Search

The importance of enhancing social and emotional skills in educational settings has gained prominence, with many countries and organizations embracing the Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) framework to equip individuals with the tools needed for shaping a self-identity, emotional regulation, goal achievement, empathy, nurturing relationships, and responsible decision-making and overall well-being. In this paper, we aim to connect the globally acknowledged Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning SEL framework with international policies that underscore the importance of social and emotional skills in the school context. To accomplish this goal, we first provide a brief overview of the key components of the SEL framework. Subsequently, we explore two significant educational policies within the European context. The first policy is the World Health Organization Health Promoting Schools initiative. We present its objectives, a WHO-affiliated program example, the promoted and assessed competencies of students, and its results, connecting its framework with the CASEL SEL approach. The second focus is the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Study on Social and Emotional Skills, describing its developmental process and the assessment framework. Finally, we describe the alignment of SEL with these European educational policies and illustrate their role in advancing and improving the evaluation of SEL initiatives in educational environments.

This paper presents an overview of approaches and proposals to improve the integration of migrant children in schools in Spain and it is linked to the European research project Migrant Children and Communities in a Transforming Europe (MiCREATE). It focuses on a part of the research in which stakeholders were interviewed. Based on the needs of migrant children and practices already implemented in Spain, experts from different fields problematised and proposed improvements in current policies and practices in education. The main conclusions indicate that a more holistic and transversal approach to the inclusion of migrants is needed, as well as better coordination between institutions in different contexts and areas of action. This implies rethinking inclusive practices and involving children's families and taking their environment into consideration, as well as supporting educational practices that foster a sense of belonging among migrant children and their families in schools, the community, and society. Finally, the paper highlights the importance of gathering data from stakeholders in different fields of expertise and areas of action in order to obtain a more complex and insightful overview of the phenomenon under study.

In this paper, we present an activity to introduce the idea of public-key cryptography and to make pre-service STEM teachers explore fundamental informatics and mathematical concepts and methods. We follow the Theory of Didactical Situations within the Didactical Engineering methodology (both widely used in mathematics education research) to design and analyse a didactical situation about asymmetric cryptography using graphs. Following the phases of Didactical Engineering, after the preliminary analysis of the content, the constraints and conditions of the teaching context, we conceived and analysed the situation a priori, with a particular focus on the milieu (the set of elements students can interact with) and on the choices for the didactical variables. We discuss their impact on the problem-solving strategies the participants need to elaborate to decrypt an encrypted message. We implemented our situation and collected qualitative data. We then analysed a posteriori the different strategies that participants used. The comparison of the a posteriori analysis with the a priori analysis showed the learning potential of the activity. To elaborate on different problem-solving strategies, the participants need to explore and understand several concepts and methods from mathematics, informatics, and the frontier of the two disciplines, also moving between different semiotic registers.

This paper presents an explorative holistic analysis of digitally-constructed gamification processes in mathematics education. The main aim of this study is to identify the key issues, intentions and trends by examining peer-reviewed publications using a combination of social network analysis (SNA), computerized lexical analysis and content analysis. Research findings indicate that there is a growing trend in gamification in mathematics education (GIME) research. GIME is mostly employed in primary school level. It was also found that, numbers is the most gamified math topic. Another research finding reveals that the researchers mostly use gamification to improve mathematical problem-solving, math achievement and math performance apart from the motivation and engagement. According to SNA findings, the most strategic terms in GIME research are as follows; geometry, fractions, mobile-learning, gender-studies, human-computer interaction, intelligent tutoring systems and tangible user-interfaces. GIME research is mostly influenced by USA and Brazil hence, the developing countries have an increasing interest in GIME research. Finally, findings on general research discourse implies that the general discourse among the sampled papers is positive. The findings obtained in this study may be useful to improve mathematics education by mapping a research agenda for researchers and educators with the exploration of potentials of GIME research.

Qualitative content analysis is used in this study to review related online education since the outbreak of COVID-19. The aim of this study was to summarize the impact of online teaching on the education industry during the pandemic, sum up the viewpoints of all kinds of people to draw conclusions, and conclude the practical countermeasures. Based on the result of the analysis, firstly, we think that students and teachers are satisfied with online education, but parents have expressed dissatisfaction with this kind of education. Secondly, this paper lists the advantages and common problems of online teaching during study at home from different aspects. According to deficits, we summarize the solutions from three aspects: network equipment, teaching, and self-adjustment. This research is of great significance. It is not only beneficial to the development of educational platforms and personalized teaching but also helps formulate education policy to reduce the burden of education.

