Early childhood teachers are faced with many more choices and decisions regarding the development of their curriculum than ever before. The development of state standards for young children in prekindergarten (pre-K) programs not only provides guidance but also places demands on content that must be addressed. Finding the time to plan creative activities that will meet the diverse range of children's interests and abilities, as well as meet state learning standards, is a challenge for teachers...
Topics: ERIC Archive, State Standards, Creative Activities, Young Children, Story Reading, Emergent...
To explore factors associated with college students' intentions to participate in Internet-based health research, data were collected from 502 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory-level business courses at a large midwestern university. Findings suggest that intentions to participate in Internet-based research are influenced by one's perceptions of social norms related to research participation and the extent to which one regularly discusses personal health information with others....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Undergraduate Students, Recruitment, Hygiene, Behavior Standards, Social Behavior,...
One of the most recent waves of reform in public education began in 1989 when the governors and legislators identified eight goals for the "Goals 2000: Educate America Act" (U.S. Department of Education, 1994). This legislation promulgated the need for standards-based education and impacted health education in several ways. "Goals 2000" specifically addressed teacher education and professional development, so that teachers could "acquire the knowledge and skills needed...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Professional Associations, Educational Change, Professional Development, Public...
Meeting the requirement for highly qualified teachers as outlined in the No Child Left Behind Act has left school districts in a quandary, especially those that serve a population of students deemed "at-risk" and where attracting and retaining highly qualified teachers is difficult. One professional development program based on recognized strategies for exemplary teaching--the National Board for Professional Teaching Standard's five core propositions--is being tested in one school...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Federal Legislation, National Standards, Program Effectiveness, School Districts,...
Teaching multicultural education has been a consistent theme in teacher education programs across the United States (Miller, Strosnider, & Dooley, 2000), yet most institutions of higher education have struggled to incorporate standards for implementing this coursework into their certification and/or endorsement programs. Evans, Torrey, and Newton (1997) found that 82% of states require some level of multicultural or diversity training for teacher preparation programs. However, only 37% of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Preservice Teacher Education, Educational Change, Teacher Education Programs, Teacher...
Ever since technology became a major component in education, schools have been charged with teaching and integrating technology to enhance learning and ensure technology literacy. However, there is still no consistent definition, process, or assessment in place, leading to concerns about accountability. Because technology standards are seemingly arbitrary and open to multiple interpretations, each school district, each school, and even each teacher will have to develop their own definition,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Industry, Federal Legislation, Technology Integration, Educational Technology,...
In this essay, the authors explore the structures, processes, and messages that accountability reforms communicate about the goals and means of coming to know history. In other words, how do existing history standards and formal curricula officialize certain orientations toward historical knowledge and traditions through which that knowledge is taught? Specifically, they begin by examining the "National History Standards" and the "History and Social Science Standards of Learning...
Topics: ERIC Archive, National Standards, Social Sciences, Academic Standards, Instructional Materials,...
In this study, the authors explore the "apparent gulf between professionals' advice and actual teachers' practices." Their study recognizes the imperviousness of teacher practice to the efforts of researchers and curricular reformers. For over a century, the authors argue, "best practices" in social studies have always included instruction that promotes higher-order thinking and inquiry-based learning, regardless of whether the promulgators were committed to citizenship...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Constructivism (Learning), Public School Teachers, Citizenship Education, Social...
All public schools are required to meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in order to avoid stiff penalties, per the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. This presents a unique challenge for comprehensive career and technical (CTE) schools. While there is an emphasis on the CTE path that students are interested in pursuing, academic areas must be mastered with proficiency in order for a school to be successful (in this case, as defined by the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment, or (PSSA)). In...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Vocational Schools, Teaching Models, Federal Legislation, Educational Improvement,...
This paper examines how the personal qualifications required to practice art therapy can be integrated into the American Art Therapy Association Education Standards. A review of current and historical documents demonstrates the importance of personal qualifications of art therapists. The author proposes a link between education standards and personal qualifications by identifying the latter as specific competencies. The article concludes with recommendations for how to proceed with linking...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Art Therapy, Qualifications, Personnel Evaluation, Competence, Credentials, Academic...
