Education & Pedagogy

Data are not available that will give more than a partial idea of the extent to which work in agriculture is a part of the program of secondary education in this country. The 1922 report of the Federal Board for Vocational Education contains the most complete information available regarding instruction in vocational agriculture. Vocational agriculture as used in the Federal board's report refers to the instruction that presumably met the standards set up by State boards for vocational education under the provisions of the Federal vocational education act. Due to the fact that there are practically no objective standards by which the vocational effectiveness of this instruction may be measured, there are undoubtedly many schools not included in the report of the Federal board in which the instruction functions quite as effectively in vocational ways as does that of many schools which are included. In spite of this defect, the data contained in the report give a fairly complete idea of the present magnitude of instruction in vocational agriculture and the rate at which it has developed in recent years. Contents include: (1) Agriculture in secondary schools; (2) Types of schools and classes; (3) Development of curricula; (4) State supervision; (5) Growth of teacher-training facilities; (6) Relationships between agricultural education agencies; and (7) Agricultural education at meetings. (Contains 5 footnotes.) [Best copy available has been provided.]

This report is the ninth in a series published annually by Universities UK, with the support of GuildHE and the UK Higher Education Europe Unit, updating and expanding a rich variety of data through which to understand higher education institutions in the UK. Since its first report in 2001, has examined the trends in UK higher education at both the sector and institutional level. We have built up a 10-year time series of information that has proved very useful to senior managers in the sector as well as being drawn upon by many outside higher education. In addition, each report has focused in its final section on a particular issue of interest. Appended are: (1) Total enrolments by detailed subject of study, 1998/99 and 2007/08; (2) Non-UK domiciled students at UK higher education institutions by domicile and qualification aim, 2007/08; (3) Trends in sources of income to higher education institutions, 2000/01, 2006/07 and 2007/08; (4) Distribution of enrolments among higher education and further education institutions by mode and level, 2006/07; (5) Mergers within the higher education sector, 1994/95-2007/08; (6) HESA academic cost centres; (7) Definitions of higher education; (8) Countries included in the Section C analysis; (9) Mobility of students at European institutions, 2006; and (10) Sources. (Contains 27 tables, 63 charts and 29 footnotes.)

Improving the methods of instructing future educators, through program evaluation and improvement, should be a goal of all teacher education programs. In physical education, the National Association for Sport & Physical Education created standards for initial preparation of physical education teachers. The six standards for preparation include Planning and Implementation, which include tenants pertaining to unit and lesson planning. Despite the significant importance of planning in the growth of preservice teachers as they complete a Physical Education Teacher Education (PETE) program, there is currently no consensus on what concepts to be included in lesson planning for physical education teacher education. The purpose of the study was to determine the essential lesson planning concepts for PETE. Following a nationwide pilot study of PETE programs in the United States to gather lesson planning concepts, a modified Delphi investigation using PETE experts was conducted to gain consensus on the pertinent lesson planning concepts for preservice teachers. Results of the study indicated 31 lesson planning concepts that experts found essential for preservice teachers to use when planning for teaching vignettes, peer teaching experiences and student teaching. Implications for use in PETE programs are also discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The interest of the American people in education, the extent and rapid growth of education as public enterprise, and the popularization of secondary schools in recent years are well known and are subjects of frequent comment. Less well known, however, are the interest and activity of the Negro, one of the constituent elements in American life, in education. This is particularly true with reference to education at the secondary level. It is the purpose of this report, therefore, to furnish information concerning the availability and present status of secondary education for the colored race in the Southern States. Following a Letter of Transmittal, this monograph contains the following chapters: (1) Purpose, scope, and procedure; (2) Availability of secondary education--The general situation; (3) Availability of secondary education--The distribution of high schools; (4) The organization of schools; (5) The high school offering; (6) The pupils; (7) Teachers and principals; (8) Certain practices in administration and supervision; (9) Housing and equipment; and (10) Summary, conclusions, and recommendations. (Contains 51 tables, 15 figures, and 27 footnotes.) [Best copy available has been provided.]

