Education & Pedagogy

Background: In the past decade, distance education enrollment has become more common in colleges and universities, increasing from 1.6 million students in 1998 to an estimated 6.7 million in 2012. The purpose of this study was to identify which constructs in Rogers' (2003) diffusion of innovation theory are more likely to contribute to adoption and diffusion of distance education in health education. Health education instructors and faculty can use the information obtained from the results of this study if they want to implement distance education. Methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional, descriptive, and correlational survey design was used in this study. An instrument designed to measure constructs and factors affecting the adoption and diffusion of distance education in health education were developed for the study. Health educators employed by health education departments listed in the AAHE (2011) Directory (N = 498) were contacted by email and asked to participate in this study. The survey was distributed through SurveyMonkey(TM) survey software that was activated December 2012-January 2013. Results and Conclusions: A total of 245 health education faculty completed the instrument, but 21 participants were omitted because they did not complete at least 95% of the survey instrument. A total of 224 survey instruments were retained and included in the analysis, providing a 44.9% response rate. Based on the Pearsons correlation and multiple linear regression it can be concluded that the likelihood of distance education adoption by health education faculty is highly dependent on the communication channels and characteristics of the innovation (distance education) constructs of the diffusion of innovation theory. There was a large majority of participants in the early majority adopter category and this is because of two reasons. The first reason is that participants had not decided whether to accept or reject distance education. The other reason is that distance education is a relatively new innovation and it has not fully diffused through the health education profession. Experience with distance education was not shown to increase the likelihood of distance education adoption because the majority of participants have not yet decided whether to accept or reject distance education. The social system construct was the least predictive of distance education adoption. If distance education has not yet fully diffused through the health education profession then it is hard for the social system to impact the likelihood of distance education adoption. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This paper intends to: identify the problems of non-formal education within different socioeconomic contexts in relation to the changing landscape of basic education as a whole; review the range of current practices; and raise some pertinent issues as a basis for policy analysis and further systematic research and development work on non-formal education and basic education in general. Its objectives are therefore as follows: (1) to provide an outlay of the meanings and roles of non-formal education that stem from different intellectual and ideological perspectives; (2) to present a review of a range of current manifestations of non-formal education and their significance in educational and socioeconomic contexts; (3) to indicate key areas of articulation between non-formal forms of education and the educational field as a whole; and (4) to identify sets of pertinent issues that are relevant for policy development and planning and for further research and development work on non-formal education, but within the context of the (basic) education system as a whole. Given the wide variation among educational initiatives that are currently labeled as non-formal education, this paper will largely address non-formal education in the context of "initial and continuing education or learning for children and young persons." This paper follows the order of the preceding four objectives. Chapter 1 deals with issues of definitions, types of non-formal education and the inherent tensions between formal and non-formal education . It ends with a schematic representation of the educational field and the location of different types of non-formal education vis-a-vis the formal system. Chapter 2 explores the evolution of meanings attributed to non-formal education during the development decades, the roles envisaged for non-formal education in the development process and the different existing types that have been prominent--including at present--and their characteristics. Chapter 3 then presents selected examples of current non-formal education, implemented throughout the southern countries, that speak of the different types that are relevant for the educational development of children and young people. Chapter 4, building itself on the examples and discussions in the previous chapters, dwells more deeply on the relationships between non-formal education and the formal system, analyzing the institutional dynamics and the roles that various actors play in the changing landscape. It also outlines the elements of a systemic framework and various principles on the basis of which a reform of the basic education system as a whole can be pursued. Chapter 5 concludes by setting out key challenges for policymakers and planners, and for the public in general. It then reviews an agenda for action in their policy and planning fields. (Contains 1 figure and 16 boxes.)