The rush of jobs from the United States to other nations has been explained by the Bush administration as a win-win situation for both technically advanced and developing countries. The free-market argument claims that the more sophisticated, complex jobs generated by an avalanche of new industries will be won by a well-trained, highly educated labor force, while the less-complex jobs will be left to workers in less-developed nations. If this free-trade utopia were to emerge, the responsibility...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Global Approach, Academic Standards, Labor Force Development, Educational Change,...
Many school leaders today, not to mention many teachers, view "accountability" as a loathsome political monster. Looming over educators, insensitive to the many problems they face, it wields the carrot of rewards in one hand and the club of sanctions in the other. Some educators even blame accountability for perverting their noble purposes, twisting their sensibilities, and corrupting their integrity. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) accountability system seeks to improve all...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Instructional Leadership, Accountability, Federal Legislation, Educational...
In this essay, the authors discuss what it might take to develop knowledge that can help education policymakers and schools attain their goals. In reading both the research and the current policy environment, the authors identify several fundamental reasons why it is so difficult to develop the knowledge needed to inform policies that might enable standards-based reform to succeed. First is an inadequate conception of the goal of the system and how proficiency should be measured. Second,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Policy, Educational Research, Academic Standards, Educational Objectives,...
Knowing how teachers in China understand excellence in teaching is an important precursor to developing teaching standards. This study explores the conceptions of excellent teaching held by 20 middle school teachers in the north of China. A phenomenographic approach with grounded theory was used to interpret teachers' descriptions of a time when they delivered excellent teaching. Four main themes were found: (1) caring for students, (2) guiding students' all-round development, (3) connecting...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Middle Schools, Middle School Teachers, Teacher Effectiveness,...
In this paper, the author explores her experiences growing up of being defined as "different" due to her class background. The author uses the term "difference" to mean how the concept of the "other" is defined and understood in this society. The "other" in this instance are individuals or groups who have existed on the margins of the society; those whose concerns and perspectives have been shrouded in "silence," left out of the discourse of the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Family Life, Discourse Analysis, Early Childhood Education, Living Standards, Early...
Why do some teachers demonstrate great cultural sensitivity in their work with children while others seem mired in stereotypes, perpetuating a view of diversity as exotic or denying that race is an issue in their classrooms? Why is it so difficult to change these dispositions of teachers? And what can we do in teacher education to further the cultural responsiveness we claim we want teachers to develop? Dispositions of teachers strongly affect the impact they have on student learning and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Cultural Pluralism, Race, Teacher Education Programs, Teacher Effectiveness, National...
Diminishing "standards" and "alignment" to overused buzzwords or superficial checklists masks the dire need for truly systematic and operational standards-based alignment in science education. In this article, the authors report the findings of an ongoing collaborative effort between cognitive researchers and urban science teachers to align everyday teaching with standards, tests, and research-based pedagogy. They begin with an analysis of how the width vs. depth dilemma in...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Science Instruction, Curriculum Development, Science Teachers, Science Achievement,...
Issues such as financial autonomy, academic autonomy and administrative autonomy are crucial to the effective management of university education globally. For many years Nigerian universities have complained of being impeded in these areas because of the supervisory role of the National Universities Commission (NUC) which tend to encroach on their autonomy. In order to confirm this complaint and profer solution 280 university administrators and 100 university union officials from the 10...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Educational Administration, Academic Freedom, Institutional...
In this article, the author answers the question: "Why do Americans love to reform the public schools?" His answer has three parts. First, there is an old and persistent cultural strain in American history, derived from many sources, that seeks human perfection and sees education and schooling as essential to that perfectibility. That goal is high enough to guarantee that most people will not reach it. This means that numerous citizens at any point bemoan the quality of the public...
Topics: ERIC Archive, United States History, Standardized Tests, Academic Achievement, Educational Change,...
Two well-cited studies (Garner, Garfinkel, Schwartz & Thompson, 1980; Wiseman, Gray, Mosimann, & Ahrens, 1992) examined the changing body shape of Playboy centrefolds from 1959 to 1988 and noted that their body weights were significantly lower than those of the average female. The current study updates and examines changes in body measurements and weight across four decades using a multivariate one-way Analysis of Variance. Chisquare analysis of the models' expected weight and actual...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Females, Counseling, Body Weight, Body Composition, Standards, Multivariate Analysis,...