This study aims to examine the effects of flipped learning on L2 students' overall academic achievements through meta-analysis. Forty studies (e.g., journal articles, M.A/Ph.D. theses and conference papers) on 'flipped classroom', 'flipped learning' and 'academic achievement' were included in this meta-analysis study. The data was analyzed by using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software. The random effects model was used in analyzing the overall effect size and the heterogeneity of the studies included in this meta-analysis. The results revealed that flipped learning has statistically significant effect on L2 learners' academic achievements (g=1.303) compared to traditional learning approaches. This result does not differ according to publication type, educational level and four basic language skills and sub-skills, but it differs according to sample size of the selected studies.

Literature presents evidence of the exponential rise of distributed leadership both as a focus of research and as leadership development in education in the twenty first century (Hairon, S., and J. W. Goh. 2015. "Pursuing the Elusive Construct of Distributed Leadership: Is the Search Over?" "Educational Management Administration & Leadership" 43 (5): 693-718; Hall, D. 2013. "The Strange Case of the Emergence of Distributed Leadership in Schools in England." "Educational Review" 65: 467-487), in addition to the growing criticism of the theory's dominance and its 'acquired taken-for-granted status' (Lumby, J. 2016. "Distributed Leadership as Fashion or fad." "Management in Education" 30 (4): 161-167). This paper thus seeks to provide a systematic review of the literature on distributed leadership published between 2010 and 2022 through a methodical collection, documentation, scrutiny, and critical analysis of the research publications. The review seeks to identify trends in distributed leadership knowledge production according to the study type/purpose, topical foci, methodological approach, focus group, and geographic distribution via a narrative synthesis approach (Oplatka, I., and K. Arar. 2017. "The Research on Educational Leadership and Management in the Arab World Since the 1990s: A Systematic Review." "Review of Education" 5 (3): 267-307).

Purpose: This systematic review paper aims to examine extant empirical research involving educational technology during COVID-19 to provide an aggregated analysis of how the pandemic has influenced educational technology research. Design/methodology/approach: Using a Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis systematic review and an integrative review methodology, 50 primary research studies were selected from ten top-ranked educational research journals. These studies were reviewed regarding research purposes, methodologies, instruments, educational level, geographical distribution, and findings of the studies. Findings: The findings reveal four emerging themes--influencing factors, effectiveness, challenges and teachers. The majority of the studies focused on higher education. Quantitative research design based on a questionnaire was the most adopted method of investigation by researchers. Research limitations/implications: Search parameters focused on the top 10 journals in the field of educational technology. Although this provides a level of quality, it narrowed the search. Practical implications: For practitioners and researchers, this study provides a summary of the field to better understand what knowledge we have gained on the use of educational technology to enable a more agile, knowledgeable response to education in future emergencies. Originality/value: This systematic review is unique in examining how the pandemic has influenced educational technology research. It also provides insight into gaps in the research that future researchers can use as a springboard to enable a more knowledge and a more agile approach to future emergencies.

Across the world, numerous students are being bullied at school. Bullying is often caused by a power imbalance between students. Therefore, identifying potential sources of such a power imbalance can prevent school bullying from happening. Based on the labelling theory, we expect that grade retention can lead to such a power imbalance and, therefore, increase the likelihood of being bullied at school. Hence, this study examines the association between grade retention and self-reported victimisation. We also expect that retainees will be less likely to become a victim of school bullying in schools and countries with a high number of other retainees. If true, this would signal a moderating effect of both school- and country retention composition on the association between grade retention and victimisation. The contextualised impact of grade retention upon victimisation is assessed by cross-national multilevel analyses on PISA2018 data (25 countries; 8,039 schools; 159,412 students). Overall, our findings indicate that being retained in primary and/or secondary education is associated with higher levels of victimisation, while retainees suffer from more victimisation in countries with a low number of other retainees. In contrast to our expectations, however, we did not find such a moderation effect of school retention composition.