The paper examines the STEM approach as one of the revolutionary tools for transforming education. This paper discloses the content of the concept of "STEAM-education", substantiates its importance and prerequisites for its appearance. The author elucidates a comparative analytical review of trends and prospects for the development of STEAM education in the Russian Federation. In this paper, the authors want to touch upon a comprehensive theoretical and methodological study conducted on the declared problem to identify the problem of the formation and development of the STEAM approach in the education system in the Russian Federation at all levels: general education, vocational education, and additional education. The object of this study was STEM education. The subject of this research was the STEM approach and STEM technologies in the system of general education, vocational education, and additional education. The methodological foundation of the study was the general scientific propositions on the holistic, systemic, and dialectical approaches to research, which made it possible to assess the totality of interrelated and interacting elements that form a certain integrity. The use of these approaches provided a comprehensive analysis and formulation of the research problem and determined the strategy for its study. The analysis of the current state of STEM and STEAM education in higher education in the Russian Federation suggests that it is necessary to stimulate the development of information and communication technologies in the country's education system in general, as well as to develop comprehensive programs for adapting STEM and STEAM approaches among the subjects of educational relations. In the context of modern global risks and challenges, the educational trajectory of development in Russia should be conceptually consistent with the new strategy in the field of natural science education adopted in the United States, "The Path to Success: American Strategy for STEM Education". Experts believe that through the practical implementation of STEM and STEAM technologies, it is possible to improve the efficiency of the quality of training for the purposes of the modern digital economic sphere. In this regard, the primary competences obtained in the higher education system in the areas of STEM and STEAM training should be cognitive, personal, and interpersonal competences, expressed in digital literacy, computational thinking, creativity, open mind, soft skills, and others. The concept of STEAM education in the system of higher professional education in Russia will ensure the transformation of ideas about scientific knowledge and build an innovative development process through the formation of skills in the field of exact sciences, linguistics, engineering, art, etc.

Among the 59 papers are: "Comparisons in Performance of Adults and High School Seniors on the 1988 Tests of General Educational Development (GED)" (Baldwin, Whitney); "Research Writing" (Baskett, Garrison); "Popular Education in Latin America" (Beder); "Framework for the Study of Ethical Issues in Adult Education" (Brockett, Kasworm); "Cognition in Adulthood" (Caffarella, Loehr, Hosick); "Framework for Effective Practice in Adult Education" (Cervero); "Women's Leadership Style" (Cheng); "Some Critical Thinking about Critical Theory and Its Relevance for Adult Education Practice" (Collins, Plumb); "Using Individual Differences to Design a Typology of Learning Styles" (Conti, Fellenz); "Evaluation of Extension Noncredit Short Courses Using a Follow-Up Assignment Technique (Cooper, Shearon); "Structural Dimensions of British Attitudes toward Adult Education" (Darkenwald); "Adult Education and Autobiography" (Dawson); "Mythological Motifs of Differentiation and Individuation in an Adult Learning Group" (Dirkx); "Subject of Modern Adult Education" (Finger); "Eduard Lindeman, the Social Gospel, and Adult Education" (Fisher); "Collaborative Teaching-Learning Mode: Health Education Professors and Adult Learning Principles (Freeland); "Identifying Determinants of Commitment to Teaching and Turnover Behavior" (Grady); "Collaborative Mode, Instructor Characteristics, and Student Retention" (Graham); "Antonio Gramsci's Concept of Organic Intellectualism and the Politics of Adult Education" (Hommen); "Adult Education for Social Transformation" (Law); "Examining New Paradigms for Workplace Learning" (Marsick); "Study of the Effect of Parents' Participation in Adult Education Program on Their Children's Completion of High School" (Mason, Williams); "Assessing the Relevance of Selected Learning Objectives to Adult Education Practice in Tanzania" (Mgulambwa); "Typology of Educator-Learner Relationships in Open Learning Programs" (Munro); "Study of Age, Gender, and Undergraduate Major as Predictors of Success in Adult Second Language Learning" (Nolan); "Adult Education and Works of the Imagination" (Pittman, Ohliger); "Culture and Learning" (Pratt); "Social Policy and Adult Education" (Quigley); "Research and Practice Trends in Education and Aging" (Rogers, Brockett); "Adult Basic Educators' Perceptions of Learning Disabilities" (Ross, Smith); "Women Speak about Their Learning Experiences in Higher Education" (Saul); "The Measurement of Cognitive Ability in Adult Basic Education" (Valentine, Ehringhaus); "Literacy Students' Perceptions of Successful Participation in Adult Education" (Van Tilburg, DuBois); "Self-Directed Career Development Has Professional and Personal Potential" (Zeph); and "Low-Readers' Perceptions of Education" (Ziegahn). (CML)

