Education & Pedagogy

This ERIC Digest describes the development and characteristics of vocational universities (VUs) in China. In response to the demand for increased numbers of trained technical workers in the 1980's, VUs developed and the higher vocational education system in China was reformed. Currently, 101 vocational universities are in existence in China. These institutions focus their curricula on occupational and technical programs--such as optometry, nursing and industrial arts--and offer sub-baccalaureate degrees similar to American community colleges. Students enrolling in vocational universities are high school graduates who have taken the nationwide higher education entrance exam. Often, those students who may have scored lower on the entrance exam will seek education at a VU. This digest also covers topics of faculty, local governance, and funding of vocational universities. It concludes with a discussion of the difficulties these institutions face, including: ambiguity in leadership, limited funding, and discrimination because of the low status vocational education has within the Chinese higher education system. In recent years, the Ministry of Education has started new policies to expand higher vocational education beyond VUs. Certain adult institutions, junior colleges and four-year colleges now also offer vocational education as part of their curriculum. (Contains 13 references.) (JCC)

This symposium highlighted core issues of controversy in girls' education and explored implications for policy and practice. Its evidence-based discussion forum encouraged dialogue, debate, and increased interaction and developed partnerships among academic institutions, nongovernmental organizations, multilateral development agencies, and other policymaking institutions. The symposium was organized around six thematic panels: "Increasing Girls' Educational Participation and Closing the Gender Gap: Basic Education or Girls' Education?"; "Can We Effectively Balance Efforts to Improve Both Access and Quality?"; "Multisectoral Support for Girls' Education: Help or Hindrance?"; "Educating Girls or Educating Women: Debating the Resource Investment Dilemma"; "Creating Girl-Friendly Schools While Respecting Conventional Practices: Does Innovation Increase the Potential for Local Resistance?"; and "Partners, Adversaries, or Watchdogs: Defining the Relationship between Governments and NGOs in Implementing Girls' Education Programs." Following panel discussions, participants divided into breakout groups to discuss implications for policy and practice. Areas of consensus included the need for a variety of methods to increase community involvement in local schools to generate political will at all levels and the need to increase attention to quality and recognize that universal access to quality basic education is a basic human right. (SM)

Civic education programs attempt to transfer the tools necessary for participation in a democratic polity, and to induce individuals to engage in civic acts. This study is part of a larger United States Agency for International Development (USAID) effort to: (1) assess the impact of USAID civic education programming in developing nations; (2) develop methodologies for evaluation of civic education programs; and (3) provide information about the types and scopes of civic education activities. This paper responds to the third task and is based on a review of available project-related documents, assessments, and studies of USAID and other donor civic education programs. Interviews were conducted with civic education practitioners and USAID staff. A brief review of USAID's involvement in civic education programming is provided along with a summary of what USAID has learned about the impact of civic education programming and suggested guidelines for future programming. The last section of the paper comprises 10 case studies that have been selected for the variety of approaches employed, the range of results achieved, and the geographic distribution of programs. USAID civic education activity documents, 1980-1999, arranged by region, are appended. (Contains a 60 references, 45 notes, 3 figures, and 1 table.) (BT)

To address concerns of an excess of paperwork documenting compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a survey of all 50 state education agencies was conduced that investigated the role of state education agencies in the documentation of special education procedures. The survey listed 19 types of forms related to documentation requirements in state and federal special education laws and regulations. Respondents were asked to check one of four columns for each form to indicate whether the state education agency: (1) developed and mandates the form's use by districts; (2) developed and recommends the form's use by districts; (3) developed the form for district information only; or (4) has no state developed form of that type. Findings indicate that although 23 states have developed one or more forms that are mandated for district use, the majority of states reported that they do not mandate the use of state-developed forms. Only five types of forms on the survey were mandated by 10 or more states: procedural safeguards notice, Individualized Education Program form, secondary transition plan form, parental permission for initial evaluation, and the Individualized Family Service Plan form. Data charts are included that indicate the use of special education forms. (CR)

This book discusses the forces that create and perpetuate discrimination in special education and provides suggestions for eliminating discriminatory practices. An introduction describes the harmful effects of discrimination in special education. Chapters 1 and 2 discuss prejudice in special education and suggest how special education educators and others who work with exceptional students can eliminate it. Chapter 3 details the cultural, contextual, linguistic, and gender discriminatory special education services many students receive. Chapter 4 discusses discriminatory assessment procedures and how assessments can be adapted to students cultural, contextual, and linguistic characteristics. Non-biased assessment materials and procedures are described, as well as gender-appropriate assessment. Non-discriminatory instruction is reviewed in Chapter 5, and strategies for implementing non-discriminatory classroom management techniques are provided in Chapter 6. The final chapter identifies five main reasons why many special educators resist learning about students' cultural, contextual, and linguistic characteristics, including the lack of diversity among special educators, prejudicial attitudes, reluctance to rock the boat, unwillingness to expend the energy, and lack of preparedness. It urges special educators to work to eliminate inequalities in special education. (Each chapter includes references.) (CR)

