California has embarked on a major new wave of curriculum reform with the adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the new English Language Development (ELD) standards, and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The adoption of the CCSS builds a legacy of standards-based education reform in California that began with the…

This article focuses on the structure, challenges, and outcomes of a service-learning project experimented by an art historian in an innovative special topics course Museum Experience, cross-listed with an Honors art appreciation course. The discussion includes: creating a new course content planned according to a multidisciplinary perspective…

While many students and instructors are transitioning from the brick-and-mortar classrooms to virtual classrooms, labs, and simulations, this requires a higher-level of expertise, control, and perseverance by the instructor. Traditional methods of teaching, leading, managing, and organizing learn activities has changed in terms of the virtual…

The IS 2010 Model Curriculum Guidelines were developed to provide recommendations for standardized information systems curricula while simultaneously allowing for customization within individual programs. While some studies have examined program adherence to the IS 2010 Model Curriculum Guidelines, a more detailed analysis of IS curriculum…

This dissertation is the result of research which examined the implementation of professional learning communities in a primary school. Professional learning communities or PLCs are groups of educators coming together collaboratively in a process of inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve. While there were…

How can curriculum integration of school science with the related disciplines of technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) enhance students' skills and their ability to link what they learn in school with the world outside the classroom? Featuring actual case studies of teachers' attempts to integrate their curriculum, their reasons for doing…

Both government and non-government agencies have decried how poorly today's students are prepared to thrive in the global marketplace. One area of concern, cross-cultural understandings and cross-cultural communication skills, is the basis for this study. A qualitative study using a phenomenological design was chosen in order to collect rich…

Clergy are significant providers of mental health services in the United States. The literature shows disparity between the need of clergy for mental health training and the type of brief training provided through seminar formats. It also indicates that the collaborative professional activities of clinicians and clergy may be enhanced when (1) the…

This year is designated as Thailand's "English Speaking Year" with the aim of improving the communicative competence of Thais for the upcoming integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2015. The consistent low-level proficiency of the Thais in the English language has led to numerous curriculum revisions and…

School change is always local and dependent on the kinds of resources that are available. In this paper we explore the notion that knowledge is an important resources for vernacular educational reform. In order to explore this contention, we use the lens of cross-curricular changes undertaken by English schools in receipt of funding from Creative…

This article examines the uptake of "suzhi"--roughly glossed as "quality"--in China's recent curriculum reform called "suzhi jiaoyu" (Education for Quality) in the rural ethnic context of Qiandongnan. It engages with three layers of analysis. First is a brief etymological overview of "suzhi" to map out its…

This article describes one MSW program's innovative and informed response to the pervasive problem of inadequate professional writing skills. We articulate the rationale, implementation, and assessment of our systemic response, which includes (a) requiring a professional writing course, (b) implementing curricular infusion of a standard writing…

The goal of school-university partnerships is most often the promotion of teacher growth through professional development (PD). Yet, despite the best of intentions, most PD is not conducted in an effective way. The purpose of this article is to share the perceptions of one group of elementary teachers regarding teacher growth and change as the…

"The Importance of Teaching: The Schools White Paper 2010," which grants schools increased autonomy in curriculum development and implementation, heralded a new era of curriculum reform in England. This article critically examines how this process took place in a Catholic secondary school that decided to use the RSA Opening Minds (OM)…

Drawing on the bilingual policies and biliteracy programmes of African nations, this paper discusses the context of literacy education in Nigeria and examines Nigerian early literacy teachers' attitudes to teaching literacy and literacy teaching practices as informed by the National Policy on Education, Primary English Language Curriculum and the…