Argues that the way in which schools conduct their business is blocking our educational system from improving at the rate required to meet society's needs. Suggests that educational reformers rethink approaches to school improvement by working within cultural boundaries. Contains 19 references. (DDR)

Relates questions that the authors' asked when reviewing Ronald Evans and David Saxe's "Handbook on Teaching Social Education." Extends points from the original review: (1) the "Handbook" sends mixed messages about the nature of issues-centered teaching; and (2) it leaves unanswered questions concerning the relationship between…

Presents the historical background of competing models of education as a context for the development of assessment in American education, contending, however, that practical considerations, such as efficiency and fairness, have often been more important than theoretical issues. Analyzes the specific case of writing assessment. (PA)

Considers three social theories--actor-network; marginalization; and intentionality and action--that can be used to reconceptualize open learning to reconstruct openness through research conducted in remote primary home schools and itinerant primary classrooms in Australia. The notions of center/periphery and mobility/immobility are examined. (PEN)

An indepth survey of teachers conducted by the Texas Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development found that teachers were furious about professional development as they knew it. They found it too theoretical--essentially out of touch with everyday classroom life. Practicing teachers wanted expert assistance with specific problems, not…

A synthesis of ethnographic studies of multicultural education in North American and Australian multiethnic classrooms is presented. Nine assertions about culturally relevant instruction and two outcomes useful for teachers working in cross-cultural and multiethnic classrooms are provided. (MMU)

Answers teachers' most frequently asked questions about spelling, including issues related to why English spelling is the way it is; how students learn to spell; selection and organization of spelling words; determining spelling levels; invented spelling; effective instructional activities; spelling strategies; assessment; and adjusting…

Examines how understandings of concepts of experiential and theoretical learning have evolved within Discipline-Based Art Education (DBAE) debates; explores how these two types of learning are related to each DBAE discipline; and proposes that educational practices emphasize interaction between experiential and theoretical learning within and…

Addresses three questions to characterize the discipline of art criticism and delineate its role in instruction: (1) What is a discipline? (2) In what sense is art criticism a discipline? and (3) How, specifically, is art criticism to inform educational practice? Links this discussion to assumptions in Discipline-Based Art Education. (DSK)

Explains the Dimensions Model, an approach to target setting in British schools for special-needs students, which reflects both national requirements and the particular nature of special education. Details application of the model in a special school for primary-age pupils with emotional and behavioral difficulties. (DB)

Reviews the literature on the social integration of people with intellectual disability. Describes a support model in Italy which views self-esteem as resulting from the social integration of service users as a peer group rather than as individuals, while encouraging independence in the form of paid employment. (DB)

Describes the relationship between a graduate-level program to train special-education teachers in technology skills and the attempts of six graduates to use these skills in their work. Presents descriptive data from interviews, observations, document analysis, and survey methods and discusses implications for teacher education. (Author/LRW)

A study that investigated perceptions of 31 kindergarten teachers found there were statistically significant differences between teachers' views of the desirability of implementing practices to enhance the outcomes of children with disabilities as they transition to kindergarten and the feasibility of such implementation. Portfolios were viewed as…

Urges that discussion of the future of intelligence testing differentiates the evolution of theory and research from trends in clinical (school-based) practice. States that school-based assessments will not be valued because they are efficient, mandated, or empirically linked to theories of cognition but because they are functionally and fairly…

Defines the concept of pluralistic education and discusses its goals. Interviews a number of teachers to investigate their conceptions of education and their response to the idea of pluralistic education. Reports that teachers share an affinity with certain aspects of pluralistic education but differ in a number of fundamental ways. (DSK)