The article examines current trends in the development of the national models of higher education in Russia and European countries. The paper reveals the key problems of their functioning in the context of the processes of globalization, standardization, and integration into the pan-European and global educational space. These processes are…

In 1973, British Columbia (B.C.) became the first province in Canada to forbid corporal punishment in public schools (B.C. School Act), followed by the majority of the other provinces. Alberta and Manitoba however, still have no provincially enacted legal prohibition, although many school boards have updated their policies to state that corporal…

This article reports a study on the China-Canada-United States English Immersion (CCUEI) Moral Education and Social Studies (MESS) curriculum materials for elementary classes (Grades 3-6) with the aim of learning how the curriculum addressed the dual goals of MESS content and English language learning. An analysis comparing the CCUEI third grade…

Achieve, through support from the Noyce Foundation, examined ten sets of international standards with the intent of informing the development of both the conceptual framework and Next Generation Science Standards. Achieve selected countries based on their strong performance on international assessments and/or their economic, political, or cultural…

In response to concerns over the need for a scientifically literate workforce, increasing the STEM pipeline, and aging science standards documents, the scientific and science education communities are embarking on the development of a new conceptual framework for science, led by the National Research Council (NRC), and aligned next generation…

Assessment has long been at the center of education policy debates, and for good reason. The goal of schooling is to maximize student learning, and assessments provide a picture of what students know and are able to do. Assessments also have a strong influence on what goes on in classrooms. The United States is now poised to make the most dramatic…

Whether to adopt national standards and tests has long been a subject of lively debate in the United States. With 47 states now participating in the Common Core State Standards Initiative, and a commitment from Education Secretary Arne Duncan to allocate hundreds of millions in stimulus funds to the development of common tests, the country is…

The Accelerated Reduction/Elimination of Toxins (ARET) Challenge was a voluntary program initiated in 1994 by the Government of Canada. Unlike the U.S. 33/50 Program, ARET involved industry partners in negotiation and cosponsorship of the program, with the intention that early involvement would yield stronger commitment to voluntary reductions. We…

Canada's school-to-work transition efforts have failed too many youth and adults because there has not been a framework for essential life and work skills for all to learn. These skills are needed to complement the academic and technical skills now required for completion of formal education and training. The Blueprint for Life and Work Design,…

Last fall, "Science and Children" invited kindergarten to grade eight teachers to participate in a study investigating students' ideas about plants and plant growth (Barman et al. 2002). Two hundred twenty-seven individuals from 16 states in the United States, one U.S. Territory, and one Canadian Province responded to this invitation and…

The British Columbia (BC) English as a Second Language (ESL) Articulation Committee's Canadian Language Benchmarks project was precipitated by ESL instructors' desire to address transfer difficulties of ESL students within the BC transfer system and to respond to the recognition that the Canadian Language Benchmarks, a descriptive scale of ESL…

Fear of censure and political pressures for standardization compel teachers to act in ways they know will not further their students' learning. Changing teachers requires more than offering them information about method, organization, and content. To change, teachers need to examine their own learning and discover what engages students in genuine…

To facilitate the discussion of national education standards, this workbook extracts examples of education standards from eight documents that describe what students should be taught, or what they should know or be able to do in various subjects. These examples illustrate and document some existing standards, and should help policy makers sharpen…

The General Accounting Office (GAO), at the request of the House Committee on Education and Labor, Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education, conducted studies on the extent and cost of testing in the United States, the experience of Canada in testing, and initial efforts to set standards for judging student performance on…

The key issues, alternatives, and implications for developing countries to consider when designing systems to define occupational standards, related training standards, and assessments were analyzed. The analysis focused on the following issues: the rationale for development of standards; clarification of definitions, terminology, and assumptions;…