Lessons learned while reforming the core curriculum at the College of Saint Catherine (Minnesota) are outlined, including: broad ownership of the curriculum by faculty is essential; sometimes curriculum issues are more about faculty than students; a means for arriving at consensus must be devised; planning should take the curriculum through its…

Presents seven brief papers reflecting workshops given at the 1994 Meeting of the Association of American Geographers. Each workshop presented a teaching module concerning issues in medical geography. Methodological issues included interpretations of vital statistics and epidemiological diffusion. Theoretical issues included womens' health data…

Traces the history of the interdisciplinary approach to art education in Hungary. Begins with the acceptance of the Kodaly method in the 1970s during the communist regime. Continues with Hungarian independence and the adoption of the National Core Curriculum in the early 1990s. Includes a concise explanation of Hungary's educational system. (MJP)

Criticizes the notion that small British schools are incapable of adjusting to demands for more specialized instruction and other innovations. Although earlier research suggested this, recent data reveals a high degree of confidence and competence ratings among smaller schools. Many schools have adopted curriculum support strategies. (MJP)

The purpose of this article is to identify topics that principals of highly successful middle level schools perceive as important in principal preparation programs, and to make recommendations for policy and curricular changes based on those recommendations. The importance assigned to topics of study in graduate programs by principals of highly…

This article, using data from a year-long study of writing processes in an institutional context, looks at the demands made on writers in workplace environments as they make requests of their colleagues. Building on Brown and Levinson's politeness theory, the study takes a view of context as being a key factor in framing requests, in addition…

Scientific literacy and authenticity have gained a lot of attention in the past few decades worldwide. The goal of the study was to develop various authentic assessments to investigate students' scientific literacy for corresponding to the new curriculum reform of Taiwan in 1997. In the process, whether ninth graders were able to apply school…

This paper reports the results of two interventions involving the integrated study of mathematics and technology practice to girls in Years 6 and 7. The focus of the study was to look at factors that contributed to girls' disengagement with mathematics study and seek pedagogical solutions for this. The key mathematics concepts embedded in the two…

This article explores beliefs of Asian Indian teachers regarding the importance of use of developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood classrooms. A total of 178 Asian Indian early childhood teachers working in various early childhood classrooms in the southern part of India participated in the study. The teachers filled out a…

Drawing inspiration from Shulman's (1986) construct of pedagogical content knowledge, we propose that leadership content knowledge is a missing paradigm in the analysis of school and district leadership. After defining leadership content knowledge as that knowledge of academic subjects that is used by administrators when they function as…

This study mapped and audited the types, nature and diffusion of ICTs in LIS education in sub-Saharan Africa. Questionnaires were sent to 51 LIS schools in 19 countries of sub-Saharan Africa, of which 29 (57%) were returned. Most LIS schools have a significant ICT content in their programs, and most ICT modules are highly rated as core/required…

This paper explores the significance of experiential learning in promoting scholarship from a constructivist point of view. Chapter 1 examines the historical perspectives and educational theories that form the basis to experiential education. Chapter 2 explores the work of Jean Piaget, giving a description and explanation of his theories and how…

Building upon a historical discussion of general and special education reform, this book gives suggestions on how to optimize learning for a diversity of students. The chapters in the book are: (1) "Practices in General Education: Past and Present" (Jennifer J. Coots, and others); (2) "Services for Students with Disabilities: Past…

This information digest provides an overview of some areas of agreement between the fields of gifted education and middle school education, some areas of tension, and some promising directions that could engage educators in mutual planning of appropriate services for all middle school students, including the gifted. Shared beliefs include the…

The future of gifted education is discussed in this symposium report, which contains the edited presentations of six national consultants and the ensuing discussion among the panelists. The consultants addressed the significance of a report of the U.S. Department of Education entitled "National Excellence: A Case for Developing America's…