The recent federal push under the No Child Left Behind Act to finalize means for gauging school improvement has stoked public anxiety, especially for public school officials who are charged with crafting and implementing defensible accountability systems. Other than the omnipresent political issues attending any proposal for shaping educational…

As educators abroad have turned to U.S. colleagues for advice about how to teach democratic citizenship, U.S. educators have been challenged to think more carefully about what civic education is, how to do it, and how to justify it. This paper reflects and deliberates about three key questions: (1) What, exactly, is a common education for…

Two different approaches to the definition of literature (criterial and prototypical) are described, and some features of a prototypical literary work are outlined. The criterial approach attempts to provide criteria that must be met by all texts to be called literature. The prototype approach focuses on a particularly good example to which other…

This dictionary of terms from children's literature provides definitions of 325 concepts and principles that will help librarians and teachers give meaning to literary works being introduced in the classroom. The book's alphabetical organization of terms facilitates access to information when the reader is considering a specific term. All of the…

This digest examines how the concepts of least restrictive environment, mainstreaming, and inclusion have been developed by Congress and the courts. An introductory discussion of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) notes that Congress did not define the concept of least restrictive environment, but left it to the courts to shape…

We explore training and development through the lenses of scholars and practitioners who have provided definitions and frameworks for exploring this area which is essential to human resource development (HRD). Thirty-five definitions of training and development are identified and analyzed. Themes from the analysis are explored, conclusions…

This paper provides some definitions of the components of prejudice, including aspects of counselor prejudice. The paper contends that counselors should use this definition to increase awareness of their own feelings, attitudes, and behaviors associated with levels of prejudice. Since these prejudices can influence counselors' belief systems,…

The racial categorization of children has become increasingly important as a measure to ascertain diverse needs among students as well as the appropriate manner by which teachers and other school personnel might respond to such needs through increased awareness and understanding. Multiracial children, the offspring of multiple racial unions, have…

The purpose of this paper is to define leadership through "followership." The paper begins by defining "leader,""follower," and "symbiosis." It explores: what followers do; what followers want; and what followers and leaders expect from each other. From these perspectives, the paper presents a rationale for…

The aim of this article is to draw a distinction between qualification and competence. Although academic institutions, organizations, companies, and schools are focusing on competence development as the natural answer to new technical and societal demands, no one has provided a satisfactory operational definition of "competence." A…

Definitions of bilingualism are based on different, sometimes contradictory criteria, both in scientific and ordinary use of the term. Some of the criteria most often used in scientific work on bilingualism are compared to those used by the participants in research at the linguistic Institute in Neuchatel, Switzerland, as they are talking about…

Noting that most educators would agree that whole language no longer looks the same, this book collects eight articles written by whole language advocates and practitioners from New Zealand, Australia, and the United States that focus on the changes, growth, and development that have occurred in whole language both in philosophy and practice. They…

This Guide has been developed to provide a framework for decision makers, school facility managers, and the public to identify a basic set of school facilities data elements, including definitions that will meet their information needs. Chapter 1 describes the purpose, scope, and intended audience for this guide. Chapter 2 describes how to use the…

This guide provides some basic statistical techniques that may be used in writing grant proposals, analyzing reports, and evaluating programs. Examples focus on rural Pennsylvania. The first section, Understanding Data, discusses definitions, codes, and data limitations. Definitions of Census Bureau geographic, demographic, housing, and…

This monograph contains the invited papers of the major speakers at the Educational Policy Institutes Second Annual International Conference in Quality in Higher Education held at Exeter College, University of Oxford, England in the summer of 2001. The purpose of the conference was to discuss how quality is being defined, measured, and ensured in…