This paper documents the development of a unique institution in Canadian higher education, the university college in British Columbia. From its roots as a comprehensive community college, the university college was confronted with numerous legislative and policy changes which culminated in its current claim to be called a regional university. In support of this assertion, a number of issues are addressed, including the role and mandate of the university college, academic freedom and tenure,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Community Colleges, Universities, Undergraduate Study, Academic...
This article is about how the West Boca Raton Community High School's Culinary Arts Academy achieved national model status as it works to prepare the next generation of culinary artists. The culinary academy, established in 2004, adopted national standards that have served as a foundation for its excellence. In November 2007, the National Career Academy Coalition (NCAC) recognized the academy for its achievements with the National Standards of Practice "Award of Distinction." Drawn...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Career Academies, Cooking Instruction, High Schools, National Standards, Program...
Maximum academic achievement for gifted and talented students can only be accomplished when teachers are given the tools, support, and training needed to strengthen instructional skills and develop knowledge of the social and emotional needs of the students they serve. Providing meaningful professional development to develop or enhance these skills is a challenge for administrators responsible for the planning and implementation of training experiences for teachers of gifted students. As...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academically Gifted, Talent, Lifelong Learning, Staff Development, Professional...
Every teacher must develop the characteristics of a professional and model professionalism everyday. In fact, among the standards of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) is a requirement that teacher candidates demonstrate specific dispositions of professionals (NCATE 2001). Bridges (in Ben-Peretz 2001, 50) advised that, aside from academic qualifications, professional teachers must "act in an ethical manner, based on an explicit or implicit code of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Qualifications, Ethics, Teacher Behavior, Teacher Attitudes, Standards, Accreditation...
While students are the center of the college admission process, the individual student is transient within the process, involved for a short amount of time, trying to get a spot in the freshman class of a university. Counselors and admission officers are the stewards of the process, the keepers of the code and the architects of the maze. In this position, they have a unique perspective, the long view. The universities can engage the process on both levels of focus, the short view is finding the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Ethics, College Admission, Essays, Help Seeking, College Bound Students, Philosophy,...
The purpose of this study was to examine the perceived effectiveness of leadership in a Missouri rural K-8 school with a high incidence of poverty that consistently met federal and state accountability mandates. The concepts of accountability as measured by student achievement, the unique educational needs of children from poverty, and the challenges of the rural school location were viewed through the lens of leadership. Ten practices of leadership that lead to consistent student achievement...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Case Studies, Rural Schools, Educational Needs, Mentors, Poverty, Academic...
The increased emphasis on standards-based school accountability since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is focusing critical attention on the professional development of school principals and their ability to meet the challenges of improving student outcomes. While rural school districts are dealing with many of the same issues facing urban districts, there are unique challenges that rural school principals face. However, effective professional development that addresses the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Rural Schools, School Restructuring, Federal Legislation, Educational Change,...
Helping schools create environments where all students can learn is a worthwhile mission for schools big and small. Both multi and single site districts agree that providing equitable and meaningful learning opportunities for every student is essential, but find this challenging and difficult. What are the systemic factors that limit educators in considering new educational paradigms that might structure schools differently, increase learning outcomes for a wider spectrum of students, and...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academic Achievement, Educational Environment, School Size, Change Strategies,...
This study is set in an elementary school located in a rural, Appalachian area and considers the reasons that teachers attribute to student success on state writing assessments as well as to what reasons they attribute their students' lack of success in moving beyond an average ranking. In considering these reasons, patterns emerge in the data that prove intriguing. For example, one pattern indicates that teachers link the lack of student success to aspects beyond their control. These aspects...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Family Life, Academic Achievement, Teaching Methods, Rural Schools, Elementary School...
This article describes a successful alternative school located in northwest Wyoming. Students who attend this school need an atmosphere that is accepting of their differences and allows them to express themselves without fear of ridicule or punishment. These children are looking for a safe, secure place to complete their education, a place where their unique differences are respected. Bear Lodge is one such alternative high school. Students at Bear Lodge share their perspective and provide a...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Nontraditional Education, Dropouts, High Schools, Program Effectiveness, Dropout...
Historically, rural schools have been geographically and politically isolated to the extent that some might say that they have been the victims of, or beneficiaries from, an unstated government policy of benign neglect. Recently, conditions and relationships have changed with the enactment of state and federal accountability legislation and legal challenges to the constitutionality of state funding systems for schools. Federal concerns about the quality of teachers and the progress of students...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Rural Schools, State Standards, Educational Finance, Graduation Requirements,...
