Discusses idea that education "for" the environment should begin as early as do other components of the British National Curriculum, continue throughout, and not be regarded as the poor relation of education "about" the environment. Maintaining the health of the environment is considered by the author to be the most important task that will face…

Examines Scotland's increasingly standardized national curriculum and testing reforms. Discusses centrally determined innovations, relationships between curriculum and assessment, reforms' effects on classroom, and teachers' role. Compares elements of encroaching "market model" reforms in England, Wales, and United States, suggesting…

Children with autism have special characteristics (such as communication problems, lack of common sense, and resistance to change) that present a challenge in gaining access to Great Britain's National Curriculum. Possible problem-solving approaches include creating a thinking environment, teaching cognitive strategies, and developing…

Reviews the Standard Assessment Tasks used to evaluate pupil performance relative to the National Curriculum in England and Wales. Asserts that the system of assigning students to one of 10 levels of attainment is criterion-referenced, whereas the test is norm-referenced. (CFR)

Shows how a memory aid can help teachers focus their short-term planning in terms of curricular and formative assessment. Delineates the essential elements of high-quality, short-term planning in science education. (DDR)

A survey of all secondary schools in a southern English county found that 4.6% offered outdoor education courses, 15% had discontinued such courses in the last 5 years, 46% included outdoor/adventure activities in physical-education curricula, and 88% ran short residential trips temporarily replacing the school curriculum. Discusses obstacles and…

Under traditional Confucianism, China's school system became authoritarian, rigid, and undemocratic. In recent decades, China had one national curriculum and one unified set of textbooks. Now, text publication is more varied, curriculum planning and writing is becoming more democratic, and Western ideas are incorporated to spur economic…

Background for understanding the experience of Muslim immigrant students in French schools. Discusses the philosophy of equal education as equal access to the same knowledge (defined exclusively by the state and teachers); lack of teacher accountability; examination-based selection; and church-state separation. Describes government responses to…

Explores the role and significance of co-operation, or clustering, between small primary schools in rural areas across England and Wales. Describes small-school cluster groups in detail and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of clustering based on the opinions of sample headteachers. Considers the future of cluster co-operation. (Contains…

Examined attitudes of 186 early childhood educators regarding the "Desirable Outcomes for Children's Learning on Entering Compulsory Education" survey in the United Kingdom. Found that, although there is some consensus among preschool workers in different settings concerning early-years curriculum priorities, those within an education…

Describes how bilingualism has progressed in schools in Sheffield (England) with the employment of bilingual teachers and the research and guidance of central services, such as the Sheffield United Multicultural Education Service. Curriculum development initiatives are outlined, and the impact of these initiatives on mainstreaming bilingual…

Compares the degree to which two qualifications that are pitched at the same level--General Certificate of Education Advanced Level and the Advanced Science General National Vocational Qualification--meet the needs of employers and tutors in higher education. (DDR)

Argues that quality issues in Norwegian day care are related to the shortage of qualified public day care directors and the expansion of questionable private centers. Notes that the current view on improving quality is to stimulate innovation in day care activities by rewarding local initiative and to institute quality control measures. (DSK)

Provides an overview of an educational partnership that aims to develop successful strategies for teaching and using science investigations, to explore the effects of the British National Curriculum on current practice, and to make recommendations for its future development. (DDR)

For newly independent Central Asian republics a debate has arisen about how much of the aims, content and pedagogy of old Soviet-era curricula to retain, how much to revise or replace, and with what. There is a need to replace and revise textbooks, which are wearing out and outdated. Financial crisis has made the financial support of external…