Education & Pedagogy

The third of four technical reports on Oregon education finance, this report summarizes views of 44 opinion leaders in Oregon (including public officials, business leaders, educators, and journalists) on questions of education goals, quality, cost, and methods of decision-making. Answering questionnaires, the respondents first addressed issues of financing public education in Oregon, primarily the state's role in raising revenue for schools and the expenditures at each level from elementary to higher education. Other issues that underlie education finance comprise the second half of the report--that is, program objectives, administrative channels, and the division of educational responsibilities. Roles and responsibilities for the various sectors of public education are commented on, with emphasis on the priority of education as a public expenditure. The administrative structures in Oregon public education are also critiqued. The role of private education and the constituencies of educational sectors (K-12, community colleges, and higher education) are addressed, as well. The report includes a section summarizing the opinion leaders' views of the major education finance issues covered in the interviews. (JW)

During the past several years topics related to technological literacy and technology education have received increasing attention by policymakers at all levels of government. This report documents the attainment of the initial objectives set forth in an earlier report of the Commission, which was issued in 1985. A major section of this document deals with the transition to technology education, answering questions about technology, technology education, goals for technology education, and teaching methods in technology education. A second major section addresses technology in education for New Jersey, noting the major emphasis on awareness of technology education at the elementary school level, and the secondary level approaches to exploring, studying, and applying technology. Also included in the report are the Commission's recommendations, which are directed toward the commission itself, professionals involved in technology education, the New Jersey Department of Education, business and industry, and higher education institutes. (TW)

A statistical profile of higher education, a general review of developments during 1986-1987, and policy statements and activities of the National Education Association (NEA) are presented in this 1988 NEA Almanac. The statistical profile covers enrollment trends, degrees, faculty salaries, endowments, appropriations to community colleges, scores on the Scholastic Aptitude Test and the American College Testing assessments, and corporate gifts to education. Also addressed are: higher education legislation for 1986-1987, education provisions of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, 1987 Higher Education Technical Amendments, Supreme Court decisions for the 1986-1987 term, recent growth in higher education enrollment, and academic freedom and censured institutions. In addition to a selected bibliography of higher education books, information is provided on higher education journals, fellowship sources for faculty, and academic meetings. NEA policy statements on higher education are provided, as well as information concerning NEA membership and benefits, grant programs, the NEA higher education journal, the National Council for Higher Education, and NEA higher education bargaining units. (SW)

This document, the annual report of the United States Department of Education for FY 1984, provides a comprehensive account of departmental activities for the year. The opening report of the Secretary details major accomplishments of the Reagan Administration in education for FY 1984. This is followed by a report from the Office of Private Education, a chart of departmental organization, and a comprehensive report of the Office of the Under Secretary, describing the Office of Management, the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary for Planning, Budget, and Evaluation, and the Office of the Deputy Undersecretary for Intergovernmental and Interagency Affairs. Subsequent chapters cover activities of the offices of the Inspector General, of Elementary and Secondary Education, of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, of Bilingual Education and Minority Languages Affairs, of Vocational and Adult Education, of Postsecondary Education, of Educational Research and Improvement, of Civil Rights, of General Counsel, and of Legislation and Public Affairs. An appendix lists advisory councils and committees, along with boards and commissions, active during FY 1984. (TE)

Traditional Buddhist education centered solely around the monasteries, since the Buddhist world did not offer educational opportunities apart from its monasteries. All education, religious as well as secular, was controlled by the monks, and involved the initiation ceremony into the Buddhist Order, the education of the monk, the viharus or residential schools, the monk's instruction, course content, teaching methods, and public education including primary education and vocational education. The atmosphere of learning is best described in the Jakata stories, which contain historical and educational information. Buddhist educational practices varied in different countries and at different periods of time; specific examples are Buddhist education as practiced in Burma, Japan, and Tibet. The main features of the Buddhist educational system included the serving of the master (physically and emotionally) and the observance of the vows of chastity and poverty. Education was primarily oral and based on Buddhist scriptures; debate was a key feature. Many Buddhist teachers were wandering scholar-monks. A seven-page list of project research papers concludes the document. (RM)

