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Introduction: This study examined potential legal precedent set by holdings in administrative due process hearings where instruction in the expanded core curriculum (ECC) for school-age children was decided. Methods: This study used an analogical reasoning approach. This legal research method includes examining the rule of law, presenting cases for comparison, and applying the fact pattern to predict outcomes of current or future cases. Results: The results demonstrate that the inclusion of the ECC in an Individualized Education Program (IEP) varies from state to state. Only two states have passed legislation requiring instruction in the ECC. These statutes have been referenced in case holdings. Administrative hearings from four different jurisdictions in the United States have held that the ECC must be included in the IEP to some extent. Discussion: The ECC is a critical component of the education of students with visual impairments and must be incorporated in some form within their IEPs. Depending upon the jurisdiction, the ECC may have to be explicitly stated in the IEP, while in other locales it may have to be embedded within the IEP. In some states, specific statutes governing instruction in the ECC form the rule of law. Implications for Practitioners: School administrators and teachers of students with visual impairments should be knowledgeable of the legislation governing the ECC in their state and the legal precedents that have been created in their state. School administrators and teachers of students with visual impairments should carefully consider how the principles of a legal precedent can be applied to situations within their own communities to understand their obligations and likelihood of prevailing in any legal dispute. Finally, parents and students with visual impairments should be aware of the legal precedent created for the ECC in their state and use the dispute resolution process to inform change in their own communities as the families did in these exemplar cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on how school development effective accompany through formative aligned external evaluations. It mentions that external evaluation of the Introduction and implementation of the Curriculum 21 in the canton of Schwyz performed by the Abteilung Schulentwicklung und -betrieb (ASEB) of the Amts für Volksschulen (AVS) examines the existing laws, regulations and instructions on curriculum 21 compatibility.

The article examines current laws that prohibit teachers from addressing LGBTQ+ issues in the classroom. Topics discussed include importance of LGBTQ+ issues in literature classrooms provides the opportunity to liberate both LGBTQ+ and non LGBTQ+ identifying students from misconceptions and stereotypes; information on "no promo homo law" by which teachers struggle to provide support for LGBTQ+ students; and importance of connections between scholastic and real daily life.

Since the Supreme Court’s invalidation of anti-gay marriage laws, scholars and advocates have been debating the LGBT movement’s near-term strategies and priorities. This Article joins that conversation by developing the framework for a national campaign to repeal or invalidate anti-gay curriculum laws---statutes that prohibit or restrict the discussion of homosexuality in public schools. Anti-gay curriculum laws expose LGBT students to stigmatization and bullying and they are far more prevalent than scholars and advocates have recognized. In the existing literature, these provisions are called “no promo homo” laws and are said to exist in only a handful of states. Based on a comprehensive survey of federal and state law, this Article shows that anti-gay provisions exist in the curriculum laws of twenty states and in a federal law that governs the annual distribution of $75 million for abstinence-education programs. Grounded in moral disapproval and anti-gay animus, these laws plainly violate the Constitution’s equal protection guarantees under the Supreme Court’s landmark rulings in Romer v. Evans, Lawrence v. Texas, Windsor v. United States, and Obergefell v. Hodges. Yet federal and state officials will retain the legal authority to enforce these laws unless and until courts enjoin them from doing so. Challenging anti-gay curriculum laws is a necessary and important step toward establishing the legal equality of LGBT people and creating a safe environment for LGBT students in the nation’s public schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) passed in 2015.

The paper focuses on the promise of equity that underlies centralized evaluation policies and its relation to difference, or in other words to the singularity of the subject. I defend that without taking the issue of difference into consideration, there is no education, and that the unique subject is what is aspired by education. The analyses rely on recent Brazilian evaluation policy as object. Large-scale testing policies, like much of public policy, are built on the premise that equity is both possible and desirable. First, I try to demonstrate that this is a fallacious promise and then question its desirability. I consider the fact that such a promise even if not delivered does not make it harmless. It creates effects of power while making the idea that ‘no children [should be] left behind’ hegemonic. Naturalizing the existence of a ‘behind’ creates a demarcation line without which it would not be feasible to define this ‘behind’. I argue that the only way to ensure that nobody is excluded is to blur this line, deconstructing the very idea of inclusion, betting on an education committed to the uniqueness of subjects in which the idea of ‘behind’ does not make sense. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

