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This research aims to compare the social studies curricula of Thailand and New York State, USA, analyze their similarities and differences, and propose guidelines for improving the Thai social studies curriculum. The study employed a qualitative research methodology, using documentary analysis of the Thai Basic Education Core Curriculum B.E. 2551 (Revised B.E. 2560) in the social studies, religion, and culture learning area, and the New York State K-12 Social Studies Framework. The findings revealed that the social studies curricula of Thailand and New York State differ in many aspects, including their fundamental philosophies, goals for student development, curriculum structures, learning content, and instructional approaches. The Thai curriculum emphasizes cultivating morally good citizens with a love for the nation, while the New York curriculum focuses on developing knowledgeable, skilled citizens who actively participate in a democratic society. In today's rapidly changing world, the development of Thailand's social studies curriculum should foster 21st-century skills, digital citizenship, and a sense of global citizenship among learners while maintaining Thai identity and values. Policy-level recommendations include creating a new vision, designing a flexible curriculum, developing online platforms, and integrating artificial intelligence. At the practical level, suggestions include creating community learning innovations, using the city as a classroom, developing a competency-based curriculum, and building learning communities with local partners.

The article proposes and illustrates a methodological framework that aligns with the action-research models and utopian methodology in particular, although it represents a more substantial leap forward, especially regarding the distributed nature of decision making in the different processes of research/intervention, and its multiple and systematic nature (linking theory, practice and politics). It is developed through four main phases: i) collective identification of the needs and the object of the study, ii) expansive co-design of the action-research, iii) dynamic and multiagency implementation, and iv) critical and participatory reflexive evaluation. It is examined more specifically how the phases proposed here can be illustrated by an ongoing project called 360Education Alliance ("Aliança Educació 360") conducted in the context of Catalonia, Spain. It consists of a partnership presented in January, 2018, that currently involves more than 300 entities for promoting a community vision of education based on improving equity and social justice. Some opportunities deriving from this methodology are mentioned in the conclusion, emphasizing the transversal role of self-criticism as permanent inquiry of multiple agents involved in the process, including the participants themselves.

Political education is a loaded expression, and even more so when it is suggested that state authorities should be in charge of it. The main claim from the author in this article is that, in contexts of sufficient political pluralism, political education should more firmly be taken in charge by primary and secondary schools. In the first section, the authors explains why political education is an important and demanding collective good. In the second, why the spontaneous political education occurring within families and other spaces of socialization is unlikely to deliver appropriate political education. It may seem odd to compare schools and families with respect to some educational goals. Yet given that families play an important role in shaping the political judgments of children and that some parents see political education as their prerogative, the capacity of families to deliver this collective good is worth questioning. In the third section, the author explains why the school environment--and classrooms in particular--have more potential for the development of considered political judgments. In the fourth, the author deals with the main objection to such a project, which is grounded in the legitimate fear of political indoctrination. And in the fifth the author gives a broad idea of what a citizen-empowering political education aiming at a form of impartiality could look like, to deflate the fear of indoctrination.

The processes of educational planning and program development at the local and national levels differ in centralized and decentralized educational systems. In Türkiye, there is a centralized education system, and curricula are created centrally to include all students. In the United States of America, there is a nationally disseminated curriculum framework for science education and a set of standards developed in accordance with these frameworks, while curriculum development continues at the local level based on these two national documents. Seeing how the curricula are designed in the different systems and what details they provide to teachers would be a source for designing curriculum development policies. The purpose of this study is to provide a comparative description of the scope of curriculum documents and the details of the information they contain in two different systems. The research is a comparative, holistic, multi-case study conducted by analyzing curriculum documents at the national level. As a result of the research, national curriculum documents for science education in the United States contain comprehensive descriptions of expected outcomes and content, even as curriculum development continues to occur at the local level. In contrast, Türkiye's science curriculum describes expected outcomes and content in less detail. The outcomes are discussed in terms of curriculum elements, system diversity, and literature.

The main idea skill presents a structure that is the basis of all kinds of understanding and narration activities. In this respect, while it covers all language skills, it also lays the groundwork for all learning levels and lessons because people communicate through meaning transfer. Therefore, the importance of main idea teaching is not limited to academic skills, but has a potential that affects the whole life. Thus, the existence, number and quality of academic studies on the development and teaching of main idea skills from an early age is one of the issues that should be emphasized. The aim of this research is to examine the studies conducted in Turkey on main idea teaching from various perspectives. Document analysis method, one of the qualitative research approaches, was used in the research. In this context, 6 theses, 13 articles and 2 book chapters were analysed. Related studies were classified according to research types (thesis, article), thesis type (master, doctorate), language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing, visual reading and visual presentation), research method, education level and data sources. According to the results of the research, it is seen that the studies on main idea teaching in Turkey are few in number, they focus on reading skills in the context of language skills, quantitative research methods are used predominantly, there is an orientation towards elementary school and university students in terms of education levels, and studies for students are dominant in terms of data source. According to the results, it can be said that the knowledge, skills and awareness of academic disciplines, policy makers and practitioners should increase in the framework of theory and practice.

