A number of changes have occurred in the higher education sector under the auspices of quality and quality improvement. Much of this change has resulted in a compliance-driven environment (more measures, more meetings, more form-filling and less time for the core activities of teaching and research). It is an environment that seeks to assure all…

This article discusses how fictional works can give a purposeful context and an appropriate venue for developing essential social studies concepts in middle-school students. The author uses the example of a National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) notable book, "Jason's Gold" that blends history with story to become historical…

This article is a tribute to Graham Nuthall's contribution to classroom research from his early experimental studies through to his recent work on theory integration. It also explains the potential of the methodology, findings and theory building in our collaborative work to make a substantial positive difference for diverse students. The article…

This article focuses on the enhancement of social competence of students in secondary education. In the literature two perspectives on social competence can be distinguished: an "educating for adulthood" perspective and an "educating for citizenship" perspective. From each perspective, goals are formulated for what education should be aimed at and…

Teachers use student performance data to continually evaluate the effectiveness of their teaching and make more informed instructional decisions, which is a practice used in student progress monitoring. The teacher, in order to implement student progress monitoring, determines a student's current performance level, identifies achievement goals…

Lifelong learning in Japan involves various cultural and/or sporting activities for personal enjoyment rather than for individual or national economic benefit. Currently the study of karaoke at a variety of public and private organizations is very popular among older Japanese and housewives. This article explores the emergence of karaoke as a…

This paper argues that Christopher Winch's contribution to the debate on the aims of education contains some significant errors and omissions. His definition of work is problematic and leads to the conclusion that education should be directed towards very narrow vocational targets. His argument makes unstated and contestable assumptions about the…

This study examines the post-socialist transition in the secondary education history programme in Kazakhstan from 1990 to the present. The article examines the influence of policy talk and action upon official educational policy, and how the deployment of a new national narrative is being used to construct a de-Sovietized-re-Kazakhified national…

The theme of growth is amongst the most important and pervasive themes in the philosophy of Charles Peirce. This paper offers a synthesized account of the Peircean self drawn from his various discussions of the growth of ideas and then presents three educational orientations which, in turn, tend to foster or frustrate this growth. It concludes…

Educators have long known that children from families of lower socio-economic status (SES) do not do as well in school as those from wealthier families. Of course, this relationship is not deterministic; many children from disadvantaged backgrounds do perform well, and many children from advantaged backgrounds struggle. But the overall trend is…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act requires every school to provide its special needs students with whatever technologies are necessary for a "free and appropriate education." Yet many schools struggle with the task of identifying which technologies will actually work for this population of students. Outside consultants can…

A program of library instruction, oriented towards the Outcomes attached to the ACRL's Competency Standards One and Two, assists community college students towards information literacy. Online resources and the World Wide Web provide integral components of this program. Library instruction alone cannot fulfill all of the Standards, however.…

In some organizations, coming to a consensus about what members' work is collectively about might be fairly straightforward. At a comprehensive public university serving more than thirty thousand students, reaching such a consensus is, more often than not, a real challenge. A tradition of faculty and staff autonomy, full schedules, competition for…

The effective evaluation of educational projects is becoming increasingly important to funding agencies and to the individuals and organizations involved in the projects. This brief "how-to" guide provides an introductory description of the purpose and basic ideas of project evaluation, and uses authentic examples from four different astronomy and…

Objective: The clinical grade assessment is the most frequently used and heavily weighted component in the overall assessment of U.S. psychiatry clerkship students, yet the topic is understudied. The authors aimed to learn more about the nature, perceived virtues, and deficiencies of the clinical grade evaluation. Methods: A 26-item questionnaire…