Education & Pedagogy

Distance education in the California Community Colleges (CCC) has been limited to courses that are transferable to baccalaureate institutions because of restrictions in funding regulations in Title 5 of the California Education Code. The CCC currently enroll an average of 93,000 students annually in distance education courses, accounting for 7% of their total enrollment, and expanding distance education efforts would increase access and reduce strain on facilities. To give colleges the option of expanding their efforts, the Office of the Chancellor of the CCC developed revisions to the Title 5 regulations to make nontransferrable general education courses, occupational education, precollegiate basic skills, English as a Second Language, worksite instruction, and noncredit adult education eligible for apportionment. While proposed revisions to regulations will eliminate the barriers to expanding distance education, colleges will still require funding for start-up costs, including equipment purchase and maintenance, licensing fees, staff and faculty training, as well as funds to support additional student-faculty contact when required. In looking to implement these changes, however, the CCC is concerned about maintaining the integrity and transferability of the existing courses. The revisions to the regulations on distance education, findings from a 1992 survey of distance education practices nationwide, 82 references, and a glossary are appended. Contains 82 references. (MAB)

This paper examines implications for teacher education derived from the evaluation of a distance education program for the Showmen's Guild of Australasia. The program was established in 1989 to meet the educational needs of Guild members who travel from town to town providing agricultural and equestrian shows. A review of the literature reveals that there are numerous difficulties faced by highly mobile students and by rural students and teachers. Interviews conducted with children, parents, home tutors, and itinerant teachers focused on their perceptions of their lives and their general views on education. Data from the interviews revealed the existence of extended and intensive social networks that sustain the itinerant lifestyle. Respondents evaluated the distance education program positively as meeting the educational needs of show children. Work and the work ethic played an important role in the development of children's distinctive identity, while sport and play were associated with local schools and socializing with local children. This study points out the importance of teacher graduates being acquainted with the increasing variety of educational experiences, implications of distance education for children, and benefits and limitations of distance education programs. (LP)

These four "Connections" sheets provide information on programs and a publication offered by the Study Circles Resource Center (SCRC). The first describes and lists sources of information on nine study circle programs relating to adult religious education. The second sheet not only describes four discussion programs and materials especially designed for young people but provides sources for additional information on them. The programs are: Action Education (home economics); Choices for the 21st Century Education Project; Project Public Life (community-based civic education); and National Issues Forums materials (issue books and newsletters with ideas for their classroom use). The third sheet provides a list of six references taken from SCRC's resource for researchers, "Annotated Bibliography on Study Circles, Collaborative Learning, and Participatory Democracy," which contains 144 references. Sources of information on these organizations are provided: Oliver Associates, HealthCare Education Associates, Latino Empowerment Education Collaborative, Brunnsvik's Folk High School, Study Circle Consortium, and Northern Illinois University's Department of Leadership and Educational Policy Studies. The fourth sheet lists five contacts interested in union study circles: Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO; International Union of Food and Allied Workers' Association; International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftsmen; International Chemical Workers Union; and Labor Institute. (YLB)

The institutes that provide higher vocational education (HVE) constitute one of the three major branches of higher education in the Netherlands. Three actors play a decisive role in HVE: the government, the Council for Higher Vocational Education, and the institutes. The main factors exerting an influence on HVE include the following: the increasing possibilities of information technology; the changing socioeconomic needs with reference to higher education; and the role of the government, in particular the change in legal and financial regulations. In the past decade, important policy changes have taken place with respect to higher education. A movement toward the consolidation of institutes has been launched to obtain a more acceptable level of organizational effectiveness. Autonomy, diversification, and financial responsibility are the core elements of the reform movement whose goals are greater efficiency and enhancement of educational quality. Business economics, commercial business economics, and business information technology study programs attract the large majority of students in full-time and part-time education. Section 3 provides descriptions of 10 HVE institutes that offer these three programs. Each description includes address and telephone number, director, features of the institute, organization of education, and part-time course. (Contains 41 references.) (YLB)

