Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) provides international comparative data about students' reading achievement after four years of primary schooling, while also measuring trends over time, monitoring curricular implementation, and identifying promising instructional practices. Conducted on a regular 5-year cycle, PIRLS has…

Elementary school English teachers in Taiwan face classes of students with differing levels of English proficiency, to the point where about one-third of the students may have never learned English before, and another third may already have read Harry Potter in English. A successful teacher recognizes that diversity may affect learning and works…

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to investigate and describe how elementary teachers in exited Program Improvement-Safe Harbor schools acquire student achievement data through assessments, the strategies and reflections utilized to make sense of the data to improve student achievement, ensure curriculum and instructional goals are aligned,…

In the age of standardized testing, science and social studies are not given the same priority as mathematics and reading in the curriculum of United States schools. High stakes testing is viewed as having heavily biased schools toward teaching tested subjects and away from less frequently tested subjects. This paper is premised on the notion that…

This article compares the pre-vocational education curriculum plans in lower-secondary schools in Germany and Mainland China, and their implementation. Choosing the curricula of certain school types in two selected regions in both countries, this research first carries out a content analysis of the curriculum plans, using the criteria developed…

This paper investigates the contribution of mathematical knowledge for teaching (MKT) and curriculum materials to the mathematical quality of instruction by comparing the enactment of a fractions problem taught by two teachers with differing MKT. It was found that MKT seem to support teachers' precise use of mathematical language and to prevent…

Sultanate of Oman is one out of many developing countries around the world which have valued English as a very important international language and a tool for achieving multiple purposes. When His Majesty the Sultan came to power in 1970, the government accepted English as the only official foreign language and allocated huge budgets and resources…

Purpose: The objective of this paper was to examine key hindering and facilitating factors in schools during the first stage of the curriculum reform (2001-2006) in Hong Kong and to identify key strategies to address these challenges. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 150 primary and 120 secondary schools with 7,869 key stakeholders…

There is an increasing demand for individuals with engineering education and skills of varying fields in everyday life. With the proper education students of high-needs schools can help meet the demand for a highly skilled and educated workforce. Researchers have assumed the supply and demand has not been met within the engineering workforce as a…

In this article, the authors make a case for teaching vocabulary in the elementary grades through a focus on the morphological structure of words, in particular English words that are derived through Latin and Greek roots and affixes. The authors present a set of engaging instructional ideas for the use of Latin and Greek derivations to teach…

Integrated learning is well established in education, primarily in the classroom subjects. This article describes settings and ways for extending integrated instruction to physical education and music. Benefits of these connections include reinforcing content and better meeting the needs of students whose intelligences include the bodily…

In this study, the characteristics of teachers that motivate their implementation of reform curriculum, and the factors that influence the teachers' success in implementing the curriculum are investigated. In particular, teachers' internal struggles, frustrations, collegiality, and classroom successes during the implementation of the reform…

This article examines how interest groups in Hong Kong have politicised national history, an unpopular school subject, for their own political ends and allied themselves with the PRC against the SAR government and its policy of not making it a single, independent, compulsory core subject in the school curriculum. The article argues that this has…

Faculty development programs are critical to the implementation and support of curriculum innovation. In this case study, the authors present lessons learned from ten years of experience in faculty development programs created to support innovation in technology enhanced learning. Stages of curriculum innovation are matched to stages of faculty…

In today's increasingly interconnected world, it has never been more imperative for American schools to incorporate global education into their curriculum. As we prepare students for their future roles as global citizens who must confront a whole host of new challenges, it is critical that our students understand other cultures and people and…