An Austrian elementary teacher in a Tyrolean mountain village, who spent a year in the United States learning about the education system, provides her viewpoint on Austrian education in an interview. The teacher discusses the Austrian tracking system as a principal means of achieving educational quality. She believes that as long as the Austrian…

These special education rules outline requirements to which Utah's local education agencies, state-operated programs, and other public and private agencies providing publicly funded education and related services to students with disabilities must adhere. The rules are in compliance with the requirements outlined in the Individuals with…

Concerned school leaders can make a real difference in the education of educators. Six tasks which school leaders can undertake to aid in restructuring teacher education are identified and discussed. School leaders can: (1) make preservice and continuing education true priorities; (2) cooperate in establishing professional development centers; (3)…

Changing the conditions under which teachers are prepared is a necessary condition for changing schools. This policy guide emphasizes the role of the state in providing an environment for change. The guide particularly discusses the state's use of incentives and sanctions to raise the visibility and urgency of teacher education reform to the…

The union of thought and feeling, the basis of the concept of "thoughtfulness," is one of the major themes of this book, which is designed to help teachers, administrators, teacher educators, and parents empower students to take more control of their own education and lives. It presents strategies for teaching students about the nature…

This document provides a statement of principles describing the goals and objectives for the future of secondary education in Tasmania (Australia), and indicates how they should be interpreted. Six topics are covered: (1) trends in the economy and in society; (2) provision for secondary education; (3) the curriculum; (4) students; (5) teachers;…

This handbook describes ways that families, schools, and child-care centers can work together to achieve Vermont's state goals for early childhood education. The following topics are presented: (1) the goals and principles guiding Vermont's early education program; (2) the role of kindergarten in a child's educational career; (3) the need to shift…

This book discusses PCRP II, an integrative framework for language and literacy which teachers and administrators can use to examine, and when appropriate, to improve school and classroom practice in language use across the curriculum. Chapter 1 offers an introduction and summary. Chapter 2, "Perspectives on Theory and Practice,"…

This document summarizes the literature on the causes of dropping out, reviews national dropout prevention initiatives, proposes a set of principles to guide dropout prevention programs, and recommends a framework of policies for the Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) Public Schools. The dropout literature indicates that dropping out is a developmental…

This paper reflects on how the differences that surface in a program can be effectively mediated by the design of the curriculum, i.e., how an integrated curriculum combined with a collegial teaching cohort can foster enhanced quality in teacher preparation and can reconcile differences in the philosophical orientation of faculty. The example of…

It is clear that there is a new consensus in this country supporting teaching about religion and religious liberty in public schools. For too long educators have misunderstood the distinction between teaching religion, which is unconstitutional, and teaching about religion, which is not only constitutional, but necessary for a sound education.…

As a result of social and economic trends of the past decade, public schools in industrialized nations now face severe political problems, manifested by declines in enrollment, budget, public confidence, and legitimacy of administrative authority. As a consequence, a fundamental reassessment of educational policy and management is underway in many…

A mission statement, properly constructed, empowers everyone in a school to assume responsibility for the school's ultimate direction. This document is accordingly designed to help middle level schools begin to develop such a mission statement. Parts 1 and 2 define a mission statement and discuss the confusion that is likely to occur in its…

This 2-year study, which took a multidisciplinary approach to the problem of discovering principles for designing effective multimedia instruction, focused on the effects on instructional effectiveness of the discourse structure of instructional materials and the coordination of multiple instructional media. The task domain was a logic box said to…

This paper presents a set of arguments in support of maintaining a cabinet-level Department of Education. It first traces the history of the federal role in education, which was established early in the history of the United States and has evolved over the decades through a series of specific responses to the nation's educational needs. It has…