Education & Pedagogy

Varied aspects of Swedish Distance Education are described in this report, which is based primarily on an evaluation that analyzed student background, study problems, student use of and attitudes towards distance aids, study results, and the psychological consequences of distance education. Emphasis is on an investigation of distance education students who began their studies in the academic year 1974-1975 and on a follow-up study in spring 1979, though some additional studies are discussed. The components of the evaluation program are outlined, and a short history examines how distance education functions at Swedish universities. Some of the main results of the evaluation are listed, together with course completion rates and the results of a study of 120 distance education teachers. Main conclusions are then discussed, including the overall conclusion that the decentralized Swedish model for distance education seems to have functioned very well. Nineteen references are listed. (LMM)

This report presents the results of a survey of the 69 urban school districts constituting the National School Boards Association (NSBA) Council of Urban Boards of Education. It provides data designed to assist school board members and school superintendents in meeting their leadership responsibilities, and indicates significant trends in urban education. Data presented are organized into two major categories: (1) a profile of urban school districts (including enrollment, programs, and staff in the 69 school districts), school board makeup, school district finances, and characteristics of urban superintendents; and (2) the fiscal impact of Federal budget cuts for 1982-83 on the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (ECIA) Chapter I, Impact Aid, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142), vocational education, and school lunch programs. The two instruments used in the survey are included as appendices. (CJM)

This manual provides information needed by students taking teaching internships in agricultural education, business education, home economics education, industrial education, or health occupations education as part of the Vocational Education Studies Program at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale. The first part of the manual explains the requirements of the teaching internship program and how it is conducted. Included are sections on objectives of teaching internships, the planning process, performance contracting, interning, evaluation, and grading. The second part of the manual consists of six appendixes that provide materials for use in the internship program. Materials include a sample schedule, sample contracts, an observation guide, sample internship activities log entries, sample instructor evaluation form entries, and a key to the instructor evaluation rating scale. Blank versions of some documents are included for student use. (KC)

This report traces the roots of Federal involvement in adult basic education in order to place the Adult Education Act in historical perspective. A brief chronological narrative focuses attention on the Federal role in adult education in three broad program categories: education for Federal employees, labor force development programs, and programs to develop literacy and basic skills. The section that follows summarizes the provisions of adult education legislation from 1964 to 1978. It covers the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, Adult Education Act of 1966 (Amendments of 1966), and the Amendments of 1968, 1970, 1972, 1974, and 1978. Each summary provides the legislative history, purpose, definitions, and major provisions. The final section reports the major revisions in the Adult Education Act from 1966 to 1978 under the headings used in the legislation. The year and public law number are included for each of the noted changes. (YLB)

The booklet contains descriptions of educational programs in the area of special education/learning disabilities which have been validated as successful by the Joint Dissemination Review Panel of the U.S. Department of Education. Programs are listed alphabetically and also provided are an index of programs by category and an index of programs by grade levels (for which validation exists). Provided for most programs are the title, the intended audience, a descriptive abstract, training requirements, costs, services, contact person, address, and phone number. Programs deal with such areas as the following: arithmetic, art, basic skills, behavior problems, class organization, competency based education, continuous progress plan, daily living skills, diagnostic teaching, dropout prevention, home instruction, individual education programs, language acquisition, learning skills, mainstreaming, mathematics, mentally handicapped, nontraditional education, multiple disabilities, parent education, preschool education, prescriptive instruction, remedial reading, school community programs, staff development, tutoring, vocational education, and work experience programs. (DB)

Designed to assist science educators in improving preservice/inservice teacher education, this yearbook contains resources and ideas addressing the integration of recent research into a format suitable for practitioners and students. Topics of the papers included in this volume are: (1) applications of microcomputers in science teaching; (2) telecommunications; (3) optical storage systems; (4) computer based learning; (5) the status of hardware and software; (6) a review of research; (7) philosophical and psychological positions; (8) technology in elementary and health education; (9) cooperative learning; (10) the "Voyage of the Mimi" project; (11) implementation theory; (12) staff development; and (13) teacher preparation using technology. A number of specific projects are described in individual papers. Over 300 references are included. (CW)

This guidebook provides information to help local communities plan and carry out National Community Education Day, a day that has been promoted since 1982. The guide is organized in six sections. The first section contains a message for local sponsors and an overview of early childhood and family education. The second section provides ideas for planning for the community education day, including tips for organizing a communitywide effort, interorganizational relations, and special events and activities. Section 3 details the promotion and public relations activities needed, and Section 4 provides a sample press kit. Promising programs presented in various communities are profiled in the fifth section. The final section lists resources, such as readings, videotapes, and contacts. (KC)

Abstracts and abstractors' critiques of 10 published research reports related to curriculum, instruction, problem solving and teacher education are presented. Aspects addressed in the studies include: (1) verbal aptitude and the use of study questions; (2) the treatment of evolution in biology textbooks; (3) descriptions of characteristics of Centers of Excellence; (4) locus of control and computer-assisted instruction; (5) the nature of science as understood by students and teachers; (6) teachers' computer literacy at the elementary level; (7) the effects on chemistry achievement of a problem-solving approach; (8) individual differences and problem-solving; (9) anecdotal versus data summary teaching; and (10) an energy education program for teachers. The responses of two authors to critiques of their work are included. (CW)

