Five vocational educators express their opinions of national skill standards. Respondents support the idea of standards with some reservations and agree that vocational teachers would need inservice training and adequate class time to teach the new standards. (JOW)

Interest in, and debate about, teachers' attitudes, perceptions, and dispositions is not new (Cruickshank & Haefele, 2001). What is new is the inclusion of dispositions in the standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE, 2003), the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS, 1998), and the…

The recent structural reforms in New Zealand education have given schools and teachers unprecedented freedom in curricular design and delivery. Using official educational award statistics for 2004 and data arising from a study of 23 schools' upper secondary science curricula in the same year, this study represents an early monitoring of the impact…

Reports on a survey of the perceptions of teachers and scientists concerning the importance of science goals for elementary education. Finds that teachers perceive the goals developed by the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) as more important than do scientists. Contains 20 references. (Author/WRM)

Responses from 71 parents, 147 education professionals, and 199 vocational administrators found general support for teaching the National Standards for Family and Consumer Sciences. More people thought content areas should be taught than believed they were being taught. (Includes commentary by Rosa S. Purcell.) (SK)

Discusses the significance of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act for theater and other arts educators. Presents comments of several theater education teachers, leaders, and arts advocates regarding the enactment of Goals 2000. (RS)

Examines teacher perceptions about factors affecting the successful teaching of the National Standards for Music Education. Reports results of a survey of music specialists and fourth-grade classroom teachers throughout Florida. Indicates that specialists are more amenable to the implementation of all nine standards than are general educators.…

This article reports on "Beyond the OPI: Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) Design Project," a three-year (1997-2000) research initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education International Research and Studies Program. The primary goal of the project was to develop an integrated skills assessment prototype that would measure…

This study focused on two middle schools in the central US who participated in collaborative, sustained, whole-school professional development in implementing inquiry as part of National Science Education Standards, or standards-based instructional practices. Participants were involved in their second year of the professional development…

This research investigated the extent to which science laboratory experiences encountered by Utah high school students aligned with reform efforts outlined in national standards documents. Through both quantitative and qualitative methods the findings revealed that while there were instances of alignment found between science laboratory…

Reports on an instrument that has been shown to be useful in helping novice teachers reflect on and change their science teaching praxis. The instrument provides a readily accessible model of instruction that aligns with student-centered models of instruction advocated by national science standards documents. Contains 35 references. (Author/WRM)

Teacher education programs continue to face the challenge of meeting uniform and very specific national and state standards that are established by external accreditation bodies, not by teacher preparation programs themselves. Many teacher educators, however, seek to establish goals that are driven by locally-shaped values, beliefs, and…

Summarizes trends in New Zealand's Sixth Form Certificate assessment, explains teacher views about it and a sixth-form major subject area (science, represented by National Standards Syllabus biology, chemistry, and physics), and discusses findings in the context of the National Qualifications Framework. Official scrutiny over this exam has…

Presents the case for a consensus-driven approach to setting subject matter standards for history education. The author argues that the National History Standard Project, designed to broaden the scope of U.S. and world history education, has carried out the original intent of its funders, rejected one-sidedness, and achieved a compromise that…

This article introduces the suggested program standards for the next era of NAEYC accreditation and solicits comments on the proposed standards from early childhood professionals. Each standard is a global, evidence- and value-based statement that identifies performance expectations for an area of functioning in excellent early childhood programs.