There are lines of demarcation between the political left and right, and also within the left, as regards central matters of education policy and how the purpose and value of education may be understood. This article details and distinguishes what is at stake, in particular between a revolutionary Marxist left and other currents, as regards a…

In 2004, National Centre for Vocational Education Research (NCVER) developed a national Indigenous VET research strategy in partnership with the former Australian Indigenous Training Advisory Council. The research strategy provides a comprehensive program until 2006 to fill the major gaps in knowledge identified through a midterm review of…

Examines comparative methods and conflict-theory in foreign studies of Swedish educational reforms since World War II, focusing on the economic and social forces behind reform, the goals of reform, and educational outcomes. Concludes that Swedish school reform has failed to achieve its most important goal--social equality. (SV)

Reviews educational changes in Sweden since the 1962 Education Act, which expanded educational opportunities through introduction of comprehensive schools. Discusses the effects of Swedish reforms on educational policy debates in Great Britain and West Germany and on comparative education research in Europe and the United States. Contains 32…

Student assessment is dependent on the educational views of the teacher. Arts pedagogy in comprehensive schools has several approaches, orientations, and even genres, each in turn having hidden practices of student evaluation. These stem on the one hand from the pedagogical tradition of the field (music, visual arts, drama, craft) and on the other…

Research results are collated and presented concerning the change in Finland from a binary system of education to a more unitary system, the "comprehensive school," involving a single primary school (grades one through nine) and a choice between vocational and senior secondary school (grades ten through twelve). The new system, being…

The importance of addressing the career- and life-planning needs of Canadian children and adolescents has emerged as a prominent theme in recent studies. Studies of adolescents demonstrate that they are proactive and future-oriented and want to gain information and skills to help prepare them for the transition to adulthood. The purpose of this…

With the change to comprehensive schools in Sweden completed, the author considers how education will be restructured in the future both at the compulsory and the post-compulsory levels. (SJL)

Attempts to understand the implications for education of an apparent paradox of the welfare state: a new culture of education has developed involving both individual autonomy and continuing attachment to public provision of education to ensure that autonomy. Compares England and Scotland to illustrate the complexity of the political debate. (DSK)

Overviews Finnish schools before 1970 and highlights subsequent reforms. Groups reform problems under four headings: conceptual, attitudinal, administrative, and geographical. (BRR)

In 1976 the Schools Commission (Australia) commenced a program of evaluation of its specific-purpose programs in order to obtain objective assessments of the impact of these programs and to determine ways in which they might be improved. One of the programs chosen for evaluation was the Development Program. This report discusses the design and…

Educational reforms and the move toward comprehensiveness in education are studied in Norway and Sweden, considering their effects on the general educational attainment of the population. Developments in Norway have been much more uneven than in Sweden. The greatest changes in Norway have been caused by lower secondary reforms around 1970. (SLD)

This monograph encourages counselors to embrace a comprehensive, programmatic approach to counseling by helping them develop their own versions of comprehensive guidance and counseling programs. The approach adopted here is based on some of the following assumptions: students need support as they strive to achieve their full potential, all…

Analyzes teachers' attitudes regarding the value and practicality of adapting their teaching to the needs of heterogeneous classes. Surveys teachers and administrators in five German comprehensive schools. Finds that teachers do not support the view that within-class grouping may be a viable alternative to systems of across-class setting by…

Using as an example the development of the comprehensive school concept in the Netherlands, this paper explores the strategy for educational innovation in a centralized national educational system, the role of educational research and evaluation in educational innovation, the impact of research on policy-making, and the strengths and weaknesses of…