Originally published in 1977. This is a lively account of the day-to-day running of European schools based in five countries - France, West Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal. It outlines the organisation of education in these countries, and examines aspects of curriculum, teaching methods, examinations, attitudes of teachers and pupils, buildings, equipment, out-of-school activities, pastoral care, discipline and rules and depicts what it is like to be a pupil or teacher in a European school. The schools discussed are mainly primary and lower secondary grades - the basic compulsory education of each country. Details of working hours, programmes and curricula which are, notably, often government controlled, are given in Appendices. But the author stresses that his aim throughout has been to show how individual schools work and adopt these rules to their own situation. He discusses the relative advantages and drawbacks of different educational systems, and draws his own conclusions about the favourable impressions he gained from many schools and the Awful Warning he saw in a few. This survey throws as much light on schools at home as on those in Europe and suggests that we have a good deal to learn from our neighbours.

Originally published in 1988. Bringing the world close to universal literacy will be a major legacy of the twentieth century. But the rapid and widespread developments in education that have enabled this to happen have not taken place in a social and political vacuum. In some instances conditions conducive to mass literacy have only come about through popular revolution or rapid economic development, but a less spectacular and frequently less tangible role has been played by a number of international agencies. The most prominent of these is Unesco, which has had the goal of global literacy at the heart of its endeavours ever since its foundation in 1946. Agreement on the best means of achieving this goal, however, has been very difficult to come by, and Unesco's literacy program has been shaped by internal and external politics as well as by local exigencies. This book outlines how Unesco's literacy program has evolved, and by discussing how idealistic aims and intentions have been given shape and direction by more immediate political and bureaucratic concerns provides a critique, in miniature, of the post-war history of the United Nations and related organisations.

Samuel Wilderspin became a household name in his own lifetime. Befriended by Dickens, lampooned by Cruikshank, his achievements discussed in Parliament, he was one of the best known educators of the 1830s and 1840s. However, Wilderspin's consistent opposition to denominational education combined with his liberal and advanced views made him unpopular with the Establishment. Samuel Wilderspin's fame declined after his retirement in 1847 but his reputation as an infant school educator has survived. Many of his ideas and practices have had a great influence on infant education. In this book, first published in 1982, Wilderspin's own story is placed in the context of this growing movement led by Owen, Buchanan and Oberlin, and it goes a long way towards reinstating him as one of the prominent figures in the early education movement. This title will be of interest to students of history and education.

Jumpstart! Creativity contains over 70 games and activities that any primary teacher can use to quickly and easily boost students' creative and critical thinking skills, allowing their thinking to flourish. Now in its second edition, the book contains fresh material that will help children to engage with the new National Curriculum. Applicable across a wide age and ability range, Jumpstart! Creativity is designed to help children learn to generate, organise and refine their own ideas and to explore, question and connect knowledge presented to them in the classroom. Focusing on getting the children to do the thinking work, the jumpstarts cover: Creative thinking Creative questioning Creating reasoning Creative problem solving Creative wordplay Filled with practical, fun-packed and easy-to-do activities, Jumpstart! Creativity is an essential companion to any primary teacher looking to inspire creativity and independent thinking in their students.

Authentic Teaching and Learning for PreK-Fifth Grade provides examples of pedagogical approaches to enhance rich curriculums based around frameworks such as Teaching for Understanding, Making Thinking and Learning Visible, Artful Thinking, and Out of Eden Learn. You will learn about real classrooms that have successfully transformed cutting-edge ideas from these different frameworks into powerful learning experiences. A highly practical resource based on Harvard's Project Zero ideas, this book shares how research findings have been complemented and implemented in the field, and will teach you how to apply best practices that lead to meaningful and authentic learning experiences in the classroom that promote Habits of Mind.