The Ministry of Education of the land (regional level) is responsible for setting the specified aims for the cultural and creative dimensions of education. The ministry decides also about the creation and the implementation of the arts curriculum. The arts curriculum at ISCED levels 1 and 2 (age group: 6-15/16) is organised as separate subjects. The following separate arts subjects are included in the curriculum: (1) Visual arts "Bildende Kunst" or "Kunst" or "Kunsterziehung"; (2) Music "Musik"; (3) Drama "Darstellendes Spiel" or "Darstellen und Gestalten"; (4) Dance "Tanz"; (5) Crafts as textile arts "Textiles Gestalten" or "Textilgestaltung." At ISCED level 3, pupils must choose one subject of the linguistic-artistic field of instruction. So it is a sort of integrated approach. This paper contains the following sections: (1) Responsibility and purpose; (2) Organisation and aims of arts education; (3) Special provision with a focus on art education; (4) Assessment of pupils' progress and monitoring of standards in the arts; (5) Teacher education in the arts; (6) Initiatives; (7) Ongoing reforms and proposals; and (8) Existing national surveys and reports on practices. (Contains 2 footnotes.)

Trends in higher education (HE) in Scotland and elsewhere in the United Kingdom in the 1990s were reviewed, and possible policy directions for HE in the 21st century were explored. Special attention was paid to the following areas: features of HE institutions in the 21st century; the relationship between the state and HE institutions; curriculum development in support of learning for the workplace; flexible, open, and distance learning; technology and learning; the corporate university; and virtual education. The following were among the main conclusions reached: (1) HE policymakers and managers must base their policy decisions on forecasts of the skills needed in the workplace; (2) education providers must aim to bring equality of access to learning and encourage the state to fund installation of the infrastructure and new technologies needed to extend education to wider communities; and (3) policymakers and mangers wanting to provide their communities with wide, affordable access to learning must look to new technologies with the potential for mass education, including virtual universities based on the creation of partnerships offering courses and learning materials that have been developed by other institutions and subsequently awarding their own credits/degrees by assessing students' prior learning of the materials. (Contains 20 references.) (MN)

The responses to a 1999 study of Australian employers and an examination of skill shortages by Australia's Department for Employment, Work Relations, and Small Business were analyzed to identify issues affecting skill demand and supply in Australia's education and training sector. The following were among the key findings: (1) in recent years, the demand for skills has been influenced by the growth in part-time and casual employment; (2) labor market changes have led to increased demands for higher-level skills; (3) the level of educational attainment influences the likelihood of gaining employment and associated earnings; (4) completing senior secondary school or acquiring a basic vocational qualification is no longer adequate preparation for lifetime employment; (5) completing postsecondary education and training qualifications generally delivers good employment outcomes; (6) although growth across postcompulsory education and training has varied, vocational education and training participation levels have risen steadily in recent years; (7) future growth in students in postsecondary education and training will become increasingly reliant on older people commencing or returning to some form of education and training; and (8) Australia has relatively high levels of postsecondary education participation compared with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development average, especially among older people. (MN)

This guide is intended to provide local agricultural education tech prep programs throughout Colorado with a framework for updating their own curriculum and developing articulation with postsecondary institutions. First, a primer to standards-based education explains the role of the following items in standards-based education in agriculture: (1) rubrics (written narratives used to evaluate individual students' attainment of particular standards); (2) enablers (subskills that students must possess to demonstrate the ability demanded in a standard); and (3) authentic assessment (tools used to evaluate whether individual students have truly attained the skills and abilities demanded in a standard). Next, a user's guide to standards-based education in agriculture outlines the process of developing a curriculum guaranteeing that students completing the program have met specified standards of knowledge and skill. Suggested standards in agricultural education are listed by grade level and by the following courses: agricultural mechanics; agricultural business; agricultural science; environmental science; agriculture education I; and agriculture education II. Each standard is accompanied by a rubric, sample enablers, and sample assessments. Next, an agricultural tech prep resource guide lists the addresses of 23 resource organizations and the items each supplies. Concluding the guide is a list of 12 useful World Wide Web sites for agricultural education teachers. (MN)

