Analysis of the British Office of Standards in Education reports suggests that management and documentation are valued and rewarded over creativity in teaching. As in other policymaking bodies, preconditions to support creativity in schools are lacking, resulting in a mismatch between rhetoric about developing creative talents and the reality…

The teaching units within the National Science Strategy can be summarised diagrammatically. Presentation in this format makes it easier for teachers and students to visualise progression routes through Key Stage 3. An example is given for the key idea of cells. (Contains 1 figure.)

This article contrasts two major attempts at educational reform with regard to literacy. Starting with a brief background to the introduction of the National Literacy Strategy, together with an analysis of research into effective literacy teaching, it presents qualitative research carried out in the form of a comparative study of the National…

Use of a competency-based framework for initial teacher training in Britain was studied in one institution. Students felt that both competency-based training and reflection on practice generated self-assessment and monitoring. However, time pressures in implementing competence frameworks sometimes limited opportunities for reflection. (SK)

Outlines the function of the Customer Service Lead Body, formed by the Employment Department (United Kingdom) to recognize the work of customer service professionals with national vocational qualification. Notes tensions between government programs and industry and examines issues raised. Concludes that a paradigm shift is needed by accrediting…

In this article, the author argues that maintaining the SATs regime and all it has done to damage students and teachers represents something unforgivable in the education policy of the government. He contends that a way must be found to rid the schools of SATs and all that they embody, and replace them with something more worthy of students and…

This project examines the impact of standards-based and curriculum reforms on the role of materials in educational systems in the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Australia. The project focused on identifying activities undertaken by publishing companies and in educational systems to develop, select and use materials in the…

Explains licensing regulations applicable in the United Kingdom to commercial providers of adventure education programs that offer caving, climbing, trekking, and water sports; provides information on license applications, including licensing standards related to risk assessment and safety management procedures; and addresses issues related to the…

Finds variable coverage of Earth Science topics in the United Kingdom among General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) double-award science syllabuses and examination papers. Concludes that the levels of error in the examination papers were high and that Earth Science questions showed lower levels of demand and higher levels of recall than…

Deans, officers, and staff of colleges in Northern Ireland (n=151) rated activities for effective college leadership and management based on national standards. The validity of the standards and their future usefulness were upheld by the results. (JOW)

Literacy has always been a contested site in primary phase teaching. Internationally, there is a trend towards increased direct government intervention in areas of pedagogy, as well as curriculum. Recently in the UK, national initiatives, designed to raise standards of literacy among the 11-14 age group, have required English teachers to adapt…

In this document we discuss 19 university league tables and ranking systems from around the world. Sixteen of these are "national" league tables collected from ten countries (Australia, Canada, China, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Poland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States); three are "international" or…

This paper explains the government of the United Kingdom's (UK) National Literacy Strategy (NLS), established in 1997 by the incoming UK government to raise standards of literacy in English elementary school over a 5- to 10-year period. The paper summarizes how international research influenced the Strategy; reports on the impact of the NLS on the…

The Teacher Training Agency's National Professional Qualification for Headship is a (nearly mandatory) initiative leading to a threshold qualification for headship. This article examines NPQH, contrasting it with recent school management provision history in England and Wales and with international practice. With modifications, NPQH may contribute…

Explores the political and historical origins of the new qualification for headteachers, the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH). Discusses several characteristics of the program: conceptual pluralism, separation of leadership from management, emphasis on process and practical application, separation of the training and…