Education & Pedagogy

This collection of essays addresses major issues that relate to the role of the federal government in American elementary and secondary education. After "Introduction: The National Interest in a Quality Education for All Children" (Donald M. Stewart), Part 1, "The National Interest in Elementary and Secondary Education," includes "Education and the Economy: The Nation Remains at Risk" (Milton Goldberg); "The Civic Ends and Means of Education" (Amy Gutmann); and "Promoting Social Cohesion Amid Diversity" (Richard D. Kahlenberg). Part 2, "Public Views about the Nation's Schools," includes "Report on Findings from Seven Focus Groups" (Lake Snell Perry with John Deardourff) and "Data from a National Poll" (American Association of School Administrators). Part 3, "The Federal Role in Achieving Good Schools for All," includes "The Time Has Come: A Federal Guarantee of Adequate Education Opportunity" (Kalman R. Hettleman); "The Case for Serious Federal Financing of America's Public Schools" (John D. Donahue); and "Reducing Inequality through Education: Millennial Resolutions" (W. Norton Grubb). (SM)

Intended for use in an introductory computer course for educators, this textbook contains the following chapters: (1) "Introduction to Using Computers in Education"; (2) "Communications, Networks, the Internet, and the World Wide Web"; (3) "Software Applications for Education,"; (4) "Hardware Applications for Education"; (5) "Using Multimedia in Education"; (6) "Education and Technology Integration"; (7) "Integrating Educational Technology into the Curriculum"; and (8) "Security Issues, Ethics, and Emerging Technologies in Education." The World Wide Web is integrated into the book in terms of corresponding or suggested Web pages to obtain additional information. An instructor's support package, consisting of two CD-ROM packages (for Windows and Mac) entitled "Teaching Tools" and"Course Presenter," accompanies the textbook. Contains an index. (MES)

This annual report presents data on public high schools in the New York City Manhattan Superintendency for 1999-00, focusing on: students (general education, special education, and English language learner (ELL) enrollment, ethnicity and gender, attendance, free lunch eligibility, suspensions, involvement in police department incidents, and recent immigrants); school characteristics (number of staff, teacher certification, school expenditures, school capacity, and school leadership team, SLT); cohort performance (performance on Regents English and mathematics or approved alternative after 3 years); performance on Regents examinations for all students; performance on Regents examinations for special education students; occupational education (general and part-time special education); special education students (full-time and part-time participants, movement to less restrictive environment, and participation in integrated settings); English LLS (ELLS) (participants, movement toward English proficiency, and student achievement); dropouts and graduates (class of 2000 and types of diplomas); other indicators (Scholastic Aptitude Test, scholarships, and student plans after graduation); and special education high school graduates. (SM)

This report presents an analysis of the issues influencing the preparation of physicians in the United States and recommends changes in teaching programs. Findings and associated recommendations are organized into eight areas: (1) understanding the system in which health care is delivered; (2) establishing practical and relevant teaching sites; (3) developing community clinician teachers; (4) revising the curriculum content and learning process; (5) reinforcing communication skills; (6) assuring quality and accountability in physician education; (7) financing the evolution of graduate medical education; and (8) sustaining quality and vitality in medical education. Following an executive summary, the report provides background information on the changing practice of medicine, the evolving curricula in medical education, and changing the environment of clinical education. Most of the report consists of detailed analyses of the findings and recommendations in each of the eight areas. (Contains approximately 160 print references and 10 Internet resources.) (DB)

This paper explores the normative role of civic education in responding to war, and in preparing society for the possibility of peace. The paper describes changes in the conceptualization of citizenship in times of conflict. It notes that during wartime, democratic societies tend to transform their notion of citizenship to a militaristic one that is termed here belligerent citizenship. the paper examines the role of public education in response to these social challenges. It makes the case for an educational response to belligerent democracy from various perspectives, situated within the contemporary theoretical discussion of patriotic education. Based on Amy Gutmann's democratic education theory, the paper maintains that the foremost role of public education is to foster basic democratic principles, such as equal opportunity and liberty. It points out that in wartime, the education system has to fulfill this role through opposing the mainstream conception of citizenship, employing radical, critical ways of interpreting and realizing these aims. Includes 45 notes. (BT)

The purpose of this study was to describe a group of graduate students who attended a self-education class and interpret their reactions using autobiographical case study methods and the researcher's subjective lens. The graduate course in self-education was designed to study self-education as a phenomenon of interest and to enable participants to explore dimensions of themselves not yet explored. About half of the 17 graduate students were professional educators. Self-education is conceptualized in this study in terms of three traditions: intellectual traditionalism, social behaviorism, and experientialism. The study describes the course, the group, the professor, the sources, and the readings that each participant separately and all participants in combination put together. Artistic sources were used to talk about and further self-education and personal development. The paper discusses the implications of self-education courses for teacher inservice education and other professional development. (Contains 39 references.) (SLD)

This paper synthesizes existing knowledge, definitions, and themes about alternative education programs, based on a review of literature and reports, focusing on common terminologies to characterize the various kinds of alternative education programs. It seeks to develop a typology of existing alternative education by focusing on certain common characteristics. The review begins by considering how alternative education has been defined and described in the literature, including examples of legal definitions from state law, as well as more general operational definitions. Then, some of the many dimensions along which alternative education models/programs have been developed are examined (e.g., who is served through the programs, where they are located, what their focus or content is, and how they are administered). Next, some of the preliminary typologies that have been developed to date are examined. The review concludes by presenting some of the many lists of characteristics shared by promising alternative education programs, noting how similar the various lists of desirable features are. (Contains 20 references.) (SM)

