Education & Pedagogy

Surveyed public elementary schools to determine whether they used special-education personnel on their intervention-assistance teams, grouping schools according to their inclusion or noninclusion of special educators and comparing the groups for rate of student retentions and special-education referrals. There were fewer retentions and special-education referrals in schools that included special educators on their intervention teams. (SM)

Introduces a series of seven articles that provide different perspectives on the planning, implementation, and evaluation of a field-based teacher-education program at Queen's University of Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Explains features of the restructured teacher-education program, the aim and character of evaluating the program, and learning from the experience of evaluation. (SM)

Highlights the Annenberg Foundation (Annenberg III) initiative for arts-education reform that challenged other New York philanthropic organizations to match their 12 million dollars for the public school systems. Reveals the plans for the Center for Arts Education that is the Annenberg III program hub and criticisms of the program. (CMK)

Discusses the concept of a policy window for arts education and provides historical background of the different policy windows, positive and negative, that affected arts-education reform movements since the creation of the National Endowment for the Arts. Introduces the three articles in the Symposium on the Policy Role of Education Entities. (CMK)

Points out that the field of comparative education has lost its comparative focus, and proposes that comparative research refocus on variations among national institutional patterns of education. Examines characteristics of six core patterns developed in Prussia, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, and Russia. Outlines 10 principles of an institutional approach to comparative research. (SV)

Reports on an effort developed in 1997 to expose elementary education majors to issues of social inequality through immersion in a 2-day symposium. Responses of 527 participants suggest that the impact of the symposium on student attitudes was significant. Identifies recurrent themes in student responses. (SLD)

Traces the development of teacher education research, discussing five segments of recent scholarship and their contributions to teacher education policy and practice: survey research, case studies, conceptual and historical research, studies of learning to teach, and examinations of the nature and impact of teacher education activities, including self-study research. Discusses the development of Division K in American Educational Research Association (AERA). (SM)

Attempts to come to terms with the role of information technology in education. Proposes a post-technocratic view of information technology that recognizes the multiplicity of its effects, the indeterminacy and inseparability of consequences, and the difficulty of isolating "good" and "bad" outcomes. (Author/WRM)

Scottish teacher education was located in specialist institutions (monotechnics) until quite recently, but is now almost fully integrated into the universities. This change was related to government policies that promoted institutional collaboration, financial and other pressures that made merger with a university attractive to colleges of education, and benefits to universities establishing faculties of education. (Author/SV)

Examines the effects of early learning on children's later achievement and educational attainment. Maintains that young children have the right to early education and that education should begin as soon as possible. Asserts that denying the right to education impairs people's capacity to work productively and to sustain and protect themselves and their families. (KB)

Compares Switzerland and Germany's continuing education systems and how they have responded to national and international trends. Examines the extent of teaching and research in the field, and the economic, legal, and organizational aspects of continuing education. Considers why private providers of continuing education play a far greater role in Switzerland than in Germany. Contains 18 references. (VWC)

Students entering Taiwanese senior high schools are now taught technology education instead of industrial arts education. Using problem-based learning strategies, the "living technology" curriculum gives male and female students job-seeking opportunities and skills and allows them to pursue technological literacy and learn about modern technology systems. (MLH)

A doctor of arts (D.A.) degree in secondary education is a timely, valid instrument to reform teacher preparation. This paper reviews the D.A. degree's history, describes its theoretical underpinnings, and explores its relevance to advanced teacher preparation and teacher scholarship. Implementation advice is provided. (Contains 11 references.) (MLH)

Examines distance education's efficacy in nine New York school districts affiliated with Boards of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES). Distance education enables small rural schools to expand their curriculum. Districts vary in utilizing distance education. Distance-education courses cost considerably more to offer than traditional courses. (Contains 30 references.) (MLH)

Cuban revolutionaries' nationalist goals (sovereignty, economic development, and social justice) were education centered. Over 40 years, the Cuban government maintained its strong commitment to education, stressing technical/professional education in the 1970s and continuous improvement and rectification in recent decades. Competing values, youth, technology, and leadership are current challenges. (Contains 19 references.) (MLH)