Homework is one of those things about which most people can speak from personal experience. This is either because they have done it as children, have set it as teachers, or have supervised it as parents. Advocates of homework believe that it encourages initiative, develops independent learning skills and allows ...

Is the issue worth investigating? After all, numerous studies have shown that the home environment is a major influence on behaviour, and, within the school, more promising variables for study are teacher-pupil relationships, the curriculum, and specific teaching strategies. I concede at the outset that the size of a school ...

One of our more persistent beliefs is that New Zealand children have the best health standards in the world. But now, on all sides, evidence is accumulating that conditions for children and infants in this country are no longer what we would want them to be. One of the factors ...

The main reason for the use of essays is probably the belief, usually unwarranted, that essay  tests do a better overall job than objective tests of measuring educational achievement. The argument goes something like this. A major purpose of education is to prepare individuals to interact effectively with others in ...

The assertion above was made, not in 1976, but over 40 years ago, in a review of the research on ability grouping published in 1932. Are we any further ahead today? Issues of grouping and streaming are still hotly debated by teachers and administrators. Many are moved to turn to ...