Examines six elements of the transition to middle schools that ultimately hindered full implementation of the middle school concept in many schools: use of an incremental stage implementation model, lack of teacher education programs, lack of curriculum development, inadequate leadership, a paucity of research, and misunderstanding of the middle…

Discusses the need for middle schools to reaffirm a commitment to the principles of middle school education set out in "Turning Points" and specifically for simultaneously implementing all these recommendations--team structure, integrated curriculum, active and varied instructional practices, and guidance and advisory programs. (JPB)

Summarizes findings of a study that evaluated the relationship between parent familiarity with six middle level practices and parent beliefs and experiences with middle schools. Notes that parents were generally not aware of established middle level practices, and that parents reporting higher familiarity were more likely to report positive…

This position paper of the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities identifies 19 professional development principles presented in terms of the professional development context, process, and content. Principles are in agreement with standards developed by the National Staff Development Council. The paper urges staff development that is…

The Antigonish Movement, a Nova Scotian community development approach, and a Sri Lankan community-based adult education movement are used to illustrate spiritual principles for adult education/community development: ecological base, social justice, human dignity, community base, action for liberation, and combined action and reflection. (SK)

Presents conversations between the authors (public school teachers and participants in a graduate level teacher action research course) and six people in language education who have greatly affected the teachers' work (Dixie Goswami, Tom Newkirk, Donald Graves, Nancie Atwell, Linda Rief, and Tom Romano) regarding issues these leading educators…

Explores the relationship between outcome-based education (OBE), recognition of prior learning (RPL), and Knowles' andragogical model of adult education. Finds areas in which OBE and RPL are incompatible adult learning principles. Suggests ways in which these differences may result from structure and instructional design in higher education.…

Argues that precepts for cultivating the rational child, illustrated by Maria and Richard Edgeworth in their handbook "Practical Education," collide with fictional presentations of those precepts in Maria's novella "The Good French Governess." Considers how the collision between the demands of ideology and the needs of fiction…

What is the object of activity for teachers in vocational education, i.e. what is the content that vocational teachers want their students to learn? What can the answer indicate about vocational education as a social practice, compared to the social practice of apprenticeship? The article is based on sequential interviews with twelve teachers from…

Despite the affirmation below from a chapter entitled "The Moral Self" in his "Ethics" (1932), Dewey seems not to have used the term "moral self" outside that context. Perhaps he didn't think it that crucial in his overall philosophy. I argue, on the contrary, that the concept of the moral self is fundamental to Deweyan moral psychology and that…

Analysing foundation charters, this article explores the various purposes universities have been said to serve at different periods of time, how the distinction between universities and other educational establishments has been made, and how the actions of the academic community have been justified. The data consist of 225 charters of foundation…

Australia's adoption of outcomes based education (OBE), sometimes known as Essential Learnings or outcomes and standards based education, has been at the centre of a good deal of public scrutiny and debate. In Western Australia, during 2006, the planned introduction of OBE into years 11 and 12 led to a strident and vocal media campaign, in part,…

In this essay, Clayton Pierce examines the epistemological standpoints of Intelligent Design (ID) and evolutionary science education, focusing specifically on the pedagogical question of how ID and modern science-based education fail to promote democratic relations in how students learn, think, and associate with science and technology in society.…

In this essay, Alexander Sidorkin offers a conceptual critique of the human capital theory that makes erroneous assumptions about the nature of student work and the private cost of schooling. Specifically, human capital theorists underestimate the private cost of schooling by taking low-level manual labor as the basis for estimating students'…

This paper traces the origins of the concept of personalisation in public sector services, and applies it to school education. The original conceptualisation stressed the need for "deep" rather than shallow, personalisation, if radical transformation of services were to be achieved. It is argued that as the concept has been disseminated and…