This article is based on a paper given at a special seminar on multicultural teaching at Auckland Teachers' College in 1984. The paper gave rise to several strong responses, one of which could be summed up in the accusation - 'You are proposing the end of civilisation!' In the 'Afterword' ...

Children learn a great deal from other children. The power of this learning from peers is easily seen. Children learn such things as playground games, the language of their friends, and social behaviour, remarkably quickly - and effectively. The significance of this learning has long been recognised by schools and ...

Society accepts violent behaviour and it is modelled in homes, schools and streets. This accepting and modelling is the major cause of violent crime. This is no longer supposition but fact, supported by a heavy weight of evidence. Consider, specifically, corporal punishment in schools. Here is a situation where beneficial ...

It was 40°C when I entered the large suburban primary school to observe three early childhood students on teaching practice. The principal directed me along a seemingly endless corridor to the junior primary section but the classrooms were deserted. "They're out in the yard," a passing teacher advised and she ...

Issues of grouping and streaming are still hotly debated by teachers and administrators. Many are moved to turn to the research workers, and ask the simple question - Should we stream our children into ability groups? Like most questions concerned with school organization, there is no simple answer. It depends ...

Streaming (or ability grouping or tracking, as the Americans would have it) has been tried, thrown out, revived, recommended, debunked and debated periodically in recent decades. Writing for New Zealand teachers in the mid-70s, Elley provided a balanced and comprehensive coverage of research for and against this common organizational practice ...

Most children are right-handed and as a result most teachers have developed teaching methods that are aimed specifically at right-handers rather than lefthanders. Most teachers feel uncomfortable teaching left-handers to write because they are not left-handers themselves and are not aware of the needs of left-handers. This report is a ...

Whatever else defines the truly computer-literate educator, he or she must be critically aware of the message that most educational software currently available is not worth the medium it is recorded on. Robert Purser, editor of an esteemed US microcomputer software directory, thinks that 95% of microcomputer programs should never ...

The playcentre movement began in 1941, during the Second World War when many fathers were absent in the forces. It was founded to provide support for families by setting up preschool centres, usually in local halls where equipment could be arranged, to give mothers a break and to extend children's ...

The widespread adoption of open-space education in the past decade resulted in considerable controversy about the effects of the acoustic environments of schools. While proponents of open education claimed that such arrangements helped learning, critics contended that the increased noise levels interfered with concentration and impaired the performance of the ...