Education & Pedagogy

A 1991 survey of Directors of Special Education in Kansas indicated a shortage of deaf education teachers and problems with retention of deaf education teachers in rural areas. In addition, 15 of 22 respondents documented an increase in the number of deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) children in their districts. Project Rural Education is a program developed by the University of Kansas to provide teacher training in deaf education as well as inservice training for rural deaf education teachers. Training focuses on the inclusion of D/HH students in the regular classroom setting. Courses cover consultation, program and curricular adaptations, language and literacy needs, sign language, and multicultural needs. Training is provided through interactive/compressed video, correspondence courses, and video tapes. Eight teachers who were trained by this project are currently working in rural communities in Kansas. In addition, 22 teachers and more than 100 related service providers have expressed interest in gaining certification. In November 1992, the U.S. Department of Education issued a policy statement recommending that school personnel act with caution when placing children who were deaf or hard of hearing with hearing peers. However, approximately 79 percent of students who are deaf or hard of hearing are currently included or educated in public school settings. Successful inclusion requires that teachers of the deaf work with administrators to ensure that students who are D/HH are appropriately assessed, that their needs are adequately documented, that the required supports and services are provided, and that an appropriate placement is recommended based on those needs. (LP)

Most countries participating in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development are faced with rapid economic and socio-cultural changes and growing demands for education and training. Postsecondary education faces the challenge of providing high-quality education for all adults who need it in a cost-effective manner. One of the most promising ways seems to be to develop self-directed learning at a distance. The status of distance education versus face-to-face education is changing rapidly for five important reasons: (1) the cost of self-instruction will be lower than that of comparable face-to-face courses over the long run; (2) although open and flexible learning institutions are gaining acceptance, distance learning has been seen as peripheral and of lower status than traditional education creating obstacles for the mobility of students between modes; (3) distance learning institutions have pioneered pedagogical innovations and forms of cooperation by teams of university teachers to design interdisciplinary courses; (4) good distance learning programs afford better student-teacher interaction than traditional lectures; and (5) technology is breaking down barriers of distance allowing students involved in the same course to communicate and form a virtual classroom. Technology is not only transforming distance education, but also conventional face-to-face education, by providing students with new possibilities for self-instruction. The introduction of technology in both distance and face-to-face education is a complex process that will be influenced by the combination of factors like ethos and culture. Contains 29 references. (KP)

This book contains 14 papers on women in higher education grouped in three sections on: experiences of women in higher education, empowerment of women, and women challenging the mainstream curriculum, respectively. The papers are: (1) "Being Different is a Very Difficult Row to Hoe: Survival Strategies of Women Academics" (Barbara Bagilhole); (2) "Caught Between Two Worlds: Mothers as Academics" (Pauline Leonard and Danusia Malina); (3) "Ivory Towers and Ebony Women: The Experiences of Black Women in Higher Education" (Millsom Henry); (4) "Fighting Back or Biting Back? Lesbians in Higher Education " (Chris Corrin); (5) "Women in Higher Education: What Are We Doing to Ourselves?" (Breda Gray); (6) "The Commonality and Difference: Theory and Practice" (Mairead Owen); (7)"Postgraduate Students: Empowering Ourselves" (Deryn Rees-Jones, Rebecca D'Monte, Joanne Winning, Sally Kilmister); (8) "Life Lines: Writing and Writer's Block in the Context of Women's Studies" (Trev Broughton); (9) "The Influence of Feminism on Black Women in the Higher Education Curriculum" (Kalwant Bhopal); (10) "Empowering Disabled Women in Higher Education" (Julie Mathews); (11) "Is a Feminist Pedagogy Possible?" (Penny Welch); (12) "Transforming the Household: Mature Women Students and Access to Higher Education" (Madeleine Leonard); (13) "Health and Caring in a Feminist Context" (Doreen MacWhannell); and (14) "Transforming the Curriculum" (Marilyn Schuster). Contains an index and information on the contributors. Many papers contain references. (JB)

