This paper summarizes the results of a research project completed by three doctoral students enrolled in an advanced curriculum development course at the University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg). The students used a mock trial format to consider reasons to support establishment of a national curriculum (concerning the American public's…

Working out assessment philosophy and practices takes time, as the team members working on the "Competent Children" research project in New Zealand have found out during the first 18 months of the project. It is imperative that those with expertise in early childhood care and education insist on developmentally appropriate assessment…

This paper discusses the role of assessment in educational accountability in England. A national curriculum was introduced in England and Wales in 1988, and national assessment against the national curriculum was introduced progressively from 1990. Students are assessed at the end of the key stages (at ages 7, 11, and 14) using a combination of…

This paper reports on a research study that describes the actions of students and teachers when addressing socio-scientific issues and provides some practical advice for handling learning activities. The study involved four classes of 14-year-old students who participated in small group discussions designed to elicit their opinions about the…

This study investigated English teachers' beliefs about how recent legislated changes had affected aspects of their working lives and the extent to which centrally determined objectives were already incorporated into schools' programs of development. Data were collected in the 1991-92 and 1995-96 school years. In the first phase, interviews with…

The background of practice and ideology that led to the national curriculum and national assessment in England and Wales is traced, along with the development of national assessment policy. The breakdown, which has resulted in teachers who refuse to conduct the prescribed testing, is described. (SLD)

In 1989, England implemented the National Curriculum for state schools, which made prescriptive demands on teaching content and approach. This study discusses the requirements of and the controversies surrounding the National Curriculum, and the titles of books being promoted for student reading which reflect long-established children's fiction…

This essay outlines the major changes in Swedish educational policy that occurred during the 20-year period from 1976 to 1996, with a focus on key issues in the development of the comprehensive school. Effects of the policy changes on Swedish curriculum research over the last 20 years are examined. Educational researchers neglected or were slow to…

Many countries have introduced a range of policies that attempt to reformulate the relationships among government, schools, and parents through the application of market forces. This paper looks at the hidden curriculum of marketization and explores the extent to which the recent trend toward quasi-markets in public education systems are…

This paper outlines the diversity of support for educational research and the relatively little influence that educational research has had on recent United Kingdom policy for the secondary school curriculum. The document goes on to describe the major change facing U.K. secondary schools: the introduction of the national curriculum and a related…

A study was conducted in England in 1990 to determine the impact of the l988 Education Act, which requires all primary school teachers of the 5-16 age group to pursue a common and detailed national curriculum in each subject. This legislation mirrors the trend within educational systems towards centrally determined goals with local responsibility…

Assessment in the National Curriculum in England and Wales is an example of a different model. The report of the government-appointed working group on assessment, Task Group on Assessment and Testing (1988), states that assessment: (1) is an integral part of both teaching and learning; (2) should not determine what is to be taught and learned; and…

Noting that current views of mathematical learning and teaching focus on the child as a responsible student who attends to instruction and who constructs what is taught in a personal and meaningful way, this paper examines scaffolding and mediation strategies and describes the learning and teaching of elementary school level mathematics in…

Analysis of the first government inspections of Jewish schools in England by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) shows mismatches between the schools' declared aims for Jewish Studies, and their practices, as well as problems in the teaching of Hebrew. (SLD)

One way to assure that assessment can have a positive impact on learning is to begin by understanding the nature of formative assessment. Understanding the distinction between formative and summative assessment will make it possible to use each for improvement of education. It becomes increasingly important that schools promote learning that is…