Briefly examines fine arts curricula in public schools with relation to Mortimer Adler's Paideia Proposal, whose basic premise is that America has a democratic promise to fulfill--not only that all should be educated, but that all ought to receive the same education. Summaries of the proposal's chapters are presented. (MH)

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, this issue looks at student's developmental education needs and outcomes by race and ethnicity. The data indicate that the depth of students' developmental needs varies by race and ethnicity - and that the depth of developmental needs is related to success. Colleges, therefore, would…

In their chapter on numeracy, the authors begin by exploring the many terms used to describe the learning of mathematics by adults. They discuss the relationship between the terms "mathematics" and "numeracy" and explain why numeracy--making meaning with numbers and mathematical processes--is the term they chose for their…

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) "Who's Counted? Who's Counting?": New Alliance Report Examines Graduation Rate Reporting, Addresses Public…

This document describes the rationale and the strategy of the new United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Initiative for literacy: LIFE. The Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) is designed as a global strategic framework through which national governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil…

Currently, the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP) encompasses four mandated testing programs. This document includes results from the TCAP Achievement Test in reading/language, mathematics, science, and social studies in grades 3-8; the Writing Assessment in grades 5, 8, and 11; the Gateway Assessments, administered initially to…

This report documents the process undertaken to produce scales in three cognitive domains: knowing, applying, and reasoning. Included are the final scales showing differences among countries, as well as within countries. TIMSS 2003 is the third and most recently completed round of IEA's Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, a very…

This report investigates the medium-term outcomes of vocational education and training (VET) programs delivered by rural schools for youth and their communities. Former students from six rural school clusters in six states were surveyed, including those who participated in school VET programs and those who did not. Principals and school VET…

Trends in gender, jobs, and working conditions in the European Union (EU) were examined. In 2000, representative samples of approximately 1,500 workers in each of the EU member states (500 in Luxembourg) were surveyed. To identify trends, the survey findings were compared with those of similar surveys conducted in 1991 and 1996. The comparison…

The gender dimensions of direct participation in organizational change were examined in a survey of general managers at 32,582 workplaces in the following European countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Responses were received from 5,786 managers (response rate,…

The under-representation of women in physical science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (PSTEM) career fields is a persistent problem. This paper summarizes an extensive review of the literature pertaining to the many issues that surround this problem. The review revealed a wide range of viewpoints and a broad spectrum of research…

In response to the growing need for addressing continuity in children's learning at transition points, this package of staff development materials was developed to provide support, guidance, and contexts for discussion enabling early years and primary school staff in Scotland to reflect and share information about effective assessment and…

This paper summarizes the literature and research on the relationships between culture and mathematics. Ethnomathematics examines the ways that different cultural groups use mathematics. Various definitions of ethnomathematics are presented, along with a framework covering areas of mathematics and mathematics education included in the term.…

The National Dissemination Center's Need Sensing/Future Scanning program collects opinions from a broad spectrum of stakeholders in career and technical education (CTE) and uses them to guide research, dissemination, and professional development activities that are responsive to the field's needs. In year 3 of the program, professionals and…

Most research in the area of nonstandard work arrangements continues to find differences in wages, benefits, and career prospects between full-time and part-time (PT) workers. Wages and fringe benefits are almost always lower for PT workers. Women who work PT are 88% less likely and men are 86% less likely to receive health insurance or a pension…