Education & Pedagogy

Describes an urban environmental stewardship project undertaken by students at a Seattle public school in an effort to make their school more beautiful, their environment more healthy, and their learning more tangible. In partnership with neighbors and the community, students transformed a section of the school grounds into a garden refuge. Interdisciplinary exercises fostered critical observation, cooperative decision making, and communication skills. (PVD)

This collection of articles discusses such topics as why the SAT is a poor predictor of black college student graduation rates; the sudden nationwide decline in black faculty; the power of higher education to close the black-white income gap; Internet access to case files of slaves who sued for their freedom; the racial shortfall in counselors for college-bound blacks; and affirmative action in higher education. (SM)

Explored the evolution of three preservice physical educators' beliefs throughout a four-year teacher preparation program. Data from interviews, surveys, and document analysis indicated that participants assimilated program messages into their beliefs about teaching relative to elementary content, teaching effectiveness, and the importance of planning. They were less likely to assimilate messages about classroom management and the purpose of physical education due to the impact of their own biographies. (SM)

A literature review suggests that teachers' attitudes strongly influence the success of inclusion programs and that training can affect those attitudes. Surveys of 110 rural Midwest K-12 special and regular education teachers found that most regular education teachers did not want special education students in their classrooms and saw few benefits for the students. Staff development increased teacher support for inclusion. (Contains 32 references.) (TD)

Examines how negotiating local control of schooling can be an effective force of resistance against the market-economy paradigm of education, describing the policies of the popular administration in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Focuses on the Citizen School, "which provides quality education to impoverished people." Also examines proposals that are explicitly designed to radically change both the municipal schools and the relationship between communities, the state, and education. (SM)

Describes Idaho State University's Partnership School Program, which educates preservice and inservice teachers about Native cultures, values, and ways of knowing, highlighting a public school on the Fort Hall Shoshone-Bannock Indian Reservation. By applying principles of constructivist teaching and collaboration as communities of learners, many changes have occurred in teachers' attitudes toward indigenous students, resulting in improved cultural understanding, more equitable education, positive community interactions, and greater teacher efficacy. (SM)

A university-school correspondence partnership project was designed to enhance student teachers' multicultural awareness and understanding. This electronic mail-based project had undergraduates interact with culturally and experientially diverse students. The project provided many teachable moments, which resulted in contextualized understanding of concepts, awareness of biases and experiential gaps, increased self-reflection, and orientation toward action for greater educational and social equity. (SM)

Documents the paucity of research on Chinese American teachers, noting how this contributes to the invisibility of Asian Americans as frontline participants in education and exploring bilingual Chinese American teachers' perceptions of the multicultural course requirement in teacher preparation. Data from teacher interviews, surveys, focus groups, documents, and observations indicated that most respondents believed courses were designed for the dominating group and excluded them from the teaching-learning process. (SM)

Using a modified labor market analysis, examines the impact of growth of social work programs on educational standards, the human services labor market, and the salary structure of graduates. Suggests that a perceived surplus of social work education programs has been detrimental to the income potential of entry-level social workers, to the quality of social work education, and to the competence of the graduates of social work education programs. (Author/EV)

This article describes how the Clark County School District in Las Vegas was reorganized to provide a greater emphasis on site-based management and a responsive centralized support system. Central to the reorganization was the development of a single division to support students with special needs. Barriers to collaboration are discussed. (CR)

A British Columbian Native teacher education program is guided by a team of First Nations educators and elders, university faculty, a representative of the teacher federation, and students. Aboriginal languages are incorporated into a Native cultural studies course using a holistic approach based on the Medicine Wheel that empowers students to walk in both worlds. (TD)

The access to postsecondary education that is offered to students in rural areas differs significantly from the access available to urban students. An overview is given of the various factors and structural obstacles influencing rural access to postsecondary education, including aspirations, college preparation, socioeconomic characteristics of family and community, structure of the postsecondary education system, and distance issues. Recommendations are offered for reducing the rural disadvantage. (Author/TD)

This article traces the evolution of special education policies and services and the introduction of inclusive education as a service delivery model in Viet Nam. The impact of a series of inclusion projects and resultant goals of the Ministry of Education and Training to expand inclusive education are described. (Contains 8 references.) (Author/CR)

This paper reviews progress made since a Council for Exceptional Children Commission in 2000 identified three outcomes fundamental to ensuring learning results for every exceptional learner. It concludes that the special education field will continue to lose its workforce without the active engagement of state and local policymakers, educators, and communities to ensure these three outcomes. (Contains references.) (DB)

Completers of career- or work-oriented secondary programs (n=399) were compared with 4,476 other high school graduates. Completers had more continuous employment and earned more over 6 years, were less likely to have short-term first jobs, and performed nearly the same on college outcomes (percent with degrees, grade point average, percent in remedial education). (Contains 31 references.) (SK)