The COVID-19 crisis has led to widespread temporary school closures and a deep economic recession. School closures have threatened children's ability to learn and later return to school well prepared. The impact of the economic recession is going to be even more devastating: first for students, but also for the ability of some Catholic schools to maintain their enrollment and remain sustainable financially in countries where they do not benefit from government support. This paper, the first in a set of two, looks at some of the likely impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on Catholic Schools in developed countries with a particular focus on the United States, a country not only hard hit by the crisis but also where Catholic schools are especially vulnerable to downturns. While Catholic schools may be able to respond to the immediate challenge of school closures among others through distance learning options, their ability to maintain enrollment during the economic downturn is less clear. How schools will respond to the twin challenges of ensuring learning during school closures and beyond, and remaining affordable for families at a time of economic stress, may affect whether they are able to maintain their comparative advantage. A key aim of the paper is to make Catholic school teachers and leaders aware of some of the discussions on how to respond to the crisis, and provide links to online resources that may be useful. [For Part II of the series, see EJ1278501.]

This paper provides an account of the topological and its description of contemporary culture and use as a research methodology, a topological lens, generally, and in education research specifically. Some commentary is proffered on the relationships between the topological and the topographical, between relations and locations. A critical account is then provided on each of the papers in the special issue on the topological in education research and the specific contributions of each. The editors of the special issue make the important point that the topological is a spatio-temporal phenomenon, not just a spatial one. The topological does not exist in time and space, but rather constructs both and they change in a conjoint manner. As such, a topological lens rejects a construction of space as static and of time (and the temporal) as simply linear and chronological. The topological has been facilitated and articulated by and through practices of commensuration, datafication and digitalisation, flows and scapes, global connectivities and new relations, mobilities of various kinds and multiple networks. The paper argues that much greater emphasis has been given to the spatial in topological research; that is, there has been some neglect of the temporal in the spatio-temporal character of topologies.

Digital competence is part of 21st Century skills that allow individual teaching professionals to engage in new and flexible ways of learning. Studies have shown that digital competence improves education and equips the teaching staff with expertise on how to use information, communication, and basic problem-solving. The need for digital competence is clearly evident in the current pandemic situation, where digital technologies have taken a more prominent role in communication and education processes. Beyond the digital competence of educators, proper school infrastructure and curricula are needed during pre-service training to help teachers achieve digital competence. To better understand this need, an online survey was developed to analyze digital education in Albania. The survey was designed to analyze the teaching competence of teachers in pre-service and in-service programs, as well as their schools' curricula and infrastructure. Results from the questionnaire highlighted a need for the acquisition of digital knowledge for teachers according to different age groups. The results of the study found that difficulties teachers encountered in the acquisition of digital knowledge were not only due to deficiencies in teacher training but also other issues such as lack of infrastructure. The study concludes by recommending that providing digital education should be in line with European and national policy and legislation, as well as with national and international organizations. The paper reports findings assessing the level of preparedness of Albanian educators in regard to digital education and explores opportunities and identifies challenges for coping with enhancing digital development.

In 2016, Thai Ministry of Education (MOE) has announced the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages or the CEFR (Council of Europe, 2001) as a guideline for teachers in primary and secondary schools. This has inevitably affected Rajabhat Universities (RUs) in the country that have major roles and responsibilities in producing pre-service English teachers. This paper presents the results of an investigation of English teachers' perceptions at Rajabhat universities in Bangkok and suburban areas. Participants were 67 teachers in total. A mixed-methods approach was employed for data collection. Research tools are a set of questionnaire and an individual semi-structured interview. An interview was conducted with 6 teachers in 6 RUs, each was purposively selected. Data analysis employed frequency, means, and standard deviation, while Grounded theory (Strauss & Corbin, 1999) was used for interview data analysis. Findings indicate the participants mostly agreed with the MOE's launching the CEFR policy and reflected they could apply the CEFR as a guideline in teaching and learning management. However, data from the in-depth interview revealed both advantages and disadvantages of the CEFR. This study might be a kind of mirror for policy makers and practitioners at both policy and classroom pedagogy levels who advocate the CEFR policy in Thailand.

