Education & Pedagogy

The goals and purposes of the National Rural Education Association (N.R.E.A) as revised in October 1986 derive from the general goal to improve educational opportunities for children in rural areas with additional attention to those for whom opportunities have been severely limited in the past. Specific goals/objectives concerning national leadership and voice include serving as national advocate/representative for rural education through position papers, policy development, and expansion of rural publications; providing coordination at the national level for rural education programs/activities; providing leadership for rural education related conferences/workshops; and providing a forum for public educators in rural areas. Specific goals/objectives concerning needs of rural students include promoting state/regional delivery systems which identify rural education materials and program needs, encouraging mass media and technology to serve rural education more efficiently, and encouraging use of distance education technology; recognizing exemplary delivery systems and practices; encouraging collection/dissemination of practices, data, and other information; encouraging sharing of resources and services; encouraging colleges/universities to develop materials/resources for rural schools and to train school personnel for work in small schools; and stimulating discussion, research and policy for public and private agencies to develop educational materials/technology appropriate to rural children. (LFL)

In response to recently raised concerns about the effective integration of general education into community college occupational programs, this report offers a review of the literature on general education and its place in the vocational curriculum. First, definitions of general education are presented and synthesized into the following operational definition: "General education is what all individuals granted a degree have in common in terms of the development of knowledge, attitudes, values, and skills to enhance the student's participation in social, technological, and cultural environments." Next, historical perspectives on general education are traced from ancient Greece to the present. The next section looks at the discipline-based, integrated, and competency-based curriculum structures used to provide general education in community colleges. After examining some internal and external areas of concern about general education expressed by a selected group of scholars, the report reviews various justifications that have been put forth for including general education in occupational programs and analyzes positions on the amount of general education that should be included in these programs. The final sections highlight research findings and statements stressing the importance of general education in occupational programs. (DMM)

A variety of science and mathematics education activities are reported in two sections. These activities include: conferences (both past and future); innovative projects/programs and initiatives at the primary, secondary, and teacher-education levels; instructional materials development/use; instructional strategies; science education research; science/mathematics education organizations; and others. Twenty-nine separate reports are presented in the first section (Activities in Great Britain). In addition to an annotated list of publications and various program/project descriptions, reports are provided on science in society audio cassettes; girls and physics; school technology/industry videotapes; and a review of secondary mathematics in Scotland. Twenty-seven reports are then provided in the second section (Overseas and International Activities). Among the reports presented are those from Belgium (International Colloquium on Geometry Teaching); Canada (A Study of Science Education); Egypt (Young Scientist's Competition); Lesotho (Bibliography on the Readability of Science Materials and Use of Language); Philippines (Science and Society Curriculum Project); and the United States (National Science Board Commission of Pre-College Education in Mathematics, Science, and Technology). Additional reports in this section are Mathematics Education in the Soviet Union, the International Directory of Mathematical Associations, and the International Journal of Mathematical Education in Science and Technology. (JN)

A biennial report of the Texas State Board of Education profiles status and accomplishments of 20 regional education service centers in Texas during 1985-86. The report emphasizes service center role in implementing educational reform by assisting schools to meet new accreditation standards, training appraisers for a legislatively mandated appraisal system, and ensuring that Texas schools had the capacity to meet legislated curriculum standards. The report reviews historical background, service center reorganization in 1985, organization, and governance. It summarizes financial status of the centers during 1985-86 including revenue percentage/source, expenditures, fund balancing, and fiscal reporting requirements. Other aspects of center operation described include personnel and staffing, programs and services, media services, computer services, special education, accreditation, curriculum, training, textbook display, school volunteer program, migrant education, basic skills, National Diffusion Network, school health services, bilingual education, gifted education, adult/community education, educational technology, and drivers education. The appendix consists of profiles of each of the 20 service centers containing address, contact person, counties served, and information specific to the center on finances, staffing, and programs/services. Thirty-four tables and figures, including a map of service center regions, occur throughout the text. (LFL)

The first of the six sections in this description of the national educational system in Finland discusses the system's goals, its structure and size, the curriculum in the comprehensive and upper secondary schools, and studies in higher education and at the post-graduate level. The second section describes the organization and funding of educational research, noting the roles of the Ministry of Education, institutes of higher education, and permanent research units. Teacher education is the focus of the third section, which provides information on the different groups of teachers in the country, eligibility for a teaching position, and the education of teachers for the kindergarten, comprehensive school, and upper secondary school levels. Major problems in the educational system are outlined in the fourth section. Computer education is described in the fifth section as a separate subject in the comprehensive and upper secondary schools, and information is provided on the state of computer education in 1987-1988, hardware and software configurations in the schools, and the current state of computer education in upper level and upper secondary schools and in the lower level of the comprehensive school. The final section makes projections about the state of computer education in the comprehensive and upper secondary schools in 1995. (8 references) (GL)

