Education & Pedagogy

Nine papers are provided from the seminar, which focused on breaking geographic barriers. Presentations include "So--Who Are Your Clients?" (P. Choo, et al.), which examines demand for tertiary education; "Tertiary Manpower Demand Trends in Malaysia: Some Preliminary Observations" (Wong Poh Kam), which includes a discussion of potential roles of private training institutions in labor force development; "Offshore Distance Education--Models" (Patrick Guiton), which suggests a framework for collaboration; "The Northern Ontario Distance Education Access Network: A Model for Collaboration" (Marian Croft), which describes a collaborative model; "Student Support Services--What Do Overseas Students Need?" (Louise Moran, David Edge), which emphasizes an understanding of different cultural and educational contexts; "The Needs of Our Offshore Students" (Stuart Hosking); "Support Services for Distance Education Students" (Jack Foks), which focuses on which services should be provided and how; "Supervision of Teaching and Assessment in an Open Learning Consortium" (D. F. Swift); and "Information and Documentation in Distance Education" (Keith Harry). (YLB)

Third in a series, this volume contains summaries of 115 outdoor education dissertations, most written since 1978. Compilers examined studies in environmental, conservation, and outdoor education and included in the volume those containing reference to the field trip or outdoor experience. The criterion definition they applied was the "use of materials and resources found outside the classroom to meet educational objectives." Generally, the studies fall into five categories: (1) program development; (2) organization and administration; (3) historical analysis; (4) teacher education; and (5) evaluation. Listed in alphabetical order by author's name, the summaries include a brief statement of the problem or purpose of the study, a description of the procedure followed, a statement about the results and conclusions, and an order number. The volume contains complete ordering information for copies of dissertations from Xerox University Microfilms and an alphabetical index. (SB)

This report discusses the highly decentralized Nordic model of distance education at the university level, which involves giving responsibility for carrying out distance education to the individual university departments. Meeting at the university and using the telephone are primary contact methods. The report includes a discussion of higher education in Sweden, distance education in the Nordic countries, basic ideas behind distance education at Swedish universities, the scope and general organization of distance education, and experimental activities. The results of an evaluation of distance education courses at the Swedish universities are also discussed, as well as the advantages and drawbacks of the decentralized model used in Sweden and Australia. Sixty-six references are listed. Graphs show growth in courses and the distribution of subjects from 1973-1984; regions covered by individual universities and colleges in 1977; distribution of subjects by university area; and distribution of the most frequent subject groups: arts, administration and economics; languages; and behavioral, computer and natural sciences. (Author/LMM)

A redesigned preservice education curriculum, conceived to strengthen ties between special and regular elementary teachers, featured the extensive use of practicums and student teaching. A questionnaire was developed to secure external evaluation and validation of the program. The specific research objective was concerned with how members of the teaching profession viewed the preparation program compared with five-year programs, internships, or other five-year configurations. Responses were obtained from educators in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Respondents included: (1) elementary and special education teachers; (2) college of education faculty trainers for elementary and special education; (3) elementary principals; (4) secondary teachers and special education teachers; (5) college of education faculty trainers in secondary education; and (6) secondary administrators. Data resulting from responses to each of the 15 items on the questionnaire are presented with brief analytic commentaries. A copy of the survey instrument is appended. (JD)

A guide for Vietnamese-speaking parents of elementary and secondary school students in Nebraska provides in Vietnamese, and then in English, information concerning education in the state. Topics covered include: state policy concerning enrolling children in school, medical requirements for enrollment and attendance, the school curriculum requirements and learning English both in regular English classes and in English as a second language programs, physical education, special education, school requirements for equity and non-discrimination, homework and grades, school clothing and grooming, notes from school, school visits by family members, school lunches, extracurricular activities, absences and illnesses, weather and school closing or early dismissal, disciplinary action, and moving within or outside the school district. (MSE)

A guide for Spanish-speaking parents of elementary and secondary school students in Nebraska provides in Spanish, and then in English, information concerning education in the state. Topics covered include: state policy concerning enrolling children in school, medical requirements for enrollment and attendance, the school curriculum requirements and learning English both in regular English classes and in English as a second language programs, physical education, special education, school requirements for equity and non-discrimination, homework and grades, school clothing and grooming, notes from school, school visits by family members, school lunches, extracurricular activities, absences and illnesses, weather and school closing or early dismissal, disciplinary action, and moving within or outside the school district. (MSE)

Summaries are presented of recent study reports on the current status of education in the United States: (1) "A Nation at Risk" (National Commission on Excellence in Education); (2) "Action for Excellence" (Education Commission of the States); (3) "Educating Americans for the 21st Century" (Commission on Precollege Education in Mathematics, Science and Technlogy); (4) "High School: A Report on Secondary Education in America" (Carnegie Foundation for Advancement of Teaching); (5) "Making the Grade" (Twentieth Century Fund Task Force on Federal and Elementary and Secondary Education Policy); (6) "A Place Called School: Prospects for the Future" (John Goodlad); and (7) "The Troubled Crusade" (Diane Ravitch). Comparisons of the recommendations made in these studies are presented. The structure of education in the state of Wisconsin is described, and state mandates on educational standards are outlined. The response of the Wisconsin State Board of Education to recommendations of the various reports on education are discussed. (JD)

This compilation of 137 document abstracts provides technical and further education (TAFE) teachers, counselors, researchers, and administrators with resumes of materials that have been accessed by the TAFE Clearinghouse. The following types of materials are included: research and technical reports, evaluation studies, curriculum materials, and bibliographies. Introductory materials include information on the TAFE Clearinghouse system, information on use of the system, and sample document submission and request forms. The document entries are arranged in ascending order according to a TAFE document (TD) accession number, with each abstract including the source, author(s), title, publisher, date of publication, pagination, access (type of copy available), price, descriptors, identifiers, and abstract. (Descriptors are those found in the "Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors.") Following the document entries are subject and author indexes. (YLB)

