Education & Pedagogy

The Office of Education frequently receives requests for information regarding the educational developments in the Soviet Zone of Germany. This bulletin is issued by the Office of Education as another in its longstanding series of international education publications. Unlike most bulletins in this series that are based on firsthand interviews and visits to schools, visits and interviews within the Soviet Zone were not available to the author in the development of this bulletin. Rather, the research has been based upon extensive documentation, along with assistance from many individuals and agencies well informed on developments within the Zone. Contents include: (1) Introduction--postwar developments, and area and population; (2) The Educational System--organization of education and educational objectives; (3) General Education--legal foundations, preschool education, the elementary school, the middle school, the secondary school, polytechnic education, the control of instruction, special schools, and sponsorship contracts; (4) Vocational and technical education--vocational training and technical education; (5) higher Education--institutions of university rank, control of higher education, organization of universities, admissions of students, the curriculum, workers-and-peasants' faculties, and the socialization of higher education; (6) Teacher Education and the Teaching Profession--general development (1945-53), the Teacher Training Order of 1953, vocational and technical teachers, inservice teacher training, and the German Pedagogical Central Institute; (7) Other Educational Agencies--youth organizations, the school and the home, and adult education; (8) Educational Administration and Finance--principles of school administration and summary of the administrative agencies; (9) Educational Relations between the Federal Republic and the Soviet Zone--the refugee problem and cultural and professional relationships; (10) the school system of Berlin--four-power control of Berlin, the school law of Greater Berlin, and the divided city; and (11) In Brief Review. A selected bibliography of English- and German-language materials is included. Appended are statistical tables: (1) preschool and out-of-school facilities; (2) schools for general education; (3) enrollments in adult education, 1956-57; (4) vocational and technical schools; (5) technical schools, teachers and students; (6) workers-and-peasants' faculties; (7) higher education; (8) full-time enrollments in higher education by institution; and (9) expenditures for education and culture, 1957. Individual chapters contain footnotes. (Contains 11 tables.) [Best copy available has been provided.]

In this bulletin, the Commission on the Reorganization of Secondary Education presents the cardinal principles which, in the judgment of its reviewing committee, should guide the reorganization and development of secondary education in the United States. The commission was the direct outgrowth of the work of the committee on the articulation of high school and college, which submitted its report to the National Education Association in 1911. That committee set forth briefly its conception of the field and function of secondary education and urged the modification of college entrance requirements in order that the secondary school might adapts its work to the varying needs of its pupils without closing to them the possibility of continued education in higher institutions. It took the position that the satisfactory completion of any well-planned high-school curriculum should be accepted as a preparation for college. This recommendation accentuated the responsibility of the secondary school for planning its work so that young people may meet the needs of democracy. It was determined that the reviewing committee should outline in a single report those fundamental principles that would be most helpful in directing secondary education. The translation of these cardinal principles into daily practice will of necessity call for continued study and experiment on the part of the administrative officers and teachers in secondary schools. Following a preface and a list of the membership of the reviewing committee of the commission, the contents of this bulletin are as follows: (1) The need for reorganization; (2) The goal of education in a democracy; (3) The main objectives of education; (4) The role of secondary education in achieving these objectives; (5) Interrelation of the objectives in secondary education; (6) Recognition of the objectives in secondary education; (7) Education as a process of growth; (8) Need for explicit values; (9) Subordination of deferred values; (10) Division of education into elementary and secondary; (11) Division of secondary education into junior and senior periods; (12) Articulation of secondary education with elementary education; (13) Articulation of higher education with secondary education; (14) Recognition of the objectives in planning curriculums; (15) The specializing and unifying functions of secondary education; (16) The comprehensive high school as the standard secondary school; (17) Recognition of the objectives in organizing the school; (18) Secondary education essential for all youth; (19) Part-time schooling as a compulsory minimum requirement; and (20) Conclusion. (Contains 8 footnotes.) [Best copy available has been provided.]

In this article we describe the use of a weblog (blog) project that was incorporated into an undergraduate preservice teacher education course that addressed diversity and multicultural education. To explore the efficacy of the project, we analyzed its implementation using an action research framework. We found that the project increased the preservice teachers' exposure to new issues and ideas in multicultural education. In the discussion section, we describe changes that were made to the project as a result of its first iteration. Additionally, we raise several questions that must be considered when using blogs in multicultural education courses and teacher education programs.

USAID believes that education is a foundational driver of development and fundamental to achieving self-reliance. When children and youth go to school and receive training in skills they can use in the workforce and to navigate life, they are able to build more hopeful and prosperous futures for themselves, their families, communities, and countries. USAID works in more than 50 developing countries to ensure that investments in education systems--from pre-primary to higher education--enable all children and youth to acquire the education and skills needed to be productive members of society. [This is an update to ED591430.]

The Department of Education Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2014-2018 describes the key policy and operational priorities for the agency. The Plan details the Department's strategic performance goals, objectives and indicators of success over the next five years. The Plan also provides an overview of our Fiscal Year 2014-2015 agency Priority Goals. [For the previous report, "U.S. Department of Education Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2011-2014," see ED529722.]

