Education & Pedagogy

To determine the extent to which a required course in multicultural education helped white preservice teachers develop a white antiracist identity, interview data and course writings from five students were analyzed. Results indicated that the course served as a catalyst for developing students' racial identities, but that more than one course is needed. (SM)

Describes the main features of a new method for teaching religious education to children. Compares this method to other British religious education approaches. The "gift method" approach begins with the child receiving some easily understood component of a religion (song, prayer, material object) then progresses to a more complex understanding. (MJP)

Identifies the three elements of the school-to-work transition as schools, employers, and the relationship between them. Suggests that this transition could be improved if schools make academic instruction vocationally relevant, employers base hiring on applicants' achievement in school, and school-employer linkages are created and designed appropriately. (MJP)

Discusses the growing influence of the Teacher Training Agency (TTA) over initial and continuing teacher education in the United Kingdom since its inception in 1994, focusing on the TTA's 1996 agenda, the new National Curriculum for Teacher Training, continuing professional development, and educational research. Criticizes the agency's increasing control over educational research. (MDM)

Includes four theme articles: "Some Remarks on Modular Training in the Federal Republic of Germany" (Zedler); "Modular Initial and Continuing Education and Training: A Comparative Survey of the Education System in the United Kingdom and Germany" (Hammer); "Modules in Vocational Training" (Wiegand); and "Modularisation and Qualification Reform in the UK: Some Realities" (Otter). (SK)

Includes "Something to Cheer About" (Tuckett); "From British Institute to National Institute, 1921-71" (Hutchinson); "Pre-history of the Arts Council" (Williams); "Adult Education in the Forces" (Adam); "Crisis in Adult Education" (Stock); "The REPLAN Experience" (Uden); and "Personal Reflections on Adult Education' and the Challenges of Today and Tomorrow" (Legge). (SK)

Effects of prose, document, and quantitative literacy and education on the wages of 1,456 young adults who worked full time were analyzed. Literacy and education did not have the same effects on income for all groups; not all groups depended on literacy and education to increase income. Different types of literacy had different effects on gender and racial/ethnic groups. (SK)

Describes how technology was integral to the redesign of an undergraduate secondary mathematics education class. The article reviews fundamental concepts important for construct theory, including a description of the way technology was used to restructure the course. It draws implications for technology support of construct theory, learning, and teaching. (SM)

Examines tensions and balances between what colleges of education and teacher educators are and should be, personal/professional elements of teacher educators' lives, and how they negotiate experience in the academy while retaining their beliefs. The paper examines research on new faculty members and educational reform, offering personal voices from beginning teacher educators' experiences. (SM)

Describes changes in instruction implemented in one university's mathematics education classrooms, relating them to changes in the educators' own constructivist philosophies. The paper examines the effects of change in instructional pedagogy and classroom environment on preservice teachers' beliefs about mathematics learning and teaching and their feelings and attitudes toward mathematics. (SM)

Describes a graduate preservice education course on diversity that used online e-mail discussions to facilitate learning. The activity successfully involved all students in the online discussions, so less-verbal students were able to voice their opinions. It cut tensions when discussing controversial issues and changed student/teacher roles. (SM)

Summarizes a research project conducted in the Netherlands that examined the effect studying women's history had on the gender identity of girls. The instruction increased girls' knowledge of equal opportunity issues and of the representation of women in history. Knowledge of the social construction of gender remained limited. (MJP)

Describes the development of a human resource management (HRM) elective for educators aspiring to management positions in various educational settings. The unit is part of a graduate diploma offered within the Faculty of Education at one Australian university. The paper argues the necessity of HRM studies in postgraduate education courses. (SM)

Questions how England's Secretary of State for Education uses the Teacher Training Agency (TTA) to define and control inservice teacher competency requirements, suggesting that this leads to teacher deprofessionalization. Recommends identifying threats to professional autonomy and preventing the TTA from moving to the next phase of regulation. (SM)

Describes an internship program at Israel's Ben-Gurion University, examining the role of practicums in teacher education, noting the work of mentors and interns, and discussing internship methods at selected North American universities. Suggestions are made to enhance the effectiveness of Ben-Gurion's Residence Practicum Internship. (SM)