Education & Pedagogy

Described are the four information bulletins produced by the ERIC Clearinghouse for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education for the calendar year of 1979. The Spring 1979 issue contains a summary of the review of the literature in science education published from 1955-1975 as part of a project funded by the National Science Foundation. The Summer 1979 issue contains a summary of the mathematics education portion of this same literature review as well as announcements of recent publications produced by ERIC/SMEAC. The Autumn 1979 issue focuses on energy issues and contains a report of the National Assessment study of energy knowledge and attitudes as well as a report of a survey of energy consumption in the nation's schools which was completed by the American Association of School Administrators. This issue also contains some announcements of recent ERIC/SMEAC publications in environmental education. The Winter 1979 issue consists of representative abstracts from "Resources in Education" related to topics of current interest: science and the handicapped, safety, careers for women in science, calculators, math anxiety, mathematics assessment, energy education, and environmental education. (PB)

Designed to serve as a guide for teacher-coordinators, counselors, administrators, and the employing community, this handbook is a performance-oriented desk reference that provides a base for cooperative education program operations. Chapter 1 overviews cooperative education, contrasts cooperative training and work experience programs, and provides guidelines for establishing and operating cooperative programs. Chapter 2 identifies unique characteristics for various types of cooperative education programs: cooperative office education, distributive education/marketing, interdisciplinary cooperative education, vocational agriculture occupational training, and vocational cooperative home economics. Appendixes give occupational objective codes for various curriculum areas. Chapter 3 briefly discusses the teacher-coordinator role. A job description and specifications and chart of areas of responsibility are appended. Chapter 4 describes characteristics of training stations/sponsors and provides sample checklists. Coordination is the focus of chapter 5. Extensive appendixes include these sample materials: time lines, competency profile folder, application for enrollment, local program requirements, student data forms (training plans, job record, enrollment form), and coordination records. Chapter 6 discusses advisory committees, their composition, and techniques for use in meetings. Sample rosters and correspondence and example agendas are appended. (YLB)

CONFERENCE REPRESENTATIVES FROM BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY, ORGANIZED LABOR, HIGHER EDUCATION, SECONDARY EDUCATION, THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, AND OTHER GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES TOTALED 160. THEIR OBJECTIVES WERE--(1) TO IDENTIFY NEEDED AREAS OF ATTENTION AND CRITICAL ISSUES FACING VOCATIONAL-TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN ILLINOIS, (2) TO SUGGEST TENTATIVE DIRECTIONS FOR MEETING CURRENT AND FUTURE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS, (3) TO CONSIDER MEANS OF IMPROVING WORKING RELATIONSHIPS AMONG INTERESTED AGENCIES AND GROUPS, (4) TO REVIEW POLICIES AND PROCEDURES PERTAINING TO VOCATIONAL-TECHNICAL EDUCATION ADMINISTRATION, AND (5) TO ESTABLISH A FRAME OF REFERENCE FOR DETERMINING NEEDED RESEARCH AND RESEARCHABLE PROBLEMS. THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING INCLUDE DETAILED REPORTS OF THE FOLLOWING PRESENTATIONS WITH SOME DIRECT QUOTATIONS--(1) "OBJECTIVES OF CONFERENCE," BY J. E. HILL, (2) "THE CHALLENGE TO VOCATIONAL EDUCATION WITH RESPECT TO MAN, EDUCATION, AND WORK," BY GRANT VENN, (3) "STRUCTURING VOCATIONAL EDUCATION TO MEET THE CHALLENGE," BY RUPERT EVANS, AND (4) "STRATEGIES FOR CHANGE THROUGH RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT," BY ALLEN LEE. (EM)

