Education & Pedagogy

The initiative and activities carried out by 29 countries in Latin and South America and the Caribbean in the UNESCO Major Project in the Field of Education to correct deficiencies and meet unsatisfied basic educational needs are summarized. Many summaries reflect revisions made during 1983 in National Plans of Action with respect to enhancing their effectiveness in strategy, offers and requirements of co-operation, and in the identification and establishment or reinforcement of national mechanisms. The countries reporting are Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts-Nevis, St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Purposes, conclusions, and suggestions resulting from 13 regional and subregional technical meetings held during 1983 on matters relating to the objectives of the Major Project are also summarized. Subjects addressed at these meetings include physical education and sports as factors in the quality of education, educational planning and administration, school buildings, adult education and literacy, family health and education, inequities faced by young people and women in education, evaluation of adult education programs, and support for popular education and literacy in Bolivia. (NEC)

This compendium is designed to present the relationship of the rehabilitation process to vocational education; to examine the cooperative roles of vocational education, rehabilitation, and special education; and to identify the trends that will have an impact on the planning for future training needs. Included in the volume are the following papers: "Rehabilitation Applications in Vocational Education: Goals, Historical Context, and Components of the Model," by Pamela Finnerty-Fried; "Application of Vocational Evaluation and Assessment in Vocational Education," by Robert N. Ianacone; "Applications of Individualized Planning in Vocational Education," by George Tilson, Jr.; "Application of Employment Readiness Training in Vocational Education," by Carol A. Kochhar; "Application of Vocational Guidance and Counseling in Vocational Education," by William F. Sullivan; "Application of Job Placement and Follow-up in Vocational Education," by William F. Sullivan; "The Expansion of Services for Disabled Persons within Vocational Education," by Pamela J. Leconte; and "Future Trends and Implications for Vocational Education and Rehabilitation," by Pamela J. Leconte and Pamela Finnerty-Fried. (MN)

This teacher's manual, one in a series of nine staff development guides prepared by the Philadelphia School District, clarifies roles and responsibilities of various staff members and parents in providing programs to meet the career and vocational education needs of mildly to moderately handicapped students. Designed to be relevant to the specific needs of secondary school teachers, this manual is organized into five sections. The first section provides an overview of vocational and career education of handicapped students from the teacher's perspective. Topics covered include legislative implications, linkage, the Individualized Education Program, evaluation and assessment, special competencies for vocational educators, and the special/vocational resource room teacher's roles. Following a section of references and selected readings, the third section specifies role responsibilities of the teacher and contains a specific responsibilities grid, along with information on the responsibilities of the special education teacher, the vocational education teacher, and the special/vocational education resource room teacher. The last two sections consist of a summary of teacher's duties and an annotated bibliography. (KC)

Arranged in four sections, the book offers practical techniques for introducing environmental education at the primary level. The first section, on planning, outlines a conceptual framework for environmental education, describes how the staff at one primary school developed a K-7 curriculum, examines an in-service course on environmental science for K-2 teachers and students, discusses an environment week festival, presents environmental guidelines for schools, and suggests ways to develop school grounds for environmental education. The second section focuses on language arts and discusses the relationship between language development and environmental education. Other topics include environmental awareness in contemporary Australian children's books, drama as a means for developing environmental awareness, a curriculum offering about a hypothetical township entitled "Walmit Divided," and the use of videotaped environmental conflict simulations as a teaching tool. Section 3 focuses on the outdoors as a medium for environmental education and describes techniques for heightening student's awareness of their surroundings through the Pilot Environmental Education Project, the Primary Environmental Education Project, and the Urban Field Study Centre. The final section describes a third grade environmental education curriculum and suggests ideas for using community gardening and animals in environmental education activities. (LH)

The current state of postsecondary education is reviewed for the following sectors: undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools; proprietary and vocational schools; corporate education and training; labor and union education programs; and the educational efforts of the federal government. Population trends and the effects of ethnicity, region, and age on the population pool are reviewed to provide estimates for future postsecondary education enrollments. In addition, the need for education and training investment in America's human resources is examined by looking at current labor force profiles, the structure of employment, and technology trends and their implications for workers and worker education. The federal role in providing access to postsecondary education from the post-World War II era until current times is also traced. Information for the postsecondary sectors covers enrollments; revenues; resource allocation; tuition; federal financial aid; sources of financial support; academic departments offering degrees by level; distribution of financial assistance by selected financial assistance programs for proprietary vocational schools; courses in adult education by type and provider; civilian federal training costs, courses, and participation; and military training loads and expenditures. (SW)