There has been an increase on the number of applicants and the average SAT scores of the admitted students to colleges and universities in the United States. The total number of applicants may increase for purely external reasons, such as more students graduating from high school or more students reading good things about a particular college, but the number may also be increasing because admission offices are driving it up by fair means and foul means. Similarly, SAT scores may be going up...
Topics: ERIC Archive, College Entrance Examinations, College Admission, Higher Education, Rating Scales,...
Many schools that prepare teacher candidates for certification are accredited by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE), which requires six standards for accreditation based on the following categories: (1) Candidate, Knowledge, Skills and Dispositions; (2) Assessment System and Unit Evaluation; (3) Field Experiences and Clinical Practice; (4) Diversity; (5) Faculty Qualifications, Performances, and Development; and (6) Unit governance and Resources (NCATE, 2002)....
Topics: ERIC Archive, Preservice Teacher Education, Teacher Qualifications, Field Experience Programs,...
Research indicates that there is a correlation between exposure of violence in the media and in entertainment and student behavior. Many students have been victims themselves of violent, verbal, and physical assaults. Classroom teachers and educators continue to address this issue locally in classrooms and in their schools. Amid the various questions that emerge from the need to address violence and equity issues in society, three central questions stand out: What is Peace Education? What is...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Preservice Teacher Education, Multicultural Education, Student Behavior, Teacher...
Technology education has progressed through several iterations over the past 100 years and continues to evolve as the primary medium for preparing children and youth in technological literacy. Over the past 20 years, technology education has worked diligently to move from a subject field where students primarily manipulated materials (industrial arts) to one of systematic instruction about technological systems and enterprises (technology education). The "Standards for Technological...
Topics: ERIC Archive, National Surveys, Educational Change, Foreign Countries, Technological Literacy,...
While recent research has begun to explore how social studies teachers are responding to a standardized curriculum and its accompanying high-stakes tests, little is known about how teacher education programs are preparing their pre-service teachers for a world in which state curriculum standards and standardized testing often determine the content of the curriculum they will have to teach and in which the stakes are becoming increasingly higher. This study, conducted at a medium-sized...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Preservice Teacher Education, Methods Courses, Teacher Education Programs,...
This article provides a brief picture of social studies education in the United States, China, and South Korea. It begins with a brief account of the K-12 curriculum structure and history of social studies education in each country in the 20th century. It then turns to a contemporary look at the social studies, the national curriculum standards that were developed in 1990s, and more recent trends and instructional practices in each country. Commonalities and differences in these areas are...
Topics: ERIC Archive, National Curriculum, Elementary Secondary Education, Global Approach, Foreign...
Curricular reform is an intense process. Broad-based reform--like that at the statewide level--takes on complexities that may not be easily predictable. Two states, Texas and Florida, with a large diversity of gifted populations, learn from each other as they experience creating curriculum standards for their gifted students. This article addresses the issues and dilemmas faced when committees of gifted educators in both states began redefining and designing their gifted curricula. It follows...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academically Gifted, Elementary Secondary Education, Accountability, Outcomes of...
Modern teachers live in age of accountability, in which their success as educators is determined by individual and group mastery of specific standards demonstrated by standardized test performance. Even before No Child Left Behind (NCLB), standards and measures were used to determine if schools and students were successful. But NCLB has increased the pace, intensity, and high stakes of this trend. Gifted and talented students are significantly impacted by these local or state proficiency...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Academically Gifted, Federal Legislation, Talent, Standardized Tests, Accountability,...
It is believed by many that unsophisticated notions of elitism are the bane of the field of gifted education. Some claims of elitism are based on an interpretation of the founding of their country as inherently egalitarian. Educational opportunities that are tailored to student abilities are determined to be inherently elitist and therefore anti-egalitarian. Humility is often described as a corollary to egalitarianism. Obviously then, swagger would not be acceptable to those who hold these...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Educational Objectives, Academically Gifted, Ideology, Educational Opportunities,...
