The four papers in this document present commentaries by four members of the teacher education faculty of Eastern Michigan University on issues related to time and learning, in response to a visit by the National Education Commission on Time and Learning. Sarah Huyvaert notes the complexity and interrelatedness of issues related to time and…

Current assessment practices in the classroom can affect the movement toward a child-centered curriculum in mathematics education. The mathematical community is addressing the challenge to implement standards in the areas of testing, assessment, and accountability in order to maintain this movement. This digest: (1) discusses what makes current…

The four articles in this theme issue provide an overview of assessment in the social studies and the rationale behind the movement for a more authentic assessment of learning outcomes. In the first article, "Thinking as an Unnatural Act," William T. Daly offers a clear rationale for social studies teachers to re-examine the methods of assessing…

Telling teachers what to do through state and district standard-setting policies is seen as antithetical to empowered teachers and a strengthened teaching profession. Policies for empowering teachers are less well articulated; teacher autonomy is often thought to be the automatic product of an absence of external constraints and guidelines. An…

A century or more of reform in urban services, including schooling, has seen a competition over four core values: quality, equity, efficiency, and choice. These four are not always mutually compatible. Quality opposes equity and choice but is reinforced by efficiency, which is supported by equity. The choice value is incompatible with all the…

A recent model for the design of staff development programs for educators includes 5 stages--readiness, planning, training, implementation, and maintenance--each of which is defined by a set of 4 to 11 practices. To test this model and the relative merits of its 38 practices and its underlying assumptions, a national questionnaire survey of over…

A model is presented for the improvement of compensatory early childhood education through more effective use of student and staff time. A framework for research to test the model is also suggested. Sections of the document prefacing discussion of the model include (1) an overview of the historical antecedents and development of early childhood…

The analysis of conceptual issues related to the perception and use of knowledge by classroom teachers and school administrators in improvement programs, specifically in urban elementary reading programs, was the primary goal of this study. To begin, a distinction was made between knowledge sources that constitute the initial bases for program…

When Japan was occupied by the Allied Occupation Forces after the conclusion of World War II, the country was told to adopt a new democratic educational system styled after the U.S. system of education. The Japanese fitted the new system to suit their requirements and environment. In the following years the system was so perfected that it became…

This case study describes a rural school district's problems with its program for academically gifted and talented students and illustrates the process and outcome of a program evaluation. The program came into being in a hasty and expedient manner that satisfied the superintendent's desire for the notoriety accompanying school improvement while…

This document describes the early childhood services program in Alberta, Canada and its goals for accomplishment with children, within families, and in the community. Early Childhood Services (ECS), Alberta Education, is concerned with the provision of a coordinated system of local, regional, and provincial programs and services to meet the…

This book, consisting of articles by separate authors, traces the historical and ideological development of textbooks in educational administration through five separate phases. "From Idea to Ideology: School Administration Texts 1820-1914" by Robert Mason analyzes 19th Century perspectives on school administration based on texts from that time,…

An overview of the history of nontraditional programs within the American higher education system discusses the energy and spirit provided by such programs and relates them to the basic principles of American culture (importance of individuality, respect for diversity, and belief in equality). During the development of American culture, the five…

Based on the current drive toward professionalism in early childhood education and the low status and prestige afforded teachers in this field, this paper applies some of the main concepts of professionalism to the current state of the art of early childhood education. Two uses of the term "professional" are delineated: the…

Development education, a new and changing concept, reflects emerging thinking about the processes of developing nations as well as about education. In contrast to international, global, or multicultural education, development education is concerned with broad analysis of international and national political and economic processes which impede…