Reconsideration of culture pedagogy, in terms of what culture refers to and whose culture dominates English language teaching is a prevalent issue in language teaching. Therefore, in this study, we conducted one-on-one interviews with 17 in-service teachers of English language at three private K-12 schools in a northwestern city of Turkey to examine their conceptualizations of culture and pedagogical orientations towards teaching culture. We analysed the data by using Jackson's seven facets of culture and Larzén-Östermark's classification of teachers' three orientations towards teaching culture. Our findings revealed "culture as learned" as the dominant facet and "cognitive orientation" as the dominant orientation towards teaching culture. However, when teaching culture in a private school, the teachers seemed to experience tensions between the goal of authenticity and the scripted curriculum from the selected textbooks. Few teachers reported parental pressure and resistance regarding the teaching of English culture. Our findings suggest implications for EFL teacher education.

Living in a conservative and traditional society, Kazakhstani people are generally reluctant to openly discuss sex education with their children. However, issues such as family violence, teenage pregnancy and high rates of STIs demonstrate the need to implement good-quality school-based sex education. Access to sex education is the inherent right of any child, and the absence of it is critical, sometimes resulting in dire consequences. Despite the worldwide development and implementation of sexual health education in many countries, it is still not provided in the Kazakhstani educational system due to the subject's cultural sensitivity. This study investigated Kazakhstani primary and secondary school teachers' attitudes and perceptions towards implementing school-based sexual health education. Qualitative data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 10 teachers from both primary and secondary schools in Kazakhstan's Karaganda Region. The findings reveal positive attitudes towards the implementing of sex education regardless of whether they taught in a primary or secondary school, the participant's age, gender, years of teaching experience and urban or rural school location. However, while supportive, most teachers indicated they would not be comfortable or confident teaching sex education.

For several decades now, there have been calls for the creation of inclusive learning environments within regular classroom settings. Teachers and other practitioners involved in this task need various types of guidance to assist them. While general principles deduced from empirically-based positivist studies are valuable, micro-sociology based constructions of teacher 'types' can also be helpful, particularly in helping stakeholders to clarify their views on their work and suggesting possible approaches worthy of being put to the test of practice. Unfortunately, various existing typologies are couched in the language of the social scientist rather than that of practitioners, thus not making them very user friendly. This paper is offered as an attempt at addressing this deficit. Fourteen teachers drawn from 10 different Western Australian schools participated in the study. The analysis led to the generation of five 'types' of teachers in terms of their perspectives on how they have responded to the demand for inclusive learning environments: 'abstainers', 'doggie paddlers', 'splashers', 'pre-squad members' and 'squad members'. The study would be of interest in its implications for educators involved in creating school cultures and professional development related to inclusion, and also, as an ideographic work of theory.

How do educators sustain K-12 district initiatives? Teaching and learning initiatives, despite being well-intentioned, often struggle to gain traction due to limited teacher acceptance or inconsistent program fidelity, so much so that many are familiar with the concept of "initiative decay." Even the most promising initiatives can deteriorate due to staff turnover, leadership transitions, the introduction of new programs, and a gradual decline in enthusiasm. By applying the 10 strategies presented in this article, the authors successfully restored fidelity to Thinking Maps, Kagan Cooperative Learning, and a few other core initiatives and paved the way for a successful rollout of a writing program: (1) Understand the "why" behind initiatives; (2) Limit the number of initiatives; (3) Set clear goals; (4) Get leaders on board; (5) Strengthen professional learning; (6) Build in ongoing coaching and mentoring; (7) Use observations and walkthroughs to assess progress; (8) Address areas of resistance; (9) Be prepared to pivot and adjust; and (10) Celebrate successes.

