Norway's educational policy is determined by the Ministry of Church and Education, although advisory councils extend to all levels including the regional. Recent legislation passed by the Storting, the country's national assembly, characterizes educational trends. The Preschool Act calls for the expansion of facilities to provide for day care and…

The educational system of New Zealand is based upon principles set down in the Education Act of 1964 and the Universities Act of 1961. Public education is free, coeducational, secular, and compulsory between the ages of six and 15 years. A number of private and religious organizations also offer primary and secondary education in compliance with…

A study addressed educational and psychological issues raised by the phenomenal growth of Irish-medium pre-schools ("naionrai"). Data were gathered in surveys of almost 2,000 parents, over 170 teachers and advisors, and 225 children in 25 Irish-medium pre-schools in both "Gaeltacht" (Irish-speaking districts) and…

Based on observations of more than 50 Japanese preschool and elementary classrooms over a 14-year period, this book offers a fresh perspective on how children become eager, motivated learners and caring responsible citizens. In a sharp departure from most previous accounts, this book suggests that Japanese education succeeds because all…

This collection of essays examines efforts by groups and lobbyists to move education from the public to the private sector. There are 14 papers in 7 sections: The first section, "Introduction," includes: (1) "Studying Privatization in Education" (Henry M. Levin) and (2) "Educational Vouchers and the Media" (Lee D.…

An inquiry into Indigenous education by an Australian Senate committee examined government reports produced in 1989-99 and conducted school site visits and public hearings. During the inquiry, it became clear that educational equity for Indigenous people had not been achieved, and Indigenous participation and achievement rates lagged behind those…

Profiling the lives of children around the world at the end of the 20th century, this report calls on the international community to undertake the urgent actions necessary to realize the rights of every child. Part 1 of the report summarizes the progress made over the last decade in meeting the goals established at the 1990 World Summit for…

This book provides an indepth description and analysis of financial management and budgetary procedures for education in Kazakhstan, one of the centrally planned economies of the former Soviet Union. The case of Kazakhstan is characterized by its radical and bold policies to improve educational financing and budgeting during the 1990s. Chapter 1,…

This monograph reports on Phase 2 of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement Preprimary Project, focusing on the quality of life experienced by four-year-olds in major early childhood settings. This monograph highlights results from a questionnaire completed by over 1,600 teachers and over 4,800 parents in 15…

This study interviewed six preservice teachers in early childhood education at an Australian university concerning their knowledge about and attitudes toward young gifted learning disabled children. Information was sought concerning the subjects' understanding of the term "gifted learning disabled" as well as their ability to identify…

The present bulletin on education in France is another in the Office of Education's long established series on education in other countries. France is of particular interest because of its strong educational traditions and its dedication to democratic principles. In the process of gathering information for this study, the author visited schools in…

In Sub-Saharan Africa, severe adverse conditions have placed children at high risk: persistent and worsening poverty, rapid economic change and population growth, increasing urbanization, a changing family structure, growing numbers of orphaned refugees, and displaced women and children from internal civil strife. These conditions make a viable…

Britain's National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) are work qualifications that measure what an employee or potential employee can do as well as how much he or she knows and understands about a particular job. Used as written proof of usable workplace skills that can be put to profitable use by an employer, NVQs range from basic Level 1, for…

This study investigated the impact of parents with different language backgrounds on the language acquisition and language competency of their children in the mother tongue, Chinese, and a second language, English, in Singapore. Parents were surveyed on language usage and language materials provided to their children. Exams on vocabulary,…

"Scripts" are ways of describing the knowledge a person must have in order to understand the appropriate response in a given situation. In this document, literature on the ways in which children acquire scripts for social behavior through interaction with others is reviewed, and some departures from script theory are discussed. It is…