These proceedings and addendum contain 31 papers: "Linking Motivation and Participation in Adult Education" (Babchuk, Courtney); "Workplace Literacy Education as Contextual Learning" (Babchuk, Dirkx); "Model for Focusing Research in Adult Agricultural Education" (Birkenholz et al.); "A Research Agenda for Adult Civic Education" (Boggs, Stubblefield); "A Comparison of Adult Baccalaureate Graduates and Nonpersisters" (Christensen); "Ways of Doing" (Courtney); "Homelessness and Work Experience" (Davis); "Boundary Awareness in Tutor-Student Relationships" (Dirkx, Fonfara, Flaska); "Understanding and Facilitating Experience-Based Learning in Adult Education" (Dirkx, Lavin); "Adult Development" (Ferro); "Volunteer Issues and Trends Survey in the 1990s" (Hanson-Stone); "Extension Education" (Hutchins); "Barriers to Education as Perceived by Adult Students and Administrators in Minnesota Community Colleges and Technical Colleges" (Larson); "Learning Strategies Concerns among ABE [Adult Basic Education] Practitioners" (Martin, Fisher); "The Great Tradition Revisited" (Morris); "In Their Own Voices" (Reif); "Threats and Promises" (Schultz, Sparks); "Effectiveness, Cost, and Cost-Effectiveness of Education To Achieve Health Goals" (Splett); "Correlating the High School Tests of General Education Development and the Official GED Practice Test" (Stewart); "Educational Orientation and Job Satisfaction" (Suvedi); "Knowledge Structures Underlying Real World Practice" (Thomas, Englund); "An Investigation of the Relationship between Self-Directed Learning Projects and Progress toward Individuation" (Wilson, Knapp); "Adult Mathematics Learning" (Wolfe); "Teaching toward Self-Directedness" (Ellis); "Issues for Non-Traditional Undergraduate Students Living in Traditional College and University Residence Halls" (Herr); "Practitioner Conducted Evaluation Studies" (Jazwiec); "Identifying Critical Factors of Quality" (Kersten); "Putting Behavior in Performance Goals" (Lynn); "Reaching for the Future" (Sandmann); and "Conducting Evaluation in Adult Literacy Programs" (Turner). (KC)

Because one of the first tasks in undertaking a systematic study of Israel's educational system is to develop baseline information on certain critical aspects of its structure, function, and finance, this document addresses itself to the issue by serving as a substantive study of what happened to Israeli educational finance during the decade of the 1980s and by providing baseline data from which to continue to draw comparisons in the future. The study investigates the patterns of state government funding of education in Israel in the 1980s. It begins by focusing on the share of education and the Ministry of Education budget, in particular, relative to certain overall indicators, the gross national product, total government spending, and social service spending and looks at the distribution of education spending by source, level of education, and school system. The reasons for various increases and decreases are probed and each level, kindergarten, primary, secondary, and higher education, is discussed in depth. The study then looks in detail at the education budgets of local authorities in Israel, the agencies of government responsible for the day-to-day operation of most schools. To access trends in the Israel education budget in the 1980s, the study reviewed the relevant budgets as reported by the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics, and compared them with the budgets of other government ministries. With extensive tables and figures culled from these data, this study offers policymakers an important research tool to assist in setting priorities in the development of education services in the 1990s. (DK)

The Division of Continuing Education of Bank Street College of Education (BSCE) in New York City is working to change the lives of inner city children, their families, and communities by emphasizing collaboration. During the 1994-95 academic year, the division served more than 3,900 adults and children, 15 agencies, and 30 schools through the following distinct, yet interrelated program areas: (1) continuing professional education; (2) direct service delivery programs; and (3) staff development, technical assistance, and training. Among the populations served by various special projects within the BSCE's division of continuing education were the following: infants, toddlers, preschoolers, and elementary school children; inner-city adolescents; homeless families; and educators and other staff of the schools and community-based organizations serving the community surrounding BSCE. In 1994-95, the division's activities centered around achieving the following goals: develop a long-range plan; identify new funding focusing on early intervention programs for children/families and staff working with them; implement professional development activities for staff; and expand programs to increase revenues. (Appendixes constituting approximately 60% of this document contain the following: program descriptions, 30-item bibliography of dissemination tools, information about selected program accomplishments/outcomes, organizational chart, lists of staff and funders, budget information, and long-range program goals.) (MN)

