Education & Pedagogy

A statewide survey was conducted of 529 early-childhood special-education professionals' perceptions of education and intervention for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. Recommendations include preservice and/or inservice training for professionals, as well as fuller participation and leadership from the field of deaf education. (DB)

Discusses teacher education in Brazil and the recent proposals to reform existing programs by the current Brazilian government, arguing that recent reforms function as resources for economic growth and that a tension between mechanisms to make the educational process more flexible and instruments to control and evaluate its products underlines the government proposals. (SM)

Describes teacher education in Namibia following independence from South African rule, discussing a basis for transformation, critical factors affecting transformation, features of the teacher-preparation program, and tensions between different actors (including foreign support), suggesting that transformative forces must reorganize themselves at the present crossroads to meet the advancement of a conservative agenda. (SM)

Describes a teacher-preparation redesign effort as a shared school/university responsibility, offering an overview of the collaborating university and schools, examining efforts to design the program as a shared school/university responsibility, describing the journey in developing the teacher-education program, discussing what the project taught participants, and noting implications for teacher education. (SM)

Most arguments about literacy education in the United States are predicated on the idea that learning to read will prevent or overcome poverty. This article places the literacy success equation within some historical and political contexts, presents a critical policy analysis of conservative, neo-conservative, neo-liberal, and liberal views, and offers an alternative goal for literacy education. (SM)

Observes that the international civic education program Civitas has been of great benefit to both the Czech Republic and cooperating U.S. states. Discusses background factors in the Czech Republic, civic education projects underway in that country, and a program introduced into Czech civic education as a result of the partnership. (DSK)

Explains the leadership role taken by the National Council on Economic Education (NCEE) in running programs in the transition economies to prepare classroom teachers and teacher educators for teaching the basics of how market economies work. Describes training, curriculum development, and exchange programs conducted by NCEE. (DSK)

Describes some of the projects at Wyoming's Red Canyon Ranch where students learn about nature, conservation, and ranching on the land, thus becoming reacquainted with their natural heritage. The Ranch is used as an outdoor classroom by various educators who work in tandem with the education staff of The Nature Conservancy. (PVD)

In this interview Diane Ravitch, former Assistant Secretary of Education and Counselor to the Secretary of Education, Lamar Alexander, discusses her current role as an education policy maker and writer, her educational experiences, her educational philosophy, and the failure of the education system to develop children's potential. (CR)

Critics feel education scholarship lacks rigor and a practical focus on achievement, wasting substantial resources. Research on effectiveness of educational reforms is often weak, inconclusive, or simply inadequate, and good scholarship may have little influence on classroom practice. Popular policies often persist despite strong research evidence of their harm. Some critics fault teacher education for poor use of research. (MSE)

Reviews federal special-education laws and their effects on children with reading and other disabilities and identifies tensions in sorting and placement decisions. Explores how 1997 amendments to the reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act can advance national reading competence goals for all children. Multifaceted advocacy is needed. Contains 265 footnotes. (MLH)

A discussion of the professional responsibility of law schools focuses on the need to highlight professional issues within the curriculum, pro bono policies, access to and delivery of legal services to those who need them, equal access to legal education, and more effective treatment of issues related to race, gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. (MSE)

Reviews Congressional testimony and other documents related to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 and identifies four concepts of equity: equity as equal access, a moral imperative, a balancing of interests, and equal opportunity for outcomes. IDEA's equity focus has shifted toward accountable success. (22 references) (MLH)

Outlines 10 problems of teacher education and strategies to address them. Issues include negative perceptions of public schools, lack of educational foundations, unclear notions of teacher scholarship, student prior knowledge and experience, lack of attention to diversity, inadequate field experiences, student immaturity, college "turf battles," fragmented curriculum, and development of student understanding of the teaching-learning process. (SV)

This Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI) position paper identifies the curricular areas that should be addressed in a program intended to prepare teachers of children birth through age 8. Outlines preferred knowledge in the following areas: general education, foundations of early childhood education, child development, the learning and teaching process, and professional laboratory experiences. (EV)