Education & Pedagogy

This monograph examines the nature of federal-provincial relationships in Canadian education. Section 1 broadly outlines the federal government's involvement in many areas of Canadian national life in order to provide a general background for discussion of federal involvement in education. Section 2 describes the many different dimensions of federal involvement in education, focusing on federal educational responsibilities, federal involvement in provinces and territories, federal services to schools, different types of federal grants and financial assistance, the costs of federal involvement, and the federal justification for educational spending. Section 3 presents the author's observations and comments on federal involvement in education, focusing mainly on problems with federal conditional funding programs. The appendix lists 41 federal agencies and programs and presents tables that summarize federal equalization payments to the provinces from 1966 to 1976 and list by province fiscal transfers for postsecondary education from 1967 to 1973. (Author/JG)

This report addresses the issue of inservice training of teachers in Japan. Part One is a formal overview of the policy and activities of the Minister of Education regarding inservice education and training of teachers (INSET). It discusses the concept of inservice education and training, states specific examples--the National Training Course for Educational Personnel and the Teachers' Overseas Inspection Program, discusses the ways and merits of inservice education, and talks about teacher supply and demand. Part Two presents several cases of INSET in detail to give actual accounts of their functioning. In this section, short overseas tours for study and observation are presented along with activities of educational research and training centers, a description of school-based research projects, and a description of the audiovisual educational center. (SK)

This paper addresses the role of science education in today's society and the objectives of instruction in science. Observing that science cannot solve all of the problems of the world, and that science education has had little effect on the willingness of the general public to accept superstitions, the author argues that instructional approaches to the testing of hypotheses must be re-examined. After briefly reviewing the development of general educational goals during the past century, the author turns to the objectives of science education. He discusses knowledge objectives and identifies four issues related to propositional knowledge. Turning to the debate over emphasis on mastery of conceptual schemes vs. understanding of scientific processes, he discusses normative and cognitive objectives. In conclusion, he raises the question of when the objectives of science education should be stated in behavioral terms or formulated more generally. (SD)

Current statements taken from the official publications of the regional accrediting associations regarding examination of adult education programs of institutions of secondary and higher education are compiled here under headings for each association: New England Association of Schools and Colleges, Middle States Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, North Western Association of Secondary and Higher Schools, and Western Association of Schools and Colleges. Noting that the statements reflect relatively recent interest of the associations in adult education programs, the authors provide additional information regarding the evolution of the standards of the Western Association and list ways in which adult educators can use the accreditation process to increase quality and quantity of adult education opportunities provided by their institutions. (JT)

The report describes a project to develop and implement an inservice teacher education workshop in farm management at North Dakota University. The objectives of the one-week workshop were to enable the farm management education teachers to: (1) teach more effectively the second and third year of the three-year curriculum; (2) utilize the principles of enterprise analysis in their instructional program; and (3) solve problems common to the group or unique to certain programs or localities. The workshop was conducted in July, 1974 with 10 farm management education instructors participating. A teaching aid entitled, "A Programmed Enterprise Analysis Teaching Guide for Selected Farm Enterprises in North Dakota," was developed by the class members. A brief outline of the teaching aid is appended to the report, along with a list of the participating instructors, the participant evaluation form, and a bibliography. (Author/NJ)

A conference of mathematics educators from Australia and New Zealand was convened in the summer of 1975; five specific objectives were addressed: (1) to review developments in primary mathematics education during the past decade, (2) to examine current approaches to teaching primary mathematics, (3) to recommend appropriate changes, (4) to examine potential implications of change, and (5) to arrange for ongoing consultation among curriculum personnel and teacher educators. A list of 20 expected outcomes of primary mathematics education was generated. Four working groups, organized within the conference, developed recommendations with regard to aims, content and materials for primary mathematics, preservice and inservice teacher education, and evaluation. Twenty-five papers (included in this volume) were presented to the conference. These concerned views of professional mathematicians, curriculum officers, secondary teachers, and teacher educators toward primary school mathematics, among other topics. (SD)

