Education & Pedagogy

Successful rural transition strategies which assist disabled rural secondary students in the transition from school to employment and community integration are described. Effective programs and specific strategies touch on such topic areas as job/career exploration, on-site job exploration, career planning, prevocational training, transition training and academic skills, mainstreamed vocational courses, individual vocational training contacts, and parent and family involvement. Additional strategies address identification of training sites, diversified job training, rotation job training, making the most of limited work sites, community involvement in training, contract vocational education (CVE), transportation options, mobile assessment units, interagency collaboration, employer training, community education, social integration, using local employment, school/business partnerships, and creating employment (products and services). The name and address of a contact person is provided for each strategy described. (JW)

The mission of the Rochester Institute of Technology's College of Continuing Education is to provide high-quality, applications-oriented education and training for the continuing development of professionals. The college has initiated a special project called the Athenaeum. The Athenaeum is an intellectual cooperative run by and for adults over the age of 55 who are committed to continued learning. Members pay annual dues to support the organization and activities and use their own experience and talents to plan and implement college-level courses and educational experiences for themselves and their colleagues. The plan is that the adult participants will continue to run this program on their own, with the college serving only as a resource and guide when needed. The Athenaeum attempts to follow the same principles used in the lyceum of the past, i.e., it is based on a student-centered, open learning approach to lifelong learning. (MN)

The Mathematics and Science Relicensing Project provides out-of-license mathematics and science teachers with an opportunity to complete the required coursework needed to qualify for the appropriate licensing examination. In 1986-87, a pilot program offering a Master's Degree in science education was begun. It allows participants to accumulate credits toward licensure while earning a Master's degree in science education. The objectives of this program were to facilitate licensing for those in need, attract female and minority participation and representation among mathematics and science teachers, and encourage program participants to apply for and pass the appropriate licensing examination. This document contains four sections: (1) "Introduction," including background of the program, population served, objectives, and project evaluation; (2) "Program Components"; (3) "Reaction to the Perceptions of Instructional Component"; and (4) "Conclusions and Recommendations." (CW)

This report is a summary of recommendations for the renewal of upper secondary school vocational education in Sweden. The recommendations summarized here were made by the Swedish Vocational Upper Secondary Education Reviewing Panel. The panel found that the best way to improve the quality of vocational education in all sectors is by establishing good finishing training, and it recommends these new guidelines for vocational upper secondary schooling: (1) the integration of finishing training with foundation studies; (2) the extension of the full scheme of vocational education, in normal cases, to three years; (3) the organization of training at both schools and workplaces; (4) regular and increased inclusion of general subjects; and (5) increased cooperation between schools and the employment sector. Models for implementing these guidelines and for training teachers/instructors to improve their programs in accordance with the recommendations are described in detail. (KC)

Bilingualism as an individual and societal phenomenon can be examined from linguistic, psychological, and sociocultural perspectives. Bilingual education often links language and ethnicity, resulting in diversified curriculum goals. This book explores various dimensions of language and bilingual schooling which affect the education of ethnolinguistic minority children. Bilingual programs serving language-minority children differ from those serving mainstream English speakers. The differences generally surface in terms of compensatory versus enrichment programs and subtractive versus additive types of bilingualism. Language teaching strategies, classroom discourse processes, and language/cultural attitudes all operate in a bilingual school context. Language policies, reflecting societal goals, priorities, and intergroup relations, however, more directly influence the mission and success of bilingual schooling for all children. This book includes material from many sources: (1) Federally funded research projects, (2) doctoral dissertations, (3) journal articles, (4) texts, and (5) unpublished reports. (LHW)

In this discussion on the feasibility of establishing a "National" curriculum for physical education, it is pointed out that it would first be necessary to reach an agreement on the overall goals or objectives of physical education. Consensus would have to be obtained on the primary focus of such a curriculum and a realistic set of desired outcomes. Significant research findings would be required to document claims that physical education programs can, in fact, produce the stated outcomes agreed upon. It would also be necessary to have the support of an adequate legal, and enforceable time table. A clear distinction would have to be maintained between an academic physical education curriculum and a school athletic program. Finally, philosophical and financial support would be needed for the necessary preservice education and inservice staff development programs to implement a national curriculum for physical education. (JD)

This annotated bibliography contains 99 entries, listed alphabetically by author, that are concerned with religion and family life education. Articles listed discuss sexuality and family life education from Jewish and Christian perspectives. Many of the entries deal with adolescent sexuality and offer resources for children, adolescents, parents, educators, and the clergy. Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish views on sexuality and religion are presented in several entries, while the roles of the church, the school, and the parents in sexuality and family life education are discussed in others. Some articles present sex education programs being conducted in churches. Other entries deal with studies of sexuality and religion in adolescents and with moral values, religious beliefs, and sexuality. While many articles deal in general with sexuality and religion, others focus on narrower topics, such as sex roles and teenage pregnancy. (NB)

