-Public School Partnership to form and sustain such communities across higher and public education and in ways consistent with the four aims of the Agenda for Education in a…

This mini-packet is designed to help school districts that are writing an educational philosophy as part of the Local Planning and Assessment Process (LPAP). There are two basic uses for the mini-packet: to acquaint teachers and the lay public with what developing an educational philosophy will require and to guide a committee in writing an…

Describes reading in schools using the Paideia philosophy (a set of teaching and learning goals to help students acquire a core of general knowledge, develop fundamental skills, and enlarge their understanding of ideas and values). (RS)

Through the implementation of a combination of five critical concepts, the Regional Institute for Children and Adolescents (RICA) Cheltenham program in Maryland attempts to provide a milieu whereby all activities are designed to have therapeutic impact on the students. Essentially, each adult, as a team member, becomes a provider of therapeutic…

This collection of essays is taken from a 20-year span of "The Journal of Curriculum Theorizing." The volume contains 31 articles: "Living Metaphors: The Real Curriculum in Environmental Education," F. Krall; "Dialectics and the Development of Curriculum Theory," H. Giroux; "Autobiography and Reconceptualization," M. Grumet; "Women," J. Miller;…

This paper summarizes seven school-reform models demonstrating "strong" and "promising" evidence of effectiveness in improving student achievement according to a rating scale designed by the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The intent of this summary is to assist districts and schools in the Pacific region in identifying…

Describes the "Flower of Peace" model for peace education as embedded in the Montessori educational approach, focusing on self-awareness, community awareness, cultural awareness, and environmental awareness. Maintains that the adult is the single most important factor in educating children for peace. Includes resources for peace…

The author describes her visit to the school for the deaf and hard of hearing in Stegen, West Germany. (CL)

Argues that the best way to cultivate children's reasoning is to make philosophy an essential part of the elementary school curriculum. Philosophy alone provides the logical criteria for distinguishing better thinking from poorer. The author's "Philosophy for Children" program is described. (TE)