With political change coming soon to the nation's capital, policymakers and national groups are trying to divine what the shifts might mean for the U.S. Department of Education's long-running, and sometimes controversial, campaign to transform education into an "evidence based" field. The movement to promote more scientifically rigorous…

The push to give school districts greater operating flexibility--a grassroots rallying cry eclipsed in recent years by the charter school movement--is seeing a resurgence, as states seek to spur innovation that will help raise student achievement. In Georgia, Governor Sonny Perdue is proposing "performance contracts" that would free…

Educational policy aims are very ambitious: from pre-school to lifelong learning they demand improvements in both quantity and quality, which are multiplicative in their effects on teaching workload. It is difficult, therefore, to achieve these aims effectively without rethinking our approach to teaching and learning. Our essentially 19th century…

The economic, social, and cultural interests of the nation demand that graduates have sound knowledge of global issues, the skills for working in an international context, and the values of a "global citizen." Research funded by the British government's Department for International Development sought to assess how such "global…

Physics, engineering and technology increasingly play a critical role in many sports, enabling athletes to go the extra proverbial mile and surpass their own limits. However, it is not only the competitive elite who benefit from advances in equipment design; many sports have been made safer and more accessible through science and innovation.…

Technology-based forces of "disruptive innovation" are gathering around public education and will overhaul the way K-12 students learn--with potentially dramatic consequences for established public schools, according to an upcoming book that draws parallels to disruptions in other industries. In his "Disrupting Class: How Disruptive Innovation…

Research into teacher identity can generate insights into how teachers contribute and respond to change. Researchers face the challenge of representing findings that are useful at the policy level but do not essentialise the collective identity of a diverse occupational group. This article represents the findings of a study of primary school…

Creativity is a crucial component in the advancement of all major cultural entities, including effective counseling. It is through creativity that major theories of counseling and skills in counseling have been developed. Creativity is longitudinal in its impact. If counseling is to progress in the future, it is essential that counselors be…

With the presidential candidates both underscoring their support for entrepreneurial initiatives in education, policy experts are advancing ideas for helping such efforts flourish. In their October 15 debate at Hofstra University, both Senators John McCain of Arizona and Barack Obama of Illinois used questions on education to talk about school…

A lot of the study about how people use technology focuses on the youngest and swiftest: teens and college students. The revolution of sharing music files confirmed just how powerful this technological "voting bloc" is. Yet the high-tech population is diverse, encompassing seniors, midcareer workers--just about every type of person in…

Whereas there has been considerable advancement in the last few decades with regard to theories and practices in mathematics education from a critical perspective, very little is known about what it means to prepare teachers for such approaches. In this article I undertake a retrospective, reflexive analysis of my praxis as a teacher educator over…

This paper explores the development and significance of the European Institute of Technology (EIT) in the period since 2005 when the European Union launched a suite of initiatives for higher education, research and innovation, including the EIT, as part of attempts to re-launch its Lisbon Strategy around a "growth and jobs" agenda. The…

Undergraduate biology students receive little training in natural history or in organismal biology. Natural history allows students to visualize mechanisms of evolution and identify common themes in the structure and function of organisms. By emphasizing natural history in all aspects of biology instruction, we might become closer to achieving the…

In answer to the problem of coordinating college and university curricula with a changing society and to meet demands of students, elected officials, and community members, Minnesota Metropolitan State College has been created with features suited to serve as a pilot project for the development of the new careers concept. The 4 broad areas…

This issue of "Science Education News" is concerned with nontraditional approaches to college-level education. Recent trends and new programs representing examples of innovative learning are presented by these six articles: The Prospects for Nontraditional Study; Accreditation of Nontraditional Study Programs; New York Regents External Degree; The…