Education & Pedagogy

Current trends and issues in second language education are summarized to provide background data for discussion in these areas: language use patterns in Canada and in the world; language education in Canada, with a focus on Alberta's situation (federal and provincial roles in multicultural education and second language study throughout Canada, and language enrollments and program designs in Alberta); international perspectives on language education, in particular in Europe, the United States, and Australia; languages and economic development in Alberta; post-secondary level language programming and enrollment in Alberta; availability of and research on technology-assisted language learning; and research on language acquisition, particularly learning processes, subject matter instruction in a second language, age of acquisition, and time required to develop proficiency. Contains 100 references. (MSE)

This ERIC Digest reviews the development and current status of peace education in the United States. After briefly surveying the peace education movement from its origins with a small group of educators in New England in the 1800s through its stigmatization as being anti-American during periods of hot and cold war, the Digest devotes more attention to recent trends of the 1980s and 1990s. During this period, peace education has taken on a number of forms, including conflict resolution aiming at reducing youth violence, anti-nuclear education, and role playing games, cultural exchanges, and other programs to promote global awareness. Most recently, e-mail and the World Wide Web have been used to promote the exchange of information and ideas. The Digest includes a list of online resources for peace education and a 10-item bibliography of references and ERIC resources. (MLJ)

The materials presented here are designed to provide background information and stimulate discussion of bilingual education in a televised town meeting held on May 9, 1996 in Sacramento, California. The meeting, one of a series, is intended as a forum for California high school students, educators, and legislators to engage in dialogue about problems in bilingual education and the role of public policy in addressing them. The materials include essays, documents produced by public and private agencies, legislative texts and excerpts, policy statements, and newspaper and journal articles on two general topics: the relationship of language and culture, particularly in bilingual education, and bilingual education policy and practice. For each topic area, a series of study questions is included. (MSE)

This annual report details the 1997 activities of the SouthEastern Regional Vision for Education, the agency designated by the U.S. Department of Education as the regional educational laboratory responsible for developing national leadership and expertise in early childhood education. The report describes the partners involved and activities related to four major areas of concern: (1) quality early care and education; (2) education/training for educators and caregivers; (3) linking of services; and (4) equitable access to quality care for all children. Contact information is given for members of the Early Childhood Laboratory Network Program. The work of the National Center for Early Development and Learning is described. The impact of welfare reform is discussed. Principles to consider in planning to teach young children are examined. (KB)

California government is now considering major reforms in the organization of higher education, specifically dismantling the state's independent planning and coordinating agency, the California Postsecondary Education Commission (CPEC), and placing it and the Student Aid Commission under a new position in the governor's office, possibly a Secretary of Higher Education. This recommendation is the result of Governor Schwarzenegger's establishment of the California Performance Review Commission, in February of 2004, to investigate possible reorganization and other reforms for reducing spending and creating greater efficiencies in state government. Some fourteen teams, divided into seven "functional" areas (e.g., education) and seven cross-cutting areas (e.g., procurement and information technology), developed recommendations for consideration by the governor's office. This paper comments on the governor's proposal and more generally on the appropriate structure for coordinating California's massive higher education system.

The relationship between job requirements, individual skills and the participation of workers in further education and training, with an emphasis on older workers, is the focus of this report. It found that workers who reported that their jobs are demanding relative to their skills were more likely to participate in education and training. Participation in further education and training was lower for older workers compared with younger workers, although it still increased as relative skills use increased. (Contains 8 footnotes, 8 tables, and 8 figures.) [Funding is provided through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Additional information relating to this research is available in "Job requirements and lifelong learning for older workers: Support document." For the support document, see ED507238.]

"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. This edition contains the following features: (1) Obama Signs "Largest Investment in Education in the Nation's History": Economic Recovery Legislation Includes Nearly $100 Billion for U.S. Department of Education; (2) Stimulus Done, Obama Sets Sights on Fiscal Year 2010 Budget: President to Submit FY 2010 Budget on February 26; (3) Closing the Expectations Gap: States Make Progress in Setting High Expectations for High School Graduates According to Report From Achieve; and (4) State of the State Addresses: Granholm and Strickland Focus on Producing Graduates Ready to Succeed After High School. (Contains 2 footnotes.)

Rastriya Madhyamic Siksha Mission (RMSM), is a mission exclusively for secondary education. The mission is functioning under Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) of India. The mission was formulated on the basis of comprehensive reports of CABE [Central Advisory Board of Education], and the successful accomplishment of SSA [Sarva Siksha Abhiyan]. The mission has definite structure at national, state, district, block and at school levels. Mission proclaimed to provide good quality education barrier free to all students. The guiding principles of RMSA [Rastriya Madhyamic Siksha Abhiyan] are Universal Access, Equality and Social Justice, Relevance and Development and, Curricular and Structural Aspects. The objectives of the mission can be summarized as providing, Access, Quality and Equity in education. There are four centrally sponsored schemes and four focus groups planned under the scheme. Girls' education and empowerment is given very high place in the mission.

