Education & Pedagogy

This collection contains 88 papers or summaries presented at a 1999 conference on self-study and institutional improvement for institutions of higher education. Papers are grouped into these chapters (with sample topics in parentheses): (1) "Quality Improvement Programs and Their Connection to the Accreditation Process" (self-study; accreditation); (2) "Connecting the Disconnects: Technology and Distance Education" (distance education delivery systems; Web-based and computer technology); (3) "Connecting the Disconnects: International Education" (networks; international education); (4) "Connecting with Other Institutions and Industry" (collaboration; credit transfer); (5) "Connecting the Disconnects: Faculty Development/Changing Roles of Faculty" (mentoring; professional development); (6) "Institutional Integrity" (faculty cultural diversity; online partnerships); (7) "General Education" (general education models and curricula); (8) "Assessment of Student Academic Achievement" (student evaluation); (9) "Program Review" (program evaluation); (10) "Special Challenges: Making Connections in Special Institutional Contexts" (governance; educational change); (11) "Coordinating the Self-Study Process" (accreditation; institutional assessment); (12) "Self-Study and Evaluation: Practical Advice" (evaluation methods); (13) "Preparing for a Focused Visit" (site visits); and (14) "Seeking Initial Affiliation through Initial Accreditation" (preparing for accreditation). Most papers contain references. (SLD)

This digest briefly reviews the events that led to the development of the American Indian and Alaska Native Education Research Agenda, the basic assumptions and premises underlying it, and its six priority research areas. In response to pressure from Native organizations and tribes and a subsequent Executive Order, a working group organized by the U.S. Department of Education developed a research agenda for American Indian and Alaska Native education. Formulated with substantial input from Native educators and researchers, the agenda focuses on identifying best practices. Studies must be conducted from a perspective that respects Native languages and cultures, and researchers must produce findings useful to local communities while being cognizant of tribal differences. Definitional issues concerning who is Native need to be resolved. Six general categories of priority research topics were identified: educational outcomes of Native students; the role of Native language and culture in education; teachers, schools, and educational resources; special education and Native students; early childhood education needs of Native children; and education standards and assessments and how they relate to schools with large enrollments of Native students. (TD)

A House subcommittee hearing received testimony on educational programs for Native American children, in the context of proposed reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, Title 9, Part A. Congressmen, representatives of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the National Indian Education Association, and American Indian educators and administrators presented oral and written statements. Topics included reforms in BIA schools; the FACE (Family and Child Education) program, which provides family services from the prenatal period through third grade; underfunding of the BIA school system; proposed changes to the Indian School Equalization Formula; the need for tribal departments of education; facility needs on the Navajo Nation and elsewhere; a boarding school that focuses on student needs and on helping every student reach mastery levels; concerns that the reauthorization may eliminate important programs; successful Title IX programs at Rocky Boy Public Schools (Montana); and development of tribal education standards. Appendices include the text of the revised legislation with the Navajo Nation's recommended changes. (SV)

Rather than being just the presentation of information, environmental education helps learners achieve environmental literacy, which has attitude and behavior components in addition to a knowledge component. This form of environmental education has its roots in nature study, conservation education, outdoor education, and the U.N. Tbilisi Declaration on the goals and principles of environmental education. Elements of effective environmental education programs: (1) are relevant to the mission of the agency or organization and to the educational objectives of the audience; (2) present ideas in ways that are relevant to learners; (3) involve stakeholders in all stages of the program; (4) empower learners with skills to address environmental issues and a sense of personal and civic responsibility; (5) are accurate and balanced, incorporating multiple perspectives and interdisciplinary aspects; (6) are instructionally sound, using "best practices" in education; and (7) are evaluated with appropriate tools. Important theories of learning, which can guide curriculum development and program planning, are Piaget's cognitive development theory, constructivism, multiple intelligences, and learning styles. Recommendations are offered for further research, discussion, and training related to the effects of environmental education on student learning and academic achievement and on environmental behavior change. (Contains 39 references.) (SV)

