Education & Pedagogy

This paper addresses problems in research on urban education and outlines several National Institute of Education (NIE) proposals for dealing with these problems. It is argued that research should not stray too far from the basic educational goals of inculcating literacy, that educational research must become more diverse and sophisticated in its methodologies, and that the topics for study should be realistic. Other problem areas discussed include the "teacher drop-out" syndrome, the diversity of present day classrooms, special education needs, and external demands such as accountability movements and legislative requirements. Four projects which relate to urban settings and reflect the philosophy of action-oriented research are described. These include Jesse Jackson's Project EXCEL, the Cities in School Project, the Career Intern Program, and the role of community colleges in improving adult literacy. (Author/EB)

Outlining a plan of action for reducing sex bias, sex role stereotyping, and sex discrimination in secondary school vocational education programs, this source book was prepared by vocational education instructors, counselors, and administrators. After a discussion of the consequences of sex discrimination and sex role stereotyping, the sourcebook is divided into four main sections: legislation, counseling, teaching environment, and publications. The legislation section contains information on Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and Title II of the Education Amendments of 1976. The counseling section discusses sexism, program assessment, and enrollment trends. The teaching environment section describes materials and methods to help free an educational setting of sex bias. The public relations section, constituting about two-thirds of the sourcebook, includes awareness workshop materials for the community, school personnel, and students. A list of seven audiovisual aids and a bibliography are appended. (LMS)

In this report, a follow-up survey of 393 educational associations and school districts which were studied in 1975 in an attempt to explore the role of American education in the identification, treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect is documented. Examined in the report are (1) existing education policies, procedures and regulations for identifying and reporting suspected child abuse cases; (2) extent of training activities provided for school personnel to help them deal with child abuse cases; and (3) the types of programs and activities sponsored by educational institutions related to child abuse and neglect. Changes and trends over the past three years are enumerated in charts and tables. Programs and services are compared. Differences in private and public schools are reported. State Boards of Education and Departments of Education are evaluated. Recommendations are made concerning policy development. (WI)

The Oregon System in Mathematics Education (OSME) was a five-year "systems experiment" to improve mathematics education on a statewide basis. The major purposes of this present study were to determine the effectiveness and impact of OSME and a "systems" approach and to address questions of future replicability. The evaluation focused on three broad concerns: (1) to what extent did NSF funding of OSME result in an effective systems model for achieving program improvement on a statewide basis?; (2) what was the impact of OSME on teachers and students?; and (3) what project elements had the greatest potential for transportability? The conclusions include: (1) OSME was a successful program improvement effort; and (2) the factors that made it work include its openness, inclusiveness, flexibility, and trust in project participants. (MP)

This paper on interdisciplinarity and liberal education is based on the work of a task force of the Project Change in Liberal Education. The focus is those parts of the education process that bridge or integrate disciplinary approaches and create a different kind of learning that would still be liberal education. The following factors that indicate the complexity of interdisciplinary programs are discussed: Jantsch's typology for interdisciplinarity; choosing appropriate models; achieving an integration of content materials; modifying administrative support systems; determining the costs of interdisciplinarity; and dealing with such matters as team-teaching, curricular and developmental sequencing and individualizing interdisciplinary studies. Recommendations that deal with planning and implementation are presented. An annotated bibliography is included that provides direction on finding information about interdisciplinarity and its practice and that defines the use of terms like multidisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity, and unidisciplinarity. (SW)

The need for the incorporation of training in geriatrics and gerontology into basic medical and dental education has recently been recognized. Existing studies which attempt to measure the attitudes of medical and dental students toward the aged are extremely limited. As part of a larger study of attitudes and knowledge among 500 health workers, the attitudes and knowledge of over 275 dental and medical students are examined, at different stages in their professional education, using Rosencranz and McNevin's "Aging Semantic Differential" and Palmore's "Short Quiz on Facts on Aging." The course of medical and dental education displays no significant deterioration or improvement in attitudes toward the aged. Multivariate analysis reveals a complex relationship between knowledge and attitude scores. Preliminary findings suggest that technically oriented professional education may have little impact on student attitudes. (Author)

This guide is an extensive annotated bibliography of basic and advanced information sources in the field of art education. The 31 chapters cover many topics and areas including: Art Schools, Teaching Processes and Materials, Teacher Resource Materials, Children's Art Books, Curriculum Building, International Art Education, and Art Education Textbooks among others. Within each chapter, citations are arranged alphabetically and descriptive annotations are frequently provided along with full bibliographic information. Citations refer primarily to books and pamphlets; both historical and contemporary works are cited. Special chapters are devoted to periodicals and serials, organizations and publishers, and general reference works. Teachers concerned with using elements of art in their instruction and instructors interested in the methodology of teaching and child development through the use of art will find useful sources of information listed in this guide. (Author/MP)

