Educational reform thinking is plagued with contradictions. Scheduling, the structure of the school day, the length of school year and pedagogic practices in general, although moderately successful, are frequently defined by mantras and rationales out of step with current research or anchored on educational myth. This duality of educational…

Eric Schwarz cofounded Citizen Schools in 1995 to offer Boston students living in low-income communities the opportunity to participate in apprenticeships in a variety of careers. Twenty years later, Citizen Schools has served more than 50,000 mostly middle-school students in seven states coast-to-coast, engaging some 40,000 volunteer…

In April 2013, "NEJHE" launched its "New Directions for Higher Education series" to examine emerging issues, trends and ideas that have an impact on higher education policies, programs and practices. In this installment, DiSalvio interviews Richard Ekman, president of the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC), an association of…

The 2008 presidential election stands as a "change" election. The public's anxiety over the challenges globalization poses to the future of the American Dream is driving a desire for the country to change direction. The American people understand that what will give the nation a competitive advantage in a global marketplace are the…

Heather B. Weiss and Priscilla D. Little of the Harvard Family Research Project suggest seven possible approaches to strengthening OST (Out-of-School) organizations, including methods to ensure that OST providers become stronger partners with other groups and more adept advocates for their field. Strategies discussed include: (1) Cultivate…

Discusses the need for day care for school-age children, indicates what other countries have done to meet after-school day care needs, describes program implementation efforts in the United States, and points out benefits of extended day programs. (RH)

This paper provides guidlines for formally evaluating extended-day programs. Extended-day programs are defined as those attended before and after school by children between the ages of 5 and 14. A seven step evaluation process, in which the practitioner responsible for program administration plays a key role, is outlined and discussed. (Author/RH)

Disputes the assertions made in "A Nation at Risk" that extended school days and years would be beneficial and that more stringent academic requirements should be adopted. Asserts that the National Commission on Excellence in Education fails to understand both foreign educational systems and American educational needs and values. (PGD)

Only four states (New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and California) have specific physical education requirements for all grades. This article argues for eliminating mandatory physical education programs as a cost-effective means of increasing instructional time and allowing more parental choice in determining their children's academic schedule.…

Although policymakers have recently tended to call for longer school days or years, such reforms might be ineffective or counterproductive if they fail to take into account the interactions between time and other determinants of learning, including the role of the student in allocating time. Research has shown that the amount of learning is a…

Due to working parents, unsafe home conditions, and mass-media pressures, schools are becoming increasingly involved with providing child care for school-age children. While afterschool care poses a number of design, funding, and equity problems, schools and communities can resolve them to the great benefit of the children served. (MLH)

This article presents an interview with Dr. Gerald W. Bracey, author of "Reading Educational Research: How to Avoid Getting Statistically Snookered." During the interview, Bracey explains why he considers the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) as a "weapon of mass destruction" and that he sees nothing to suggest that NCLB has…

In response to the educational reform movement, argues that increasing instruction and learning time is effectively dependent on how the time is utilized and that mechanical increases in time may not result in significant academic achievement increases. (SRT)

Schools of tomorrow will be completely different physically and operationally. The author of this article states that we cannot tolerate the current high failure rates in terms of graduation and possession of the competencies needed to function successfully as citizens in a democracy, productively as workers and heuristically as learners. He lists…

This report is an excerpt from the National Education Commission On Time and Learning Final Report, "Prisoners of Time," published in April, 1994. In it, the Commission concludes that the reform movement of the last decade is destined to founder unless it is able to harness more time, and better management thereof, for learning. The…