Many social studies teachers have argued that the mandate to distinctively value Francophone and Indigenous perspectives is unjust without similarly valuing other perspectives within Alberta's K-12 social studies curriculum (Gani, 2022a; Gani & Scott, 2017; Scott & Gani, 2018). Rather than outlining why these two sets of perspectives need to be specifically taught, the current curriculum justifies this mandate based on vague and undefined "historical and constitutional reasons" (Alberta Education, 2005, p. 4). Using an online survey and a focus group interview, Raphaël Gani asked 13 Francophone education stakeholders in Alberta (e.g., teachers, heritage group representatives, education consultants) to justify the distinct attention given to Francophone and Indigenous perspectives in the social studies curriculum. To facilitate this process, participants were asked to respond to quotes from Alberta educators questioning the need to distinctly acknowledge these perspectives. The participants' responses offered a vision of Canada, a goal for education in Alberta, and a means to achieve this goal. They also offered an original view on the nature of Francophone perspectives, their relationship with Indigenous perspectives, along with how both Francophone and Indigenous perspectives are distinct from the many other diverse perspectives in Alberta today.

Australia first documented national goals for primary and secondary education in 1989 with the Hobart Declaration on Schooling. Since then, Australia's goals for the education of children have been updated in three subsequent National Education Declarations. Each of the Declarations includes specific goals for Indigenous Australian students, as well as goals for students to learn about Indigenous Australian peoples and cultures. Arranged into four thematic sections covering each Declaration, this paper traces colonial representation of Indigenous Australians in these policy documents. Each section discusses the socio-political factors that influenced education policy at the time each Declaration was written, and the socio-political priorities of Indigenous peoples in the same period. We argue that the evolution of representations of Indigenous peoples in education policy is evidence of the continued resistance of Indigenous peoples to colonial dominance in education policies.

We discuss one of the oldest ambitions in U.S. education: that teachers should treat children as active learners, teaching should be intellectually engaging, teachers should respect students' thinking, and schools should cultivate thoughtful work. These ideas originated when Horace Mann and his allies campaigned for them. We revisit them and take up a key problem in the study of U.S. schooling: can those ambitions be turned into regular work in many classrooms?

States vary widely in their approaches to charter school regulation. We administered online surveys to charter school leaders in four of the most stringently regulated states and three of the least stringently regulated states to examine how their approach might influence perceived school goals and levels of goal agreement. Generally, survey responses reveal that leaders in both settings perceive similar priorities from school stakeholders. However, charter leaders in low regulation states ascribe greater relative importance to satisfying enrolled families, report that charter authorizers are comparatively less concerned about test scores, and report less clarity regarding school goals. Implications are discussed.

Purpose: This study contributes to a growing literature focused on institutional complexity, or the phenomenon of competing institutional logics, in PK-12 public education. Responding to calls for more nuanced characterizations of district-level administration, our purpose was to identify the logics of curriculum leadership in one large school district in the Western U.S. and examine how district leaders made sense of their multiple demands. Research Methods: Employing case study methods, we collected curricular documents and conducted 21 interviews of district-level curriculum leaders, principals, and teachers. We used inductive coding to identify patterns in the district's culture of curriculum leadership and then drew upon institutional theory to associate these patterns with particular institutional logics. Findings: We found three coexisting logics of curriculum leadership in the school district: a logic of uniformity, which called for teachers' fidelity to a prescriptive curriculum; a logic of participation, which valued teacher voice and shared leadership; and a logic of performance, which placed a premium on measurable student achievement. These logics were often incompatible or contradictory, producing mixed messages and an institutional complexity that remained largely unacknowledged among leaders. Implications: Tensions among logics of curriculum leadership may not always result in open contestation, yet if leaders do not resolve them at the district level, teachers may be unsupported in their efforts to reconcile competing demands in their classroom practices. Identifying specific logics of curriculum leadership and considering their interactions may help leaders make sense of conflicting values and better support teachers in their classroom decision making.

Inevitable and constant change is challenging school systems worldwide, and COVID-19 has further intensified the debate on the future. This article examines the possible futures of Finnish comprehensive schools through three scenarios generated by analysing data from a Delphi panel of 30 Finnish experts in the field of education. This study contributes to two major intertwining debates: first, who or what determines the content and goals of the curriculum. The study's theoretical framework builds on the curriculum as a social practice model, which views curriculum work as interwoven layers and sites of practice. Another topical debate concerns the tension between powerful knowledge and competences in the curricula. This is explored through Young and Muller's model of three types of knowledge: knowledge of power, tacit knowledge and powerful knowledge. The results show that Finnish comprehensive schools have various substantially divergent trends. In the three scenarios, the role of the teacher as a curriculum maker varies from non-existent to a strong interpreter. International policy flows can be transferred to schools to varying degrees. The three types of knowledge included in Young and Muller's model can be recognised in the three scenarios. Competences can be identified as learning outcomes in all scenarios, but the intensity varies. Scenarios are not predictions of the future or policy recommendations but an efficient tool for provoking strategic debate, generating new visionary thinking and considering the need for system-wide change in education.