Undergraduate and graduate education students (N=2,405) from 13 Renaissance Group Institutions were surveyed regarding their perceptions of the expectations of faculty involved in teacher education. A questionnaire, completed by participants, asked for background information and opinions regarding faculty work, pay, and role expectations. Student respondents indicated that teaching was overwhelmingly the most important job of a college education professor and that professors should dedicate more of their time to teaching. While students typically believed that education professors did an "outstanding job of preparing teachers," they were perceived as doing only a slightly better job of teaching than professors in other fields. Regarding grades, the majority of students disagreed with the often stated assumption that higher grades are easier to earn in education courses than in courses in other fields of study. Students thought that education professors worked approximately 41 hours per week, spent about 17 of these hours teaching in the classroom, and had a mean estimated annual salary of $40,100 per academic year excluding summer employment. The majority felt that education professors were underpaid and had significantly less status than doctors and lawyers. References and a list of Renaissance Group Institutions and participants in the study are included. (Author/LL)

The purpose of this book is to give educators new organizing principles that will lead out from the present day mechanistic-reductionist viewpoint toward a more holistic perspective, one that fosters love and peace. The Foreword, titled "Education and Evolution," deals with an anthropological perspective, the end of the Cenozoic period, and ways of knowing. The book is then divided into three parts. Part 1, "Process," includes five chapters. Chapter 1, "Bridge of Conscious Education," discusses ways of being, conscious evolutionary thought, conscious evolution, the soul and conscious evolution, and self-esteem. Chapter 2, "Developmental Education and Transformational Learning," elaborates on cognitive development, moral development, development and consciousness, transformational learning, and a transformational model. Chapter 3, "Spirituality in Education," deals with spiritual development and its process, educating the whole person, and world core curriculum. Chapter 4, "Paradigm Shifts and Education," covers the paradigm shifts a holistic perspective, and rethinking education. Chapter 5, "Cosmic Laws/Principles in Education," deals with cosmic laws and principles and the learning environment. Part 2, "Form," comprises the next two chapters. Chapter 6, "Creating Form," investigates multiple age grouping, altruistic learning, reflective learning, experiential learning, systemic learning, and transpersonal learning. Chapter 7, "Conscious Education and Holism", details the movement toward holism in education and global alliance for transforming education. Part 3,"The Transformation Process,' consists of the final chapter, "A Blueprint for Transforming Education." (Contains 52 references.) (RR)

Although there is no fixed definition of youth apprenticeship, a consensus is emerging on four basic components: student participation, educational content, location of instruction, and credentialing. Except for some recent pilot projects, no youth apprenticeship programs in the United States have all four components, but educators have some experience with each component. German youth apprenticeship systems avoid many problems that plague U.S. education, but philosophical and practical differences cause problems with an analogy between the two countries. Four school-to-work programs in the United States share some features with youth apprenticeship: agricultural education, cooperative education, career academies, and tech prep. An assessment of how the four components of youth apprenticeship work in these four program models shows that, first, although many programs have expanded their enrollments beyond at-risk youth or traditional vocational education students, two negative tendencies emerge: programs tend to become internally differentiated and perpetuate the divisions between types of students and college-bound students are only tenuously involved. Second, efforts to integrate academic and vocational content remains limited. Third, none of the four models even approaches the transformation of workplaces into integral parts of the basic education system. Fourth, credentialling is currently ad hoc. (Conains 10 references.) (YLB)

