Education & Pedagogy

Examined cooperating classroom teachers' perspectives regarding the professional block of a secondary education program. Data collection involved surveys assessing their perceptions of the importance of the program's standards and interviews regarding program strengths and weaknesses and college-school collaboration. Results indicated that cooperating teachers were very supportive of the collaboration, valued the program competencies of the secondary professional block, and recognized the importance of increased field experiences. (SM)

Detailed discourse analysis is presented for two articles that suggest that postmodernism has little to offer comparative education and should be resisted. The two texts, focusing on postmodernism as the antithesis of comparative education and on the "lost promise" of postmodernism, demonstrate the use of language to convey messages that limit or control the meaning of postmodernism or its application, or that construct the boundaries of comparative education. (SV)

Describes the program at Georgia State University's Department of Early Childhood Education that trains teachers to integrate technology into their elementary classrooms. Discusses the International Society for Technology in Education standards; shared vision for the preservice teacher education program; skilled faculty in educational technology; and access to current technologies. (LRW)

Studied the perceptions of students and supervisors about application in the workplace of skills and concepts learned in distance education university courses offered by interactive audio/video. Findings from interviews with 18 students and their supervisors suggest that the individual and the organization benefited from the transfer of knowledge and skills to the working environment. (SLD)

A survey of 1,042 special educators found that disability severity and number of students served in the classroom were the variables that most affected caseloads in special education. Educators spent most of their time instructing, but also spent time doing behavior management, case management, and individualized education program development. (Contains references.) (CR)

Describes the Bologna Process (a European-wide project to create a European Higher Education Area and harmonize degree structures), examining how educational policy has reached a stage for considering a European Higher Education Area that examines concepts of harmonization and the Bologna Process. Discusses future scenarios, highlighting why Finland has been so eager to embark on reforms and what Finnish higher education policy aims to achieve through the Bologna Process. (SM)

Discusses new challenges for preservice and inservice teacher education connected with changing conceptions of the teaching profession in the Czech Republic, noting innovative approaches and strategies (e.g., constructivist approaches, reflective practice, and university-school cooperation) and examining training strategies to help students rationally analyze their teaching activities and become aware of their tacit knowledge and intuitive behavior. (SM)

Compared the teaching efficacy scores and factor structures of early childhood and elementary preservice teachers in Taiwan at the beginning and end of their teacher education programs. Survey results highlighted the influence of cultural and/or social context, program context, and teaching experience on student teachers' efficacy beliefs. There were some conceptual differences between early childhood and elementary majors. (SM)

Reviews problems in ensuring satisfactory information technology (IT) teaching and learning for English secondary students, explaining how these circumstances can impact student teachers training to be IT teachers when they are placed in secondary schools. Strategies for preservice teacher education include preparing student teachers for differing experiences in schools and discussing the different approaches to delivering IT in secondary schools. (SM)

Reviews a book that reports on educational objectives and operations during the 10-year Vietnamese occupation of Cambodia, drawing on current developments in the theory of hegemonic relations. Suggests that the book's focus on linguistic policy in education has implications for the role of language in client-donor international-aid relationships. (SV)

Addresses issues relating to the inclusion and exclusion of young children with disabilities in regular early childhood settings. Analyzes statements from parents, early childhood educators, and support staff as representing a number of discourses that are the context within which disability and provisions for children with disabilities are created. (SD)

Teachers in developing nations have low levels of education and lack access to professional development. An inservice teacher education program in Pakistan exposes teachers to current Western theories on teaching and learning to overcome the transmission style of teaching so widespread in the developing world. Graduates facilitate educational change by working with teachers in cooperating schools throughout the region. (TD)

Discusses ways of awakening urban youth to the presence of the natural world in the city and thereby fostering their sense of stewardship toward their own place. Describes activities involving observation and exploration of small bits of ground, connection of these micro-environments to larger environmental processes, reflection exercises, and environmental action. (SV)

Presents the strategies used by Seton Hall University (New Jersey) for teacher retention and recruitment, including: (1) creating a master's degree program in Catholic School leadership; (2) starting EPICS (Educational Partners in Catholic Schools), which develops motivated and committed educators; and (3) designing a program for a master's degree in education that focuses on math, science, and technology. (CJW)

Examined processes implemented within an early childhood teacher education program at the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand, that aimed to recognize the Treaty of Waitangi obligation to protect the Maori people. Describes key features of the bicultural development restorative process related to lecturers' aspirations, pedagogical approaches, program content, exploration of cultural values, partnership models, and recognition of Pakeha students' resistance. (Author/KB)