Parent advocates play a key role in driving forward the debate and critical analysis of what constitutes professional knowledge in special education. The results of the study indicate that a burgeoning confidence and status might be attached to parental knowledge and expertise that could widen the traditional boundaries confined by the…

This article introduces a qualitative study entitled "The moral and ethical bases of teachers' interactions with students". The main focus of the study is on the teacher's role as moral agent and the orientations within the classroom to issues of right and wrong as identified by teachers and the researchers. The primary intent is to…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to review current programmes and major issues surrounding preventive interventions for body image and obesity in schools. Design/methodology/approach: A literature review was carried out by analysing papers cited in major literature databases from the last 50 years. This review describes and summarises…

In this paper, we present a web-based educational setting, referred to as SCALE (Supporting Collaboration and Adaptation in a Learning Environment), which aims to serve learning and assessment. SCALE enables learners to (i) work on individual and collaborative activities proposed by the environment with respect to learners' knowledge level, (ii)…

Strengthening the innovation system in the Netherlands is a priority for raising productivity growth, which has been relatively weak in recent years. Knowledge creation in the Netherlands is strong -- scientific publications per capita are the sixth highest in the OECD -- but innovation activity is only around the average for OECD countries…

Abundant research chronicles the backgrounds and characteristics of community college students assigned to developmental reading. Many are members of underrepresented groups and first in their families to attend college. English may not be their primary language. Developmental students often struggle with learning disabilities. Nontraditional…

Parents of 209 children (162 males and 46 females) with autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome or learning disabilities ranging in age from 4 to 21 years were surveyed about their perceptions of the education of their children. Items on the survey were categorized into 7 areas: school personnel's knowledge about the disability, best practices,…

For the past five years, Vermont has been developing an innovative statewide assessment system in which portfolios of student work in mathematics and writing are a key element. The use of mathematics portfolios, particularly in elementary school, is a novel aspect of the assessment system. This study examines the elementary school mathematics…

This briefing paper presents a synthesis of data on early eligibility determination which provides middle- and secondary-school students and their parents with individualized information about their eligibility for financial aid to pay for higher education. This information is intended to be provided at a time when decisions must be made about…

This publication, the result of a series of conferences held between April and October 1989, is a guide to assessing the competence of prospective art teachers in the California public schools. The guide was developed as part of a state-wide response to legislated entry and exit standards for teachers in elementary and secondary schools. An…

This study was conducted to examine teachers' knowledge of teaching mathematics and writing to diverse learners, and knowledge changes that occur over time, particularly during and after formal teacher education programs. Commonplaces of teaching were articulated as subject matter, learners, learning, and context. Three measurement instruments…

Analyses of the cognitive activity displayed by students on existing innovative assessments in science were conducted. The project has worked with pilot alternative assessment programs in Connecticut and California to document the match or mismatch between the skills and processes that the assessment is designed to tap and those actually elicited.…

The Massachusetts Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) was established in 1985 to compare academic achievement among schools and districts and to give curriculum and instructional guidance. Biennially, it tests all students in grades 4, 8, and 12 in reading, mathematics, science, and social studies. Using a matrix sampling design, each student…

This proposal describes the organization and implementation of a "World Steel Drum Ensemble" as a strategy to solve the problems of low minority academic achievement, high minority discipline incidents, and minority isolationism. The drum ensemble studied and performed music from Caribbean, Hispanic, and African heritages in a middle…

The second phase of a 3-year project examining the effect of a process approach to writing instruction on students' expository reading and writing skills, a study determined the impact of three writing programs that emphasized different aspects of a process-oriented writing environment. Data were gathered from 159 fifth and sixth grade students…