These proceedings contain 54 papers and an abstract of a panel discussion on women's issues in adult education that were presented at a conference on adult education research. The following are among the papers included: "Reducing Dropout in Distance Education" (Belawati); "Examination of the Validity of the Education Participation Scale (EPS) and Adult Attitudes toward Continuing Education Scale (AACES)" (Blunt, Yang); "Imaginary Institution of Adult Education" (Briton); "Myth of Self-directed Work Teams and the Ineffectiveness of Team Effectiveness Training" (Brooks); "Participatory Literacy Practices" (Campbell); "Seeing Is Believing" (Carriere); "Remapping Adult Education" (Collard); "Examining the Case for Class Analysis in Adult Education Research" (Collins, Collard); "Use of Learning Strategies" (Conti, Kolody); "U.S. Educational Policy and Adult Education" (Cunningham); "Identification, Assessment and Implications of an Organization's Learning System for the Practice of Adult Education in Organizational Settings" (Davis, Ziegler); "Perceptions of Adult Literacy Policy and Practice" (Dilworth); "Use of Reflection-in-Action by Adult Educators" (Ferry); "Adult Women's Learning in Higher Education" (Flannery, Hayes); "Intuition in Adult Education" (Garrison); "Pictures, Perspectives, Profiles" (Grace, Plumb); "Toward a Level Playing Field" (Hansman-Ferguson, Garofolo); "Recent Strategic Planning Decisions by the University of Alberta and Their Implications for Its Faculty of Extension" (Haughey); "Media, Technology, and Literacy in Immigrant and Multicultural Contexts" (Hemphill, Ianiro, Raffa); "Fugitive and Codified Knowledge" (Hill); "Britain's Forgotten Minister of Adult Education" (Holford); "Do Universities Support Multiple Role Women Students?" (Home); "A New Model of SLA (Second Language Acquisition) and Its Implications in Teaching ESL (English as a Second Language) to Adult Learners" (Hu); "Collegiate Involvement from an Adult Undergraduate Perspective" (Kasworm); "Power and Planning in Environmental Education" (McDonald et al.); "Social Definitional Approach to the Crisis of Literacy" (Melichar); "Effects of Institutional Context on Critical Thinking in the Workplace" (Mishoe); "Community-Based Organizations and Mainstream Educational Change" (Podeschi); "Racial Formation in the Reporting of Canadian Immigration" (Schick); and"Significance of Including the Lived Experiences of African Americans in Adult Basic Education Curriculum and Planning" (Sheared). Many papers include substantial bibliographies. (MN)

Fifty-three papers are included in this proceedings. They include: "Power, Peers and Professional Development" (Armstrong, Zukas); "Invent Your Future, Reinvent Your Past" (Armstrong); "Managing Learning Organisations" (Barron); "Adult Learning, Cultural Diversity and Ethnoknowledge" (Benn); "Culture of Computer Technology in Education and Research" (Blanchette); "Use of Problem-Based Learning in the Education of Adults in Part-Time Higher Education" (Bowden, Newton); "Open and Flexible Provision" (Calder, McCollum); "Open Learning Workshops" (Cashin); "Knowledge in an Age of Uncertainty" (Chappell); "Combining Arts and Adults" (Chapple); "Stories We Tell Them?" (Chase); "Email Conferencing" (Davis); "Performance, Quality and Community in Adult Community Education" (Emsley);"Changes in British University Adult Education" (Fang); "Historical Perspective on Future Developments and Diversity in British Adult Education" (Fieldhouse); "Diversity and the Quality Debate" (Gardiner); "From Backwater to Mainstream" (Hampton); "Function , Fascination and Facilitation of Reflective Practice in Continuing Professional Education" (Hunt); "Community Educators" (Jarvis, Notley); "European Involvement in the Future of Education of Adults in England and Wales" (Jarvis, Dubelaar); "Different Context: Same Praxis?" (Jones); "Case Study in Postmodern Pedagogy for Graduate Education" (Kasl, Elias); "Working Class Women in Further Education" (Kilminster); "[email protected]" (McConnell); "Networked Learning" (McConnell); "Recognising Diversity" (Macdonald); "Futures in the Education of Educators" (Malcolm); "Future for Professional Learning" (Millar, Smith); "Transformation, Multiculturalism, and Community" (Multicultural Inquiry Exchange [MIX]); "Getting to Grips with Barriers to Reflection" (Newton); "Is There a Future for Community in Continuing Education?" (O'Rourke); "Assessing Values" (Patel); "Guidance" (Payne); "Positions of Race and Gender in Adult Continuing Education" (Preece); "Searching for the 'Pluriverse'" (Rose); "Learning the Business of Business" (Schwenke, Schwenke); "Fitness for Purpose in Continuing Professional Education" (Smith); "Local Government Reorganisation" (Spackman, Paul); "Future of University Continuing Education" (Taylor); "Experience Never Ends" (Thomson); "Women in Further Education" (Wallis); "Professional Development and Mentoring for Under-Represented Minority Faculty" (Williams, Crandall); "Can Post-Modern Adults Be Educated? (Wiltsher); and "Should Higher Education for Adults Carry a Health Warning for Their Relationships?" (Wray). (MN)