Elementary science educational library resources in New England graduate and undergraduate teacher education institutions were compared using a 31-item survey instrument developed for library directors. Data were obtained from 62 institutions with certified elementary education programs (72 percent response rate). Among the findings reported are: (1) inadequate resources except for fiction science trade books at undergraduate institutions and science reference books at both undergraduate and graduate institutions; (2) a severe lack of computer software at both institutions; and (3) "Science News" was the only science education journal available in more than 60 percent of the undergraduate institutions. In addition, more than 75 percent of the surveyed graduate institutions had"Education Index,""CIJE,""RIE," and "Dissertation Abstracts," while only "Education Index" was available in more than 75 percent of the undergraduate institutions. Since there are not additional publications on science education library resources, it is difficult to determine whether New England institutions are typical or atypical. However, findings illustrate the need to improve the science education resources, journals, and support resources at New England teacher education libraries. (JN)

This report answers questions commonly asked about bilingual education in the United States, by persons who may be puzzled and wish to have more information. The questions addressed are: (1) What exactly is bilingual education and why is it so important to Hispanics? (2) Other immigrant groups of the past did not need bilingual education. Why is it needed now? (3) Why not concentrate on learning English by using it as the exclusive language of instruction? (4) Why didn't the U.S. Supreme Court require bilingual education? (5) Doesn't the use of the home language in school become a crutch that can slow down children's transition into English? (6) The rationale for bilingual education seems sound enough, but why does it also have to be bicultural? Why do the schools have to teach anything other than the mainstream American culture? (7) Isn't there a greater danger of segregation in bilingual education than in monolingual education because of the language grouping practices that are used? (8) Why is the research evidence on the effectiveness of bilingual education so inconclusive? It seems uncertain whether bilingual education really "works." (9) Quebec has had major problems with bilingualism. Isn't bilingual education going to create the same problems here? (KH)

Four of the policy statements for vocational education developed by the Wisconsin Board of Vocational, Technical, and Adult Education reflect concerns shared in the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education. First, vocational education is accountable to the publics, namely students, employers, and state, local, and federal governments. Second, evaluation systems for vocational education are the responsibility of state and local units. Third, planning and implementation of vocational education programs is carried out by the local district with the assistance of appropriate state leadership and federal agencies. Fourth, state agencies responsible for vocational education provide leadership for evaluation of vocational education. Evaluating vocational programs and measuring their effectiveness is difficult. Vocational programs have different purposes and are offered by diverse institutions. Four measures to evaluate vocational education--components and process, occupational impact, equity, and individual student development--all present similar complications. Two issues that will affect vocational programs are weighting evaluation measures and choosing which programs to improve. The proposed Vocational and Adult Education Consolidation Act of 1983 has these components: a simplification of the current Vocational Education Act and provision for a single consolidated grant to each state. (YLB)

This sixth annual compilation presents resumes of ongoing projects in career education, vocational education, and education and work. Included in the volume are resumes of projects funded by contracts and grants from the member agencies of the Coordinating Committee on Research in Vocational Education (CCRVE) as well as abstracts of projects administered by the National Center for Education Statistics and the U.S. Department of Labor. The compilation consists of three sections: a set of descriptions of the federal agencies funding the projects described, a collection of 100 project resumes, and 6 indexes. Provided in each project resume are an abstract, descriptors and identifiers from the "Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors," and information concerning the project's director, telephone number, organization type, geographic location, sponsoring agency, contract number, funding period, and fiscal year funding. The six indexes are organized according to subject, project director, organization, sponsoring agency, geographic location, and contract or grant number. (MN)

The Special Education Training and Resource Center Program (SETRC) provided training to elementary and secondary school personnel, paraprofessionals, and parents, with the major goal of helping teachers provide quality instruction and augment student learning. Training for elementary/secondary school personnel focused on effective instructional methods for handicapped students in the communication arts curriculum. Training for high school teachers dealt with content and instructional methodology for teaching general education curriculum to special education students. Training for paraprofessionals focused on delineating their role in the classroom. General education administrators/teachers received training in the needs of special education students. Training also provided parents with information about the special education system and about methods for supporting their children's educational and psychological development. Other training efforts focused on special education teachers working with limited English-proficient students, and parents and teachers of preschool children. The program, a project of the New York City Board of Education, was evaluated to determine the extent and quality of SETRC training. This report describes the evaluation methodology, qualitative and quantitative findings, and conclusions and recommendations based upon evaluation results. (JDD)

