Education & Pedagogy

To ensure reliable, accurate, and timely data, which are necessary to monitor the progress of education in the United States, Congress has mandated that the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) produce an annual report, "The Condition of Education." This year's report presents 59 indicators of important developments and trends in U.S. education. "The Condition of Education" includes data and analysis on a wide variety of issues. The indicators in the 2001 edition are in six sections: (1) Participation in Education; (2) Learner Outcomes; (3) Student Effort and Academic Progress; (4) Quality of Elementary and Secondary School Environments; (5) The Context of Postsecondary Education; and (6) Societal Support for Learning. The indicators in "The Condition of Education" use data from government and private sources. Appended are: (1) Supplemental Tables; (2) Supplemental Notes; and (3) Standard Error Tables. A Glossary, Bibliography, and Index are included. [For "The Condition of Education 2001 in Brief. NCES 2001-125," see ED546119.]

These 21 papers share research findings on the link between practice and research in adult, continuing, community, and distance education. Nine invited papers are "Evolution of Activists" (Baird); "Toward a Phenomenology of Adults' Learning Experiences" (Baptiste et al.); "Quest for the Grail? Searching for Critical Thinking in Adult Education" (Boxler); "Adult Education as Snake Oil Under the Guise of Democracy" (Carr-Chellman, Carr-Chellman); "Production of Knowledge in Work Teams" (Howell); "Life Since Then: Reconstructing Korean Women's Educational Experiences and Their Lives" (Hyun); "Form or Flesh: Social Factors That Impact Women's Practice of Breast Self-Examination" (London); "Marketing God: Critical Inquiry into Spirituality in the Workplace" (Milacci, Howell); and"From Symbols, Stories, and Social Artifacts to Social Architecture and Agency" (Siegel). Twelve refereed papers are "Adult Learners' Perceptions of Teaching and Learning During Times of Crisis" (Amann); "Healthcare and Adult Education" (Beck); "Effectiveness of Workplace Diversity Training" (Bettinger); "Synthesis of Empirical Literature: In Distance Education What Is the Relationship Between Asynchronous Computer-Mediated Communication and the Adult Learning Process?" (Linda M. Black); "Identifying Theories on Practice in Adult Literacy Education" (Coro); "Use of Critical Thinking and Reflective Practice with an Experienced Occupational Therapy Assistant: Case Study" (Humbert); "Four Adult Literacy Classrooms" (Medina); "Contributions of Literacy to Employment" (Passmore et al.); "'From Many, One': Exploration of Religious Pluralism and the Religious Education of Young Adults" (Ritchey); "Factors Deterring Adult Undergraduate Students from Participation in Study Abroad" (Surridge); "Making Meaning of Nonformal Education in State and Local Parks" (Taylor); and "From Research to Practice: Toward a Spiritually Grounded and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy" (Tisdell). (YLB)

Since the 1960s, the United States has participated actively in international projects that are designed to provide key information about the performance of the U.S. education system compared to other countries. These projects include the Indicators of National Education Systems (INES) at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), both conducted by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA); and, more recently, the OECD's Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). This report, draws on the most current information produced by these projects available at the time of production (fall 2003 to spring 2004) to present a set of education indicators that describes how the U.S. education system compares with those in other economically developed countries. Although the four international education projects cited above involve many countries worldwide, the primary comparisons in this report are with the Group of Eight, or G8, countries. These are the eight most industrialized countries in the world, whose representatives meet regularly to discuss economic and other policy issues: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The countries were selected for comparison because they are relatively similar to the United States in their economic development and because they are among our major economic competitors. The indicators presented in parts II, III, and IV of the report are organized around four education levels-preprimary education, primary education, secondary education, and higher education. The Report begins with a section that highlights key findings and then presents 23 indicators that compare different aspects of education systems in the United States and the seven other G8 countries. The 23 indicators are organized into the following sections: (1) Context of Education;(2) Preprimary and Primary Education; (3) Secondary Education; and (4) Higher Education. Appended is: The Education Systems of the G8 Countries. (Contains 9 tables and 41 figures.)

This study investigated how the Department of Education (Education) monitored state compliance with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) for children age 3-21 years, the extent and nature of noncompliance, and how Education has ensured that noncompliance is resolved once identified. Researchers analyzed Education monitoring documents, interviewed state and federal officials, and visited five state special education offices. Overall, to monitor compliance, Education annually reviews special education data submitted by all states and uses a risk-based approach to identify states in need of further inspection. This monitoring system relies upon collaboration with states, as each state is responsible for assessing and reporting its performance on the provision of special education services. Some of the data used by Education, such as information on how parents are included in their children's education and students' experiences after leaving school, are weak in that they are not uniformly measured or are difficult for states to collect. From 1997-2002, Education identified roughly equal amounts of noncompliance for failing to adequately provide services to students as noncompliance for not adhering to IDEA's procedural regulations. Education found 253 compliance failures in 30 of 31 states visited during this time. This study found 52 percent of compliance failures to be directly related to providing student services. The remaining 48 percent involved failure to meet certain IDEA procedural requirements. Education sought resolution by providing states with technical assistance and requiring them to develop corrective action plans to ensure compliance within 1 year. However, most cases of noncompliance remained open for 2-7 years before closure. On occasion, Education made use of sanctions to address longstanding issues with noncompliance, although resolution has been protracted. States expressed concerns about the standard 1-year timeframe Education imposes for correction, and Education officials acknowledged that it is sometimes not feasible for states to remedy noncompliance and demonstrate effectiveness in that length of time. Appended are: Scope and Methodology; IDEA-Related Sanctions 1994-2003; Comments from the Department of Education; and GAO contacts and staff acknowledgements.