This review of adult vocational education in Canada includes an introduction, highlights in the history of adult vocational education in Canada, and a summary. The introduction considers what adult vocational education is and explains the relationship between Canada's constitution and education. The highlights section covers these periods: before Confederation, Confederation to the First World War, World War I and the Depression years, the Second World War and the post-war period, and the coming of age of adult vocational education thereafter. A section called Summary, Issues, and Conclusion provides statistics on Canadian participation in adult education and information about government support for adult education. (In 1982, a survey indicated that 34 percent of Canadian adults were learners. In 1983, a comprehensive survey revealed that one in every five Canadians aged 17 and over was enrolled in at least one adult education course, making the size of the adult education population almost as large as the elementary and secondary populations. The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada, and the Secretary of State sponsored a National Forum on Post-Secondary Education in Saskatoon in 1987 that drew a wide representation from governments, universities, industry, and interest groups.) The document concludes with a 21-item reference list. (CML)

This paper describes the current British education system as background to a discussion of implementation of the 1981 Education Act in Powys County, Wales. Special education within this system has traditionally occurred off-site of mainstream campuses. Generally, the Act defines special education, imposes on Local Education Authorities (LEAs) the duty to identify and assess the special needs of children, lays down precise procedures for assessment and reporting to parents, and directs the LEA to make available whatever educational support has been agreed upon. Such provision is subject to three conditions: being compatible with the child's special needs, involving no unreasonable expense, and not disrupting the education of other pupils. Apart from limited funding for inservice training, no government spending has been allocated for provision of these services. Development of special education in response to the Act within Powys County is employing a bottom-up model of change, using inservice training, progressive integration of pupils, and integration of providers in the regular program. Initial responses suggest positive outcomes of the program, especially parents' appreciation when their children can attend a neighborhood school. The issue of an adequate curriculum remains, particularly in special needs provision at the secondary level. (DHP)

Included in this publication are the following addresses to the meeting: (1) "The Professional Ethics of Teachers in a Democratic School" (Betty A. Sichel); (2) "The 4Cs of the New Scholarship on Women" (James W. Garrison and Anne Phelan); (3) "Is It Possible to be Philosophical About Poverty?" (J. Gordon Chamberlin); (4) "Moral Images, Democratic Institutions, and the Pre-Service Professional Core Curriculum in Teacher Education" (James LeRoy Smith); (5) "The Course of Education: To Lead or to Enable Fanaticism or Liberation?" (Helen L. Harrington); (6) "Ethics and Arts Education: Notes on Plato and Aristotle" (Frans van der Bogert); (7) "'Democratic' Control of Education" (Scott H. Bilow); (8) "U.S. Supreme Court Decisions in 'Bethel' and 'Hazelwood': Is the Pig in the Parlor Gone?" (Bruce Beezer); (9) "Sichel's Theory of Moral Character: A Linchpin Concept for Moral Education Theory" (William Losito); (10) "A Critique of Character and Community in Sichel's 'Moral Education'" (Sam Craver); (11) "A Well-Managed Lifestyle: A View of Liberal Education" (Thomas Buford); and (12) "Conflicting Values in American Higher Education: Development of the Concept of Academic Freedom, 1886-1918" (Charles Tandy). (JD)

The paper offers a historical perspective on international special education, describes activities of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) in the international arena, and suggests future directions. Briefly noted are the history of special education and the rise of such international groups as Rehabilitation International, the International League of Societies for Persons with Mental Handicap, the International Association of Workers for Troubled Children and Youth, the European Association for Special Education, and the International Association of Special Education. Activities of CEC in furthering international special education are recounted and include the prominent role of Canada, leadership for a U.S. mission to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1972, the First World Congress on Future Special Education held in Scotland in 1978, and establishment of an International Relations Committee. Five goals and objectives are proposed for the organization's future. They are: (1) establish a clear policy about CEC's commitment to international special education; (2) work towards the formation of a worldwide organization or council of organizations dedicated to special education; (3) promote the dissemination of special education information worldwide; (4) establish a network of programs and contacts that permit educators to gain relevant experience abroad; and (5) promote international research in special education. (DB)

Art education in the United States has constantly sought some degree of reinforcement of purpose throughout its history. By closely examining some of the experiences of the past, insights into the validity of a discipline-based approach to art education should emerge. Such knowledge should enlighten the profession, so that rational and valid decisions, based on sound research and thoughtful consideration, may be made for the future. This study shows that while child-centered curriculum has dominated art educational practice since the 1940s, recent concern with the lack of focus and intellectual challenge in art education has generated a new examination of the purpose of art education. Discipline-based art education, as proposed by the Getty Center for Education in the Arts, is one means of accomplishing this reversion. The annotations section of this paper is presented in two parts. Part 1 reviews the literature pertaining to selected early elements of subject-centered art education (29 citations). Part 2 reviews research on aesthetic education as the problematic sub-discipline of discipline-based art education (15 citations). In the concluding section, it is recommended that research be continued in these areas so that a consensus among art educators can be reached, and advocacy for increased art education nurtured. (PPB)

