Education & Pedagogy

The rapid growth and development of outdoor education in Ontario during the 1960s-70s can be attributed to the social and political climate of the time; widespread enthusiasm for environmental education; and Ministry of Education support through teacher education courses, legislation, incentive grants, and founding of the Council of Outdoor Educators of Ontario. (LP)

This article reports on teacher education participation in the programs of the ERASMUS Bureau. The ERASMUS Bureau and its Inter-university Co-operation Programme is a vehicle designed to promote European awareness among European higher education institutions. Promotion of European awareness through education is considered vital to development of an integrated European community. (IAH)

Responds to Charles Fowler's article, "Arts Education and the NEA: Does the National Science Foundation Point the Way?" Suggests that arts education is in crisis because of lack of audience support. Recommends that the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) emphasize the importance of arts education as a part of basic education. (KM)

Judy Schrag, director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), discusses the OSEP grant competition for personnel preparation in rural special education, rural dimensions of OSEP initiatives, and rural-urban differences in problems affecting special education and in approaches to mainstreaming disabled students. (SV)

Argues that arts education should be a basic subject in the school curriculum because perception which is a key characteristic of art education is basic to intelligence. Outlines three phases of research concerning spatial ability and theories of perception. Highlights higher education's role in the relationship between arts education and general education. (KM)

Distance education is growing rapidly in response to developments in technology and changes in the world culture and economy. This article reviews how the University of Wisconsin-Madison uses distance education to provide technical information and training to engineers. It also explores potential new directions for providing education and discusses the challenges of certification and quality in distance education. (Author/NB)

Offers suggestions for a restructured preservice teacher education curriculum in South Africa and ideas for an integrated, thematic approach to teacher education. Outlines personal and professional characteristics of effective teachers, discusses the aims of teacher education, and proposes a three-year teacher education curriculum that includes enrichment courses to provide deeper personal academic study. (MSE)

Includes "And the Answer Is...Yes But" (Migler); "Does Farm Business Management Education Pay?" (Torgerson); "Adult Agriculture Education" (Riley); "Adult Education in Agriculture" (Zidon); "Relevant Agricultural Education Is Needed at the Two-Year College" (Claycomb); "A Paradigm Shift?" (Sponaugle); "Change and Diversity" (Bolton); "The Future" (Franklin, White); "John Deere Career Partnership" (Murray); and "Farm Business Management Education Programs" (Joerger, Murray). (JOW)

Examines recent developments in Australian early childhood teacher education, including its location within the university system and the implications posed by current employment settings. Discusses the relationship between early childhood and elementary education, the lack of national attention to early childhood teacher education, broad-based education versus vocational training, and the emergence of early childhood as a discipline. (KDFB)

Describes the early education system in Iceland: (1) its history; (2) the three-year program at the Icelandic College for Preschool Teachers (its associated field work, distance education, and continuing education); and (3) current trends and issues, such as the movement of early childhood education training from the secondary school level to the higher education level. (KDFB)

Presents an annotated listing of Web sites with information useful for law-related education (LRE) and civic education, including search engines, social studies sites, government sites, LRE and civic-education sites, global-education sites, and general-education sites. Cautions teachers to review carefully the content of any site before using it. (DSK)

As teacher education undergoes significant reform, open and distance education utilizing new interactive forms of technology will play a crucial role in improving the quality and extent of preservice and inservice teacher education. New assessments of costs and effectiveness are needed. The paper presents four case studies illustrating technology use in open and distance teacher education. (SM)

Two visions of the role of education are apparent within the Scottish Parliament--education for economic growth and education for informed citizenship and social justice. Responses to the national debate on education indicate that people favor the latter and do not want more and more initiatives. The challenge is to strive for improvement within the stable framework people want. (TD)

Examines the development co-education in Dutch secondary physical education, suggesting that the dominant 20th century co-educational tradition in the Netherlands has influenced educational ideals and school practice with respect to physical education. Asserts that a historical lack of discussions about co-education trivializes today's problems in nationwide co-education in Dutch physical education programs. Analyzes the only manual on co-education published in the Netherlands. (Contains references.) (SM)

This paper examines the deficiencies of elementary and secondary education in preparing black and disadvantaged students for higher education. Inadequacies in teacher education programs and staff development efforts are discussed along with the possibilities for change offered by alternative and private schooling and preschool intervention programs. Recommendations for improving preschool and elementary education, teacher education, inservice training programs, and school curricula are offered. (APM)