In England and Wales, a National Curriculum initiated in 1988 was designed to ensure that all schools provided a curriculum which represented different areas of knowledge. The past 20 years has increasingly seen more emphasis on the link between the financial amounts spent on education and subsequent return on this money. The impact of the…

This paper explains the government of the United Kingdom's (UK) National Literacy Strategy (NLS), established in 1997 by the incoming UK government to raise standards of literacy in English elementary school over a 5- to 10-year period. The paper summarizes how international research influenced the Strategy; reports on the impact of the NLS on the…

This paper analyzes the ways in which national cultural traditions influence the processes of curriculum and pedagogic renewal in three contrasting European countries: England, France, and Germany. The paper is concerned with the ways national school traditions permeate through to systemic features, to the curriculum, and to teachers' pedagogies…

This study assessed Turkish elementary teachers' planning practices in terms of influences, problems, and effectiveness. Participants were 1,194 teachers from 210 schools. Teachers completed questionnaires that collected demographic data and explored their perceptions of instructional planning (types of plans, influences on these plans,…

This paper on entrepreneurial education compares positions in three national debates. It identifies different ways that formal and informal texts define entrepreneurial education and gives rationales for it--in comprehensive schools or K-12 education--in different contexts. The study was guided by three questions: (1) What is understood by…

Since 1990, the implementation of the Science at Key Stages 1 and 2 of the National Curriculum in England has exerted a profound impact on the style of inservice training supporting the teaching of science in the primary curriculum. This paper explores the potential of distance learning to deliver inservice training in primary science using…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined changing governance structures in the educational systems of several European countries. The reforms have developed new modalities for the content, standards, administration, and control of education. Special attention is given to the relation between the reforms in authority structures and the…

This paper outlines the driving forces behind the restructuring movement in the United Kingdom and examines how quality-management approaches are being adopted by some schools as a response to this change. Key elements in the 1988 National Education Reform Act include a national curriculum, a national system of testing and assessment, formula…

A national curriculum in physical education for the elementary and secondary schools will not solve the problems prevalent in current physical education curricula. In terms of feasibility, it is not clear that a consensus could be reached among physical educators or that a national curriculum could change local programs, or that it could be…

High stakes summative assessment has been a significant element of educational policy in England and Wales for more than a decade. However, research evidence indicates that formative assessment is more likely to raise student achievement. Although some students are able to use summative assessment formatively, devising their own self-regulated…

This paper discusses the broad educational context of the 21st century, focusing on the prevailing language landscape. It examines language use around the world, particularly the place of English as the preeminent international language, which challenges foreign language education in English-speaking countries. The paper discusses possible…

The author endorses the approach to teaching phonics set out in recent documents (e.g. Progression in Phonics) that extend and supersede the approach set out earlier in the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) Framework for Teaching. Proposed are minor, evidence-driven amendments to this approach. The assumption that failure to achieve continuing…

It is now seen as an economic and political necessity for countries to produce higher levels of performance across the spectrum of ability of all their students. This paper describes one example of the influence of political conditions on the process of developing assessment instruments and on measuring standards. In England, the trend is toward…

A study provides a deeper understanding of teaching elementary mathematics in France. France performed creditably in mathematics on both the Second International Mathematics Study (SIMS) and the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS). In analyzing the French approach to teaching elementary mathematics, three theoretical frames are…

This paper addresses recent educational policy developments in England and Wales, focusing on the National Literacy Strategy, National Numeracy Strategy, and the proposed Early Learning Goals. The paper delineates research findings regarding the early mathematics and English learning achieved before entry into formal schooling, effective teaching…