Children: Our Future. Proceedings of a Cross-Cultural Conference of Professionals (Petrozavodsk, Karelia, Russia, August 7-13, 1993).

Overview & Synopsis

This document is the proceedings of a cross-cultural education conference held in Russia. The conference had four major themes: learning and development, family involvement in education, community and social context of education, and pedagogy. Educational levels discussed ranged from early childhood to university. The body of the document is abstracts of the conference sessions. This is divided into 10 sections: (1) social service and family support; (2) preschool and school pedagogy; (3) pedagogy in higher education; (4) legal issues of children and families; (5) aesthetic education; (6) children's physical and mental health; (7) ecological education; (8) the linguistic program for a Northern European international university; (9) university training for history teachers; and (10) computer science in education. Some specific topics discussed included: county social help systems in Minnesota; early childhood family education; democracy in the elementary school; developmentally appropriate strategies; rural education in North Dakota; foundations for development with children's art; authoritative parenting and teaching; and strategies for conceptual restructuring of early childhood, elementary, and secondary school students. The document also includes an appeal to President Yeltsin, conference recommendations, and appendices containing the conference schedule and brochure. (JW)