In view of the present state of affairs in the field, it is time for reassessment and professional debate about what sexuality education can and should be. There have been significant cultural shifts brought about by recent technological development, global awareness of sexual issues, and the characteristics of the current younger generation.…

In this article integrativism is proposed as a framework for e-learning and practitioner research. The philosophical bases of integrativism are outlined. Foundational principles of integrating education, derived from the notions of continual quality improvement and high-quality learning, are explained. The extension of integrating education to…

Teacher educators are increasingly experiencing conflicts between external demands and their ideas about preparing students to teach. This paper reports on ways in which such educators promote learning in their students, and how their practical teaching methods relate to their professional views on teaching. This paper argues that the teaching…

School health education has been and still is guided by a number of different and often competing philosophical orientations. The field seems to be moving toward a skills-based philosophy, but the adoption of this approach is taking place with little discussion or analysis in the professional health education literature. The purpose of this…

Webster Middle School, situated in a large Midwestern city, serves primarily an African-American, lower-to middle-class population. As with many other schools in similar geographic and demographic situations, the academic performance of its students was very poor, the physical facilities were in decay, and enrollments were dropping, with only 250…

Deciding what should be included in a curriculum has long been a topic of controversy. The struggle to identify what should be taught in schools has been evident throughout the development of American schools and continues today. This article discusses the importance of needs assessment throughout the curriculum development process. Needs…

The Department for Education and Skills refers consistently to the Social Partnership Agreement (SPA) with unions representing teachers and support staff in education. Those inside the partnership will have their own perspectives on its operation. This article does not seek to describe, therefore, the day to day relationships of unions, Government…

In this article, the authors reply to the arguments of Professors Nagel and Ladwig on the article "The logic of convergence and uniformity in teacher production". Professor Ladwig's review of their article is particularly valuable in two respects. First, it highlights the need for an institutional level of analysis to explain fully and…

In this response to commentaries by Ali Sammel, Jhumki Basu and Alberto Rodriguez, I present my perspective on three important issues raised by the commentators. These issues relate to the role of a researcher in her field settings and society, the critique of science and science education as oppressive dominant discourses, and co-opting…

The author discusses the 1990s trend in schools in Lipetsk Oblast to back away from previous policies of including social, cultural, civic and moral training for students. During the same period, says the writer, parents began to show less interest in the effectiveness of instruction and upbringing. These combined trends resulted in increased…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Response to Intervention: A New Approach to Reading Instruction Aims to Catch Struggling Readers Early (Nancy Walser); (2) Getting Advisory Right: Focus and…

This book fills in the gaps in the research of nationality, regarding "national education" in its double meaning: compulsory national education for all and creating opportunities for fostering national consciousness. Studies in the field have emphasized the importance of a national language, compulsory education, curricula of the…

This paper proposes that problem-based learning (PBL) can serve as a cognitive apprenticeship in administrator-preparation programs. The paper presents an overview of PBL and its application in the administrator-preparation program at the University of Connecticut. The initial training in group processing for students enrolled in the program is…

This position paper presents a discussion of "academic child abuse," defined as the use of practices that cause unnecessary failure of groups of students in foundation skill and knowledge areas. Part 1 articulates the fundamental problems with the decision-making practices of school districts and other agencies charged with teaching children.…

This paper focuses on the elements of brain-compatible learning theory and instruction, noting its significance for students with developmental disabilities. The paper proposes a learning program for children (with and without disabilities) which is "brain-compatible," defined as "absence of threat." Eight elements are seen as critical in…