This paper analyzes teacher responses to a distinctive reform that sought to implement alignment between high schools and colleges. A survey of 225 teachers is used to examine teachers' perceptions of the reform's effectiveness, further resources needed, and how perceptions changed over time. The reform was perceived as effective for college-bound…

The goal of this study was to examine the professional development experiences of two contrastive participants while they were creating standards-based individualized education plan (IEP) goals using a virtual world called TeacherSim. Two specific focuses of the study were on how special educators engaged with the task of creating standards-based…

The integration of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and 21st century skills in the curriculum is not only beneficial to students and teachers, but also necessary to prepare our youth for their future careers. In an age of education where standardized tests determine the success of our schools, it is important to allow students the creativity and…

Drawing on the concept of transformative expectations--that is, the instructional practices that demonstrate teachers' belief systems for the educational justice and empowerment of Chicanx/Latinx youth--this qualitative study explored the expectancy effects of nine classroom teachers with social justice commitments in a school district in…

There are considerable differences in the structure, content, and delivery of tertiary journalism degrees in Australia as identified in a 2014 Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT) Innovation and Development Project report on graduate qualities and journalism curriculum renewal. To address this situation, the author argues for journalism capstone…

Evidence has been accumulating for some time about the impact of standards-based education reforms on schools and schooling, but there has been little research investigating the influence of these reforms on university-based initial teacher education (ITE). This article critically inquiries into the effects of these reforms on an ITE co-teaching…

Over the last decade a shift has occurred in Australia from an outcomes-based approach to curriculum design and delivery to organizing curriculum delivered as essential learning(s). Curriculum is identified in terms of essential learning that specifies standards for student achievement. Schools have been encouraged to develop rich curriculum…

Until the late 1990s, Qatar's educational system used the intrinsic-nationalistic and cultural traditions of Arabic schools. The Qatari leadership and stakeholder was outdated; hence, they approached the RAND Corporation to examine and analyze the existing educational system and recommend options for building a new educational system. The RAND…

This study describes how student unit assessment data helped support ongoing curriculum revisions in the Baltimore City School District. This project is situated in the STEM Achievement in Baltimore Elementary Schools (SABES) project, which is a National Science Foundation funded multi-year Math Science Partnership between the Johns Hopkins…

In a climate of high stakes testing in education in America physical education is an oft-overlooked content area. As physical educators, however, we know the value that we have in the educational lives of our students. Instruction in our content area is engaging and immediately applicable to the "real world." The skills and concepts that…

State and national standards, taken as is, can limit the potential of the curriculum and skilled teachers. The ideas presented here suggest ways in which we might better scrutinize standards for their potential richness and limitations in order to enrich our instruction.

Many teachers experience the tension between using published curriculum materials and teaching in ways that are responsive to children. Teachers are often expected to use a particular mathematics curriculum series, but they still want to be able to build on and connect to children's multiple mathematical knowledge bases (MMKB).…

Access to the general education curriculum is a critical component of special education today, yet many teachers struggle to implement practices that provide such access. The authors describe how teachers can draw on three levels of support--teacher-, student-, and peer-delivered strategies--to optimize access to the general education curriculum…

The revised New Zealand Curriculum (NZC) was introduced in 2007 and seen as an opportunity for schools and communities to work together to provide a curriculum that reflected local needs. The NZC identifies learning areas providing students with the foundation on which they can develop and later specialise. It would be expected that this broad…

As the number of English Language Learners (ELLs) continues to grow in our country, schools are looking for ways to better identify and to help those who need English as a Second Language (ESL) services (Mossaad, 2016). ELLs present a unique challenge to school districts as some perceive that the federal guidelines are vague, but require school…