The objective of the project was to identify and reach a consensus about common core competencies deemed necessary to all vocational teachers, with the goal of developing a strategy for the implementation of competency-based teacher education in Nebraska. A random sample of vocational educators selected a list of vocational education teacher competencies that is appended to the report. The competencies are grouped according to the headings of planning, evaluation, instruction, management, public and human relations, guidance, youth organizations, and professional role. Included is a bibliography of competency-based materials organized by State, and a list of competency-based modules currently in use in teacher education programs. Other materials appended to the document are the project PERT (Program Evaluation Review Technique) and milestone charts; the original list of competencies; correspondence with the advisory committee, research coordinating units, and State departments of education; and quarterly reports. (NJ)

Research and development projects for improvement of the administration of vocational education at the State level are described in the report. These projects, supported by the Office of Education for fiscal year 1975, are efforts to develop management information systems that will make available to State administrators information to aid in the planning and evaluation of vocational education programs. The report presents analyses of 23 projects conducted by State education agencies, colleges and universities, and nonprofit institutions in the design, development, and testing of comprehensive education management and information systems. Abstracts of the funded projects are included in the appendix, and contain information on the objectives or purposes of the individual projects, the procedures, and the expected project contribution. (NJ)

The third report of the greater Milwaukee area career education project documents the phase 3 activities and accomplishments of the project, from October 1974 to July 1975. The following objectives were accomplished. Contact persons have been established in each district to promote career education. Three one-week workshops, two adult career conferences, and a career education seminar for leaders from education, business, industry, labor, and the community were conducted. The publishing of a newsletter has continued, with circulation tripling since the beginning of the 1973-74 fiscal year. In addition, persons from 35 area schools have used publications and films from the project lending library. The report outlines the objectives and presents the procedures and results with conclusions and recommendations. Project-related materials are appended, making up a large portion of the report. Included are: conference reports and schedules, newspaper clippings, a career education speech and summary, lists of area contact persons and available films, and teacher workshop reports. (NJ)

Differing somewhat in format from the previous three volumes of this series, this work contains analyses of trends and problems in various aspects of chemistry instruction as presented by authors from around the world, but is printed entirely in English. Materials for this publication resulted from a UNESCO organized International Congress on the Improvement of Chemical Education held in Wroclaw, Poland, September 17-22, 1973. The works of 13 authors appear in this publication; eight papers under the heading of "Factors affecting the design of chemistry courses and programmes," and the remainder being classified as "Trends in other aspects of chemical education." In its entirety, this work is intended (1) to identify and analyze present problems and recent trends in chemical education at all levels, within and outside the formal educational system, and (2) to outline a proposed four-year cooperative plan of action among educational organizations for the further improvement of chemical education. (CP)

A supplement to six previous bibliographies, this bibliography provides access to some of the latest resource material, research findings, and/or developments in migrant education. Part 1 contains 82 citations and abstracts which appeared in "Resources in Education" (RIE) from January 1975 through December 1975. Part 2 includes 21 citations of journal articles which appeared in "Current Index to Journals in Education" (CIJE) from January 1975 through December 1975. The citations cover such topics as agricultural laborers, educational programs, Federal programs and legislation, human services, Mexican Americans, migrant child education, migrant workers, outreach programs, rural education, and summer programs. A combined RIE and CIJE subject index is provided to assist the user in locating citations pertaining to a given subject area within the realm of migrant education. Ordering information and a directory of ERIC Microfiche Collections are appended. (NQ)

This essay considers the need for economic retrenchment, environmental conservation, and the implications of these positions for teaching. Facing an environmental crisis, overpopulation, and an ever-increasing reduction of natural resources, education in the future must concentrate on teaching about the futility of growth, planned and unplanned. This emphasis on a nongrowth economy will, in turn, affect how teachers must approach values issues and traditional subjects now taught in schools. The gross materialism and status achievement of Western culture will have to be downplayed for a more egalitarian commitment to global sharing. Suggestions for how teaching will change on such issues and subjects as achievement, world studies, social-class status, ethics, progress, the social ethos of the school, philosophy, economics, civics, sex education, population, energy, death, and higher education are outlined. (Author/DE)