This discussion of the status and future of science education grew out of the need for a more recent document to succeed "School Science Education for the Seventies." The document is composed of three main parts. The first part addresses the aims of science teaching, looking at the general principles as stated in the past, the current view, and the need for flexibility in the future to accommodate individual needs. The second part of this paper discusses the present situation of science teaching in the United States, including sources of satisfaction and hope such as the new curricula and inservice education, and areas of concern such as population trends, funding, and accountability. Finally, the third part presents recommendations for the coming years in the areas of curriculum development, improvement of teaching, the encouragement of women and minority students, and trends in Federal support and their implications for science education. (BB)

Dissertations in the fields of environmental, conservation, and outdoor education are listed in this document. Many of the titles were taken from "Dissertation Abstracts" through November, 1975 with the remainder of the titles coming to the editors' attention from other sources. Each listing gives the author's name, title of work, university and date of publication. University Microfilm order numbers are also provided to assist in ordering copies of dissertations available from this source. Three hundred-eighty titles are listed, the majority of which were presented in the early 1970's. One paper, however, was written in 1929, four papers in the 1930's, and 17 in the 1940's. Approximately 67 papers come from the 1950's and 77 from the 1960's. (DS)

The paper specifies competency domains for multidisciplianry teams involved in vocational and technical education for handicapped secondary learners. Six competency domains (including collaborating with other professions and parents in the student assessment process and identifying available assessment instruments) are listed, and 10 common skills and knowledges for all team members are set forth, specific skills and knowledges are then listed for secondary special educators, school psychologists, and vocational educators. The authors provide an occupational analysis of the area of carpentry (residential construction and a task analysis of rough framing) for the development of an individual educational plan. The authors conclude that changes must be made immediately and suggest that inservice programs be initiated to develop competencies necessary for educating handicapped learners in vocational and technical education programs. (CL)

The institutional directory provides the basic information needed to identify and contact the degree-granting institutions of New York State. It serves as a reference for prospective students, New York State Education Department staff, the institutions themselves, and other individuals and organizations interested in postsecondary education. Four sections are included: (1) a description of the structure of the postsecondary education system of New York within the context of the University; (2) listings of the degree-granting institutions by sector and including fall 1977 enrollment figures and 1977-78 student costs; (3) appendixes with additional information on institutional programs, student services, selected organizations, and state department offices and publications pertinent to postsecondary education; and (4) an index of institutions by proper and popular name, organizations, and major topical areas. (Author/MSE)

The testimony and prepared statements of witnesses, and other supplemental materials presented at the Oversight Hearing on Mathematics Achievement before the Subcommittee on Elementary, Secondary, and Vocational Education of the Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives, Ninty-Sixth Congress, are given. Witnesses included: Dr. Wesley Apker, Executive Director, National Association of State Boards of Education; Dr. Edward T. Esty, Senior Research Associate, Teaching and Learning Division, National Institute of Education; Dr. Roy H. Forbes, Director, National Assessment of Educational Progress; Dr. Shirley Hill, President, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics; and Kathy Schaub, Assistant Director for Program Development, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (MK) Aspect of National Assessment (NAEP) dealt with in this document: Results (Utilization).

The Regents 1978 progress report incorporates the progress reports of the State University of New York and the City University of New York, and the consolidated progress reports of independent institutions prepared by the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities. In the report the Regents have reviewed the contributions made toward public policy goals by postsecondary education as well as progress with respect to the recommendations made by State University, City University, and independent institutions. Also reported are all amendments made to institutional master plans since November 1, 1976, and progress made toward the Regents five goals for postsecondary education: freedom of access, freedom of choice, quality education, responsiveness to societal needs, and the efficient use of resources. (Author/MSE)

A plan at Purdue University to develop a model program for women in engineering is described. The Purdue Department of Freshman Engineering received a grant from the U.S. Department of Education through the Women's Education Equity Act to help overcome some of the problems faced by women who enter engineering. The program focuses on an experimental course that provides beginning engineering women and men with: (1) hands-on laboratory experience; (2) discussions by various role model lecturers of contemporary societal problems, including environment, energy and productivity; and (3) career planning sessions. Pre- and post-testing with standardized tests and specially developed surveys used to evaluate experimental and control groups demonstrated positive effects of the program. (Author/BH)

In order to assess the effect of a hunter education program on knowledge and attitudes toward hunting, students enrolled in the eight-hour New Jersey Hunter Education Course were administered the New Jersey Hunter Education Examination Number 4 and the Attitude Inventory for Hunters as a pretest and posttest. The hunter education course is required of all persons being issued a first hunting license. Eleven hunter education classes from eleven New Jersey countries participated in the study. The results were structured around the categories of demography, knowledge about hunting, attitudes about hunting, and correlations between knowledge and attitude scores. The findings were related to such variables as classes, age, sex, previous hunting licenses, hunters in the home, and magazines received. There was a significant correlation between both pretest and posttest knowledge and attitude scores. (BB)