Education is generally seen as enhancing people's lives. However, previous research has reported an inverse relationship between education and happiness or satisfaction with life: as education level goes up, happiness goes down. Using data from the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY), this report examines the relationship between education and happiness. The impact of factors such as family circumstances and personality traits are also considered. The report finds that undertaking vocational qualifications such as an apprenticeship has a positive impact on happiness both during the training period and after completion. For university graduates, however, happiness declines following completion of their study. Results for dummy variables for each wave of the survey are appended. (Contains 14 tables, 2 figures, and 11 footnotes.)

This report highlights the history and importance of public education in the United States, dating back to its establishment as a necessary institution for the young republic and Horace Mann's efforts to promote a common school for all. The report focuses on how and why the U.S. system of public education came into being; the six core public missions that public schools have been expected to fulfill, such as unifying a diverse population, preparing people for democratic citizenship, and ensuring equal opportunities for all children; and why these missions are relevant today and why the nation must maintain them while pursuing reforms to help all schools live up to these core ideals. (Information and Data sources are referenced by page.)

The tertiary education system has been transformed from an elite-oriented system to a system providing tertiary education to a much larger share of each new generation. This re-orientation has contributed to raising education attainment in Belgium. However, in many respects the organisation of the tertiary education systems has not been changed fundamentally and economic incentives are only to a minor extent in place for securing the supply and quality of tertiary education. The system has come under strain, as revealed in the high failure rate among first-year students and the high incidence of subject change. There is thus a need for the system to adapt to be able to continue to support the improvement in educational attainment. (Contains 24 footnotes, 4 boxes, 4 figures, and 3 tables.)

This document contains a summary of 19 of the 38 indicators in "The Condition of Education 2004." The topics covered include: trends in full-day and half-day kindergarten enrollments, the concentration of enrollment by race/ethnicity and poverty, students' gains in reading and mathematics achievement through 3rd grade, trends in student achievement from the National Assessment of Education Progress in reading, writing, and mathematics, the percentage of youth neither enrolled nor working, event dropout rates, degrees earned by women, trends in science and mathematics coursetaking, out-of-field teaching by school poverty, parental choice of schools, remedial coursetaking in postsecondary education, distance education in postsecondary education, expenditures per student in elementary and secondary education, and the financial aid awarded to students by postsecondary institutions.

Computer-based and web-based applications are primary educational tools that are used in order to motivate students in today's schools. In the physical education field, educational applications related with the computer and the internet became more prevalent in order to present visual and interactive learning processes. On the other hand, some difficulties are encountered in the integration of computers to physical education and in the use of these tools by teachers. Physical education teachers have to develop their knowledge and skills in order to use computers as teaching tools and support and guide students to use these technologies for learning. The aim of this study is to find out how often physical education teachers use computers and related software for educational purposes. Based on the findings of the research, suggestions towards effective use of computers in physical education classes are made. (Contains 4 tables.)

Inclusive education has become one of the major concerns of education policy in every part of world nowadays. This paper is written to investigate the implementation of inclusion education in Macao. Data collection is done through conducting telephone interviews and giving out questionnaires, and targets of the questionnaires include administrative staff and teachers in schools where inclusive education are implemented and parents of students with special needs. Telephone interviews are made mainly with school principals. Findings show that inclusive education in Macao is still at the developing stage and the main reasons are the inadequacy in teacher training and the lacking of professionals in particular fields. In accordance with the problems found, suggestions for reference and improvement are raised towards the end of the paper. Hope inclusive Education in Macao will have a better development in the future. (Contains 16 tables.)

"Alabama Education News" is published monthly except for June, July, and December by the Alabama Department of Education. This publication, authorized by Section 16-2-4 of the "Code of Alabama," as recompiled in 1975, is a public service of the Alabama Department of Education designed to inform citizens and educators about programs and goals of public education in Alabama. This issue contains the following articles: (1) Measuring Success... with the Alabama Education Ruler; (2) Alabama NAEP [National Assessment of Educational Progress] News; (3) Milken Educator Announced; (4) Montgomery Teacher Gains National Star; (5) This Season--Give the Gift of Life; and (6) Alabama Educators Making News. Regular features include: (1) Board Briefs; (2) Good News in Alabama Schools; (3) Teacher of the Month; (4) Professional Development and Resources and Award and Grant Opportunities; and (5) Calendar.