Discusses the use of computer-generated text analysis to provide diagnostic information regarding students' writing. Describes a study of 12 stories written by grade 6 students in the United Kingdom that used computer-generated text analysis to determine whether the writing met the criteria for National Curriculum levels of attainment for the…

Questions some new orthodoxies of British elementary education: fitness for purpose, planning based on subject order requirements, and differentiation (learning described by hierarchical levels). Teachers cannot implement National Curriculum goals without substantive professional development and deeper subject area knowledge. A fruitful change…

Describes British teachers' perceptions of the first year's implementation of elementary school history using a national curriculum (NC). Surveys about staffing, curriculum development, inservice training, department structure, and NC requirements indicated the experience of implementing the NC was difficult, and only half the respondents favored…

Describes how a learning activity unit was designed for British Year 3 students with no design and technology experience. Outlines timing, teaching strategies, objectives, materials, and assessment method for each lesson; discusses what worked and what did not work. (SK)

Discusses how to develop teacher subject knowledge for effective delivery of the program of study at the primary level. Indicates that providing teachers with the necessary skills and confidence is complex. Contains 27 references. (DDR)

Compares results from a 1998-99 survey of Mexican teachers' viewpoints with data from 1978-79. Discusses teacher demographics, attitudes concerning their training, class size, use of the official curriculum, adequate supplies, materials and activities supplementing the official curriculum, time devoted to various areas of reading, attitudes toward…

Presents a five year cross-sectional study that measured the self esteem, reading, and mathematical attainments of five cohorts of Year 2 British children over the period of introduction of the National Curriculum and assessment procedures into primary schools. Reports that self esteem showed a downward trend throughout the first four years of the…

Compared policies and practices of curriculum change in English and Finnish primary schools. Case studies documented the implementation of reforms at the classroom level and teachers' attitudes toward them. Though England promoted a national curriculum and Finland was moving away from one, teachers in both countries had common responses to change,…

As readers of this journal will know, 2010 will see all KS2 (ages 7-11) pupils in England entitled to learn a modern foreign language in normal curriculum time. This development of the commitment to primary language learning should provide an excellent opportunity and experience for pupils, while at the same time requiring some radical changes for…

Exploring the responses of a variety of readers from three-year-old Dominic sharing a picture book with his father to adults reading a poem by Ted Hughes, this book examines the ways in which various readers respond to different texts. The aim of the book is to develop an awareness of the issues involved in readers' responses for primary teachers.…

This framework for teaching sets out teaching objectives for Reception to Year 6 to enable pupils to become fully literate. It also gives guidance on the Literacy Hour in which this teaching will take place. The document is a reference point for day-to-day teaching, and help for headteachers and governors of schools in England as they plan and…

This study assessed Turkish elementary teachers' planning practices in terms of influences, problems, and effectiveness. Participants were 1,194 teachers from 210 schools. Teachers completed questionnaires that collected demographic data and explored their perceptions of instructional planning (types of plans, influences on these plans,…

These Literacy across the Curriculum materials are designed to support schools in England that have already done considerable work on literacy across the curriculum as well as those that are just starting. The training pack contains notes for 13 possible units of training. This booklet accompanies the training which introduces schools to the…

This article discusses reasons why academic achievements of gifted girls in British grade schools are surpassing those of gifted boys: greater self-confidence in the girls, changes in the style and content of British curriculum and assessment that favor female study patterns, and greater attention to equal gender opportunities in the classroom.…

This article considers issues concerning assessment of students with special needs at Key Stages 1 and 3 of the British National Curriculum. These include timing and administration of assessments, teacher training, special adaptations to the assessments, special arrangements, recording and reporting, and exceptions. (DB)