In this report, community education training in Scotland was reviewed to identify ways of improving the education and training provided to current and future community educators. Data were gathered from 16 separate sources, including users of community education, community education experts, employers, recent graduates from training, training providers, and key stakeholders representing an array of national organizations. Data collection methods included document analysis, group discussions, interviews, questionnaires, and solicitation of comments over the Internet. The following options for training community educators were identified: (1) retaining current training structures but working to improve them in various ways; (2) moving toward a "sandwich" model of training; and (3) moving toward work-based training as the main route to a professional qualification for community education. The following were among the 12 recommendations offered: (1) increase the role of learning from experience in the development of community education professionals; (2) devise an entitlement to continuing professional development for all community education staff; and (3) develop schemes for accrediting previous learning and experience. The following items are appended: lists of responding local authorities and departments and other responding organizations; an overview of the experts group method; and the training course curricula. (Contains 11 tables and 109 references.) (MN)

As a result of intensive advocacy, girls' and women's education is a developmental priority in India. Availability of international development assistance for basic education and women's education has gone up significantly. Government and donor perceptions of gender issues in education and the importance of reaching out to girls to achieve the goal of universal elementary education have noticeably changed. Despite progress, almost 50 percent of girls and women in India do not have access to education. Almost every conceivable strategy and approach has been covered in government policy documents that recognize these two stumbling blocks: poverty and social status. The government has a well established system for monitoring programs and submitting regular reports to State Assemblies and the Parliament. Program focus on gender equity is often lost during implementation; lack of gender sensitivity among administrators and technical people is a stumbling block. Political will, administrative commitment, and leadership are key in the march to gender equity in educational access in different parts of India. Recommended strategies to reform the system are to make school accessible to every child and to retain every child in school; design and implementation of special programs for deprived girls and out-of-school adolescents; to replicate innovations; and to sensitize educators to gender dimensions of educational access. (Contains 17 references.) (YLB)

Without rapid and substantial improvements in education access and quality, broader poverty reduction efforts in Sub-Saharan Africa will be thwarted. This book argues that at the cusp of the 21st century, the opportunity to address the often intractable problems of education in Sub-Saharan Africa is perhaps greater than at any time in the past two decades. Economic growth has resumed in many countries, the political commitment to education development is strong, and new democracies have created a more favorable environment for the participation of civil society and communities in policy formulation and program implementation. Information and communication technologies offer new opportunities to overcome the constraints of distance and time. Increased debt relief and stronger international partnerships in favor of education will help ease the financing constraints on accelerating education development. This book proposes a strategy and a program of action for the World Bank's Africa Region, which is striving to support countries in their efforts to accelerate education development. It summarizes the challenges facing education development in Africa, suggests key elements of country responses, discusses the implications of these responses, and proposes actions for improving the World Bank's effectiveness as a partner in education development. In doing so, it lays the groundwork for future increases of World Bank support for education development in Africa. (Contains 10 figures, 5 tables, 24 boxes, and a 95-item bibliography.) (BT)

This report examines limits on access to education in Australia. Accessibility must be available without discrimination because of physical or economic limitations. Chapters are devoted to nine different types of limited accessibility, affecting: children with disabilities, especially in remote areas without alternative local schools; children isolated from public transport or denied access to school buses; students studying by distance education who are dependent on unreliable power sources or inadequate or very expensive telecommunications infrastructure; Indigenous children in Homeland Centres and remote communities without schools, teachers, or tutors to supervise distance education; Indigenous teenagers with no accessible secondary school curriculum; non-English-speaking children whose curriculum is in English; students in vocational programs who cannot find work experience placements locally and who cannot afford the costs involved in placements away from home; teenagers whose only chance of a secondary education is a boarding school at risk of losing its subsidies; and schools trying to use computers and the Internet where the telecommunications infrastructure is inadequate. The report uses a combination of case studies, evidence submitted to the National Inquiry into Rural and Remote Education, and information about government programs to illustrate the limits presented. It concludes each chapter with recommendations on how to address these limits. A map of each state and territory shows junior and senior secondary school locations and school-aged populations. (Contains 39 references.) (TD)