Presented as a practical guide and reference for reexamining or restructuring general education programs, this volume examines the aims of and rationale for general education at selected campuses and focuses on the process of curriculum reform at the campus and system levels. The 10 chapters are: (1) "General Education in the Heartland: Black Hawk College," by Dorothy R. Martin and Sheila Lillis; (2) "General Education at Broome Community College: Coherence and Purpose," by Richard M. Romano; (3) "Bunker Hill Community College: A Common Experience for Lifelong Learning," by Malinda M. Smutek; (4) "General Education at Jefferson Community College: Accountability and Integrity," by Patrick Ecker and Diane Calhoun-French; (5) Miami-Dade Community College: Applications at the Wolfson Campus," by Eduardo J. Padron and Ted Levitt; (6) "The Minnesota Model for General Education," by Nancy Register Wangen; (7) "The Piedmont Virginia Community College Experience in General Education," by Deborah M. DiCroce and David R. Perkins; (8) "The General Education Core at Shoreline Community College," by Marie E. Rosenwasser; (9) "Concluding Remarks," by George Higginbottom, discussing the eight models presented above in a historical context of general education reform movements; and (10) "Additional Sources of Information," by George Higginbottom and Richard M. Romano, providing an annotated bibliography of sources related to community college civic, communication, critical thinking, ethics, multicultural, and mathematics and science instruction. (KP)

This document reports on portions of a study on "Teacher Education for Diversity" in progress since 1990. The overall study includes an ongoing analysis of relevant literature, which has generated a conceptual framework describing the range of existing positions on teacher education for cultural diversity. The study includes the development of three case studies of exemplary programs employing different organizational arrangements and instructional strategies that contravene or compensate for the cultural insularity of teacher education faculty. The specific concern reported in this paper has been to understand the variety of arrangements and strategies currently being used to prepare a predominantly white, monolingual student teaching force to teach poor students of color who have historically been unserved, ill-served, or inappropriately served by traditional teaching practices. Findings of the study are summarized in relation to three dimensions: (1) the problem of selection; (2) the problem of socialization through curriculum and instruction; and (3) the problem of changing the institutional environment of teacher education. Strategies to address these problems include case studies, field experiences, recruitment of minority faculty, staff development for teacher education faculty, and partnerships with colleges or universities and school districts with significant numbers of minority students and faculty. Preliminary findings from the study suggest that although the faculty in the case studies examined can demonstrate immediate influence of their efforts through prospective teachers' self-reports, there is no convincing evidence in the literature related to long-term impact of these strategies on teachers and their practices or on teacher education institutions and their faculties. (Contains 48 references.) (ND)

During fiscal year 1994, South Dakota's vocational-technical education delivery system served 30,498 secondary students, 3,809 postsecondary students, and 8,358 adults. Of South Dakota's 178 school districts, 132 had to organize into some type of consortium arrangement to qualify for Perkins Act funds. The Perkins funds were used to provide support services (including special assessments, tutors, adaptive equipment, counseling, and pre-academic classes) to students identified as members of the following special populations: disadvantaged, handicapped, limited English proficient, academically disadvantaged, enrollees in nontraditional programs, and single parents and single pregnant women. Among the other purposes for which Perkins funds were used were the following: development of performance standards and core measures; development/delivery of staff development workshops/seminars on topics such as technology education, applied academics, tech prep, and vocational guidance; provision of vocational guidance services; development of 16 new secondary programs and 6 new/expanded postsecondary programs; purchase of competency-based instructional materials in 7 occupational areas and equipment representative of that being used in industry; and development of mentor programs at a higher education institution preparing vocational teachers. (Appended are the following: two local evaluation forms, descriptions of seven exemplary programs, and tech prep, the 1993 South Dakota Career Assessment Program survey instrument and tabulated results.) (MN)

