Education & Pedagogy

Scores on standardized tests and high school grade point average are not always good predictors of the academic ability or potential success of students choosing to become teachers. An issue often overlooked when sampling the academic qualifications is the identification of students who are not education majors but who plan on becoming teachers. Most of the research studies compare students who are education majors with those who major in other academic areas of study. This sampling overlooks the fact that many of the students who are interested in secondary school teaching actually major in fields other than education and take education courses as a means of obtaining certification. Reports about the academic qualifications of teachers which are based only on those enrolled as education majors in education are missing an important segment of the population of future teachers. There is a need for more data in making policy decisions designed to have an impact on those choosing education as a career. (JD)

This volume contains descriptions of five community work education councils that have broadened their agendas from a focus on youth issues to include serving adult learners by improving adults' access to education and training and by improving the articulation between work and learning institutions that serve adults in the community. Included in the volume are case studies of the following work education councils: The Charleston Trident Work Education Council in Charleston, South Carolina; the Worcester Area Career Education Consortium in Worcester, Massachusetts; the Sioux Falls Area Community Education Work Council in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; the Community Careers Council of Oakland, California; and the Greater Portland Work Education Council in Portland, Oregon. Each case study contains a history of the council that touches upon the following topics: the program setting, project objectives, major project activities, outcomes of the project, and future plans. (MN)

The report describes 63 projects in the Southeastern United States nominated as exemplary or unique by members of the Council of Administrators of Special Education, Incorporated. Descriptions of each project include information on target population, adoption requirements, funding requirements, materials available, and contact person. The intent is to encourage potential adopters to get in touch with the contact person for further information about the project. The 63 projects are organized into 6 categories (sample types of projects in parentheses): technology (microcomputers used in management, word processing, computer assisted instruction); secondary and vocational education (competency based certificate/diploma program, affective resource curriculum, experience-based career education); staff development/inservice (training Impartial hearing officers, teaching sign language to classroom teachers, catheterization); special student services (precision teaching, program for latently gifted minority students, historic preservation); low incidence (communication systems evaluation, braille mastery); and early childhood (parent education, infant stimulation, early education for Down's Syndrome children). (CL)

A study of bilingual education in the Northwest Territories is conducted to survey literature on bilingual education; to assess programs being implemented at present in the Northwest Territories; to seek views and ideas of individuals involved in and interested in northern education; and to develop recommendations for changes and/or increased emphasis in order that the Northwest Territories Department of Education may respond to residents with programs which may satisfy educational and cultural needs of students. The material presented is related to the situation in the Eastern Arctic and is written about the areas in which Inuktitut is spoken. Topics addressed in the report include: an historical view; present status of bilingual education; rationale for bilingual education (definition, purpose, and involvement); factors influencing learning process (cultural and language); mother tongue instruction; language acquisition; and the teacher. Nine recommendations with rationale and a 41-item bibliography conclude the document. (ERB)

This curriculum guide for general shop courses is part of a series of curriculum guides for use in the industrial arts curriculum in Connecticut. The guide provides information on the scope and sequence of the industrial arts curriculum, specific guidelines for industrial arts, program goals and objectives, and guidelines concerning special education students and Public Law 94-142. Following a section on general safety rules for shop courses, unit outlines are provided for these areas: drafting, electricity, energy/power, graphic arts, leather, metal, plastics, safety, and woodworking. Each outline contains an introduction to the subject, objectives, history, introduction to the course, information to be taught, safety concepts, career possibilities, references, and project ideas. (The curriculum guide provides material for both secondary and adult vocational education courses in general shop.) (KC)

Ten articles on continuing professional education are presented. Titles and authors are as follows: "Merging Continuing Education and Inservice Teacher Education: A Concept Worth Exploring" (Alvah M. Kilgore); "Ablative Absolute Continuing Education, Ignorance Flees" (Ben J. Wiens); "Humanize! Individualize! Personalize! Through Contracting" (Carl C. Fehrle); "Project Hite: A School of Education and Psychology Mobilizes Its Resources for Continuing Education" (Judith M. Stillion); "What Does Systems Theory Offer Off-Campus Programs?" (Judith A. Redwine); "Early Reading: Should We? Should We Not? (John J. Dlabal, Edward J. Dlabal); "1981 Independent Study Survey Results" (M. Edward Ratliff); "Successful Marketing of Career and Professional Development Programs: A Case Study" (Donald Shandler); "HRD: The Timely Opportunity" (John J. DeRolf); and "Research on Teaching and Learning Styles: Implications for Teacher Evaluation" (Nolan Armstrong, Frank Lanning, John J. Dlabal). (SW)

Intended as a resource tool for integrating energy and conservation education into the vocational skills areas, this resource guide consists of listings of instructional and technical materials pertaining to 14 vocational curriculum areas. These areas are agriculture, agriculture/agribusiness, architecture, automotive, business, construction, electrical/electronics, food services, forestry, health, home economics, industrial arts, marketing, and trades and industrial mechanics. Included in each citation are the title, source, date, description, and cost of the given resource. The remainder of the guide consists of lists of the following agencies/materials: Oregon agencies providing materials and assistance; general energy conservation technical materials; general, wind/solar, and environmental bibliographies; resource guides; energy education catalogs; energy periodicals; and Vocational Education Administration resource materials. (MN)