This paper provides both a summary and plenary paper for a Special Issue of papers that build on the findings of a research project that investigated formative and summative assessment methods to support and to improve inquiry-based science teaching and learning. The paper aims to unravel some of the complexity that underpins classroom assessment practices as teachers bring change to their pedagogical approaches, taking into consideration both the variability and variation in interpretation of both processes by STEM teachers across eight countries. By engaging with research processes, in collaborative working groups in each country, teachers were better equipped to face the practical challenges they encountered in their various contexts, strengthening both their processes of critical reasoning and exercise of professional judgement. We draw from this interweaving of connected professional ideas and nested practices, a consideration of those factors which seem most pertinent in terms of formality, temporality, response and desired outcomes. As such, the paper provides a directive that highlights how the development of inquiry competences and the skills to negotiate productive pathways through an inquiry activity can be informed, developed and enhanced by formative assessment. Such developments require pedagogic moves that allow student agency while fostering advancement through guided feedback.

This research reviewed the publications in the Scopus database in the museum-based mobile learning field based on the technology-based learning review model from 2008 to 2019. The aim of this study was to investigate trends in the field of museum-based mobile learning from the main journals and papers, including countries and areas, participants, research methods, learning domains, the orientation of adopted sensing or location-based technologies, learning strategies, and research topics. The cluster and co-occurrence analysis methods were used to analyze the main key terms and the relationships between them. Three thematic clusters, namely strategies and media for mobile-based museum learning, personalized supports for mobile-based museum learning, and applications of mobile-based museum learning were identified. The results show that inquiry-based learning was the most adopted learning strategy for higher education, while contextual mobile learning was the most frequently employed strategy for elementary school students; such extensively adopted mobile learning strategies as peer assessment, project-based learning, video sharing, and synchronous sharing were not adopted in the studies. In addition, an important finding in the literature of the main research purpose of museum-based mobile learning research is the affective domain, followed by the influence of learner characteristics and the effects of mobile learning.

Results of international achievement surveys such as the Programme in International Student Assessment have consistently reported an achievement gap between immigrant and non-immigrant student populations around the world. This paper unpacks this persistent achievement gap by examining key characteristics that influence the performance of first- and second-generation immigrant students as well as the policies and practices that are associated with enhanced educational outcomes. A multi-layered framework is proposed to help policymakers juxtapose key characteristics of their immigrant students' achievement against individual, family, school, community, and host society characteristics and policies. The discussion also underscores the importance of connecting this multi-layered framework with other important sectors within governments such as those responsible for the economy, health, social protection, and immigration. This paper also examines limitations with current large-scale data sets and the implications for research and policy analysis.

The paper aims to contribute to the assessment of the contextual relevance of various educational policies through an analysis of three aspects of the performance profiles of European countries: participation, the quality of learning outcomes and the equity of learning outcomes. Comparative analysis of international student achievement assessment surveys and statistical data reveals three European performance patterns: the compensative education systems of North and Northwest Europe, the selective education systems of Central Europe and the attritional education systems of Southeast Europe. On the basis of the identified performance patterns, the paper provides a brief outline of major trends within the Central and Southeast European regions, shares reflections on the alignment of policies that fit the distinct context of the two regions and offers a conceptual framework for further comparative research.

There is some scepticism about the effectiveness of equity funding policies (EFPs). However, many studies focus only on one particular EFP in one education system. The present paper draws lessons from a review of the North American and European literature. In general, EFPs did not always meet the expectations of policymakers and educational agents. Five potential causes emerge from our review: (1) Matthew effects in the baseline resourcing of schools; (2) the ineffective use of additional resources; (3) ineffective targeting; (4) flaws in monitoring and evaluation; and (5) the general social and educational context in which EFPs are implemented.

At least since the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, deaf children worldwide have a right to education not only in the spoken and written language of their country, but also in the national sign language. The pedagogical use of a sign language in European schools for the deaf began in the 1980s and has since evolved significantly. This paper presents a survey of 39 European countries that documents the status of bimodal bilingual education using a spoken and a signed language. Data was collected through an expert survey on the three dimensions policies, practices and cultures of bimodal bilingual education and an analysis of relevant legal documents. The results reveal that bimodal bilingual education is increasingly implemented in deaf education but is not fully established all over Europe. In many countries, bimodal bilingual education is limited to special schools and is rarely offered in inclusive mainstream schools. Implementation processes are similar across Europe: Programmes are primarily initiated by parents, teachers or the deaf community but educational policies lag behind the practices at schools. Legal foundations (e.g. curricula and professionalization for the use of sign languages) guarantee the sustainability and quality of bimodal bilingual education.