Due to the demand for flexible working hours and employees who are available around the clock, the time patterns of childcare and schooling have increasingly become a political issue. Comparing the development of different "time policies" of half-day and all-day provisions in a variety of Eastern and Western European countries since the end of World War II, this innovative volume brings together internationally known experts from the fields of comparative education, history, and the social and political sciences, and makes a significant contribution to this new interdisciplinary field of comparative study.

Learn the principles of comprehensive professional development and motivate elementary school teachers to be more effective in the classroom! In Building Effective Professional Development in Elementary School, Judy Johnson presents a career-long and comprehensive approach to professional development that gives teachers the support they need to improve instruction and raise the levels of student achievement. Her book not only explains how to create and lead a successful PD program; it also offers practical advice for establishing a school culture that will encourage teachers to collaborate and self-motivate in an effort to improve instruction. Other topics include: Training to deepen content knowledge and expand the teaching repertoire; Identifying high-performing educators and helping them build upon their strengths; Using teaching demonstrations to enliven and diversify classroom practice; Creating an effective mentorship program that brings out the best in faculty members, regardless of experience level; Resolving problems with recruitment, dealing with disgruntled teachers, assessing teaching quality, and overcoming other obstacles preventing implementation of a comprehensive professional development program; And more!

Teachers are the most important determinant of the quality of schools. We should be doing everything we can to help them get better. In recent years, however, a cocktail of box-ticking demands, ceaseless curriculum reform, disruptive reorganisations and an audit culture that requires teachers to document their every move, have left the profession deskilled and demoralised. Instead of rolling out the red carpet for teachers, we have been pulling it from under their feet. The result is predictable: there is now a cavernous gap between the quantity and quality of teachers we need, and the reality in our schools. In this book, Rebecca Allen and Sam Sims draw on the latest research from economics, psychology and education to explain where the gap came from and how we can close it again. Including interviews with current and former teachers, as well as end-of-chapter practical guidance for schools, The Teacher Gap sets out how we can better recruit, train and retain the next generation of teachers. At the heart of the book is a simple message: we need to give teachers a career worth having.

The book presents 18 games and develops the concepts of game analysis and winning strategies. Students are encouraged to play these mathematical games together, collect data developed through their play, and analyze the data to develop a winning strategy. The book provides the basis for a six- to eight-week unit on mathematical games. Each chapter also functions as a self-contained and independent exploration so that selected chapters may be used as supplementary classroom investigations or as independent projects. The book includes both familiar games (such as Quadrangles and Nim) and many others that will be new and exciting to most readers. Through the exploration of mathematical games, 'The Play's the Thing' introduces teachers and students to the fun of play and to the mathematics behind the fun.

Games, Ideas and Activities for Primary Music is a handy tool for Primary Music teachers; it is packed full of simple activities for your classroom and is organised by skill - singing, rhythm, playing, listening. Activities can be easily adapted to suit different classes or topics and help you to feel more confident teaching Music. Prior musical knowledge is not necessary to use these activities, and a glossary of music terminology is included. Cross-curricular links inspire creativity across the primary curriculum and brighten up your classroom!

What happened in the house that Jack built? It all started with the cheese that lay in the house that Jack built. And then came the rat that ate the cheese and the cat who killed the rat. Caldecott Medal?winning author and illustrator Simms Taback brings his distinctive humor and creativity to the beloved story of Jack and the house that he built.

Here is an antidote to the stifling academic grind brought on by accountability testing. It demonstrates how mastery of skills can be a joy rather than a chore and describes in detail a highly successful program of structured skill-mastery centers that engage students independently while the teacher works closely with a small group. This system of managing the classroom helps the teacher provide materials that match the many achievement levels of children in the classroom. Typically in use for 60-90 minutes in a school day, up to four days a week, the system works well with the whole language or the guided practice approaches to reading. The program, developed by Carolyn Lawrence, is being used successfully throughout 63 elementary schools in one Florida school district. Many of the schools are nationally recognized for their achievement in test scores. The ideas in this book are simple, clear, and ready to use to bring back excitement, freedom, and smiles to children in their classroom life. Students are eager to get to the skill practice work in the mastery centers, largely because they get to use a variety of manipulative materials matched to their levels. These materials are inexpensive, readily available and described in the book. This book will be of interest to professors of education, superintendents, curriculum and instruction educators, principals, teachers, and parents.

