Education & Pedagogy

Reviews demographic data, highlighting changes in U.S. demographics from Census 2000 and other sources, and exploring the relevance for education, particularly teacher education. The paper notes that given the push for standardized test scores as educational reform, schools of education will eventually be held accountable for the knowledge and skills of their graduates as well as the scores of their public school students when they enter teaching. (SM)

'Coastal Sciences and Management' was established in 1996 with the Department for Education and Employment in England and Wales to help academic staff within a given discipline undertake dissemination and curriculum development activities to increase the employability of graduates. Discussion includes: presentation of the network, results, partnership between higher education and employers, and relevance. (Author/AEF)

Outcomes of post-secondary vocational-technical and transfer education programs were assessed by examining students' status five years after enrollment. Outcome indicators included education and employment status, job relatedness, perceptions of effect on level of employment, and satisfaction with present job and past educational program. A national sample of students were used. (Editor/HD)

Under a feasibility grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare for a Model Elementary Teacher Education Program (METEP), the University of Massachusetts' School of Education set up a language arts education program based on performance criteria, in that it is the performance of the student that is crucial, not the method of instruction by which the student learns to accomplish the performance. (Author/RY)

Throughout the history of public education in the US, public schools have filled multiple roles. These roles are an outgrowth of why public schools came into being and how they have evolved. This publication briefly reviews that history. [For the companion report, "For the Common Good: Recommitting to Public Education in a Time of Crisis," see ED606967.]

The self study and evaluation guide presents accreditation standards for programs serving blind and visually handicapped students in grades K-12. Standards are included for the following 12 areas: planning and organization, personnel, communications, community and career education, creative arts, home and industrial arts, mathematics and science, physical education, prevocational and vocational education, study skills, work experience programs, and program evaluation. (CL)

Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos wants to privatize American education using charter schools, vouchers, tax credit scholarships, education savings accounts, and portable federal funds. Court and legislative decisions are facilitating these ends. Understanding the school choice agenda and its fiscal, academic, and legal aspects can help education leadership professors, school leaders, and their communities make informed decisions that shape education in their states.

This booklet provides information on teacher education programs in the state of South Carolina that meet the standards of the National Association of State Directors of Teacher Education and Certification (NASDTEC). A list is given of state and national required examinations and minimum qualifying scores for teacher certification. Twenty-eight colleges of education are cited, and an outline of each of their NASDTEC programs is presented. (JD)

Little is known about "teacher educators," the higher education faculty responsible for teacher preparation. Reasons include the lack of a definition and consequent difficulty in identifying the population, scarcity of research on teacher educators specifically, and inclusion of teacher educators in research on the education professoriate generally. This digest describes the definitional problem, summarizes information from education professoriate research, and suggests needed research. (AA)

Thought leaders in peace education, Swee-Hin Toh was awarded the UNESCO Prize for Peace Education in 2000, and Virginia Cawagas served as a Professor at the University for Peace in Costa Rica. Both actively support the work of the Asia-Pacific Centre of Education for International Understanding (APCEIU) under the auspices of UNESCO in Seoul, Korea.

No undergraduate or postgraduate programmes currently exist for the professional education of informal educators. The authors outline the development of previous programmes and consider the emergence of informal education as a discrete concept. The article then highlights some key failings in the professional education of informal educators and outlines some changes in the orientation and content of programmes.

This article presents some conflict-related issues that school leaders encounter in resolving disagreements and misunderstandings between parents of students with disabilities and school representatives. Two examples of special education service disagreements are employed to illustrate how a trained and impartial education liaison representative can facilitate conflict resolution.

The "Directory of State Education Agencies" is published approximately annually by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The 1994 edition is the 11th in the series. Each edition normally includes current information on key personnel in the state education agencies, state governors, members of state boards of education, selected national educational organizations, and U.S. Department of Education personnel. Sections contain contact persons, addresses, phone numbers, and when available, FAX numbers. (LMI)

A resource of statements about the values of music in education, this paper is intended to help answer the question, "Why is it important to teach general music to children in grades K-6?" Material is quoted from several disciplines including psychology, education, music education, and the medical field. The paper is directed primarily to music educators and to administrators in Oregon who are responsible for curriculum balance in schools. (DB)

Public Agenda surveyed Illinois residents to learn about how they view public higher education and what would help it serve them and the state better. Three research briefs highlight key findings from the broader survey findings. This brief finds that a large majority of Illinoisans believe higher education should be accessible, and many believe that having more college-educated residents would benefit the state economy.