This resource guide provides an overview of special-education laws and issues related to K-12 education for those interested in starting or currently operating a charter school, for host or sponsoring school districts, and for state departments of education. It is essential that charter-school operators and staff who are in any way responsible for the education of students with disabilities become fully familiar with federal and state laws, regulations, and policies that apply to the provision of special education in charter schools. This guide is meant to provide a framework for those needing information about special-education issues that impact on charter schools, and to advise charter schools of the rights of children with disabilities and their obligation to serve them. After the introduction and a brief history of special education, two sections delve into the separate matters of statutory and case-law requirements for special education, and issues for charter schools in the implementation of special education. A concluding section provides thoughts for policymakers and recommendations for charter-school personnel and state agency personnel. An appendix lists additional sources of information, and describes the growing role of "Charter Friends..." and the Charter Friends National Network. (RT)

This document, which is designed to help individuals entering adult education graduate programs in North America, contains definitions of nearly 538 contemporary adult education-related terms and practitioners. The terms included were selected based on a review of more than half of the 139 papers published in the proceedings of the 41st Annual Adult Education Research Conference in Vancouver, British Columbia. For each word, the author composed a definition by reading article references, reviewing other literature, and searching online dictionaries and encyclopedias. The draft definitions were then sent to conference presenters and participants with requests for review, correction, and comments. Most entries cite one or more authors from the aforementioned proceedings. The dictionary contains a wide variety of terminology, including the following: acronyms and abbreviations; brief overviews of the activities and/or theories of prominent adult education practitioners and theorists; terms related to various types and levels of adult learning; terms related to types and theories of learning; terms related to research methodology; terms related to educational philosophy and teaching methodology; and terms related to social theories. (Contains 100 references). (MN)

This book is a manual that enables teachers to formulate an effective program of environmental education across multiple grade levels and cultural settings. A section provides tips for using the book, followed by nine chapters dealing with different aspects of developing and implementing an environmental education program. Chapter 1 presents a brief overview of what environmental education is all about. Chapter 2 focuses on developing an environmental education plan by addressing the environmental issues in the community. Chapter 3 discusses how to tailor an environmental education program to fit the needs of the school system and community. Chapter 4 focuses on how children develop intellectually and morally and how to use child development theories to develop a more effective environmental education program. Chapter 5 looks at how to develop an environmental scope and sequence. Chapter 6 focuses on lesson plans, learning styles, learning strategies. Chapter 7 presents methods of creating effective environmental education activities and includes over 50 sample activities. Chapter 8 examines strategies for implementing an environmental education program. Chapter 9 focuses on a variety of formal and informal strategies for evaluating environmental education efforts. An appendix includes additional resources, a bibliography and an index. (MDH)

This paper explains that to educate all students is the shared responsibility of partnerships within higher education and between higher education and the schools. The Partnership for Excellence in Teacher Education (PETE) incorporates this "whole village" approach into the design and implementation of school-based science and mathematics teacher education. It is guided by systematic renewal efforts in El Paso, Texas, and maintains a partnership linking the College of Education, the College of Science, the public schools, and parents and communities. Teams of mathematics, physics, and education faculty integrate activities and curriculum into local public schools. University classes are taught in public schools, with preservice teachers going into classrooms to teach content and practice pedagogy. College faculty observe student teachers' teaching performance and provide feedback. Student teachers keep reflective analysis logs. The integrated team-taught field model assumes that the program will increase students' mathematics and science content knowledge, pedagogical skills, and level of teaching performance and will change preservice teachers' negative perceptions toward mathematics and science learning and teaching. This paper describes how the mathematics and science blocks incorporate the "whole village" approach and work to change student's attitudes. (SM)

This book discusses special education for students with disabilities and the role of the principal in meeting the needs of students with disabilities. An introductory chapter lists strategies to assist principals in improving the working conditions of special education teachers, how a principal can be the chief advocate for the special education program, and how principals can enhance the inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms. It also discusses how principals can improve the use of a building and make it accessible to all students and how principals can encourage the inclusion of students with disabilities in extracurricular activities. Following chapters address: (1) federal laws affecting special education, including the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA); (2) the Individualized Education Program and the principal's role; (3) discipline of students with disabilities and requirements under IDEA; (4) evaluation of students with disabilities; (5) the history of inclusion, federal regulations governing inclusion, and the continuum of alternative placements; (6) classroom accommodations for elementary students with disabilities; (7) classroom accommodations for secondary students with disabilities; (8) due process in special education; and (9) selecting and evaluating special education staff. An appendix lists additional resources for each chapter. (CR)

