Summarizes a study using a service marketing-mix model (promoting product, place, price, promotion, people, processes, and proof) to document educational marketing practices in 11 public and private British schools. The schools visited evinced a general lack of coherent marketing practice. Administrators had little management training in…

Describes the development, framework, and curriculum of the new degree program called Media Documentation at the Fachhochschule Hamburg (Germany). Highlights include changes in the job market for information professionals, determination and estimation of need, combining practice and theory, and cooperation with commercial organizations and…

Reviews a body of psychological research which investigated children's errors in subtraction computations to assess whether the literature offers valuable, relevant information for those teaching subtraction and remedying student errors. It concludes that the research offers teachers little, so they must fall back on their knowledge and…

Highly prescriptive curriculum, testing, and teacher evaluation policies, such as those in New York State, actually impede teachers from teaching responsibly and effectively. These policies insist that teachers demonstrate a set of uniform behaviors unrelated to effective teaching for particular students. To work toward a new reform paradigm,…

Discusses contemporary curriculum discourse, reflecting on the split between (1) academic curricularists whose work focuses on school practice and those whose work does not and (2) those who believe curriculum reform is possible without social reconstruction and those who do not. The role of corporate discourse is examined. (SM)

Identifies assumptions about teachers' work and working conditions evident in action research, examining patterns in the parameters of work and workplace issues and analyzing research and various projects from the 1970s and 1980s. Aspects of feminist theory are used to address tensions and contradictions in teachers' practice of action research.…

This commentary expands on Patricia Graham's discussion, in her book "S.O.S.: Sustain Our Schools," of the role of higher education institutions in school reform. The article discusses issues surrounding how knowledge is being created in teacher education and the forms it is taking, the role of school-university partnerships, and new…

This paper describes the rationale and main elements of Reading Recovery, an individualized reading enhancement program which attempts to reduce the numbers of children with ongoing learning problems arising from early reading difficulties. Criticisms concerning the nature, research support, and implementation of the program are noted. More…

Presents a study of ways in which teachers believe that their research promotes professional development and educational change. Identifies factors that promote and constrain change. Suggests that, for teacher research to effect change throughout a school, the school must value critical reflection on practice and the sharing of ideas. (SG)

Describes the five-step writing process used in a holistic secondary school writing program: brainstorming, outlining, drafting/revising, peer editing, and writing a final copy. Discusses the writing process, the teacher-student relationship, collaborative learning, and student evaluation. (PRA)

Fifty-eight U.S. and 10 Canadian dental schools responded to a questionnaire concerning whether they had operational Faculty Practice Plans (FPPs) and to describe their plan's characteristics. Results revealed FPPs had little impact on the school's teaching and research functions and a less than harmonious relationship with the practicing dental…

Scholars on poverty are actively objecting to proposed legislation to reform the current welfare system, arguing that certain approaches are inconsistent with research on poverty and that widespread misconceptions are influencing public policy. Of particular concern is the potential effect of the proposed legislation on poor women and children.…

Examines the relationship between teacher perceptions and practices in literature-based reading instruction. Discusses elementary teachers' views about the role of children's literature in the literacy program; how teachers implement literature-based reading programs in their classrooms; and whether there is congruence between teacher perceptions…

Reports a study that examined the usefulness of concept maps for detecting differences in kindergarten teachers' theoretical orientation (whole language versus phonics). Results revealed that content but not structure measures differentiated whole language from phonics teachers. Concept maps proved useful in measuring teachers' theoretical…

British primary schools will change significantly if recent recommendations (concerning subject orientation and specialist approaches) are implemented. Key 2 curricular approaches are similar to those advocated for middle schools, but a middle school philosophy could only be sustained in schools of a certain size and with proper teacher…