Education & Pedagogy

Given the important intergenerational effects of parents' education level on the achievement of their children, education policies should shift from a focus on one life cycle to a focus on "multiple life cycles". Such a policy would explicitly recognize that adults transfer their educational achievements to the achievement of their children. It would also recognize that adult education should be valued as much as early childhood education, and that nations should provide adult education systems on a par with children's education systems. Poorly educated children are the source of adult functional illiteracy, and functionally illiterate adults are the source of poorly educated children. Perhaps through education based on a Multiple Life Cycles policy, in which children are guaranteed a right to educated parents, the vicious intergenerational cycles of functional illiteracy can be stopped at both sources. (Contains 14 endnotes.)

Over the past 20 years, the literature in teacher education has built a discourse around diversity. Much of it is predicated on the vast multicultural education literature developing since the late 1970s, a literature that is very much activist- and advocacy-oriented. It is also a literature largely ignored by "traditional" academics, ostensibly because education is a low-status academic interest, and also because arguing against the multicultural education discourse is a very unpopular thing to do. In this article, the author surveys teacher education literature and finds that its recommended solution to the ever increasing diversity of the school population lies in reprogramming white teachers to affirm the values and learning styles of the cultures of the minorities they teach--despite the acknowledged lack of any proof of this method's efficacy in terms of educational outcomes. (Contains 26 footnotes.)

Significant personnel shortages in special education have been noted in the 23rd Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of IDEA Act (USDE, 2002). With predictions of even more serious teacher shortages, there is an especially critical need for additional special education teachers for students with disabilities from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds in rural areas (USDE, 2002). In addition, the current emphasis on providing nondiscriminatory assessment procedures and assessing the effectiveness of multicultural instructional programs is drawing attention to the efficacy of traditional special education and general education teacher training programs which typically do not offer systematically integrated coursework and practicum experiences specific to the multicultural characteristics of students with disabilities. This paper presents innovative approaches to recruiting and training culturally responsive special education teachers.

In contrast to the situation in England and Wales, Holocaust education in Scotland is not mandatory and is not delivered to every school student. Still, it is offered frequently. In this article we show how Scotland's changing curriculum, the introduction of Holocaust Memorial Day, and the Lessons from Auschwitz Project have contributed to the growth of Holocaust education in Scotland over the last decade. We discuss the significance of each of these three factors, the impact of Holocaust education, and the inter-related nature of their practice with relevant references to the English equivalent. We further examine the role of Holocaust education at both the primary and secondary level, consider the challenges for Holocaust education in Scotland, and conclude that although large numbers of students in Scotland are currently engaging with Holocaust education, these three factors continue to play a vital role in its success.

To become a music teacher, an individual must understand music, learning and teaching, and music learning and teaching. In this article, the author discusses how preservice music education students can formulate these understandings and describes a kind of curriculum that fosters these kinds of understandings. She also considers some ideas that are central to the fields of music, education, and music education in terms of their potential for achieving authenticity. A suggested set of courses designed to foster students' understandings of learning and teaching processes in connection with what they learn about music and a sample curriculum for preservice music teacher education is presented. (Contains 16 notes.)

This article argues that the opportunity in Phase I of the IEA's Civic Education Study to include the new democracies' experiences of citizenship education have not been sufficiently exploited. "Borrowing" citizenship education from abroad and citizenship education for "civil society" have been chosen as examples of problems in the new democracies which have not been exploited. The final section focuses on the question of why new and recurring problems in citizenship education, which occurred in post-communist Europe, have not been identified, described or analysed in the IEA's publication "New paradigms and new recurring paradoxes in education for citizenship: an international comparison." The paper also points to some of the circumstances that seem to have had an impact on which problems were analysed in the study and which problems were largely ignored.

Because moral, value, and character education often seem marginalized in pre-service secondary social studies education courses, I sought to determine if and how moral education is addressed at the elementary level. In this article, I examine both elementary social studies methods instruction and literature through a moral education lens and argue that moral education underlies the civic goals, objectives, and techniques of elementary social studies. In particular, equity, social justice, the role of individuals in society, the common good, reflective thinking, the opening of closed areas, and taking on multiple perspectives are all important civic areas of mastery for elementary social studies teachers, yet they simultaneously constitute a reflectively moral education. In addition to making a case for more explicit treatment of presently latent moral education, I offer practical instructional strategies drawn from my observations and the elementary education literature.

