[DOWNLOAD] "Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of Departmentalization of Elementary Schools (Report)" by International Journal of Whole Schooling ~ eBook PDF Kindle ePub Free
eBook details
- Title: Pre-Service Teachers' Perceptions of Departmentalization of Elementary Schools (Report)
- Author : International Journal of Whole Schooling
- Release Date : January 01, 2011
- Genre: Education,Books,Professional & Technical,
- Pages : * pages
- Size : 217 KB
Description
Preservice Teachers' Perceptions of Departmentalization of Elementary Schools U. S. students are consistently outperformed by students from other industrialized nations, and more noticeably by students from East Asian countries, in mathematics and science (see Leinwand & Ginsburg, 2007; L. Ma, 1999; Wang & Lin, 2005). Discussion on reforming the American educational system has always been going on. Many recent efforts have been devoted to new ways of reforming American education, such as school choice (including vouchers, charter schools, and privatization), school accountability, and the No Child Left Behind Act signed into law in 2001. However, most large-scale reforms are dependent upon federal and state legislation for necessary support. Furthermore, implementation often takes time, and yet their success has not been convincingly documented (Roselli, 2005). In examining some hotly debated issues centering around American education reform, Friedman (2004) presented quotations that describe the mediocrity of American public education for the past century, such as "Our standard for high school graduation has slipped badly. Fifty years ago a high-school diploma meant something" and "Whether we like it or not, we're beginning to see that we're pitted against the world in a gigantic battle of brains and skills" (p. 3). Unfortunately, the author claimed that such quotations, made 50 or 100 years ago, would be entirely plausible for today's situation. In this process, however, some reform efforts, small-scale but with potentials to have a long-lasting effect on the whole educational system, are sometimes overlooked. Departmentalization of elementary schools may be one of such reform efforts that has not been receiving adequate research attention. A brief look at the history of American educational organization will provide a general idea of how this idea has fared in the past.