As US classrooms approach a decade of response to No Child Left Behind, many questions and concerns remain around the education of those labeled as English language learners, in mainstream, English as a Second Language, and bilingual education classrooms. A national policy context where standardized tests dominate curriculum and instruction, and first language literacy is discouraged and undervalued, poses unusual challenges for learners whose communicative repertoires encompass translanguaging practices. Drawing on ethnographic data from two different educational contexts, we argue via a continua of biliteracy lens that the welcoming of translanguaging in classrooms is not only necessary, but desirable educational practice. We suggest that Obama's current policies, on the one hand, and our schools' glaring needs, on the other, offer new spaces to be exploited for innovative programs, curricula, and practices that recognize, value, and build on the communicative repertoires and translanguaging practices of students, their families, and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Do state curricular standards and examinations constrain the behavior of public school teachers? More specifically, do they interfere with teachers’ responsiveness to local district preferences? We explore these questions in the highly contested arena of instruction in evolutionary biology. Drawing upon an original national survey of high school biology teachers, we find that their classroom practices conform to community preferences. This responsiveness occurs largely through a process of assortative employment. However, we show that teachers are less responsive to public opinion when state curricular standards are supported by high-stakes testing. We therefore offer a general model of how policy implementation can be influenced by local community sentiment and, more generally, how the architecture of public policy can attenuate responsiveness to local public opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article examines the constitutionality of the Lesson 9 curriculum in California public elementary schools which include short sessions about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) families, integrating them into general lessons about family and health. It notes that the introduction of a gay-friendly curriculum in public elementary schools causes conflict between parents who want to foster their children with their own values and the power of the state to supervise the education of school children and their public interests. However, it asserts that a gay-positive curriculum like Lesson 9 does not compel any constitutionally substantial burden on the rights of children and their parents and is a good approach to help children understand about their diverse society.

The Common Framework of Science Learning Outcomes (Council of Ministers of Education, Canada [CMEC], 1997) is a nationally developed curriculum document generated from the Pan-Canadian Protocol for Collaboration on School Curriculum-an initiative of the CMEC with the intent of harmonization learning goals and science instruction in Canadian schools. This article explores the influence of the Framework on science curriculum and assessment in Canadian schools through document search and analysis as well as informant surveys and interviews. The exploration reveals a pervasive presence of the Framework in both general directions and design elements and in the specific direct use of the document in curriculum development initiatives in the ministries of education throughout Canada. Further, it is evident that the pace of the influence of curricular reform initiatives, such as the Framework, is determined by curriculum development and implementation. A final issue identified is the need for specifics of operational definition for the implementation and evaluation of reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many general education classrooms today, teachers are using "reform" mathematics curricula. These curricula emphasize the application of mathematics in real-life contexts and include such practices as collaborative, group problem solving and student-generated algorithms. Students with learning disabilities in the area of mathematics can experience challenges with these curricula due to lack of content knowledge and requisite skills along with processing and strategy deficits. The purpose of this article is to present information on strategies that can be used to complement math reform curricula to meet the needs of students with math learning disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an evaluation of the effectiveness of Ghana's local content curriculum program (LCC) which was enacted in an effort to decentralize the country's education system, develop locally relevant courses and decrease instances of dropout at the junior high level. The program was designed to provide Ghana's teachers with a new level of responsibility in terms of curriculum development. The author examines how well teachers responded to this challenge, how well they developed courses that were relevant with the realities of the communities they served and what impact the program had on instances of dropout.

The article discusses the educational assessment system in Portugal. Portuguese education's current structure, organization, trends, and guidelines are framed by the Fundamental Law of the Education System. It is stated to provide a vision for the education system within the new democratic political system. According to the guidelines, pupils in the primary sections should be given the opportunities to acquire attitudes, knowledge, skills and competencies to reach secondary education. Educational assessment here, is based on principles including coherence among the education cycles, curriculum development, and regulation of teaching and learning, and engagement of students in experimental and practical activities in all disciplines.