Environmental sustainability is the most visible recent global movement addressing the effect of human activities on the environment. Because of its effect on human health and well-being, it is imperative that the health education discipline begin to consider this topic as one of the important content areas. This paper provides a model for the integration of environmental sustainability concept into a traditional health education course that equips students with the basic competencies of planning, implementing, and coordinating health education programs. The main purpose is to describe how to reach a maximum number of people and educate them regarding this important issue by using service-learning and advocating for sustainable health and wellness through a health education course. (Contains 2 tables and 2 figures.)

This article explores claims made on websites of CAUCE members about the purpose of university continuing education. CAUCE members often claim a role in addressing the needs or goals of learners seeking professional development, personal enrichment, or the furthering of knowledge and skills. They claim to deliver programs and services that promote lifelong learning for adults, whether as individuals or as members of communities and organizations. These programs and services are characterized as enabling access to quality education in flexible and innovative ways. The work of continuing education is often presented as a means to link universities with communities and with external agencies. This article describes these public claims made by Canadian university continuing education units and endeavours to promote informed reflection and dialogue about the purpose of those units. (Contains 5 tables.)

Continuing education (CE) units are a diverse blend of philosophical and pedagogical approaches, personal aptitudes, and professional knowledge and skills. The Continuing Education Leadership Matrix model is presented as a conceptual framework for understanding and managing CE practice. The model is useful to leaders and managers working within CE and to those with senior-level oversight of CE units. It differentiates four domains of practice: academic, entrepreneurial, administrative, and adult education. Archetypes are used as a heuristic device for understanding the value and contributions of the respective domains as well as their dysfunctional aspects. Unique competencies and areas of innovation characterize each domain. The model has individual and organizational applications and offers insight into how CE practice can be better integrated and utilized. (Contains 5 figures and 8 tables.)

Institutional politics and diversity of ideological positions create challenges for teaching staff with polarised beliefs about inclusive education. This paper provides a methodological justification for a longitudinal study of the experience of developing an integrated "inclusive education" curriculum in one initial teacher education programme. The research focus is on the day-to-day practicalities of how teacher education programme reform is attempted, rather than abstract theories about how it should take place. First, the paper considers why an "inclusive education" approach is problematic. Second, the case narrative approach is explained. Finally, examples from two years of programme development are discussed.

In this article, the author employs systems theory and organizational theory to illustrate how music education is an occupation instead of a profession and that most music educators think and function at the tactical level. The lack of a true education organization and career ladder for teachers, and that those operating at the tactical level control music education practice and the professional development of teachers keeps music education from developing strategic thinkers, becoming a profession, and meeting its social responsibility. The way to improve music education is to broaden the thought level of K-12 teachers during their preservice degree programs and nurture strategic thinking throughout their careers. The author provides a model of how this is being done in one program. (Contains 12 notes and 1 figure.)

Higher education faces common worldwide challenges imposed by social and economic factors. Yet, each system has its own challenges and demands that need to be looked at within its own context. Higher education in Saudi Arabia faces three challenges: limitation of places, depletion of resources, and quality measures. Some measures have been initiated to relieve pressure on Saudi higher education, including establishing private colleges, new postsecondary diploma programs, and setting up a higher education fund. Real organizational and financial restructuring is the neglected part among these processes. This article describes the Saudi higher education system from a critical perspective. It presents an overview of the system's evolution, the challenges and demands it faces, reaction to those challenges, and suggestions for further development. (Contains 3 tables.)

This paper investigates how teacher education programmes provide adequate preparation for its prospective teachers. It uses adult numeracy teacher education in the post-compulsory education sector in England as exemplar. Using findings from two research projects on adult numeracy teacher education courses, the article investigates the applications of Bernstein's theories to teacher education, the approaches in which the diversity of prospective teachers is catered for on the course, the ways in which the recontextualization process may be incorporated into the course, the strategies to enable prospective teachers to learn to be teachers and the perception of prospective teachers regarding the weaknesses of their courses. Finally, this article mentions additional areas for research in order to gain further insight into the complex process of learning to be a teacher. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

This paper reports the use of a research-based, web-delivered, technology-and-science education context (the Generative Virtual Classroom) in which student-teachers can develop their ability to recognize, describe, analyse and theorize learning. Addressing well-recognized concerns about narrowly conceived, anachronistic and ineffective technology-and-science education, this e-learning environment aims to use advanced technologies for learning, to bring about larger scale improvement in classroom practice than has so far been effected by direct intervention through teacher education. Student-teachers' short, intensive engagement with the Generative Virtual Classroom during their practice teaching is examined. Findings affirm the worth of this research-based e-learning system for teacher education and the power of a biologically based, generative theory to make sense of the learning that occurred. (Contains 3 notes.)