The Chinese language is now used by a quarter of the world's population and is increasingly popular as a second language. Teaching Chinese Literacy in the Early Years comprehensively investigates the psychology, pedagogy and practice involved in teaching Chinese literacy to young children. This text not only explores the psycholinguistic and neuropsychological processing involved in learning Chinese literacy but also introduces useful teaching methods and effective practices relevant for teaching within early years and primary education. Key issues explored within this text include: The Psycholinguistics of Chinese Literacy Neuropsychological Understanding of Chinese Literacy The pedagogy of teaching Chinese as a first language The Pedagogy of Teaching Chinese as a second language Teaching Chinese literacy in early childhood settings Assessing Chinese Literacy Attainment in the Early Years With the addition of two reliable Chinese literacy scales, Teaching Chinese Literacy in the Early Years is an essential text for any student, lecturer or professional teacher who is interested in learning and teaching Chinese literacy.

Teaching and Learning for Intercultural Understanding is a comprehensive resource for educators in primary and early years classrooms. It provides teachers with a complete framework for developing intercultural understanding among pupils and includes practical and creative strategies and activities to stimulate discussion, awareness and comprehension of intercultural issues and ideas. Drawing on the most current research and work in the field of intercultural competence and existing models of intercultural understanding, this book explores topics such as: understanding culture and language the importance of personal and cultural identity engaging with difference cultivating positive attitudes and beliefs embedding awareness of local and global issues in students designing a classroom with intercultural understanding in mind. With detailed ready-to-use, enquiry-based lesson plans, which incorporate children's literature, talking points and media resources, this book encourages the practitioner to consider intercultural understanding as another lens through which to view the curriculum when creating and choosing learning materials and activities. Teaching and Learning for Intercultural Understanding sets out to help the reader engage young hearts and minds with global and local concepts in a way that is easily integrated into the life of all primary schools - from New York to New Delhi, from Birmingham to Bangkok.

Literacy and Democracy in South African Primary Schools presents findings based on two research projects conducted in South African primary schools during the same time frame. Working from the South African Foundation Phase curriculum that was introduced in 2009, the first project focused on the introduction of leadership qualities and the election of classroom representatives in 3rd grade classes in four elementary schools. The other introduced process-based writing to teachers and researched the process and products of children's stories. The book describes research experiences from the field, provides a brief overview of the history of the South African education system, and looks ahead to the future transformation of global educational systems.

Early childhood education in Western society has come under increasing scrutiny by governments that see early education as an important factor in economic growth and development. Thus, social traditions in the field are increasingly giving way to an intensified focus on marketization and regulation, but with a corresponding diminishing concern for ethics and social participation. Drawing on the work of contemporary French philosopher Paul Ricoeur, Sandy Farquhar analyzes the problematic way in which we become who we are and the discourse that surrounds that learning. The book explores the ethical basis of identity formation in early childhood education and seeks fresh alternatives to commonly accepted perspectives on social policy, education, and the nature of our 'selves.' Farquhar uses Aotearoa New Zealand bicultural curriculum and policy context as examples for developing the theme of curriculum as a contest of ideas and a powerful form of resistance. Promoting the importance of narrative in understanding identity formation, the book elaborates on contemporary themes of difference, ethics, and social justice, calling for a revitalized sense of liberalism and social democracy.

