Qualifications frameworks are tools for describing qualifications of an education or training system by classifying them into levels. Each level provides a clear description of what the holder of a qualification knows, understands and is able to do. They are important tools for making qualifications transparent and comprehensible, within and…

The national English program in Mexico was formally launched in 2009. The new program supplanted various state programs, and aimed to create a coherent, uniform curriculum that extended English instruction to all public school students across the country. The article describes the development, evolution, and changes as the program was piloted and…

In the opening paper in this Special Edition I outlined the major issues that led to the establishment of "project e-scape". The project was intended to develop systems and approaches that enabled learners to build real-time web-based portfolios of their performance (initially) in design & technology and additionally to build systems…

Five years ago, the editor of "Exceptional Parent" Magazine requested the author to provide an account of a day in the life of the National Children's Study, an ambitious study by the federal government that aims to find out how the environment affects child health and development. Planning and implementation of the National Children's Study has…

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative (2008-2011), funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies, was created to build the capacity of community colleges nationwide to develop programming that engages the plus 50 learner. The Initiative supported a pilot group of 13 two-year institutions to develop or expand college…

The Dominican Republic has taken steps to develop and implement a comprehensive plan (called Plan Sierra) for national natural resources management. The plan (which includes an environmental education component) demonstrates a commitment to Stockholm Recommendation 96 in a way that could become a model for other Latin American nations. (JN)

Following the lead of the Department of Further Education in South Australia, the Australian Conference of Technical and Further Education (TAFE) Directors began a TAFE Clearinghouse, having as its major goal the promotion of initiatives in research, investigation, and innovation in technical and further education. The Clearinghouse's functions…

This preliminary report describes the work to date of the Task Group on Computer/Communication protocols for Bibliographic Data Interchange, which was formed in 1980 to develop a set of protocol standards to facilitate communication between heterogeneous library and information systems within the framework of Open Systems Interconnection (OSI). A…

In this discussion on the feasibility of establishing a "National" curriculum for physical education, it is pointed out that it would first be necessary to reach an agreement on the overall goals or objectives of physical education. Consensus would have to be obtained on the primary focus of such a curriculum and a realistic set of desired…

This report considers the potential for the use of the Australian Communications Satellite System (ACSS) for the Australian Schools of the Air (SOTAs) and the delivery of enhanced educational services, and develops the concept of all SOTAs operating through one transponder in a national beam. An evolutionary introduction of satellite transmission…

This manual describes the fact-finding conference and provides guidelines for determining when to use one, for planning one, and for conducting one. Defined first are various types of conferences, including the information-giving conference, the problem-solving or decision-making conference, the information-exchange conference, and the…

How to expand to a larger scale a working community-service program using federal money is considered. Planning time is an essential, as are a focus on program culture and technical support. Adapting programs, rather than prescribing solutions, should help in the cautious move toward a national program. (SLD)

As part of an assessment of the educational uses of the Australian Communications Satellite System to be launched in mid-1985, this report focuses on the Mount Isa School of the Air. A general discussion assesses the mechanisms for delivery of distance education for isolated students in Northwest Queensland and considers possible functional…

Lessons learned from Onderwijs un Sociaal Milieu (OSM), or Education and Social Origin, the largest compensation and enrichment program ever developed in The Netherlands, are described in this paper. Although the program did not raise lower class students' standardized test scores to the national level, the program had overly ambitious goals and…

This report on the International Seminar on Campaigning for Literacy at Udaipur, India is divided into three main parts. Part 1 describes the context and background of the seminar, its specific objectives, and the organization and procedures of the seminar. Part 2 provides an overview of the seminar proceedings. The inaugural statements are…