This document presents an overview of environmental education (EE) with special reference to basic education. An introduction gives a general definition of environmental education and discusses its relationship to basic education, functional literacy, and sustainable development. The remainder of the document is divided into seven sections. The first section discusses the evolution of the concept of EE. The second section identifies the ultimate aims of EE: environmental literacy, national awareness of EE issues, and individual responsibility. The third section provides a list of objectives and characteristics of EE. The fourth section identifies three target groups of EE and training: the publics; specific occupational or social groups; and professionals and scientists. The fifth section discusses curricular and instructional problems in developing EE. The sixth section presents six strategies for the development of EE at the national level: (1) incorporating EE into all sectors and levels of education; (2) general education of the public through formal and nonformal education; (3) EE for specific professional groups; (4) training of personnel for the development of EE; (5) use of educational research in the development of EE; and (6) use of mass media in meeting basic EE needs. The final section presents the priority aspects of international cooperation and the contribution of the United Nations system, especially the UNESCO-UNEP International EE Program, in the development of EE. Contains 15 references. (MDH)

This study investigated the integration of faith with learning in teacher education, sending surveys to teacher education programs at institutions affiliated with the churches of Christ. The instrument consisted of two parts. Part 1 examined individual faculty members' perceptions of the integration of faith and learning. Part 2 examined teacher education programs as a whole. Approximately 70 part 1 instruments and 14 part 2 instruments were returned, representing participation by all institutions affiliated with the churches of Christ. Results indicated that most respondents believed faith should play a major role in teacher education at religiously affiliated programs. About three-quarters of the respondents believed it was easy to integrate faith with learning in teacher education. The only question with which participants disagreed was the question about whether integration of faith should be confined to certain aspects of teacher education programs. Many faculty members felt a strong sense of responsibility to express their faith in teacher education and that the development of a strong religious faith is an asset to prospective teachers. They did not feel as strongly about integrating specific religious doctrine as they did about integrating values and positive principles of faith. Few programs reported having a formal process for ensuring that faith was integrated into teacher education. The paper proposes a model for the integration of faith and learning in teacher education (Contains 11 references.) (SM)

This volume examines current trends in media education, modern information and communication technologies (MICT), open and distance learning (ODL), and science and technology education. Papers include: "Towards a Communal Curriculum: Strategic Planning and the Emerging Knowledge of Media Education" (Seppo Tella, Marja Mononen-Aaltonen, & Heikki Kynaslahti); "The Concept of Media Education Revisited: From a Classificatory Analysis to a Rhizomatic Overview" (Seppo Tella); "Considerations on Eduscape" (Heikki Kynaslahti); "A Learning Environment--A Euphemism for Instruction or a Potential for Dialogue?" (Marja Mononen-Aaltonen); "From Telepresence to Social Presence: The Role of Presence in a Network-Based Learning Environment" (Maija Tammelin); "Towards the Recontext of the Virtual School" (Seppo Tella, Heikki Kynaslahti, & Jukka Husu); "From Cooperative Learning Towards Communalism" (Anu Passi & Sanna Vahtivuori); "The LIVE Project--Developing Pedagogical Networking through Teacher Education" (Tomi Nummi & Riikka Ristola); "The Role of Distance Education Instruction: Attitudes, Skills, and Strategies" (Jusri DeVries & Seppo Tella); "Current Research Activities in the LUONTI Project" (Jari Lavonen & Veijo Meisalo); "On-Line Distance Learning Environment and Tools To Create It: Design Based on Theory and Practice" (Solveig Jakobsdottir, Sigurjon Myrdal, Haukur Agustsson, & Nicholas A. Kearney). (AEF)

This book is a political analysis of the role of adult education as an agency of cultural and ideological significance in India from the turbulent period in the 1940s onward. The introduction examines the roots of education in India, the English studies courses that developed when India was a British colony, and continuation of colonial educational policy after India's independence. Chapter 1 surveys the history of British educational involvement in India's educational system from the missionary clause of 1678 through Independence in 1947. Chapter 2 focuses on Gandhi's educational ideas and his basic education policy. The ideology of Nehru and the Congress Party and its application to education are explained in chapter 3. Chapter 4 surveys the various educational strategies of postcolonial India under the Five Year Plans and considers the policy of social education in relation to "nation building." The nonformal revolution in education in the 1970s and the National Adult Education Policy of the late 1970s and 1980s are outlined in chapter 5, and the subsequent radical populist approaches to adult education are traced in chapter 6. Chapter 7 traces movement toward a transformative pedagogy within the context of Nehru's pragmatism, Gandhi's romanticism, and the tradition of British liberal adult education. Contains 153 references. (MN)

