Education & Pedagogy

Reviews the academic literature of distance education that has considered whether the media and technologies of education affect learning and finds the conventional answer is in the negative. Also describes this issue in literature in the following fields: neurology, mass communications, and feminist approaches to the situated nature of knowledge. Contains 55 references. (Author/JMV)

This article reviews recent research suggesting that individuals with dyslexia benefit enormously from being taught language structure explicitly, and concludes that many teachers are underprepared to teach language processes and structures to children with language-based learning problems. A call is made for an approach to teacher education that emphasizes language knowledge as a foundation for literacy instruction. (Author/PB)

Reports on a study of how naive theories, age, and education relate to higher order thinking among 54 adolescents and adults. Finds that, regardless of age and education, all subjects referred to naive theories to identify causes and create remedial strategies for social problems. (CFR)

Maintains that the 1990s are witnessing a renewed interest in curriculum integration. Presents, defines, and discusses nine approaches to the cognitive and affective aspects to integrating the arts in the K-12 curriculum. Recommends the coequal style and asserts that it has the potential for intellectual stimulation. (CFR)

A residential ninth-grade program in the Australian bush strives to develop initiative, personal integrity, respect for nature, leadership, self-esteem, and sense of community by combining academic study with a strong outdoor education program, replacing competitive sports with cooperative activities, requiring students to be responsible for chores, and involving boys and girls equally. (TD)

This article argues that study of literature in the medical curriculum develops physician skills in observation and interpretation, clinical imagination, and self-expression and self-knowledge; enriches moral education; fosters tolerance for uncertainty; and promotes empathy for patients. Appropriate courses for inclusion of and classroom strategies for teaching literature are discussed. An annotated bibliography of sources is included. (MSE)

Equity pedagogy involves teaching strategies and environments that help diverse students attain necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes for functioning effectively within a just, democratic society. The article examines how equity pedagogy interacts with other dimensions of multicultural education (content integration, knowledge construction process, prejudice reduction, and social structure). (SM)

Analyzes kibbutz adolescents' behavior at four biographical stages: voluntary community service, military service, leave of absence from the kibbutz, and higher education. Determines a distinct association between the socializing agents in the kibbutz and the development of democratic values. (MJP)

A discussion of medical education in Germany, particularly since unification of East and West Germany, looks at the number of practicing physicians in Germany and their practice settings, number of medical students, medical school admission policies and curricula, and nature of postgraduate training. Proposed reforms are outlined, and the experience of the Medical School of Hannover is examined. (Author/MSE)

The evolution of a diversity education program at McGeorge School of Law (University of the Pacific, California) is chronicled and response to it is discussed. The program involved a lecture on cultural sensitivity and follow-up small-group discussion sessions involving faculty and students. While the program did not meet the expectations of all constituencies, tangible benefits were seen. (MSE)

Elementary students (n=150) with learning disabilities were interviewed regarding their preferences for special education service delivery. Students (who were all currently receiving pull-out services) preferred receiving extra help in the special education class from the special education teacher. Students' preferences were not related to age, sex, IQ, academic achievement, or time spent in the mainstream. (DB)

A pilot study evaluating the use of conductive education for children and adults with cerebral palsy and other motor impairments in Germany concluded that a straightforward transfer of the Hungarian system into German society is not desirable but that conductive education should be adapted to each country's rehabilitation system. The modification called "Complex Rehabilitation" is being taught in universities. (DB)

An outdoor educator reflects on the changing nature of outdoor education, including a lack of interest and excitement among children regarding the outdoors, the inability of children to sustain physical activity, government's failure to assess children's educational needs, poor government support for outdoor programs, and the effect of inferior social values on education. (LP)

Examines the development of information technology (IT) capability by teacher-trainees on a postgraduate certificate of education course; the course involves the promotion of IT use during classroom placements by teacher-mentors. Survey results indicate that for certain trainees, the development of IT skills was regarded as being synonymous with the development of word processing skills. (Author/AEF)

A review of previous issues of the journal that focused on the nature of disciplines and college curriculum looks at the treatment of two themes: the interplay between predominantly sociological and predominantly epistemological accounts of knowledge communities; and the factors affecting the content and aims of university curricula, including politics and economic considerations in higher education curriculum design. (MSE)