This study, conducted within the interpretive paradigm, aimed to understand how democratic education is constructed around the theme of 'responsible and active citizen' in the national core curriculum in Northern Cyprus. An in-depth document analysis was conducted, to examine the extent to which the learning outcomes across the curriculum are aligned with the competence descriptors in the Council of Europe's Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture (RFCDC). This framework was used as a guide and a tool to obtain a European and global perspective. The findings revealed that there is alignment, to a certain degree, between the learning outcomes and the RFCDC competences. This confirms that some of the major concepts of democratic education are incorporated in the core curriculum. The findings also indicated that in this curriculum, democratic education focuses on knowledge and engagement at a basic level. In doing so, it undermines the experiential side of citizenship learning, and active participation in democratic life. The study also sheds light on the use and nature of the RFCDC.

This paper analyzed the costs and benefits of attending the top three U.S. elementary teacher education programs by examining how much emphasis is on general content knowledge (GCK), as opposed to general pedagogical knowledge (GPK), as opposed to methodological pedagogical knowledge (MPK), and how this ratio might have affected student outcomes on TIMSS compared to the top performing TIMSS countries in Europe and Asia. Three theoretical frames of reference guided this analysis: program model, field experience model, and status of teacher in society. Methodologically, this study relied mainly on peer-reviewed literature published between 2000 and 2016 in the English language. It was found that although the ratio of GCK to GPK to MPK in the top three U.S. TED programs was similar to what has been reported about the top performing TIMSS countries, student outcomes on TIMSS don?t seem to have been affected due to the fact that performance on TIMSS seems to be stemming mainly from having a very rigorous K-12 education and only admitting the top academic achievers into TED programs.

This paper analyzed elementary teacher education (hereafter 'TED') programs in the top performing European (TIMSS) countries to help inform future elementary TED policy in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Methodological emphasis revolved around how much emphasis should be placed on general content knowledge (GCK), as opposed to general pedagogical knowledge (GPK), as opposed to methodological pedagogical knowledge (MPK). This study explored these questions while analyzing the elementary TED programs of Germany, Finland, and the U.K. relying mainly on peer-reviewed literature on these topics published between 2000 and 2016 in the English language. Three theoretical frames of reference, aside from TIMSS, were also analyzed during this process: whether the programs were consecutive or concurrent, the model of partnership followed between universities and institutions where field experiences took place, and the overall status and role of teachers in the society as categorized by career-based or position-based. It was found that the top performing European TIMSS countries usually: have consecutive and concurrent options; attract the top academic achievers into their programs; have strict filters for admission; provide very intensive TED experiences to their students focusing on practical and diverse field experiences; enforce students to major in at least one academic subject and place more emphasis on academic subject expertise than pedagogy; have challenging criteria (including exams and portfolios) for graduation from the program; have national accreditation institutes for unifying standards; their sponsor countries enforce various types of induction and professional development once in the field; and lastly these countries offer salaries competitive with other professions that require the same amount of years and training since they are usually career-based positions.

This paper makes an important and original contribution to the updating of methodological approaches to research syntheses. We analysed all 813 Proceedings of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics from 2003 to 2018, first using a quantitative corpus-survey and qualitative thematic coding and, again, independently, using topic modelling. We found strong convergence between findings from the different methods. We compare our findings to those from an earlier Proceedings review (1995-2002) and to a recent review of the corpus of publications in the "Journal for Research in Mathematics Education and Educational Studies in Mathematics," as well as to a review by the European Society for Research into Learning Mathematics and several other reviews. We found considerable similarity between the issues discussed, and similar trends over time. We conclude that the efficiency of topic modelling makes it a powerful option to include among a range of methodological approaches to research review.