This paper presents a perspective from Singapore on the secondary school curriculum and adolescent development. Topics discussed include (1) curricular considerations related to socioeconomic factors in Singapore society, such as rapid industrializaton, problematic procreation and marriage trends, latchkey children, and youth gangs; (2) curriculum and the socio-emotional development of the adolescent, focusing on family life education, programs for moral education, and religious studies; (3) curriculum and the intellectual development of the adolescent, including material on the intellectual development of adolescents, Singapore's new education system for secondary schools which was introduced in 1982 with the primary aim of reducing attrition rates in the school system, as well as the program for vocational education; and (4) curriculum and the physical development of the adolescent, focusing on the need to counter the debilitating influences of an affluent lifestyle and a new physical education program incorporated into the overall curriculum. (RH)

An anthropological analysis of the phenomenon of citizenship education in the United States is summarized in this paper. Since school ethnography lacks depth in its use of anthropological theory, an attempt is made to overcome this deficiency by applying five theoretical approaches (evolutionary, functionalist, structuralist-functionalist, structuralist, and cultural ecology) to the study of citizenship education. The cultural diversity within a pluralistic society creates an amorphous condition for citizenship education and the continuous attempts to resolve the conflicts associated with this condition produce a form of dynamism which has high survival value in a rapidly changing society. It is suggested that a move be made from myth to the reality of citizenship education through more naturalistic research. As the individuals move from membership in a tribal society to membership in a modern state and a global community, their relationship to the state is altered dramatically. (BZ)

This document defines, describes usage of, and provides samples of student competency profiles being used in 17 vocational programs at Rutland Area Vocational-Technical Center in Rutland, Vermont. The profiles cover the following programs: auto body, auto mechanics, business/data processing, cabinetmaking, carpentry/masonry, culinary arts, distributive education, electrical/plumbing, electronics, graphic arts, health occupations, human services, machine trades, metal fabrication/welding, power and agricultural mechanics, secretarial, and timber harvest and forest production. The profile is presented as a multi-use tool for competency-based vocational education. Student evaluation, special needs, monitoring, teacher/student feedback, student employability, and program planning and accountability are areas to which the profile may contribute. A bibliography is included in this sample package. (Author/KC)

This module, which is one in a series of training packages intended to train educators working with handicapped adolescents and young adults in correctional settings, deals with the characteristics of special populations and issues in the education of incarcerated individuals. Addressed in the individual sections of the module are the following topics: the nature of various physical, emotional, and behavioral disabilities and impairments, the functional aspects of these handicapping conditions, and similarities between handicapped offenders and other incarcerated persons with skill deficits. The module includes instructional design specifications (module title, competency statement, rationale statement, prerequisites); module objectives; evaluation procedures and criteria, learning activities and alternatives; a content outline; references; handouts; overhead transparency masters; and a training evaluation form. (MN)

A description is given of a cooperative program between the Brigham Young College of Education and nearby public high schools. In one instance, in 1978 a high school English teacher was invited to team teach a reading methods class with a faculty member in the College of Education. This endeavor was successful and the teacher continues to teach at the college. In the 1984-86 period, four secondary education professors from the College each volunteered to teach one class in high schools in two partnership school districts. Represented were classes in history, science, math, and psychology for one or two semesters in three high schools. The observations of the professors are recounted. It has been concluded that university colleges of education can benefit from the use of secondary school teachers in their classrooms, and that teacher educators can be professionally renewed by occasionally teaching in secondary school settings. (JD)

One of the main products of the Regional Workshop for the Development of Packages of Adequate Learning Requirements in Population is this prototype package of curriculum materials in population education. The workshop notes that one of the shortcomings of country programs in population education is that the content integrated in school subjects is quite inadequate in bringing about desired attitude changes regarding population issues and problems. The prototype package contains: (1) a set of guidelines for the development and use of a good package; (2) population education curriculum built around the information, education, and communication (IEC) core messages; (3) user's guides; (4) learning materials for literate out-of-school youth, including stories/booklets, posters, and charts; and (5) survey instruments for assessing the interest, needs and problems of the community, and evaluative research instruments for pre-testing the reading materials and posters. (RSL)

One of the main products of the Regional Workshop for the Development of Packages of Adequate Learning Requirements in Population is this prototype package of curricular materials on population education. The package emphasizes that population content should be treated as an integral part of the school curriculum rather than spread thinly among many school subjects. This package contains: (1) a report on the pre-testing of the sample materials; (2) guidelines for the development of a good package and for the use of learning materials; (3) a proposed secondary school population education curriculum based on the population program's information, education, and communication (IEC) core messages; (4) teacher's guides, with test items to assess knowledge gain, attitude change and behavioral intent, and (5) learning materials for students (i.e., textual materials with appropriate illustrations). (RSL)

The Texas Education Agency bulletin examines aspects of physical education for students with handicaps. Following a statement of philosophy, the guidelines address the following topics: assessment (characteristics of motor assessment instruments); the developmental program plan (program organization, descriptors and skills for essential elements); physical education instructional arrangements and settings (nine possibilities, including regular class with minor modifications and regular class with individual or low ratio instruction); health and safety considerations for students with physical or health impairments; and options for service delivery in adapted physical education. Answers to commonly asked questions on such topics as teacher role and responsibility and curriculum content are followed by a list of considerations for program design (personnel, curriculum/program design, student assessment, resources, and staff development). Among appended material are summaries of seven exemplary programs in physical education and a descriptive list of motor assessment instruments. (CL)