Building Kids' Citizenship Through Community Engagement offers a compelling, empirically-based argument for giving young people opportunities to grow through productive involvement with their local community. Drawing on John Dewey's pragmatic frame of experience and concepts of bildung that inform educational practice in Europe, the book speaks directly to teachers and parents who are looking for a way to support young people in their efforts to become confident, self-directed citizens. Throughout, the book offers a paradigm for growth that counters the limits of narrow visions of schooling and equally thin out-of-school learning opportunities which serve to limit young people's potential. In framing the argument, veteran educator Bob Coulter draws on more than 30 years of experience that includes extensive work with youth as a classroom teacher and in a variety of other community-based efforts, as well as 18 years of work as a mentor to teachers and parents. Key themes running through Building Kids' Citizenship Through Community Engagement include a cogent argument in support of young people assuming an active, age-appropriate role as citizens, as well as a modern updating of Dewey's concept of experience that is suitable for a technological age. These theoretical ideas are made tangible through specific recommendations for productive uses of digital technology and a critical review of several frameworks that have proven useful for designing and evaluating the quality of kids' community-based learning experiences.

Synthesizing a range of studies on morphological processing from the past 30 years, this edited collection presents the current state of knowledge on morphological processing and defines classroom practices to help students conceptualise the role of morphology in reading, spelling, and vocabulary development. Research has increasingly indicated the importance of morphological tasks in relation to reading, spelling, and vocabulary acquisition in the classroom. Chapter authors present the theoretical considerations guiding morphological processing research to date, address the use of morphology with reference to different populations of learners, and propose effective and innovative instructional strategies for integrating morphology in the classroom.

Digital Tools for Knowledge Construction in the Elementary Grades was written for teachers who wish to gain a better understanding of how to integrate technology into their classrooms from a student-centered perspective. When done so, students must take more control of, and therefore more responsibility for, their learning. This book is divided into two sections. Part I provides a foundation and rational for student-centered learning, instructional strategies for technology integration, and using this approach to help teachers assess their students in meeting academic standards. Part II includes foundational technology information and appropriate use of digital tools for communication, collaboration, research, publishing, and even games for learning. This text provides methods and examples of technology integration that supports students' achievement of national academic standards by using today's digital tools for communication, collaboration, research and publishing. When students learn how to become knowledgeable global digital citizens they gain the requisite skills for tomorrow's creative thinkers, problem solvers, and decision makers.

Artists have always had a role in imagining a more socially just, inclusive world-many have devoted their lives to realizing this possibility. In a culture ever more embedded in performance and the visual, examining the role of arts in multicultural teaching for social justice is a timely focus. In Activist Art in Social Justice Pedagogy approaches to using activist art to teach a multicultural curriculum are examined and critiqued. Examples of activist artists and their strategies illustrate how study of and engagement in activist art processes glocally-connecting local and global issues-can deepen critical literacy and commitment to social justice. This book is relevant to those (1) interested in teaching more about artist/activist social movements around the globe, (2) preparing pre-service teachers to teach for social justice, (3) concerned about learning how to engage diverse learners through the arts, (4) teaching courses related to arts-based multicultural education, critical literacy, and culturally relevant teaching. As we think more broadly we address the question "why does a 'social justice through the arts in education' approach make sense"; describe examples of preservice teacher assignments examining artists' roles in activist movements, promoting multicultural understanding and social justice; and share approaches to and examples of using the arts in the United States and abroad to deepen multicultural comprehension and teaching for social justice.

