Investigated whether physical education (PE) classes could contribute to verbal skill development among limited English speaking Asian students. Surveys and interviews conducted at inner city English schools indicated that many PE teachers already planned lessons with such learning in mind, and relevant policies were well-developed. Some teachers…

Describes how bilingual fourth and fifth graders at one London elementary school learned geography by writing poetry. This effort involved: engaging with the topic, consolidating knowledge and understanding, and extending knowledge and understanding. Children were highly motivated to learn. Poetry was the driving force behind their learning as…

As a result of a conference dealing with truancy, problems of non-attendance, and violent and disruptive behavior at school, a small scale survey was conducted of 18 urban schools in England to examine these problems and to report on practices and procedures which the schools had found helpful in coping with them. It emerged during the survey that…

Both the United States and England initiated ambitious standards-based education reform to eliminate large gaps between their highest and lowest achievers. England appears to be ahead, having started in 1988 with a national curriculum, tests, and performance tables. The United States' No Child Left Behind Act began rewriting state rules in 2002…

Argues that proposals recently put forth by the government for the improvement of educational achievement in England will not solve the problem, and suggests a focus on teachers and students and real partnerships with communities, with equal contributions by stakeholder groups, including racial and ethnic minorities. (SLD)

Examined teacher-child and child-child talk collected as part of a longitudinal, ethnographic study of life in a vertically-grouped multilingual class in an inner-city first school in the North of England. Reveals the complex, subtle processes involved in the interactive negotiation of meanings between teachers and learners and the joint…

In this era of education reform, school counselors are among educators being held accountable for the academic achievement of minority and poor children. School counselors in urban schools serve a disproportionate number of minority and poor children at risk for school failure. Urban school counselors can play critical roles in engaging their…

A major but neglected area of gender inequality in education involves social relationships among teachers and teacher-teacher interactions. This article discusses ways in which gender relations in school influence the lives of women teachers, focusing on staff common-room milieu, staffroom humor, "women's work," and perceptions of…

Six City Technology Colleges (CTCs) were all site selected, built, and opened in under 2 years without being compromised by expense or loss of quality. This document examines this "fast-track" method of building projects using case studies of each school that illustrate the CTC concept and process. The CTC initiative is described…

Surveyed urban educators in England to study educational practices related to teaching community languages and training teachers in those languages for bilingual education. Responses of 17 educators show few opportunities at the primary level for children to learn their home languages in school. (SLD)

Describes a study in an urban English district that investigated the impact of a series of three linked INSET programs to help mainstream secondary teachers meet the needs of developing bilingual students through whole-class teaching methods and school policies. Interviews with key participants indicated that the programs were reasonably…

School diversity in the UK is not a new phenomenon. However, recent reforms to "modernise" the secondary school system towards greater diversity of provision, primarily in England, needs to be explored in more detail. The article begins by proposing three phases in the development of state-funded school diversity and provision between…

The Cognitive Profiling System (CoPS 1) is a psychometric assessment/screening system presented in the form of computer games to children in their early school years in order to predict the probability of later learning difficulties of both a general and specific nature (Singleton, Horne, & Thomas, 1999). Although some evidence is available as…

This study explores how children in English primary schools perceive time and chronology in storybooks--whether the children are aware of the devices used in stories to manipulate time and chronological sequence, and whether their responses demonstrate their own ability to use these devices. Children aged between 3-9 years were involved in…

The study reported in this book was designed to address the experiences of educationally disadvantaged young people in English cities. The study, called "Changing Lives," involved a survey of over 3,000 inner-city 16-year-olds from 34 schools in 6 urban areas of England. The young people surveyed were eligible to leave school in spring…