The launch of Ireland's first official language education policy Languages Connect, Ireland's Strategy for Foreign Languages in Education 2017--2026 (DES 2017) envisages wide-reaching changes for foreign language learning and teaching, both at primary and secondary sector. This study asks if the policy is equipped to address Ireland's main challenges in language learning, and to what extent the policy's aims have been achieved to date. For a critical analysis of documents, both Languages Connect and currently used foreign languages curricula were subjected to Critical Discourse Analysis, and for measures of policy success, latest official statistics on learning uptake were consulted. While the policy documents show some internal consistency and overlap between them in justifying and contextualising language learning for the needs of an outward-facing modern Ireland, they also fail to give coherent answers to key challenges for the Irish context, notably the relation between foreign languages and the Irish language. Comparing aims of Languages Connect with de facto uptake figures validates the limited success of the policy to date. The article concludes that a successful overhaul of foreign language learning in Ireland needs to better align rationales for multilingual competencies with European language policy, and to integrate Irish into these competencies.

This study aimed to analyze articles published in the Web of Science database from 2012 to 2021 to examine the educational goals and instructional designs for STEM education. We selected articles based on the following criteria: (a) empirical research; (b) incorporating instructional design and strategies into STEM teaching; (c) including intervention; (d) focusing on K-12 education and on assessment of learning outcomes; and (e) excluding higher education and STEAM education. Based on the criteria, 229 articles were selected for coding educational goals and instructional designs for STEM education. The aspects of STEM educational goals were coded including engagement and career choice, STEM literacy, and twenty-first century competencies. The categories of instructional designs for STEM education were examined including design-based learning, inquiry-based learning, project-based learning, and problem-based learning. The results showed that engagement and career choices and STEM literacy were mainly emphasized in STEM education. Design-based learning was adopted more than inquiry-based, project-based, or problem-based learning, and this instructional design was mainly used to achieve STEM literacy. It is suggested that studies on twenty-first century competencies may require more research efforts in future STEM education research.

This essay compares and contrasts the educational movements of three nations--the United States, Mexico, and the Soviet Union--established according to Eurocentric cultural values. In each country, mass education was undertaken to help produce an assimilative national culture during formative periods characterized by instability. In two of these nations, the U.S. and Mexico, this foundation eventually required an accommodation to address multiculturalism. This latter-day perspective is designed to recognize, respect, and appreciate a variety of cultures. This essay examines the ways in which these two oppositional goals--monoculturalism and multiculturalism--have intersected in schools.

In this paper, I present a design case of the problem-identification process prior to the initiation of a Networked Improvement Community (NIC). A NIC is a type of research-practice partnership (RPP) that brings together researchers and practitioners to tackle complex problems of practice, and in doing so, proposes a social reorganization of the traditional education change processes. Central to initiating a NIC, and RPPs more broadly, is the identification of a common problem of practice, but this step often takes place before research on a partnership begins. To investigate how a problem of practice is identified, I use the case of PiPNIC, the Personalization in Practice -- Networked Improvement Community, in which a team of university-based researchers used participatory design methods to identify a common problem of practice that would ultimately bring together educators from five schools to participate in the NIC. In the case, I show how the research team constructed a rich problem-solution space and identified a different problem of practice than the research team initially conceived. The problem-identification process, I therefore argue, should be included as a critical component of the NIC initiation framework, and I suggest the "problem-solution space" as a conceptual tool for the joint negotiation of problem identification. The case illuminates how NICs operationalize a social reorganization of research and development in education.

This article focuses on article 28 (right to education), article 29 (goals of education) and article 30 (children from minority or indigenous groups) of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and their implementation in the several national policies of Western Europe, especially the UK and Ireland, and to a lesser extent, France. The present research looked more particularly into the situation of children from two communities: Gypsy, Roma and Travellers (referred to as GRT) and Irish Travellers. Although they are from different backgrounds, the analysis proved relevant because of the bridges that exist between their cultures and lifestyles, and because of their minority status within larger dominant communities, placing their children in the frontline of the UNCRC battle. The text of the UNCRC itself was a starting point. The research was mainly based on a series of reports from governments, from organizations such as the Traveller Movement, on articles from newspapers, and testimonies from GRT children and Irish Travellers. The results showed that the implementation of articles 28 to 30 of the UNCRC was being by and large slowly carried out by the countries under study. Yet, national disparities were evident. Also, their national policies revealed different contexts. Ireland seemed to be paving the way for the inclusion of minorities within the educational system.

