Since the election of 1997 New Labour's education policy has been subject to variety of forms of critique--in this journal and others. One of the sources for such critique has been a barrage of letters unleashed for over a decade by Colin Richards in the "Times Educational Supplement". Here are reproduced a self-edited selection of his…

This research-based thesis project explains the governmental acts and policies, investors, and other stakeholders who have worked to promote, question, and explore the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the classroom. Research suggests that best-practice ICT integration requires using ICT alongside constructivist pedagogy.…

Decades of research have provided strong evidence of what an integrated early childhood system should look like. Several groups, including the Alliance for Early Success, have outlined research-backed state and local policies that can move systems closer to meeting this goal. In fact, many states and communities across the country have already put…

In this dissertation, I address the issue of social inequalities in education and the role of the education system in confronting them. The project involves two main parts, one empirical and the other conceptual. In the first part--chapters 1 and 2--I address the practical dimension of how to reduce social inequalities in education by exploring…

This "Fourth Annual Report Card" marks a new chapter for the Boston Opportunity Agenda. For the first time, the Boston Opportunity Agenda is reporting student outcomes across Boston Public Schools and Catholic and charter schools. This provides a comprehensive baseline view of the education pipeline for the city's K-12 students. The…

Launched in 2005, the Illinois Integrated Assessment (IA) program partners child welfare caseworkers with licensed clinicians to provide better information about the functioning of children entering foster care and about child and family strengths, support systems, and service needs. The information-gathering activities and the collaborative…

The most important problem facing public education in the country today is: how can teachers address the needs of all learners? A 2007 report issued by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) says, "aspects of development--neural, cognitive, social, psychological, physical and ethical--have far-reaching effects on…

Brazil is a developing country that has undergone important changes at the social, economic, scientific and educational levels. A main policy challenge at present is related to the unequal distribution of vital resources, including technology. In the educational context, many changes have been observed, such as a decrease in analphabetism and an…

Multiple providers (including state, quasi-state and non-state ones) have contributed to raising initial enrolment and improving gender balance in Bangladesh. The critical question is how multiplicity and diversity of provision can contribute to achieving truly universal primary education with high completion rates and acceptable levels of…

More than 800,000 American children spend some time in foster care each year, most because they have been victims of child abuse or neglect. The families of 3.5 million children are investigated or assessed for alleged maltreatment each year, and more than 900,000 children are determined to be victims--three-quarters of them neglected, and…

This paper gives a brief introduction to the project called Education Technology Capacity Building Plan for All Primary and Secondary Teachers now being implemented in China. Because information and communication technology skills training cannot match the demand of teachers' professional development, the Chinese Ministry of Education established…

Every European nation has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and therefore has an obligation to protect and promote, with equity and without discrimination, the rights of all children. Yet, across Europe, the majority of poor Roma children face a challenging present and a difficult future. Their possibilities to succeed in life…

The Government is committed to ensuring that the new National Curriculum compares favourably with the curricula in the highest performing jurisdictions, and sets rigorous requirements for pupil attainment which measure up to the highest standards set internationally. The Government is also committed to slimming the National Curriculum so that it…

The Kuder Career Planning System administrative database results for the past five years have shown a low interest in the manufacturing career cluster among Arkansas students. The low student interest and shortage of high-skilled labor in manufacturing prompted the Arkansas Department of Career Education to invest grant funds in a new…

The Hong Kong government has sought to encourage environmental education (EE) in schools. However, little is known about how government and private initiatives impact at the level of the kindergarten. This article, based on a small-scale study, investigates what is happening in Hong Kong kindergartens in EE. The findings show that there have been…