Subjected 48 quantitative peer assessment studies that compared peer and teacher marks to meta-analysis. Peer assessments were found to resemble teacher assessments more closely when global judgments based on well understood criteria were used rather than when marking involved assessing several individual dimensions. (Author/SLD)

Reviews research about students' sense of acceptance within the school community. Findings suggest that students' experience of acceptance influences multiple dimensions of their behavior but that schools adopt organizational practices that neglect and may actually undermine students' experience of membership in a supportive community. (Author/SLD)

Reviews scholarship in a number of disciplines within education to identify implications for urban teacher preparation. A growing consensus among researchers that learning is enhanced when it occurs in contexts that are socioculturally, linguistically, and cognitively meaningful for the learner, but educational policy has been driven by…

Offers an interpretation of the dynamics of home-school relations in terms of a matrix of "mobilisations" and "demolisations" among parents, teachers, and children based upon data collected in an action research and development project. Aims to establish some bases for practical and theoretical "manoeuvers." (CMK)

Summarizes recent political and theoretical presentations of partnership and networking, discussing their relevance to the understanding of contemporary education policy. Focuses on the first stages of the establishment of Education Action Zones in two areas of England, describing their patterns of governance and the relationship between public…

Focuses on the financing of school-based education in England. Outlines the policy context beginning in 1997, examines the current funding system, and explores the government review of the current system of finance. Examines the use of grants to fund government initiatives and proposes a new mechanism for determining necessary funds. (CMK)

Draws upon a longitudinal research project that focused on learning career transformations. Explains that the study initially involved Year 11 students (n=79) from secondary schools in England. Focuses specifically on the case of student Amanda Ball, considering the implications for understanding learning. Includes references. (CMK)

Investigates the extent that English primary science teachers press for casual understanding through their discourse in science lessons. Observed Key Stage 2 lessons (n=50) for students ages seven to eleven and the nature of teachers' discourse. Reports that discourse on facts and description were common, while there were low levels of discourse…

Focuses on the conflicts that emerged among powerful interest groups in determining the shape of the curriculum during 1988 and 1989. Explores the processes of developing what became known as the whole curriculum, or the basic curriculum of the National Curriculum and religious education, and the cross-curricular themes, skills, and dimensions.…

Reports findings from the first two years of a four-year longitudinal study on the influence of ability grouping practices on English students' attitudes and achievement in mathematics in six schools. Traces achievement and attitudes of students as they move from Year 8 to Year 9 using questionnaires, interviews, and classroom observation. (CMK)

States that inspection has been an increasingly important feature of central monitoring of education in the 1990s. Examines the technical reliability of inspection processes in initial teacher training drawing extensively on methodology and procedures adopted by the Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) between 1996 and 1998. (CMK)

Describes an analysis of children's performance in the 1997 mathematics test taken by all 7- and 14-year-olds in England and Wales. Identifies and places the correct answers and errors made on the tests on a Rasch scale ranking the children's ability. Includes references. (CMK)

Presents a case study about men and women on applied information technology courses using data from in-depth interviews. Finds that men and women were aware of gender in computing practice. Both sexes expressed intrinsic, as well as instrumental reasons, for studying and women were confident in their abilities. (CMK)

Presents a study intended to promote the development of socio-affective competencies in children in the first two years of primary school using a sample of 83 six- to eight- year olds and their fathers and mothers. Explores the mediating influence of the teachers' pedagogic practice, family's social class, and gender. (CMK)

Examines the rhetoric of family literacy focusing on restricted programs (family literacy programs that combine adult basic education for parents and early literacy) in relation to five issues: (1) the usage of the term family literacy; (2) targeting restricted programs to selected families; (3) program accessibility; (4) educational effects; and…