Education & Pedagogy

Rates of return to lower schooling levels are higher than to university education and tend to stay higher even as country develops. Examines changes in educational rates of return in South Korea during the 1970s and 1980s. The payoff to lower schooling levels declined substantially in absolute terms and relative to investing in completed four-year college education, leaving college rates considerably above primary and secondary rates. (MLH)

This paper reviews issues in regular and special education and the changes these issues will require in university preparation of teachers. Issues concern the content of teacher preparation programs (such as developing behavioral management skills and training in concepts rather than techniques) and the changing school environment (such as increasingly multicultural classrooms). (JDD)

The University of Kentucky conducts a competency-based graduate program that prepares teachers to work with students with moderate to severe developmental disabilities and severe behavioral disorders. The program prepares personnel to work in diverse settings, provide consultation and inservice training, and analyze and conduct applied research. Tables of objectives and competencies are presented. (Author/JDD)

The Alberta Special Education Network (ASPEN) is a computer-based communications and information network geared to the teaching and learning of exceptional children in rural Alberta, Canada. Network features include toll-free telephone access, a menu-driven user interface, training and awareness, electronic mail, weekly news, forums, and a reference library. (JDD)

A project is described that applied electronic media to inservice training, support, and consultation of preschool special education personnel in geographically distant locations. The system permitted two-way, full-motion video as well as interactive audio communication and was extended into teachers' own classrooms for observation and training. (Author/JDD)

A survey of 560 secondary agriculture teachers received 324 responses revealing their methods of acquiring competencies in program planning, leadership, guidance/counseling, teaching methods, supervised agriculture, adult education, and school/community relations. Except for leadership, competencies were most likely acquired in college courses, home study, or on the job. Student teaching and laboratory experiences were least likely methods. (SK)

Overview of social service programs for families offered by the Independence (Missouri) School District describes programs designed to meet needs in the following areas: accessing community services; adult parenting education; literacy education and job training; preschool and after-school childcare; services for low-income families and special needs children; and health care. (MES)

This article explores the future of special education within four contexts: service delivery systems, personnel qualifications, emerging technologies, and policy developments. The paper argues for participation by all educators in active efforts to promote "best" policies and practices for the education of all children with special needs. (Author/DB)

Analyzes the 1990s conservative reform agenda in Australia. Examines the relationship between education, the economy, and the state, particularly the marketplace analogy and the concept of quality schooling. Current policies emphasize a return to managerialism and a direct education-work connection. Discusses implications of the conservative agenda for teachers, curriculum, accountability, and community-school relations. (73 references) (MLH)

Skill is a social construct that assumes different meanings in particular historical circumstances. This paper explains how the dominant concept of skill has shifted in twentieth-century Australia from being job- and content-specific to a more generic view (embracing cognitive, technical, and operational, social, and affective skills) that differentially affects youth according to gender and class. (111 references) (MLH)

Conducted needs assessment with adolescents (n=599), mothers (n=43), and family life educators (n=106) regarding issues of sexuality, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), and sexuality education. Results revealed that mothers and educators shared many similar ideas about timing and content of sexuality education. Suggests ways to strengthen collaborative efforts between parents and family life educators. (Author/NB)

Examines the state of multicultural education in the nation's largest public school systems, focusing on components of existing multicultural programs. Representatives of 28 of the country's largest 30 school systems responded to the telephone survey. Multicultural curricula exist in 20 of these school districts. (SLD)

Trends in treatment of women and gender differences were analyzed in four adult education journals from 1966-88; detailed content analysis of six journals was performed for 1987-88. Only the British "Adult Education" showed an increase in articles on women and gender. General articles in all journals showed few signs of feminist influence. (SK)

G. S. Counts' (1889-1974) perspective on education is more relevant today than a brief review of his controversial pamphlet "Dare the School Build a New Social Order?" suggests. Counts emphasized the broad social responsibility of the educator and the need for broad preparation in education as a social study. (SLD)

Presents a summary of the findings of an 18-month longitudinal study which examined how foreign language teachers' conceptions of their classroom practice developed as they participated in an inservice teacher education program. Discusses how shared professional discourse helped increase the complexity of their thinking. (SM)