Education & Pedagogy

Summaries of five keynote addresses and proceedings of task forces of a conference on postcompulsory education in the 1980s, attended by educational theorists and planners from 30 nations, are presented. The opening address by Lord Asa Briggs provided a worldwide overview of postcompulsory education, and Burton Clark spoke about academic coordination of postcompulsory education. Urban Dahllof addressed the topic of "recurrent education" and indicated that sharp distinctions between secondary and higher education would fade in the future. Lord Vaizey spoke about the subject matter of postcompulsory education in the coming years, and Gordon Oakes suggested that the walls of elitism of the universities be removed, without diminishing the quality, to break the barriers between them and other legitimate institutions. The task force on postcompulsory structures primarily considered national educational systems. The task force on education and the working life recommended that postcompulsory institutions assume the leadership in helping to solve socioeconomic problems through new models and research, and the task force on student learning considered the processes and outcomes of learning. The group on staff development considered reorganization, realignment or closure of postcompulsory institutions, changes in student populations and diminishing resources. The group on media noted the utilization of television and radio broadcasting and print media by England's Open University and the distance learning networks of Australia and New Zealand. Priorities of postcompulsory education were discussed by the task force on priorities. (SW)

This report contains forty papers presented at the tenth international conference of the International Council on Correspondence Education. The conference theme is described as one analyzing educational and administrative sub-systems and components, with reference to their purposes, significance, characteristics, interrelationship, and cost effectiveness. Also addressed are the implications of these functions for the evaluation of distance education programs with respect to information counseling, student activities, and two-way communication and, on the other hand, marketing and management. Papers in the first of four sections explore the system of distance education. For example, Renee F. Erdos describes "The System of Distance Education in Terms of Sub-Systems and Characteristic Functions." Section 2 focuses on the modes of teaching in distance education. A sample offering from this section is John Cain's "Mass Media--Educational Television and Radio." Section 3 reviews distance education and the open learning trend; for example, one selection by Paul Chang Min Phang deals with "Planning and Administering a University Off-Campus Academic Programme in a Plural Society." In the final section student service, student activity, and two-way communication are examined. For instance, in this section David M. Young discusses the "Characteristics of Informative Publicity Material and the Pre-Enrolment Correspondence." (CSS)

One in a series of National Business Education Yearbooks, this yearbook presents an overview of the various settings in which business education takes place and the methodology used in its teaching. The first part focuses on the following three settings: public and private schools at both the secondary and postsecondary levels; professional/organizational groups which provide continuing education; and nontraditional settings which are categorized by their learning philosophy, special clientele, special resources or facilities, administration and organization, or instructional approaches. Part II examines the following alternative methods of business education for secondary and postsecondary levels: (1) individualized instruction which includes programmed and computer-assisted instruction for self-paced learning; (2) simulations which may be commercially packaged or specially designed by the teacher; (3) games which, while often costly to implement, are usually enthusiastically endorsed by the students, (4) modular instruction which uses a series of learning units, each focusing on a limited skill or body of knowledge; (5) technological utilization which involves systems such as audiovisual recorders, closed-circuit television, and computers; (6) community-based projects which include independent study for students and assistance from business teachers in developing community programs; and (7) competency evaluation which covers competency-based education on the secondary level and the recognition, at the postsecondary level, of students who qualify for advanced placement either through competencies obtained at previous levels or through life experiences. (ELG)

A project was conducted to (1) demonstrate comprehensive career education in grades K-12 of the Bangor, Maine, public school system and (2) demonstrate to teacher educators at Husson College and the University of Maine the concepts, philosophy, and methods of comprehensive career education. (See CE 019 623 for the performance report.) Based on the project's final evaluation, the following general conclusions were drawn: increases in career education knowledge can be attained via planned inservice training programs; materials for inservice training must be appropriate for public school and postsecondary personnel (materials for the latter are not readily available); and local site idiosyncrasies, distant communication problems, and overcommitment by the testing organization may be a hindrance to local staff. Some of the findings concerning the activities in the Bangor public schools include the following: test scores indicated that students who attend career education-infused courses demonstrated greater gains in self-concept, career maturity, and improved attitude toward school; teachers produced acceptable career education-infused curriculum units after training; and inservice training must be planned, sequential, and evaluated if impact on school curriculum is to occur. Some of the findings concerning university-based activities are as follow: seminar content should be based on carefully designed conceptual models if they are to be accepted by postsecondary staff; university/college role in career education is open to varying interpretation; and university/college-based professionals were not enthusiastic about visits to public schools to observe career education in action. (BM)

