Play is very "on trend" in the primary sector, but is it a suitable pedagogy for secondary students? Based on research into play-based learning in a Year 11 English class, this article provides an overview of play theory, describes a typical play-based lesson in Year 11 English, considers three different approaches to assessment,…

Social-emotional learning (SEL) programs and practices have garnered increased interest over recent years, primarily in response to a preponderance of research regarding universal, targeted, and intensive SEL programs. Along with this interest have come repeated calls for the adoption of standards for SEL at the state level. A systematic review…

The author interviewed Glenn Nierman on the occasion of the recent conclusion of his term as National Association for Music Education (NAfME) president. Topics included the current state of music education and advocacy of music education in the United States, the role of NAfME, and the recently revised national music education standards.

The National Standards for the Preparation of Social Studies Teachers describe and explain the national standards for social studies teacher education created by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). These standards were approved by the NCSS Board of Directors in March, 2016. This document consists of two sections: (1) an…

When teachers adopt standards-based learning, students take ownership of their education and achievement soars. Written specifically for K-12 teachers, this resource details a sequential approach for connecting curriculum, instruction, assessment methods, and feedback through standards-based education. The authors provide practical advice,…

The Delaware social studies standards articulate challenging goals for students. History Standard Three asks students to evaluate competing historical interpretations and determine the factors that lead to differing conclusions. This standard reflects the constructed and contested nature of the discipline of history. Historical interpretation can…

The lack of basic financial knowledge and skills among youth today is of national concern. American high school students routinely fail tests that evaluate their financial knowledge and are ill-prepared to face important decisions about borrowing, saving, investing, and planning for their financial futures. The consequences of these low levels of…

Standards-based grading is still in its infancy within North Carolina. At this time, only 12 of the 115 school districts have incorporated the standards-based form of grading into their system. As school districts across North Carolina look to implement different forms of grading to assess student learning, it will be important to look at the…

Instructional reforms in science education require changes in the type of intellectual work students are engaging in. This study explored the cognitive demand of tasks pre-service teachers selected during their full time teaching semester. Using the Task Analysis Guide in Science, we analyzed 177 tasks from the lesson plans that seven pre-service…

Exclusive boarding schools in social environments where the meritocratic norm is prevalent are faced with a tension between parents' desire to give their children a head start in the competition for educational qualifications, social prestige and jobs on the one hand and the powerful social norm of advancement by merit under conditions of…

The current study aims to deepen the knowledge of students' experiences of teachers' assessment related instructional actions, with particular focus on problematic consequences of an intensified assessment paradigm. Its empirical material consists of 20 focus-group interviews with a total of 102 sixteen- to eighteen-year-old students in ten…

What is known about places we have not been to before we learn from maps, geographical magazines, or maybe travel reports. Ordinarily, this information is for granted without reflecting on its origin and underlying theoretical premises. Usually, this lack of reflection does not appear as problematic. However, what can can be learned from the fact…

This article examines the career of the educationalist, Conservative politician and published writer on education and politics, Rhodes Boyson (1925-2012). As an educationalist, Boyson established Highbury Grove Boys' Comprehensive School in Islington, North London: An inner-city school which was antithetical to the wave of progressivism in the…

The authors provide a detailed analysis of a continuous improvement process for an information systems master's program at an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business-accredited university. The authors sought to inform the literature on the improvement process used to satisfy quality standards and improve learning outcomes in a degree…

The construct of academic language--while of great interest, in part, because of recently adopted or revised content and English-language development (ELD) standards that explicitly focus on academic language--and its role in the academic success of all students, including young learners and English learners (ELs), is far from clearly understood.…