Western Illinois University's College of Education and Human Services has redesigned its teacher education program for pre-service elementary teachers. The redesigned program provides more classroom observations and onsite field experiences in the schools at earlier stages in student teachers' education and offers methods classes with integrated coursework (which are team taught by subject matter experts) that allows for the application of integrated, thematic units in actual classroom settings. A longitudinal study compared students in this redesigned program to students in a traditional teacher education program. Data collected on three redesign cohorts and their control groups over 4 years included: demographics, high school percentile rate, ACT scores, cumulative grade point average in college, percent receiving semester honors in college, scores on the Teacher Belief Inventory, preliminary certification pretest scores, scores on a written philosophy of education essay, assessment of their unit planning skills, performance on the State Teacher Certification Test, and job attainment. Overall, students in the redesign groups did at least as well as, or in several cases did better than, students in the traditional teacher education program. (SM)

This booklet opens with a list of the features that society now demands from higher education and then describes approaches to assessing the community college mission. Twenty-first century expectations for higher education are being shaped by: (1) a change in focus from teaching to learning; (2) the need to base credentials on demonstrated competence; (3) a demonstration of the value added by higher education; (4) the need to deliver workforce training; (5) the use of technology in instruction; (6) the needs of the community; and (7) the effectiveness of strategic alliances. The author addresses assessment in connection with four aspects of the community college mission: general education, career and occupational education, continuing education, and transfer to four-year institutions Also explored are processes for assessing institutional effectiveness, uses of assessment findings, and principles for successful assessment. Through analysis of assessment efforts in the community college setting, faculty and administrators at both two- and four-year institutions may find successful models for improving the assessment of student learning as well as curricula, instruction, and support services. (Contains 23 references.) (VWC)

This paper describes the growth and outlines the place of education in the management of nonprofit organizations in the United States. The discussion of nonprofit management education focuses on education in the formal sector, at the graduate level. There are more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the United States, nearly double the number of 25 years ago. Of the factors that have contributed to the growth of nonprofit management education, the most important is the growth of the nonprofit sector itself. As nonprofit management education programs were developed, they were based on assumptions about nonprofit leadership and management that asserted that nonprofit management is different than other management, and that nonprofit management education programs should focus on the entire nonprofit sector, rather than on subsectors. It was also assumed that there was a market for such programs, and that they could draw on a body of research, but need not have identical curricula. Overall, these assumptions have been supported. In the future, it seems probable that the management of nonprofit organizations will continue to differ from the management of for-profit concerns. The field of nonprofit management education will adapt to the changes to be expected in education and in society. (SLD)

In recent years, adult education for Native Americans has reflected broader goals and has been concerned with playing a role in preserving native language and culture rather than encouraging assimilation. These four trends appear in the literature related to adult education for Native Americans: how adult education theories and methods such as transformative learning, use of narrative, and self-directed learning apply; identifying and acknowledging learning styles of Native American adults; approaches to conducting research with Native Americans in their communities; and identifying strategies for helping Native American adults achieve success in postsecondary and higher education. The diffuse nature of the literature on adult education for Native Americans is a serious issue. The literature base lacks depth; no strands of research and theory building can be detected; the literature does not seem to build on itself; and the topics of race and culture with regard to Native Americans have received insufficient attention. (Contains 21 resources that reflect the diffuse nature of the literature on adult education for Native Americans.) (YLB)

In Europe and Central Asia, the poor face three problems: (1) the education system as a whole does not work well, and hence fails to meet their needs; (2) the private cost of education has risen, so that "education," as a commodity, competes with other consumption goods in shrinking household budgets; and (3) the perceived benefits of education (in terms of higher wage earnings) are still low, thereby undermining long-term incentives to invest in education. This paper shows the discrepancy between Central European and former Soviet Union countries in the contribution of "education" in explaining wage earnings inequality. The discrepancy can be explained by factors such as the degree of private sector development and the flexibility of the labor market. Although there remains a"taste" for education in Europe and Central Asia, there is also a risk that low-income groups drop out of the education system and irreversibly fall into poverty. (Contains 27 notes, 7 figures, 9 tables, 4 annexes, and 82 references.) (Author/BT)

This book is a directory of about 1,100 discretionary projects supported by the Office of Special Education Programs and focuses on projects concerned with personnel preparation. This second volume of four presents projects designed to help address state-identified needs for qualified personnel in special education, related services, early intervention, and regular education to work with children with disabilities and to ensure that those personnel have the skills and knowledge, derived from practices that have been determined through research and experience to be successful, that are needed to serve these children. Projects are grouped within the specific programs and competitions under which they were funded. Provided for each listing is the following information: grant number, project title, project director, address and other contact information, beginning and ending dates, and an abstract presenting the project's intended purpose, method, and products. Four indexes enhance access: a project director index, an organization index, a state index, and a subject index. (DB)