Continuing education activities of the University of British Columbia for the 1982-1983 academic year are reported. Information is provided on: extra-sessional credit programs, guided independent study, the Centre for Continuing Education, the Division of Continuing Education in the Health Sciences, professional programs of the Faculty of Commerce and Business Administration, the professional continuing education program of the School of Social Work, professional continuing education activities of the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, professional continuing education activities of the Faculty of Education, the Community Sports Services Adult Program of the School of Physical Education and Recreation, exhibits and programs of the Museum of Anthropology, the university's botanical garden, free public lectures and educational offerings, exhibits and public information services, scientific and art exhibits, public concerts and theater performances, meetings of learned and professional societies, province-wide continuing education services, and the university's speakers bureau. A statistical summary of the university's continuing education programs for 1982-1983 is included. (SW)

This report of a regional hearing on education, held in Los Angeles, considers the Federal role in education, how education can be strengthened throughout the fabric of the national agenda, and how proposed Federal budget cuts will affect school programs and impact national problems. Testimony was heard from various individuals involved with education in California, as well as the Arizona superintendent of public instruction. Those testifying discussed issues of vocational training, disadvantaged students, urban schools, bilingual programs, migrant education, college student loans, post-secondary education, and other concerns with reference to proposed Federal cuts in educational spending. The long term and short term effects of these program cuts were considered. Included are the prepared testimony of the participants, letters, and other supplemental material presented for the consideration of the committee. (CG)

As mandated by Congress, this annual report from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) describes its activities in the past fiscal year (FY). The first section, Secretary of Education T. H. Bell's report, highlights ED accomplishments in FY 1982 in such areas as federal legislation, civil rights, and paperwork reduction, and also lists ED goals involving educational excellence, education and work, dismantling of ED, tuition tax credits, and other matters. Following a chart showing ED organization, activities of the under secretary's office are outlined, as are operations in the ED offices for management, intergovernmental and interagency affairs, and planning, budget, and evaluation. Next the ED Inspector General's office reviews its audit and investigative actions. Also reporting on their programs are the ED offices for elementary and secondary education, special education and rehabilitative services, bilingual education and minority languages affairs, vocational and adult education, postsecondary education, educational research and improvement, civil rights, general legal counsel, and legislation and public affairs. A brief appendix lists the names of ED advisory councils and committees. (RW)

According to a General Accounting Office study, virtually no money is being spent on consumer education, although consumer education has been authorized under the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 and under the Education Amendments of 1976. The Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 authorizes state and local education agencies to use their block grants in accordance with educational needs and priorities. These agencies are free to keep such records as they determine are necessary for fiscal audits and program evaluation, since nothing in the statute or regulations indicates the types of records that must be maintained. The Education Amendments of 1976 also provide for funding of a consumer and homemaking education program. Federal funds are made available to states on a formula grant basis for educational and ancillary services. The United States Department of Education is also initiating an effort to promote adult literacy. Interest is being generated in the area of consumer rights and responsibilities for adult consumers who are functionally illiterate. (YLB)

This three-part report addresses recent education reform issues. Part I summarizes education priorities, then describes education's administration, structure, and financing. Part II deals with education's development since 1981. The first section notes major education legislation. A second section presents major issues in the current reform movement, including suggestions offered in significant studies; a trends section offers statistical indications, discusses responses to the call for quality education, notes the state of technology and science in education, and describes programs for special groups. Finally, an education research section deals with accomplishments and trends in National Institute of Education research areas and with the role of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. Part III lists recent education studies, analyses of those studies, and other studies by education field, including adult, management, information resources, linguistics, tests, and urban education. Selected references, 4 figures, 17 tables illustrating earlier statistics, and an outline of the report's headings conclude the document. (KS)

