Education & Pedagogy

The article discusses dimensions and criteria, which are used to assess the quality of higher education in different countries. The paper presents dimensions and criteria that could be appropriate for assessment of the quality of higher education at Lithuanian universities. Quality dimensions, assessment criteria and indicators are defined and explained. It is suggested who could make decisions on the quality of higher education at universities. (Contains 2 tables.)

As more and more adults seek out education and training programs to help them become more competitive in the job market, it provides an opportunity for career and technical education. Those who teach adult learners should take into consideration their particular learning traits. This article highlights a framework of core principles to be considered when designing education and training programs for adults.

This paper revisits the history of environmental education in Australia in the 1970s and 1980s and draws parallels between these and current events in four countries, including Australia. It is argued that little has changed and that few environmental educators confront the inherently political nature of their work. It is concluded that environmental education activity must adopt a wider scope that includes political activity if progress is to be made.

The paper presents some of the current issues in library and information science education in general and in Greece in particular. It examines the forming of professional identity of information scientists in Greece today. These issues are considered in the context of the framework set by the European Union agreements for convergence and cooperation in Higher Education. (Contains 1 footnote.)

The article supplies an overview of UK modern languages education at school and university level. It attends particularly to trends over recent years, with regard both to numbers and to social elitism, and reflects on perceptions of language learning in the wider culture and the importance of gaining wider recognition of the value of languages education.

In this article, we propose a developmental perspective on preparing preservice and in-service teachers to teach in culturally and linguistically diverse classrooms. We place emphasis on the importance of moving beyond didactic content-focused approaches to more systematic process-based efforts to scaffold cultural competence. Finally, we address the value of modeling culturally sensitive practice within the teacher education community.

Stress is a major health problem in urban neighborhoods, but integrating the arts into education can help children deal with stress. Stress reduces or eliminates a child's ability to learn by increasing the production of cortisol in the brain, while working in the arts has been shown to produce endorphin, which counteracts the effects of cortisol. Integrating the arts into education has been particularly effective with disadvantaged children.

This article adopts a radical lens and examines the relationship between community development, adult education and professionalism. It draws from research on one specific community- university partnership and presents the professionalisation of community work as detrimental to radical practice because of its encouragement of individual vertical progression for learners and a favouring of professional practitioner benefits over collective community gain. (Contains 6 notes.)

The majority of research on general education assessment in recent years has focused primarily on predominately white institutions. Very little is known about general education assessment at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUS). Using descriptive analysis, this exploratory study examines the state of general education assessment at private, four-year HBCUS. (Contains 2 tables and 3 notes.)

This brief case study provides a pithy introduction to Uganda and outlines key factors that affect the implementation of distance education in the nation: poor infrastructure, the high cost of an education, an outdated curriculum, inadequate expertise in distance education, and poor attitudes towards distance learning. These factors are also evident in other African countries.

Describes a study that examined the intentions, social organization, and meaning of online interaction in a graduate distance education course in teacher education delivered by a combination of online and face-to-face instruction. Explains the theoretical framework which was based on symbolic interactionism and the methodological approach which was based on interpretive research. (Author/LRW)

Discusses the sudden unification of the systems of higher education in the German Democratic Republic (GDR) and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), with the resulting assimilation by the former GDR of many of the problems of the FRG system. Suggests that more than 10 years after the reunification of Germany, it is time to bring about a reform of the whole country's higher education system. (EV)

This article discusses shifting from special education to inclusive, outcomes-based education (OBE) in South Africa. It examines why there is a shift toward OBE, different educational paradigms, and shifting from fundamental pedagogy to OBE. Necessary changes are highlighted, and include a shift from classification to using OBE for progression and inclusion. (Contains references.) (CR)

One of the applications that appears to have great potential for enhancing counselor education is the use of technology for distance education. It is the purpose of this article to provide an account of the authors' experiences with a distance learning course, including the technology used, the problems encountered, the solutions to these problems, and our recommendations. (Contains 17 references.) (GCP)

A 9-year follow-up survey of 1989 Greek upper secondary graduates (n=4,986) found that (1) employment and earnings of females were lower than males; (2) lower socioeconomic status students had similar employment outcomes to other classes; and (3) dual curriculum (simultaneous work and higher education qualifications) did not show favorable labor market outcomes. (SK)