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Differences in teacher quality are commonly cited as a key determinant of the huge international student performance gaps. However, convincing evidence on this relationship is still lacking, in part because it is unclear how to measure teacher quality consistently across countries. We use unique international assessment data to investigate the role of teacher cognitive skills as one main dimension of teacher quality in explaining student outcomes. Our main identification strategy exploits exogenous variation in teacher cognitive skills attributable to international differences in relative wages of nonteacher public sector employees. Using student-level test score data, we find that teacher cognitive skills are an important determinant of international differences in student performance. Results are supported by fixed-effects estimation that uses within-country between-subject variation in teacher skills.

It is argued that a functional-notional syllabus is practical and useful for second language instruction at the college level. It constitutes a natural progression from secondary school curricula that emphasize communication in that it uses the same basic organization and similar categories. However, it differs from them in that it pays particular attention to the complexity of speech acts and their organization rather than merely listing individual speech acts and appending a small section on dialogue structures. The notional functional syllabus also focuses on written rather than spoken language, a transition needed by students at this stage. These notions of continuity and progression should be carried through the college language curriculum. The syllabus might be designed in three stages to correspond to a conventional 3-year language sequence in which students progress from organizational to discursive and, finally, argumentative texts. A functional-notional syllabus can also integrate academic German into the regular language instruction program. A bibliography of 65 entries is included, and a list of functions and general and specific notions appropriate for a university German course is appended. (MSE)

The rationale for and design of an English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) course that integrates language instruction and cultural awareness of English-speaking communities are explained. It is argued that this approach offers the best opportunity for achieving a genuinely communicative approach to school-based language learning. In the first section, it is suggested that meaningful language use can be sustained in the classroom only if a coherent syllabus of knowledge is studied through the target language, and that the most appropriate subject for such study is one where the target language offers students learning opportunities not available through the first language, a requirement met by comparative cultural studies. In the second section, some of the issues involved in designing such a program are discussed. The third section outlines an integrated syllabus for the junior cycle of secondary school, and the fourth section focuses on implementation. In this section, sample units and lessons are described. A brief bibliography is included. Contains 22 references. (MSE)

This paper describes the curriculum development process involved in the production of a set of peace education materials developed by the churches in Ireland during the past 13 years. Peace education is concerned primarily with a positive approach to peacemaking and the development of people who internalize a positive vision of peace, have a real sense of justice, personal and social, and who are sensitized and helped to cope with the various social manifestations of violence and conflict in their own lives and the wider world. The document examines the educational rationale of this project in the context of the two educational systems operating in Ireland. The process by which the materials are produced fall under six headings: (1) teacher workshops; (2) writing phase; (3) piloting phase; (4) editing and rewriting; (5) dissemination; and (6) evaluation. The document outlines some of the issues facing the development of peace education in Ireland in the next decade. Some of these are learning from past experiences, avoiding raising expectations that are not fulfilled, appreciating the difficulties of implementation of curriculum innovation in a climate of financial cutbacks, understanding past inconsistencies in policy in this area, giving adequate resources to agencies that are supportive to schools, and appreciating the greater emphasis in society on competitiveness and a strong utilitarian thrust. One important issue for future development is an understanding that much of the theory of peace, for example in areas of conflict resolution and human rights education and nonviolence, has yet to be translated into concrete programs for school use. (DK)