The National Household Education Survey (NHES) is a data collection system of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which has as its mission the collection and publication of data on the condition of education in the United States by providing information on those issues that are best addressed by contacting households rather than educational institutions. The NHES is a telephone survey of households. This document contains the telephone interview guides for several components of the NHES in 1991 and 1995. The NHES:91 Screener interview, the screening items for the Adult Education survey and those for the Household Characteristics portion of the survey are presented. The 1991 Adult Education interview is also included. For the 1995 NHES, the Basic Screener is included, and the following areas of the 1995 Adult Education interview are presented: (1) Initial Background; (2) English as a Second Language; (3) Basic Skills and GED Preparation; (4) Credential; (5) Apprenticeship; (6) Career or Job Related Activities; (7) Other Formal Structured Activities; (8) Computer-Only or Interactive Video-Only Instruction on the Job; (9) Remaining Background; and (10) Household Characteristics. (SLD)

This bibliography lists and indexes a total of 124 papers presented during five international conferences held during the 1990s on the topic of peace education. This miniprint aims to make it easier for peace researchers and peace educators to locate conference contributions of special interest to them. The guide has been organized into three parts: (1) a complete list of papers presented in each conference report; (2) an author index with indication of country of origin; and (3) a subject index with a number of keywords or key expressions for different kinds of paper contents. The five conferences summarized are: (1) "Education for Peace in the Nineties: A Conference Report", PEC/IPRA (Peace Education Commission/International Peace Research Association), Groningen (1990); (2)"Peace Education: Glimpses from the EURPA (European Peace Research Association) Conference in Firenze" (1991); (3) "Education for Peace: A Conference Report from Kyoto" (1992); (4) "Education for Peace: A Conference Report from Budapest" (1993); and (5) "Education for Peace: A Conference Report from Malta" (1994). (EH)

This report summarizes trends and needs in higher education. The first section considers the value of higher education and provides data showing that a college education is more valuable today than ever, and that higher education is not given a high enough priority when state and national budget decisions are made. Positive changes that have been made by education and government leaders in SREB (Southern Regional Education Board) states over the last four years are credited with the following effects: today it is easier to transfer from one college to another; today it is easier to take a college course anytime of the day (or night) through technology links to homes, businesses, and communities; today more students can earn a college degree more quickly because many universities have streamlined their requirements and retooled many courses; today many SREB states are creating plans and programs to deal with rising student costs for college; today colleges and universities have "restructured" to become more efficient; and today higher education is more accountable to the public and state leaders. (DB)

This document describes the vocational education and training system in Belgium, beginning in chapter 1 with the administrative, demographic, and economic background in which the training system exists. Chapter 2 provides a brief historical review of the development of the training system; arrangements for initial training; and arrangements for continuing training, teacher training, and adult training. Chapter 3 indicates where responsibilities for administering the system are located, including the influence of the social partners, and presents information on the financing system. Chapter 4 provides an indication of present trends and developments, including how far the system has been, or would be, influenced by European Community considerations, such as the following: creation of the single European market, mutual recognition of qualifications, the intervention of the Structural Funds, and the Community's education and training programs. Specific topics are as follows: divergent training systems, the teaching profession and teacher training, choice of study by girls, and education in the Flemish and French communities. Appendixes contain 14 references and the following: list of acronyms and abbreviated titles; major organizations involved in providing or regulating vocational training; and glossary. (YLB)

This volume for students developed by the Teacher Education Equity Project, which worked with 61 teacher educators over 3 years, contains source materials about gender equity for use with various activities, as well as bibliographic and other resource listings. Volume 1, designed for teacher educators, presents activities educators can use with education students to make them aware of gender equity issues, especially in mathematics, science, and technology (MST) education. This resource volume for students begins with an overview of gender equity in MST education, reminding the student that gender differences in MST performance and participation are a function of contexts or situations in which these subjects are taught and learned. Preservice teachers should be aware of the research defining the gender equity problem and giving recommendations on dealing with gender bias in the classroom. Like the educators' volume, the resources deal with six main themes: (1) MST as male domains; (2) cultural expectations of peers, teachers, parents, and society; (3) biased and inappropriate curriculum materials; (4) classroom interaction and atmosphere; (5) anti-intellectualism and attributional style; and (6) testing and assessment. (Contains four tables.) (SLD)