THE STUDY COMMITTEE PRESENTED ITS REPORT TO THE BOARD OF HIGHER EDUCATION FOR USE IN DEVELOPING A "MASTER PLAN" FOR HIGHER EDUCATION IN ILLINOIS. INCLUDED WERE--(1) CHARACTERISTICS OF ILLINOIS' UNEMPLOYED, (2) DATA ON HIGH SCHOOL DROPOUTS, (3) THE ROLE, NATURE, AND DEMAND FOR ADULT AND TECHNICAL EDUCATION, (4) A RECOMMENDED PLAN FOR ADULT, TECHNICAL, AND SEMITECHNICAL EDUCATION, AND (5) CONDITIONS FOR SUCCESSFUL TECHNICAL EDUCATION IN 2-YEAR COLLEGES. IT WAS PROJECTED THAT--(1) BY 1970, 58-MILLION PERSONS NOW AT WORK AND STILL EMPLOYED WILL NEED TRAINING TO KEEP PACE WITH NEW METHODS, NEW MATERIALS, AND NEW OPPORTUNITIES, (2) 26-MILLION YOUNG WORKERS STARTING TO WORK BETWEEN 1960 AND 1970 MUST MATCH THE NEEDS OF A CHANGING ECONOMY, AND (3) 3-MILLION WOMEN WHO WILL SWITCH FROM HOUSEWORK TO JOBS WILL NEED MARKETABLE SKILLS IN THE DECADE AHEAD. ILLINOIS SHOULD PROVIDE NEW, COLLEGE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES AND PROGRAMS TO ENROLL APPROXIMATELY 13,900 FULL-TIME AND 13,200 PART-TIME STUDENTS AT THE TECHNICAL LEVEL (2 YEARS), AND 43,000 FULL-TIME AND 40,000 PART-TIME STUDENTS AT THE SEMITECHNICAL LEVEL (1 YEAR). (PS)

THE PROPOSED PROGRAM TO IMPROVE INDUSTRIAL-TECHNICAL EDUCATION WILL FUNCTION ON THREE LEVELS--UNIVERSITY, COMMUNITY COLLEGE, AND HIGH SCHOOL. IN GRADES 9 AND 10, THE PROGRAM WILL CONSIST OF A STUDY OF AMERICAN INDUSTRY. IN GRADES 11 AND 12, THERE WILL BE A 2-YEAR SEQUENCE OF FOUR MAJOR COURSES IN ENGLISH, SCIENCE, MATHEMATICS, AND INDUSTRIAL-TECHNICAL EDUCATION. THE NATURAL RELATIONSHIPS OF EACH MAJOR SUBJECT TO THE OTHERS WILL BE DRAWN OUT AND USED AS CONSTANT REINFORCEMENT. THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO GIVE THE STUDENT PROFICIENCY IN HIS SELECTED FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY, AUGMENTED BY MATHEMATICS, BASIC SCIENCES, ENGLISH, AND TECHNOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES OF THE SELECTED FIELD. UNDER THE UNIVERSITY 5-YEAR PLAN, STUDENTS WILL HAVE MUCH MORE INTERNSHIP TEACHING EXPERIENCE THAN STUDENTS IN A TYPICAL INDUSTRIAL-TECHNICAL TEACHER EDUCATION PROGRAM. IN ADDITION, ON-THE-JOB INDUSTRIAL INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCES WILL BE PROVIDED. A CRASH PROGRAM FOR INSERVICE TRAINING OF PRESENT TEACHERS WILL CONSIST OF SEMINARS, COURSES, AND INDUSTRIAL INTERNSHIP WHICH COULD LEAD TO A MASTER'S DEGREE. INCREASED ARTICULATION WITHIN THE SCHOOL HIERARCHY, IMPROVED TEACHING METHODS, COOPERATION WITH INDUSTRY, REDESIGN OF CURRICULUMS, AND THE INCLUSION OF MORE FLEXIBILITY FROM THE STUDENT'S VIEWPOINT ARE FACETS OF THIS NEW APPROACH. (EM)

ISSUES AND PROBLEMS OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF CHANGING SOCIAL, EDUCATIONAL, AND ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ARE SUCCINCTLY PRESENTED IN THIS SPECIAL REPORT CONDENSED FROM THAT REQUIRED BY THE VOCATIONAL EDUCATION ACT OF 1963--"VOCATIONAL EDUCATION--THE BRIDGE BETWEEN MAN AND HIS WORK, PUBLICATION 2." THE ACHIEVEMENTS AND LIMITATIONS OF THE ACT WHICH ARE DISCUSSED SUGGEST SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS IN THE STATUS OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION IN THE UNITED STATES. SECTION I OF THIS REPORT DESCRIBES THE CHANGING SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT WHICH HAS ELEVATED FORMAL PREPARATION FOR EMPLOYMENT TO A CRITICAL LEVEL IN PUBLIC POLICY. SECTION II REVIEWS THE BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES OF THE 1963 ACT AND EVALUATES THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND SHORTCOMINGS ENCOUNTERED IN PURSUING THOSE OBJECTIVES. SECTION III DESCRIBES THE CURRENT STATUS OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION. SECTION IV SETS FORTH SOME BASIC CONCEPTS FOR CAREER DEVELOPMENT EDUCATION UNDER CURRENT AND EMERGING CONDITIONS, AND SECTION V DESCRIBES A "UNIFIED" SYSTEM OF EDUCATION FOR EMPLOYMENT BASED ON THESE CONCEPTS. SECTION VI CONTAINS RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPROVEMENTS IN THE 1963 ACT AND FOR ADMINISTRATION OF NEW AND CHANGING CONCEPTS OF EDUCATION FOR EMPLOYMENT. (PS)