Knowing the great impact education has on a nation, the author decided to investigate the education systems in America and Japan. The aim of the study was to answer how educational systems or practices in Japan and America differ, and how Japanese practices might improve those of American educators and administrators. Besides many similarities, there are striking contrasts between American and Japanese views and visions of education, and they point to quite different directions and paths of...
Topics: ERIC Archive, National Curriculum, School Restructuring, Asian Culture, Standardized Tests,...
Elementary students perceive scientists in stereotypical ways. This study examined the influence of historical, nonfiction trade books on children's images of scientists. Of the 13 self-contained third grade classrooms (n = 156), six randomly assigned teachers were instructed to read one trade book each week for six weeks to supplement their modular/kit-based instruction (n = 72). The other seven classrooms received only modular/kit-based instruction (n = 84). In the evaluation of their...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Childrens Literature, Nonfiction, Books, Grade 3, Elementary School Students, Student...
This study examined the use of science professors acting as mentors to enhance the science competency of early childhood educators. Findings indicate that mentor-mentee dyad interactions varied; however, mentors were able to assist with curriculum, science content, and resources. Although standards-based units were developed, there was little "real" science inquiry present. Findings did not support a higher-quality product that involved a mentoring relationship versus a nonmentoring...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Preservice Teachers, Mentors, Science Instruction, College Faculty, Teacher...
In this paper, the authors describe a model of professional development for early childhood science teachers based on their experiences over the past two years with Project ASTER: Active Science Teaching Encourages Reform. In this project, they have identified seven elements that constitute a quality professional development program. These elements include: (1) strong partnership between school districts and institutions of higher education; (2) unique collaboration between science educators...
Topics: ERIC Archive, National Curriculum, Preservice Teachers, Self Efficacy, Primary Education, Program...
This article examines the contribution of the No Child Left Behind Act. The authors believe that the "other means" that can substantially advance equal educational opportunity are to provide "meaningful educational opportunities" for all children in each of the schools that they attend. In this article, the authors discuss meaningful educational opportunity and describe the statutory framework for implementing this standard.
Topics: ERIC Archive, Equal Education, Federal Legislation, Educational Opportunities, Federal Programs,...
What David J. Ferrero has called "the Hundred Year's War between "progressives" and "traditionalists"" continues unabated in the twenty-first century. Undoubtedly, current initiatives in public education favor those who support traditional approaches, yet many critics believe inflexible state tests are restricting teachers' flexibility in employing methods other than teacher-centered direct instruction. President Bush's proposal for extending mandatory testing...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Public Education, Teaching Methods, Progressive Education, Politics of Education,...
The German dual apprenticeship system has traditionally been viewed as an effective system for generating a highly skilled workforce in the trades, crafts and service sectors. In addition, countries and systems looking to improve their own approaches to vocational education and training (VET) have considered as exemplary the main features of the "dual system" (that is, two learning sites and shared responsibility between private employers and public vocational schools). Nevertheless,...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Foreign Countries, Comparative Analysis, Vocational Education, Competency Based...
When the author was a little girl, her father told her the story of how he once saw the great Harry Houdini escape from a straight jacket. In the early 1900s, Houdini fascinated thousands of people by performing feats of life-threatening daring and agility. Houdini was a professional in the traditional sense: he acted alone, kept his trade secrets to himself, and instilled respect in his audience. As a teacher educator, the author now looks upon Harry Houdini's magic act as a metaphor for her...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Professional Development Schools, Field Tests, Teacher Educators, Inquiry, Standards,...
This article explores the theoretical foundations and practical application of Teaching for Intellectual and Emotional Learning (TIEL), a pedagogical model that codifies a powerful way of thinking about the intellectual and social-emotional processes that underlie teaching and learning. It is is organized in three sections, and begins by offering a rationale for a new pedagogy. It goes on to discuss the theoretical foundations of the TIEL model. Finally it looks at contributions to the...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Teacher Role, Teacher Educators, Learning Theories, Educational Theories, Knowledge...
Six years ago, the Division of Education at Indiana University East began the process of developing a performance-based program consistent with its division's conceptual framework, the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) principles, and Indiana state standards. One component of the state mandate is that all teachers must prepare an INTASC-based induction portfolio to receive licensure at the end of a two-year probationary teaching period. The authors, who are...
Topics: ERIC Archive, Portfolios (Background Materials), Teacher Education Programs, Portfolio Assessment,...