A national survey determined minimum certification requirements for secondary social studies teachers in general education, professional education, and history/social science. Data were obtained through questionnaires completed by social studies education curriculum specialists and by officials in the certification divisions of state education departments. In some cases, telephone interviews were also conducted. Regarding the general education component, 23 states require some amount of coursework or competency in certain disciplines. Specifications for teacher education exist in 39 states. Regarding history/social science requirements for a social studies major, 40 states require coursework or competency by discipline, some mandating semester-credit-hour minimums. Comparing the state standards with national guidelines established by the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) and the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC), 41% of the states do not require social studies methods instruction and 31% do not require social foundations of education, both of which are expected by NCSS and NASDTEC. (RM)

Evidence from followup studies of teacher education graduates indicates that teachers do not value certain major components of their teacher education programs and do not really remember or know what their teacher education programs attempted to teach them. While educational experts cite the extensiveness and comprehensiveness of teacher education programs, teacher candidates consistently devalue the usefulness of the programs, demand change, and apparently want more courses added. This paper explores the problem of why there is such a dysfunction between the teacher education program and the teacher candidates' perceptions of the program's usefulness. A cognitive developmental approach to teacher education is recommended, based on the work of William Perry, who described intellectual and ethical development as occurring in a sequence of stages, each representing a qualitatively different structure or set of assumptions for perceiving knowledge and values. A curriculum is outlined that would match program content with the stage of the student's cognitive development. (JD)

The impact of interprofessional education experiences at Ohio State University on the subsequent attitudes and practices of graduates in professional roles was studied. Interprofessional education may involve classroom lecture and simulated experiences, as well as field experiences. A second dimension of interprofessional education concerns the makeup of students and faculty. Questionnaires were administered to graduates who were practicing professionals to determine the influence of participation in interprofessional courses on: the attitudes, beliefs, and behavior of professionals regarding interprofessional education and practice. Attention was also directed to interprofessional education course objectives, including an understanding of the response of one's profession to current social and ethical issues, and an appreciation of the response of other professions to these issues. Interprofessional education experiences did not appear to affect beliefs; however, course participants demonstrated stronger agreement with a series of attitude statements regarding interprofessional education and practice. In addition, course participants more frequently responded that they had participated in interprofessional practice than did nonparticipants. (SW)

Presented are abstracts and abstractors' analyses of seven studies related to science instruction and mathematics and three studies related to achievement. Analyses in the area of instruction are on studies of: teacher interventions in elementary science laboratory groups; variables accounting for success in an undergraduate science education course; the extended discretion approach to high school biology investigations; diagnostic-prescriptive teaching; the effects of the use of hand-held calculators; the effects of process instruction on problem identification skills; and the effects of Piagetian level on solving proportionality problems. Analyses related to achievement are on studies of: the prediction of achievement and success in an audiotutorial (AT) biology program; the effects of the components of logical reasoning on physics achievement; and differences in achievement of inner city students. Responses by two authors to analyses of their studies are included. (JN)

This document on state-level planning for education in Texas by the Texas Education Agency consists of two papers. The first focuses on the long-range plan of the State Board of Education for Texas public school education. The paper summarizes this plan, describes the process by which it was developed, and analyzes the status of its implementation to date. The second part centers on the Master Plan for Vocational Education, describing its development, organization, and salient features as well as providing a status report on the Master Plan's implementation. The report was initiated as a summative evaluation of goals, actions, and new directions taken by the agency indicating both the level of activity in responding to these plans, and some results of their implementation. (JAM)

This report describes the implementation of House Bill 246 (HB 246) passed by the 67th Texas Legislature as part of the response to education reform legislation. The State Board of Education is required to report on the status of the curriculum in the public schools 30 days prior to each legislative session. The report covers activities on the part of the state regarding curriculum issues from December 1986 to December 1988. Included is an overview of the current status of the curriculum for both general and vocational education. The status of general education is reviewed in the areas of requirement changes, textbook adoption, student assessment, teacher preparation, and curriculum materials development. In vocational education, reviewed areas are: Master Plan adoption, curriculum changes, textbook adoption, teacher preparation, and curriculum materials development. Appended is Section 21.101 (Required Curriculum) of the Texas Education Code. (SI)

Historical information about the U.S. Department of Education and its forerunners is plentiful, but access to it is often difficult. The objective of this partially annotated bibliography was to compile references to this literature by categories that focus on specific facets of the Department of Education. Each category is divided into sections that contain references to: (1) articles and books; and (2) dissertations. The document also contains a brief history of this department's development. Materials are compiled under the categories of: (1) general works; (2) Alaska activities; (3) federal aid to education; (4) higher education; (5) minorities, women, and the handicapped; (6) the National Institute of Education; (7) miscellaneous programs and activities; (8) Henry Barnard, U.S. Commissioner of Education, 1867-1870; (9) John Eaton, U.S. Commissioner of Education, 1870-1886; (10) William T. Harris, U.S. Commissioner of Education, 1889-1906; and (11) other selected Commissioners of Education. (JHP)

Current and exemplary teaching practices in the politics of education are analyzed and documented. The booklet is comprised of five different articles: "The Politics of Education in the Curriculum of Educational Administration" (Donald H. Layton); "Teaching Politics of Education Course: Content and Topics" (Jay D. Scribner); "What Our Students Read: A Study of Readings in Politics of Education Courses" (Richard M. Englert); "The Curricula of Educational Politics and Policy: Promoting the Careers of 81 Syllabi" (Richard G. Townsend); and "Rip Van Winkle and the Politics of Education" (William Lowe Boyd). Appended are (1) a bibliography of required texts for sample syllabi of courses dealing with the politics of education; (2) illustrative case studies in educational administration; (3) a partial listing of political novels, biographies, and autobiographies; and (4) selected papers and documents produced by the Politics of Education Teaching and Research Project Investigators. (SI)