This compilation of materials addresses the use of computers as a tool for instruction, management, communication, and personal productivity in special education. Recommendations are presented for establishing or revising special education technology training programs; recommendations deal with educational need, assumptions, goals, program model, content, support systems, finances, resources, materials, integration, personnel, evaluation, and accessibility. Then, descriptions of special education technology training programs are presented from 23 colleges and universities. Each program description is accompanied by samples of course materials, such as course descriptions, course objectives, course syllabi, student/teacher contracts, workshop materials on cooperative learning and computers, educational program competencies, a training model for higher education in special education technology, information on a switch-building workshop, and a paper by Ted Hasselbring titled "Effective Microcomputer Training and Implementation." A prototype training module is presented for integrating technology into special education teacher preparation courses. The module, which focuses on teaching with crossword puzzles, describes formats of crossword puzzles, their uses in several content areas, and their creation through use of computer software. Also included are the "Code of Ethical Conduct for Computer-Using Educators," developed by the International Council for Computers in Education, and a "Microcomputing Competency Self-Assessment for Special Education Professors." (JDD)

Papers are presented which offer a detailed perspective of the changing state of institutions in the non-university sector in Japan. They are the product of three research projects. The projects were: a group study on the short-cycle higher education; a United States-Japan cooperative study on education; and from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development/Centre for Educational Research and Innovation a project on alternatives to university education. Nine papers are as follows: (1) "Introduction: The Present Status of Higher Education" (R. Kuroha and K. Kitamura); (2) "Quantitative Transitions in the Postsecondary Education System" (M. Iwanaga); (3) "The Structure of the Postsecondary Education System" (K. Kitamura); (4) "The Content of Education in the Non-University Sector" (A. Tachi); (5) "Organizational Patterns of Various Institutions in the Non-University Sector (A.Tachi); (6) "Finance and Administration in the Non-University Sector" (M. Iwanaga); (7) "The Employment of Graduates from Non-University Sector Institutions" (A. Oe); (8) "Socio-Economic Role of the Non-University Sector" (I. Amano); and (9) "Summary and Prospects" (Y. Abe). (SM)

An evaluation was conducted in Maryland of the vocational education delivery systems assisted under the Job Training Partnership Act and the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act, in terms of their adequacy and effectiveness in achieving the purposes of these acts for the program years 1986-87 and 1987-88. Evaluation was carried out through meetings with various state agencies charged with carrying out the programs supported by the acts and by site visits. Analysis of evaluation results was performed in the areas of vocational education delivery systems, state education and coordination grant programs, performance standards, program participants, placement of program completers, coordination policy and practice, coordination with local education agencies, and coordination with community colleges. It was concluded that the purposes of the JTPA are being achieved in a responsive manner throughout the state. Similar conclusions were reached in the evaluation of activities under the Perkins Act. Recommendations were made for improvements in the implementation of both acts. In addition, a study of coordination of programs throughout Maryland led to recommendations for improved articulation. (KC)

Like the rest of British life around them, Great Britain's universities of adult and continuing education are currently in the midst of a period of great change. There has been much debate surrounding the relative importance of instruction, research, and community service in the overall mission of adult and continuing education in universities. It appears clear that university adult education still has a significant contribution to make. Universities need the kind of experiences and approaches in the university adult education tradition to manage their new circumstances. Industrial partnerships, community and commercial consultations, and continuing education of professionals can and do enhance the life and work of universities. Universities need older students for two reasons: for their motivation to learn and for the financial gains continuing education programs bring universities. Besides being able to respond to changing community needs by providing a variety of course lengths and formats, continuing education can offer and revive a recurrent education market. Perhaps one job of universities from the standpoint of their continuing education programs is to help breathe new life into social movements as vehicles for learning that can, in turn, define and codefine what Great Britain in the nineties needs of its universities. (MN)

The U.S. Department of Education Center for Statistics annually collects data through its Survey of Institutional Characteristics of Colleges and Unversities as part of the Higher Education General Information Survey (HEGIS) program. This survey establishes the universe of institutions for all surveys in HEGIS and provides a common base for coding, trend analysis, and cross-survey data studies. A classification of higher education institutions is provided. Seven tables provide data on: the number of institutions of higher education in the HEGIS universe with additions and deletions, by control and type; institutions of higher education, by control and type (old classification); institutions of higher education, by control and type (new classification); institutions of higher education, by type and state; public institutions of higher education, by type and state; private institutions of higher education, by type and state; institutions of higher education accredited by individual accrediting agencies, by control and type; and institutions of higher education accredited by individual accrediting agencies, by control and type. All statistics include the 50 states and the the District of Columbia. In the 1984-85 school year, 3,331 higher education institutions and their branches had accreditation, an increase of 47 institutions over the previous year. Since 1977-78, the number of schools in HEGIS has shown a net increase of 236 schools. (SM)