Broadening the role of teachers in curriculum development was among the fundamental objectives of educational reforms in the formerly communist Eastern Europe in the 1990s. The research done so far, however, calls into question the degree to which teachers perceive the relevant changes in curriculum and their new role. This article first describes…

If the purpose of an educational system is to guide pupils towards achieving independence, then certain conditions about the design and conduct of that system must be met. In this paper, those conditions are formulated from a socio-cultural perspective on learning and development. This paper examines the extent to which those conditions were…

Describes a two-year case study that focused on teacher, principal, and community involvement in curriculum planning in a large midwestern school district. Examines the participants' expectations, satisfactions, and attitudes toward curriculum planning, and the relationship of these variables to the resulting process and product. Discusses the…

Discusses the shift of Australia's School Based Curriculum Development (SBCD) from state departments of education to the local school itself. Outlines the aspects of the curriculum development process and the importance of the principal in influencing both the organization of the school and satisfaction with curriculum planning. (BR)

Summarizes four "cases" or units taught by three different teachers and uses them to illustrate several conclusions about classroom talk and the role of science curriculum materials in shaping that talk. In particular, the focus is on class discussion and/or patterns of influence among curriculum materials, teacher talk, and student learning.…

Presents a case-study of the role of educational professionals in the passage of California's mandatory graduation competency legislation. Findings showed that the bill was noncontroversial despite its implications. Professional educators and scholars played a limited role in its formation. (AM)

Central to teaching is a grand dichotomy: public and private. Children need the protection of privacy to form their own identities: they try out new roles and need to be sheltered from some consequences of these attempts so that they feel confident to keep trying. Forming an identity, however, is also a public concern: the very roles that children…

Argues that individual teacher's conceptions of disciplinary knowledge are reflected in the curricula but that institutional factors also influence the curriculum presented to students. Discusses constructivist epistemology and employs qualitative research to interpret teachers' conceptions in a case study of three biology teachers. Suggests…