Examines the context and organization of Norway's teacher education, discussing teacher roles and responsibilities, preservice and inservice teacher education programs, and society's expectations that teachers will act as masters, mentors, and mothers. The paper describes recent curriculum developments and the organization of Norway's educational…

Discusses the impact of the education 'Revolution' on the work and role of the headteacher specifically investigating the introduction of the Local Management of Schools (LMS) and the Local Education Authority. Considers the future of education, such as increased student empowerment and financial resources, that also will affect the headmaster's…

The Youth Sport Trust developed a package of activities to support the teaching of outdoor and adventurous activities, integrated into the British national curriculum through physical education programs for preschool through secondary school age. Activity categories are physical challenges, trails, and orienteering. Teaching resources and their…

Compares preschool/kindergarten education in Malaysia and the United Kingdom, including curriculum and teacher training. Describes the Malaysian national preschool curriculum guidelines as using play as a vehicle for learning while incorporating a more formal reading and writing readiness program. Describes experiences in a teaching course for…

This paper deals with a required methods course, based on the national curriculum of science and technology for junior high schools. The course participants are pre-service teachers who study towards a B.Sc. degree in education in science and technology parallel to their studies in one of the faculties of sciences or engineering. Working in small…

The purpose of this article is to look at the experience of Bhutan in using examinations as a tool for assessing and systematically monitoring the health of the education system. The strategy in both school-based and nationwide examinations is three-fold: (1) monitoring of standards for the formally prescribed national curriculum across the…

Slovenia is currently undergoing a process of school reform in order to extend compulsory education from eight to nine years and to lower the school entering age from 7 to 6. According to the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, the new elementary schools will focus less on the content and more on developing cognitive and social skills. At…

The UK Education Act 2002 furthers a sense of institutional fragmentation and scope for local enterprise. An emerging "decentralised" agenda enables schools that demonstrably meet accountability criteria to opt out of National Curriculum requirements in order to pursue individual interests, supportive technologies and new partnership…

Directing a publicly funded project can present a number of challenges to researchers in reconciling their own philosophy with the expectations of their funders. This paper explores those dilemmas in the context of a four year project funded by the British Government to explore strategies to raise boys' achievement. It reflects on the underlying…

A study examined national examinations in Britain and their effects on what and how students learn. A national questionnaire was completed by 695 teachers across grade levels and 702 of their students at the secondary level in both the United States and Great Britain. Observations were conducted in eight English/language arts classrooms in the two…

This paper discusses the findings of a United Kingdom study that examined the impact of the 1988 Education Reform Act (ERA) on a group of parents whose children would be most affected by the changes. Between the fall of 1989 and the summer of 1992, five rounds of interviews were conducted with the same sample of 138 parents from 11 different…

This book stresses that the social studies curriculum in U.S. elementary and secondary schools is the basic core for conveying to new generations the concepts, values, and abilities that will allow the society to survive and prosper. In the 1950s, the concern was over the adequacy of courses being taught and the lack of a cohesive structure that…

"Te Whaariki," the "draft guidelines for developmentally appropriate practice in [New Zealand] early childhood services," constitutes a set of principles which can guide practice, rather than a structure for curriculum planning. The guidelines have the potential to provide a theoretical rationale for the application of the…

The 5-14 Development Programme was a major reform encompassing the whole of the curriculum, assessment, national testing and reporting for pupils of age 5 to 14 in Scotland. Between 1989 and 1993, national guidelines were developed for five curricular areas: English language, mathematics, environmental studies, expressive arts, and religious/moral…

This book explores the policies, debates, and controversies that have emerged as British education has developed in response to the ethnic diversity and multicultural nature of contemporary society. The three major dimensions of educational concern in the face of the social change resulting from increased diversity are the rapidity of the change,…