As an exemplary alternative education pathway to higher education, the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) has gained significant global traction, with an increasing number of graduates in non-Anglophone contexts. Employing a systematic review method to analyse studies in emerging contexts from the past 20 years, this research examined IBDP's contributions to higher education, including university preparation, academic performance, and post-graduation trajectories. The findings highlight themes pertinent to other international education frameworks: (1) higher education outcomes are largely influenced by school environments and student demographics, (2) tensions exist between globalised curricula and localised educational systems, and (3) the dual examination requirements within national university admission processes pose obstacles to the programme's successful implementation and scaling-up. This study recommends that future research and policy on international and alternative education programmes should focus on the following: less advantaged school populations, long-term impacts, and admission recognition processes within national higher education institutions and systems.

Since the 1980s, children with disabilities in China have been integrated into general education settings; the practice is termed "sui ban jiu du", literally "learning in a regular classroom" (LRC). The term LRC means "receiving special education in general education classrooms", and it is regarded as a practical form of inclusion in China. This paper provides context for understanding the issues of teacher education and inclusion in China by comparing the concept of LRC in China to the international concept of inclusive education. It discusses the challenges for and development of LRC at the levels of policy and practice. The main issues involved in teacher education for special/inclusive education are discussed in relation to the culture and context of current policy and its implementation, teachers' attitudes toward LRC, the professional competence of LRC teachers, the shortage of qualified teachers, and the lack of a national system for special education certification. The final section considers strategies to develop high-quality inclusive education in China from the perspectives of policy development, professional development, and the development of procedures for policy implementation.

Education is a crucial factor for advancing social and economic development and achieving gender equality. In Somaliland, many women continue to face considerable obstacles in accessing education, particularly beyond the primary level. Therefore, this study identified the main factors that affect women's educational attainment in different regions of Somaliland. This research utilized data from the 2020 Somaliland Health and Demographic Survey, including 3,938 women aged 15 to 49. Educational level was classified as no education, primary education, and secondary or higher education. A partial proportional odds ordinal logistic regression model was fitted to identify risk factors of women's education level in Somaliland. We found that about 77% of women had no education, 15% had primary education, and 8.37% had secondary education or higher. The key factors affecting women's education included access to media, socioeconomic status, regional disparities, and the age of marriage. Policymakers should address these factors to create equitable opportunities for women.

The aim of this paper is to provide a positive case for increasing the role and importance of religious morality within the subject of religious education in British schools. The argument is structured in the following way. First, attention is given to the diminished role accorded to moral education within religious education that followed the transition from confessional to non-confessional, phenomenological religious education and the reasons for this. Secondly, a genealogical/historical account is constructed that identifies the different ways in which the contribution of religious education to moral education has been conceptualised and practised in post-confessional religious education. Thirdly, the notion that morality and religion are discrete domains of human experience, which has provided the intellectual framework for diminishing the moral content and ambitions of religious education, is criticised as controversial philosophically and as contrasting with the way many religious believers construe the relationship between morality and religion. Finally, there is a short exploration of the ways in which the work of Marius Felderhof in Birmingham provides the intellectual resources to reinstate and reassert the importance and the contribution of religious education to moral education.