Information about current policy issues and relationships Between state governments and higher education is presented, with focus on the conceptual issue of accountability and autonomy. The relationship between state governments and colleges is continually evolving. Four sections cover the following: (1) leadership in higher education (the state-level higher education agency, trustees, governing boards, multicampus systems, governors and higher education, lobbying, acountability, autonomy, and regulation); (2) state financial support for higher education in transition (newer developments in state financing of higher education, higher education and economic development, and state support of private institutions); (3) current state/campus policy issues (higher education and reform, minorities in higher education, program review in higher education, and the state's role in assessment and quality); and (4) analysis and implications (the relationship between state government and higher education, state leadership in higher education, financing higher education at the state level, state-campus policy issues, implications for institutions, and implications for research and policy making). Contains about 300 references. (SM)

This directory profiles the following 16 vocational education consortia: American Association for Vocational Instructional Materials; Applied Communication; Applied Mathematics; Consortium for the Development of Professional Materials for Vocational Education; Electric Utility Instructor Training Consortium; Marketing Education Resource Center; Mid-America Vocational Curriculum Consortium; National Alliance of Community and Technical Colleges; National Consortium of State Career Guidance Supervisors; National Entrepreneurship Education Consortium; National Network for Curriculum Coordination in Vocational and Technical Education; National Occupational Competency Testing Institute, Inc.; National Vocational Education Professional Development Consortium; Principles of Technology; Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) State Vocational Education Consortium; and Vocational-Technical Education Consortium of States. Each profile includes the following: consortium title, address, phone number, director, date of origin, unit of membership, organizational structure, philosophy, obligations and benefits of membership, description and availability of products, members, and curriculum sales. Also included are tables consolidating information from all of the profiles on consortia features, methods of occupational analysis, membership rosters, and staff. (MN)

The ultimate goal of graduate education is to design programs of preparation to promote improvement in the quality of education and training services that are provided in a variety of different contexts. In the 1960s, Nova University developed field-based doctoral programs as a strategy to prepare individuals to become agents of change in the contexts in which they work. Nova's Center for Higher Education developed field-based doctoral programs in: (1) higher education; (2) leadership in adult education; and (3) vocational, technical, and occupational (VTO) education. During the 1980s, the Center for Higher Education critically analyzed its format for the delivery of the specialization seminars for the three programs. This paper describes the redesign and implementation of the new format for developing change agents in VTO education, detailing the content of two specialization seminars, namely, "Personnel--Human Resources Development" and "The Emergence of Vocational, Technical, and Occupational Education in America," and analyzing outcomes of the new seminar format. (Author/EJV)

This critique addresses conventional approaches to evaluation of vocational teacher education through a review of research that has components of evaluation, with specific emphasis on vocational teacher education progams. A review in the 1986 handbook by Lanier and Little, "Handbook of Research on Teaching," was used as the framework, citing teacher education generally and then vocational education specifically. The four topical areas were teacher education, students of teacher education, curriculum, and milieu. The review indicates that, if there is a single overriding criticism of evaluation of vocational teacher education, it is failure to develop and use a programmatic approach. Too many studies have looked at unimportant topics or trivial aspects of important topics. Little attention has been given to competency based teacher education or competencies needed by teachers. Had evaluators used different techniques in a coordinated effort, there might have been more of substance to report. A suggestion is made for regional or national evaluation projects, with experiment stations or national committees with cooperative projects, to conduct effective evaluation of vocational teacher education. (CB)

In a continuation of the national debate over education reform, the 14 contributors to this book outline several approaches to reform, address a variety of current education issues, and relate parent and teacher perspectives on education. An overview by President Ronald Reagan of education reform issues is provided, followed by chapters on the importance of parental rights in schooling and the need to bring pluralism to public education through the parents' right of school choice and the elimination of majority control of school policy. Other chapters discuss the lack of classroom discipline, the need for teacher training reform, the politicization of the classroom by means of the curriculum and by teachers, the need to revitalize citizenship education, the conclusions of effective schools research, the case for a federal voucher program, issues in the educational progress of black people, the advantages of home education and delayed schooling, the grassroots parent-based effort to reform public education, and the life experiences and observations of a teacher. (DCS)