This report summarizes the two statewide staff development workshops that were conducted for faculties of Oregon colleges and universities participating in a consortium project designed to infuse career education into the preparation of teachers, counselors, and administrators. (Three previous workshops are reported in CE 019 416.) Included in this document are objectives of the workshops, copies of the programs, and summaries of the participants' evaluation. The first workshop centered around work sessions dealing with four professional education areas: (1) social, cultural, and psychological foundations of education; (2) instructional methods and materials in reading and language arts; (3) instructional methods and materials in social studies; and (4) instructional methods and materials in science and health. The second workshop focused on both state and national trends in career education. Input from the national scene was provided by five major speakers: (1) "Demonstration Model for Training and Retraining Persons to Conduct Career Education Programs," by Leni Ayres; (2) "Conceptual Foundations of Career Education," by Edwin Herr; (3) "Career Education and the Academic Disciplines," by Jerry Berberet; (4) "Career Education and the General School Administrator," by Grant Venn; and (5) "Evaluating the Efficacy of Career Education," by Lois-ellin Datta. Transcripts of the last four speeches are included in this report. (Author/BM)

This issue on liberal education contains two short articles on National Project IV and descriptions of liberal education offerings at colleges and universities in the United States. The articles by Richard Hendrix and Zelda F. Gamson discuss objectives of the project and its history. National Project IV, sponsored by the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, is designed to identify and assess the varieties of liberal education offerings. The benefits of collaboration among a wide range of institutions selected as Associates in the project are emphasized. Program descriptions are presented for the following: Historical and Process Evaluation of Student Outcomes at Brooklyn College; Studies of the Natural Science Program and the Five Colleges Consortium at Hampshire College; Liberal Arts and Worker Education at Hofstra University; University Studies Program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln; The Institute of Study for Older Adults at New York City Community College; Project INTERTWINE at Northern Virginia Community College-Manassas Campus; Program on Women at Northwestern University; College of Liberal Studies at the University of Oklahoma; Examination of Innovative Programs at Radcliffe College; Examining an Eight-Semester Core Curriculum at Saint Joseph's College; An Alternative Approach to Education in Music at State University of New York-College at Old Westbury; Federated Learning Communities at State University of New York-Stony Brook; Evaluation of Liberal Arts Experiences at Talladega College; and Developmental Perspective on Liberal Education for Adults at Vermont State Colleges. (SW)

This publication contains a report on the status of the K-12 economic education program in Texas and recommendations for further improvement, modification, or additional legislation. The report was submitted by the Central Education Agency to the State Legislature, as it is required to do by law. The first part of the report describes actions taken. Seven economic education centers are in operation in Texas colleges and universities. In addition, three endowed chairs for free enterprise have been created to promote economic education. Over the last two years, these organizations have provided public schools with support for economic education including curriculum planning, teacher inservice, instructional materials development, and consultation. Guidelines for the implementation of economics/free enterprise education were provided in various publications that were mailed to all school districts. Instruction on the essentials and benefits of the free enterprise system were incorporated within the required courses of American history, world history, world geography, and American government. Although the State Legislature did not appropriate funds for the specific purpose of implementing economic education, the Agency utilized several sources of funds for such purposes. The Agency staff conducted inservice and preservice seminars and workshops for approximately 2,000 elementary and secondary educators. In April, 1979, the Texas Education Agency conducted a statewide assessment of students in free enterprise/economics/consumer education. Various recommendations were made to the Legislature. Included among these were that the Legislature direct the State Board of Education to designate the most essential parts of each of the subjects, including economics, in the well-balanced curriculum and that the State Board of Education modify graduation requirements by adding economics (including free enterprise) as a half-unit requirement. (Author/RM)

