This commentary is a response to Larsen and Harrington's article titled "Developing a Learning Progression for Place" (2018). Within the author focuses on the development of learning progressions in geography and future research directions. [For "Developing a Learning Progression for Place" by Thomas B. Larsen and John A.…

The purpose of this short article is to offer a critical perspective on Larsen and Harrington's ambitious and stimulating review article. It does so by drawing a distinction between teaching and learning and discussing how progression metaphors for describing the latter can distort the moral purpose of the former. My response to the provocation…

Exciting developments for New Zealand education have provided opportunities recently for teachers and other educators to express their professional aspirations in assessment. The mantle of fostering teachers' professionalism through strong relationships across the education sector and relevant stakeholder groups, and the provision of timely…

Education bureaucrats in 45 states have approved the Common Core State Standards ([CCSS], 2010) as the de facto national curriculum. The implementation of the CCSS will be monitored by a national standardized test in language arts and mathematics. The confluence of a standardized curriculum enforced with a standardized test will entrench a…

This paper reflects on the development of teacher continuing professional development (CPD) in Scotland, a constituent part of the United Kingdom that now has significant devolved powers within the United Kingdom--from a time when INSET was ill-coordinated and unvalued to the present reliance on CPD, with substantial investment, as the agent of…

Throughout the 1990s, one state after another adopted prescriptive education standards enforced by frequent standardized testing, often of the high-stakes variety. A top-down, get-tough movement to impose "accountability" began to squeeze the life out of classrooms. Recently, politicians, corporate CEOs, and testing companies are trying to sell…

The justification for national standards is that test scores predict a nation's future economic success. There is no evidence that supports this assumption. There is evidence that it is wrong. For more than half a century, reformers have been trying to fix our schools with little success. The obvious conclusion is that something that can't be…

This blueprint focuses on the policies that connect professional development activities and that support and make possible an effective implementation of a state system of professional development. It highlights policy principles and essential policy areas that build or sustain an integrated system--a system that ensures quality in all settings in…

Asserts that elementary students should learn economics to prepare for their adult roles as consumers, producers, and voters. Discusses the "Voluntary National Content Standards in Economics" that consist of 20 standards and the respective benchmarks that describe the concepts students need to know by the end of grades 4, 8, and 12. (CMK)

Finland is challenged to make the most of globalization by reinforcing its positive aspects. The 1990s taught that success in creating innovations is a key factor for success of business and societies. A precondition, high-level technological and business know-how, requires systematic input into producing social innovations that prevent societal…

The early drafts of the National Science Education Standards (NSES) did not include any mention of staff development; it was not considered as part of the needed visions for changing school science. It was when the final draft was offered to the leadership in the National Academy of Sciences that a section on Staff Development was added in…

The National College for School Leadership was set up in November 2000. In its short life it has become seen, in Tony Bush's words as "a major influence, arguably the major influence, on school leadership, management and administration in England and beyond" (Bush 2004: 243). Expanding on Gronn (2003) who argues that bodies like the NCSL…

Provides a tentative framework for a new science curriculum. Draws on the work of John Dewey in stating that the principal task of public education, including science education, is the strengthening of democratic practice. Suggests a move away from curriculum wish lists and towards consensus documents such as the Benchmarks for Science Literacy…

National standards show that environmental education can fit into the curriculum and help meet requirements for student learning. Believes that environmental education must play an integral role throughout the educational system at the state and national levels and in each and every classroom. (CCM)

The Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD) Standards on Ethics and Integrity, which were first presented in 1999, constituted one of three new initiatives to take the AHRD to a new level of leadership in the HRD profession. Although the initial standards were intentionally brief and easy to read, their application in specific situations may…