This book examines the impact of globalization, economic restructuring, and the enhanced role of community and voluntary organizations in the provision of education in Great Britain and elsewhere. The following topics are discussed in the book's eight chapters: the implications of the market-led approach to adult education as a means of economic and social development and alternative perspectives based on the thinking of Gramsci, Freire, and Gelpi; past thinking about adult education for transformation in Great Britain, Scandinavia, Canada, and the United States and its relevance to contemporary debates on the topic; the experience of adult education for transformation in developing and developed nations; economic and employment issues and their implications for community and workplace education; community adult education and its relationship to changing and intensifying social needs; political aspects of strategies for transformation (analyzing political power and building alliances for transformation); strategies for combating discrimination and oppression in adult and community education; and cultures of resistance, countercultures, and counterhegemony. Case studies from Tanzania, Cuba, India, and Nicaragua and industrialized areas are used to illustrate the implications of adult learning for sustainable development for social justice, as defined by local communities themselves. Each chapter contains references. (MN)

The Rules for the Administration of the Educator Licensing Act of 1991 requires Colorado institutions of higher education approved to provide educator preparation programs submit annual reports to the Colorado Department of Education. The reports are intended to facilitate communication between the institutions and the Department of Education and to inform the Colorado State Board of Education about current developments in educator preparation in the state. The data in this report were submitted by Colorado deans of education and indicate the number of education students recommended for licensure and endorsements during the 1996-97 school year. Additional information has been provided concerning implementation of new program standards. Information on the 16 institutions of higher education includes number of students recommended for licensure and endorsements; endorsement area; and Colorado teacher education graduates from 1972-82, 1982-94, and 1994-96. For each institution, the report discusses supportive or adverse developments on the campus that affected the institution's educator preparation program; actions taken to correct deficiencies or improve conditions identified as needing attention during site visits or through correspondence; and progress made toward meeting the new endorsement standards in several areas: Early Childhood Education, English, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, Linguistically Different Education, Special Service areas, Professional Education, School Principals, and School Administrators. (SM)

Graduate students in a telecommunications in education class participated in a collaborative project in which they implemented and practiced the curricular models that they studied during the course. The students used distance education to support learning about the field of distance education. They used the World Wide Web and other media for background information and visited distance education centers. To provide in-depth insights on the topic, they participated in e-mail exchanges with online experts, each representing a different model of distance education. The students created a unique Web site containing information gathered from the experts and links to Web pages that are good general resources on distance education. This experience allowed participants to become immersed in a study as a group and to develop their own models of telecommunications-supported collaborative learning. It attained the baseline goals of differentiation of distance education and telecommunications, practical application of K-12 curricular models, practical experience with collaborative and group processes, examination of a variety of resources and media, and application of online strategies to authentic tasks. Through expert mentors and online resources, students were able to explore their research topic in ways not possible if limited to traditional methods using materials at hand on campus. (Contains 24 references.) (AEF)

This study investigated differences in freshmen to senior student general education gains across institutions of higher education, with varying patterns of general education requirements using a mixed-effect structural equation model. The subjects were 6,409 students at 34 colleges and universities nationwide. Study procedures used American College Testing Assessment composite scores as the observed measures with the Pre-College Ability latent variable, and groups were based on data from students attending institutions with different general education requirements. Findings indicated that students attending institutions where less than 40 percent of undergraduate curricular requirements were devoted to general education and where there was not equal distribution of general education courses within the requirement were found to have significantly higher general education gains than did students who attended institutions where 40 percent or more of the undergraduate curriculum was devoted to general education and there was equal distribution of courses within the general education requirement. The study also demonstrated the usefulness of the structural equation modeling for representing the interactions between student characteristics and general education program effects. Included are 1 figure, 7 tables, and 23 references. (JB)