During fiscal year 1994, enrollment in secondary-level vocational education (VE) in Alabama totaled 202,402. Secondary school districts provided VE to 17,037 adult students, and postsecondary institutions provided regular occupational/technical training to 80,764 adults and training for business/industry to 19,723 adults. Secondary and/or postsecondary career and technology education was provided to 5,494 single parents, displaced homemakers, and single pregnant women; 4,275 inmates at 7 corretional institutions; 26,108 academically or economically disadvantaged students; and 101 limited-English-proficient students. The following aspects/areas of VE also received special attention: revision/refinement of performance standards and core measures for evaluating secondary and postsecondary programs; state leadership and professional development; consumer/homemaking education; tech prep; integration of applied academics; and career guidance and counseling. (Appendixes constituting approximately one-third of this report include the following: Alabama standards and measures for secondary VE; outline of Alabama's secondary occupational program; list of Alabama two-year colleges with VE programs; descriptions of exemplary programs for selected special needs individuals; job descriptions for selected VE positions; special populations services monitoring instrument; list of Alabama tech prep consortia; and lists of course requirements for a certificate and an associate degree in travel/tourism management.) (MN)

This study stresses the need to improve the quality of civic education at all levels within the educational system in the United States. The book provides a theory for the practice of citizenship that enlists the support of a broad spectrum of the diverse ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups that must live and work together. The volume contends that the civic mission of education can be served best if schools concentrate on those civic values that citizens hold in common. This core of shared beliefs would then be supported by differing groups whose values are grounded in their own particular theology, moral law, or natural law without imposing those grounds of faith or belief on others, especially not through a powerful centralized government. The book illustrates that the theme of citizenship could become a binding and revivifying element in a common core of studies, giving a scholarly foundation to moral and civic education and providing a common ground for the pluralistic society that has contributed to the unique fabric of life. Part 1 provides historical perspective on the changing roles of families, schools, and communities in education for citizenship; on the competing claims of civic cohesion, pluralism, and modernization; and on the diminishing role of civic purpose in public schooling. Part 2 discusses the attempts to revitalize the civic mission of education in recent decades, not only in the schools but in the liberal and professional education of all teachers and administrators. (RJC)

This volume contains 11 papers on the under-representation of women in higher education management in Bahrain, Finland, France, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nigeria, Peru, the United States and Canada, the South Pacific and the West Indies. All papers were written by women vice-chancellors, presidents and senior managers of universities in those nations. The papers are: "Bahrain: The Role of Women in Higher Education Management in the Arab Region" (Rafica S. Hammoud); "Finland: Women in Higher Education in Finland" (Veronica Stolte-Heiskanen); "France: The Role of Women in the Administration of Higher Education in France" (Michele Gendreau-Massaloux); "India: The Place of Women in the Management of Higher Education in India" (Suma Chitnis); "Indonesia: Indonesian Women in Higher Education Management" (Mariana Setiadarma); "Malaysia: Women Managers in Higher Education in Malaysia" (Asmah Haji Omar); "Nigeria: Women in Higher Education Management--The Nigerian Context" (Grace Alele Williams); "Peru: The Woman's Role in the Administration of Higher Education in Peru" (Gladys Buzzio Zamora RSCJ); "USA/Canada: Women in Higher Education Management in the United States and Canada" (Sandra Featherman); "University of the South Pacific: Women in Higher Education Management in the South Pacific--The Case of the University of the South Pacific" (Konai H. Thaman and Sarojini Pillay); and "University of the West Indies: Staff Development and Gender Equity in the Commonwealth Caribbean Universities--The Experience of the University of the West Indies" (Gwendoline Williams and Claudia Harvey). (Some papers contain references.) (JB)

