Homework is tradition that has survived waves of enthusiasm and of disenchantment. The famous report in the USA called A Nation at Risk, prescribed 'more homework' as one remedy for education's many ills. Other reports, however, caution that homework hasn't produced the benefits claimed for it; more of the same ...

Much of our current educational practice is based on the assumption that play is important to children - indeed that it is essential to their growth and development. We also assume that adults, particularly teachers, play an essential role through organising and participating in children's play. But it is revealing ...

Finding out how much your pupils know - how many points they can recall, the number of words mis-spelled, the number of problems solved correctly - this is comparatively easy and there is an elaborate technology of tests and statistical analysis to help. This is by far the most common ...

For years I've had vague feelings of disquiet about my teaching of science and I couldn't work out what was worrying me. I read up the Units beforehand to see the scientific facts the children needed to know, carried out the activities which I thought enabled them to 'discover' those ...

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 ...