School teachers' control and involvement in their own evaluation

Summary For the technical, sociological-psychological, and political benefits of teacher participation in evaluation to occur, new structures and policies concerning evaluation must be put into place. Teachers must be given stagewise support in developing increased involvement and control. But finally, those policy makers, evaluation program designers and researchers who plan for teacher evaluation must act to more completely include teachers in their own evaluation. A great deal of good is at stake in the opportunity to increase teacher participation in teacher evaluation.     

Reading Wars: A Brief History and An Update

The term “reading wars” is a way of describing the intensity of the debate that has raged over the last 20 years between the major theorists of the whole language approach, Kenneth Goodman and Frank Smith, and their critics, particularly Philip Gough. It has been a dead‐serious debate, though to an outsider it may have seemed like a series of pitched battles, with no prisoners taken. This review describes in detail the positions taken by both sides in the debate, and concludes that the Goodman/Smith theoretical position has not stood the test of time.     

Aspects of mathematics education in some third world universities

Information on principal aspects of the present state of mathematics education in 18 third world universities is presented. The principal tool used in collecting the information was a questionnaire which was widely distributed. Analysis of the information reveals important variations and similarities in the programs and structures of responding institutions. Some weaknesses are identified.This is an extended version of a paper presented to the Symposium on the State of Physics and Mathematics in Africa, held at ICTP, Trieste, Italy, 8–13 October, 1984.