In the mid-1970s, a systematic national principal training programme was introduced in Sweden. The aim was to guarantee better-equipped principals in their mission to lead and develop schools in accordance with national steering documents. Since then, the programme has been subjected to changes, but its focus has remained the same. The three-year…

Despite the widespread education reform discourses attempting to alleviate high-stakes examination pressure and narrowly test-driven education systems in East Asia, none have been as systematic and drastic as the Free Year Program (FYP) recently implemented in South Korea. The FYP provides middle school students with a year-long reprieve from…

Many successful piloted programs fail when scaled up to a national level. In Kenya, which has a long history of particularly ineffective implementation after successful pilot programs, the Tusome national literacy program--which receives funding from the United States Agency for International Development--is a national-level scale-up of previous…

The paper examines the recent national programme of English language instruction in the Mexican public primary schools, called the "Programa Nacional de Inglés en Educación Básica" (PNIEB). The programme, initiated in 2009 by the Ministry of Education as part of the national curriculum, represents the largest expansion of English…

Given the need for major reform of the higher education programmes in Syria, and answering the voices that question the role of European Union (EU) in assisting the development of the higher education sector, this study presents an analysis of the contribution of (TEMPUS) Programme in modernising higher education in Syria. The study compares the…

The paper describes a study conducted to explicate the multiple theories underlying Chile's national teacher evaluation program. These theories will serve as the basis for evaluating the intended consequences of this evaluation system, while not losing sight of emerging unintended consequences. We first analyzed legal and policy documents and then…

Describes Cuba's literacy crusade of 1961 and provides examples of materials and methods used. (AEA)

Outlines the eight National Education Goals of the Goals 2000 Educate America Act and activities designed to help meet them, such as the Public Broadcasting Service's "Ready to Learn" outreach program; the America 2000 Coalition's interactive computer network; the United Way's Mobilization for America's Children initiative; and the U.S.…

This paper takes a large-scale social perspective in describing a national project in Australia that was premised on local school communities working together and contributing ideas for the benefit of their students, and potentially, the whole country. The project was intended to improve schools' capacity for educating boys, and in the long-term,…

This report evaluates 12 high schools in the New American High Schools (NAHS) program. Launched in 1996, NAHS is a U.S. Department of Education research project that was developed to showcase school-reform practices in selected schools. The report is based on a study that used NAHS schools as a "laboratory" for researching reform…

Provides a brief review of the adult follow-up programs that resulted in Cuba's present adult educational subsystem. (AEA)

Discusses three recent attempts to establish national science-education standards: "Project 2061: Science for All Americans"; the National Research Council's national standards for curriculum, teaching, and assessment; and the Goals 2000: Educate America Act. Suggests that such reform movements could provide useful direction to local…

The history of educational development in Thailand shows a transition from early concern for religious and moral training toward the present emphasis on the practical development of individuals and society. Thai culture may have originated in Mongolia and has been strongly affected by its present cultural neighbors, Malaya, Cambodia, Laos, Burma,…

The National Writing Project (NWP) became a key institution in the effort to define a new level of minimum literacy. There is an increasing awareness of the importance of writing as an aid to thinking in all subject areas. The NWP staff development model is described. (MLW)

Describes Cuba's preschool reading readiness program, which emphasizes phonemic analysis. (AEA)