Education & Pedagogy

This paper describes how the graduate certification and degree program in early intervention and early childhood special education at West Virginia University has incorporated Web components into its existing distance education model, enabling Americans living abroad to enroll in and complete the program. Courses, practicum experiences, program evaluation data, and implications of international distance learning are described. (Contains references.) (Author/PB)

This article highlights current thinking and practice regarding the use of student portfolios to document performance of authentic teaching tasks in undergraduate special education teacher education programs. It describes ways to use portfolios for student and program assessment and includes suggestions for overcoming the subjectivity associated with portfolios and their evaluation. Portfolio use in alternative teacher certification is noted. (Contains references.) (Author/DB)

Asks a number of questions concerning the delivery of multicultural education, including, "How do we define multiculturalism?" and, "Whose responsibility is it to provide equity in higher education?" Articulates 10 guiding principles for achieving equity in institutions of higher learning, and offers a brief discussion of these principles. (Contains 11 references.) (NB)

This study compared outcomes for 140 preservice special educators enrolled in either an online or on-campus graduate course on behavior management. Performance on multiple choice quizzes throughout the course and follow-up of classroom behavior management during student teaching as observed by a master teacher and university supervisor found no significant differences between the two groups. (Contains references.) (DB)

Draws upon classroom observations and interviews with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to describe how literacy practices in Cherokee language education perpetuate and teach local categories of knowledge, behavior, and persons. Examines the semiotic functioning of the native-developed Cherokee syllabary and its place among four Cherokee orthographies. Discusses Cherokee language education for elementary, secondary, and adult students. (SM)

To serve those students for whom inclusion in regular classrooms is appropriate, collaboration is needed between the science and special education teacher. Science teachers, using a four-step plan, allows themto become contributors to the way in which inclusion will be implemented in their classrooms before decisions are made and become part of the legally binding Individual Education Plan (IEP). (Author/MM)

Describes a Web site, The Teachers Lounge, developed for a televised distance education course for special education teachers. Highlights include combining televised distance education, Web-enhanced course components, and case-based instruction; graphics and user interface; students' reactions to the cite; and suggestions for improving Web-based course components. (Author/LRW)

Argues that the current move at Australian universities toward instrumental programs of work-based learning threatens the existence of the liberal university, where knowledge is pursued predominantly for its own sake. Four dominant discourses--the liberal, the utilitarian, the reformist, and the liberal-vocational models--are identified as forces shaping the mission of higher education. (KS)

This commentary discusses concerns related to special education research, particularly the research-to-practice gap in the United States. It contends that by addressing problems associated with teacher education, teacher attrition, and teacher shortage in special education, great strides can be made in closing the gap. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Analysis of key educational policy since Indian independence highlights a diversity framework implicit in the Indian approach to education. This framework is based on three interrelated goals, identified in the policy documents as national integration, equality, and development of a common culture. Articulating this framework is essential in developing a new lens through which to assess the impact of reforms in Indian education on students from various groups. (SM)

Investigated the competencies of special educators on a set of 35 skills identified by the Council for Exceptional Children as important for professionals working in the area of special education. Survey data indicated that special educators perceived themselves as having relatively high competency in a broad range of the skill areas. However, they also perceived themselves as lacking in some of these important skills. (SM)

Discusses poverty and its implications for education in Latin America. Focuses on gender as a social construct that differentiates the impact of poverty. Analyzes interaction of gender, class, and public policy. Examines aspects of national and global policy processes and educational disparities in society related to the education of girls. (CAJ)

This article provides a look at the federal policy context for the scientifically based research (SBR) and evidence-based education (EBE) initiatives by sharing U.S. Department of Education presentations and related publications about SBR and EBE. It discusses the impact of these policy initiatives on special education research activities. (Contains references.) (CR)

Asserts that the commercialization of higher education leads to governance; governance leads to the flow of money; and governance plus money lead to quality. Suggests that it is time to rethink the missions of mass media and higher education in contemporary society and to revise the idea that the right to education is of less importance than the freedom of opinion. (EV)

Examines the use of teaching portfolios in preservice teacher education programs, analyzing the various ways in which portfolios have been conceptualized and implemented. The paper proposes a conceptual framework to enable researchers to describe the conditions of portfolio use and discusses key issues that have emerged in the use of teaching portfolios in preservice teacher education. (SM)