The establishment of the General Teaching Council for England (GTC) in 2000 created a professional and regulatory body for teaching in England. Acting in the public interest, GTC is responsible for contributing to improving the standards of teaching and the quality of learning, and for maintaining and improving standards of professional conduct…

The UK educational assessment landscape is changing, characterised by attempts to create more flexible pathways through learning. This has led to attempts to formalise the comparative relationships between different general and vocational qualifications. The National Qualifications Framework (NQF), the Framework for Achievement and the Framework…

Purpose: This paper aims to explain the distinction between educational standards and learning outcomes and to indicate the problems that potentially arise when a learning outcomes approach is applied to a qualification meta-framework like the European Qualification Framework, or indeed to national qualification frameworks.…

This study examined urban elementary teachers' knowledge and practices in teaching science while supporting English language development of English language learning (ELL) students. As part of a larger 5-year research project in the United States, the study involved 38 third-grade teachers who participated in the first-year implementation of a…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate meanings attached to physical education in the Scandinavian countries through (1) the different national syllabi; and (2) interpretations and conclusions researchers make in their studies of Scandinavian physical education and how these findings look like compared with other researchers'…

This paper will argue that by considering in detail the Scottish "Standard for Initial Teacher Education" ["SITE"] (Quality Assurance Agency [QAA], 2000), the foundation document of the teaching profession in Scotland, a model exists that synthesises the positions of those involved in education who support a…

The purposes of this study were to determine the impact of a professional development program on the confidence levels and classroom practices of the participants and their attitudes toward the environment. The program had immersed teachers in a watershed study that took them from the headwaters of a 310-mile river to its confluence with the Ohio…

A comprehensive review of research was conducted on teaching science to students with significant cognitive disabilities. Guidelines from the National Science Education Standards were used to identify categories of studies based on the strands of science. A total of 11 studies were identified from the 20 years of literature searched. In general,…

Recently, classroom talk has re-emerged within educational policy as instrumental in delivering standards-based reform in several counties. In England, both the National Numeracy and Literacy Strategies and the National Strategy for Key Stage 3 emphasised the importance of "interactive whole class teaching" (IWT) where "pupils are…

Graduate education in the United States has been identified as being the backbone of American competitiveness and innovation in a recent report by the Council of Graduate Schools. The report provides a framework for examining the role of graduate education in partnership with business and government to advance an action agenda for achieving…

Reform efforts in science education emphasize the importance of rigorous treatment of science standards and use of innovative pedagogical approaches to make science more meaningful and successful. In this paper, we present a learning-goals-driven design model for developing curriculum materials, which combines national standards and a…

The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 require that students with disabilities be included in statewide assessments and general education accountability systems, thereby placing increased demands on special education teachers. At issue is how new teachers are prepared to respond to…

America's economic productivity and competitiveness are grounded in education. The public schools and the higher education institutions alike are falling behind those of other nations. This paper recommends four policy proposals that offer substantial promise for improving American education, are achievable and have low costs. These…

As Congress considers reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 a fundamental question in the debate is whether to continue to increase federal government management authority over education or to restore citizen ownership of America's schools. Testing requirements in NCLB are having unintended consequences: by requiring…

No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is the single most influential piece of federal education legislation in American history, and Hess and Petrilli provide a concise yet comprehensive look at this important and controversial act. Signed into law in 2002, NCLB seeks to ensure that all American students are proficient in math, reading, and science by 2014.…