Learning disabilities are among the most common disabilities experienced in childhood and adulthood. Although identifying learning disabilities in a school setting is a complex process, it is particularly challenging in low- and middle-income countries that lack the appropriate resources, tools, and supports. This guide provides an introduction to…

This document is a revised version of the National Consumer and Financial Literacy Framework (the Framework) originally developed in 2005. It articulates a rationale for consumer and financial education in Australian schools; describes essential consumer and financial capabilities that will support lifelong learning; and provides guidance on how…

Interagency communication and collaboration is a key principle and practice in addressing the unmet educational needs of youth in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. When child-serving agencies communicate and work with each other, and are committed to coordinating services and supports for the youth and families they serve, they…

School board members, teachers, university faculty, school district administrators, and even literacy coaches themselves often have questions about literacy coaching. These questions generally focus on several major issues: What should literacy coaches do? What qualifications should they possess? Is the cost worth it? A key question often revolves…

This handbook offers suggestions for educational reform in areas of student art learning, art education, and art content. After an "Introduction," which presents the philosophy and goals for reform, the document addresses the following issues: "What Is Student Art Learning?"; "How To Tell the Difference between Art as…

Americans are deeply concerned about their present and future prospects in a time of economic uncertainty. Policymakers have a make-or-break opening--and an obligation--to chart a new path for public education that will secure the nation's economic competitiveness. This guide summarizes the challenges and opportunities that, if left unaddressed,…

Examination of almost any university's curricular goals or expectations and the actual courses taken by particular students demonstrates significant discrepancies between the rationale and the actuality and between the intentions of general or specialized education and the knowledge made available in the courses taken. A major reason for the…

Traditional professional development focuses on declarative and procedural knowledge. That is, participants usually learn what to do and how to do it rather than when to do it and why it is important. In McREL's leadership development program, they focus first on providing participants with an overview of research findings found in their…

Justifications for the retention or expansion of offerings in music education include music's value in developing the individual's creative potential, awareness of cultural heritage, and aesthetic responsiveness. Music also serves as a therapeutic tool and as a focus for social and personal involvement. (PGD)

Discipline-based arts education is systematic instruction in concepts and processes intrinsic to the visual arts and includes participation in the aesthetic, critical, historical, and productive activities essential to appreciating cultural values. The systematic character of the instruction permits accountability. Guidelines for such study have…

This article discusses comprehensive staff development plans for providers of services to individuals with visual impairments. It addresses how staff development can be planned, the purposes of staff development, how staff development differs from staff training, and options for delivering staff development (such as distance education). (JDD)

This guide is intended to help educational planners in building partnerships between educators teaching courses in electrical occupations and the business, industry, and labor sectors of their communities. The guide, which is written in outline form, includes concept statements, explanations of concept statements, examples, and step-by-step…

Three authors respond to the findings of a study by Griffiths and King, which was contracted by the Department of Education to identify the professional competencies that should be encompassed by library and information science programs, and the methods by which the competencies' relation to professional performance may be evaluated. (CLB)

This paper argues that schools need to help students acquire knowledge and skills for two purposes: (1) to function effectively in a variety of contexts (including work) as they presently exist, and (2) to adapt to changing situations in the future. Effective functioning in the present requires a common body of knowledge, including mathematics,…

After 10 years of academic education, students not going to college should enter 2-year programs of cooperative education. In these programs students would spend half their time in real-world employment and the other half studying subjects relevant to the world of living and working outside of school. (PGD)