A series of papers on the history of higher education is presented with a focus on the interaction of gender and religion with the curriculum in shaping educational experiences and outcomes. Papers are as follows: "Introduction to Volume Six" (Lynn D. Gordon); "Farmer's Daughters: The Education of Women at Alfred Academy and University Before the Civil War" (Kathryn M. Kerns); "'The Kind of Knowledge of Most Worth to Young Women': Post-Secondary Vocational Training for Teaching and Motherhood at the Wheelock School, 1888-1914" (Barbara Beatty); "The Challenge of Jane Addams: A Research Note" (Ellen Condliffe Lagemann); "Education for Equality: Women's Rights Periodicals and Women's Higher Education, 1849-1929" (Patricia Smith Butcher); "The Turning Point in American Jesuit Higher Education: The Standardization Controversy Between the Jesuits and the North Central Association, 1915-1940" (Lester F. Goodchild); and "Celebrating Fair Harvard" (Suzanne Hildenbrand). (SM)

This resource is intended to aid in the development of competency-based instructional materials for the business education program in Virginia. This resource is divided into four sections. Section I provides specific information concerning the nature of business occupations and references to sources listing places of employment, training, qualifications, employment outlook, working conditions, and salary. Section II contains information about the role of student organizations in vocational education and about the activities of the Future Business Leaders of America. Several sample classroom management and delivery systems are described in section III; these field-tested systems are intended to assist the teacher in using competency-based materials in the classroom. Section IV describes sample class and individual recording systems. Procedures for using the competency profiles and a bibliography are included. (KC)

This module was developed to help preservice and inservice teachers understand the rationale behind the community education movement, its development in North Carolina, and how to infuse at least one of its components (use of community resources) into classroom instruction. The module consists of three units. The first unit is designed to help teachers gain an understanding of some of the major crises in public education. The second unit explains the community education movement in North Carolina and lists the major facilitators who can help classroom instructors. The final unit deals with the actual infusion of community education resources into a classroom lesson. Scattered throughout the module are learner activities for students/teachers to complete and mail for evaluation. Extensive appendixes list community education resources and provide forms to be used in developing community education activities. (KC)

This booklet contains descriptions of 18 health and physical adult education programs that have been validated as successful by the Joint Dissemination Review Panel of the Department of Education (JDRP). The projects have been developed by individual school districts throughout the nation, in response to their local needs. The programs are indexed alphabetically, by categories, and by grade level. When a program has been used successfully at other grade levels it is noted in the program description. Each program description includes the age level for which it has been reviewed and validated by the JDRP, an abstract of the program's content, requirements for program implementation, program costs, and services offered by the program. Programs on a broad range of topics are presented, including alcohol education, cardiovascular fitness, staff development, weight control, mainstreaming and many others. (JD)

A study was conducted to determine the demographic characteristics of Swaziland agricultural education professionals and their perceptions of the preservice teacher education program in agriculture in their country. Questionnaires were developed and mailed to 128 Swaziland agricultural education professionals, with a total of 116 usable questionnaires returned. The study found that most agriculture professionals in the country were males, had diploma (associate degree) qualifications, were relatively young, had relatively few years of teaching experience, and had not studied agriculture in high school. These professionals thought that present programs of agriculture should be maintained but that admittance procedures should be strengthened, student teaching should be improved, inservice education courses should be implemented, and more teachers should have high school teaching experience. Recommendations for program improvement were made based on the findings of the study. (KC)

Black Americans have historically gained access to political and economic participation in American society through education and have therefore fought continuously for the right to a full education. The current demand for excellence threatens black gains by proposing a system in which quality education is available only to the few through vouchers and tax credits that would support enrollment in private schools while serious reductions in federal support undermine the quality of the public education available to most minority students. An equitable program to enhance educational excellence should involve recruiting talented new teachers, training them effectively, retaining them once they have joined the profession, and encouraging their participation in educational improvement efforts. Education must be made practically relevant, particularly to minority students. Parents must also be drawn in to provide encouragement and support for their children's educational efforts. (PGD)

The need to establish teacher education programs which inculcate at least the basic principles of multicultural education has been recognized repeatedly by both the profession and governmental agencies which administer programs of elementary, secondary, and post-secondary education. What is crucial to this matter is the model selected by a given institution to meet this goal. It is suggested that no single model exists which is relevant in every given situation. Rather, each program must devise strategies and curricula which respond to basic objectives within the parameters set by available human and non-human resources. Further, a prime prerequisite is a firm commitment on the part of the administration and faculty in the institution to programs designed to internationalize the curriculum. A model program of global education at Radford University, Virginia, which expands emphasis on multicultural and international education, is discussed. (JD)