Purpose: The overarching purpose of this paper is to explore the transformation of intercultural education in Cyprus in the context of European integration. More specifically, it indicates the ways in which intercultural policy has been formed by complex and often counteractive influences. The analysis draws upon policy documents collected from the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC) and interviews carried out with Cypriot policy-makers. Europe has come to play an important role in the development of Cypriot intercultural policy by becoming a mechanism of pressure for educational change. Through monitoring processes, Europe has indicated problems deriving from the culturally pluralistic character of the Cypriot society that should be addressed by national policies. In this context, Cyprus has initiated an educational reform, including a reform of the national curriculum towards a more intercultural orientation. Nonetheless, the findings of this research assert that there is a gap between policy rhetoric and practice. Design/methodology/approach: This study reports on an analysis of the policy dynamics influencing intercultural education in the Greek-Cypriot context. The authors aim to examine the context and content of educational policies and directives which have been initiated and/or developed at the Greek-Cypriot level. To this end, the authors drew upon policy documentary and data derived from interviews conducted with Greek-Cypriot policy-makers and education officers. Findings: It appears that intercultural education became an important part of the state's rhetoric. Cyprus has initiated an educational reform, including a reform of the national curriculum towards a more intercultural orientation. Therefore, since 2008, the state and particularly the MEC have replaced the previously used term of multicultural education with the rhetoric of intercultural education and inclusion as the preferable educational responses to immigration. Research limitations/implications: The findings of this study suggest that the development of intercultural education requires the re-conceptualisation and re-structuring of the Cypriot educational system and schooling. The state should adopt a balanced governance model between school autonomy and centralised management. Practical implications: This paper can help schools and teachers to improve their intercultural education approach. Social implications: The findings could be helpful for improving the intercultural education policy in Cyprus. Originality/value: These research finding are the first that deal with intercultural education policy in Cyprus.

Early School Leaving (ESL) or dropout has often been portrayed as an outcome and therefore something that only secondary school teachers need to think about. However, much of the literature suggests that this view is unhelpful and that Early School Leaving is the result of processes that run throughout childhood. This means that everybody involved in education and childhood development needs to consider how these processes operate. This paper presents an overview of the literature and uses Bronfenbrenner's ideas from the ecosystemic model and Lewin's concept of Force Field Analysis to present a model that can be used as a way of thinking about how to remove barriers to learning or to enhance successful inclusive teaching. The model points to important steps that can be taken to prevent ESL, to intervene to reduce ESL, and steps that can be taken by countries to educationally compensate those for whom ESL has occurred. The model is not prescriptive but adaptive to local context and circumstances and as such provides a thinking tool to promote inclusive thinking. The adaptive nature of the model helps to overcome the challenge of Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities (SEND) being defined differently in different countries and often interpreted differently within the same country.

Digital technologies and the Internet are increasing in prominence in schooling systems. As schools and teaching evolve as a result of the integration of technologies teacher preparation will also change. This paper examines research exploring the preparation of teachers for the digital age through a systematic literature review of articles published between 2008 and 2018. The findings provide insight into what has and has not been studied across a range of literature and the alignment with the broader context of digital integration in schools. A focus on digital competencies was identified which was framed in three ways across the literature; generic digital competence, digital teaching competence and an emerging concept of professional digital competence. How student teachers learn to engage in the professional work of a teacher in a digitally infused education system should underpin future research. A model of professional digital competence is proposed.

Vocational education and training (VET) remain overlooked in learning analytics (LA) research. This systematic literature review, using four databases and other sources, was carried out by analyzing selected 60 articles (2012-2017) to study the levels and stages of education that the reviewed LA literature examined. The review indicated that most of the analyzed papers focused on the course level, followed by student and institution levels in higher education. Few empirical studies have addressed LA use during the VET stage, particularly at the governmental level. We also considered ethical concerns and recommendations for further LA development in VET. It is suggested to use LA in knowledge transfer and integration between the classroom and workplace.

Presents a paper delivered in Poland in 1989 and in five additional Eastern European cities in 1990. Defines democracy and suggests ways to teach about democratic government. Explores education's role in a democracy. Encourages student participation in student government, classroom discussion, community service, and research projects to give them experience in democratic practices and to teach democratic values. (CH)

Science education in the United States is compared to the programs in Eastern Europe and the U.S.S.R., Japan and the Far East, and Western Europe. Student attitudes, scientific literacy of students, teacher qualifications, academic achievement, high school completion rates, educational reform, and national curriculums are discussed. (KR)

In answer to the suggestion that policymakers, researchers, and teachers unanimously agree that research is hardly taken into account by its potential users, the author provides an overview of educational research in Western Europe. Projects involve disciplines, history of education, and curriculum. (KC)

Were it not for readers and writers, the ideas of truth and openness might have disappeared behind the Iron Curtain forever. We read and write, not to ensure employers of a competent work force, but to know each other's responses, to connect ourselves more fully with the human world, and to strengthen the truth-telling habit among us. (MLH)