This paper describes the Open University's Postgraduate Certificate in Education, a postgraduate preservice teacher training program in the United Kingdom. The program provides access to the teaching profession for those who cannot train by conventional routes. It is characterized by: distance education; school-based partnerships; an explicit framework of outcome assessment standards; a portfolio model of formative and summative assessment; a network of support via local tutors, regional seminars, and workshops; a regional and national e-mail and e-conference system; national availability; and part-time, asynchronous, home-based study. This supported open learning and school-university partnership model has proved successful in recruiting trainee teachers in the context of a United Kingdom teacher recruitment crisis, widening access to the profession for underrepresented groups and promoting the professional dimension in teacher assessment. This teacher education model, and its systems, structures, and underlying principles, has been the basis of a number of successful international collaborations, including with the United States, where there are common issues of teacher quality, teacher recruitment, and school improvement. (SM)

This text provides principles and practical applications to facilitate the inclusion of student with disabilities in general physical education classes. Chapter 1 identifies characteristics of a quality physical education program. Chapter 2 reviews the history of inclusion and defines key characteristics of inclusion. Chapter 3 is on collaborative teaming among professionals. Chapters 4 and 5 present a preparation model, describe student assessment tools, and consider physical education in the individualized education program. The next three chapters are on physical education modifications for students with disabilities. Chapter 6 is on appropriate instructional modifications while chapter 7 addresses curricular modifications for students with specific functional impairments or particular disabilities. Chapter 8 discusses the modification of group games and sports and includes an appendix that details accommodations to specific team sports for students with disabilities. Chapter 9 considers ways to facilitate the social acceptance of children with disabilities in general physical education. Chapter 10 examines safety aspects of inclusion including some legal issues. Chapter 11 offers information on managing children who display behavior problems in general physical education. Finally, chapter 12 offers guidelines for including children with disabilities in general aquatics programs. (Contains approximately 300 references.) (DB)

The purpose of this guide is to provide information about the key reference and information resources in the field of education. Sources include items published from 1990 through 1998, with selective inclusion of significant or unique works published prior to 1990. The guide is divided into 14 categories that reflect different aspects of education: general education sources; educational technology and media; early childhood, elementary, and secondary education; higher education; multilingual and multicultural education; special education; adult, alternative, continuing, and distance education; career and vocational education; comparative and international education; curriculum, instruction, and content areas; educational administration and management; educational history and philosophy; educational research, measurement, and testing; and educational psychology. Each of the categories may have up to nine subcategories focusing on a different type of publication, including: bibliographies; dictionaries and encyclopedias; directories and almanacs; guides, handbooks, and yearbooks; indexes and abstracts, statistical sources; World Wide Web and Internet sources; journals; and biographies. Entries include the following information when available: author or editor, title, edition, place and date of publication, publisher, pagination or volumes, prices, LC (Library of Congress) number, ISBN, series, indexes, and an annotation. The guide includes author, title, and subject indexes. (MES)

This report documents the work done in Fiscal Year 1998 by the Ohio Department of Education, Division of Vocational and Adult Education, to address two major priorities as authorized by the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology Education Act of 1990: (1) single parents, displaced homemakers, and single pregnant women; and (2) vocational students in nontraditional programs, specifically those programs that will result in economic self-sufficiency. The report provides a review of each program; a profile of the participants in each of the programs; statistical data about participants' economic and personal situations at intake; and the outcomes at the end of the fiscal year. The grants highlighted in the report are as follows: (1) grants for single parents, displaced homemakers, and single pregnant women (Comprehensive Support Services Grant; Displaced Homemaker Program; Graduation, Occupation, and Living Skills Program; and Ventures in Business Ownership Program); and (2) equity funded grants (Nontraditional Education for Teens Work Program; Orientation to Nontraditional Occupations for Women Program; and Promoting Access in Technical Education Grant). Program information is provided in more than 50 tables and graphs. (KC)

This presentation discusses the influence of the Connecticut Association of Colleges and Universities for Teacher Education (CACUTE) on state policy making. It provides a historical analysis of the CACUTE through an overview of the political and economic forces that have resulted in current teacher education policy in Connecticut. The presentation attempts to predict how coordinated, proactive efforts by a wider range of educational professionals might prove to be more effective in reaching the CACUTE's goals. It compares and contracts the CACUTE's experiences, offering papers by several members of the CACUTE that present their perspectives on the evolving influences of the state association on state policy. The papers are "The History of the Connecticut Association of Colleges and Universities in Teacher Education since 1983" (Walter B. Bernstein); "What Role Does CACUTE Play in Improving Teacher Education Curriculum in CT?" (Susan J. Hillman); and "The Educational Reform Process: The State, Institutions of Higher Education, and the Connecticut Association of Colleges and Universities for Teacher Education" (Ronald J. Moss). (SM)