Several recent studies have examined the impacts of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) on school operations and student achievement. We complement that work by investigating the law's impacts on teachers' perceptions of their work environments and related job attitudes, including satisfaction and commitment to remain in teaching. Using four waves of the…

An Association of American Colleges report on the reform of general education offers advice to faculty and administrators for creating a campus environment in which students believe general education is more than a few required courses. (MSE)

The author argues for the examination of certain historical materials that have already considered educational reform as a basis for current reform movements. She examines an earlier journal, "The Social Frontier," and its views on curriculum to illustrate this point. She relates the publication's themes to contemporary topics in…

Higher education in the People's Republic of China is discussed based on a tour of 15 universities that included formal interviews and informal discussions with Chinese-government officials, university administrators, faculty members, other educators, students, and journalists. (MLW)

Explores the strategic planning process of the University of Paisley, Scotland, through three key issues: (1) university managers' understanding of the complexity of their own environment; (2) adoption of loosely connected strategies; and (3) an overriding concern for continued viability, using strategic perspective as a foundation for action. (SK)

When features of the "excellence" and "choice" movements in education are compared, these two orientations appear dissimilar. This article shows how the two can be united by broadening the definition of excellence so that all schools become schools of choice. Choice, then, becomes an ingredient in the pursuit of excellence. (VM)

Four articles discuss work completed by the two-year Project SPAN. The first two articles present broad ideas about the current and future status of social studies, the third outlines major recommendations, and the last presents a social roles rationale and framework designed to increase student learning and interest. (Author/KC)

This article reports highlights of a four-year study, by the Center for Policy Research, of the planning and implementation of six innovative public schools. Most people who planned new school programs vastly underestimated the complexity of the enterprise. Dilemmas are outlined and illustrated. (Author/KC)

Widespread demonstrations at China's major universities highlight the frustration many young people feel about university conditions and their future job prospects and dramatize long-standing divisions among China's leaders on contacts with the West. (MSE)

The intensification thesis of change in teachers' workload and responsibilities suggests teachers' work is increasingly intensified, with teachers expected to respond to greater pressures and multiplying innovations under stable or deteriorating conditions. The article presents data from a study of how elementary teachers used newly provided…

Reform proposals for Japan's large higher education system include diminishing the trauma of university entrance examinations, strengthening the quality and diversity of undergraduate education, improving graduate school offerings, establishing a lifelong education system, and expanding the scope of international exchange programs. Politics are…

Discusses the problems American students have learning math. Describes the new learning in mathematics that synthesizes new content and methods that restructure the curriculum in a way that resolves design and quality control problems. Presents examples of effective programs. (JS)

Discusses creativity in higher education and argues that it is analyzed as an intentional act related to ideas from cognitive psychology. States that the culture of engineering education holds a narrow view of creativity and is based on outdated learning theories. Deeper philosophical implications of creativity, i.e., the quest for meaning, must…

High school students and those who try to educate them have a tall order to fill. High schools must help create the workforce of the future by turning out graduates who have the 21st century skills that colleges and employers demand, while overcoming the achievement gap that exists for poor and minority students and fighting social pressures such…

Data from a descriptive study of the impact of professional development school (PDS) involvement on teacher preparation at three Massachusetts colleges is related to three themes: uniqueness of PDS-related techniques, approaches, and philosophy; mechanism and spread of these techniques, approaches, and philosophy; and signs of institutionalization…