Education Resources

This book challenges traditional conceptions of readiness in early childhood education by sharing concrete examples of practice, policy and histories that rethink readiness. This book seeks to reimagine possible new educational worlds for young children.

Contemporary Perspectives and Research on Early Childhood Education is a welcome addition to the field of early childhood education. This book enhances the understanding of different approaches to curriculum and instruction; appropriate assessment strategies; the role of math and science in children's development; the importance of seeing the whole child and ensuring children develop holistically through play and arts; training effective teachers; and the importance of helping parents to be better supporters of their children.

This book provides new insights into how interactions in early childhood education are being studied, and into what these studies' findings mean for improving the quality of early childhood education.  The editors examine the methods, ethics, practices, and questions arising from such close work with children, families and educators, and have brought together a collection that highlights interactions research and practical implications for early childhood education and research, with the ultimate aim of shaping quality practices.

The consensus among the world's scientists that human behavior is contributing to the life-threatening degradation of natural systems continues to be ignored by the chief supporters of the common core curriculum. These supporters - corporations, politicians, and educators who promote the further expansion of the industrial/consumer and now digitally dependent lifestyle - have now encoded their misconceptions and silences in the Common Core Curriculum. The education that will prepare students in the decades ahead is simply not part of the thinking of the groups promoting the reforms. An Ecological and Cultural Critique of the Common Core Curriculum suggests a number of concepts teachers can introduce that will enable students to examine cultural assumptions that originated in the abstract thinking of philosophers and that continue to underlie current ecologically unsustainable patterns of thinking.

This report examines teachers' implementation of new, more-rigorous K-12 state standards for mathematics and English language arts and literacy, including use of instructional materials, perceptions about content and approaches aligned with standards, and student engagement with standards. Results are intended to help states or districts reflect upon areas where teachers may benefit from guidance about how to address their state standards.

Teaching Children's Literature in an Era of Standards presents a realistic, positive, and proactive approach to using the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and 21st Century Learning Standards as the basis for teaching children's literature in kindergarten through eighth grade, addressing the caveats and issues involved in implementing the standards. This new text encourages teachers to value children's books for both enjoyment and learning, suggests teaching strategies matched to the specific grade levels and skills defined by the CCSS, and provides examples of excellent children's books as resources.

Bring Common Core Math into high school with smart, engaging activities. Teaching Common Core Math Standards with Hands-On Activities, Grades 9-12 provides high school teachers with the kind of help they need to begin teaching the standards right away. This invaluable guide pairs each standard with one or more classroom-ready activities and suggestions for variations and extensions. Covering a range of abilities and learning styles, these activities bring the Common Core Math Standards to life as students gain fluency in math communication and develop the skillset they need to tackle successively more complex math courses in the coming years.

Eminent educational philosopher Nel Noddings draws on John Dewey's foundational work to reimagine education's aims and curriculum for the 21st century. Noddings looks at education as a multi-aim enterprise in which schools must address needs in all three domains of life: home and family, occupational, and civic. She raises critical questions about the current enthusiasm for standardisation, the search for ''one-best-way'' solutions, and the practice of maintaining a sharp separation between the disciplines.

This book provides an international perspective on education policy, and of the role and function of education in the global economy. The authors present a Foucauldian perspective on the politics of liberal education, within a theoretical framework necessary for the critical analysis of education policy. The authors set out the analyses necessary for understanding the restructuring in education and social policy that has occurred in many countries affected by the resurgence of neo-liberal political theory. They examine education policy in relation to globalization, citizenship and democracy. The authors argue that globalization is an extension of neoliberalism and is destructive of the nation state, community and democracy. They show the importance of education in building strong democratic nation states and global communities based on cultural identity and inter-cultural awareness.

Research shows that students′ sense of belonging in their school communities is critically linked to academic achievement. This book offers practical strategies for promoting socially responsible school cultures that foster greater student engagement and democratic values, exploring the key concepts of respect, equity, and character, and examines tough issues such as: - Reflecting on our own backgrounds and assumptions - Modeling socially responsible behavior - Teaching students to discern injustice - Enacting a zero-tolerance policy toward bullying.

The Misdirection of Education Policy: Raising Questions about School Reform proposes critically important questions about the wisdom of American public education policy and reform initiatives. Laying out the particulars of three policy strands creation of STEM curricula/schools, expansion of charter schools/privatizing, and teacher accountability/testing tied to job security The Misdirection of Education Policy exposes complications, contradictions, and deliberate deceptions in these supposed solutions to very real issues in education. Dafoe theorizes that obstacles facing American education are far more complicated than policy makers suggest or consider.