The 14 chapters in this book explore the concept of lifelong learning and illustrate its application to specific situations. Titles and authors are as follows: "The Concept of Lifelong Learning" (Paul Oliver); "Degrees of Adult Participation: Lifelong Learning in European Universities" (Barbara Merrill); "Lifelong (L)earning and a 'New Age' at Work" (Richard Edwards); "Adult Education with Theological Reflection: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach through Open Learning" (Celia Deane-Drummond); "Identity, Risk, and Lifelong Learning" (Robin Usher); "Higher Education Courses in the Community: Issues around Guidance and Learning Support for Nontraditional Students" (Julia Preece); "Mental Health and Adult Education" (Katherine Hughes); "An Exploratory Examination of Changing Perceptions of Careership: The Implications for the Management of the Continuing Professional Development of Teachers" (Loraine Powell); "Never Mind the Outcomes, What About the Experience: Lifelong Learning, Autobiography, and Skills for Progression to Higher Education" (Anna Paczuska); "Towards a Learning Society: The Role of Formal, Nonformal, and Informal Learning" (Rosemary Moreland); "Lifelong Learning: Stretching the Discourse" (Ian Martin); "Lifelong Learning for a Sustainable Future" (Gillian Trorey, Cedric Cullingford, Barrie Cooper); "Employer Involvement in Lifelong Learning" (Jill Mannion Brunt); and "On Parenting and Being a Child: Lifelong or Short-Term Learning?" (Cedric Cullingford, Mary Morrison). (YLB)

This book provides teacher educators, administrators, practicing teachers who work with preservice teachers, policymakers, and researchers with information on the conceptual, research, and application areas of service-learning in preservice teacher education. The collection of papers offers teacher educators' thoughts about ways to enhance the usefulness of service-learning in preservice teacher preparation. The book is grouped into five main parts. Part 1 deals with theories, standards, and principles of practice. Part 2 includes several research studies and reviews as well as a suggested framework for further research and development. Part 3 explicates 11 different approaches to implementing service-learning in teacher education in the form of case studies. Part 4 deals with administrative and organizational arrangements as well as issues surrounding the teaching of service-learning, diversity, and assessment. Part 5 presents thoughts for the future from one of service-learning's long-standing adherents and researchers. It also includes an annotated bibliography. Three appendixes include: standards of quality for school-based and community-based service-learning; tools for teaching the pedagogy of service-learning; and contributing authors. (Papers contain references.) (SM)

The status of career and technical education (CTE) teacher preparation programs was examined through a survey sent to all CTE program chairs and teacher educators with administrative responsibilities. The survey was also posted on the World Wide Web. Data were received from 227 programs from 164 institutions (response rate, 44%). Ten percent of the responses were obtained from the Web survey. The respondents reported that their teacher preparation programs remain very traditional from the standpoints of course structure and delivery. However, many respondents stated that they planned to double their distance education course offerings via the World Wide Web within the next 3 years. With an average of 6 credits per program, the teacher preparation curriculum was emphasizing academic-technical integration, an area that did not appear in the curriculum 10 years ago. Overall, the number of CTE teacher education programs had declined by approximately 11% over the past 10 years. The following items are among those appended: list of respondents by institution and program areas; characteristics of program administration; grade-point average requirements for program entry, exit, and transfer; and numbers/types of program entry and exit criteria listed by respondents.) (Contains 35 tables, 26 references, and 11 figures.) (MN)