This study examines the evaluation criteria for "developing, planning and communicating ideas," which is one aspect of the Program of Study (PS) for Design and Technology (DT) in the 1999 revised National Curriculum in England and the relation between the evaluation criteria and arrangement according to pupils' age using the statistical method of Multidimensional Scaling (MDS). There are 24 items regarding developing, planning and communicating ideas. This study used these items as statistical variables for comparison with the assessment criteria for DT of the Assessment and Qualifications Alliance examination board. In conclusion, (1) "developing, planning and communicating ideas" in the program of study in the National Curriculum comprises three types of studying ability: designing, planning, and expressing and explaining; (2) This study shows the curricular sequence of the studying abilities.

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Nekoda and Nekoda (2002) investigated the significance of the Common European Framework (CEF), which has been developed by the Council of Europe as a comprehensive framework of working meta-language concerning language learning and teaching in every member state of the Council of Europe. At the present time, a number of concrete innovations based on the CEF are being carried out co-operatively in several member states of the Council of Europe. One of the most spectacular innovations, in the sense of both the number of member states involved and actual impact on the national education systems of each member state, is the development of the European Language Portfolio (ELP). In this paper, as a follow-up of the study on the CEF, an attempt will be made to elaborate a description of the ELP and its impact on language education in Europe, and to explore some implications for current education reform in Japan.

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This study is designed to investigate how Cambodian primary school pupils perceive the importance of English in comparison to that of French, Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese. The results of survey questionnaires conducted with 551 pupils from grades five and six show that English is perceived to significant degree as the most important language in Cambodia. This study further reveals that pursuing higher education, having access to information technology and having access to employment are some of the highly prioritized benefits of English perceived by the pupils. The findings imply that the English language plays a leading role in personal development and is a key to survival in this developing nation. Therefore, a greater effort should be made to actually implement English Language Education in Cambodian primary schools.

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This study investigates the effect of inquiry activities by using the national survey to balance the internal and external validity. In order to control the environmental effect and student aptitude, the study adopted the structural model of science achievement suggested by Reynolds and Walberg in 1991. The study utilized the extensive student and teacher data reports from the Longitudinal Study of American Youth (LSAY) to examine these differences and interactions quantitatively. The study utilized two independent variables: (1) teachers' report of the degree of their teaching emphasis on inquiry skill, and (2) teachers' report of the frequency of hands-on method. The effects of these instructional qualities are estimated in terms of the science achievement score of their student. The result failed to support the effectiveness of the hands-on science teaching. On the other hand, when teacher emphasize the scientific inquiry skill in lower grade, the effect of inquiry emphasis present the significant impact.

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