Education & Pedagogy

Too often citizenship education in schools is sterile and removed from real issues--it is designed to teach about democracy, not practice it. Classroom practices are less important than school culture and classroom climate. Students need to see and experience democracy in their schools; teacher education programs, educational systems, and high stakes tests should recognize that. (TD)

The Citizenship Education Research Network, a group of Canadian researchers, decision makers, and practitioners, is committed to the development of educational policy and practice concerning the relationship between common values and the stability of society; the impact of citizen participation upon social cohesion; and the relationship between citizenship education, national identity, and globalization. Research efforts in this regard are reviewed. (TD)

A close relationship exists between German society, the political system, and public schools. Following reunification, the school systems in former East Germany have undergone dramatic changes to accommodate the philosophy of democracy. The state of Saxony's changes include parent and student participation in school governance, emphasis on academic performance, equal opportunity through a differentiated system, and cosmopolitan attitudes. (TD)

Strategies for reforming public education to meet the needs of Native Americans must include holistic, multicultural approaches that infuse indigenous content throughout the curriculum; interpret equal education to mean equal accomplishment, not the same educational treatment; and make teachers culturally responsible. Successes with magnet, charter, and tribally controlled schools are reviewed. (Contains 18 references.) (TD)

Since 1900, comparative studies of education have progressed from copying "advanced" nations' systems for the elite, to considering cultural contexts, social inclusiveness, and wider cultivation of competencies. Computerized information technologies have rendered education increasingly interactive, accessible, and free. The study of such revolutionary challenges to the entire learning and teaching process in an unforeseeable world is comparative education's prime commitment. (TD)

Describes examples of videoconferencing usage in higher education: project management, dissemination, lecture courses, keynote lectures, small groups, orals and interviews. Gives an account of staff and student experiences in each example, in the context of a collaborative project. Presents evaluation results, leading to a generally favorable conclusion regarding usefulness of the medium. Provides suggestions and guidelines for good practice. (Contains 16 references.) (Author/AEF)

This study used meta-analytic procedures to examine experimental research literature about the effectiveness of telecourses in distance education for adult and higher education. Discusses the use of weighted effect size analysis procedures; experiments that used video and either one-way or two-way audio; and instructional features that impacted learner achievement. (Contains 39 references.) (Author/LRW)

Presents the tools and methodologies that underlie the ARIADNE framework for enabling open and distance education and enhancing more conventional training schemes. The ARIADNE concept relies on a distributed knowledge pool system that stores pedagogically indexed educational resources. The basic approach is one of share and reuse. (AIM)

Examines the role of democracy in education and its importance in early childhood education programs, including benefits to children. Discusses implications for early childhood education programs that include children with disabilities, makes suggestions for promoting democracy in inclusive early childhood environments, and identifies considerations in determining the appropriateness of practices for children with disabilities. (KB)

Discusses problems in Chinese educational reform and trends in professional education. Based on the curriculum of 17 Chinese schools of library and information science, this article provides data on required courses, specialized elective courses, and nonspecialized courses to determine the state-of-the-art structure of the knowledge base and to identify consensus among institutions. (PEN)

Multimedia technology is an invaluable teaching and learning resource. One advantage of technology based education is the ability to combine practical applications, visualization of complex mathematical and abstract subjects, virtual labs, and guided use of simulation software. This article describes several multimedia tutorials for electromagnetics education for use as stand-alone tutors and as demonstrations to complement class lecture. (PEN)

Describes the Professional Development Schools (PDS) initiative to simultaneously restructure schools and teacher education programs. Outlines program components. Presents steps to develop an inclusive PDS through the University of Central Florida-Daytona Beach, Volusia County School District, and the Florida Inclusion Network, including public school preparation and addition of a preservice component at the inclusive school. (KB)

Argues against the increasing vocationalization of university education as exemplified by workplace approaches to learning. Suggests that this trend threatens the existence of the liberal university that was traditionally isolated from the economy and fostered knowledge acquisition for virtue rather than utility. Evidence of this trend is seen in the advertising and promotional stratagems now surrounding higher education. (Author/DB)

Teacher educators have done relatively little to develop multicultural curricula specific to continuing professional education of inservice teachers. Presents one professor's approach to educating for cultural diversity in a master's level course, "Cultural Issues in Classrooms and Curricula," describing experiences that participants had during the class, explaining the instructional framework, and discussing six teachers' approaches to educational diversity. (SM)

Discusses changes in the content of teacher education programs that would prepare teachers to effectively address student violence, discussing the influence of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, recommending that colleges of education assume leadership roles in preparing school personnel to combat student aggression, and noting the need to strengthen university-school collaboration to promote violence reduction programs. (SM)