This paper presents a profile of Iowa's Child Care Quality Rating System prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile is divided into the following categories: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for Center-Based Programs; (4) Indicators for Family Child Care Programs;…

Reduction in the size of classes from Kindergarten to Grade 3 was a major Liberal Party campaign promise in Ontario's 2003 provincial election. It was intended to demonstrate a new government's commitment to improving public education. By the 2008-09 school year, the provincial government's goals had been achieved: over 90% of all primary classes…

This paper presents a profile of Vermont's STep Ahead Recognition System (STARS) prepared as part of the Child Care Quality Rating System (QRS) Assessment Study. The profile consists of several sections and their corresponding descriptions including: (1) Program Information; (2) Rating Details; (3) Quality Indicators for All Child Care Programs;…

African teachers in general and South Africans in particular face tremendous challenges, several of which are curriculum related. These challenges manifest themselves at various levels and in various areas, that is, from national level to within the classroom. There are various role players who may make a contribution towards overcoming these…

Riparian ecosystems are an exciting and dynamic subject for study. These areas are valuable lands and important wildlife habitats, and they contribute greatly to the environmental health of an area. Definitions for the term "riparian" vary, but in this curriculum, the land called the "Green Zone" lies between flowing water and upland ecosystems.…

The study uses Foucault's framework of governmentality to understand the impact of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) on teachers' writing instruction and attitudes toward writing in high- and low-income schools. Using interviews and observations of 18 teachers, the study identified four themes: emphasis on testing, curricular effects, awareness of…

Because the practice of humane and ethical behavior among faculty is crucial for a healthy and harmonious environment in a school, this research studied the conceptions of such behavior among a group of teachers through examination of personal narratives. The study identified situations and experiences where humane ethical behavior occurred…

A naturalistic study explored a classroom in which multiple history text resources were present and actively used by fifth-grade students. The teacher used the textbook and supplemented it with a wide assortment of trade books. Students worked in small groups of 3 to 5 students. Data included field notes of classroom observations and in-depth…

This study examined explanatory talk that occurred in families of preschool children during book readings between mother and child, and during mealtimes with the whole family. The study is part of a larger study, the Home School Study of Language and Literacy Development. Three-year-old children eligible for Head Start programs in the greater…

This book provokes a re-examination of how expert knowledge, not practitioner know-how, has come to dominate how Americans judge and improve schools. It depicts the English tradition of school inspection to provoke the invention of better ways for judging and knowing schools in America. Data were gathered by observation of 39 local and national…

This study used feminist poststructuralist analysis to examine ways in which the relationships between college students and faculty influenced the enactment of feminist teaching. It used open-ended interviews with 22 faculty, the majority of whom were either affiliated with the women's studies program or were in a department in the School of…

This paper describes the use of qualitative observation techniques for gathering and analyzing data related to group processes during an Accelerated Schools Model training session. The purposes for this research were to observe the training process in order better to facilitate present continuation and future training, to develop questions for…

Early childhood education specialists in the United States can learn from the Reggio Emilia experience. This document details five aspects of Reggio Emilia practices in the following sections: (1) "The Contribution of Graphic Languages to Young Children's Project Work," discussing how children are encouraged to use graphic languages and…

English or rhetoric and composition faculty must work to collapse disciplinary boundaries in their institutions. The challenge facing English departments is to collapse the "we-they" mentality, to develop productive partnerships with other departments, and to develop a healthy respect for other disciplines. At Yavapai College in Arizona,…

This activity book designed for grades 1-3 provides teachers with ready-to-use materials designed to get parents and children excited about science, help establish a home-school connection, and provide interesting learning activities for children to share with adults. This program gets parents involved in developing their children's science…