Assessment of the present status of vocational education in Texas and recommended priorities for the future constitute this annual report. Part 1 documents the progress of the 1970s and lists 15 challenges for vocational education in the 1980s, including application of meaningful evaluation procedures and careful program planning to maximize cost effectiveness. Strengthening the role of vocational education in energy conservation and development and providing education and training opportunities for the incarcerated are the two areas recommended for specific improvement of vocational and adult education. Part 2, Advisory Council Evaluation and Responsibilities under Public Law 94-482, presents the 13 State Advisory Council responsibilities listed in the Education Amendments of 1976 and details the progress made toward the achievement of each. Part 3 summarizes characteristics and concerns of secondary and postsecondary vocational programs in the state gathered from (1) a mail survey (88% response) and (2) 10 "teachers speak" hearings conducted during inservice workshops of vocational teachers and counselors. Baseline data concerning program enrollments, funding, and skill and subject area provisions are presented for assessing change over a 10-year period (1968-1978). Linkages with other human resource agencies and innovative practices in serving special populations are among some of the other program characteristics reported. Tne final section provides a summary of council meetings and activities. (MEK)

This report presents findings of surveys to determine the effects of the 1976 Vocational Education Amendments on the required coordination between the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA) and postsecondary vocational education at the federal, state, and local levels. An introduction is followed by a discussion (chapter 2) of results of questionnaires administered to state vocational education directors and executive directors of state manpower services councils and state advisory councils for vocational education. Chapter 3 interprets outcomes of interviews with officials from CETA coordination units, Office of Education, and the Department of Labor. In chapter 4 data from two questionnaires administered to prime sponsors and vocational education directors of community colleges in Michigan, New Jersey, and Texas are analyzed. Chapter 5, comprising over one-half of the report, outlines findings from interviews with representatives from advisory councils for vocational education, manpower services councils, and the department or agency of education for each of the three states. Focus is on (1) councils and agencies involved in CETA-vocational education coordination, (2) state employment and training coordination, (3) state-local level coordination, (4) Supplemental Vocational Education Program (section 112) administration, and (5) staff perceptions of legislative impact. The final chapter summarizes the effects of the 1976 amendments and makes recommendations for increased coordination. (YLB)

The paper describes possible approaches to career education in the social studies curriculum and suggests criteria for decision-making strategies and assessing readiness for change. The first section describes roles of career education in social studies which range from doing nothing to replacing the total present content with career education. The author points out that the integrated approach is the most advocated. In this case, career education is a component or emphasis rather than a course or department. The second section provides considerations for choosing to incorporate career education into the curriculum. Approaches to change are discussed in terms of voluntary and coerced. The conclusion is that since the National Council for the Social Studies promotes the use of the rational decision-making process, faculties should make their decisions about career education by employing this process. Career education could be considered as a complementary alternative within the social studies; as a fundamental part of the back-to-basics movement; and as a means of contributing to the survival of students, teachers, and the social studies. An approach to career education is suggested in which priorities would be taught until mastered. Teachers would teach thoroughly as many of the top priorities as possible, knowing that those they did not complete were lower and of less importance. The conclusion is that social studies should not try to meet all the goals of career education, but rather should utilize the strengths of the discipline. Also, if career education in the social studies is to be successful, personnel will have to desire the change, possess knowledge and skills of infusing, expend effort, and create an amenable environment. (KC)

This book is a compilation of 145 conference papers and presentations on industrial arts education covering content in career education, classroom projects, construction, curriculum, elementary school industrial arts, energy, funding programs, graphic communications, interdisciplinary studies, international perspective, past-present-future, metrics, miscellaneous instruction, the professional teacher, research, safety, special needs programs, teacher education, teaching methods, tools, and women. Representative titles include the following: Industrial Arts and the Career Choice Patterns of Junior High School Students, Contemporary Construction Education and Practice, Developing a Leadership and Group Interaction Skills Curriculum, A Continuum of Objectives: The Way to More Systematic Instruction, Industrial Arts Resource Kits for K-6 Grades, The Urgency of Energy Education, Status of Funding in Idaho, An Overview of New and Future Technology in the Graphic Communications, Strategies for Unified Arts: A Framework for Analysis, A Rationale for International Technological Education, Crossroads--The Aircraft Construction Route to Aerospace Education, Toward the Year 2000--Futuristics, Industrial Arts in the Industrial and Postindustrial Society, Freedom and Professionalism and Our National Heritage, Industrial Arts Research: Basic Considerations, Wood Surface Noise Control, Industrial Arts in Special Education, Minicourses in Industrial Education, A Competency-Based Teacher Education Program: Graphic Arts, Computer-Assisted Instruction: A Student/Machine Interactive System, and Numerical Controlled Equipment. Conference minutes and resolutions are also included. (EM)