The data in this report were collected as part of a study that involved all teacher education graduates at the University of Iowa prior to 1970. The information from this study is considered baseline data for an evaluation of the Iowa-UPSTEP program (Undergraduate Pre-Service Teacher Education Program), which was begun in 1969 as a proposed innovation in science teacher education at the secondary level at the University of Iowa. The information presented includes evaluation of courses in the professional sequence, adequacy of student teacher observation, effectiveness of student teacher supervision, views concerning importance of student teaching, relative importance of specific courses, and preparation for specific tasks required in teaching. Forty-five tables of data are presented, as well as the instruments used in collecting the data. (MLH)

THIS GUIDE WAS PREPARED TO ASSIST COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS, LOCAL DIRECTORS OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION, LOCAL COORDINATORS, AND SUPERVISORS IN THE ORGANIZATION, DEVELOPMENT, AND SUPERVISION OF DISTRIBUTIVE EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR ADULTS. IT WAS ESPECIALLY ORIENTED TO FLORIDA. IT DESCRIBED DISTRIBUTIVE COOPERATIVE ENTERPRISE INVOLVING BOTH COUNTY SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION AND THE COMMUNITY. THE COORDINATOR OF THE PROGRAM WORKED AS LIAISON BETWEEN THE TWO, SURVEYING THE COMMUNITY, CONTACTING BUSINESS ORGANIZATIONS, FORMING AN ADVISORY COMMITTEE, SELECTING TEACHERS, AND DEVELOPING COURSES OF STUDY APPROPRIATE TO THE COMMUNITY NEEDS. THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SEVERAL TEACHING METHODS WERE DISCUSSED, SUCH METHODS AS LECTURES, FORUMS, SYMPOSIUMS, AND BUZZ SESSIONS. ADULT OFFERINGS IN VOCATIONAL DISTRIBUTIVE EDUCATION WERE LISTED FOR MANAGEMENT, SUPERVISORY PERSONNEL, AND EMPLOYEES IN SUCH OCCUPATIONAL AREAS AS BANKING, INSURANCE, REAL ESTATE, AND TRAVEL. THE APPENDIX INCLUDED TEACHER CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS, AWARD FORMS, AND 23 REFERENCES. (LY)

AN INSTRUMENT WAS DEVELOPED THAT COULD BE USED FOR ESTABLISHING THE CORE OF PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGES AND ABILITIES REQUIRED IN TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR VOCATIONAL TEACHERS IN FIVE AREAS. THE DISCIPLINES REPRESENTED IN THE PROCESS OF IDENTIFICATION INCLUDED (1) TRADE AND INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION, (2) BUSINESS EDUCATION, (3) HOME ECONOMICS EDUCATION, (4) AGRICULTURE EDUCATION, AND (5) DISTRIBUTIVE EDUCATION. PROFESSIONAL COURSES REQUIRED FOR THE PREPARATION OF VOCATIONAL TEACHERS WERE REVIEWED, AND A COMPOSITE LISTING WAS MADE OF KNOWLEDGES AND SKILLS WHICH WERE UNIQUE TO THE DISCIPLINES BEING STUDIED. WITH THE HELP OF CONSULTANTS, KNOWLEDGES AND SKILLS TO BE INCLUDED IN THE INSTRUMENT WERE SELECTED. THE 200 COMPONENTS OF THE FINAL LISTING WERE THEN INCORPORATED IN THE INSTRUMENT USING LIKERT SCALES TO RATE THE NEED FOR EACH KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL IN THE WORKER'S JOB. THE COMPLETED INSTRUMENT WAS DEEMED READY FOR THE FIELD TESTING PHASE. (GD)