This book provides a practically oriented reflection on gender equity in higher education and offers insights on how to achieve such equity. Equity, rather than "equality," is the focus of the discussion, which refines the discussion of gender and higher education to go beyond traditional ideas of equal provision and the mathematical equality of outcomes. The discussion includes equal treatment or treatment that is different but considered equivalent in terms of rights, benefits, and opportunities. Recommendations are made for developing, implementing, and monitoring gender sensitive policies in higher education. The chapters are: (1) "Key Concepts of Gender Equity"; (2) "Normative Provisions for the Promotion of Gender Equity in Higher Education"; (3) "Gender Particularities in Post-Communist Transitions"; (4) "Gender Inequity and Policies for Gender Equity in Higher Education"; and (5) "The role of Gender Studies in Promoting Gender Equity in Higher Education." (Contains 33 references.) (SLD)

This study examines whether education had a causal impact on health, following synthetic cohorts using successive U.S. Censuses to estimate the impact of educational attainment on mortality rates. It focuses on compulsory education laws from 1915 to 1939, a time when at least 30 states changed their compulsory schooling and child labor laws, as instruments for education. Highlighting data from the 1960, 1970, and 1980 U.S. Census, the study looks at people who were 14 years old between 1915-39. It also uses data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey I Epidemiologic Followup Study 1992. Results indicate that education had a large causal impact on mortality and that this effect is perhaps larger than had been previously estimated in the literature. This evidence of increased life expectancy related to educational attainment implies that returns to education measured only in terms of earnings increases substantially underestimates the true returns to education. An appendix presents trends for compulsory education and child labor laws. (Contains 65 references.) (SM)

This guide is designed to help teachers develop and implement HIV/AIDS education programs for students with special education needs. It presents specific suggestions for adapting curricula and teaching styles to meet the needs of individual students. The introduction discusses why students with special needs should receive HIV/AIDS education and what barriers to that education exist. It notes the elements necessary for quality HIV/AIDS education for students with special needs. The second component provides ideas for adapting instructions for students with special needs (e.g., determining the appropriate program, using a multisensory approach, and using task analysis). It includes adaptation strategies, a quick reference, and an HIV/AIDS checklist. The third component offers teaching activities with suggestions for adaptations to accommodate students with specific disabilities (e.g., learning disabilities, mental retardation, emotional disturbance, and visual impairment). The fourth component offers a list of references and resources on HIV/AIDS education for students with special needs. (SM)

This newsletter highlights the significant contributions made by the late Lee F. Anderson to the field of global education. Excerpts were selected from a life's work of deep thought and creative literary output regarding the constantly changing world in which people live. While Anderson's intellectual prowess ranged across several domains (political science, history, and education), one of his major concerns was the education of young people in a rapidly changing world. His advocacy of global education was in the category of "founding member" and freelance "guru." The excerpts are: "Defining Global Education"; "The Emergence of the Global Age and the Globalization of the Human Condition"; "The Growth of Global Culture"; "Citizenship and Education in a Global Age"; "Educational Change and the Development of Citizen Competence in a Global Age"; and "The Challenge of Globalizing the Content of Education." Contains 16 reading suggestions. (BT)

This final report describes the activities and outcomes of a federally funded program that was developed to increase the supply of early childhood special educators in Utah and surrounding regions and to enhance the quality of their preparation. The project prepared 67 students for preschool special education certification and 40 related service personnel for transdisciplinary service. The project focused on improved recruitment practices intended to attract and support students from diverse cultures and from rural areas. A dual major in early childhood and early childhood special education was developed to improve the interdisciplinary preparation of students. The report is organized according to the nine objectives of the project and their outcomes. Four appendices describe; (1) the Early Childhood Special Education Dual Major Program; (2) the project timeline; (3) the Bachelor's degree and certification requirements; and (4) Master's program requirements. (SG)

This concept paper addresses the preparation of vocational education teachers. Several topics are listed with comments, and, in some cases, supporting documentation has been abstracted. These topics correspond to reasons for the lack of national visibility within Florida as indicated by the 2001 rankings in the U.S. News and World Report that identified no universities in Florida as being leaders in vocational technical education (VTE). These reasons are discussed: Florida has historically had a teacher service orientation; certification has driven university VTE programs' offerings; state universities in Florida have not generally established areas of expertise for research, while some have even dropped VTE teacher preparation programs; strong graduate programs and federally funded research are indicators of ranked university VTE programs; lack of communication; and participation in the various "trends" such as school-to-work, tech prep, and workforce development has not been established. (YLB)

This paper provides an overview of teaching as a gendered profession in Finland, focusing on recent research on teachers and their professional development. Currently, women are better educated than men in Finland, but they still do not achieve employment positions and salaries equal to those of men. Though there tend to be more female than male teachers, most principals and professors are male. This researcher examined preservice teachers' and adult education teachers' biographies and professional socialization from a feminist point of view, noting the importance of using the life history approach to studying teachers. The study explored student teachers' identity making process during the one-year secondary teacher education program at Tampere University, comparing school teachers and adult education teachers and the ways in which their career paths and construction of personal and professional identities differed. Data were collected via life history interviews, student journals, portfolios, in-class assignments, and home assignments. (Contains 46 references.) (SM)

This Bulletin focuses on comparing and tracking funding levels for higher education and serves as a complement to the "Fact Book on Higher Education" published by the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). When appropriations for higher education were adjusted for inflation, they decreased in 23 states between the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 budget years. Of these 23 states, 10 were SREB states. Six SREB states did increase their inflation-adjusted spending on higher education. In every 5-year period since 1986-1987, appropriations for higher education in the SREB region increased more than the national average, or decreased less. However, the setbacks in so many SREB states may jeopardize the region's aspirations to continue improving its national standing in funding colleges, universities, and technical institutes. The new data gathered by the SREB related to higher education provide baseline benchmarks that make it possible to improve the tracking of trends in the years ahead. (SLD)