The aim of the study is to evaluate the National Education Council [NEC] decisions made from 1939 to 2021 in line with the components of inclusive education. In this context, the NEC decisions were examined in line with the themes of access, support, and participation, which are the components of inclusive education. In this study, document analysis was used and thematic analysis was performed. Access, support, and participation were determined as themes in this study. When the findings related to the access sub-theme are examined, it is seen that the decisions about equality of opportunity, special edification, rural-urban differences, disabled children, and technological support stand out. There are more decisions related the teacher education in the support sub-theme, and more decisions related the learning process in the participation sub-theme. According to the findings obtained from the study, it is seen that there are more decisions regarding inclusive education, especially since the 9th NEC. The highest number of decisions were taken at the 20th NEC. Considering that the NEC is an important meeting where decisions on education policies are taken for Turkey, it is recommended to increase systematic efforts to achieve the goals of inclusive education.

Although Machine Learning (ML) is used already in our daily lives, few are familiar with the technology. This poses new challenges for students to understand ML, its potential, and limitations as well as to empower them to become creators of intelligent solutions. To effectively guide the learning of ML, this article proposes a scoring rubric for the performance-based assessment of the learning of concepts and practices regarding image classification with artificial neural networks in K-12. The assessment is based on the examination of student-created artifacts as a part of open-ended applications on the use stage of the Use-Modify-Create cycle. An initial evaluation of the scoring rubric through an expert panel demonstrates its internal consistency as well as its correctness and relevance. Providing a first step for the assessment of concepts on image recognition, the results may support the progress of learning ML by providing feedback to students and teachers.

This study aims to examine the perceptions of principles, assistant principals, teachers, and academicians on the applicability of the policies included in the 2023 Education Vision Blueprint (VB) published by the Ministry of National Education (MEB) to improve the quality of education. Conducting phenomenological method as one of the qualitative research designs, the participants of the study consists of 68 principals, 70 assistant principals, 112 teachers and 13 academicians working in schools affiliated to the Ministry of National Education and the universities. Data were collected through the 2023 Vision Blueprint Evaluation Questionnaire developed by educational experts. Content analysis was used to evaluate the qualitative data and the and descriptive statistics were used to interpret the quantitative data. The results of the research show that most practitioners and academicians read 2023 VB but they did not attend any meeting related to the VB. Practitioners consisting of principals, assistant principals and teachers believe that VB meets needs of today's education system while academicians are more likely to have negative opinions on this subject. The study concluded that the perception of the participants regarding the implementation of 2023 VB as planned is low excepts for assistants and assistant principles. By comparing perceptions and views of school administrators, teachers, and academicians, this research will make important contributions to the current literature on 2023 VB to develop and implement effective educational policies.

Purpose: The paper provides an overview of the current state of school social science education in Ukraine, whose development is considered in the context of its internal and external challenges. Design/methodology/approach: The analysis of the regulatory documents, school social science curriculum and course syllabi as well as publications and interviews with the stakeholders are the methods applied to identify the mission, content and current challenges of social science education. Findings: The underlying concept is based on universal human, European and national values, respect for Ukrainian traditions and the traditions of other cultures and ethnic groups, principles of democracy, human rights and freedoms. Being a dynamic area of education, school social science is undergoing a transformation under the New Ukrainian School reform focusing on competency based integrative approach to education. The Russian military aggression against the country is another transformation factor that is currently being addressed.

The multiple academic and social advantages of a dual language education are well known; yet there is little practical guidance for Catholic school leaders who are taking on this whole school change. This paper explores the necessary steps for Catholic school leaders to develop equitable dual language schools. Guided by the Gospel principles of love and justice and using the Community of Practice theoretical framework, the authors argue that taking thoughtful risks in transforming one's school can lead to meaningful learning in service to culturally and linguistically diverse students. Seven main implementation areas for developing a dual language Catholic school are considered: Clear goals, vision, and mission; leadership and support; productive partnerships; quality personnel; knowledge of students and high expectations; recruiting, retaining and reassuring students and families; and cross-cultural curriculum and instruction. Practical insights, timelines for feasibility and implementation, as well as examples for school leaders are provided.

The purpose of this article is two-fold. First, we seek to make a case for the promise of dual language programs to enhance Catholic schooling and enrich educational opportunities for Latinx students. Second, we offer insights into the current landscape of Catholic schools with dual language programs, drawing upon data from a national survey conducted by University of Notre Dame researchers in 2020. Through our presentation of the findings, we consider characteristics of current program models and identify areas of success, challenges, and opportunities for future growth. We conclude with a discussion of the possibilities for strengthening and sustaining dual language education in Catholic schools.