This book contains the following articles about the state of continuing education and occupational training in Japan: "Funabashi City University of Sports Health" (Abe Nobuhiro); "Public Halls in Omiya City" (Kawamoto Koji); "Setagaya Senior Citizens College (Setagaya Rojin Daigaku)" (Sawamura Hiroshi); "Lifelong Sport in Japan: A Case Study of the 'Hitachi "Lively to a Hundred" Club' in Hitachi City" (Nagshuma Masatoshi); "Senior Citizen Studies in an Era of Lifelong Education" (Kanzaki Setsuo); "'Thinking and Living': The National Tomo no Kai from Its Founding to the Present Day" (Kawai Takashi); "Lifelong Education and Lifelong Learning in the Field of Agriculture--A Case Report on Shiojiri City's Agricultural Academy" (Suzuki Fukumatsu); "Lifelong Education and Lifelong Learning in the Field of Agriculture--Case Report on Iwate Prefecture College of Agriculture" (Suzuki Fukumatsu); "Workshops of Human Understanding" (Kurihara Mitsuyoshi); "Present State of In-Service Training for General Staff at Nihon University" (Ishigaki Makoto); "Acceptance of Members of the Community into a Graduate Program--A Study of the Graduate School of Science and Technology at Nihon University" (Ishioka Kanzo); "University-Level Correspondence Education in Japan" (Ishii Akiko); "Ongoing Training of Lawyers in Japan" (Konta Masaki); "Ongoing Training for Certified Public Accountants in Japan" (Akisaka Tomonori); "Terminal Care Meetings" (Nagashima Masanori); "Overview of Ongoing Education for Dentists in Japan" (Nasu Ikuo); "Company Lifelong Education Program--The Case of Taiyo Gyogyo" (Fukunaga Shigeto); "Education Programs for New Employees--The Mizuno Corporation (A Personal Experience)" (Matsuzawa Takashi); "Cultivation of Talent--Personnel Training in the Corporation" (Ishii Akiko); "Private Cultural Education in Japan--With a Focus on the Asahi Culture Center" (Tanaka Shizuo); and "International Perspectives on Japanese Educational Programs for Adults" (Alan B. Knox). (MN)

This document contains 17 papers, organized in three sections, presented at a conference on Eastern and Western adult and continuing education. The following papers are included in Section I, "Ideas and Tasks of Adult Education: Views of East and West": "Imagineries of 'East and West': Slippery Curricular Signifiers in Education" (Ted T. Aoki); "'Learning Perspective' in the Asian Viewpoint" (Kim Shinil); and "Learning to Learn: Western Perspectives" (Gene Roth). The second section, "Constructing Ideas and Tasks of Adult Education: Modernity and Postmodernity Perspectives," contains the following five papers: "Traditional Modernity, Postmodernity, and Communicative Modernity: Related Issues in Constructing Roles and Learning Tasks of Adult Education" (Ramon Flecha);"Conceptualizing Our Work as Adult Educators in a Socially Responsible Way" (Phyllis Cunningham); "Modernity and Postmodernity Related Issues in Developing Ideas and Tasks of Adult Education in Korean Context" (Kyung Hi Kim); "The Post-Modern Condition: Reformulating Adult Education Pedagogy" (Mark Tennant); and "West in East and Vice Versa, or Globalization in Adult Education" (Ki Su Kim). The final section, "Adult Education Programs and Practice: The Case Studies Approach," includes these nine papers: "Center of Research for Education of Adults (CREA): Some Crucial Issues" (Ramon Flecha); "Ideological Space Makers: The Needs in Graduate Programs in Adult Education" (Phyllis Cunningham); "Senior Citizen Education in Korea: Current Status and Demands" (Ki-hyung Hong); "An Afrocentric Feminist Perspective on the Role of Adult Education for Diverse Communities" (Vanessa Sheared); "Adult Retraining in Canada: Some Issues" (Ki Su Kim); "Adult Education for a Multiethnic Community: Japan's Challenge" (Koichi Sasagawa); "Consideration of Selected Influences on Work Place Learning" (Gary Confessore et al.); "A Proposed Historiography of Adult Education" (Glenn Smith); and "Postmodernity and Continuing Education: Becoming Critical Learners" (Barry Down). Contains 19 references. (KC)

The New York State Education Department's Annual Report contains contributions from various program offices discussing initiatives for the 2024-2025 school year: (1) Advancing Equity and Excellence: A Transformative Year for the Office of Education Policy; (2) Elevating Equity and Excellence: A Year of Progress and Promise in Instructional Support; (3) Driving Education Progress: The Power Behind P-12 Operational Support; (4) OSEA in Action: Elevating Education and Career Pathways for New Yorkers with Disabilities; (5) Supporting Excellence across New York's Religious and Independent Schools; (6) Empowering the Future: Indigenous Education is Reimagining Learning for Native Youth; (7) Higher Education: Strengthening the Pipeline, Securing the Future; (8) Regulating Excellence: Safeguarding Professional Integrity across New York State; (9) A Year of Discovery: Inside the Office Of Cultural Education's Transformative Journey; (10) Inspiring Curiosity: How the New York State Museum is Educating the Next Generation; (11) Writing New York's Next Chapter: Education, History, and Innovation; (12) Reimagining Communication: How NYSED's Public Affairs Team is Shaping the Story of Education; (13) Office of Counsel: Advocating for Integrity, Equity, and Excellence in Education; (14) Building Bridges, Shaping Policy: The Strategic Work of Government Relations; (15) Empowering Schools through Smarter Finance; (16) Modernizing Education through Technology: NYSED's ITS Reimagined; and (17) Office of Human Resources Management -- Strengthening the Foundation: Human Resources at the Heart of NYSED.