Education & Pedagogy

Describes the cumulation of concern over the last 10 years that brought leading educators and business people together to create an organization that supports comprehensive character education programs. Discusses the work of this organization, the Character Education Partnership. Lists 11 principles for program development and describes model programs. (MJP)

Emphasizes the role of the school principal in creating a vision, being a role model, and encouraging staff into and through character education. Outlines examples of the staff development and continuing teacher education at a K-6 magnet school. Discusses the school principal's professional philosophy and practices. (MJP)

Examines the implementation of Canadian federal policy on multicultural and antiracist education in Ontario and British Columbia. Focuses on the perspectives of 42 "active players" in the field of race equity education, including teachers, faculty, administrators, and activists. Emphasizes the influence of local political and historical conditions on policy implementation. Contains 34 references. (Author/SV)

Describes the measures taken by Parkland College to implement North Central's Statement on Access, Equity, and Diversity. Results include the creation of the Center for Multicultural Education, community-based diversity education, and organization of a statewide conference about gender-balanced, multicultural education. (YKH)

Discusses the Queensland Languages and Cultures Initial Teacher Education Program (LACITEP), in which 50% to 80% of the subjects taken are delivered through Japanese immersion. Notes that the promotion of second-language learning is a common aim of all immersion classrooms and provides insight into how the LACITEP Health and Physical Education course centers around student needs. (13 references) (Author/CK)

Artificial Intelligence for Technology, a distance learning course at the Open University, is based on a learning model that combines conceptualization, construction, and dialog. This allows a practical emphasis which has been difficult to implement in distance education. The course uses commercial software, real-world-based assignments, and a project to replace the conventional exam. (Author/PVD)

Using memoirs from early- and mid-20th century rural teachers, the paper challenges assumptions that public education needs a new, more sophisticated foundation, describing the positive qualities of early rural schools and teachers and recommending the introduction of place-consciousness into teacher education so teachers can realize the power of community building in their schools. (SM)

Growing frustration with assessment practices in adapted physical education and confusion with more traditional grading has led to a call for authentic assessment, which measures students' performances in more natural, real-world settings. Within authentic assessment, rubrics provide detailed guidelines for making scoring decisions, offering specific scoring criteria or standards for evaluating student performance or progress. (SM)

Teachers judged four types of outdoor settings for potential benefits and barriers to their use in environmental education. Factor analysis or responses showed six benefit and barrier factors: (1) appropriateness of teaching setting; (2) teacher confidence; (3) worries; (4) need for training; (5) hazards; and (6) difficulty of teaching environmental education. Deep woods and rivers were seen as more appropriate for teaching than urban nature. (Author/PVD)

Discusses the importance of preparing teachers to be leaders, explaining that the best method is to change teacher preparation curricula to provide explicit education in teacher leadership. The paper describes three preparation programs for teacher leadership, noting that only through partnerships in education will the goal of providing quality teachers in all schools be realized. (SM)

Explores the need for teacher leadership in the context of national trends in teacher education, portraying the teachers-as-leaders concept as a natural outgrowth of the convergence of several forces in educational change. The article describes two professional education programs at Johns Hopkins University that prepare teachers for new roles as leaders. (Author/SM)

Investigated stresses confronted by Portuguese secondary mathematics teachers during the first semester in a master's course, Perspectives on Mathematics Education, noting how they negatively affected teachers' self-confidence and morale and discussing fundamental issues teachers addressed in bridging the academic mathematics and mathematics education worlds. Case studies of three teachers' professional development through the course are presented. (SM)

Compared academic proficiency levels of high school seniors indicating intention to major in education and seniors intending to major in other areas. Data from the 1992 National Educational Longitudinal Study indicated that seniors choosing education had similar academic abilities to students choosing all other areas. Gender, race, and socioeconomic status were important factors in choice making. (SM)

Investigated preservice teachers' beliefs about appropriate physical education activities, noting the effect of preconceived beliefs and the influence of two articles they read about inappropriate activities. Written responses to the articles indicated students had strong beliefs. Results could not show whether they agreed on activity inappropriateness because of their prior beliefs or the articles' rationale. (SM)

Discusses the blurring of boundaries between state and private education system that has occurred since 1979 in Britain. Notes that the system has always maintained degrees of support for private and state-supported education. Investigates the social and political influences involved in the implementation of school vouchers and the 1988 Educational Act. (MJP)