Articles in this journal examine the way art and art education affect the individual and the formation of culture. This volume includes: (1) "The Deep Creek School: Technology, Ecology and the Body as Pedagogical Alternatives in Art Education" (Daniel L. Collins; Charles R. Garoian); (2) "The Green Quilt: An Example of Collective Eco-Action in Art Education" (Doug Blandy; Kristin G. Congdon; Laurie Hicks; Elizabeth Hoffman; and Don Krug); (3) "An Editor's Note: Critical Theory, Art and Education" (Michael J. Emme); (4) "The Gallery" (David Amdur; Robert Bersson; Gene Cooper; Drent Howenstein; Laurie Lundquist; Meryl Meisler; Juanita Miller; Gretchen Riemer; Kai Staats); (5) "Valuing Difference: Luce Irigaray and Feminist Pedagogy" (Yvonne Gaudelius); (6) "Behind, the Road is Blocked: Art Education and Nostalgia" (Paul Duncum); (7) "The Committee on Public Information and the Mobilization of Public Opinion in the United States During World War I: The Effects on Education and Artists" (Clayton Funk); (8) "Art, Education, Work, and Leisure: Tangles in the Lifelong Learning Network" (Lara M. Lackey); (9) "'Truth' That Sells: Broadcast News Media in Video Art and Art Education" (Mary Wyrick). Book reviews look at works by authors: Terry Barrett (1994), "Criticizing Art: Understanding the Contemporary" (John H. White, Jr.); Leslie Weisman (1992), "Discrimination by Design: A Feminist Critique of the Man-Made Environment" (Joanne K. Guilfoil); and Robert Hughes (1993), "Culture of Complaint: The Fraying of America" (Patricia Amburgy). (MM)

Providing inservice education for rural special education personnel is often a problem. Educational technology offers inservice and preservice education at rural sites and brings the "rural context" to university classrooms. This paper presents three models that employ technology to prepare personnel to serve rural children with disabilities. The Department of Special Education at the University of Utah developed a model for delivering teacher education at a distance. The four basic components of this program are: (1) recruiting local rural teacher candidates; (2) identifying and training master educators for on-site facilitation; (3) utilizing telecommunications technology for communication and course delivery; and (4) designating a distance education coordinator. Kansas State University developed electronic delivery of an internship course required for certification in special education. Students must have access to a computer and the Internet, and communicate with instructors, advisors, and each other utilizing E-mail. Using the FirstClass System, students access materials and instructions developed by the instructors, and leave completed assignments on the server for faculty and other students to view and provide feedback. This delivery system is particularly appropriate for highly individualized and self-directed courses, such as this internship. KSU also developed a series of multimedia training modules about child and family issues. These interactive modules combine the benefits of hypertext and hypermedia and are easily transportable to rural settings. Compared to traditional instructional methods, the development of interactive multimedia instruction is complex, labor-intensive, and expensive, but has the advantages of timeliness, flexible training periods, effectiveness, and multiple applications. (Contains nine references.) (TD)

The implementation of the 1992 Further and Higher Education (FHE) Act in Britain changed the statutory responsibilities for post-school education of learners with learning difficulties and disabilities. This resulted in the so-called "Schedule 2/non-Schedule 2" divide. Research examined the impact of these changes on learners and responses of 35 further education (FE) colleges and local education authority (LEA) adult education service providers in England and Wales in relation to these learners. Findings indicated significant benefits for some learners rising from the impact of the Further Education Funding Council's (FEFC's) funding methodology and the improved quality of Schedule 2 provision, but this was balanced by the trend toward diminishing LEA resources and a number of learners for whom programs were no longer offered. The impact of the split in funding for education between FEFCs and LEAs was detrimental to learners with learning difficulties and disabilities, since coherent educational programs often required both forms of provision. Most adult education services reported a greater proportion of Schedule 2 work and an overall decrease of nonvocational, leisure-, and recreation-focused provision. The FEFC's funding methodologies were acknowledged as very positive in promoting better support systems for students. A clear majority of adult and community education providers of LEA-funded non-Schedule 2 provision reported a priority shift away from work with people with severe learning difficulties. Recommendations were made for FEFC, LEAs, and all providers. Appended is Further and Higher Education Act 1992: Schedule 2. (YLB)