Describes cosmic education as the Montessori guide for educating 6- to 12-year-olds. Discusses practical consequences of Montessori's ideas, including the selection of the "great story," the need for physics at the elementary level to teach the laws of nature, the citizen's responsibility for the earth's survival, the importance of…

Seven classroom projects that motivate student writing in Northwest schools are described. The projects vary in grade level. Themes include local history, fairy tales, "Flat Stanley" exchange students, student book publishing, art, poetry, and science. Common practices include having students write about local and personally meaningful…

The "6+1" model of writing assessment, which identifies six traits of good writing, is applicable to any language. In an Anchorage (Alaska) elementary school with a high proportion of English language learners, homeless children, and other disadvantaged youth, the model helps students write about their own ideas and experiences, thereby…

This article examines the community of practice model as a framework for integrating educational research and practice. In addition to defining communities of practice and reflective practice, it describes two researcher-teacher partnerships and offers suggestions for transforming traditional methods of conducting research on educational practice.…

This article traces the evolution of special education policies and services and the introduction of inclusive education as a service delivery model in Viet Nam. The impact of a series of inclusion projects and resultant goals of the Ministry of Education and Training to expand inclusive education are described. (Contains 8 references.) (Author/CR)

Suggests that students come to school with an enthusiasm for learning only to discover the confusion and frustration associated with schooling. Proposes that educators must reframe their conceptual understandings and philosophy of the educational process, reduce the use of fear as a student motivator, and work toward eliminating the "bull" or…

Maintains that the National Arts Standards allows for the inclusion of multicultural perspectives integrated within a dominant European American culture. This places the responsibility for a truly representative and multicultural curriculum back on the art teacher. Provides a neat and concise summary of the arguments for and against multicultural…

Argues that too often, multiculturalism is viewed as a passive method of disengagement from moral and ethical issues. Defines true multiculturalism as incorporating tolerance and respect into active examination and exploration of cultural and moral issues. Describes several situations that require this approach. (MJP)

Argues that, within the elementary classroom, reading aloud sessions that exclude ethnically diverse materials creates a bias in favor of the status quo that is harmful to children's education. Both long- and short-term recommendations are made to teachers who wish to address the needs of their diverse classrooms. (GR)

This article describes legislative and policy provisions that support educational services for children with disabilities in Prince Edward Island. It begins with some general information on Prince Edward Island and then explores recent teacher education and inclusion initiatives that have affected the service delivery for children with…

A study examined the value of six theoretical aspects of learning communities in rural New South Wales (Australia) preschools. Surveys of nine preschool directors indicated that they recognized the value of shared decision making, reflection, and delegating power, and that open communication was necessary for developing a learning environment…

Examines experiences of a 5- and 7-year-old entering a U.S. early childhood program in context of child development theory, constructivist philosophy, and the Japanese social teaching model. Urges educators to consider alternatives to "tourist approach" in multicultural education and ways to translate individual differences into learning…

Describes the Juvenile Justice Educational Enhancement Program's implementation of an evaluation research-driven quality assurance process for Florida's juvenile justice educational programs. Reviews the literature on juvenile justice educational practices and describes the educational quality assurance standards and annual modifications that draw…

Outlines the procedures of the Patchwork Text coursework assignment format, discussed in the articles of this special issue, and presents a general justification of their current educational importance. Reviews current literature on assessment processes in higher education and discusses work on the nature of "academic literacies." Compares the…

Reviews technology integration efforts in Singapore. Discusses examples of online learning in schools under four broad categories: cyber conferencing, e-learning services providers, e-publication, and wireless technology. Describes ways information technology is being used at the National Institute of Education in Singapore, as a tool for…