Education & Pedagogy

In this study, we examined the provision and development of lifelong learning within institutions of higher education in British Columbia and explored some of the institutional characteristics that enable or discourage it. The results suggest that most lifelong learning opportunities are directed toward enhancing employment and career opportunities rather than citizenship development. Yet, as the demand for higher education and the number of adult learners enrolling in programs continue to increase, these institutions are well-positioned to develop new forms of education that acknowledge, accommodate, and respect the concerns and interests of lifelong learners.

Several issues must be addressed in the process of developing inclusive education in China. This paper reveals that the relevant stakeholders should deal carefully with the relations between universalization and quality enhancement, "learning in a regular classroom" (LRC), and the physical and psychological development of the students. Meanwhile, emphasis should also be placed on balancing the use of qualitative and quantitative criteria for evaluating inclusive education and developing constructive partnerships among the family, the school, and the community. [This report was translated by Ted Wang.]

A call for combining the strengths of geographic education with environmental education to produce an "education for sustainability" addresses local problems for sustainable development. A place-based approach encourages civic responsibility among students. Using service-learning to extend education beyond the classroom in this case study connected students with local clients in a watershed-based initiative. Theoretical underpinnings of service-learning for geographic education are discussed, and the case study is viewed from instructor, student, and client perspectives to identify successful outcomes and provide suggestions for those who might adopt service-learning for the first time.

In this article, the author argues that university education programs' monopoly on teacher education--which makes them virtually the only path to state certification and thus to a career in public school teaching--has undermined the quality of the programs themselves. While he does not propose taking the professional preparation of teachers and administrators out of the academy altogether, he does suggest that university programs can regain their legitimacy in the public eye by dissociating themselves with certification and severing their close links with state education agencies. Instead, he says, these programs should focus on producing the candidates who are attractive to public school systems due to the quality of their education alone.

The purpose of this research is to undertake a comparative analysis of policy and practice in initial teacher education (ITE) in two parts of the United Kingdom. Although the education systems of England and Scotland have been characterised as experiencing considerable autonomy since the Act of Union in 1707, the new context of political devolution in the United Kingdom adds a sharper focus to comparative questions about the relationships between teacher education, the nation and the state. Objectives, background, methodology and methods of the project are presented.

The present review describes the development and use of sexually explicit material in sex education within UK psychosexual therapy clinics, medical schools and also in state-maintained secondary schools with reference to interests that have shaped the provision of sex education since the early twentieth century. A short summary of published books on sex education and sexually explicit publications is included. Practical guidelines for the ethical use of sexually explicit material in sex education in medical, clinical and secondary school settings are also outlined. (Contains 4 figures.)

Access to undergraduate education has expanded rapidly in recent years. This is one manifestation of a rise in the relative importance of market-based resource allocation in higher education and a weakening of allocation based upon traditional views of merit. This change in priority has influenced the content of the undergraduate curriculum and introduced both content and methods whose legitimacy and educational value some question as universities market their products to attract enrolment. The paper discusses the relationship between allocation mechanism and "curriculum as product" and examines critically some of the more significant implications for undergraduate education such as course rigour and full-spectrum grading.

Outcomes based education (OBE), which emphasises a radical reinterpretation of the enterprise of education, is a phenomenon enveloping the Australian compulsory education sector. This paper examines the theoretical tenets of OBE as articulated by its chief exponent, William Spady. It then explores the effects that OBE implementation is having on the Western Australian educational fraternity, touching upon current tensions and emerging consequences. Implementation exigencies in one area of the WA curriculum (Mathematics) are then considered; and finally, possible future "outcomes" are suggested should the identified concerns fail to receive due attention.

European higher education does not have a uniform record of sustained planning. The Bologna Declaration, originally signed by 29 countries (and now 45), calls for major reforms to higher education throughout the continent. The European higher education community is diverse and heterogeneous. This article clarifies these myriad cultures in the context of developing a unified strategic planning process. Positions will be grounded in scholarship generated over a period of years at the Center for Research in Higher Education Policies and elsewhere. The relationship between U.S. planning models and European reality are examined. (Contains 2 figures.)

Worldwide immigration and quests for rights by minority groups have caused social scientists and educators to raise serious questions about liberal assimilationist conceptions of citizenship that historically have dominated citizenship education in nation-states. The author of this article challenges liberal assimilationist conceptions of citizenship and citizenship education. He argues that citizenship education should be reformed so that it reflects the home cultures and languages of students from diverse groups, and he contends that group rights can help individuals to attain structural equality. In the final part of the article, he discusses the implications of his analysis for transforming citizenship education. (Contains 1 figure and 2 notes.)

The national landscape of education and professional development is changing. Instructional personnel of students with severe disabilities are frequently untrained, professionally isolated, and in need of current knowledge and best practice in programming for these students. This article describes the need for a shift from a reliance on the workshop model of professional development to a more sophisticated and comprehensive plan that offers instructional personnel alternative forms of professional development based on the desired outcomes of learning and the complexity of the needed instructional innovation. (Contains 2 tables.)

There are some 1,400 schools of education in the United States--schools that prepare the teachers who teach most of America's elementary and secondary students. By virtue of their numbers, and the fact that some 70 percent of their three million public school teachers have attended these institutions as undergraduates, education schools seem a likely subject of study for reformers. Do they know what America's future teachers are learning in their schools of education? This article addresses the critics' responses to the author's project, together with his co-author Susan Rozen, that evaluated the course syllabi at selected schools of education. (Contains 1 figure.)

This article explores issues relating to innovation in engineering education arising from the implementation of e-education. This can be correlated with innovation in general. We describe a systematic approach to innovative design and utilise this approach in engineering education. The main emphasis is on the presentation of attitudes, approaches and the outcomes resulting from the experiences at the University of Zilina, within the project "Using of ICT and new generation networks platform in education". This project was carried out over the past three years within the framework of the state research and development program. (Contains 2 figures.)

This study is an examination of syllabi from multicultural teacher education (MTE) courses taught across the United States. Using qualitative content analysis and drawing on existing typologies for multicultural education, I analyzed the theories and philosophies underlying MTE course designs. The analysis revealed that most of the courses were designed to prepare teachers with pragmatic skills and personal awareness, but not to prepare them in accordance with the key principles of multicultural education, such as critical consciousness and a commitment to educational equity. An unexpected outcome was a new five-layer typology for MTE.

Visual representation and viewing are integral parts of language arts, communication, and physical education. Time constraints often limit a self-contained classroom teacher, or even the language arts teacher's ability to adequately address all areas of language arts. Therefore, it is important to include language arts in other content areas. Visual representation and viewing can be effectively integrated into physical education, and can enhance the physical education learning experience as a result. In this article, the author discusses several strategies to integrate viewing and visual representation in a physical education classroom.