Now in its second edition, Teaching Primary English is a bestselling, comprehensive, evidence-informed guide designed to support and inspire teaching and learning in the primary school. Written in a clear and accessible way, it draws on the very latest research and theory to describe and exemplify a full and rich English curriculum. It offers those on teacher training courses, as well as qualified teachers who are looking to develop their practice, invaluable subject knowledge and guidance for effective, enjoyable classroom practice. Throughout there is an emphasis on equity and inclusion. Advice and ideas are supported by explicit examples of good teaching linked to video clips filmed in real schools, reflective activities, observational tasks and online resources. Each chapter includes suggestions for great children’s literature, considers assessment throughout and offers support in planning for inclusion and special educational needs. New and expanded areas for this edition include: Multimodal texts Increased coverage of Early Years Dialogic learning and oracy Comprehensive companion website with revised and additional resources A new section on digital literacies Reading for pleasure Teaching grammar in context Critical literacy With a focus on connecting all modes of English, the global and the local, and home and school experience, this detailed, uplifting book, includes inspiring case studies throughout and will support you in developing a curious, critical approach to teaching and learning English. Additional content can be found on the fantastic supporting website. Features include: Video clips from within the classroom to demonstrate English teaching techniques Audio resources, including an interactive quiz, to check understanding and provide real-life examples and case studies Downloadable resources to support teaching and incorporate into lesson plans.

- This set teaches children the skills the need to cope with worries and stress, particularly in relation to feelings of loneliness and belonging - The storybook and guidebook can be used together in classroom settings or one to one and there’s plenty of activities to help children talk about their issues. - The book uses a friendly and engaging narrative to tackle big global social issues and improve wellbeing in children.

Teaching Character and Virtue in Schools addresses the contemporary issues of quantification and measurement in educational settings. The authors draw on the research of the Jubilee Centre at the University of Birmingham in order to investigate the concern that the conventional wisdom, sound judgement and professional discretion of teachers is being diminished and control mistakenly given over to administrators, policymakers and inspectors which in turn is negatively effecting pupils' character development. The books calls for subject competence to be complemented by practical wisdom and good character in teaching staff. It posits that the constituent virtues of good character can be learned and taught, that education is an intrinsically moral enterprise and that character education should be intentional, organised and reflective. The book draws on the Jubilee Centre's expertise in support of its claims and successfully integrates the fields of educational studies, psychology, sociology, philosophy and theology in its examination of contemporary educational practices and their wider effect on society as a whole. It offers sample lessons as well as a framework for character education in schools. The book encourages the view that character education is about helping students grasp what is ethically important and how to act for the right reasons so that they can become more autonomous and reflective individuals within the framework of a democratic society. Particularly interested readers will be educational leaders, teachers, those undertaking research in the field of education as well as policy analysts with a keen interest in developing the character and good sense of learners today.

The Use of Children's Literature in Teaching reveals the impact of politics, professional guidelines and restrictive measurements of literacy on the emerging identities of young teachers. It places renewed emphasis on the importance of creative teaching with children's literature for the empowerment of teacher agency to enhance the learning of their students. Framing the debate alongside the issue of teacher autonomy, Simpson describes results from a two-year study, which brings together information from interviews, surveys, document analysis and digital stories from Australia, Canada, the UK and the US to assess the role of children's literature in pre-service teacher education. Through cross-cultural comparison, this research captures the different levels of connection between politics, education systems, higher education and pre-service teachers. It exposes how politics, narrow views of professionalism and program structures in teacher education may adversely affect the development of pre-service teachers. This book presents a strong case that reading and responding critically to literary texts leads to better educational outcomes than basic decoding and low-level comprehension training. As such, this book will be of great interest to researchers and scholars working in the areas of teacher education and literacy and primary education. It should also be essential reading for teacher educators and policymakers.

+ Clearly exposes the most frequent calumnies made against science + Shows how dogmatic religion, the financial interests of certain industries, and opportunistic politicians sometime work in cohort to undermine the public’s trust in science + Acknowledges that science’s most mistaken critics are often skilled communicators, and that effectively defending science requires an equally skilled defense + Shows that while the “Science Wars“ of the 1990s have abated, their effects on some of the methodologies in higher education and the larger population continue + Examines three case studies to clearly illustrate how reliable scientific knowledge is secured: • Eratosthenes’ discovery of the circumference of the earth • Louis Pasteur’s development of anthrax and rabies vaccines • The rapid emergence of scientific consensus regarding continental drift