The leadership of Qatar has a social and political vision that calls for improving the outcomes of the Qatari K-12 education system. With this vision in mind, the leadership asked RAND to examine Qatar's K-12 education system, to recommend options for building a world-class system, and, subsequently, to develop the chosen option and support its…

The focus of this article is the Revised Programme of Instruction (1900), which was devised in the final years of the nineteenth century and implemented in Irish national schools between 1900 and 1922. It begins by analysing the societal and educational context for the Revised Programme. Second, the work of the Commission on Manual and Practical…

Implementing exportable instructional systems has always been a problem for instructional developers. Even the best instructional systems lose effectiveness when they are poorly implemented. Researchers have focused their efforts on creating mechanisms to help developers and managers improve and control implementation. However, most of these…

Canada's provincial programs of study are legal documents that state what students are expected to learn and expected to do in all subjects and grades. In Alberta, programs of study exist for elementary, junior high school, and senior high school students. These programs contain two types of information: a philosophy of learning, which includes…

This second of a two-part article focuses on the history of instructional design in the United States. Starting with its origins during World War II, major events in the development of instructional design are described. Factors affecting the field over the last two decades, including increasing interest in cognitive psychology, microcomputers,…

This practitioner-oriented article addresses some of the more commonly overlooked areas of online instructional development. Five sections discuss specific aspects of online program planning and development: (1) Building a Strategic Plan; (2) Technology Planning and Selection; (3) Systemic Instructional Design Considerations; (4) Training and…

Provides a framework to categorize distance education planning issues into four distinct program stages and three decision areas. The framework brings to the surface and highlights numerous areas of uncertainty and potential disagreement among decision makers and provides an organizing backdrop to improve the distance education planning process.…

Change is more advantageous if it incorporates an entire society rather than an element of that society, and the goals of educational development will be most fruitfully realized with a minimum of harmful effects if programs of instructional development are made to focus on the entire culture, rather than on a single social institution. A systems…

Examines experiences of Park College (Missouri) (Park University as of January 1, 2000) in developing an online distance learning program that serves more than 1,700 students per term worldwide. Discusses the pilot course; first terms online; motivations and preconditions necessary for success; profit/nonprofit perspective; leadership; types of…

This paper describes development and organization of educational resources in the Republic of Korea since 1970 and documents the activities of a team of consultants from Florida State University in assisting with that development. Project activities are reviewed, starting with the initial collection of information and data on the educational…

This paper examines the evolution over three decades of the educational development (ED) movement in Canada. An informal history of ED was constructed, using published documents about ED and personal interviews with 8 educational developers who played key roles in programs and ED centers; e-mail responses were received from ten other developers.…

The essays in this book, by contributors from around the world, clarify predominant theoretical issues that pertain to virtual instruction, and offer practical suggestions for implementing these programs in any setting. Chapters include: "Mapping Space and Time: Virtual Instruction as Global Ritual" (Joyce W. Nutta and Carine M. Feyten);…