Implications of the Open University upon traditional higher education in England and the United States are examined. The history of adult education is reviewed in relationship to working class adults, the Open University, and the traditional British and American higher education. The history of correspondence study and its practical use for instruction in the Open University are discussed, followed by a review of the history of broadcasting, its possible use as a tool for instruction in the homes of the working class, as well as its usefulness by the Open University. Some of the tenets of traditional higher education most likely to be affected by the Open University are considered. The concluding chapter summarizes the effects of the Open University. It is suggested that the American higher education system will adapt and adopt the ideas, methods, motives, and materials of the Open University as efforts are expanded to meet the academic needs of the working class adult. Footnotes and a bibliography are provided. (LC)

Past historical studies have resulted in contradictory interpretations of the social-philosophical motives underlying the early rationale of the vocational education movement. Contemporary vocational educators argue that early tenets (and the underlying philosophy of providing more equal opportunity and freedom of occupational choice) have not been transmitted to the present-day interpretation of vocational education. Historians critical of vocational education have claimed that the philosophy underlying vocational education was basically conservative and designed to slot individuals into lower rungs of an educational ladder. The even more radical revisionist historians have cast early leaders in the role of conservative "social-control" advocates. Vocational education has been unable to react to criticism within a philosophic framework or present alternative evidence which demonstrates adherence to a historical pattern of value-related standards. While criticism has focused on operational as well as philosophical dimensions, more ideological criticisms have come from the educational essentialists and education perennialists. Perennialists criticize vocational education which trains students to do a "servile, task as "debasement of human nature." Essentialists advocate an educational system excluding vocational training. Reasoned argument, supported by documentation of empirical evidence, is crticial in establishing credibility for the field of vocational education. (YLB)

A field based teacher education program, conducted through Kent State University and designed to prepare preservice teachers for urban settings, is the subject of this report. The paper is divided into three sections. In the first, the project is described with emphasis given to student teachers' performance, effectiveness, and role perceptions. The second section consists of a cost analysis comparing the field based project to conventional on-campus teacher education programs. Information is provided regarding the projects earnings/losses, student credit hours produced, income to salary ratios, two year costs, and comparisons with other field based courses taught at Kent State. In the paper's third section, the urban preservice teaching project is analyzed with respect to both historical antecedents and current developments in teacher education. The project is examined from the perspective of (1) nine generic models for teacher education funded by the U.S. Office of Education, (2) the guidelines of the Ohio Redesign for Teacher Education, and (3) the Kent State model for teacher education. In addition, the urban project is considered in light of the "process-product" and "time on task" dimensions of research on teacher education. (Author/GC)

The history of adult education in the United States and the participation of Asian/Pacific Americans in adult and vocational education are reviewed in this paper. The development of such programs during the past two centuries is briefly described. Numbers of participating adult learners and some demographic characteristics of these learners are discussed as are characteristics of the non profit agencies and proprietary schools which sponsor adult, vocational and continuing education programs. It is emphasized that opportunities for Asian/Pacific Americans in adult education, both as students and as teachers and administrators, should be expanded in order to make it more responsive to minorities. Increased unity among Asian and Pacific Americans and an augmented role for the National Association of Asian American and Pacific Education (NAAAPE) in adult education are recommended. Appended to the paper are bibliographies on adult and continuing education and information on courses offered in the field, State accrediting agencies, resource personnel (both Asian/Pacific American and other), Federal agencies with responsibilities in adult education, and numbers of Asian/Pacific Americans in adult and vocational programs (by State) and language of instruction in these programs. Also attached are descriptions of four training grants for Asian/Pacific American vocational programs. (GC)

