For almost as long as teacher education programs have existed, there has been controversy about the appropriate balance between liberal arts and pedagogy, theory and practice, and university experiences and school-based experiences. The author of this article, a member of the American Educational Research Association's Panel on Teacher Education,…

Using Nicholl's (1989) and Dweck's (1999, 2002) theories on ability as conceptual frameworks, this study explored teachers' and students' conceptions of ability in elementary physical education. Participants were 8 physical education specialists from five public schools and 160 students from their second- and fourth-grade classes. Teacher and…

This article argues that, with all of its language about reaching "100% proficiency for all students in twelve years" as an "ambitious, but achievable" goal, the current federal administration seems to be on the side of the children in its No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), but further investigation reveals that many of the…

In the USA, many of the recent education reforms have been implemented in response to calls from neo-liberal and conservative policy makers to improve education efficiency and reduce public expenditures within an increasingly globalized economy. Consequently, local, state, and federal education policies increasingly employ curricular standards and…

The responsibility for the academic success of our nation's children historically has been shouldered by the school principal. In many school communities today, that accountability has been mandated by state law. The Indiana equivalent of the accountability movement sweeping the nation is Public Law 221 (P.L. 221), which makes the principal solely…

This article examines American and Australian school principals' fundamental values regarding the purpose of schools. It also illustrates their views on school reform and the role of the principal in reform, and compares their visions of the purpose of schools--the ideal schools in the 21st century. Data reveal that the majority of American and…

The No Child Left Behind Act has brought great attention to the high school graduation rate as one of the mandatory accountability measures for public school systems. However, there is no consensus on how to calculate the high school graduation rate given the lack of longitudinal databases that track individual students. This study reviews…

As the World Wide Web becomes an integral part of higher education, universities must determine the viability of using the Internet for their student evaluation systems. This chapter highlights important online-student-rating issues raised in this volume and in other research through a case study of Murdoch University's (Perth, Australia) online…

Five years after the bipartisan passage of the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001," the U.S. Department of Education remains dedicated to promoting education excellence in every corner of the country. The Department's "Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2007-12" sets high expectations for America's schools and students, and for…

PISA (the Programme for International Student Assessment) is a triennial survey of the knowledge and skills of 15-year-olds. It is the product of collaboration between participating countries and economies through the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), and draws on leading international expertise to develop valid…

The paper compares and contrasts higher education funding sources and systems in the U.S. and the UK. The issues raised in the paper pertain to the major challenge of academia: finding financial support in times of limited resources and enhanced competition. The issues discussed throughout the paper are: funding and quality assessment of…

On March 29, 2007, the Committee on Education and the Workforce held a hearing in Washington, D.C., entitled, "How NCLB Affects Students with Disabilities." Specifically, this hearing was held to determine how the No Child Left Behind Act helps, hurts, or keeps about the same, what has been done for children with disabilities. The…

The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This California edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state…

The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This Arkansas edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state policies…

The "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" examines what is arguably the single most powerful authority over the teaching profession: state government. This Arizona edition of the National Council on Teacher Quality's (NCTQ's) "State Teacher Policy Yearbook" is the first of what will be an annual look at the status of state policies…