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The Shoah is the only subject in the school curriculum that is anchored in the 1980 Compulsory State Educational Law, and is therefore an important integral part in the school history curriculum. Since the Shoah is part of the Israeli collective memory and has a substantial presence in its public discourse, it has been a didactic challenge for the composers of the curricula. This article examines the teaching of a curriculum set in 2000 to implement a new educational policy that emphasizes acquiring knowledge, disciplinary skills, and historical concepts rather than values and sentiments. It looks into teaching itself by studying official and unofficial textbooks, exams, and summaries in four subjects: central themes in former curricula (armed resistance, steadfastness, ghettos, and the participants), new themes in historical research (work, regional studies, the "other"), integration of Jewish and general history, and academic skills (processes, documents). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the high qualification for Physical Education Teachers. It is said that physical education will be included in the curricula in Elementary and Secondary Education during the legislation reauthorization process. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) should develop national standards to fill the positions of excellent leadership. It is cited that under the "No Child Left Behind Act," NASPE has adopted a position statement, with a description of the highly qualified physical education teacher.

The article describes the impact of the 1999 Bologna Process on German library and information science education programs. The first master's studies in library science in Berlin, Germany and Cologne, Germany did not initially conform to the Bologna regulations, and it is noted that German negotiations about program length and coursework continued into 2008. Institutions offering programs include Berlin's Humboldt-University and Fachhochschulen in Stuttgart, Germany, and in Hamburg, Germany.

The article focuses on the teaching of sex education in schools and the laws governing it in the U.S. The 21 states require public schools to include education about sexuality, disease prevention or reproduction in the curricula. However, ten states permit but do not require sex education about sexually transmitted diseases. With respect to the curricula, courts have not recognized parents' constructional right to refuse in allowing their children to complete an assigned reading and other mandatory requirements if the assignment is contrary to the parent or child's religion. In addition, states recognize that sex education is controversial and many provide opt-out or opt-in provisions in the sex education statutes.

This article discusses similarities and differences in government policies on literacy in the United Kingdom and the United States and the culture of mistrust that has contributed to governments taking increasing control of education. Transatlantic trends in the areas of national literacy standards, curriculum, and assessment are discussed in relation to two themes: "sustaining myths" and "necessary illusions." Transatlantic similarities are noted in the cases of two sustaining myths: that education is getting better and that literacy attainment is steadily rising. Five necessary illusions that portray a more negative picture are also presented. These suggest that reading standards are low; that parents are not to blame for low reading standards; that teachers are not to blame, and therefore those who trained them must be culpable; that teacher educators have failed to understand key research findings on literacy and have carried out flawed research themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent public policy discussions and documents reflect frames that will have profound effects on questions central to teachers of and students in basic writing courses. We argue that if basic writing instructors/administrators want to have a voice in these discussions, we must develop strategies and gather data to support our positions; we then propose some potential strategies and possible questions for research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have devised and implemented a DNA fingerprinting module for an upper division undergraduate laboratory based on the amplification and analysis of three of the 13 short tandem repeat loci that are required by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Combined DNA Index System (FBI CODIS) data base. Students first collect human epithelial (cheek) cells using sterile buccal swabs and then utilize commercially available kits and materials to extract genomic DNA. This is followed by the PCR amplification of three specific short tandem repeat loci (i.e. CSFIPO, TPOX, THO1). Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis is used to resolve the allelic bands associated with the three short tandem repeat loci, and the results are statistically analyzed in the context of human population genetics. In addition, DNA was collected from a family, and the children's allele sets were compared with those of the parents to help illustrate paternal and maternal relatedness. This module enables students to use the materials and methods employed by actual law enforcement agencies and therefore can be used for laboratory exercises in traditional biochemistry curricula as well as for the growing field of forensic science and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper I begin by outlining the key characteristics of a view of learning that has been pre‐eminent in the past 30 years in the United Kingdom. The focus of this discourse has been less upon understanding the processes and practices of learning as a complex process and more upon improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the curriculum and of teaching to meet taken‐for‐granted needs. Making use of two case studies, I exemplify a connective approach, as a transaction with the environment, which acknowledges both the contextual and incremental character of knowledge‐making, and the interplay between different cultural factors and influences, including discourse and identity, that play‐upon learning. This recognises the importance of all the different learning opportunities available to young people while lending support to claims for approaches to both the design of the curriculum and teaching that allow young people to learn in formal and informal contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educational underachievement in gateway subjects such as mathematics and science is a continuing challenge in South African schools, In a bid to develop technologically competent mathematicians end scientists while addressing the shortage of teacher capacity in the country, the government has turned to computer technology to support and strengthen teaching and learning in disadvantaged classrooms. The assumption underlying the use of computers in these schools is that computers will enable students to cover the curriculum more efficiently and effectively, leading to improved performance. However, the extent to which a computer can impact positively on students' achievement depends on how a computer is used as a learning/teaching tool I seek to illustrate the potential use of Activity Theory as a framework for understanding how teachers use technology to mediate the teaching and learning of mathematics in primary schools. To this end, I argue for an understanding of the notion of an ‘object’ as a methodological concept capable of tracking shifts within and between activity systems. Drawing on interview data collected from four case studies carded out in the Western Cape, South Africa, an account of teachers' perceptions regarding how pedagogy shifts across the different contexts of the traditional lesson and the computer laboratory is developed. I conclude by arguing that the strength of Activity Theory lies in its ability to enable one to understand learning as the complex result of tool-mediated interactions, rather than as something opaque, which happens in a student's mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education in South Africa is facing great challenges, especially with regard to curriculum development. Teachers are principal role-players in the process of addressing these challenges. The question is: Are they allowed to participate in the process, and if they do participate, what is the nature of their involvement? Within the context of the current curriculum changes in education in South Africa, stringent demands are being made on teachers. This process of continuous change has not yet stabilised and therefore it is imperative that there should be dialogue about what is expected of teachers when it is suggested that they should be ‘more involved in curriculum development’. An attempt is made to contribute to this discourse by focusing on what is meant by teacher involvement in brief, the possible viewpoints regarding this concept, and the real nature and extent of possible involvement within a specific South African context. Results of the research project indicated that teachers were for the most part excluded from participation in curriculum development at curriculum levels outside the classroom. Their perception was that, although they were the subject and/or learning area specialists, little attention, if any, was given to their ‘voice’ — they were only involved in the implementation of the new curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents an article on developing a curriculum for the Mount Abraham Union High School in Addison County, Vermont. Description of documents dealing directly or indirectly with the curriculum of the school; Overview of an experiment in education at the University of Chicago in Illinois conducted by U.S. philosopher, psychologist and educational reformer John Dewey; Background on Vermont statutes and regulations pertaining to the curriculum; Information on the book "Core Knowledge Sequence," by E. D. Hirsch.

