This is the first report from an ongoing study of four urban school districts (New York, New Orleans, Chicago, and the District of Columbia) that are experimenting with new school designs and new ways of holding schools accountable for performance. This report introduces the idea of a "portfolio school district," and shows how some leading school…

Background: Between 1910 and 1930, IQ tests were introduced to and institutionalized in American schools. IQ testing represents an important component of the first wave of test-driven educational reform in American history, but surprisingly, there is relatively little research focusing on public educators' perception of these tests at the time,…

Over the past thirty years we have witnessed a proliferation of educational methods/methodologies aimed at helping us to make sense of the world--to provide clarity about the meaning of social reality. However, although these methods/methodologies are useful frameworks, they do not capture fully the untidy realities of the real world. The…

There is a disproportional representation of African American students in special education in the United States. Minimal use of differentiated instruction is a common reason for overrepresentation of minority students in special education. I conducted an action research study with elementary school teachers involving differentiated instruction.…

This paper is aimed at readers who are committed to new ways of designing supportive learning environments that individually adapt to how students want to learn. Its premise is supported by the need for society to acknowledge the diversity of the population and to shift the paradigm from school reform restricted by concrete structures to learning…

The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics, core beliefs, and activities of successful middle grades programs. Schools in Florida are held to standards of accountability under the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the Florida System of School Improvement and Accountability, and the Florida Secondary Schools Redesign Act.…

Improving professional learning for educators is a crucial step in transforming schools and improving academic achievement. To meet federal requirements and public expectations for school and student performance, the nation needs to bolster teacher skills and knowledge to ensure that every teacher is able to teach increasingly diverse learners,…

Over the past several decades, researchers, politicians, and corporate leaders have focused reform efforts on the size of educational contexts. Hundreds of billions of public and private dollars have been invested to reduce the size and scope of both classrooms and schools (Lee & Ready, 2007). Unlike many education reforms, these downsizing…

Outcomes based education (OBE), which emphasises a radical reinterpretation of the enterprise of education, is a phenomenon enveloping the Australian compulsory education sector. This paper examines the theoretical tenets of OBE as articulated by its chief exponent, William Spady. It then explores the effects that OBE implementation is having on…

Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) have for long been celebrated as the solution to access in education. New innovations like the internet and mobile technologies provide a great opportunity for mass delivery of education information especially in Africa where governments and institutions are struggling to equip the people with much…

Reconsideration of the education process for both adults and the young is required by the knowledge explosion and other factors of the past few decades. The author discusses the need for a life-long education system, with particular attention to adult education of various kinds. (MF)

Focuses on the history, attributes of, and contributions to education of the former Risinghill (London, England) school in the 1950s and 1960s, and its former headmaster, Michael Duane. Discusses the school's innovative and controversial educational practices of that time period. (KDR)

The prevailing model of school knowledge is bounded, verifiable, controllable, and external to the knower, reinforced by textbooks, curriculum guides, and standardized tests. A better vision of schools is one in which multiple and diverse voices are heard, and knowing as a process is valued over knowledge as a product. (JOW)

The Western Australian schooling system is in the final phase of the move towards Outcomes Based Education with the Post Compulsory Geography Course of Study commencing in 2007. This move has been somewhat controversial amongst politicians, teachers and parent groups, partly because of the negative press Outcomes Based Education has received in…

Maintains that school violence of the 1980s is different from that of the 1960s. Reviews contemporary causes of violence such as misguided town planning, fast-paced life, lack of parental guidance, and rigid school organization. Details positive approaches to the problem and makes specific suggestions for school improvement. (JDH)