Japanese, Germans, and Britons value the study of foreign languages, art, and music and favor long school years, state-supported preschool activities, and homework. Examining other nations' curricula is a valuable exercise that helps U.S. educators question the cultural values embedded in their own education system. (10 references) (MLH)

Outlines the range of reactions to the revised National Curriculum Orders for science that are diverse in nature and intense in feeling. Reports that a general reaction from those who teach in schools is one of relief because of the promised moratorium on further change for five years. (JRH)

This book examines the question of ideal educational aims in a democratic society. Using the 1988 National Curriculum mandated for English and Welsh schools as a concrete point of departure, the book calls attention to: the high degree of specificity of the large list of objectives and attainment targets; the massive structure built for the…

A widespread perception about falling standards prompted Margaret Thatcher's government to pass 1988 legislation mandating a national curriculum and accompanying testing system. The worst-case scenario feared by many British teachers is coming to pass: a test-driven curriculum without significant attention to teachers' assessments of student…

Compares music and science education to argue that students of science in the United Kingdom are given inadequate opportunity to both critically appraise competing theories and imaginatively construct their own. The parallels of the two show ways that music can inform changes to science in the National Curriculum. (CMK)

Highlights the issues of moderation of teacher judgments for accountability and moderation for achieving consistent assessments. Discusses the meaning of moderation, the need for moderating teacher judgments, approaches to moderation, methods of moderation, and most appropriate methods of moderation at Key Stage 3. Presents an approach to…

Documents what children in primary schools in England currently experience as part of the National Curriculum for physical education and examines how this relates to previous practice. Highlights the gap between rhetoric that claims that standards have been raised and the reality of life in many schools. (JOW)

Includes "On the Common Core of Learning" (Kennedy); "Constitutional Implications of National Curriculum Standards" (Arons); "Arguments against National Performance Standards" (Fulk, Mantzicopoulos, Hirth); and "The Painful Lessons of Introducing the National Curriculum in England" (Foster). (SK)

Discusses Great Britain's General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE), its oral evaluation component, and its approach to language and literature. (MM)

We have been studying children's responses on key stages 2 and 3 national mathematics tests. We have been particularly interested in children's methods and misconceptions that provide teachers with insight into children's thinking so that they can take action to challenge and extend it. We have found that the common errors occur across both key…

This book focuses on educational change processes in the context of larger scale educational reform. The first of 2 volumes, the book contains 11 chapters that examine the historical, social, and economic forces at work in the formulation and implementation of educational policy. The chapters present different cross-cultural experiences of…

Compares recent educational assessment policies of the United States and England. Asserts that the two nations are moving closer in their approach to educational assessment and student evaluation. Contends that U.S. social studies educators should follow closely the ramifications of national assessment in England. (CFR)

Explored are the potential and limitations of the National Curriculum (United Kingdom) and its associated assessment arrangements for promoting the continuity between elementary and secondary school science. Recommendations for improving the articulation between educational levels in science are provided. (CW)

Discusses notions of what actually constitutes reading, relating this to the National Curriculum in England and Wales, and to C. King's children's book from 1963, "Stig of the Dump." Considers the broader implications for the value that society places upon the reading process as part of young children's education. (SR)

Discusses what counts as understanding in primary school science (elementary school science) in the context of the United Kingdom's National Curriculum Order for Science. Considers the problems elementary school teachers face in pressing for understanding and suggests some ways to encourage teachers and enable them to support the construction of…