Despite calls for a coherent national approach to curriculum, Australian States and Territories generally have been reluctant to shed any control over matters of education. The curriculum dynamic has been further complicated by a culture of schooling that emerged from the 1960s in which school curriculum has increasingly been regarded as an area…

This document presents a description of the Face of America Classroom Program, a character education program based on a mission to bridge and build communities through sports. Three language arts lesson plans are provided on three themes: achievement, stereotypes (especially of people with disabilities), and strategies for healthy minds and…

Provides a response to the April 2001 "Social Education" article, "A Critique of the NCSS Curriculum Standards," (Anna Ochoa-Becker). Focuses on the critiques offered by Ochoa-Becker that address the lack of time given to certain issues. (CMK)

Describes three broad areas of challenge for the development of national curriculum content standards: (1) tension between leadership and consensus; (2) tension between flexible and specific standards; and (3) tension between up-to-date dynamic standards and reasonable expectations for systemic change. Examining tradeoffs necessary will result in…

Two questions must accompany educational reform: Who will make decisions regarding curriculum? and What kind of curriculum is most desired for students? This paper suggests that teachers and students, guided by other interested parties, should make curriculum decisions, and a highly personalized curriculum is most desirable. These changes require…

The call for curriculum integration "with" and "through" the arts is evident within many elementary school environments. Arts specialists are frequently asked to link their classroom curriculum to other content area instructional goals and standards. Furthermore, fully one third of national, state and local content standards in the arts (music,…

This article features the Korean National Curriculum of Physical Education. The national physical education curriculum--which is applied to elementary, middle, and high school--has significantly influenced educational practice in Korea. Since the first Korean National Curriculum of Physical Education (KNCPE) was established in 1955, the KNCPE has…

This qualitative case study examines the use of teacher leaders to support fellow teachers in the implementation of a standards-based mathematics curriculum. Empirical and theoretical research advocate that teacher leaders need to internalize and embody seven interdependent leadership roles in order to create real and sustained change. Data were…

This guide provides assistance to state and local vocational-technical educators in the development of curriculum that is based on national and state skill standards that use workplace-derived measures of competent performance to prepare students for the work world. The guide begins with guidelines for determining the usefulness of existing…

Discusses the difference national standards could make in the education of American children and of the public at large, noting that any educational improvements will be determined by the quality of the ensuing debate. The paper examines the debate over national standards in history education and makes suggestions for future debate. (SM)

Discusses some crucial issues raised by the proposed national teacher-education curriculum in Great Britain. Considers what knowledge and understanding of science and science education teachers of primary and secondary science need upon entry to, and exit from, a teacher education program. (DDR)

Summarizes the five reasons why the National History Standards will have a minimal effect on history instruction in U.S. schools: (1) the controversy behind the standards; (2) the unrealistic and impractical nature of the standards; (3) competition with local policies; (4) the formulation of widely adopted textbooks; and (5) the nature of history.…

The recent structural reforms in New Zealand education have enabled the liberalisation of upper secondary school curricula to the point where schools can devise programmes that lead to nationally recognised vocational qualifications. Strategies include close relationships with further education providers whereby instructional materials or direct…

This is the second and final part of a review of educational research on children's ideas about gravity. The first part concerned students' understanding of how and why things fall. This article picks up the trail of research studies that address students' understanding of the more complex ideas of projectile motion and orbits and examines how the…

This document describes the final grant report for the Anchorage School District (Alaska) project titled Extending Curricular Effectiveness through Links among Standards (EXCELS). This grant was a demonstration project designed to provide extensive professional development related to national standards. A process was developed for bringing…