Areas of our country are headed toward significant social and political unrest if education ignores the demographic trends reshaping our schools. This article describes how one teacher training program in South Carolina examined its cultural context, accreditation standards, and course offerings to restructure its curriculum to address cultural…

This study describes the multifaceted components of an assessment process. The paper explains a novel approach in which an advisory council participated in a "fun," hands-on activity to rank-order learning outcomes. The top ranked learning competency, as identified by the advisory council, was the need for students to gain a better…

The symbolic function of curricular debate, as it is manifested in the minimum competency testing movement (MCT), is investigated. Curricular debate necessarily reflects the demands of the society in which it arises. The topics that are addressed spring from this milieu and the language in which issues are couched must be appropriate to it.…

This document is the first of a two-part series designed to help teachers, schools, and districts to implement standards-based instruction. Part 1, The Foundation for Improvement, explains why standards-based instruction improves teaching and learning. Part 2, First Steps to a Standards-Based Classroom, describes how to adapt the curriculum to…

The current focus on school leader preparation reflects the importance societies around the world are placing upon the goal of improving their educational systems. The investment of substantial new resources into leadership preparation and development activities is based upon "the belief that school leaders make a difference" in both the…

This article presents an overview of three undergraduate-level statistical consulting courses being taught at institutions of different size (small, medium, and large). Topics that will be discussed include the evolution of these courses, thoughts on what makes such courses successful, potential pitfalls to watch for, the necessary minimal skills…

Mastery learning can combine the strengths of direct instruction with the strengths of discovery learning. This paper describes how mastery learning is being used in Missouri schools to enhance the quality of instruction in science at all grade levels. In addition, the dramatic results in student science achievement that have occurred within the…

Resulting from a project involving district, state, and federal educational agencies, the papers in this, the first of two volumes, are intended to provide information from research and practice that can help school districts in their efforts to make decisions about goals and methods of basic skills instruction. The topics of the papers in the…

Purpose: To offer a coherent critique of the concept of managerial frameworks of competence through the exploration of the problems of generalizability and abstraction and the "scientific" assumptions of management. Design/methodology/approach: Employs the ecological metaphor of intellectual landscape and extends it to examining the…

Health education curriculum has responded to the need to include teacher preparation experiences in death education. While death education is gaining wide acceptance, little effort has been made to guarantee quality instruction. A list of competencies are provided for the edification of the effective death educator. (JN)

Community and culture significantly influence value orientation, perceived needs, and motivation as well as provide the ground for creating shared understanding. All disciplines have their own cultures, and all cultures evolve through cross-cultural exchanges. The computing community has created and documented a sound body of knowledge of…

The purpose of the project described in this paper was to develop, publish, and disseminate a model set of oral communication competencies for West Virginia students in kindergarten through grade 12. The first section of the paper discusses the purpose of the project, which was prompted by the growth of the competency movement, and provides some…

The Vermont State Board of Education is required to approve competencies for each vocational program. This has resulted in a comprehensive, broad-based approach that can readily be adapted by local schools. Instructors' committees draft curriculum that reflects core competencies for entry-level employment in a given occupational area. (JOW)

The Texas Assessment of Basic Skills (TABS) is described. Specifications are listed for TABS objectives in mathematics reading, and writing for grades 3, 5 and exit level (grades 6-12). It is intended that sections of the publication will be distributed to curriculum planners and appropriate teachers to assist in their determination of whether…

Presents and analyzes the first year's results of a longitudinal study designed to measure teachers' and principals' stages of concern regarding implementation of a potentially controversial innovation--benchmark testing. Results indicate that the responding 241 teachers and 52 principals were positively disposed and interested in making the…