Policies often directly impact teachers' lives and practice, requiring them to engage in spite of extremely busy schedules. This article offers encouragement to music educators wanting to be active--and become activists--in education policy. Before becoming active, one must understand how music education policies come to be. I argue that arts…

"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama," as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about…

"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama", as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about…

Professional Development Schools (PDSs) can potentially affect the quality of teaching and learning of students in Grades K-16. The authors describe the collaborations among teacher education, arts and science, and K-12 classroom teacher faculties involved in a 5-year PDS partnership at Kansas State University. A 15-member language arts team…

This book is designed to assist teachers at the 9-12 grade levels in addressing the goals of the National Science Education Standards (NSES) in their own classrooms concerning the teaching and learning of chemistry. The Standards expect students to learn science in an active manner and emphasizes methods of inquiry and deductive reasoning based on…

This book makes a case for the value of National Board Certification (NBC), describing the components of the process. It emphasizes the importance of working in groups so that group members can provide multiple interpretations of student work or videos in ways that enrich a candidate's analysis as well as the group's learning. It also suggests…

Contends that strides have been made toward fair representation of music in public education. Asserts that the results of the Goals 2000 and the national effort of the Music Educators National Conference will bring a new era. Discusses the national standards and three challenges to the music education. (CFR)

Maintains that the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) achieved an important symbolic victory by being a primary developer of the National Standards for Arts Education. Presents and discusses five issues related to the Goals 2000 program in general and the standards related to music education in particular. (CFR)

Reviews the history of the national standards movement. Discusses the standards developed by the Task Force on Standards of the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS). Describes the content and format of the NCSS standards, how they could be used, and what resources are necessary for effective implementation. (CFR)

Compares and contrasts the need for educational standards in the United States and Russia. Argues that both systems burden their students with an excess of peripheral and inconsequential material in order to satisfy outdated pedagogical objectives. Praises American efforts at creating national standards but questions their applicability to Russia.…

Maintains that criticism of the National History Standards is inaccurate and politically motivated. Claims that conservatives value history instruction as an inculcation of patriotism rather than a search for truth. Praises the Standards as fair, insightful, and useful. (MJP)

Claims that the proposed National History Standards subvert the legitimate purpose of history instruction, the explanation and understanding of historical meaning, in an effort to redress historical grievances. Argues that the Standards apply a critical perspective to European culture while celebrating the achievements of native cultures. (MJP)

Criticizes the very notion of national standards for history. Maintains that the interpretative nature of historical study does not lend itself to the establishment of a single set of curricular standards. Argues that the most effective means of improving history instruction is to improve education for history teachers. (MJP)

This document is intended to help high school vocational-technical teachers design courses that result in high-quality learning for all their students. The book's seven chapters detail this process for designing courses that achieve the following results: model the concept of quality; produce independent learners; develop active participants in…