The aim of this study was to establish the content of a teacher-oriented movement assessment tool (MAT) for children aged 4-7 years. A three-round Delphi poll with an international panel of forty-six academics and practitioners was conducted. Consensus was reached on a selection and number of fundamental movement skills to be assessed with four…

This study compares the literacy and numeracy proficiencies of higher education (HE) degree holders in 21 OECD countries based on primary analysis of the national data sets collected via the OECD's Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) 2012 study. The differences in the graduates' average literacy and numeracy…

Background: Educational qualifications and literacy skills are highly related. This is not surprising as it is one aim of educational systems to equip individuals with competencies necessary to take part in society. Because of this relationship educational qualifications are often used as a proxy for "human capital". However, from a…

Basic skills and educational level are closely related, and both might affect employment. Data from the Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey were used to examine whether basic skills in terms of literacy and numeracy predicted youth unemployment (16-24 years) while controlling for educational level. Stepwise logistic regression showed that in…

This article investigates the tendency of those who explore the topic of "electronic literacies" to downplay the fundamental nature and importance of the perceptual habits associated with print literacy, and highlights the opposite tendency of reading and writing specialists to decontextualize the acquisition of these fundamental skills…

Drop-out from upper secondary school is considered a widespread problem, closely connected with youth unemployment. The aim of the current study was to examine whether parents' level of education predicted drop-out for 16-24-year-olds when accounting for basic skills. For this purpose, data from the Norwegian (n = 996) and American (n = 641)…

A multiple-baseline, across-tasks design was used to extend research on the taped-problems (TP) intervention with an intact, rural, second-grade classroom. During TP sessions an audio recording paced the class through a series of 15 or 16 addition facts four times. Problems and answers were read and students were instructed to attempt to provide…

Technology skills are crucial for future employment needs. There will be people who identify these crucial skills as software and hardware maintenance and manipulation. Those skills just scratch the surface of future employment needs. Using technology to create a document, manipulate data, and share knowledge is now crucial for more than…

Public school music education in the USA remains wedded to large ensemble performance. Instruction tends to be teacher directed, relies on styles from the Western canon and exhibits little concern for musical interests of students. The idea that a fundamental purpose of education is the creation of a just society is difficult for many music…

Drawing from six years of qualitative research, this article analyzes the broad range of proposed and existing homeschool regulations throughout the United States. It argues that current homeschool regulations--and most proposals for how to improve them--misjudge the complexity of such an endeavor; state resources are misused and the basic…

Professional assessment organizations almost universally endorse the use of multiple measures for making education decisions. In practice, however, the concept of multiple measures is defined and applied in many different ways, depending on how we answer two questions--What counts as a "measure"? and How are the multiple measures…

Deciding on the units to be taught in physical education can often be challenging, and many different factors or influences can impact teachers' decisions. The philosophy of the program, the interest and motivation levels of the students, facilities and equipment needs, and the content knowledge or competence of the physical education teacher…

Special education teachers working in intermediate grades and in middle school grades face many challenges as they teach both developmental reading skills and subject matter material. Not only must they deal with the increased vocabulary and domain demands of teaching informational text, they must also handle the needs of students who have not yet…

Based on 30 years' experience, the author advocates a balanced approach that accommodates extremes in four important areas: curriculum, teaching, structure, and classroom management. Using a whole-language approach to reading should not mean that phonics, spelling, or punctuation skills can't be taught. Authoritarian and open classroom structures…

This article discusses similarities in educational trends in the United States and the United Kingdom, and criticizes the back-to-basics movements in each country. The need for further research in education and its application to the fullest development of children is suggested. (BH)