This study examines the ways in which two teachers who have previously taken a multicultural education course put into practice multicultural teaching in a first grade afterschool program. Banks' five dimensions of multicultural education are used as the theoretical framework for analyzing past research on multicultural education courses and for understanding the teaching practice of two teachers [see Banks, J. A. (2004). "Multicultural education: Historical development, dimensions, and practice." In J. A. Banks & C. A. M. Banks (Eds.), "Handbook of research on multicultural education" (2nd ed., pp. 3-29). San Francisco, CA: Jossey Bass]. Results of the study indicated that the two teachers were mindful of what they had learned from the multicultural education course and applied their knowledge into practices that are culturally relevant to their students. Recommendations for teacher educators include incorporating a practical component in teaching multicultural education courses such as exposing preservice teachers to multicultural curricular content and having them practice utilizing it, and rethinking the scope of multicultural education and providing preservice teachers with opportunities to explore creative ways of approaching multicultural education beyond the explicit curriculum and pedagogy.

This article examines the growth of engineering education in India in the post-economic reform period using the secondary data published by Ministry of Human Resource Development, University Grants Commission and All India Council for Technical Education. Particularly, this article has focused on three important dimensions of engineering and technical education in India--institutional expansion, enrolment pattern and public financing. It finds that there has been a massive expansion of both institutions and enrolment in engineering education in India during the post-liberalization period, and this expansion has apparently taken place in the private sector. Also, as expected, the enrolment in engineering education has increased fast compared to other disciplines and overall enrolment growth of higher education. However, this massive expansion of engineering education has not been able to provide access to the disadvantaged groups, namely women, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. The study also reveals that the public expenditure on engineering education has not increased at par with the increase in enrolment in this sector, which has resulted in the decline in per student public expenditure. The issues and concerns discussed in this article have brought up some promising avenues for future research in this area.

The aim of this article is to present a systematic, holistic evaluation of the South African education system, using international benchmarks as the yardstick. A theoretical model for the evaluation of a national education project is constructed. This consists of three dimensions, namely: a quantitative dimension, a qualitative dimension, and an equality dimension. International databases and the existing international taxonomies of national education systems are then used to evaluate the South African education system, along the three dimensions of the model. It is found that the weakest links are the facts that primary and secondary education enrolment ratios are not followed through to the higher education level; that input, particularly financial input, does not render a commensurate return in terms of the quality of teaching and learning, and learning outcomes; that the administrative component of the system and teacher input appear to be the two weak links in the system in this regard; and that stark inequalities exist in the education system. In conclusion, some recommendations for the improvement of practice and for further research are made.

In the context of active development of further education services many universities become interested in engaging students into further education programs. From this perspective, it is extremely important to determine relevant social factors majorly impacting the students' representation about further education and its role in building and shaping up the motivation to continue education. This study focuses on the analysis of social representation in the processes of motivation of students to acquire further vocational education in course of university studies. This study is based on the results of survey among 452 Russian students. In this work attitude of Russian students to further education was investigated by means of six scales: (1) information awareness of further education programs; (2) social representation about further education (in general, regarding the contents, conditions, cost); (3) representation about required program characteristics and expectations; (4) wish to receive further education in present and in future, as well as bars thereto. In students' perception four main representations about further education were found. Study results prove that social representations have little effect on students' intention to receive further vocational education in course of university studies, but the effect is significant in a long-term perspective.

The Sustainable Development Goals set out by the United Nations advocate that all learners will have the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development. Development education, education for sustainable development and global citizenship education are deliberate educational interventions, which all address global justice and sustainability issues. Current research continues to expand our understanding of the field, but there are no recent reviews of the literature addressing the impact of these educational interventions. The objective of this paper is, therefore, to examine the impact of intentional development education, education for sustainable development and global citizenship education. We reviewed 243 abstracts against specific inclusion criteria: 127 from Scopus, 101 from ERIC, and 15 from EBSCO. Of those abstracts, 99 met inclusion criteria and underwent double review, which excluded further studies. Of the final 44 papers included for review, 26 focused on education for sustainable development or environmental educational themes, 12 were global orientated in content, either through development education or global citizenship, and six were intercultural educational interventions. In this paper, we provide an overview of measures of assessment of learning used, review the evidence of the impact on learners, and address some methodological and pedagogical questions arising from the review.