Education & Pedagogy

Special education is under fire from within and without. Full inclusionists and detracking advocates want to abolish all "separatist" special education settings and "unjust" disability categories, tests, and placements; politicians and school administrators deplore special education's high costs. However, mainstreaming efficacy studies are biased. Special education should be drastically improved, not eliminated, as many learning-disabled kids need individualized instruction. (MLH)

Fifty usable responses were received from 165 vocational doctoral graduates from 1983, 1987, and 1990. They were evenly split between Ph.D.s and Ed.D.s; 61% male, 66% employed in postsecondary education; 56.7% not tenured. The 1990 graduates had 28% more publications than the 1987 group and 55% more than the 1983 group and they gave more presentations. (SK)

Reports a study that examined the responses of education students to a case study in diversity. Three cohorts of students with different amounts of experience wrote responses to a teaching case. Researchers analyzed differences among groups' responses. Constructs from multicultural education were infrequently used by students in all groups. (Author/SM)

Maintains that the creation of the 1835 Select Committee on Arts and Manufactures and its report are significant milestones in the development and history of British art education. Argues that the current emphasis on art and design education in Britain and the United States can be traced to the work of this committee. (CFR)

A study examined migrant farmworkers' perceptions regarding their early schooling, the significance of education, family support for learning, and their participation in adult basic education programs. Suggests that adult basic education programs should address the totality of needs that migrant learners bring to the educational setting. Overviews migrant cross-cultural behavior patterns and perceptions. (LP)

The author relates his experiences as a participant of Outward Bound in 1965 and discusses how these learning experiences influenced his later work as a special education teacher at a youth residential treatment center in The Netherlands. Describes experiential outdoor programs for Netherlands youth including Outward Bound, Elan-training, Centre Aurillange, De Dreef, De Haagse Hervormde Kinderhuizen, and Groot Emaus. (LP)

Interprets the outdoor-education learning process from viewpoint of pragmatist and cognitive conceptions of action, thinking, and knowledge as ways of structuring reality. Views outdoor education as socially organized, intentional activity aimed at student-environment interaction. Presents a model of outdoor learning involving goal-oriented activity, problem-solving situations, and development of metacognitions through reflective thinking. Contains 40 references. (RAH)

Identifies the main topics addressed in the professional education literature of 1993 including school reform, outcomes-based education, alternative assessment, the learner-centered school, the school as family, educational management, curriculum, technology, disabled students, teacher evaluation, mixed-age grouping, urban education, and multiple intelligences. (14 references) (KRN)

Describes the development of a course at the University of California at Davis that integrated computer training for preservice teacher education with student teaching. Perspectives of student teachers, resident teachers, and teacher education faculty are reported; and the need for professional development for teacher education faculty and resident teachers is discussed. (nine references) (LRW)

Describes attempts to integrate computer technology into the preservice teacher education program at Lesley College. Topics discussed include technology goals; faculty attitudes; technology in the schools; technological developments; problems; and factors affecting adoption of computer technology, including the need for faculty to learn more about hardware and software. (six references) (LRW)

The GI Bill and armed services education programs during and following World War II provided a laboratory for adult education services that have since been initiated on campuses nationwide. These include counseling and career centers, program acceleration, and credit for experiential learning for the largely nontraditional veteran student population. (MSE)

Forces inhibiting change in Greek university education are examined, and trends in university curriculum development are analyzed, using four disciplines as examples: chemical engineering; physics; economics; and history. The extent of influence of government populism and state patronage on the university curriculum is explored. (MSE)

A discussion of international education considers the compatibility of two approaches: (1) stimulating student and faculty mobility and fostering international academic collaboration; and (2) widening access to higher education, developing more relevant and modern curricula, and responding to local economic circumstances. It is concluded that both can and should be accomplished. (MSE)

Mexico and the United States have reached a number of agreements designed to improve the literacy and education of Mexican immigrants in the United States. Programs offered by the Mexican government are continuing to expand because of scarce funding for education in the United States. The Program for Mexican Communities Abroad supplies Mexican textbooks and adult-education materials, sponsors bilingual and binational educator conferences, and promotes pedagogical and cultural exchanges. (13 references) (MLH)

Includes "Introduction to Gender in Distance Education" (Spronk); "From the Local to the Global" (Taylor, Kirkup); "Addressing Some Gender Issues in Distance Education at the University of the South Pacific" (Tuimaleili'fano); "Women and Science at a Distance" (Va'a); "Women as Distance Learners in Israel" (Enoch); "Women Friendly Programming in Tanzania" (Ligate); and "Crofters or Crafters" (O'Rourke). (SK)