Reviews reasons for the Association for Childhood Education International's opposition to standardized testing of children in the early grades. Discusses two alternative approaches: nonstructured assessments and structured assessments. Considers parents' and teachers' roles in these forms of assessments, and the teacher training that is needed.…

A situational perspective of instructional supervision views context as mutually constructed by participants. The article presents a history of supervision, then details the rationale for a situational approach, presents a vision of what situational supervision may look like, and notes implications of a situational approach. (SM)

This statement from the National Association for the Education of Young Children maintains that teachers must concern themselves with inequities in children's experiences and individual differences of students. They must have appropriate expectations for children's capabilities at the time of school entry. Offers strategies schools can use to…

Policy statements of the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages are presented for administration of foreign language departments; use of outside reviewers; and statement of good practice: teaching, evaluation, and scholarship.(LB)

The Scottish 5-14 master educational narrative prescribes a rigid framework for curricular policies and planning. The ideological strands of 5-14 present education as a business, promote the maintenance of a common culture, and attack teacher professionalism. Argues that the program should be seen as a means of control over the practice and…

Discusses the first national education goal, which concerns children starting school ready to learn. Outlines the position of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and reports on activities of the National Education Goals Panel. NAEYC calls for a commitment to addressing inequities in children's lives, supporting…

Provides background information on the development of NAEYC's position statements on developmentally appropriate practice and clarifies assumptions made by Kessler and others about NAEYC's positions. Offers justification for the developmentalist perspective and suggests an alternative argument for appropriate practice that draws on the strengths…

A symposium was organized at the BELMAS/SCRELM Research Conference in July 2004 to explore the issues arising from the experiences of those contracted by the National College for School Leadership to evaluate its programmes. This article presents four contributions that drew on a wide range of evaluation experience and a response from a…

Many in Indian country have expressed that the trauma from the boarding school experience continues to terrorize the hearts of American Indians. Although much has been written about this history that looms so large in the North American indigenous experience, it remains an obscure topic in mainstream America. Dr. Eulynda J. Toledo, a member of the…

This paper explores the impact of policies and institutions on employment and unemployment of OECD countries in the past decades. Reduced-form unemployment equations, consistent with standard wage setting/price-setting models, are estimated using cross-country/time-series data from 21 OECD countries over the period 1982-2003. In the…

The SACE Review report, Success for All, completely ignores two important issues, namely, (a) the portability of the certificate, and (b) the nature of secondary schooling in a future that is set in a global world. The Review saw the South Australian education system operating in a context that was limited to the geographical and cultural…

This document contains the Convention on Technical Education adopted by the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). English, French, and Russian versions are provided. Article 1 defines technical and vocational education, specifies its applicability, and states how it shall be applied.…

This booklet presents policy positions adopted by the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District Governing Board, forming a legislative agenda for the college focused on the state issues of access, financing, economic development, and regulatory impediments; and the federal issues of financial aid, workforce development, and administrative…

Successful students are successful learners who identify, make a commitment to, and attain their education goals. They acquire and demonstrate the skills, knowledge, attitudes, and self-direction needed to perform ethically and productively in society, to adapt to change, to appreciate diversity, and to make a reasoned commitment on issues of…

This state-mandated study examines the manner in which Braille instruction is being offered to Virginia's children with visual disabilities. The study sought to determine the need to require school divisions to offer Braille instruction; the role of Braille instruction as a viable method of promoting literacy; the number of students who could…