The Swedish National Board of Education's action program for long-term planning of work relating to the teaching of immigrants and minorities is outlined in this report. First, material is presented which describes the background and focus of the program, the immigrant population to be served, and Sweden's general immigration policy as it applies to education. The program's basic premises are described, focusing specifically on the education of youth in compulsory schools and upper secondary schools. Then, educational provisions, laws, and proposals affecting students at the following educational levels are detailed: preschool, compulsory, upper secondary, and adult. Teacher and staff training, inservice training, and research and development are discussed next, and three final sections deal with teaching materials, books and other sources of information, research needs, and the need for cooperation among education and immigration-related authorities and organizations. (KH)

Practitioners involved in implementing technology education in middle, junior, and senior high schools should keep several guiding principles in mind. Technology education is a vital educational component in a highly technological society, and present and future societies will depend upon the wise use of technology as an important factor in survival and human progress. Technology education must be packaged and delivered in keeping with the characteristics and needs of all students at all ability levels. The program should be experientially based and should utilize the base of research findings on how individuals learn. Instruction should take place in the context of a multi- and cross-disciplinary involvement of the learner. Technology education must be extended beyond the craft domination of previous years and most programs, thus making technology education much more broadly conceived than technical education as it is usually understood. The process of technology education must be a holistic one that recognizes the fact that nothing can be studied to any measurable degree within a single discipline. (MN)

Many individuals are concerned that the "knowledge explosion" in special education is making it difficult to keep up with research in the field. However, at the same time that knowledge has been expanding, efficient ways of locating knowledge have developed and additional sources of integrative reviews of research have appeared. The paper describes major sources of comprehensive reviews, indexes and other information sources on special education. General reviews of special education research, including "Advances in Special Education" (Keogh) and "Yearbook of Special Education" are introduced, as well as reviews of educational research and psychology which contain information of interest to special educators. Suggestions are offered for locating research on specific topics via indexes (such as "Exceptional Child Education Resources,""Current Index to Journals in Education," and indexes specific to disability areas such as "Low Vision Abstracts"), guides to dissertations and theses (e.g., "Dissertation Abstracts International"), guides to tests (e.g., "Tests in Print II"), and guides to government publications, computer searching, and basic guides (such as D. Berry's "Bibliographic Guide to Educational Research"). (CL)

The paper focuses on differences between regular and special education and suggests ways in which the principles of P.L. 94-142 (the Education For All Handicapped Children Act) can be extended to the education of nonhandicapped students. Special education as mandated by P.L. 94-142 differs from regular education in six dimensions: mandate for appropriate education, emphasis on individualization, attention to the social climate and to social goals, the role of the parents in the educational process, staffing patterns and interdisciplinary process, and accountability. Applications to regular education of these principles would result in a variety of changes, including reduced class sizes, development and implementation of social skills curricula, use of release time to allow teachers to meet with parents, increased interdisciplinary consultation, and greater accountability for student outcomes. Impediments to such changes exist, but the benefits of extending the merits of P.L. 94-142 to all of education are great. (CL)

The expansion of higher education in the 19th century United States to include women both restricted and increased their freedom. Because the industrial revolution and the movement westward limited the availability of men, the "moral guardian" role society prescribed for women was logically extended to teaching. The reason, however, for the inclusion of women in education was based on economy (women teachers were paid less than men) and the shortage of male teachers. Thus, public arguments for women's education were quite different from private considerations. The economic needs that dictated that women would be the principal members of the teaching profession were obscured by pronouncements of women's superior moral and nurturing powers. For the women who realized that lack of education was a barrier to independence and respectability, their involvement in teaching was an important way to justify their own education. With literacy, women gained leverage and began to press for equal social, political, and economic opportunities. (KC)

This handbook presents guidelines for developing and implementing inservice teacher training programs on multicultural education and school desegregation. Developed by the Ways to Improve Education in Desegegated Schools (WIEDS) project of the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (Austin, Texas), the guidelines are based on data from the WIEDS information base and various research reports. Following an introductory section that provides a theoretical and conceptual background on multicultural education, school desegregation, and inservice education, the handbook presents separate guidelines for planning and implementing programs concerned with each of these areas. A WIEDS Inservice Education Process Model, designed to complement the guidelines and enhance implementation of an effective training program, is then described. The model has five components: (1) planning; (2) preparation; (3) implementation; (4) application; and (5) evaluation. Each component is discussed in detail. Also included in the handbook are an annotated list of recommended eadings, a bibliography, and forms for use in planning an inservice training program. (MJL)

The California School Boards Association (CSBA) established a task force to define the term "character education" and to clarify the needs of the public schools for curricula and instructional materials supporting character education. This report synthesizes the results of the task force's efforts. The failure of U.S. society's formal and informal educational systems to instill clear moral, ethical, and social values in young people is documented first. The report then describes the character education concept as education in several virtues that are required to maintain a democratic and humane society, notably altruism, compassion, courage, courtesy, generosity, honesty, industriousness, integrity, loyalty, obedience, punctuality, respect for authority, responsibility, self-discipline, self-respect, and tolerance. The role of boards of education in fostering and supporting character education efforts is described next, followed by recommendations for action by the CSBA. The report also suggests, very briefly, how school districts can find, recognize, and develop successful character education programs. (PGD)