Reports on a study of the mathematical knowledge, strategies, and representations of 16 socially and ethnically diverse preschool children. Finds that the children bring a wide range of competencies that generally are more advanced than the curriculum content presented at that level. (CFR)

Reports on the responses of headteachers and teachers in 570 primary schools in England and Wales to the introduction of the national curriculum in art. Finds that a significant majority of the respondents welcomed the national curriculum. (CFR)

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)

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…

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…

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)

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 There is a need to replace and revise textbooks, which are wearing out and outdated.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…

Purpose: The primary aim of the work reported here is to determine whether a low cost teaching approach which had been successfully used in one region of Tanzania (Tanga) could be introduced to other teachers in a different region by teachers, rather than outside experts. A second aim is to determine whether changes occurred in children's…

This paper reports on an investigation into the quality of the learning experiences for 4-5-year-old children in Northern Ireland schools in the context of the debate about play-based and formal approaches to learning and teaching. Detailed observations were carried out in 70 Year 1 classes: 38 in traditional Year 1 classes where the Northern…

Perceptions vary between researchers and the British government as to the adequacy of initial teacher education in England and Wales. Based on the data from the Modes of Teacher Education (MOTE) project the researchers find a higher level of satisfaction from teachers than that claimed by the government. The MOTE project studied the origins,…

Data from a larger study reveals how policy-directed change is perceived and experienced by teachers and pupils in early years of primary school in England between 1990 and 1993. Data from PACE: Primary Assessment, Curriculum and Experience, a study of educational change under reform of the National Curriculum, included interviews with 94 teachers…

This report, the second of two follow-up studies, compares time usage of 105 infant teachers in England and Wales with the workloads of teachers surveyed in 1990 (the pilot study) and 1991. The report presents findings about the nature of the sample, working conditions, and teacher perceptions; time spent on work overall and time spent on…

The experience of an elementary school implementing the Touchstones Program--an approach to assessment within the proposed National Curriculum (NC) in England--is described, after which teacher reaction to the NC and fundamental beliefs about the nature of education are considered. The Touchstones assessment consist of 10 cross-curricular group…

This study examined the classroom experiences of teachers and pupils in 12 primary schools in Scotland. In each school, researchers spent a week with one class, observing the teachers and six target pupils selected to represent the ability range within the class. Through interviews with teachers and pupils, the researchers aimed to identify the…

Focuses on English as an additional language assessment practices in England and summarizes a recent survey of the assessment frameworks being used in different parts of the country. Findings are discussed with reference to the need to develop appropriate assessment practices within the national curriculum. (11 references) (Adjunct ERIC…