Analyzes the relationship between state curriculum mandate and student knowledge of personal finance in the United States. Number of states covered by the study; Result showing an absence of relationship between the curriculum mandates and the scores of students; Implications of the study for educational development.

The authors reflect on the impact of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English/language arts and mathematics to K-12 students on the school community. They mention that CCSS teachers, other services personnel, and school social workers are making ways to understand the standards, how to teach based on the standards, and how to play their teaching roles. The authors reveal that the CCSS have been created with input from teachers, administrators, and parents and are adopted by 45 U.S. states.

This article discusses court decisions and legislative provisions governing textbooks and curriculum of schools in the U.S. Subject to constitutional limitations, the power of adoption and control of textbooks is vested solely in the legislature. It may provide for a uniform series of textbooks which must be used, to the exclusion of all others, in all districts of the state except those definitely excepted, and may, without creating a monopoly, grant the exclusive right of furnishing such books to a person, firm, or corporation. The authors suggest that the terms of the statutes must be strictly complied with by adopting authorities and those dealing with school officials must take notice of the authority conferred upon them by law.

The article focuses on the developments of teacher preparation programs and the evaluation of college transcripts in Georgia. During 1870 to 1924 teachers can have the license to teach by passing an examination given by the school superintendent of the county. From 1924 to 1932, a 120 semester hours collegiate preparation and 18 semester hours in education was established as the professional requirement for the four-year certificate. And during the later half of the 1930's decade, the state was engaged in intensive curriculum study and reorganization.

In this article, the author presents his views regarding the contribution of Mercer law faculty members to create a collection of essays related to law curricular and instructional innovation for the Mercer University School of Law in Georgia. He discusses his role as a dean and faculty member at the Law School in the year 2010 and also informs about a series of meetings that he scheduled with the committee members to discuss the curriculum of law school.

Comments on the support and opportunities for gifted children in New Zealand. Efforts of the Ministry of Education in developing guidelines for the education of the gifted and talented children; Account on the Tall Poppy Syndrome as barriers on the recognition of giftedness; Implications of the eagerness of the people on sports for gifted education.

The article reports on the plan to infuse constitutional law into the educational curriculum of public schools in the U.S. A survey showed an appalling insensitivity on the part of adults all across the country to rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution. It was this survey that aroused concern of teachers and other citizens to mount a major initiative for the improvement of law-related education. Education in the Bill of Rights became the major scheme for the meeting of the National Council for the Social Studies.