Data obtained from a province-wide survey of compulsory physical education programs in Alberta, Canada, is presented (1) describing current parent and student perceptions of required physical education, (2) identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the program as it exists, (3) assessing areas of expressed or implied concerns, and (4) making recommendations on the basis of these areas of expressed or implied concerns. The document, compiling frequency response tabulations from questionnaires administered to students, parents, and teachers of single grades in ten percent of the public schools of Alberta, is divided into eight parts, explaining (1) an introduction to the survey, (2) a discussion of the instrumentation, (3) description of the sampling audience and procedure, (4) findings and recommendations on general aspects of compulsory physical education, (5) student attitudes toward physical education, (6) teacher job satisfaction and its impact on student attitudes, (7) student attitudes toward physical education activities, and (8) recommendations based on general observations. The body of the report--the findings and recommendations on general aspects of compulsory education--examine attitudes toward physical education as a required subject, desired frequency of classes, class objectives, student assessment, and attitudes toward use of showers and required physical education uniforms. Appendices contain (1) instruments, (2) computer-scored answer sheets, (3) schools selected for the study, (4) letters to school superintendents, principals, and physical education teachers, (5) letters to schools not personally visited by the researchers, (6) summary of student attitudes toward physical education by grade level, and (7) sample parent comments. (MB)

The major goal of the Baltimore County (Maryland) career education project (1975-76) was to strengthen the career education programs in fifteen schools, grouped into five clusters, through leadership training programs and through the development of linkages within and among schools and between the schools and the community. Each of the five clusters included one senior high school, one of its feeder junior high schools, and a feeder elementary school. A corps of leaders (cluster council) in each of the fifteen schools was created to carry out the objectives of the project. The major product of the one-year effort was the development of an implementation and linkage guide for school staffs. In assessing project effectiveness, the evaluator concluded that (1) the majority of the fifteen participating schools had created school leaders in career education; (2) institutes conducted for school staffs by three industries were considered very effective; (3) mini-resource centers of career education materials were established well throughout the project schools; and (4) a well designed, comprehensive guide for infusing career education through cluster councils was developed. The one objective not fully met was providing opportunities for school staffs to articulate with their feeder schools. Overall, the evaluator concluded that the project enhanced career education efforts throughout the system. The fifteen cluster councils were involved with 397 teachers who infused career education concepts and ideas to more than 10,000 students. (MF)

This is a descriptive case study and evaluation of Radio Santa Maria, which provides the Dominican Republic's rural adult population with basic education programs. The report examines the station in the light of five fundamental lifelong education goals: flexibility in the educational process, linkage of educational resources, relating of formal education to daily learning experiences, maturity and self-realization, and the capacity for self direction in learning. The first part, presented briefly in chapters 1-2, describes the socio-economic and educational background of the Dominican Republic and of the students. The second part, chapters 3-5, describes how the Radio Santa Maria model works (including curriculum and educational methodology, etc.) and analyzes the institutional design from the standpoint of realizing lifelong education goals. The third part, chapters 6-9, examines alternative education outcomes. Chapter 6 contains student statistics; Chapter 7 compares radiophonic students' academic achievement with that of students in conventional classrooms; Chapter 8 examines the radiophonic school's influence on students' attitudes and values; and Chapter 9 compares costs per student in radio schools to costs per student in traditional programs. The final chapter summarizes the alternative basic education innovations. Appendixes contain a Dominican Republic map, student statistics, semi- and non-formal education models, budget estimate, and sample program. (CSS)

About a quarter of South Australia's population was born overseas; these migrants speak little English and experience difficulty in seeking employment and gaining access to community services, including education. While appropriate English language learning opportunities are important for migrants, there are a range of other bridging arrangements combining language and broader educational offerings that need to be further developed. The Adult Migrant Education Programme conducted by the Language and Migrant Education Centre of the Department of Further Education (D.F.E.) offers English language instruction intensively to newly arrived migrants, and at a variety of levels and intensities at a later stage, at many locations throughout the state. However, the programme's goals and funding do not permit everyone who needs English to participate immediately and therefore creates a demand for further English courses and other bridging arrangements in the mainstream of adult education. Migrants with limited educational background are at a particular disadvantage, and migrant women are most seriously affected. There has been little inclination by higher education institutions for providing needed courses; the need is seen as the responsibility of the D.F.E. However, D.F.E. policies and programs are fragmented. There is need for a clearer definition of policy and improved coordination of state and commonwealth programs. D.F.E. programs would be strengthened by the appointment of a fulltime senior coordinator with responsibility for the ethnic area. (KC)