The two major reports of the Holmes Group--"Tomorrow's Teachers" and "Tomorrow's Schools"--contain sharply contrasting rhetorics: the rhetoric of democratic values and scientistic rhetoric. Critical analysis of the reports suggests that the contrast highlights the contradictory tendencies embedded in the reform movement. (IAH)

Examines majaor constituent ideas of education (from Durkheim, Plato, Rousseau, Dewey), suggesting that they are mutually incompatible and consequently result in an incoherent concept of education. Proposes an educational scheme that would develop the kinds of understanding developed in cultural history, which would require focus on imaginative…

Discusses three theoretical structures (those of Michael Polanyi, Maxine Greene, and Ann Berthoff) which consider the role of personal interpretation central to ultimate meaning-making. The article proposes them as useful frameworks for teachers who are beginning deliberate classroom research. (IAH)

Discusses 3 different categories of literacy programs discerned in observations of 37 kindergarten classrooms over an 8-year period: maturationist teachers, basal teachers, and emergent literacy teachers. Provides perceived rationales for the existence of these categories. (SR)

This paper argues for a paradigmatic shift away from individualistic models of development and learning in early childhood special education to a social constructivist model. Principles for inclusive early childhood practice are explicated, based on classrooms as communities, learning as socially mediated, curriculum as contextually relevant and…

Traditional American Indian education reflects beliefs that no single absolute truth exists, and that children learn by observing and interacting with others who know bits of the truth. Mainstream education sees teachers as the most important dispensers of universal truth learned in linear fashion. These views may be incompatible. (SV)

This paper reviews special considerations in teaching higher order thinking skills to students with mild disabilities, focusing on curriculum implications; principles of instruction (prior knowledge, connections between new and existing knowledge, self-regulated learning, and impact of social setting); the use of an anchored instructional…

Revises 11 core practices that define the Foxfire approach, emphasizing students' choice of and responsibility for their work, teacher's role as collaborator and model, academic integrity of work undertaken, peer teaching, teamwork, connections between classroom work and community and world, reflection, honest evaluations, and the value of…

Outlines materials and resources that can facilitate the implementation of multicultural education in elementary, middle, secondary, and higher education. Summarizes the underlying philosophy and objectives of six models of multicultural education. (PRA)

Describes the use of the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) research and development model in adapting the "Sesame Street" educational television series for use in foreign countries. Licensing standards and policies are explained, several case studies of foreign adaptations are included, and differences in curriculum goals are…

The constructivist approach of the Teacher as Composer project used analog experiences that replicate thinking and social demands. Classroom constraints, inservice limitations, and teacher mindsets impeded its application. Personal narratives and principles of children's thinking helped bridge the gap between theory and practice. (SK)

Outlines the rationale, resources, and techniques for teaching K-12 physical science via toys. Includes 65 references and a list of 9 mail order suppliers of scientific toys. (MDH)

Presents the four program goals for biology set forth in the National Science Teacher Association's "A Focus on Excellence: Biology Revisited" to (1) address biosphere, human society, and individual needs; (2) encourage students to experience, understand, and appreciate of natural systems; (3) apply the basic concept of the biosphere; and (4)…

Outlines the instructional design principles underlying the Direct Instruction Model and applies these principles to a variety of content areas. Urges the integration of curriculum design principles with effective teaching practices. Also offers criteria for evaluating and selecting curriculum materials based on direct instruction principles.…

Describes a five-year ethnographic study of an African-centered charter school to determine the pedagogical theory undergirding the school's development and maintenance. The analysis reveals an absence of coherence in the community of teachers about the ethos of the school. (SLD)