The central purpose of this paper is to describe the origins, assumptions, approaches, and problems of the major evaluation efforts relating to vocational education specified in the Educational Amendments of 1976. The first of five chapters provides background information on vocational education, evaluation, and the Education Amendments of 1976. The second chapter gives an overview of seven groups which were given specific evaluation responsibilities in the 1976 Amendments. Included in these groups are the state boards of vocational education, state advisory councils for vocational education, and the U.S. Office of Education's Bureau of Occupational and Adult Education. Information on each group is organized into five parts: (1) legislative basis, (2) assumptions/expectations, (3) approach/activities, (4) problems, and (5) comments. In addition, this chapter reviews groups with responsibilities related to evaluation. Among the groups included in this section are the National Center for Research in Vocational Education and the General Accounting Office. Impressions, reflections, and observations are presented in the next chapter, followed by a summary chapter. Material prepared at the conference on the evaluation of vocational education is presented in an epilogue. (LRA)

The argument is advanced that tertiary education in Australia, which comprises three sectors--universities, colleges of advanced education, and colleges of technical and further education--is hierarchically structured. Although the colleges were proposed to be of comparable status to universities, the new colleges of advanced education, which have strong vocational emphasis, have generally lesser standing academically, socially, and in terms of physical facilities. While the college sector experienced dramatic growth in the expansionary period of the 1960s and early 1970s, greater attention will need to be given to the structural relations of the tertiary education sectors in the current period of contraction, to avoid duplication and problems of social discrimination. Although under the Australian constitution control of education rests with the state government, the commonwealth has been able to control the extent and nature of higher education, particularly since 1974, when it assumed full financial responsibility for funding universities and colleges of advanced education. The extent of commonwealth power over the institutions is examined and some broader impacts of centralized control are noted. (Author/PHR)

A discussion of current academic issues relevant to general education programs in the State of California is presented in this final report from the Task Force on Education. The history of the Task Force and its mission are included in the introductory statement. A series of brief comments and related recommendations for general education in the California State University and colleges is presented in the body of the report. Areas discussed include: retention and expansion; statement of objectives; cohesiveness and sequence; institutional status; systemwide advisory committee; entry-level learning skills; instructional level distribution; work at institution granting degree; "double counting" for major and general education; general education and disciplinary territorial imperatives; descriptive detail of distribution areas in Title 5; the distribution areas; CSUC and the California Community Colleges; certification of general education credit; participation and observation; general education breadth and U.S. history, American ideals; and reasonable exceptions. Included as an appendix is proposed language that addresses those recommendations requiring amendment of Title 5. (SF)

A comprehensive work experience model based on demonstrated competence in a business or office occupational area was developed for training or retraining vocational education teachers in Ohio. Developed to meet occupational certification requirements within pre-service and inservice professional courses, the model addresses the needs of individuals with little or no occupational work experiences as well as those who, though certified, need to keep updated in their specialty area. Utilizing a core curriculum format, the model provides for three alternative program strands, each available on the undergraduate, graduate, and inservice levels. The three strands are categorized by no occupational experience, minimal occupational experience, and occupational experience of one year or more. The model may be incorporated into existing independent study courses or by use of a three-course format: Introduction to Work Education (three credit hours), Business Seminar--Work Observations (three credit hours), and Business Internship--On-the-Job Training (one to six credit hours). (A step-by-step procedure for each program strand and a definition of terms section are included in the model.) (MEK)

Intended for both the student and the practitioner of evaluation, this book describes the state of the practice of program evaluation. Its focus is mainly institutional. Results of evaluation studies are of secondary importance. An introductory chapter written by the editor discusses evaluation at the Office of Education from 1967 through 1973. The remainder of the book consists of eight case studies, as follows: (1) Evaluation of "Sesame Street": Two Case Studies, by Gerry Ann Bogatz; (2) Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Compensatory Education Funded by Title I, ESEA, by Kenneth F. Gordon and Barbara J. A. Gordon; (3) Evaluation and Evaluative Research in an Urban Bilingual Program, by Robert J. Cahill and Joseph J. Foley; (4) Migrant Education, by Jack Harbeston; (5) The OEO Experiment in Educational Performance Contracting, by Horace W. Ray and others; (6) Evaluation with an Experimental Design: The Emergency School Assistance Program, by Robert L. Crain and Robert L. York; (7) Teacher Corps, by Robert H. Crosby; and (8) Evaluations of Upward Bound for the Office of Economic Opportunity. (Author/CTM)