This bulletin identifies and discusses several outstanding achievements in home-economics education during the biennium. Individual sections explore: (1) Findings of statistical study of home economics in the public high schools; (2) Curriculum making; (3) Child development and parental education, including higher education, secondary education, elementary education, state programs, and private organization; (4) The school lunch, with particular attention given to school feeding surveys; (5) Nutrition; (6) Economics of the home; (7) Social relationships of the family; and (8) Home economics for boys. (Contains 7 tables and 2 footnotes.) [Best copy available has been provided.]

"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) House Passes FY 2007 Funding Measure: Education Programs Slated to Receive Additional Funding; (2) President Bush Releases FY 2008 Budget: Proposal Includes Several High School Initiatives, but Would Cut Overall Education Spending; and (3) State of the State Addresses: Governors Link Education to Economic Interests, Push Math, Science, and Technology Education.

Excellence in Environmental Education--Guidelines for Learning (Pre K-12) is part of a continuing series of documents published by the North American Association for Environmental Education (NAAEE) as part of the National Project for Excellence in Environmental Education. The Project is committed to synthesizing the best thinking about environmental education through an extensive process of review and discussion. Thus far, thousands of individuals and organizations representing all aspects of education and environmental education have reviewed working outlines and drafts. Reviewers include teachers, educational administrators, environmental scientists, curriculum developers, and natural resource agency and education department staff. Additional funding and support for this project has been received from the Environmental Education and Training Partnership (EETAP), Northern Illinois University, and the National Environmental Education and Training Foundation.

This paper sets forth the position of the Nebraska State Department of Education regarding career education in order to provide a basis for the development of additional materials and assistance which will facilitate the establishment of career education programs in Nebraska schools. Career education is viewed as a comprehensive, systematic, and cohesive plan of instruction that will provide each student the opportunity to plan and prepare for a meaningful and satisfying work role. In addition to defining career education, this paper offers a discussion of: (1) a rationale for career education, (2) basic concepts of career education, (3) components of a career education program, including curriculum design, teacher preparation, and community involvement, and (4) guidelines for implementing a career education program. (SB)

This report, in reviewing the educational system of Sweden, discussed the traditional system of education, reforms in teacher education, methods courses and current teacher education programs. The School of Education at Malmo was presented as an example of an institute of education. Studies in pedagogics were discussed in relation to teacher education curriculum. The fields of physical education and nature study in Sweden were also reviewed. An example of Scandinavian cooperation in education was cited through the Inter-Nordic Camp School, Hillerod, Denmark. Coordination of teacher preparation programs, academic studies, and physical education were established by the attendance of student teachers, college instructors, and school children at the camp. The conclusion of the report contained comparisons between the educational systems of Sweden and the United States. (BRB)

New Jersey has long been a leader in vocational-technical education and support by the State government continues. The Nation's education system fails to prepare young people for careers; it costs us $28 billion a year to "educate" them for potential failure. Career education offers a new approach. Made up of five overlapping levels, fifteen career clusters, and four research models, career education activities are strongly encouraged by the Office of Education. Career education, industrial arts, and vocational education are linked by supporting legislation. Various government-sponsored programs, task forces, and conferences having to do with industrial arts are in progress. Career education is not the same as vocational education; it is for persons of all ages from the first school year through adulthood. (MS)

As a quarterly publication announcing the availability of vocational and technical education instructional materials assembled by the Center, the document is of particular interest to teachers, curriculum specialists, and educators directly related to classroom instruction. In a 200-word condensation of each report, the abstracts attempted to present the means used to develop the material, its purpose teacher competency, student requirements, and a description of supplementary materials, if available. Author, subject, and document number indexes provide entry to the abstracts. This issue continues the expanded announcement of career education materials in AIM, as career education provides a focal point in American educational curriculum revision. (AG)

As a quarterly publication announcing the availability of vocational and technical education instructional materials assembled by the Center, the document is of particular interest to teachers, curriculum specialists, and educators directly related to classroom instruction. In a 200-word condensation of each report, the abstracts attempt to present the means used to develop the material, its purpose, teacher competency, student requirements, and a description of supplementary materials, if available. Author, subject, and document number indexes provide entry to the abstracts. This issue continues the expanded announcement of career education materials in AIM, as career education provides a focal point in American educational curriculum revision. (AG)

There are 101 selected entries in this annotated bibliography of Egyptian materials on education published in 1975. Materials include journal articles, books, and government documents. The bibliography covers the following topics: laws and legislation, meetings and symposia, primary schools, preparatory schools, secondary schools, experimental schools, comprehensive schools, libraries, social education, sex education, special education, religious education, higher education, perpetual education, adolescence, womens education, educational philosophy, educational aids, educational statistics, examinations, library statistics, curricula, evaluation, teaching methods, teachers, and illiteracy. Bibliographic information is provided for each entry that includes author, title, source, and date. The bibliography concludes with an index to the authors. (ND)