In this paper we empirically investigate the direct effects of education on utility. Besides investment aspects of education, the focus is placed on its consumption component and on education positional concerns. We use data from the World Values Survey (WVS) and adopt a life satisfaction approach. First, we find that education shows a significant effect on life satisfaction independent of its effect on income, thus identifying a consumption component of education. Furthermore, given that the contribution of education to individual wellbeing might depend partly on relative position rather than absolute levels, we next study whether education can be considered as a positional good. To this end we analyse the relationship between education and life satisfaction for people in different income groups in which the reference levels of education may differ. Additionally, we control for occupational status since benefits from education could appear via occupational benefits. Our results indicate that the contribution of education to subjective wellbeing is stronger as less people attain a given level of education, thus suggesting that this contribution is partly due to positional concerns.

Neoliberalism has brought fundamental changes to the way schools of education prepare professional educators; among them is the pressure for schools of education to produce fast-track teacher preparation programs that bypass traditional requirements. Due to the privatization of public education, a new market has emerged to train educators and administrators for charter schools. The No Child Left Behind Act has made the old multipurpose PhD in education obsolete and has led to fast-track EdDs to train school administrators to raise test scores. In this era of corporate schooling, colleges of education are competing with online and for-profit colleges to increase student enrollment. Academic capitalism has entered into the classroom and it has redefined the academic premises upon which the entire higher education system was instituted. This article asks, what are the implications of this new educational arrangement for the purpose of education and the development of a critically informed mass of democratic citizens? This article proposes a critical dialog among educators, parents, labor groups, and grassroots organizations and an action plan to stop the dismantling of public education. (Contains 17 notes.)

In the second of a two-part series, this paper looks at the global spread of school dropout and at the factors that keep elementary school-aged children outside education. In order to have a more complete picture of the dropout problem, it necessary to take into account pupils who do not continue their education beyond primary education or who drop out of school before the end of compulsory education (although they may have achieved a given level of education cycle). This is done by analysing the transition rate from primary to secondary education, which confirm the extent of early dropout in developing countries. Not only do a significant percentage of pupils fail to complete primary education, but a significant proportion of those who do complete this level of education do not pursue their studies. However, this observation needs to be relativised because not all pupils who discontinue their education after primary school drop out. (Contains 11 tables.) [For Part 1, see EJ990222.]

At least one-third of the 72 million children currently missing out on primary education are estimated to be disabled. With just five years remaining to achieve the Millennium Development and Education for All (EFA) goals, global efforts to ensure all children complete a full cycle of primary education by 2015 will fail if bilateral and multilateral donor support for education does not prioritise the inclusion of disabled children. This paper reviews the commitments and practices of key EFA Fast Track Initiative (FTI) donors in relation to early childhood and primary education for disabled children between 2005 and 2008/9. The review highlights that, while a number of FTI donor partners are beginning to pay greater attention to the inclusion of disabled children in education through their international development cooperation and policy commitments, this has not been accompanied by sustained and systematic action. Weak political will and continued marginalisation of the issue of education for disabled children from the mainstream EFA agenda threatens to impede current efforts towards "education for all". (Contains 9 notes and 1 table.)

In a time of increased accountability, a tightened curriculum, and fewer curricular choices for students, technology education in the United States is in the position of defending itself by "carving a niche" in the school curriculum. Justifying the place of technology education is becoming increasingly difficult, as there has been little agreement in either policy or practice over the definition and function of technology education. The problem addressed in this study is determining whether the new "official" definition and purpose for technology education has had any effect on technology education classrooms. The concern, and the focus of this study, is that technology education as defined by the International Technology Education Association (ITEA) might not be what is currently taught by teachers and experienced by students. The purpose of this study was to determine if inconsistencies exist between the field's view of technology education and the events that take place in the technology education classrooms by examining the relationships among the field's teachers' and students' ideas regarding the nature and outcomes of technology education. This was designed to help bridge a gap in technology education research. (Contains 1 table.)